Original Sin

“Please tell me that’s not what you’re wearing tonight,” Ava said as Sin opened her apartment door.

“Fuck you,” Sin told her assistant. Sin had invited Ava to the going away party for Broken Dynamite. Having moved halfway across the world herself three years earlier, Sin knew how hard it probably was for Ava to adjust to her new life. She really liked Ava’s openness and honesty, too, and she thought that she would get along with several of the people at the party. “This is how I always dress,” she added as she closed the door and motioned towards her jeans and t-shirt.

“Yes,” Ava admitted. “Which is why you should dress up occasionally.” Without further approval, Ava walked straight into Sin’s bedroom and up to her closet. “Now, the jeans are fine,” she looked Sin up and down. “But the shirt has to go. Here, put this on instead. And wear your black boots. They’ll look much better than those ratty sneakers.”

Looking at the shirt Ava had thrust at her, Sin paused for a moment. It was a simple fluid black sleeveless shirt. With her studded belt and leather boots, she would definitely look better, and probably wouldn’t look like she had tried to dress up. “I hate you,” she told Ava finally as she pulled her shirt over her head and pulled on the black top.

“You hate me because I’m smarter than you,” Ava replied with a laugh. “You know you want to look good tonight, but you are too dumb to admit it.” Without another word, she left the bedroom and walked across the apartment, into the kitchen. By the time Sin caught up with her, she had pulled two beers out of the fridge. “Here, this will calm your nerves a little about seeing that hot singer tonight.”

“I’m not fucking worried about seeing Zip,” Sin gave a glare to Ava.

“Of course not,” Ava replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “That’s why, for the past two days, you’ve been jumpy and bitchy, and why every time he calls you ignore him. You know, if you were more religious, I’d suggest you join a convent.”

Shaking her head, Sin tried to not show how amusing she could find Ava to be. Joining her on the couch, she looked at Ava. “You do know I’m your boss,” she smirked. “And you are a foreigner in this country. I dump your ass, you get shipped back to the Australian outback.”

“I have a flat in Sydney,” Ava rolled her eyes.

“Whatever,” Sin replied. “Since you’re being all intrusive in my personal life, why don’t we talk about yours? Have you gotten laid since you moved here?”

“No,” Ava smiled easily. “But with my slave-driver boss, I really haven’t had much time to go out and meet people,” she laughed. “And besides, as you pointed out, I’m a foreigner in this land. Do you know the horror stories I’ve heard about the evil men in New York? No, I’ll have to wait until someone I trust introduces me to some unbelievably sexy American. Hint, hint.”

Unable to hide her laughter, Sin shook her head. “Well if you’re looking to get laid,” Sin told her. “This party should be perfect. There are going to be plenty of horny guys just dying to take advantage of an unsuspecting Australian hottie. And none of them are dangerous – assholes, yes, dangerous, no.”

“Lovely,” Ava’s eyes sparkled. “Just what I was looking for. And how about you? You going to give Zip a going-away present?”

“I’d be more likely to harm Zip’s penis than do anything nice to it,” Sin told Ava.

Looking at Sin and shaking her head, Ava finally just shrugged.

“What?” Sin asked.

“A convent,” Ava repeated, leaning back into the couch and drinking her beer.

-----

Eddie actually felt guilty as he sat on the couch, listening to Joseph talk about the upcoming tour and the album that had just been released to critical and popular acclaim. Even though he no longer felt more than friendship for Lianna, he hated how nice Joseph always was to him. It just reminded him that this guy didn’t know how much Eddie had lusted after his girlfriend for a while.

“Oh, here,” Joseph suddenly reached for something on the coffee table. “I remembered that when your sister visited, she had been a fan of the band. So I had everyone sign the new CD for her.”

“Thanks,” Eddie cringed as he took the CD. He had been wrong about Joseph. Even though Joseph had made some big mistakes in his relationship with Lianna early on, he had turned out to be a very good guy and was obviously completely in love with Lianna. “She’ll freak when she gets this.”

“Oh, good,” Sin’s voice came from behind the couch. “Two of my three favorite guys at this party. And I’ve already seen Tavian, so now I can leave before any drama begins.”

