Chapter Two
Well, it’s been seven months since I last saw Zac in person. They were scheduled to perform on the 18th of July, one week from that day. I kept thinking to myself as the months passed by if he still remembered me, and if he was going to stop by.
To give you an idea about how much this means to me, I canceled on a show in LA, my second home, so I would be home if he dropped by.
My best friend, Bryan White, came over. I had already told him everything. "I don’t know what I’m doing, Bryan. I really don’t. I canceled on a show in LA! You know how much I love LA! But no, I have to be here IF he stops by. I don’t even know if he’s coming. I don’t know if he even remembers me."
"I’m sure he does, who could forget someone like the great Ginger Ann Stevens?" Bryan asked. I gave him a grateful smile, and let my head fall on his lap.
"My parents forgot my birthday, again," I told him. Bryan shook his head. "I can’t believe them! It’s not like this is the first time, either! They’ve done it before." The doorbell rang and I jumped up. "He wouldn’t be here now, would he? No, he’s doing a show in Atlanta today, it can’t be him."
I ran over the door and opened it. There was a guy with a letter and a velvet case in his hand, a clipboard in the other. "Ginger Stevens?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Please sign for this." He handed over the clipboard. I quickly scribbled my name, and he took it back. He left as I closed the door and went back into the living room.
"What came?"
"I don’t know." I opened the letter first. Have a nice birthday, Mom and Dad. I groaned and threw the letter at Bryan.
I opened up the circular velvet case. Diamond earrings and a necklace. "I don’t want this, give it to your mom or something. I’ll just end up selling it and give the money to my charity."
"O.K., but if tomorrow my mother’s in a coma at the hospital because of a heart attack it’s your fault." I cracked a smile.
"Bryan, am I just making a huge mistake here? Did I just cancel a show to sit around and wait or is he actually going to come?"
"Well, if he doesn’t come I’ll hunt him down and beat his sorry ass from here till next Tuesday!"
"I love you," I said, "At least I know I have someone to support me."
"Well thank you. I love you too."
"What would I do without you?"
"Find some friends that are actually girls?" he asked. I let go of him.
"Actually, Bry, I think you’re much better than having girlfriends. I don’t have to worry about you telling everyone in sight some secret I told you about."
"But you can’t talk to me about all that girl stuff…"
"I do talk to you about all that girl stuff."
"And I wish you wouldn’t!" he said, laughing. I smiled.
"I don’t even know him and I’m getting all nervous, Bryan. I met him once at a party, and then I talked to him for ten minutes."
"Well at least he stopped by to apologize for what happened." I nodded, tugging at my boy-cut shorts. They reached down of my calves.
Bryan hated them, cause he thought it made me look like a boy. But I didn’t care, I thought they were really cool.
"How come you didn’t tell me in the first place what happened."
"I don’t know, I didn’t want to talk about it. I just wanted to forget about it all. Then he came over to apologize and he was so nice. I’m sorry now that I was a little rude to him because he was so nice."
"I never saw him as being the sweet type," Bryan said. "He seemed to wacky to be sweet."
"The thing was he was totally serious. He wasn’t wacky at all. I find it so weird. Of course I wondered why after he left. He’s so different in person," I told Bryan.
Bryan absently looked at his watch. "Damn, I gotta go. Stupid dinner plans. I’ll be back tomorrow," he said.
"O.K. But at least you aren’t stuck with someone coming over and making some estranged dish." He laughed and gave me a kiss on the cheek and a hug before leaving.
Six days later and many talks from Bryan, I was ready for Zac to come. The only thing was I didn’t know when he was coming.
I sat in my living room, watching The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show on TV, waiting.
I hope he comes today, he better come today…but tomorrow will be fine, I thought. I was continuously thinking, not being able to do much of anything else. I was so nervous I barely ate.
What the hell is wrong with me? I’m sitting here like a dork when I should be in LA doing a show, waiting for someone who probably won’t even come. I’m one big huge pile of nerves right now. I couldn’t really understand why I was like nerves, I had met him before, we had a good time even though it had only been a few minutes.
The doorbell rang and I jumped up. I quickly walked to the door and calmed myself down before opening it. There stood the stupid package guy with another package for me. He had come every day for the past week.
"Hello again," he said. He handed me the clipboard and I signed. "You look beautiful today, what’s the special occasion?" He handed me a small box.
"I’m supposed to be meeting someone." He smiled and left. I opened the box, looking inside as I went back to the TV.
Diamond studded earrings and a card. I read the card first.
We’re going to be gone a few more weeks. Wear these earrings and treat yourself to dinner somewhere. Sorry that we’re going to miss your big show in New York next week. Love, mom and dad. I took the earrings and flung them across the room, letting the card fall as I put my head in my hands and cried.
I don’t cry often but they promised they would be there. They swore to they would be there. I had a huge show to do, co-designing some of the clothes.
"They promised they would be there," I whispered, tears trickling down my face. "They promised…" I lost it there. Throughout my whole life they had missed mostly everything. My butler taught me how to ride a bike, my maid picked out what I was to wear on my first date, my chauffeur accompanied me to my first show…they weren’t even parents they were just there every once in a while.
