Manage Me
I'm Stuck on a Boy
A few hours later, I was sipping wine and watching Titanic when I heard a knock.
“Come in.” I said feebly.
Zack walked in.
“Oh...hi Zack...” I said awkwardly. Our last interaction had been him grunting a “thanks” to me for driving him home, accompanied by a hard glare.
“Hey Brooke...can I sit?” he asked.
“Oh, uh, sure.” I said, moving some magazines and clothes that were strewn across the end of my bed.
He sat down, bouncing a little bit.
“So, what’s up?” I asked cautiously.
“Calm down, I’m not Alex’s hit-man. On second thought, I could be.” Zack said, glancing at his bulging biceps. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Anyway. Alex told us what happened, according to him, and Jack and Rian are pretty pissed off. But I saw how upset you were that one night at Bamboozle, when Alex cheated, and even though a lot’s changed, I still would like to hear your side of the story.” When he finished talking, he smiled.
“Really?” I asked, my face brightening.
“Yeah.” he nodded.
“Okay, well, I really missed Alex, but I didn’t want to cheat because I actually do love him. So I started hanging out with Kara and Lisa and Jess and Annie and the other girls. My roommate from college, Nicki, contacted me one day and we talked and we planned to go out drinking. I left her alone with my purse when I went to the bathroom and when I came back, she was putting my phone back into my purse. She told me she was just checking the weather and I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think she would do anything like this.” I started crying. “She must’ve sent that to him and deleted it so I wouldn’t know about it.” I whispered brokenly.
Zack hugged me and let me lean on his shoulder. He smelled nice, like clean laundry, but nothing like Alex’s scent of Axe.
“God, that’s fucked up.” Zack whispered.
“Do you believe me?” I choked.
“I do, but Alex is still hurt. It’s going to take a while to convince him and the guys that you didn’t do anything.” he told me.
“I know. I should’ve known. She’d been asking about him and I know she knew who he was,but Jesus Christ...” I ranted.
“I know.” Zack whispered, rubbing my back.
He hugged me and when we broke apart, I looked up into his eyes. The color of them was unexplainable. So different than Alex’s chocolate brown ones, but equally as intense. Before I knew what I was doing, we were both leaning in.
He touched his lips to mine softly and broke away. I kissed him again, harder this time, wrapping my arms around his neck. I heard my door open, but I didn’t care.
“Brooke, I wanted to apologi--what the fuck?!” Alex asked angrily.
“Come in.” I said feebly.
Zack walked in.
“Oh...hi Zack...” I said awkwardly. Our last interaction had been him grunting a “thanks” to me for driving him home, accompanied by a hard glare.
“Hey Brooke...can I sit?” he asked.
“Oh, uh, sure.” I said, moving some magazines and clothes that were strewn across the end of my bed.
He sat down, bouncing a little bit.
“So, what’s up?” I asked cautiously.
“Calm down, I’m not Alex’s hit-man. On second thought, I could be.” Zack said, glancing at his bulging biceps. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Anyway. Alex told us what happened, according to him, and Jack and Rian are pretty pissed off. But I saw how upset you were that one night at Bamboozle, when Alex cheated, and even though a lot’s changed, I still would like to hear your side of the story.” When he finished talking, he smiled.
“Really?” I asked, my face brightening.
“Yeah.” he nodded.
“Okay, well, I really missed Alex, but I didn’t want to cheat because I actually do love him. So I started hanging out with Kara and Lisa and Jess and Annie and the other girls. My roommate from college, Nicki, contacted me one day and we talked and we planned to go out drinking. I left her alone with my purse when I went to the bathroom and when I came back, she was putting my phone back into my purse. She told me she was just checking the weather and I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think she would do anything like this.” I started crying. “She must’ve sent that to him and deleted it so I wouldn’t know about it.” I whispered brokenly.
Zack hugged me and let me lean on his shoulder. He smelled nice, like clean laundry, but nothing like Alex’s scent of Axe.
“God, that’s fucked up.” Zack whispered.
“Do you believe me?” I choked.
“I do, but Alex is still hurt. It’s going to take a while to convince him and the guys that you didn’t do anything.” he told me.
“I know. I should’ve known. She’d been asking about him and I know she knew who he was,but Jesus Christ...” I ranted.
“I know.” Zack whispered, rubbing my back.
He hugged me and when we broke apart, I looked up into his eyes. The color of them was unexplainable. So different than Alex’s chocolate brown ones, but equally as intense. Before I knew what I was doing, we were both leaning in.
He touched his lips to mine softly and broke away. I kissed him again, harder this time, wrapping my arms around his neck. I heard my door open, but I didn’t care.
“Brooke, I wanted to apologi--what the fuck?!” Alex asked angrily.
Notes
Title: Your Song, Kate WalshBrooke, no! :O Alex was going to apologize to you! Prepare for some sad Alexness next chapter :( and also some sexyy timesss. It's definitely my favorite chapter.
Thanks to:
SaraBethGaskarth
wallflower343
tragic_ending
str4ightuphustl3r
and of course, NewKidOnAnOldBlock and SociallyAwkwardRocker
you guys get just as excited about this story as I do and it's so cool!
I've been stumbling across stories I've read, and checking them out again since I seem to forget them after it's been a while. This was one of those cases.
Reading this again, and after reading other stories on here and Mibba, I've realized that with my last comment, I was a bit off. Yes, Brooke and Alex's relationship was cute when they were together/sweet to each other, but reading it again, their relationship was a bit abusive. Neither is completely innocent, but the version of Alex you wrote in this took it to the next level. I realize a lot of it was because of his insecurities, what he dealt with in the past, etc., but Brooke didn't deserve any of that. When she did mess up, she definitely didn't take her anger to the levels he did.
Idk, I'm conflicted because again, when they were together, it was cute, but then it just got sad when they weren't. I'm not sure why she put up with as much as she did.
Your writing is still good, though. Just wish they didn't have so many downs in their relationship. It got really sad at a lot of points, and I just felt Alex didn't need to take it to the degree he did, I mean really.
I doubt you saw my other comment, but just thought I would comment again as an update and to possibly get you to see it.
11/19/17