"Hey baby, how are you feeling?" Zac asked into the phone about a week and a half later from a hotel room in Jersey. It was the first chance he really had to call home, at least when he knew Bronwyn would be there, and the first thing he did was call his girlfriend. She sounded better already and all she'd said was hello.
"Hey Zac," Bronwyn said. "I'm better. I've still got a cough but everything else is gone."
"That's good," Zac said. "You sound much better."
"Yeah. So, how's the tour going? Did you guys start playing shows already?" Zac sat back against the headboard of the bed in his hotel room. Nobody else was in there currently, which was a rare thing, but it was greatly appreciated that he had some time to talk to his girlfriend.
"It's good," Zac said. "We've done two shows already and they were a lot of fun. We've actually got one to do tonight. We've still got a lot of dates left to do but I'm looking forward to it. Being on tour is my favorite part of this job."
"Oh," Bronwyn said. "Really?"
"Yeah, I mean the intensity of playing live and being in front of a crowd, all eyes on you�it's an awesome thing. I can't really describe it, but I love it. If it were up to me we'd be touring for a lot longer than two months." He suddenly picked up the disappointment in Bronwyn's voice. "But of course it would be a million times better if you were with me, Wynn."
"Yeah, right," she said. "Like that could ever happen."
"It could happen!"
"No it won't," Bronwyn said, laughing. "So, anyway, how was your night out with the boys when you were in town? Since I haven't even spoken to you since then�"
"Oh come on, Wynn, I've been so incredibly busy here. This is the first time I've even been able to breathe and I'm using it to call you," he said. "But it was, uh, it was okay."
"Just okay?"
"Hey, did you ever meet the new guy Ben?" Zac asked. To Bronwyn it sounded like he was changing the subject, but he was doing anything but.
"Yeah, I met him," Bronwyn said. "I didn't get to meet him before you did, but yeah. Why?"
"I was just wondering," he said. "He was out with us at the club and he and I were talking. Um, did you know that he was gay when you met him?" He could hear the smile on Bronwyn's face.
"Yes, I did."
"How did you know?" Zac asked.
"Well, duh, Zac!" she said. "I mean, he's the best dresser I've met since Taylor, although Taylor's just weird that way, he said he liked my shoes, and I totally saw him checking out the waiter at the coffee place."
"Oh," Zac said.
"Did you not know?"
"No! I didn't! I spent two hours with that kid and I had no idea! I even spent time alone with him and I didn't know�then Jayden was like 'hey, don't be checking anybody out in the bathroom' and it confused me, so I asked."
"Zac, you would be confused."
"What's that supposed to mean? I'm not confused!" Bronwyn groaned.
"Zac, you should really let it go. Ben's a nice guy."
"Yeah, whatever," Zac said. "I'm sure he is." The door opened and Taylor walked inside.
"Zac, we gotta go." Zac nodded.
"Okay, just a sec," Zac said. "Wynn, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, all right?" Bronwyn agreed and Zac quickly got off the phone with her. He got up and walked out of the room with his older brother Taylor. Zac bit his lip as they left the hotel room; Bronwyn liked Ben too. Everybody liked Ben. He had to admit that before he knew Ben was gay, he liked him too.
It just pissed him off that his friends didn't mention it. He wasn't homophobic, he was damn far from it, but they kept it from him. He had a right to know. He especially had a right to know that Ben thought he was hot. He shivered. Just the thought of that made his gut wrench.
"Hey, Zac, are you okay?" Taylor asked. Zac looked up. They were downstairs in the lobby already and he didn't even remember getting in the elevator.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Zac said.
"You seem a little spacey."
"I was just thinking." Taylor nodded and they walked out of the hotel. Zac's mind began to wander again and Taylor noticed.
"About what?" Taylor asked, a few minutes later.
"Well�" Zac said, "it's just we're gone so much I think I'm really starting to lose touch with my friends, you know? I mean when we went home they had a whole new friend that they didn't even tell me about."
"Oh, really? A new friend? Imagine that, what with people constantly coming and going, how could they possibly meet someone new?"
"Your sarcasm is not appreciated, Taylor," Zac said, shaking his head. "It just bothers me that I went home and they're all completely comfortable with this Ben guy and I'd never even met him before."
"Well do you not like him?"
"No�" Zac said, shaking his head. "He's an okay guy."
"Then what's the big deal? They made a new friend! We make new friends all the time." Zac sighed. He's gay. That's the big deal.
"I don't know. It's just weird." They got into a car and drove over to the arena. Zac was still spacey, thinking about Ben and his friends. He was still pissed off.
Zac was sitting backstage at the arena after sound check when the publicist Sheila, a short, green eyed brunette with stunning hair and a casual suit, walked up to him with a phone in her hand. He was drumming on his legs with his drumsticks, enjoying the few moments he had alone before he had to deal with the rest of the hectic life that was backstage before a show.
