"Bye, mom!" I yell behind me as I exit the house, hurrying towards Zack's car.
"Sorry I'm late, babe, but someone didn't want to let me wake up and kept on saying 'ten more minutes.'" I mimick in my best deep voice, fixing him with a glare.
Zack just keeps on staring at me with a funny expression on his face.
"What? Is there spinach in my teeth?"
I didn't have spinach this morning, but whatever.
"Babe?" He says, smirking, and my eyes widen when I realise that I called him "babe".
"That's not the point of..." My statement is cut short when Zack leans over the console and pulls me to him, our lips colliding.
I moan when his cold, minty tongue traces the seam of my lips.
Okay, I might be willing to let it slide.
"You know we're gonna be late for school, right?" I whisper.
"Don't care." He mutters between kisses.
"And that my mom's most probably watching us right now through the window?"
That makes him pull away.
"Yeah, I seem to remember how weird your mom is." He says, turning on the ignition.
"Hey!" I protest, shoving him playfully on his shoulder as he puts the car on drive, laughing.
I love this side of him. The side that's genuinely happy, even though he's still holding back. I just wish he'd trust me enough to open up to me. I also wish I could ask him to open up to me, but I know saying that would be a really bad idea.
Even thinking about saying it is a bad idea.
"Do you have practice after school today?"
He shrugs. "Highly unlikely. Why? You wanna do something with me later?" He glances at me, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
I roll my eyes, trying to pretend that images didn't just flood my head. "Although the thought of doing "something" with you is tempting," really tempting, "I'm talking about doing something else other than what you have in your gutter brain."
"Shame," he smirks, "I was really looking forward to..."
My phone rings out, interrupting our conversation, and I freeze when I see the name flashing across the screen.
Maybe he didn't see it.
"You gonna answer that?" Zack asks in monotone.
Shit. He saw.
I swipe left on my screen. "Zack, I..."
"It's fine. It's not your fault." He says calmly. Too calmly. I notice how his knuckles turn white around the steering.
We haven't discussed it since last week when he threatened to kick Eric's ass. I know it's going to happen, I just don't know when. And I'm also aware of the fact that Eric won't back down.
He said so himself in a text that he sent to me a few days ago that said, I'm not giving up.
"I'm sorry." I whisper, "We were both drunk and I just..."
Oh, shit.
I expect Zack to blow up any second now, crash the car even, but he just says,
"He took advantage of you."
"He didn't." I lower my voice. "I wanted it to happen."
Zack doesn't say anything, and I'm even afraid to make eye contact with him. The silence is deafening.
Why can't we just have a normal day?
"Zack, please say something." I finally muster up a bit of courage to look at him. He doesn't even glance at me.
"There's nothing to say." He mutters, clenching his jaw as he pulls up into the school parking lot.
Zack exits the car without another word to me, and my heart sinks to my stomach. I blink hard numerous times to prevent the tears from falling.
I'm sorry.
I'm about to grab my bag from the backseat when the door suddenly opens.
"You coming?" Zack asks, stretching his hand out to me, and relief floods my system.
I place my hand in his and he pulls me out of the car and into his arms.
"I shouldn't have reacted like that. I'm sorry." He whispers into my hair.
I tighten my arms around his torso. "It's fine. I just got scared you were going to leave me again."
He chuckles. "Like I said before, I'm not going anywhere, Aubrey."
I heave a sigh of relief into his chest. "We're so late."
______________
It's lunchtime and I'm heading towards my locker to drop and also pick up a few books, when something stops me in my tracks.
No. Not something. Someone. Two people actually.
Oh, hell yes!
Nick has Erika pinned to a locker, and he's kissing her. Not only that, but Erika is holding onto him like her life depends on it. My eyes widen when Nick tries to pull away and Erika doesn't let him.
Ever since homecoming night, she's been too afraid to talk to Nick after the whole, you know, "period disaster". And she'd never admit it, but it bothered her. So much.
But I guess you can't always avoid someone who's in the same group of friends as you.
Erika startles when I go to open my locker, which is right beside hers, pushing Nick away from her.
"Don't mind me, just grabbing a few things from my locker. Keep doing your thang." I throw a got-ya look at her and she glares at me.
Erika gives Nick an apologetic look. "We'll talk later, okay?" She unconsciously places a hand on his chest.
This is too sweet.
"Sure."
I roll my eyes. "You two do realise we're all going to have lunch on the same table right now?"
Nick chuckles. "Right." Then pulls her in for an awkward hug, and gives me a light shoulder punch before he's gone.
I fold my arms across my chest as Erika stares after him.
"So, that looked interesting." I tell her and she rolls her eyes.
"It's not like that."
"Oh, it's definitely like that."
"I am not talking about this with you, Aubrey." She starts walking towards the cafeteria.
"Oh, come on!" I grab onto her hand. "It's obvious you like him. Why not just...go for it?"
Erika scoffs. "I can't just go for it. I mean look at him, he's..."
"Hot." I put in. "Athletic, likes the same things you do. He's a weirdo just like you. He's perfect for you, Erika."
