(A/N) Okay this is my Song Fic. I really hope you like it. I've been working on it for about a month. (Not like for every day. Like every two days I'd add a couple of pages? I dunno…) This means a lot to me, because this is one of my favorite songs. I would listen to it when I was younger (my dad would play it all the time. It was his favorite song, too.) And now that I'm older I've really grown to appreciate the lyrics.
For this fanfic, I changed around the lyrics so it would fit with my story. For example, I changed the title. Lolz. They weren't even born in 1969 so it wouldn't make sense right? I have a bit of a glossary at the bottom if you have no clue what I'm talking about. I made it cuz sometimes I don't even understand myself so God knows if you will. Lolz. :-P Enjoy! I've worked really hard on this.
LEGEND (I really wanted for my story to make sense, so I think this is the easiest way.)
Bold Present
Normal Past
Italics Song lyrics
----------------------------
Zack Mooneyham has been walking around his dorm room all afternoon. It was Saturday, 3:00PM, and he had nothing to do. His homework was finished and his roommate was out with his girlfriend. He confined himself to pacing in and out of each room.
He entered his own room for a fifth time. Zack noticed that it was a bit messy, but that's how he liked it best. His theory was that when you have things strewn on the floor, they're easier to find.
The college junior sat on his bed and sighed. He was bored and wanted to kill time. The weather was too dreadful to be out with friends- it was pouring rain- and the guys in his dorm house were all computer nerds who he never seemed to understand. He ran his hands through his thick brown, shaggy hair which fell lightly over his eyes.
Zack's brown eyes wandered to a corner. His guitar was propped against a wall, glittering and shining, so he immediately grabbed it. It had been a while since he had played, what with school and his part time job. He played a chord… Twan-eeng! Gross, the chord came out sounding terrible. Zack winced and tried another, this time satisfied with the sound.
Flashbacks wandered into Zack's mind as his music came back naturally.
---
I bought my first real six string
Bought it at the guitar store…
---
"Aiight, Zack Attack," Dewey Finn said as he excitedly opened the door of the music shop. He knowingly led an 11 year old Zack to sparkling guitars that were hanging on the walls.
Zack was in awe. He stared at them. Blue, red, black, green… so many colors to choose from.
"We all knew that Flying V wasn't going to last for much longer with you shredding on it," Dewey said with a chuckle. "Now let's look at some new ones." He scanned two walls of hanging guitars , touching each one. "Alright, Fender's a pretty good company. They're alright. But you better stick to Gibson. They last longest and have the best sound quality." Dewey showed Zack a section of them.
One guitar immediately caught Zack's eyes. A dazzling red plated guitar. He dropped his mouth, wondering how a guitar could be such a work of art. He reached for this guitar and grabbed it ever so gently.
"Aah," Dewey said with a smile. "Gibson Les Paul SG, same as mine. Amazing choice."
Zack nodded, still staring at the guitar he held in his hands. "Is there like a chair anywhere? I wanna try this out." Dewey pointed Zack to a stool and Zack hurried over to it. He grabbed a pick in his pocket and strummed quietly. He closed his eyes. Perfect, he thought.
"I think you should get this one, dude," Dewey suggested. "It's by far the greatest one here"
Zack smiled. "Alright, I'll take it." He went to the counter, pouring out money he had earned from chores, gigs and his birthday. Finally, the gift of his dreams…
---
Played it till my fingers bled
Was the summer of '04.
---
As soon as Zack got home with his brand new guitar, he rushed up to his room. He plugged the guitar into the amplifier and played his heart out. He played all night, even when his parents told him to shut it off. He didn't care… he played until his fingers were completely sore from holding the pick and pressing down on the frets with such enthusiasm.
---
Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard
---
"Yo, Zack!" Zack's best friend, Freddy Jones, called to Zack during class. Freddy poked Zack with a pencil. "Tomika said we have practice after school! She said Dewey wants everything perfect for Friday's gig."
Zack nodded. "Alright. I'll be there." He looked at Laurence, who sat in front of him. Laurence was carefully doing his work. "Does China know?"
"No! Pass it on!"
Zack got his ruler and poked Laurence to get his attention. "LAR-RY!" He whispered. The boy turned around, adjusting his glasses. "Band practice, after school!" Laurence nodded, wrote a quick note to himself about this and went back to his work.
Zack watched the clock until the end of the day. 40 minutes... 25 minutes… 15 minutes…. 6…. 3… 1… The bell rang and Zack happily leapt out of his seat. He grabbed his coat hanging on a hook in the hall and rushed to walk to Dewey's house with his friends.
"You're going to be practicing the newer songs," Michelle advised him. "Apparently there's going to be a scout at the place and Dewey wants to make a good impression.
Marta Hale came skipping up to Zack and Michelle, her braids jumping excitedly. "Oooh!! A scout!! This can mean record deals!" She squealed with delight. "14 years old and with a record deal… what a beautiful dream!"
"We're not sure about it yet, girl," Alicia mentioned, checking to see if any passers-by heard her. "Lay low about it."
The band squashed themselves in one elevator, knocked on Dewey's door entered his apartment. Dewey welcomed them and apologized for having practice on such sort notice. He had to go to the landlord's office with his roommate Ned Shneebly at 6:00PM, their usual practice time, and wouldn't be able to have practice then. Zack went over to his Gibson Les Paul SG, which he left at the apartment last night so he wouldn't forget it.
"Okay, new song… Hungry For Rock. Aiight?" Dewey suggested. The band nodded in agreement. Katie started off the song with her bass solo, which allowed Zack to enter in playing rhythm, Freddy began with his drums for beat, and together, Laurence with his keyboard and Dewey with his guitar entered with melody. The song couldn't have turned out more perfect…
---
Freddy quit; Summer got a real job.
---
"I'm really, really, really sorry guys," Summer apologized with tears running down her face. "It's just that this is a major opportunity for me. For my university application and all!" The band just finished having a practice. They were all in Dewey's apartment, with sad looks on their faces
"Summer, I thought you were in the band," Freddy shot angrily. "Remember? We promised we'd always be there for each other and we'd always be together."
Summer started sobbing. "I'm s-s-sorry! But this would look good on my university application so that I…"
"SUMMER! YOU'RE 17!" Freddy sent a death glares at her as he spoke. "Who cares about your friggen-"
"Freddy! Dude! Chill!" Dewey interrupted. He put his arm on Summer's shoulders in a comforting fatherly way. "If Summer says getting out of this band to work with a record producer is best for her then getting out of this band to work with a record producer is best for her. We should be happy for her!"
Summer smiled at Dewey thankfully. Dewey forced a smile back, even though he really didn't want to. He was in a crappy mood about this issue himself.
"Sum, you're sure you really want to do this?" Katie asked gently. Summer nodded and Tomika sighed sadly.
Freddy was still angry about this. "Are you saying that this band has no future so you're quitting it completely?"
"NO! No! We have a-"
"You know… Screw this," Freddy said. "I quit." The band gasped. Freddy? Quit! He was the best drummer in this city. How could he quit? Freddy grabbed his sticks and stormed out of the apartment.
Weeks and weeks later into the autumn season, the band, minus 2, was gathered in Dewey's apartment talking about their problem.
"Guys, we can't find anyone who's willing to take their spots," Dewey confirmed.
"Wait! We just have to look harder!" Eleni insisted. "I'm sure there are people who-"
"Lenz, we gotta face the music. Nobody's as organized and convincing as Summer and nobody can gut bust those drums like Freddy."
"Dewey…" Zack said, his voice choking. "Are you saying… the band… has to…"
Dewey nodded. "I've been thinking… We've been together for seven years now, we've performed in front of hundreds of scouts and we don't have record deal. That's gotta mean something, right?" The band nodded slowly in understanding. "So the band's done…" Dewey put his hand out in front of him. The teenagers surrounded him, putting their hands on top of his.
---
Shoulda known we'd never get far.
---
The band, well, ex-band, started packing up their stuff regrettably. Tears were in some of the members' eyes. Zack put his guitar in its case and started rolling up some cords. The apartment had never been so quiet. Zack was devastated. His band was his life. Music kept him going. It added a special appeal to his life. Especially when he rocked out to it with his closest friends. He picked up his rectangular hard case filled with all of his stuff and mumbled a quick goodbye.
"I'll walk with you," Katie murmured, flinging her cloth case on her back. The two lived on the same street. Only a house separated their own.
"Okay," Zack muttered. He opened Dewey's door and the two headed for the elevator. They were speechless. Not a word was exchanged, which was pretty different since the two friends were always babbling to one another. They welcomed the silence to think about the now over band.
They walked home in step, still not talking to one another. Light rain began to fall. It was as if the sky was crying as well.
Zack walked Katie to her porch. They stared at one another. Katie's eyes began to well up with tears. Zack hated seeing his best friend cry so he hugged her. Katie rested her head on Zack's shoulders and she sobbed quietly. All Zack could do was pat her comfortingly on the back. He offered for her to come over tomorrow so they could jam together. After all, he told her, it wasn't as if rock music was over, too.
