A/N: I own nothing except for the OCs, so don't sue. This is a Zack Ryder/OC song-fic written for my amazing buddy Mel. I hope you like it, bud! :) The song used is "Let It Hurt" by Rascal Flatts. They own the song, not me. Reviews are very appreciated. Enjoy. :)
Let It Hurt
7:42 in the morning.
8 seconds before it all sinks in.
Put your best face on for the world.
Fake another smile and just pretend.
But you're just puttin' off the pain.
Nothing's ever really gonna change.
Two weeks and three days. That was how long it had been. How long it had been since he had snapped her heart in half and stomped it into the dust. How long it had been since she'd stopped caring. How long it had been since she died.
Mel Hearst-Helmsly sat on the bed in her hotel room. Every light in the room was off, and the only light came from the moon, which had slipped in through a crack between the slats of the blinds. The bright ray of white light struck her right in the face, making it look as though she wore a halo.
But she sure as hell didn't feel like an angel.
Mel bowed her head and raked her fingers through her thick brown hair, gouging her scalp with her fingernails. The pain was a comfort; it let her know that she was still alive, in some ways at least.
The question she kept asking herself over and over again was how someone could live when their heart had already died.
She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and glanced at the clock sitting on the nightstand. 7:42 in the morning. In exactly eight minutes she was going to have to get up, get dressed, plaster on a fake smile and act like everything was okay, when in reality her world was crumbling around her.
Two weeks and three days.
So let it hurt, let it bleed.
Let it take you right down to your knees.
Let it burn to the worst degree.
May not be what you want, but it's what you need.
Sometimes the only way around it,
Is to let love do its work.
And let it hurt.
Yeah, let it hurt.
Fifteen minutes later, Mel was showered, dressed, and all packed up. She chewed on her nails while she surveyed her room, making sure she had everything. Deep down she knew she had everything, she was just stalling for time. She was trying to avoid seeing him as long as possible.
Finally, though, there came a knock on the door, and Mel crossed the room to answer it, already knowing who was on the other side. Zack Ryder smiled brightly as soon as the door swung open, and Mel couldn't help but smile a little back, despite the depression she was currently enveloped in. Zack had a way about him that just made everything seem all right, and she found that she was extremely happy to see him.
"You all ready to go, Melly?" Zack asked, pushing past her into the room and examining her packed bags.
"Yeah, I think so," Mel answered, shutting the door behind him and turning around. If Zack noticed how the blinds were tightly drawn shut, then he didn't comment on it. Instead he walked over to the nightstand and picked up an overturned picture frame.
"Hey, you forgot something," he said, holding the picture up.
Mel felt her throat constrict when she saw the familiar dark wood frame and the picture inside. She had slammed the picture face-down on the nightstand after she had taken it out of her bag last night and sat for hours staring at it, and she had completely forgotten about it until now. The picture was one of her and him, standing in front of the Sears Tower in Chicago. They had been there on tour, and the two of them had decided to get a picture together to remember the moment. They were both making funny faces, and Mel felt the lump in her throat get larger when she saw the goofy expression on his gorgeous face. He used to make her laugh so hard when he did that...
"Mel?" Zack exclaimed, startled. "Mel, honey, what is it?" he asked, dropping the picture and hurrying across the room to her. He wrapped her in his arms and she crumpled into his chest, the tears still flowing freely down her face.
Mel just shook her head, unable to speak through the sobs that racked her body.
Zack had no idea what to do, so he did the only thing that seemed right: he held her tight.
3:28 in the morning.
Countin' up the spaces between the rain.
You're gettin' used to the rocks at the bottom.
Your heart goes numb, but the lonely stays the same.
And that's the price you're bound to pay.
And there's really nothing anyone can say.
Oh, there's only just one way.
Mel rested her head against the cool glass of the window. She gazed out into the sheet of rain that came down outside as the bus bumped along, her eyes finding familiar shapes in the haze. She stared until one of them turned into him, and then she looked away.
Zack was sitting in the seat next to her, and she smiled a bit when she saw that he had fallen asleep. His head was tilted back and his mouth was open slightly, and she had the sudden urge to reach out and brush her hand across the faint shadow of stubble on his cheeks. Mike had never had stubble, but she thought that it looked good on Zack.
Luckily, they hadn't run into Mike on their way to the bus. He was on the bus somewhere, she was sure, but Zack had kept his arm protectively around her as they got on and steered her towards the nearest empty pair of seats, so she hadn't been able to check if he was riding or not. But then she realized the oddest thing; sitting here with Zack, she didn't really care if Mike was on the bus or not. There was still a deep, hollow ache in her chest, but the constant pain she had felt for two weeks was slowly ebbing away. And it was all because of the man sleeping next to her.
So let it hurt, let it bleed.
Let it take you right down to your knees.
Let it burn to the worst degree.
May not be what you want, but it's what you need.
Sometimes the only way around it,
Is to let love do its work.
So go on.
Yeah, let it hurt.
The bus jolted, and Mel's eyes flew open. She blinked a couple of times, trying to remember where she was. Everything came rushing back to her, and that was when she realized that her head was resting on Zack's shoulder. She went to move it, but his hand slipped into her lap and grabbed her hand, and she felt a tingle run up her arm when his fingers entwined with hers. She peeked up at him out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was awake, and he was gazing down at her with a soft look in his blue eyes.
Her heart sped up, and she realized faintly that all of the pain from earlier was gone. In it's place was an emotion she had stopped feeling ever since Mike had dumped her:
Love.
"Hey," Zack whispered in her ear. "You awake?"
"Yeah," Mel whispered back, shifting her head on his shoulder so she could look into his eyes. "How long have I been sleeping."
"Not that long. We're only halfway to the next city," Zack answered, glancing up front for a moment before returning that sparkling blue gaze to her face.
"And how long have you been watching me sleep?" Mel asked, faint amusement in her voice.
Zack smiled, not at all embarrassed at being caught. "I've been watching you sleep since the moment your head fell onto my shoulder," he replied, his thumb stroking the back of her hand softly. "You looked so damn cute that I didn't have the heart to wake you."
Mel felt a blush spread across her cheeks, and then she said, "Can I ask you another question?"
"You can."
"How long have you loved me?" Mel asked, her voice very soft.
"That one's easy," Zack murmured. He bent his head down and brushed his lips gently across her forehead. "I've loved you since the first day I saw you," he breathed.
Mel tilted her head up and captured his lips with hers in a soft, tender kiss. "I've loved you since the first day I saw you too," she whispered once she broke the kiss. "And I'll love you for all my life."
Zack kissed her again, and then he murmured, "I'll love you for all my life and beyond."
Mel snuggled into his side and he put an arm around her, and the love that had been growing inside of her blossomed into a wave of warmth that swept through her body.
Two days and three weeks since I found you.
7:42 in the morning.
8 seconds before it all sinks in.
END