Feeling himself relax at the sound of her voice, Eddie rose as Sin made her way around the couch. He watched her hug Joseph first, and smiled politely at the pretty petite blond beside her. “I’m so glad you’re here, Kiddo,” Sin whispered in his ear as she hugged him.

“I’m glad you’re here, too,” Eddie grinned as he pulled back. With Sin here now, suddenly he was looking forward to the party. “And you must be Sin’s assistant, Ava. My condolences.”

Ava laughed as she watched Sin smack Eddie hard on the arm. There was no denying what how cute this guy was. As Sin introduced Joseph and Eddie to her, Ava smiled widely at Eddie. She had been excited to be invited to the party right from the start, but things were just looking up now.

“So, can I get you two something to drink?” Eddie asked, finding it hard to keep his eyes off Sin. She looked fantastic in that top that clung in all the right places. Not wanting to get caught staring, he looked at Ava. “There’s a full bar.”

“Would you mind just grabbing me a beer?” Sin replied.

“Do you mind getting me one, too?” Joseph held up his empty bottle.

“Here, I’ll come with you,” Ava offered, a flirtatious smile on her lips. “Four drinks are too many for one person to carry.”

As Eddie and Ava walked towards the bar, Joseph turned to Sin. “Looks like Eddie might get lucky tonight,” he joked.

Immediately, Sin’s throat grew dry. Was Joseph right? Would Eddie be interested in Ava? As a feeling of nausea passed over her without explanation, Sin found that she couldn’t even reply.

“Are you okay?” Joseph asked with concern. “You look really pale all of a sudden.”

Trying to shake it off, Sin looked at Joseph. “Just dreading the beyond-fashionably-late arrival of your pompous lead singer,” she lied.

“You two still having issues?” Joseph leaned back in the couch. “I’m sorry to hear that. I know that it’s none of my business, but… are you considering anything? Or are you just looking forward to having Zip out of your hair for a while?”

As Sin looked across the room, she saw Eddie and Ava standing together. Ava was laughing at something Eddie had said, and was touching his arm as she did so. Once again, Sin felt nausea pour over her. Turning to Joseph, her jaw set. “Well, I wasn’t considering it before,” she told him. “But for some reason, I just decided it might be a possibility.”

“Well, Zip will be glad to hear that,” Joseph smiled, trying to mask his surprise. As he kept talking, Sin couldn’t follow his words anymore. She kept stealing glances at Ava and Eddie. What was wrong with her? These were two people she adored. She should want them both to be happy. So why did she feel like her chest was tightening and her stomach was filled with lead as she watched them flirt from the corner of her eye?

-----

Madison had arrived at the party shortly after Sin, and that gave Eddie an excuse to leave Ava’s side for a while. It was clear the pretty Australian girl was interested in him, and while she was both funny and sexy – particularly with that accent – Eddie just wasn’t feeling it. So he took Madison’s arrival as an opportunity to cross the room. After greeting the redhead, he realized he hadn’t seen Lianna yet, and he headed towards the kitchen to say hello.

Just as Eddie was about to walk into the kitchen, he heard two voices coming out of it. Realizing that Joseph and Lianna were having a discussion with lowered voices, Eddie turned to give them privacy when he heard Sin’s name being spoken. Unable to move from his spot outside the kitchen door, Eddie felt his heart drop into his stomach as he overheard the conversation.

“Are you sure?” Lianna’ voice was incredulous.

“I’m as surprised as you are,” Joseph was replying. “But that’s what Sin said – that she’s thinking about trying to work things out with Zip. I’ve got to admit, two days before we go on tour for three months seems like a strange time to make this decision, but if it makes Sin happy… well, I know it’s going to make Zip ecstatic.”

A flush had passed over Eddie’s face, and he quickly turned to move away from the door and back into the party. “There you are,” Ava turned into the hallway and greeted Eddie with a grin. “I was starting to think you were trying to ditch me.”