Katie wiped her tears and agreed.
"Bye Posh Spice," Zack said with a smirk.
Katie's face brightened. "Later, Hendrix." The two always exchanged their goodbyes in this way ever since they got their nicknames from Dewey. Zack Attack was Zack's official nickname, but 'Hendrix' was so much easier to say sometimes.
Zack watched her go in and then headed inside his own house. Anger started forming inside the seventeen year old. He slammed the door behind him.
It's not fair! Why did the band have to end? He grabbed his alarm clock and threw it to the other side of his room. He kicked his dresser a couple of times and threw all his bed sheets off of his bed. Zack saw a container of Lego's which his little sister probably left in his room and kicked it. Lego's were scattered all over the floor.
"Stupid band!" He yelled. "I should have known! We fucking sucked! We were a crappy band!"
Zack decided this wasn't helping. He leaned against his wall and slid down so he was sitting. The coolness of the wall calmed him and he rested his head on his knees, which had been propped up. Zack regretted everything he said. No. School of Rock was amazing. They had awesome songs and had talented members. They weren't crap.
---
Oh, and when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
---
Zack stopped his flashbacks. What's the point of these, he thought as he got up off his dorm bed to place his guitar back in its corner. He removed the strap from around his shoulders, and then noticed something. A stain. A pink one. What the hell? How did that get there? Zack studied it closely. Paint? How did pink paint get… Oh…
"SURPRISE!!" The band called out.
"Oh my fucking… Are you serious?" Dewey's eyes were wide open as he stepped into Marta's backyard. The sixteen year old band had planned for a surprise party for Dewey's 30th birthday. Dewey thought he was coming to Marta's backyard to fix up her bike because it was all messed up. "I'm going to kill you guys! You even have little guitar candles… I LOVE IT!"
The party's theme was "A Rocking Luau". Michelle slipped a lei around Dewey's neck and wished him a happy birthday. The girls all went to give him a hug while the guys all shook his hand and patted him on the back.
"Come on, Larry! One more time!" Dewey kept insisting.
Laurence rolled his eyes. "We agreed we'd stop this embarrassing handshake."
"Please Laurence!" Dewey pleaded, holding out his hand. "It is my birthday after all! PLEASE! Pretty please? With a guitar pick on top? PLEASE!!"
"What? Guitar pick on…? Okay fine," Laurence gave in. They did 'boom, boom this, this, couple of these, let's rock let's rock today, slam it, shoot it, caboot it' and ended it at that. Dewey had a goofy grin.
"Come on! Let's swim!" Marta called out from her in ground swimming pool.
Zack and Freddy pulled off their beaters and ran to the deck. They dived into the deep end.
"Dude, this officially rocks," Freddy commented closing his eyes as he leaned back on a noodle. Zack agreed. It was a hot day and the water was at perfect a temperature. He engaged Gordon, Marco and Leonard in a game of Water Football, 2 on 2, and kept himself busy with that.
Frankie and Dewey were planning out their cannonball 'spectacular'. They saw that Alicia, Katie, Marta, Eleni and Michelle were all sitting at the edge of the pool, and had their legs dangled in the pool chatting away. The two mischievously planned to do an extra large cannonball by jumping in together to annoy them.
"Okay. At the count of three," Dewey ordered. Frankie nodded. "One… two… THREE!" He and Frankie jumped in at the same time, their legs tucked in at their chest. As they expected, water splashed up onto the girls. In addition, there was a lot of water displacement around the edges of the pool.
Marta and Eleni began to complain that they were all wet. Michelle started crying because they ruined her hair. Katie and Alicia laughed and jumped in chasing the two.
Zack, who had given up on football because the ball was way too slippery and Leonard had awful aim, watched the scene with a couple of chuckles of his own. He felt a splash from behind him from Freddy, who was floating around on a huge inflatable chair. It looked more like an inflatable couch with a connected foot rest. He had black glasses on and grinned when his friend turned around.
"Who are you checking out?" Freddy asked, following Zack's gaze.
"Oh, no one!" Zack answered truthfully. "It's just that Dewey and Frankie just did a huge cannonball and got the girls all mad."
"Mmhmm," Freddy said skeptically. He sipped his coke from a curly straw that was in a cup holder. "Ooh. Marta's in the pool. I'm gonna see if she wants a seat with me up here." Freddy patted the armrests of his 'chair', grinned and waded over to Marta.
Zack watched as Freddy began to flirt with Marta and she giggled. Another splash came from behind him. "Okay, who the hell…"
Carla Hale was behind him giggling flirtatiously. "Hi Zack!"
"Uh, hi Carla," Zack said, trying to be as neutral and casual as possible. Carla was Marta's cousin. She was the same age as the band and insisted that she came to all the band parties. Carla would cry to her aunt, Marta's mom, if her cousin said no. Marta's mother would tell Marta it would be rude not to invite her since she was such a big fan of School of Rock.
Marta explained to the band that Carla had to come in order for the party to be held in her backyard. Zack groaned when he found out. Everyone knew she was only a fan of School of Rock because of the young guitarist. She had a huge crush on Zack and always let him know it.
"Wanna give me a piggyback ride?" Carla asked. She got on Zack's back before he could answer. Zack knew it'd be rude to yell at her to get off since Marta's mother was attending to the refreshment table not too far away, but he wouldn't hang on to her legs either. He walked dully to the other side of the pool. Carla squealed with excitement, saying she was having the time of her life. Then there was a football coming at them so Zack dodged it quickly.
Carla took her hands around Zack's bare shoulders to tighten them around his neck and she hugged the back of his neck and screamed. "Zack! Be careful!" She giggled. She screamed again when the football came whizzing by them and help onto Zack even tighter.
Katie and Alicia had snagged their own inflatable couches and were sipping smoothies. Katie had her sunglasses on and was flipping through a magazine and talking to Alicia at the same time. The bassist looked up to see why Marta's cousin was screaming. Alicia set her own smoothie in the cup holder.
"So, does Zack like Carla?" She asked Katie.
"No, he told me he thinks she's really annoying," Katie answered.
"He's not really enjoying himself much, is he?" Alicia noticed, tipping her head to the side watching Zack drag Carla around the pool. "Poor guy…"
Carla ordered Zack to the side of the pool so that she could take a sip of water from her bottle. She drank some and kissed Zack on the cheek for taking her to the side, giggled, and told him to take her somewhere else.
Katie chuckled as she closed her magazine, and called out, "Hey Zack?"
Zack turned around, which made Carla scream and hold on tightly again. "Yeah?"
"Having fun?"
He widened his eyes as if to say no.
"Aww!" Alicia said with a grin. "I feel kinda bad for him!"
"Yeah, me too," Katie agreed laughing. "I'll get him out of this… Yo, Zack?"
Zack turned around again, making Carla scream, telling him to stop turning so sharply through giggling fits. "What?"
"Are you giving out free rides?" Katie asked with a grin.
"I guess so," Zack answered. "Might as well call me a horse…"
"Oh, Zack!" Carla exclaimed. "You're not a horse!"
"Is it my turn for a ride?" Katie asked. Katie took off her sunglasses and plopped them on her head. Zack stared at her eyes, noticing that they were laughing even though she wasn't.
He took the hint. "Yeah! I, uh- guess so!" He looked behind him. "Sorry, Car. Katie's turn!" Carla pouted and got off Zack's back. Katie left her sunglasses in the other cup holder. She dived into the water and swam under it. She came up where Zack standing.
Zack laughed. "Well get on!"
"What!? I just wanted you to get out of-"
"No I promised you a ride so get on!" Zack repeated smirking.
Katie looked at Zack uncertainly. "Are you-"
"Oh my God, Katie! I used to carry you on my back when we were three! Now get on!" Katie gave in and climbed onto Zack's bare back. She held onto his shoulders while he held onto her legs. "Now say, GO HORSIE GO like you always used to!"
"No, I say you're more like a mule or something… Brown eyes…Very stubborn… Big tail…" Katie chortled.
"Katie… You are so amazingly funny…" Zack responded sarcastically, pretending to yawn.
"Well, YOUR WELCOME for saving you from Carla!"
"Oh! Thank you!" Zack said flashing a thankful smile. "Seriously though… thank you." Katie ordered him to ride as fast as he could and he went racing down to the other end of the pool until he couldn't feel the floor where the deep end was.
---
And if I had the choice
Yeah I'd always wanna be there
---
"So he took off his pants and I'm like, "OH MY GOD! His WENIS is showing!" Dewey ended, retelling his experience on being mistakenly on a nude beach. The rest of the band laughed around Marta's backyard bonfire.
"Here's more wieners," Marta said, passing around the sixth package of hotdogs to roast on the stokes. Tomika had taught them to make octopus hotdogs by sticking one end on the stoke and cutting the other end down the middle horizontally and vertically. When they were in the fire, they ends would curl up like octopus feet.
"God, no more wieners!" Zack complained jokingly. "After all of those stories about Dewey's nude beach experiences, I'm not in the mood…" The band laughed again.