"No, he's not perfect. I mean, he is, but, c'mon, Aubrey, he's the star quarterback, and you know what that means, right? He basically fucks everything in a skirt. There's no way he'll give that up for a girl who got her dress stained with blood on homecoming night."
"Aha!" I exclaim. "I knew it! I knew that's what was bothering you." I sigh, turning her to face me. I take her hand in mine.
"Listen to me, because I'm going to say this only once, okay? Nick doesn't care about that. He likes you, maybe a little too much." She rolls her eyes. "Remember what I told you the other day? You're a strong, independent woman. It'll work out, I promise. Just don't hold back, okay?"
"Okay, fine." She mutters, rolling her eyes. "Just don't make this weird."
Laughter escapes my lips, but it gets cut short when a voice says, "Nice pep talk. Got any for me?"
We turn around to see Audrey Miller standing, arms folded across her chest.
Erika sighs. "Oh, look everyone, it's Audrey."
"Put a cork in it, Erika, I'm not here for you."
Audrey snaps at her.
Erika's fists start to clench, and I know she's about ready to attack.
"You're not..." She starts but I cut her off.
"Hey, it's okay. This will only take a second. We'll talk later, okay?"
Erika rolls her eyes and sighs, grunting, "fine. Just let me know if she bothers you." She throws one last glare at Audrey, and then she's gone.
"You should really keep a leash on her. For a moment I thought she was going to claw my eyes out." Her lips stretch into a smile- a fake one nonetheless.
"She's my bestfriend, and she doesn't like you." I say.
"Right." She chuckles, leaning against a locker. "Best friend. Just like Zack, right? Oh, sorry, he's your boyfriend now. I totally forgot."
She's sick.
Audrey's blonde hair has been cut up to her jaw, in a bob.
Weird. Her long hair used to be her life.
"Audrey..."
"You're saying my name? I didn't realise we were friends now."
I really have no idea what to say to her, and I have a feeling that if I say something wrong, she'll literally claw my eyes out.
"Zack told me..."
She rolls her eyes. "Told you what? That I'm a hopeless psycho?"
"That's not..."
"Whatever." Why does she keep cutting me off? "That's not what I'm here for, so save the pity for a homeless dog or something."
Audrey starts to inspect her nails.
"Look, I give zero fucks about your relationship, and I'm sure you've noticed how Zack and I have become incredibly close since he showed up at my house that night. I believe he told you." Her lips stretch into another smile that doesn't reach her eyes.
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm not after your man. I mean, I kinda am." She scoffs. "But I can't steal someone else's man, I'm not that kind of bitch." Audrey walks closer to me, stopping right in front of me, and when she lifts her eyes to meet mine, a shiver runs through my entire body.
"I'm the kind of bitch that won't reject Zack when he eventually falls for me. I mean he'll be spending more time with me, probably more than you, because he's a sweetheart like that, he wouldn't want anything bad to happen to me." She shrugs.
"I just wanted to give you a heads-up..."
"Zack will never want to be with you." I say, not even aware of the words escaping my mouth.
She clicks her tongue. "I doubt it. He's coming over tonight." What? "Oh, he didn't tell you? My bad. See you later, Aubrey!"
She turns around and starts to walk away. All the sympathy I have for her disappears at that moment.
I hate her. I hate her.
"He's only doing it because he feels sorry for you, because your parents left you and you have no one..."
She stops walking, turns around, and glares at me. Her fists start clenching and unclenching and I'm certain she's about to pounce on me when, all of a sudden, she breaks down in tears.
What the hell?
"What's going on here?"
Fuck. Zack.
He walks towards Audrey and she throws herself in his arms.
"She said I'm alone, and I have no one." Audrey's full-on sobbing into his chest now, and he has his arms around her.
Zack says something to her, and I don't even know what the fuck he's saying because he's whispering into her hair. Her sobs slowly die down and I think he tells her to go to the bathroom to freshen up or something, because she heads in that direction, but not before looking behind her shoulder and smiling at me.
Zack looks at me, and I can tell that he's pissed off.
"What the hell was that, Aubrey?"
"I should ask you the same thing." I reply, equally pissed.
"I thought I asked you not to talk to her."
"Well I'm sorry to break it to you, Zack, but when someone comes up to talk to me, especially someone who's unstable, I can't ignore, because I can't predict her actions, and also, that's how a conversation works!"
"So you didn't rub the fact that she's alone in her face?"
"She pushed me."
He's not even going to ask what happened?
"Doesn't matter. You can't go around being insensitive to people's situations."
Go around?
"Do you have any idea what she said to me? She thinks you're going to fall for her." His eyes widen slightly. "And now, I think I believe her."
"Why would you think that? I thought you understood the reason why I have to be close to her."
Stop whining, Aubrey.
I sigh. "I do understand, Zack, believe me, I do. I just wish you'd try to at least hear my side of the story before you jump into conclusions. If you're just going to believe every single thing that comes out of her mouth, then..." I shrug. "I don't know what else to tell you."
"Are we gonna keep doing this?" He asks, moving closer to me.
"What?"
"Fighting." He states as he towers over me, making me crane my neck up in order to make eye contact. I blow out a breath.