“No way,” Eddie forced himself to give Ava a small smile. Looking at the eager expression on the girl’s attractive face, Eddie felt his mind move from disappointment to something else. So what if Sin wanted to be with Zip? She and Eddie were only friends; it wasn’t like he had a reason to be bothered. Besides that, he had a pretty, smart, interesting girl standing right in front of him, fervently hoping to gain his attention. “I was just going to say hello to the hostess, but she’s busy. So let’s get back to this party, shall we?”

A look of surprise at Eddie’s change in behavior – from sweet but distant to flirty – passed over Ava’s expression, but quickly disappeared. Whatever had been holding him off earlier seemed to have passed, and Ava wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to spend the evening hanging out with this funny, sexy guy. “Let’s go,” Ava grinned, taking his arm as he led them back into the living room, which was quickly filling with party guests.

Back in the kitchen, Lianna was putting more of the hors d’vours on a tray. The party was being catered, but Lianna had insisted on making a few snacks herself. Joseph had been teaching her a lot about cooking over the past few months, and she was really learning to enjoy it. “What’s the matter, baby?” Joseph came behind Lianna and slid his hands around her waist. “You haven’t spoken in, like, five minutes.”

“I guess I’m just thinking about what you said about Sin and Zip,” Lianna admitted, turning around to face Joseph and kiss him softly on the lips. “I guess I was just surprised. I had this strange feeling… oh never mind. It was silly.”

“No, tell me,” Joseph insisted, slipping his arms around Lianna’s waist and pulling her closer. “What strange feeling did you have?”

“I just thought that… I don’t know,” Lianna felt embarrassed, like a high school kid gossiping between classes in the hallway. “I thought I was seeing a spark or something between Sin and Eddie over the past couple months. I know, that’s silly, right?”

Tilting his head, Joseph shrugged. “Actually,” he admitted. “I thought I saw that, too, but I wasn’t going to say anything. I didn’t want to butt into anyone else’s business. But I guess we were both wrong. I mean, in the end, I guess it makes sense. Zip and Sin have a lot more in common than Eddie and Sin do, you know?”

“Oh, yeah,” Lianna rolled her eyes. “And that’s what brings people together, right? Like you and me. You, with the singing and the tattoos and the wild past. Me, with a marketing job, and suits, and a total of four guys that I’ve slept with in my whole life.”

Letting out a warm laugh, Joseph gave Lianna a tender kiss. “Your right, opposites can attract – and last. But you have to admit that sometimes, people – other people, not us – they might find it hard to make the concessions that are crucial to making this kind of relationship work.”

Lifting an eyebrow, Lianna grinned. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re very sexy when you use fancy words like concessions?”

“Try this on for size,” Joseph smiled. “Anthropomorphic: did that make you hot?”

Laughing, Lianna pulled herself from Joseph’s embrace. “Very hot,” she laughed. “Unfortunately, I have to get these appetizers out right now.”

“Okay,” Joseph walked up behind her again and kissed Lianna’s neck softly. “But don’t worry tonight, okay? Sin’s really smart, and she knows what she’s doing. And besides, Eddie’s being followed around by Sin’s cutie Australian assistant right now.”

“Really?” Lianna asked. “Well, that’s good,” she said. “Eddie’s a good guy. He deserves to get some female attention.”

“Exactly,” Joseph smiled. “And now, I’m going to find the dictionary and look up more multi-syllabic words to whisper in your ear in bed tonight and get you all turned on.”

Laughing, Lianna turned back to her food. She wasn’t sure why, but she was still feeling a little disappointed that it looked like Sin and Eddie weren’t going to end up together. “I’m just being nosy,” Lianna chided herself. “If Sin can be happy with Zip, and Eddie can be happy with Sin’s assistant or whoever, then who am I to judge?” Still, knowing the way Eddie and Sin each brightened when the other entered a room made Lianna feel like they might be missing out on something great together.

-----

Sin kept glancing over at Eddie and Ava on the other side of the room. When he mouthed, “Are you okay?” with concern in his eyes, she smiled and nodded. Zip hadn’t even arrived yet, and Sin was sitting with Tavian and Madison. Besides, Sin insisted to herself, Eddie and Ava deserve the opportunity to get to know each other.