"Yeah, let's talk about something ELSE," Alicia suggested, putting a marshmallow on the end of her stoke. "Naked people… nuh-uh."
"Zack, your acoustic is just in the kitchen. Wanna go grab it and play a bit?" Marta suggested.
"Yeah sure! Carla, you've got to move your chair over so I can get out." Zack was getting annoyed that Carla was being really clingy to him and always flirting. It was really getting on his nerves but he didn't dare tell her off, afraid she'd run to her aunt and the party would be over.
"Of course, Sweetums!"
Zack raised an eyebrow on her, but decided to ignore his nickname. He got up, opened the screen door of Marta's house, grabbed his acoustic, and then went back to the bonfire. "Okay, any requests?" Zack asked with a grin. "Dewey, since it's your birthday, you get first pick."
"'Shook me all night long' seems pretty good for a bonfire," Dewey suggested. Zack grinned and started playing while the band started singing.
"You… shook me ALL night long," they sang in unison. They sang several more songs. Marta and Eleni disappeared without any of them knowing, and came back with a guitar-shaped cake. Exactly 30 candles outlined it.
"Guys! A cake, too?" Dewey gushed. The band gathered around one of the picnic tables. Alicia led them into singing 'Happy Birthday'. Then Dewey insisted that they chant, 'Are you one? Are you two? Are you three?' until they reached his age.
"That will take forever!" Leonard complained. "I want cake!"
"Now, now…" Dewey shook his finger sardonically. "It's my birthday and I want it to be perfect. So go!" The band rolled their eyes and began chanting.
"Are you twenty-eight?" They murmured. They started with more enthusiasm but had lost it further in the numbers. "Are you twenty-nine? Are you thirty?"
"STOP!" Dewey yelled excitedly. The band clapped and he blew out all of his candles.
Once everyone finished eating and shoving cake in each other's faces, Michelle opened a package of about 40 pink Silly String cans. They immediately launched for some cans. The band started squirting each other with the pink Silly String. Laughing was heard all over Marta's backyard as the mini war of Silly String continued.
"AAH! Freddy! Get off!" Katie screeched, laughing hard. "Help!"
Zack ran over to Freddy and squirted Pink Silly String in his face, thus stopping him from squirting Katie.
"Oh Zack! My hero!" Katie joked. She ran off to start squirting Billy who was insisting no one squirt him because of his designer clothes.
---
Those were the best days of my life
---
Zack let some of his anger about Carla by squirting her in the face and running away before she could tell who squirted her. Zack saw Freddy hide behind his guitar. Zack squirted anyway, hoping he wouldn't hit his guitar.
---
Ain't no use in complaining
When you got a job to do
---
Zack threw his uniform shirt on.
"Why the hell does Famous Players have the stupidest shirts?" He thought. Well they weren't horrible. They were blue polo shirts with the logo on the left. But it wasn't anything like his concert/band T-shirts he loved to wear.
Zack grabbed his keys. "Mom, I'm going to work!" He called. The close to eighteen year old jumped in his parents' Mazda. It was a hot day for autumn so he opened the window. Wind whipped through his hair and it felt great. "Practically 18 and having my G2… amazing…"
---
Spent my evenings down at the theatre
That's when I really met you
---
Zack pulled into the movie theatre, checked in inside and ran into his supervisor, Jerry.
"Mooneyham, you're here all weekend, full 3 shifts" He advised hurriedly. "Most of our people can't make it and with the release of 4 new movies…"
"ALL WEEKEND?" Zack protested. "I have a project due for-"
"No excuses Mooneyham!" Jerry spat angrily. "Be here tomorrow by 10. And the next day. Probably the next day, too."
Zack knew better than to get on his supervisor's nerves. Jerry was a very temperamental man who always got his way. Zack furrowed his eyebrows, but didn't say anything to Jerry. He checked his schedule. Snack bar duty. He tied the apron around his waist but, like always, refused to put it around his neck.
His next hour was spent filling bags and buckets with popcorn, filling cups with pop or getting candy for customers. Finally 2:30 came. 2:30 was a special time for the snack bar. The next five minutes were used to refill the popcorn machine. At this time, the snack bar was closed.
Anyway, Zack sighed with relief. He propped his elbow on the counter and rested his cheek on his hand. He hated his job. Why did he take it anyway? Then Zack remembered how his parents said he had to make his own money somehow. He had been fine money wise until the band decided to-
"EXCUSE ME!" Someone called, feeling extremely annoyed.
Zack looked up. "Sorry. What can I get you sir?"
"I'd like a refund, please," the customer fumed as he pushed his glasses to the top of the bridge of his nose with his index finger. "My drink has 4 cubes of ice when I SPECIFICALLY asked for 5."
Zack was annoyed, too. He wanted to ask if the man was going to die with only 4 but decided not to since Jerry was not too far away. "We don't do refunds, but I can give you a free cup."
The man fixed his glasses again and sighed. "Fine… But hurry it up! I'm missing my Sci-Fi movie."
Zack struggled to stop himself from telling the man off for being so rude. He grabbed a cup and counted four ice cubes. Now some coke… He pressed the cup to the machine.
"Excuse me! I had a Diet Coke!" The man complained.
Zack angrily mumbled his apologies and filled another cup. Four ice cubes… Diet Coke…
"Excuse me! I had a large!"
Zack whipped the cup into the garbage and some Coke splattered on the floor. Great, now he'd have to mop everything up. He finally got the order right and handed the coke to the customer. "Enjoy your stay," Zack gritted through his teeth.
The man frowned. "My cup is wet." Zack took the cup, cleaned it messily with napkins and handed it to the man. "Good bye." Zack grabbed a mop and started to clean up the Coke.
"Excuse me!"
"WHAT!?" Zack shouted angrily. Zack looked up, expecting to see the man. Instead, Katie was at the counter grinning.
"Not having a good day?" She asked softly with a smirk.
Zack was happy to see her. Finally… something good in his day. "No. Some idiot wouldn't stop complaining and I have to work all weekend."
"That sucks," Katie agreed sympathetically.
"Yeah." Zack wiped the counter with a wet cloth. "So who did you come here with?"
"Michelle, her boyfriend, and his friend," Katie groaned. "They're trying to set me up with him. He's cute and all, but he's such a jackass."
"What'd he do?"
"Trying to kiss me through the movie," Katie said disgustedly. "I came here to see if I could kill some time away from him and I found you here! We haven't talked in forever, so maybe we can catch up on stuff."
Zack chuckled. The two, living so close to each other, really hadn't talked in a long time with their part time jobs and school. "So anything new?"
"Nah, I still have the same boring life as always," Katie said with a pretend yawn.
"I saw you in detention three days ago. Are you a little rebel like Jones now?" Zack teased.
"Okay, no one can beat Jones." Katie began explaining, "What happened was I gave my opinion on how it's unfair some teachers assign stuff that they wouldn't be able to do themselves to Mr. Bensett." Mr. Bensett was Horace Green High School's work shop teacher. "And he's like, 'You know what, Ms. Brown? You're really bold!' And I didn't even know what that meant, so that got me pretty mad. So I said, 'You know what, Mr Bensett? If I'm bold, you're old.' And he gave me detention!" Katie frowned. "Isn't that stupid?" Katie began to grin. "But don't deny the detention for 2 days after school. I saw it on the sign in sheet thing. Fess up!"
Zack laughed. "Okay, you know how we're not supposed to wear anything other than our uniforms?" Katie nodded. "Well I had my jacket on 'cause I had just come from lunch with the guys. We were in the lunchroom talking with I forget whom. And Ms. Slack kept calling my name, trying to get my attention but I guess I didn't hear her so I didn't answer. And then she got all pissed and she's like 'Mr. Mooneyham! Come with me to the hall! Now!' And I didn't realize it was her. So I'm like, 'Go there, and I'll meet you in about two minutes.' And Ms. Slack gave me detention."
Katie burst out laughing. "Smooth move." They talked for the next half hour, joking about all the stupid teachers at Horace Green High.
"Mooneyham!" Jerry called angrily to Zack. "Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to start you're shift at the ticket counter 10 minutes ago."
"Sorry," Zack mumbled.
"Hop to it! We can't have you flirting with girls on the job!" Jerry stomped away, with a red face.
Katie blushed. "Sorry about that."
"It's not your fault," Zack reassured her, taking off his apron. "He's an ass." He opened the door of the snack bar and stepped out. "I better go. Good luck with your date." Zack said with a grin.
Katie groaned and punched him lightly. "That's for reminding me why I came here. Maybe I'll see you after the movie's over?"
"Hope so. Bye Posh Spice."
"Later Hendrix," Katie called with a wave as she headed back to her theatre. Zack walked over to the ticket counter and watched Katie walk back to the theatre. At least she made his day at work a little more enjoyable. Zack yawned and absent mindedly checked the movie schedule. Katie's movie would be over at 6:40, 10 minutes after Zack would be able to go home. He got an idea.