"Zac, I just off the phone with someone from Calvin Klein," she said.
"Really? Hey, good luck with that." She gave him a look. "Sorry. Why?"
"They want to use you in an upcoming ad. Apparently they saw your last TV appearance and they think you'd be great." Zac raised an eyebrow.
"Me? That's kind of Taylor's area," Zac said, looking at Sheila skeptically. "I mean he's the one who's got the whole 'model' look."
"But they want you." Zac was still skeptical about it. "It would be great. It's nothing big, just a couple of photos for their next ad in a few magazines. It's not like you're selling underwear or anything. They want you in a T-shirt and jeans."
"But Ike and Taylor won't be there?" She shook her head.
"No, they only asked for you."
"Then I'm not going to do it. We don't do things like that by ourselves."
"You were in that music video by yourself," she said. "It's not like they're asking you to stop music and become a model. It's just a photo shoot. It'll take an afternoon, if that. Two hours." Zac sighed. "It'll be fun and it's very good pay."
"Fine�" Zac said, groaning. "I'll do it."
"Great! I'll call them back. They'll probably do it on a day off so you don't miss any work." Zac sighed.
"Yeah, great�" he muttered.
"Zac! Let's go!" Taylor yelled. Zac got up and ran off, slightly upset.
It wasn't until a few days later that Zac got enough time off to do his photo shoot. He was so used to doing these sorts of things with his brothers that he felt completely uncomfortable. For one thing, he had to fly out alone to New York in the morning because the shoot was an on location shoot. When he told his brothers what he was doing they told him it was a great thing, a good opportunity even, but both of them were obviously pissed off. Taylor couldn't even look at him for a really long time. Everyone knew that this was something that Taylor was supposed to be doing; everyone figured that if anybody would get offered to do an ad for Calvin Klein it would be Taylor. Nobody expected it to be Zac. It was disappointing.
When Zac got off the plane Sheila was with him, but he still felt out of place without his brothers around. "Oh, there she is. Liz, over here!" Sheila waved at a tall blonde woman in jeans and a T-shirt, who noticed Zac immediately and waved back. Sheila walked up to her and said hello, Zac trailing behind. "Zac, don't be shy, come up here and say hello." Zac stepped up to Liz, giving Sheila a look.
"Hi," Zac said.
"Nice to meet you, Zac," she said, shaking his head. "So, are we all set? Can we go?" Zac nodded, looking at Sheila.
"Yes, we're good," she said. "Let's go." The three of them left the airport and got into a cab.
"So the shoot is very basic," Liz said. "Most of the time is just going to be getting set. We'll shoot for maybe an hour, if that, just so we have a nice variety of what we want. It's an ad for jeans so we'll stick you in a pair, maybe with a wifebeater, or an open shirt, maybe no shirt at all�"
"Whoa," Zac said. "Nobody said anything about me not having a shirt on."
"Don't worry, we're just trying to make you look sexy. Sexy sells." Oh my God, Zac thought.
"Just not too much, all right?" Zac asked. "My mother's going to see this." Liz laughed a little bit. "I'm serious! It's bad enough I have to do this alone, now we're talking about not wearing a shirt? Come on�"
"Calm down, Zac," Sheila said. "They won't do anything to make you uncomfortable. It's just a harmless photo shoot." Zac crossed his arms. It already makes me uncomfortable, he thought.
When they arrived on location Zac was brought almost immediately into a trailer. Liz and Sheila went in with him. Zac noticed towards the back two racks of clothes, all for him. He smiled a bit upon seeing it but was sat down in a chair by Liz, where he saw two women standing there that he hadn't noticed before. "Kathy and Kelly will take care of your hair and makeup and then we'll worry about what you're going to wear. We're selling a particular kind of jeans so you don't have a say in that, but don't worry, they're just jeans."
"Whatever," Zac said.
"Zac, be nice," Sheila said. Zac groaned. "I'm sorry about him." Liz smiled.
"He's not as bad as Julia Roberts," she said, shrugging. Zac looked at himself in the mirror as Kathy and Kelly worked to make him absolutely flawless and somewhat rugged. Although he was never a fan of wearing makeup, he did like how defined he looked and he loved the way Kathy styled his hair. It was a rugged bed-head mess, but it was a controlled mess and that was what made it look good.
The door opened and a man with a camera whom Zac could only place as the photographer walked in the room. "Hey Zac," he said. "I'm Ben, I'm the photographer." Zac looked over immediately upon hearing his name, but felt a bit of disappointment to see it definitely wasn't the Ben he knew. Of course he knew it couldn't possibly be Ben Fletcher, but for a moment there was a possibility.
"Yeah, I kind of figured from the camera," Zac said, gesturing to the camera around his neck. Zac extended his hand to the photographer, who took it. "Nice to meet you."
"I just thought I should introduce myself before the shoot started," Ben said. "Liz, have we decided on wardrobe yet?"
