I was munching down on my waffles, talking to the rest of the guys, when Ava's face turned from cheerful...to rather nervous and grave. What was going on through her head? She was on her phone, but her eyes were wandering else where.

"Ava, you good?" I asked genuinely. Corbyn looked at her as well and sadly I noticed the hint of concern he had on his face. It wasn't just the friendly concern. It was the concern. I focused back on Ava and she tried to cover up her emotions, "Yeah, I'm totally fine! How are the waffles?" She said, shoving her phone in her...well technically my sweat pant's pocket. 

"They are amazing! Is it your recipe?" Daniel asked. She nodded, smiling a bit. Ugh, that smile. Priceless. I kept eating, but I wanted to know what was going on. Was something really wrong? I soon finished my waffles and put my plate and stuff in the dishwasher. I really wanted to know what had happened. I went over to Ava and whispered to her, "Hey can I talk to you...privately?" 

She nodded and I led the way to the living room. I turned around and saw a rather nervous Ava, "Why are you so nervous?" I asked her. She shrugged and looked down, blushing out of embarrassment. I lifted her chin with my finger and looked her right in the eyes, more worried than before. Her eyes were showing the same emotion as mine were...this wasn't good.

"Are. You. Okay." I asked very serious. She looked towards the floor again, breaking our strong eye contact. I could see her eyes become shiny and tears form. I began to panic. I didn't know it was that bad!

"No I'm not Zach!" She said, hugging me tightly, burying her head in my chest, "I didn't tell my parents I was over here, even worse... that I was going to spend the night! I have about a million missed calls from my mom and my best friend Olivia, who lives in Minnesota, and piles and piles of messages. But that's not what's worrying me..." She was just rambling on, but now she could barely get a word out of her mouth. 

"What is worrying you Ava?" I asked, squeezing her a little more, trying to comfort her, "I have no notifications from my dad. My parents they..." Her voice was trembling and breaking. This was painful to watch, but she had to tell me. I need her to feel she can trust me. 

"They haven't been on good terms and what if something really bad happened last night!!" She said shouting now in order to get it out. The boys heard and rushed in frightened. When they saw Ava bawling her soul out, they ran over and joined the hug. Corbyn looked me in the eyes with a "can I hug her" look. I mouthed "fine" and let go of Ava and she looked so helpless. Her whole face was wet and she was gasping for air.

"Ava! Come here darling," Corbyn said while embracing her tightly. He picked up her legs, wrapping them around his waist and her arms around his neck. They looked good together. He had a shot with her. Me on the other hand...I would probably just be the best friend.

Ugh I hate being friend zoned.

But I have to abide by our rule "No fighting over girls." If he makes his move, I can't step in. This was going to be very difficult. I began to think and Ava should leave if her mom wants her home. I didn't want her to go, but it was the wisest choice.

"Hey guys...I think Ava should go home. Her mom wants her back home," I said quickly. They all nodded and Ava sniffed a little and wiped her tears, taking in big deep breaths. "You're right Zach, I need to go. Thank you all so much. You don't even know how amazing this was." 

She hugged each one of us and showed no favoritism, just hugs. No one got hugged longer than another, all the same. I kind of liked it so I didn't have to be jealous of one of the guys or vice versa. 

"Do you want one of us to drive you Aves?" Jack asked, still concerned for her. She shook her head no, "I've been a burden enough. I'll just call an uber," She said with a calm and soothing tone. It was raining outside now. I thought the rain was okay, as long as I wan't forced into it, but it always set that one mood, where you don't really want to do anything...but watch it.

Rain was a rather graceful thing. It could be soft and misty or thunderous and powerful. It determined the future if you think about it. Shapes the Earth. The plants. Our homes. Cities. Lakes. Rivers. Everything. I liked to sit on the front porch with one of the guys when it was raining. We could just have a one on one talk with the rain setting the background music. 

Ava was long gone now and the rain only got more intense. I took Jack out to the front and we talked seriously a little bit. About Gabbie, his girlfriend, and about Ava and I did end up telling him about my crush on her.

"You've bullied her for years and now, only a day after being friends with her, you're already in love?! This has got to be a new record for our little Zachy-poo," He said pinching my cheek playfully while I laughed a little at myself, "But on a serious note...be careful. She's been hurt. She is currently in a lot of pain. Just don't rush into something you don't know a lot about. You wanna have a real relationship with her right?" He asked me. I nodded my head confidently.

"Then you have to put real effort into it. Gabbie and I have taken things seriously. We have never had sex and we don't plan to until marriage so that we don't make mistakes we'll regret. I recommend you to do the same, especially if you end up being with Ava. Just...wait a little okay?" He said, finishing his "lecture". 

He was totally right though. Smart Jack. I nodded and looked out into the rain. Then I got a pretty fun idea. "Let's go play in the rain," I said smiling childishly. Jack's smile grew as well. He ran into the rain with me and we began singing out "Fallin'", one of our songs on our new album, at the top of our lungs while dancing around.

It felt good to just frolic in the rain, freely. We could be ourselves. This kind of stuff is what I lived for. Being with one of my best friends on the planet just having fun being kids again. When you're "famous", you're forced to grow up. There's no time to be a kid. You need to write more songs. You need to deal with the hate you'll doubtlessly get no matter what. You need to tell your fans every single little detail about your life...

No doubt. 

Being well known across the globe was no walk in the park...