Zack waited until he Jerry said he could punch out. The boy pulled on a "The Doors" long sleeved shirt he remembered to bring in case he went out after work. Then Zack pretended to walk out of the cinema doors, but sneaked back in. He went into the theatre Katie was in.
The theatre was dark and it took a while before Zack's eyes could adjust. Only a couple of people showed up for this movie. Zack spotted Katie near the front with her date, pressed to one side of her seat, away from her date. She was sipping her Coke nervously and keeping an eye on her date in case he tried to kiss her again.
Zack went into the aisle behind Katie. He crouched down behind her seat and tapped her shoulder. Katie whipped around to see who tapped her and saw Zack grinning with a finger on his lips to gesture for her not to say anything. Then Zack pointed to himself and to Katie and then to the exit, motioning for the two to get out of here. Katie nodded excitedly and grabbed her purse, telling her date she had to use the washroom. Then Zack grabbed Katie's hand and they sneaked out together, trying not to laugh at Katie's date's stupidity.
The two got in Zack's car and started laughing.
"Oh my God! Thanks so much!" Katie thanked again. "I really did hate that guy."
"You were like squashed to one side, afraid he was going to bite you or something," Zack teased.
"Shut up! I was afraid that he'd bite me!" Katie joked.
"Let's go to The Hub?" Zack asked.
"Yeah, sure."
---
Standing on your Mama's porch
You told me that you'd wait forever
---
"I still can't believe it! Metallica was like 10 feet away from us!" Katie gushed as her and Zack slowly walked up her porch steps. They were holding hands
Zack grinned. "So you liked the concert?" They reached Katie's door, facing each other.
"Hell yeah! It was the best!"
"Only the best for my girlfriend," Zack said softly. Katie flashed her best smile. Zack put her hands on his waist and kissed her. Katie giggled and pulled away.
"I feel like you spoil me," Katie insisted jokingly. She put her arms around Zack's neck. "Like that night you and Freddy took me and Marta to Casa Abril." She smirked. "That was so… glamorous."
"Okay, that night was hilarious!" Zack recounted with a chuckle. "None of us knew about the ordering or the forks and stuff." The two shared a laugh as they remembered funny moments from their dinner a week before. There were countless goofs that kept the four laughing the whole night.
"Or remember when Freddy was sipping the fingerbowl thinking it was soup!" Katie exclaimed. Her laughter filled the summer air, which sounded like music to Zack's ears.
Zack thought Katie was the most perfect girl: pretty, funny, great personality, and most importantly, she has the sense of rocking out. In his eyes, with her Parasuco jeans, Metallica T-shirt, and her hair loose, Katie was gorgeous.
Katie looked at her watch. "Crap, I better get inside before my dad goes out looking for you with a shot gun," she joked.
---
And when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
---
Nonetheless, she entangled her fingers in Zack's lovingly.
"Alright. See you tomorrow?" Zack asked. Before Katie could answer, he leaned in to kiss her. Their lips touched gently as they each closed their eyes. Zack pulled Katie closer to him as she caressed the back of his neck. His hands moved up slightly above her waist. Their lips pressed harder.
The two were interrupted when Katie's porch light turned on. A curtain of a window near the door was opened, and Katie's father was frowning. Zack blushed while Katie grinned and waved to her dad. "See you, Zack. Thanks for the concert," Katie thanked as she hugged him and kissed Zack's cheek. Katie loved Zack's strong arms. They made her feel unbelievably safe
"Bye, Posh Spice."
"Later, Hendrix," Katie returned. She opened her door.
"Love you." Zack grinned charmingly.
"Love you, too," Katie answered with a smile. She blew a kiss to him and went inside.
Zack put his hands in his pockets and walked down Katie's porch steps. He quietly entered his own house, locking the door behind him, and ran upstairs. He hurriedly went to his parents' room to whisper he was home and then headed to his own room.
Zack wasn't tired at all. He was wide awake. He grabbed his acoustic guitar, sat down leaning against the wall and played quietly. Katie kept popping into his mind. He would play, pause to think about her, start playing again, stop again to think about her, play and so on. So Zack grabbed his cell phone and called Katie.
---
Those were the best days of my life
---
"Huh-lo?" She answered.
"Hey Posh." Zack grinned, although not sure to whom. "It's me."
"Hey Zack. I missed you already," she teased.
"Missed you too. Oh- cool! What you listening to?" Zack asked. He propped his cell phone on his shoulder and leaned his ear to it he could play his acoustic freely.
"Godsmack. Jones lent it to me. It's not bad."
The two talked all night almost every night that summer until they practically fell asleep with each other's voices. Zack was in his bed, on top of the sheets, fully clothed in the dark room, staring at his ceiling with his eyes half open.
"Zack, I gotta go. The rents are telling me to shut the cell off," Katie said with a yawn.
"Mmkay. I'll see you in a couple of hours?" Zack asked, looking at his alarm clock. It was 2 in the morning.
Katie giggled. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Bye Posh Spice," Zack said, stifling a yawn.
"Later Hendrix. Love you."
"Love you too." The two hung up and Zack placed his cell phone on his bedside table, closed his eyes, and sighed. He had no idea how he'd get by without Katie, her flawless looks, her excited laugh, her gentle touch, her sweet kisses. Zack fell asleep with perfect images of Katie in his mind.
---
Man, we were killing time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
---
"Alright, Immigrant Song! One, two three, four. One, two three…" Freddy called out, tapping his sticks in front of him at the same time.
"Aaah, aah aah. OW!" Dewey shouted into his microphone, looking at his frets to make sure he was playing them right.
""Aaah, aah aah. OW!" Marta, Alicia and Tomika repeated. Marta started giggling uncontrollably.
"Come to the land of the ice and snow, where the midnight sun and the hot springs glow," Dewey sang, his eyes closed.
"Come on, Laurence!" Frankie insisted with Leonard from their couch beside the keyboardist in a hushed voice. "Just do it!" They two pointed to the synthesizer mounted on the keyboard.
Laurence blushed and shook his head.
"He won't get mad! He'll never know!" Leonard murmured.
Laurence tried to ignore them and kept playing
"Press the button, Larry! It's ready!"
"Do it, China! Please? Do it!"
Laurence gave in by peer pressure. He held his breath and turned a knob on his synthesizer. The volume coming from Katie's, Zack's, and Dewey's amplifiers went way lower. Only Freddy's drums kept going, ("What's the point of having an amplifier on for him at practice when he's so loud anyway?" Dewey had pointed out.) But he stopped when everyone had stopped, too.
"What the hell? Why'd you guys stop playing?" The drummer demanded.
Laurence closed his eyes and pressed a button. "Follow The Leader" was blaring in Dewey's apartment. The whole band looked at each other in confused glances.
"Follow the leader, leader, leader. Follow the leader…"
"What do we do?" Tomika asked Dewey, whose eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes narrowed.
"What do you think?" He demanded coldly. Tomika was startled that Dewey talked to her like that. "We FOLLOW THE LEADER!" Dewey grinned, and grabbed Summer's shoulders, making a train. Many people caught on and the band made a huge train going around the apartment.
Frankie and Leonard exchanged a high five. They pushed all the couches to one side so that they had a bit of a dance floor. Marco turned up the volume.
Gordon stood on a chair in front of the "dance floor". He pretended to be the guy who would call out the orders in the song. "Now repeat after me," he instructed in a Jamaican accent that made everyone laugh their heads off. He grinned broadly. "Now everyone repeat after me: I LOVE SOCCA!" Gordon held out a pretend microphone in front of him, where his band members were jumping in time.
"I LOVE SOCCA!" They repeated. They looked at each other and laughed again.
Gordon decided to change the words. "I LOVE ROCK N ROLL!"
Finally, the song came to everyone's favorite part. They sang, well, rather shouted the words, jumping and waving their hands in the air. "THE ROOF… THE ROOF… THE ROOF IS ON FIRE! WE DON'T NEED NO WATER LET THE MOTHER-" Everyone paused at this point, except for Freddy who just kept going everyone looked at him.
"What?" He shrugged.
"BURN MOTHER-" Again, everyone paused except Freddy.
"Oh my God, it's just a word," he insisted.
"BURN!" They continued. "THE ROOF THE ROOF THE ROOF IS ON FIRE!" The 'Follow the Leader' part started again and they quickly formed another train, singing to the song.
---
I guess nothing can last forever
---
Zack, who was holding onto Alicia's waist in the train, kept laughing. He would poke her and she'd jump since she was ticklish. She laughed and kicked him, but he would just keep poking her.
The boy looked to see who was at the front of their train. Billy was, and he was holding maracas with a Sombrero on his head singing another song. Zack raised an eyebrow and chuckled nervously. Billy was always the odd one out, but as long as he was having fun…
Somebody had started the idea of grabbing Coke Cans, shaking them, then opening them. Sprinklers of coke were shooting up everywhere around Zack. Michelle complained her hair was getting sticky which urged Freddy to chase her purposely with a Coke Can ready to explode at any second. Somebody changed the song, and soon "Yo Quiero Bailar Toda La Noche" was blasting in the apartment. This was Marta's favorite song, and she was blasting her amazing voice along with it.