Still, the heaviness in Sin’s stomach inexplicably refused to leave, and just got worse every time her eyes wandered to Eddie. Her attention was quickly diverted, though, as she heard the door open and a loud voice booming, “The lead singer is here, so this is finally a party.”

Turning in her seat on the couch, Sin looked over towards the door and saw Zip. He was in dark jeans and black shirt with the Dead Kennedy’s logo on it – subtle for his style, but still very flattering. His dark hair was styled, falling into his black eyes, which had immediately begun searching the room when he entered. As they fell on Sin, a cocky – but sincerely happy – smile crossed his face. He immediately made his way over towards her, barely saying more than hello to the people that tried to approach him as he did.

Putting his hand on the back of the couch, Zip vaulted over the back fluidly with one motion, landing directly beside Sin. “Hello Sin,” he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here already.”

Trying to steady her racing heartbeat, Sin tilted her head. “The party started almost three hours ago,” she rolled her eyes at Zip. “Only the most arrogant of people would arrive that late to a party, especially one that is partly in their honor.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Sin,” Zip’s eyes danced. “And may I say, you look incredibly sexy tonight.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Zip,” Sin couldn’t help but crack a small smile. “But thank you for the compliment.”

Ava was in the middle of telling Eddie about her life back in Australia, but he could barely pay attention. His eyes kept fluttering over towards the couch, where Sin and Zip were sitting. He couldn’t hear their conversation from where he was, but he could see Zip grinning widely and Sin rolling her eyes and smiling several times. “I guess Joseph was right,” Eddie’s heart felt heavy. “I guess she really does want to be with Zip.”

“Have you ever been?” Ava’s question broke through Eddie’s daze.

“I’m sorry,” Eddie was embarrassed. “What did you ask?”

Ava was curious, although not offended, to see Eddie so preoccupied. “I just asked if you’ve ever been to Australia, but that doesn’t matter. What’s bothering you?”

Feeling a heat fill his cheeks, Eddie shrugged. “Zip just walked in,” he admitted. “And I guess I worry about Sin sometimes when it comes to him.”

“That’s sweet,” Ava looked over towards where Sin and Zip were sitting. “But I’ve known Sin for a long time. She makes mistakes when it comes to guys, but she never lets things go too far. She’s strong and she’s smart, and she won’t let anyone treat her badly for very long. So you don’t have to worry too much.”

Nodding, Eddie swallowed hard and forced himself to smile at Ava again. She thought he was just being a good friend to Sin, but deep down, Eddie was realizing there was a lot more to it than that. The feeling that had overtaken him when he saw Zip walk into the party was one thing and one thing only.

Jealousy.

“You’re right,” Eddie turned his attention back to Ava. “I have to stop trying to play the protector to all my friends. I apologize.”

“Well, here,” Ava put her drink down and reached over to where she had put her jacket on the banister of the stairs. “Let’s get your attention off of worrying about everyone else. You can show me that view of the city you said that you can see from the balcony of this condo.”

“Of course,” Eddie helped Ava put on her jacket. At the moment, he was fairly sure he wouldn’t even need his own jacket; he felt numb as it was. “Come on, it’s right over there.”

Sin was listening to Zip as he spoke to a record executive that had approached him, but out of the corner of her eye, she had seen Eddie and Ava together. She had watched as Eddie helped Ava with her jacket, and then as he put his hand on the small of her back as he led her towards the balcony – the dark, private, romantic balcony.

“Sorry, baby,” Sin jumped when she felt Zip’s hot breath on her ear. “I hate having to deal with all the suits at a party,” he was whispering. “But I guess it’s part of the job.”

“It’s okay,” Sin’s throat was tight. At the moment, she was having a hard time not thinking about what Eddie and Ava were doing on the balcony. Was she kissing him? Was HE kissing HER? Had they made a connection? Would they go home together tonight? Was this the start of something even more than that?

“Are you okay, babe?” Zip asked Sin. “You’re being really quiet.”

