- The sound of his laughter was familiar and calming... as was expected for a friendship that had lasted as long as theirs. Loren smiled and joined in her own melodic chimes to his, her fingers brightening, sparks flying; every time she was around him, the air became charged with freedom. She didn't care about anything but the two of them and their friendship, whenever Zac was around. When he was around, everything clicked into place... the way friendship was meant to be. Sometimes, you meet friends, close friends, even best friends... but rarely do you meet a soulmate. Someone who brought the world into line again, and things like hunger didn't matter, because hope was real, and you found it in someone else's smile. It was so simple. And that was why Loren often avoided the question of "What if that's not the whole story?", because if she had to be honest, she would have to admit the truth: that this 'friendship' with Zac was threatening to take a very bold turn, for both of them. As cliche as it was, a friendship like theirs couldn't be sacrificed. If she could settle for teasing and the pretense of mere friendship, then Loren figured Zac could, too.
Soulmate, or no soulmate, he was talking to her, and Loren shoved the quick analysis of the flying elation that occurred whenever Zac was around, redirecting her focus to him. "Let's get straight to the point. Why does your roommate think you're a stalker cat?" he teased as he began to walk towards the other end of the room, most likely to his closet, for whatever reason. For a second, Loren's heartbeat raced ahead of her mind. Is he going to change or something? Oh my God, is he going to take his shirt off? Can I turn around? Would that be weird? But of course, he wasn't; he opened the closet to reveal his electric guitar and its amp. In her quick and thick relief, Loren forgot to listen to his explanation, but it didn't matter. It was something about his roommate; perhaps he was having as much weirdness with him as she was having with Addison.
Loren shrugged her shoulders and daintily fell into the seat Zac had been sitting on. She yawned and began to stretch, even letting a quick "Meow," come from her lips to mock the whole cat situation even further. "I don't know," she answered as Zac began to set his electric guitar up, "It may be my mind reading. She made a rather uncalled for comment about how I reminded her of her cat... and how she hated the thing for always snooping on her." She snorted and continued, while ignoring her embarrassment at snorting unintentionally in front of Zac, "You know I try to refrain from reading people's minds; I'm not that sort of girl. Besides," she shuddered shortly, "people think scary thoughts. I'd rather not get dive into that willingly."
During her mild rant, Zac had been setting up efficiently, as he was used to doing. At the very end of her little speech, he turned on the amp and said, "So, what do you think of Dearly Departed by Young Guns? It's got a good drum beat and guitar rhythms. Which would you like to take?"
"Young Guns? Is that a song your parents would want you listening to, because it sounds awfully-"
"Actually," he continued, "I'll put it on, you can see which you prefer."
She was about to open her mouth and continue with a lecture of her own, when he looked at her over his shoulder and gave her the grin that always left her silent. He had a knack for giving her that beaming smile when she was about to scold him; he must know how it affected her. Otherwise, he would never do it at such convenient times so consistently. But then again, Zac had a boyish, lucky charm about him that ended up doing things that got him exactly what he wanted... without even knowing it. She shook her head at him and pursed her lips in mock disapproval and he began playing his air guitar with such sudden childish abandon, Loren burst out in laughter. "Come on, then!" he beckoned, becoming more and more dramatic and intense with his air guitar as the seconds passed, the song blaring from his iPod dock, "Come on, don't make me look like a fool!"
His laugh and enthusiasm and that terrible headbanging of his was infectious. With a little squeal of her own, Loren got to her feet beside him and grabbed the closest item, which happened to be a drumstick. She began lip-syncing into it, mouthing the words as accurately as she could. When she figured out the chorus, she burst into actual song, tilting her head back and belting out without giving a single thought to how her voice actually sounded. "I wanna be the last thing that you see," she sang to Zac, swaying her hips and turning to him, beckoning for him to come over with her hand, "Be my dearly departed." The two were making an absolute fool of themselves, but at the moment, Loren didn't really care. She never did, when Zac was around. With him, it was always about the fun. It was always about being happy. It was always about the two of them, being happy together.
He flopped onto the bed once the song ended, laughing. Loren joined him on the bed and in laughter, the last burst coming out in a contented sigh. "Head rush!" he exclaimed as the next song began playing. Now this song was familiar. Her brother Adam had played this a couple of times before, in another life from long ago. She hummed along and watched Zac pick up the drumsticks, one of them still warm from her own sweaty palm gripping onto it. Oops, Loren thought, a little embarrassed at how tired she was after their little concert. She always had too much fun around him; her forehead was already slightly damp from her jumping and dancing, and she had just showered. But it was worth it, to see him smile and allow her to play his electric guitar. She worshiped the thing. She wanted to name it, actually, but had never asked Zac specifically. It was his, after all.
She nodded gravely and took the electric guitar and began fumbling around with the chords until she found the right ones. "I'm readier than you are," she teased, exaggerating as she tossed her hair over her shoulder.