Zack went to see where Katie was. She was trying to convince Laurence to go dance.
"No, no. We're making so much noise as it is," Laurence insisted.
"Laurence, we're having an unexpected party!" Katie gushed. "You can't just not be a part of it! Come on!"
"Come on, China," Zack put it. "You can go dance with You-Know-Who." He raised his eyebrows a couple of times, his eyes pointing at Eleni. Laurence's ears went totally red. Zack grabbed Laurence's arm, dragged him off the couch and pushed him encouragingly to Eleni.
"Let's go dance!" Katie suggested to Zack.
"Me? Dance?" Zack choked. "I don't dance."
"You just made China go dance!" Katie pointed out, with a triumphant grin.
Zack blushed. "Yeah, well, he wanted to."
"So do you! Now let's go!" Katie dragged him to where the rest of the band was dancing in one big circle. Leonard was in the middle, break dancing.
"I can't believe I'm dancing to Gino beats," Freddy muttered to Zack as "Miracle" came on. Frankie was taking care of the music.
"I know. Go tell Frankie to put some good music on!" Zack complained. Freddy, agreeing completely, walked over to Frankie and told him what music to play. Frankie nodded.
"I ain't get no!" The band chanted as the new song came on. "I ain't get no… I ain't get no… satisfaction!" Well, everyone except Laurence, chanted it. However, he clapped excitedly, smiling and nodding, moving awkwardly on his feet from side to side as everyone was jumping. Katie grinned at Zack as-
"I better stop with all this memory crap," Zack decided, stopping his hands from playing. "It's probably not even healthy doing all of this memory thinking stuff, anyway."
---
And now the times are changing
Look at everything that's come and gone
---
Zack decided to put aside his guitar. He set it once again in the corner of his room, and looked out the window. It was still raining heavily. He sighed in frustration. What would he do? Zack walked into the small living room, which consisted of a loveseat and an armchair in front of a small coffee table in front of a TV. He plopped onto the armchair and sighed again.
"I feel like such a loner today," he thought.
Zack's deep, brown eyes wandered onto an envelope paper with a gold and pink trimming. It was thrown on the table with the other mail he hadn't noticed. Zack tilted his head to the side and reached for it, wondering what such a fancy envelope could hold. On the front of it, Zack's full name was written in perfect cursive writing. He opened the envelope curiously. It was a card. Zack opened it, without bothering to see the front. On the left hand side was writing.
Hey Zack!
We haven't talked to you since when we called you from the hospital. It was too bad that you couldn't come down. (Why did those exams have to come at THAT exact week?) So how's everything going? College going well?
We've been writing cards to everyone we know about our new baby. She's a beautiful healthy baby, Zack. She's perfect. When we were on the phone with you, we still hadn't decided a name, but we've got one now. Her name is Angelica Sophia Hale Jones. (Freddy keeps calling her Angie, so it's kind of stuck on.)
Listen, we didn't write you just because of that though. Angie's baptism is coming up and we need her sponsors and stuff. We were wondering, would you be her baptismal godfather? We know this is a hard decision since it's such a commitment, but your name immediately came to both our minds. We'd be, and Angie would be, proud to have you as her godfather. We're asking Katie to be her godmother. The baptism dates and details are on the right hand side of the card. We're trying to get the whole band together. It'll be fun to have a bit of a reunion, won't it?
Call us with your final decisions. We miss you!
Much love,
Marta and Freddy Jones.
Zack reread the letter. Of course he would be little Angie's godfather, he thought with a smile. And he thought that the whole idea of the reunion was a great idea, too. He hadn't seen most of the band since high school. He got excited about Angie.
He looked at a picture of her which they included, examining it as he walked back to his room and plopped on his bed. Her reddish, wrinkly face indicated that this picture had been taken right after she was born. Zack could see why the two parents thought she was perfect. She really was… Her eyelids were closed so he couldn't see the color of her eyes, but she was beautiful nonetheless with a perfect tiny nose and puffy little lips and chubby cheeks. There was a pink head band sitting on her tiny head, where small blondish hair was growing. Zack grinned at the picture now. He could imagine holding her at the baptism, with Katie at his side, smiling lovingly at her as if she was her own.
Zack stopped daydreaming. Katie was going to be there. He hadn't seen her since high school. Zack's eyes wandered back to his guitar. "We were such a good couple. Why had we broken up?" Zack thought, scanning his brain for the answer. Then he remembered, and wished he never thought about it…
---
Sometimes when I play that old six string
I think about you.
Wonder what went wrong?
---
Katie and Zack were in Katie's living room. All appliances were off, which was strange to them since they always had some source of music blasting when they were together. The two just sat quietly on the couch. Katie's head rested on Zack's now muscular chest as it rose soothingly up and down. He stroked Katie's shiny, silky hair and kissed her forehead from time to time. The house was completely empty except for them. Silence surrounded them like a thick gas. However, they welcomed it gratefully as they cherished what could be some of their last hours together for a long time.
Katie and Zack were both 19. They finished high school along with the rest of the ex-band joyously. But both decided that they wanted to go to college/university. They put it off for a year, but decided that they weren't getting anywhere by just living with their parents, going on dates, and having tough full time jobs. They wanted careers. Coincidentally, they both wanted careers in the same field: Zack wanted to make a new record label while Katie wanted to open her own music studio. Unfortunately, the schools they wanted to enter were in two different states.
Katie and Zack talked about this. Of course, they would have to be separated if they wanted each others lives to go in a good direction. Obviously, they weren't very happy about it but it was for the best. Katie would be leaving tomorrow, the last day of August. Zack would be leaving a week later for the start of his own semester.
Zack looked at Katie, who was staring out in space wearily. He put his arm around her comfortingly and she placed her hand on his chest beside her face. Zack tried keeping the situation cheerful by cracking up some jokes, bringing up some insiders, and remembering good times they had with each other. They made him feel better for a while, but then he would remember he wouldn't be having these moments for a long time and felt miserable all over again.
Zack looked at his watch. It was 8:00PM. Katie would have to get up at 4:30AM tomorrow. Zack sighed and bit his lip, knowing the time he was dreading most had come. His chest quivered. Katie felt it, and knew that it was time as well. Hand in hand they stood up and walked to Katie's front porch. It was the porch where they would kiss each other good night after every date. It was the porch where they first met, when Zack saw Katie moving in. They just stared at each other, each gripping the other's hand as if they thought the other would want to leave without saying good bye.
Zack drew Katie into a hug. His well-built arms, the ones that made Katie feel safe, wrapped around her waist as her slender ones wrapped around his neck and held onto their shoulders. Even after so many years, Katie's touch still made Zack feel warm inside. Her touch always told him that she cared about him, more than any other person he knew. Her touch told him that she was there for him and that he could tell her any of his secrets, dreams and ambitions. Zack knew he was going to miss that touch and treasured it as much as he could at that moment.
Katie cried softly. Whether it was over a knee scrape when they were 5 or a broken heart when they were 15, Zack hated to see Katie cry. He hugged her harder, with tears starting in his own eyes. He fought them back determinedly so that Katie wouldn't be even more upset.
"Listen," he murmured softly in her ear. "I want you to date other guys…"
"Zack," Katie moaned. "I-"
"I don't want you moping at your University," Zack pressed on gently. "You could find your real true love-"
"Don't say that," Katie said disbelievingly in a sad tone.
"And I don't want you to miss out on that," Zack finished. "So vow to me you're going to still go out on dates and meet guys and stuff." Zack placed a hand on each side of her face and looked her in the eye. "We might not see each other for a long time. So promise me you won't wait for me until the end of university?" Zack asked. He hated saying these words and couldn't stand to imagine Katie with another man. Zack gulped his feelings back though. What if she really did find her perfect man at her school? She couldn't mess up that opportunity. He wanted for her to be happy and have a perfect life.
Katie nodded reluctantly, tears strolling down her cheeks. Zack wiped away her tears with her hand. Zack leaned in and kissed Katie gently. His cool, silky lips soothed her, but she knew that this was their goodbye kiss. The kiss was long, but light. It was their way of letting go of each other, even if it was the last thing they wanted to do. The kiss ended and they winced, feeling terrible they wouldn't be able to do something so wonderful again for a long time. They continued holding onto each other, with their eyes closed, making sure they stored their last kiss in their minds.
She wiped her eyes. "I'll miss you," she whispered.
"I'll miss you, too," Zack replied with a definite sad tone in his voice. "I'll always love you."
"Me too, Zack," Katie murmured softly, pulling into another hug. "I love you." They held each other dearly for the last time.
"Bye Posh Spice," Zack murmured with a small grin when their hug ended.
"Later Hendrix," Katie returned with a small grin of her own. She watched Zack walk back to his house, with his hands in his pockets. He was glad she didn't see that one tear rolling down his cheek.
Zack knocked the door on Fortress Street. As he waited, he looked around his surroundings. There were beautiful yellow and pink flowers that Zack knew Marta had coordinated. The door opened. Coincidentally, it was Marta who opened the door.