Sin looked over at Zip and saw the way he was staring at her – with both desire and concern. Without thinking, she put her hand on his cheek. All that was going through her mind was “it’s not fair”. It wasn’t fair that Zip had hurt her in the past; it wasn’t fair that she had dated so many assholes; it wasn’t fair that she was the only one of her friends that didn’t have anyone – Joseph and Lianna, Tavian and Madison, now even Eddie and Ava. Sin wanted someone, too; she wanted to not feel so alone anymore.

It was clear that Zip was surprised to feel Sin touch his face tenderly, but as he looked into her gray eyes, he felt hope. He thought he saw something there – not exactly love, not exactly desire, but some sort of want, some sort of need. Before she could even think about stopping him, Zip leaned forward and captured Sin’s mouth with his own.

Zip was kissing Sin hungrily, firmly, desirously. Her lips parted to welcome his tongue before she even realized it. She wanted so badly to feel wanted, and the way Zip was kissing her was definitely showing that, at least to a certain degree. As they finally pulled apart, both panting for breath from the intensity of the kiss, Sin was suddenly reminded where she was as the room began hooting and applauding. Feeling her face flush, Sin tried to look down at her hands, but she felt Zip slide his finger below her chin and tilt her face up until her eyes met his. There was so much hope in his eyes, it nearly broke Sin’s heart.

“Does this mean what I hope it means?” Zip asked softly.

“Not exactly,” Sin replied, just as softly. “But it does mean I’m willing to talk to you about things.”

A huge smile spread over Zip’s handsome features – not his usual cocky grin, but a sincere smile. “Want to go to my place and talk now?” he asked her, his index finger still gently stroking her jaw line.

“You just got here,” Sin reminded Zip. “All these people came to see you.”

“You’re the only one I care about seeing,” Zip whispered. “Please, let’s get out of here.”

Glancing nervously over towards the balcony doors, Sin turned back to look at Zip. Eddie and Ava were still obviously out there together. Maybe this was the right time to talk to Zip. “Okay,” Sin nodded. “Let’s go.”

After quickly saying goodbye to most of the people in the room, Zip followed Sin to the balcony, explaining that she had to tell her assistant she was leaving. Opening the door with fear of what she might find on the other side of the tinted glass, Sin sighed a little in relief when she was that Eddie and Ava were just looking out at the view and talking. “Hey guys,” Sin said, her voice not quite the same pitch as usual for some reason. “Listen, I just wanted to let you know I’m bailing early.”

It was near freezing outside, but Eddie was quickly overtaken by a heat wave of nausea. Sin was standing before them, her eyes locked onto Ava’s face, and Zip stood beside her, his arm casually draped around her waist and a huge smile on his face. “Well, you guys have a good night,” Eddie finally forced out, causing Sin to look at him.

Eddie saw something flicker in Sin’s eyes for a second, but as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. Then she was giving Eddie a small smile. “You guys have fun,” she forced out, her voice tight, glancing between Ava and Eddie.

“Oh, we will,” Ava’s smile was bright and cheery. “And I’ll see you on Monday.”

Nodding dumbly, Sin glanced back at Eddie one last time. She tried as hard as she could to read his face, but she couldn’t. He had a fake smile plastered on that looked nothing like his natural, genuine smile. She wanted to say something, wanted to talk to him, but she couldn’t; instead, she just mouthed, “Bye, Killer,” and quickly turned to head back inside, Zip in tow.

“I knew it,” Ava chuckled as soon as the balcony door closed. “I knew that Sin would end up leaving with Zip tonight. I just knew it.”

“You did?” Eddie hoped he didn’t sound as disappointed as he felt. “Does she talk a lot about him or something?”

Shrugging, Ava took a drink from her beer. “Not really,” she admitted. “But it’s more like what she DOESN’T say. And see, I was right. They left together.”

Even though he felt like his throat was so tight there was no way a drop of liquid would be able to get through, Eddie forced himself to take a sip of his drink. “They sure did,” he said, staring at the door that he had just watched Sin – and any remote hope that she might have interest in him – disappear through.

-----

By one o’clock, Eddie knew he couldn’t take much more. He and Ava were sitting on the steps that led from Joseph’s living room to his bedroom, talking. And while Ava was sweet and interesting, telling funny stories from her past and asking questions about his life, Eddie knew that he just didn’t feel a spark for Ava.