"No," Liz said. "We were just about to."
"All right, well I'll let you get to that. See you in a few." Ben left and Liz took Zac out of the chair and brought him to the other side of the trailer. After checking the tag on the jeans he was wearing (which Zac though was rude; she could have just asked what size he was), she handed him a pair of jeans.
"Try these on," she said. He went behind a curtain and put them on. "Do they fit?"
"They're kind of tight," Zac said, walking back out to where Liz and Sheila were standing. Liz looked at him.
"Great! They're supposed to be tight. Take off your shirt and let me look at them." Zac made a face but pulled off his shirt. "Perfect!" Liz said, moving behind him. "Ooh, nice ass."
"Excuse me?" Zac asked.
"I think you look fine just like that," Liz said. "Without the shirt."
"I don't think so," Zac said, self consciously running his hand over his bare stomach.
"Oh, come on, you have an awesome body."
"No!" Liz groaned.
"Fine, you can put on a shirt. How about this, we do some pictures with a wifebeater, and we do some pictures with an open shirt, and maybe one or two without a shirt at all."
"No not wearing a shirt!" Zac yelled.
"Fine."
"Okay," Zac said. "That's better." Liz got him a white wifebeater and he put it on.
"What size shoe are you?" she asked.
"Why don't you just look in my shoe and find out?" Sheila shot him a look. "I'm sorry. Eleven." Liz looked through the collection of shoes and handed Zac a pair.
"Put these on." He sat down and put them on. Liz turned and walked out of the trailer, muttered. "Jesus, Julia Roberts was easier to work with." Sheila crossed her arms in front of Zac and he looked up at her.
"What?"
"You could cooperate a little more, you know," she said.
"Oh come on, I'm not going out there without my shirt on! It's just not me! I don't do that sort of thing."
"Then why the hell do you have a body like that?" Sheila asked. Zac stood up.
"So my girlfriend can see it in the privacy of my own bedroom, all right? I didn't do it so it can be laid out in magazines all around the country! It's bad enough I'm wearing jeans that are hugging places I don't want to be hugged." Zac looked at himself in the mirror. "Are these chick pants?"
"No, they're not," Sheila said. "They're a new line of jeans for men based on the latest design of jeans for women."
"Oh my God I'm wearing chick pants!"
"No you're not! They need a nice masculine face to sell masculine jeans! Stop being difficult, Zac. This is a good thing. Your face in this ad will help sell records, people will want to come on tour to see the hot new Zac and a sexy six pack will help that out!"
"I don't have a sexy six pack." Sheila lifted up his shirt and looked at his stomach.
"Then what the hell is that, a lighting trick?"
"Well the lighting helps," Zac said, pulling his shirt back down. "I'm going outside." Zac turned and walked out of the trailer. Outside the sun was high and Zac felt a little more self-conscious to see the various people around. Kathy was there with her finishing spray and Kelly had a makeup sponge for touch ups. Ben was speaking with Liz and looked over.
"Zac! Hey!" he said. "Come on over, you look amazing."
"Thanks," Zac said. He walked over. He tried to put his hands in his pockets but upon realizing they were too tight, he gave up.
"We'll start in a minute, they just have to finish with the lighting." Zac looked over. The "set" was only a curb, sidewalk, and a chain link fence in front of an office building. Being Sunday, there wasn't anybody in the office building and since the set was pretty much closed, there was nobody walking around either.
"All right, Zac, let's go." Zac walked onto the set and leaned up against the fence. Photo shoots were always annoying on some level. He was definitely not a model. He took direction as much as possible but the whole idea was just so stupid. He had a male photographer yelling at him, telling him to "look cool" and "be sexy" when he felt anything but cool. He had makeup on his face and shit all up in his hair, he was wearing chick inspired jeans and a shirt he'd never really go out in public in.
"Zac, sit down on the curb," Ben said and reloaded his camera.
"Why don't we try this roll with the open shirt instead of the wifebeater?" Liz asked. Zac looked over and she had a white short-sleeved dress shirt on a hanger in her hand. She swung it back and forth a bit and Zac groaned.
"Fine," Zac said. He pulled off his shirt and Ben looked over.
"You know, it's actually pretty good without the shirt at all." Zac gave him a look.
"No." Zac handed over the wifebeater and put on the dress shirt. "Is this okay for you? Am I sexy enough?"
"Yes," Liz said, looking at him. "Yes, you are." Zac shook his head and walked over to the curb. As he turned he saw Liz turn to Sheila and fan her face, mouthing "So hot." Sheila nodded.
"I'm seventeen fucking years old," Zac muttered as he sat down on the curb and put a hand to his head.
"That's good!" Ben said. "Stay exactly like that. Stay pissed off." Ben took a few shots and Zac nearly shook his head. He didn't have a problem staying pissed off, at least with Liz and Sheila around.