"Zack!" She squealed. She pulled him into a hug.
Zack chuckled and hugged her back. "What's up, Blondie?"
"Marta, it's only been a month," Freddy called from inside. "Let the guy in!"
Marta blushed slightly. "Right! Come in." She closed the door behind her as the two stepped in. She led him to the kitchen. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Bagel?"
"Naw, thanks anyways. I just had breakfast." After insisting that Zack eat something a couple more times, she headed upstairs to get changed to go to the Baptism.
Freddy walked up to Zack, holding Angie in his arms. He shifted her onto one arm and stretched out his hand. "How's it been dude?" Freddy asked with a grin.
"Like you said, it's only been a month ago!" Zack chuckled. "She's beautiful," Zack commented, his eyes on the baby. She was moaning softly, as if she was bored. Her father looked down at her and shifted her onto his other arm, trying to hush her.
"Yeah, but she's been complaining all morning," Freddy said, feeling a bit annoyed. Angie started crying, sensing that her father was talking about HER. "Aw, come on, Angie. Don't start having a bitch fit TODAY!"
"FREDDY!" Marta screeched. "If you curse one more time in front of her I will seriously smack you across the head."
"Sorry!" Freddy called out sheepishly. "It's a problem I've been having, swearing in front of her."
Zack chuckled. "So do you want her to be a musician, too?"
"Hell yeah!" Freddy answered.
"FREDDY! I'M COMNG DOWN!" Marta screeched from the stairs.
"DARN…" Freddy emphasized greatly. "I forgot. SORRY BABE! Anyways, yeah, I've been playing music a lot around her so she can start to have a feel of it. I really like having Metallica playing around her."
"Isn't Metallica is a little too heavy for a 6 month old?" Zack asked sitting at the kitchen table.
"That's what Marta says," Freddy complained, giving Angie her white Tweety Bird pacifier so that she would stop whimpering. "So I've been playing Beatles and stuff."
"What instrument do you want her to take up?"
"I would really like for her to take the drums," Freddy answered with a grin. "Marta wants her to be a singer. I dunno, I guess she can decide when she's older." Freddy glanced at the watch on the kitchen wall. "I better go get ready. Do you mind taking her?" Freddy asked, gesturing to the whining baby.
"Yeah sure!" Zack answered, brightening up. He took his niece in his arms as her father went upstairs.
Angie noticed that she was in someone else's arms, and looked up at Zack interestedly. Her eyes widened at the site of him. The proud godfather grinned at her as he gently tickled her chubby cheeks and she grinned toothlessly back at him. Zack chuckled which made Angie squeal and squeezed her tiny hands. Zack opened one gently.
"These would be amazing guitar hands," he murmured softly. Angie looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he was saying. So he tickled her chin and she grinned again.
Marta rushed down the stairs. She smiled at the sight of Zack making her daughter laugh. "Can I steal her from you? She has to put on her dress and all."
"No, she's mine!" Zack claimed jokingly, turning defensively to one side. Angie screamed with laughter with the sudden turn and Zack laughed. He handed her to her chuckling mother who hurried up the stairs with her. Zack started making his way to the living room when…
DING DONG!
"Can you get that for me Zack?" Marta called from the top of her stairs. "It's probably Freddy's parents or something."
Zack answered the door. A gorgeous girl with a familiar beautiful tan stood outside.
"Hi… uh, is this the Jones' resi-" The girl stopped herself. "ZACK!?"
Just by the way the girl said his name he immediately knew who it was. "KATIE! How the hell have you been?" He hugged his long lost best friend and girl friend as memories of the two of them flooded him. Katie squealed with excitement as she hugged Zack.
"I've been awesome!" She answered, smiling widely. "I haven't seen you in forever!" Zack opened the door wider for her to come in.
"It's awesome to see you!" Zack exclaimed.
"Yeah I know!" She agreed. "You, too! So where's our niece?" Katie asked playfully, as she stepped inside.
"Upstairs with her mommy getting changed," Zack answered with a grin.
"I've only seen her a couple times: when she had just born and in pictures," Katie said disappointedly. "I haven't been able to get away from school much. How does she look?"
"What do you want me to say? Deformed?" Zack asked sarcastically, Katie started laughing. Zack always loved the sound of her laugh. "She beautiful. Spazzy's hair, Marta's face. And she has her grandpa's nose kind of." Katie laughed again, remembering Freddy's father's small nose.
"Katie? That you?" Marta called from upstairs. "Get your butt up here!"
"HEY! Why are you allowed to swear in front of her?" Freddy complained. "And why isn't her GODFATHER allowed to come up?" At the mention of saying godfather, Zack's chest swelled up with pride.
"Fine, both of you come up," Marta called. She muttered something to Freddy.
"MAR-TA! Maybe he likes putting headbands in girls' hair. I dunno?"
Zack and Katie chuckled as they rushed up the stairs. Occasionally they would hit elbows but would grin at each other and keep going up.
"Yes, because a 21 year old guy would love putting headbands in a girl's hair," Marta replied mockingly. "Especially a full out rocker, right Freddy?"
"He could have changed, Marta," Freddy persisted.
Katie and Zack reached the top of the stairs, but continued to listen to Freddy and Marta's argument outside their door.
"WHAT… unless he's gay now?" Marta exclaimed. "And I'm pretty sure he likes women."
"Well Billy liked putting headbands in girls' hair," Freddy pointed out. "And he's not gay." Katie started giggling. Zack grinned and held a finger up to his lips.
"Well there are always the weird ones of every group," Marta muttered. "Pass me that hair pin, Freddy?"
"Am I part of the weird group?" Freddy asked with a grin. Katie and Zack peered through the open door and could see Freddy giving Marta a loving peck on the lips before she could answer.
"Your part of the weird – but hot – group," Marta answered, giggling. The two leaned in to kiss again. Zack and Katie agreed to cough and clear their throats to ensure the married couple that they were entering the room. This didn't separate the two. They continued to kiss.
"We're gonna steal your kid," Zack informed.
Freddy briefly said, "Mmhmm," while Marta giggled. Zack grinned and picked Angie up from her parents' bed. She had already been changed into her white, frilly baptism dress and she squealed at the sight of him again, clutching her headband.
Zack took her to her nursery and laid her on her changing table.
"Hey, Angie," Katie cooed with a warm smile. Angie turned her attention to Katie, now. She reached up to feel Katie's silky hair, but didn't pull it. She gurgled. "Aww… I love her!" Katie gushed, falling for this baby. "She's going to be such a rocker like her mummy and daddy. Isn't that right?" Katie asked, tickling her stomach. The baby squirmed and squealed, chewing on her headband.
Zack saw a radio by Katie crib. A Beatles CD was in it, and he chuckled, knowing Freddy put it there. He turned it on and "It's Been A Hard Day's Night" was playing softly in the nursery. He walked over to where his niece and Katie were. Katie told him to sit her up while she put on her headband and he did so. Katie let some pieces of wavy blonde hair fall on her forehead, and the baby looked dazzling.
There was a small child's table off to one corner in the middle of the nursery with three chairs. Katie grabbed Angie, sat on one chair and held her in her lap. Angie grasped Katie's index finger and shook it. Zack sat backwards in another chair, facing them. He put his arms on the back of the chair and he rested his chin on his arms. "So how's school?"
"Pretty good," Katie answered, patting Angie's dress neatly. "You?"
"It's been fun." Zack scanned his mind for topics to talk about. "You still play your bass?"
"Sometimes, when I have nothing better to do. Do you still play your guitar?"
"Do you mean, do I still 'twang on my gee-tar'?" Zack asked with a grin. Katie burst out laughing. This was one of their old insiders. "Lately, I've played it constantly. But before now, it's just collected dust in the corner of my dorm room."
"Aw, so you're not much of a rocker now?" Katie asked with a grin.
"No, no, I'm still a rocker," Zack replied defensively. "But see, when I was younger I rocked TOO much, but now I've got it balanced out."
Katie rolled her eyes. "Mmhmm, so what you're saying is you're a full time rocker now, not an over time rocker?" She asked sarcastically.
"Precisely," Zack ended with a grin, pretending to be proud. He puffed his chest, stuck his nose up and sat up tall, making him fall over the side of his small chair. He got up, rubbing his arm, and Katie burst out laughing. Even Angie had some kind of a little smirk.
"Go! It's your turn! Now!" Marta whispered pushing Zack lightly. "Go!" The four were at the packed church, ready for Angie to be baptized. The Godparents were supposed to walk in couples down the aisle, holding their babies. Zack had offered to hold Angie, and was holding the child gently in his arms. He gallantly held out his arm to Katie. She took it and laughed quietly. The two went behind another couple with a set of twins. The twins wouldn't stop screaming.
An organ started playing and Zack nervously tried to keep in step with Katie. Angie decided to take a light nap and softly closed her eyes.
"Look! It's Michelle!" Katie whispered, looking at a pew near the middle. The two waved cheerfully at her as she furiously waved back.