The doorbell rang again. Dammit! I yelled in my mind. I wiped my eyes quickly, and walked over to the door. I opened it and there was Zac. He immediately knew something was wrong.
"Zac!" I gulped. I had expected the package guy again.
"What’s wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," I said. "Come on in." He stepped in, but didn’t believe me.
"There’s definitely something wrong, Ginger. I’m sure you don’t look like that for no reason. Tell me." He followed me into the living room. I gave him the card that my parents sent.
"I’m doing a big show in New York next week with Donatella Versace. I’m not only modeling for many, many things, but I helped design most of the things. They promised me that they would be there, they swore they wouldn’t miss it for the world and they’re going to," I said.
I sat down on the couch and started to cry again. "Oh God, don’t cry Ginger. I don’t know what to do with you when you cry," Zac said, sitting down next to me.
Well since he didn’t know what to do, I threw my arms around him and cried on him. "It’s like they don’t even care at all. It’s all them, them, them. And it’s my money that lets them do everything that they do. I stopped caring a long time ago. And they think that they can by me off with presents and nice jewelry and new outfits that I don’t even need."
Zac didn’t really know what to say, so he put his arms around me and held me closer. His parents had always been so supportive of him and his brothers, they were all so humble and still shopped at K-mart for stuff.
"I just basically made a fool out of myself. Talk to my best friend, I’ve been a huge pile of nerves wondering if you’d come or not and now that you’re here I breakdown."
"It’s alright, Ginger. It is. I’ve been a nervous wreck wondering if you’d remember about me and if you’d be home or not." I looked up to him, still in his embrace.
"You did?"
"Yeah. I couldn’t forget about you. Taylor kept having to hit me because I wasn’t paying attention because I was thinking about you." I smiled.
"Is that why you were spacing out on Jay Leno?"
"You watched it?"
"Wouldn’t miss it," I said. "And I was doing a Cover Girl shoot when it aired and everyone had to stop so I could watch it." Zac laughed. "The thing was they didn’t mind, a few of them actually watched it with me." He laughed again. "I missed you. I’ve met you maybe twice, one in which I remember and I missed you so much."
"I missed you too." I really don’t know how it happened, but I ended up kissing him.
This was all so fast, really. I met him twice, we weren’t going out, we barely knew each other and already we were kissing. But something inside me knew this was so right.
We stayed like that for a while, holding each other tightly, gently kissing. When finally he pulled away, I continued holding him. "So, is that why you were spacing out?"
"Yeah, and I’ll be spacing out a lot more now," he said. I laughed. Yeah, this is so right, I thought.
We sat in the living room, talking for hours. Finally we were getting to know each other. We just sat there, talking for what it seemed like only 15 minutes, but it had actually been 6 hours.
"I think I should go, I’ve been here 6 hours," Zac said. It was starting to get dark out and he had a strange feeling he should be somewhere.
"I don’t want you to go, Zac," I told him, still in his embrace. I took his arms and wouldn’t let them go. "You’re staying."
"Well since I’m going to need my arms, I’ll stay." I smiled. "Is there a Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Marathon or something? It’s been on since I got here." He could see Linus walking around, looking for the Great Pumpkin.
"Yeah, it’s a marathon. I love Linus, he’s so cool," I said. He shook his head.
"Well I like Lucy the best," Zac said. I looked up at him.
"Is that why you wrote a song about her?" I asked. He nodded. Five minutes later, that episode ended, and another one started. A new one.
"A new one?" Zac asked. "Dude!" I had a strange feeling about this one. All of a sudden the TV said, A Brand New Episode Inspired by the Hanson song, Lucy.
Zac’s mouth dropped. I got up and put a tape in. "Might as well tape it. You can show it to your brothers," I said, setting up the VCR quickly and pressing record.
We sat in silence as we saw a full hour of Charlie Brown and the gang with the title The Day I Left Lucy. Not only did they play the song, but the whole show was based on the song.
When it was over, Zac was totally shocked. "O.K., now I can think that we’re famous," he said. "It’s not everyday that your song goes on Charlie Brown and Snoopy."
I smiled and held onto his arms. Strange that I had been in his arms the whole entire day. We hadn’t moved at all, except for me getting up to pop the tape in the VCR. I grabbed the remote in my lap and pressed stop.
We sat there in silence watching yet another episode of Charlie Brown. I sat realizing how stressful my week had been. I didn’t have to do any shows but just not being able to eat, I hadn’t slept at all, waiting for Zac to come and there he was. It seemed so wonderful, I never wanted it to end.
"Zac, where are you going to be the 30th?" I asked, the sudden thought of my big show popping in my head.
"New York. We have to do a concert there the 31st and we normally get there a few days early because Tay loves that city." I smiled.
"Are you doing anything the 30th?"
"No, probably not. We may go out to eat or something."
"Can you come to my show? I co-created most of the new outfits," I said, rather proudly.
