He noticed this, obviously, and checked around him for any sign of his friends. Ian had gotten trapped in a conversation with someone who'd walked into the kitchen, so Zeke waited a moment. He started walking the same way when he was done with his drink, tossing the empty can into the bin and knocking quietly on the door before slipping inside.
she was startled by the door opening and turned her head to look at the door over her shoulder.
"Just me," he reassured her, taking in her appearance, but being careful not to unnerve her. A can of beer wasn't enough to make him drunk, but he never really was great at holding his liquor (hence Ian teasing him for typically being 'straightedge'), so he could feel a bit of a buzz in his fingertips and a slight lightheadedness that wasn't there before. "I should not have agreed with Ian to drink that stuff," he confessed laughingly, putting a hand on the wall to steady himself.
Rae stepped back" you've been drinking," she said. She was always scared when he drank from having a bad experience with alcohol.
"Hey, hey, it's alright," he soothed, but didn't move any closer to her for fear of scaring her any more. "I'm sorry," he told her honestly. "I didn't think just one would hurt, and Ian insisted and…" he sighed, rubbing his face. "And now I'm a little tipsy," he admitted. "But I can go, if I'm making you uncomfortable."
"It's okay I just don't like when you drink" she confessed.
"I won't drink anymore," he promised, wanting to take her hand or even kiss her, but deciding against it at the last moment. Instead, he said, "I should go in a minute anyways. If they find us, it probably wouldn't turn out great. I just wanted to check on you." His voice was soft, almost vulnerable.
Rae kissed his cheek" I''ll leave first" she said starting for the door.
He grabbed her wrist before she could open the door, tugging her back gently and holding his finger to his lips. There were voices right outside, and even with the music blaring in the background, he could recognize Sam's voice. "When the door opens, slap me or something," he whispered, quickly adding, "Make it look like we're arguing."
she nidded slowly.
The doorknob turned, and he braced himself, suddenly raising his voice to shout, "You think you're music is so much better, just because you have more fans?"
"yeah Do you have ten million fans I think not" she yelled.
The door opened, and Sam poked her head in. "…Zeke?" she called incredulously, but he yelled over her. "At least our fans have good taste and are willing to offer helpful advice, rather than constantly blowing smoke up our asses! Who even cares about numbers?" he demanded, getting animated as he yelled. "Hey!" Sam shouted, but Zeke ignored her again, 'shoving' Rae in a way that was meant to look harsh but was little more than a light tap.
Rae slapped Zeke not too hard but hard enough to leave a mark.
He let his head snap to the side as if the slap had been harder, and raised a hand to rub his jaw, forcing himself to glare at Rae. Sam rushed forwards as if to fight her, but Zeke quickly shoved his arm in front of her. "It's fine. She's made her point," he said coldly, being sure to slur his words so that less of the blame would fall on her. Then he turned as if to leave, but faked a stumble until Sam was forced to grab onto his shoulder to keep him upright. "What the hell is…Zeke, are you drunk?" He shrugged, winking at Rae while Sam was busy with supporting his weight. 'Nice slap,' he mouthed, immediately switching back to his role of the irritable, drunk singer while mumbling about how he blamed Ian for everything.
she hid her smile as she stormed out of the room.
"What the hell were you thinking, starting a fight like that with Rae Dezel, of all people??" Sam demanded. "I–" "Oh, that's right, you weren't, because you're drunk!" she cut him off, fuming. Zeke kept his head low as they exited, fighting a sigh at her fierceness. He wished he and Rae didn't have to hide their relationship, but Sam's reaction to them just fighting was terrifying enough.
(time skip toooooo…maybe the next day?)
Rae was walking on the sidewalk around noon.
Zeke was only out in the first place because he'd been volunteered (against his will) by everyone else to get groceries. Something about making up for the previous night, which had made him groan, but he'd reluctantly agreed. And now the 'punishment' was looking a lot more like a reward as he spotted Rae across the street. He was so excited to see her that he didn't check the street before starting across, having to jump back to avoid being roadkill as a horn blared angrily at him. The driver flipped him off, but he didn't seem to care as he walked up to her, being more careful to avoid tons of metal speeding at him. "Hi," he greeted, slightly out of breath from nearly being killed.
"Please don't kill yourself for me" she said.
He chuckled and nodded sheepishly. "I'll try," he told her. "So what are you up to?"
"I'm not allowed with the band today from my little fight". she said.
Zeke frowned and opened his arms for a hug, after, of course, scanning the area for any sign of someone recognizing them. "Sorry," he mumbled guiltily. "I just thought that'd be the easiest way to hide it, to be honest."
"It's okay did i hurt you" she asked as she hugged him.
He smiled and rolled his eyes affectionately. Here she was, worried about him when he'd been the one to get them both in trouble. "I'm fine, don't worry. Sam was pretty angry, but she'll get over it. I think she's just frustrated 'cause Donnie hasn't realised she has a crush on him. But hey, want to come with me? I've got to shop for Wish, part of my own 'unfortunate punishment'," he explained, using air quotes and wrinkling his nose in mock disgust at the chore.
"sure " she said with a smile.
(??????????)
Zeke grinned happily and offered his hand, gesturing which way the store was with his head. "It shouldn't take long," he explained, swinging their hands lightly. "Do you need anything from Publix?"