The ceremony was extremely long. There were a lot of babies getting baptized. There was a toddler who wouldn't stop whispering and a boy around 15 years old also getting baptized. Angie started gurgling when the holy water was poured on her head. Every other baby screamed as if the water was painful. Zack beamed at his niece, proud she wasn't one of the screamers. The other godparents watched enviously, some them still trying to settle down their own child.
Finally the mass ended, meaning the reception would start soon. It was being held in a glamorous saloon under a restaurant. There were two doors at the back, where people would enter. There were at least 80 tables, forty on each side of the room. Down the middle was the dance floor which met up with a stage at the front. The theme of this baptism was very glamorous, the colors being gold and silver. The tables were fully set, complete with every kind of cutlery imaginable.
The parents and official Godparents of Angie arrived at the saloon an hour early.
"Marta, it's stunning," Katie commented the room in a hushed voice. "Really gorgeous!"
"Thanks, Katie!" Marta replied, beaming. "I worked hard on this with my mom!" Marta had always had a knack for coordinating things.
"Marta, she's dribbling everywhere again," Freddy complained. He was holding his daughter out in front of him, who was making little bubbles with her drool.
Marta sighed exasperatedly as she got a Kleenex out of her purse. "You know, Freddy, sometimes I think I have two babies instead of one." She wiped Angie's chin. "It's not hard to clean baby drool."
Freddy held Angie up to his face. "Okay, hun, don't get on mommy's nerves today. She's doing this thing called P.M.S'ing. Do you know what that is?" Freddy shook Angie lightly. "No? Well it's when mommies go all crazy and-"
"Freddy!" Marta screeched. "I actually want our kid to be NORMAL when she grows up." She walked to the kitchen with Katie to make last minute preparations.
Freddy stuck his tongue out at his wife's back. Zack laughed. They headed to the mini bar at the back and ordered two Martinis.
"Dude, sometimes I still can't believe you're married to her," Zack teased. "You act like little kids."
Freddy punched Zack lightly on his shoulder. "Shut up, man," he joked. He changed the subject. "So, Katie's looking hot, eh?" He grinned. He sipped his drink.
Zack pretended to gasp. "You're married! You're not allowed to say that! I'm telling on you!"
"Then you say I'm the little kid…"
"I was kidding!"
"Yeah, but anyway, Katie's looking – good," Freddy emphasized.
"Yes, she is looking VERY good," Zack replied, laughing. He stirred his drink with a straw.
"She doesn't have a boyfriend or anything," Freddy pointed out obviously.
Zack raised an eyebrow. "Okay, your point being…"
"You two were 'very much in love' when we were 18 years old," Freddy blurted. "What's the difference of when we're 21? Ask her out!"
"What? Dude, we haven't seen each other in 24 months!" Zack exclaimed. "She could have changed. God knows I could have changed. I dunno, man."
Freddy sighed exasperatedly. "Well you two seemed fine when you opened the door to her at my house. You were laughing together right away."
Zack blushed. "Yeah well, that's because… yeah, I dunno."
Freddy grinned triumphantly.
Katie and Marta walked toward the two men, Marta clutching a bottle of warm milk. Zack raised his eyebrows to Freddy for him not to say a word about what they were talking about.
"Aw, honey, you remembered my afternoon snack," Freddy indicated at the bottle.
"Ha ha," Marta answered dully as she took Angie in her arms to feed her. "You are so incredibly funny, Freddy. Like, I'm laughing so much."
"I don't see you laughing," Freddy said, blushing a bit.
"No, she's laughing inwardly. Can't you tell?" Katie asked sarcastically. The four laughed. Marta sat at a near by table to feed her waiting baby.
The baptism looked more like some kind of wedding. There were a lot of people, a DJ and several waiters.
"Marta, I seriously can't believe this many people showed up for one little girl's baptism," Katie commented as waiters cleaned the dessert dished. "This is stunning!"
Marta beamed at the comment. "Well, my mom and Freddy's mom invited like everyone they know! Then of course I have my friends and Freddy has his. So it's turned out to be a huge bash! Angelica seems to like the attention, though," Marta noticed. Her daughter was in a friend from work's arms, gurgling at the praise she was getting.
"Okay, stop trying to say Angelica!" Freddy pressed on. "Her name's not Angelica it's Angie!"
"But… what if she doesn't like it?" Marta asked worriedly. "I want her to be normal and not have to worry about nicknames!"
"'Scuse ME, Blondie! We all have nicknames!" Zack cut in.
"Blondie's just a playful nickname, the kind you call your friends for fun," Marta explained. "But 'Angie' is a nickname that's acts more like her name."
"I have a nickname that's more like her name!" Freddy implied.
"So do I," Zack pointed out.
"Yeah! Me too!" Katie piped up. "Thank God no one calls me Kaitlyn! I say you stick with calling her Angie. It's cute and it suits her."
"It does, doesn't it?" Marta said, looking at her daughter. Dance music was turned up higher.
"There better not be Gino Beats all night," Freddy scowled. Marta dragged him up to dance. During the next couple of songs, the band mates reunited by walking to each other's tables and catching up. Apparently, Marta and Freddy were the first to get married out of the band, but Michelle, Leonard and Dewey were engaged to fiancés which they brought and Frankie had a girlfriend who he also brought. He told Zack he was hoping to propose to her sometime soon. Alicia and Summer had boyfriends, while Billy had a girlfriend. Only Zack, Katie, Lawrence, Tomika and Eleni were single from the band.
The band was all sitting at a table. The fiancés and Frankie's girlfriend sat there too, but they didn't understand any of the insiders or stories about the old band so they started talking with each other.
A slow song interrupted the group's furious "catch up conversation". Couples started to dance. The people left at the table were Zack, Katie, Laurence, Tomika, Summer, Alicia and Eleni. Alicia dragged Laurence to the dance floor while Katie was trying to do the same for Zack.
"Come ON, Zack! Old times sake!" Katie insisted.
"We danced so many times already. Just replay us dancing in your mind!" Zack joked.
Katie got up and grabbed Zack's hand. She pulled his arm. "Please?! Let's dance!"
Then a warmth filled Zack's body. It was Katie's touch, the one that always made him feel all squirmy inside. He shook it off. "Fine, ONE song." Katie grinned and they made their way to the dance floor.
Zack was a bit confused about the slow dancing. He had slow danced tons of times with friends after his and Katie's break up. But he felt like he forgot how to slow dance with HER. He awkwardly put his hands on Katie's waist. Katie felt Zack's uneasiness but didn't say anything. She placed her hands lightly on his broad shoulders.
Warmth and comfort filled Zack again. Katie always made him feel like this, even when they were dating. Every single time she touched him, whether it was her passing him something or holding his hand, he felt a flood of happiness. Slow dancing came back to Zack. It all seemed natural to him now.
Their dance was silent. Sometimes they would do the wrong step or bump elbows with a couple beside them and they'd laugh nervously. But there was a certain welcoming to their silence, as if to enjoy their first dance since the break up. The two sported smiles the whole tine.
The DJ mixed the slow dance into "Follow the Leader". The former band glanced at each other with grins, each one remembering their afternoon party started by this song. Gordon immediately marched up to the stage to sing the song in his famous Jamaican accent. A train was being formed. Angie was at the front with Dewey holding her in her arms. The song got everyone in the party mood, even Laurence was somewhere at the train dancing.
A couple more upbeat songs were followed; songs that the band would sing together.
"Mr.… Mr. DJ," the band sang. They were dancing in a circle. The DJ turned the volume down so that the band's singing could be heard. "Keep those records playing!" Zack was dancing with Katie, who was laughing and singing. He took her hand and spun her. "'Cause I'm having such a good time dancing with my baby…"
Zack and Katie broke out of the circle, agreeing to go grab some cold drinks from the mini bar.
"So, I ended up calling her back, apologizing even though I didn't mean it," Zack ended his story, squeezing the lemon into his Coke. "My roommate, Dave, made me…"
Katie laughed, stirring her own Coke. "Come on, though. 'Accidentally' pushing her into the lake? Kinda harsh!"
"Well, she shouldn't have been after me for money," Zack answered defensively. "I suppose you haven't had any little flames at your school."
"A couple…" Katie sipped her drink.
"Aw, Katie! Fess up!" Zack insisted playfully. "I told you about the girls I went out with!"
"I dunno Zack… I don't want to talk about…"
"Katie!! No fair! I told you MY stories!" Zack protested. He looked at a small plate of mixed nuts. "Don't make me throw peanuts at you!" Zack warned, grabbing a handful.
"Oh no, Zack. Not peanuts," Katie said dully. Zack laughed, putting them in an empty cup. "Well, there was this one guy named Maguire."
"Ooh, continue…"
"I thought he was pretty decent. He seemed really nice and took me on a couple of dates. Then I found out about him going out with me because he wanted to get me laid," Katie said in disgust. "I was so fricken mad when he asked me if I would 'bang him'. He was pretty drunk that night."