"Sure! I would love to come to one of your shows. But if I go you have to go to my concert the next day."
"I already have tickets and backstage passes." He laughed.
"Oh really? Where are you sitting? I could get you better seats if they’re not that great."
"Second row center on the floor," I said.
"I’ll be looking for you there."
"I’ll be looking for you at my show. But I’ll have to get back to you later on that. I’ll get you on the catwalk, trust me, next to the photographers."
"Strange, both of us have very good access to things. Put us together and we could probably get into anywhere." I smiled again. "Well, we could!"
"I’m really big in New York. A lot of people know me there. Whenever I go I end up getting good free stuff. Last time I went a few weeks ago, I got a free dinner."
"And I’m sure you ate them out of house and home," he kidded. He knew I didn’t eat all that much. I rolled my eyes.
"No, but my boyfriend did."
"What?" he asked.
"Kidding, I’m kidding Zac. Don’t worry, I’m totally free right now." He let out his breath.
"Good." I sighed, and went back to my show.
Zac woke up, and saw that it was morning outside. I was still in his embrace, still asleep. He gently shook me, trying to wake me up. I opened my eyes, and looked up to him, smiling.
"You know my mom’s going to kill me when I get home."
"Well then give me a kiss before you die," I told him. He gave me a gentle kiss, and then let me go. I got up, and pulled him up. He only fell back onto the couch.
"My legs are asleep," he said. I laughed, and lightly kicked his legs.
"Wake up!" I told them. He laughed, and waited a few minutes to regain the feeling. Then he got up. "Goodbye," I told him. He gave me another kiss. Strange, he was taller than me and I’m 5’10. "You’re really tall."
"I know, but then again, so are you."
"That’s why I’m a model."
"No, you’re a model because you’re absolutely beautiful," he said, kissing me a final time before taking his tape and leaving. He strolled down the street at a leisurely pace, getting home somewhere around a half an hour later.
When he walked in the door he was slapped by his mother in front of his older brothers. "Where the hell have you been?" she screamed. He took a step back. She was fuming, worse than when she found out about the New Year’s incident.
"Um, out in an alley somewhere downtown?" he suggested.
"Don’t even try to make jokes because you are in so much trouble right now it’s not even funny. I don’t know where you went, you come back the next morning and to top it all off you missed a photo shoot last night!"
A hand went over Zac’s mouth. "Oh my God I totally forgot about that!" he said through his hand.
"Yes you did, where were you?"
"I went over to Ginger’s house," he said, still through his hand. Diana got pissed. She took his hand off his mouth and threw it down, telling him to repeat himself. "I went to Ginger’s house."
"You went to a girl’s house? You spent the night at a girl’s house?" Diana asked. She was now way off the pissed scale. "And a girl you’ve slept with before?"
"Well, yeah…but nothing happened! I can swear to you that nothing happened. We watched a Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show Marathon and they made a new show based on my song. She recorded it for me too, see?" he rambled, holding up the tape.
"They did?" she said, smiling. Her anger faded away when she realized how nervous Zac was. He was never nervous so she could tell he was telling the truth. Zac nodded. She took the tape and went over to the VCR. Zac let out his breath, happy she hadn’t killed him.
Diana watched the whole tape, surprised and actually very proud. It’s not every day your son has a song he’d written by himself on the Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show.
Taylor and Isaac walked over to Zac somewhere in the middle of the tape. "You really lucked out, didn’t you?" Tay asked. Zac nodded, still in a state of shock that his mother let him go.
When the tape was over Zac decided she had enough time to calm down so he could approach her for the fashion show proposal. "Uh, mom, I was wondering if when we went to New York, we could sort of see Ginger in a fashion show," he slowly and lowly said, and then sped up his voice. "But we don’t have to go if you don’t want me to."
"Of course, Zac. You can go. So, she’s a model, huh?" Zac nodded. "You are so predictable, Zac."
"Why?" he asked.
"Going for a model?" Taylor walked in the room.
"Zac’s going out for modeling? Isn’t music enough, mom?" Tay asked. She laughed, and shook her head.
"No, Ginger’s a model," Zac said, rolling his eyes. "And she said I’m too young to be one anyways."
"How old is she that she can be a model?"
"She just turned 14, but they accept female models earlier than male. And she said they would pick me apart. Cut my hair and make me lose about fifty pounds. I rejected it the second she said they would have to cut my hair."
Diana laughed. "You and your hair. Which needs to be washed so go upstairs and take a shower." Zac stood straight and saluted to her, then ran up the stairs. "God, he’s insane."
"I would think so," Taylor said. "You scared him to death yelling at him when he walked in the door."
"When did you become the boss of this house?" Diana asked him.
"Never," he weakly said. She shook her head.
"I want you to go upstairs and brush your hair, it looks like a rat’s nest." Taylor groaned. "If you don’t start taking better care of it you’ll have to cut it."
"NO!" he yelled.
"Then go brush it." He groaned again and walked up the stairs.
Chapter Three
Chapter Index