“You know,” Eddie gave Ava an apologetic smile. “I should probably get going. I have a project for school I have to work on tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Ava looked a bit surprised, but tried to recover quickly. “Okay.”

“I did have a nice time with you tonight,” Eddie added, feeling bad for the deflated expression that seemed to pass over the face of this girl who had otherwise been friendly and bubbly all night. “I’m glad I met you.”

A heartfelt smile passed over Ava’s face. “Me too,” she said. “You’re a really nice guy.” Suddenly, Ava leaned forward a little, as if to kiss Eddie, and he just as quickly pulled back.

“I’m sorry,” Eddie felt mortified. He didn’t know why he had pulled away. No, he didn’t have interest in Ava, but pulling back from a quick kiss goodbye was just rude. “God, I’m so sorry, Ava.”

A flush had spread across Ava’s cheeks, but at Eddie’s words, she looked up into his eyes. “It’s not your fault,” her embarrassment was clear. “You’re just not interested in me that way.”

“I don’t think it’s that, really,” Eddie rushed to explain. “It’s just… I mean, you’re really pretty, and very cool, and I did have a great time hanging out with you tonight. I just… I guess I kind of have feelings for someone else right now. They’re ridiculous, and nothing’s ever going to come of it, and I’m going to end up kicking myself in a couple months for having blown a shot with a girl as awesome as you. But I just don’t think it would be fair to let you think that… right now… that I could offer anything more than friendship.”

The blush had faded from Ava’s face, and she was chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully as she listened to Eddie talking. Suddenly, her jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide. “Oh, God,” she said, smacking herself in the forehead. “How did I miss that? You were so obvious all night; I must be an idiot.” At Eddie’s confused expression, Ava shook her head and gave him a sympathetic smile. “It’s Sin, isn’t it? The person you have feelings for?”

Swallowing hard, Eddie glanced around to make sure no one had heard Ava, and turned back to her slowly. “Please don’t tell her,” his voice was pleading. “Please, Ava. She would never… and now, with Zip… please, just promise you won’t tell her? I don’t want to freak her out or scare her off and lose her friendship. She’s really important to me.”

Looking compassionately at Eddie, Ava nodded. “I promise,” she gave him a small smile.

“Thanks, Ava,” Eddie told her, feeling some relief. “And listen, you are an amazing girl. You just need to get out more, and you are going to find someone so much better than me like that,” he snapped his fingers.

“Oh, I know that,” Ava teased. “I guess I was just horny, and you were convenient.”

Eddie laughed and realized quickly why Ava and Sin got along so well. Ava was like a milder version of Sin. As they spoke a little more and then parted ways, Eddie decided that he was glad he had met Ava and spent the evening talking to her. She was cool, even though…

She wasn’t Sin.

-----

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL WHO HAVE READ THIS SO FAR. THINGS HAVE BEEN BUSY LATELY, WHICH IS WHY THE STORY IS BEING POSTED 1-2 TIMES PER WEEK INSTEAD OF 3-4. NOW, TO THE REVIEWERS:

CU-KID: IF YOU WANTED TO SHAKE SOME SENSE INTO THE CHARACTERS BEFORE THIS CHAPTER, I’M GUESSING YOU WANT TO BITCH-SLAP THEM NOW!

WOLF: I’M SORRY TO UPSET YOU SO BADLY WITH ZIP. HOPEFULLY YOU DON’T HATE ME AFTER THIS CHAPTER.

VASLATS: AND THEREIN LIES THE MAIN CONFLICT OF THE STORY. I’M GLAD IT CAME THROUGH.

MIZTIKAL_DRAGON: SORRY FOR MAKING YOU LIKE ZIP, BUT THIS STORY WOULD BE REALLY BORING OTHERWISE, DON’T YOU THINK? HEE HEE.

THANKS ALSO TO MEMORY CHASE, PAPER MIRACLE, GIRLFIXER, LADY RAIN, BLUE, SESSHY_LOVER, ANGEL AND DARKDRAGON. YOUR REVIEWS MEAN SO MUCH TO ME!