Zack scowled. "What's this guy's name again?"
Katie chuckled. "I see you're still the same… pretty defensive." Zack blushed. "Naw, no point getting all pissed off about this guy. It's all in the past."
"Any other guys?"
"I went on dates with guys I made friends with here and there but nothing too special," Katie answered innocently. They took their drinks and went outside. A cool, refreshing breeze welcomed them. They sat on the curb beside each other.
"That's it!?" Zack spluttered. "There's got to be more!"
Katie gulped. Zack urged her to go on. "Well… there was one other guy." Her voice trailed off.
"What happened?"
"He… he was…" Katie sighed. "He was a drug addict. Major druggie. I thought he was really nice, almost perfect. A real gentlemen to all girls. Then I found out about his… well, hobby about selling and smoking the stuff and he offered it to me..."
Zack's eyes widened. "Did you…" Katie didn't answer right away. Maybe she did do drugs… What if she changed? Zack swallowed down confidently. No, Katie wasn't the kind of girl to get involved with that stuff.
"No, I didn't touch it," Katie admitted. Zack beamed proudly at her. "That's why we broke up. It just didn't work out. I told him it was either me or the drugs. But he was already addicted, so…" Katie sighed. "I was kind of disappointed, though. I felt so… I dunno how to explain it… Like, being picked over something so stupid. Am I that unimportant?" Her eyes wandered to the pavement, sorrow filling them.
Zack put his arm around Katie in a comforting, brotherly way. "Katie, don't you ever fucking think that. You make lives better for so many people it's not even funny. No one can live without you, and it'd be so friggen different here if you were never born. Like for the band," Zack paused to grin. "We'd never have a bassist. Or me, I wouldn't have my first REAL girlfriend."
Katie smiled. "You really mean that?"
Zack swallowed nervously. "Hell yeah…"
Katie beamed. "Thanks, Zack," she said. She kissed his cheek. "Wanna go back inside."
"Yeah sure…" Zack agreed, clutching his empty cup. He got up and held his hand out to help Katie up. "Maybe they're still playing the good songs."
"Fweddie! Angie want juice!" Angie complained, pulling on her dad's pants.
"Angie, my name is DADDY! DA-DEE," Freddy said.
"Fwed-die!" Angie repeated. She burst out into giggles when her father sighed exasperatedly. He headed into the kitchen.
It had been Angie's second birthday. Marta and Freddy held a small party in their basement. It was nearly one and all the guests had gone home, except for Zack and Katie.
Freddy came back to the living room with a sippy cup. "There you go, sweetie."
"Thank you, Fweddie!" Angie thanked, sipping her juice.
Freddy sighed sitting next to his wife on the couch. "She still hasn't given up with the whole 'calling-me-Freddy' thing," he complained.
"Relax, I think it's cute!" Katie commented on a couch across Freddy and Marta. Zack was beside her.
Marta yawned. "I'm so tired," she said. "I've been decorating all night last night." She rested her head on Freddy's shoulder.
"Well your decorations turned out to look fabulous!" Katie commented.
"Not as good as the graduation party's decorations!" Marta insisted. She was talking about the graduation party Katie and Zack held together the week before. The two figured since they graduated the same year, they'd throw the same party.
"Now THAT was cool," Freddy remarked. "Silver and blue…"
Zack glanced at his watch. 1:15AM. He put his hand on Katie's knee and yawned. "I better get you home," he replied.
"Yeah, it's late," she agreed, getting up to stretch.
Angie noticed them getting up, and looked up from the Barbies she got as presents. "Shakkie and Cay-dee… go?"
Zack smiled. He loved the nickname Angie called him. It was supposed to be 'Zackie' but it came out as 'Shakkie'. He picked her up and kissed her cheek. "Yeah, it's late and Zack and Katie have to go to sleep!"
"NOW?" Angie whined. "But Shakkie and Cay-dee pway wif Angie!"
"Tomorrow, we promise," Katie vowed, moving Angie's bangs aside to kiss her forehead. "We'll play with all of Angie's new toys, okay?"
Angie smiled. "Okay!"
Katie and Zack exchanged their goodbyes with Marta, Freddy and Angie and stepped inside Zack's car. Katie was staying at her parents' house for the next few weeks before moving into her apartment, and Zack was staying at his parents' for the same reason. They did the same routine as always when they went out together: Zack left his car in his driveway and walked Katie to her porch.
---
Standing on your mama's porch
You told me that it'd last forever
---
"… when you swung her around and did the airplane thing! Too cute," Katie finished with a smile. "Angie really likes you. She won't shut up about you." She chuckled.
"Jealous are we?" Zack said with a wry smile. Katie raised an eyebrow sarcastically at him. "No, she talks about you, too. Always going on about how she wants to be just like 'Cay-Dee'," Zack reassured. "She tells me all the time."
"She wants to play the guitar, did you know?" Katie said excitedly. "That's going to be TOO cool!"
"For Christmas," Zack replied with a wink. "One of us gets the guitar and the other gets the amp."
"Deal," Katie exclaimed with a grin. "But a good guitar that's not too heavy. I don't want her to grow up with a bad back, you know? Maybe a nice acoustic to start off with would be good…"
"You make her sound like she's your kid," Zack teased. "Always worrying about this and that…"
"We're her GodPARENTS… she's kind of our kid, too," Katie pointed out thoughtfully. She put her arms around Zack's neck lovingly. Zack grinned at the warm feeling.
He softly put his strong hands on Katie's waist. "Wouldn't it be nice, though? Us… Being married, having kids…"
Katie sighed. "Yeah, to be settled down and stuff. I wouldn't complain."
"So you'd do all that with me in like… 3-4 years?"
"Well if we were still together, yeah," Katie answered.
"Do you think we will be?" Zack asked with a grin.
"Yeah," Katie said slowly. "I'm pretty sure we can last that long… And what's with all the questions?"
Zack tilted his head cockily, staring into her eyes. Katie frowned, wondering what he was thinking about. Katie saw a light of excitement in his eyes. "What?" She asked, grabbing hold of his hand.
---
And when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
---
"So you'd marry me?" Zack asked with a grin.
"Well… we've been going out for two years now," Katie replied. "Four if you count our other years. I don't know, maybe."
Zack reached into his pocket, one hand still on Katie's waist. He took out a velvety blue box and opened it easily with his thumb. A white gold ring with a dazzling diamond shined brightly, reflecting the stars. "Katie" was engraved on the inside in perfect manuscript handwriting.
"Marry me, then?" Zack asked tenderly. He waited for Katie's expression or answer or anything… just something that told him what she was thinking.
Katie took a hand from around Zack's neck to place on her mouth. She gasped quietly, her eyes widening at the sight of the gorgeous ring. "Shut… up…" Katie whispered. Seconds felt like hours to Zack. He swallowed nervously, waiting patiently for Katie's answer.
Katie pried her eyes off of the ring and looked Zack in the eye. They were expressionless; perhaps for being in awe that Zack asked such a question.
Zack's heart stopped. "She's going to say no… if it were a yes, she would have said it by now… she's going to say no, I know it… She's going to say-"
"Yes!" Katie squealed. "Yeah, I will!"
It was time for Zack to be in awe. "Seriously? You'll marry me?"
Katie laughed; tears were starting to well up in her eyes. "Yes! I will! Seriously!"
Zack placed the ring on Katie's finger. He stopped. "Hold on… is this the right hand?"
"No, this is the left," Katie answered with a laugh.
"No, I mean the right one to put the ring on?" Zack didn't know whether to grin or to blush so he did both.
Katie giggled uncontrollably. "Yes, it's this hand…" Zack slid the ring on Katie's finger.
"What a memorable proposal…" Katie laughed. "Is this the right hand? Dumbass…"
Zack laughed, placing his hands around her tiny hips. He planted a kiss on her lips. "Shut up," he said jokingly. "I was nervous."
"Sorry," Katie apologized with a grin. She placed a kiss on Zack's lips. "But even our grandchildren are going to know this one…"
"Granchildren?!" Zack asked pulling away with a smirk. "Hold on there, Posh. We gotta get married first!"
Katie laughed. "I guess I'm planning ahead a bit…"
"A bit too much," Zack finished with a grin.
Katie beamed back at him and sighed. "You know what would be more perfect?" Katie asked. "If we had a boy… then he married Angie…"
"Katie… no," Zack said between kisses on her face. "He'd be two years younger…"
"So… I'm two months older than you," Katie insisted.
"Katie…just… just no." Zack repeated. Their laughter filled the air. "I better get going…"
"But… my parents! They have to know…"
"Your dad already knows. I asked him if I could propose to you," Zack replied.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Zack said. "Usually you need the father's permission first."
Katie smiled. "Aw, we have to celebrate for sure tomorrow! We can't now since everything's closed."
"Yeah, and we'll tell the rents in the morning."
"Okay." Katie agreed. She pulled away and Zack began to walk down her porch. "Bye, Posh Spice."
"Later, Hendrix."
"Love you."
"Love you, too."
---
Those were the best days of my life…
---