"Depends. Are you gonna keep on being an unreasonable dick to me? I mean, come on! You've known me more than you have her, and you're willing to pick her over me..."
I clamp my mouth shut. Fuck. I can't believe I just said that. Omg, could you be any whinier?
One side of Zack's lips pulls up into a smirk as his eyes begin to twinkle with amusement.
"Are you jealous?"
I scoff, feeling my cheeks heat up, and look away. "Jealous? In your dreams. I don't get jealous."
"Mhmm." He hums, raising a hand to my hair and pulling on it so my neck cranes up and I'm looking at him again. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." I roll my eyes and he continues. "You should be. Jealousy's a good look on you."
Why the fuck am I getting hot all over? And why does his hand pulling on my hair turn me on so much?
"I'm not jealous. I just want to know who your top priority is. Me or her?"
Zack's hand moves from my hair to the back of my neck. His face starts coming closer, and closer, and our breaths start to mingle. And just when my eyes are almost completely shut, he says,
"You know, for someone very observant, you're really dumb."
"Hey!" I protest, trying to push against his chest, and he starts laughing.
Zack glances down the hallway for a second, then looks back at me.
"You know, it's been a while since we skipped school together."
"Yeah. It has, hasn't it?" I think the last time I skipped school with Zack was last year, when I got so mad at my dad and everyone, that he decided to take me somewhere to cool off.
I mean, on an icerink.
He smiles. "Come with me, I have something to show you."
"What?"
Zack shrugs. "You'll see when we get there."
I narrow my eyes at him. "Promise I won't regret this?"
"Promise."
____________
"I totally regret this." I say, completely out of breath as I bend over, resting my hand on my knees.
He'd driven us to a deserted county road, and we got to a point where we had to come out of the car and walk.
We've been walking for over twenty minutes, and I'm fucking tired. Not that I'm out of shape or anything like that.
"Don't be such a diva." He says. Zack is a few feet ahead of me. "It's not even a long walk. You're just out of shape, and a little lazy."
"Pfft!" I scoff. "I'm not lazy or out of shape, I'm just a little...rusty. And who says it's not a long walk?"
"I do." He shrugs, and I glare at him.
"You're a six foot tall basketball player. Of course it's not difficult for you."
"You're right." He quirks a brow.
"That's not what I said, dumbass!" I slap his chest, laughing.
"Come on, climb on my back." Zack says suddenly, turning away so his back is to me.
"What?"
"You're tired, right? I'll carry you."
I fold my arms across my chest. "Um, there's no way I'm letting you carry me the rest of the way there, wherever it is."
My attempt to fight him off is futile, because Zack just turns around, picks me up, and throws me over his shoulder so I'm hanging upsidedown.
"Hey!" I yell, slapping on his back. "I thought you wanted me on your back?"
"Well, yeah. But this is so much better."
Oh, hell yes! My subconscious drawls as my eyes make contact with Zacks firm ass. So much better.
How can a guy's ass look so hot in jeans? I kinda wanna touch...
"Hey! What the hell, Zack?" I exclaim when I feel the smack on my butt.
"Just trying to get your attention. Did it hurt?"
No. I loved it. Do it again, please.
"Of course it did."
"You hesitated. That means you're lying. It turned you on, didn't it?"
His voice sends shivers from my spine all the way down to my core.
"No, it didn't. You can't say stuff like that. And put me down!"
"Fine." He says.
What? No! Don't put me down!
"We're here anyway." He adds as he lets me stand on my own two feet.
In front of me are the trees that we left behind as we walked- Zack walked, actually.
Zack throws an arm over my shoulder and turns me around.
"Over here, genius."
My mouth drops open.
We're in a huge clearing, and right there, a few feet away from us, is water. A stream.
I look up at him. "How did I not know about this before?"
"Probably because you don't know that much about me. I come here sometimes, to clear my head."
My heart sinks. "So you know that I don't know you that much."
We've been best friends for five fucking years, and he finally admits that he knows I don't know anything about him. He doesn't trust me enough to tell me his deepest secrets, but that's okay, right? The most important thing is that we're here.
Together.
Alone.
Zack avoids my gaze, stepping away from me, and the next thing I know, he's pulling his shirt over his head.
"What're you doing?"
Oh, holy fuck.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" He glances at me, starting to fumble with his belt.
How have I never noticed how built he is? Those abs, fuck. I think my mouth's watering.
I trail my eyes from his stomach, up towards his chest, his arms, his jaw, and finally, his eyes. And kill me now, he has a smirk on his face.
"Um, I don't have a swimsuit."
"Neither do I. Look, you can either swim in your underwear, or your clothes, which is a really bad idea because there's no way your mom won't notice a wet teenager walking into the house. Of course, there's the option of swimming naked. I mean, I have no problem with that."
I roll my eyes and subtly squeeze my thighs together.
Zack keeps his eyes on me as he starts to pull his jeans down his legs.
Look away, girl.
Oh, hell no.
"So what's it gonna be?" He says huskily.
Good Lord, that V!
"But..."
Why are you hesitating, girl?!
"I'll be waiting for you." Is the last thing he says before he starts running towards the water, and then he dives inside.
I wait for him to emerge. One second. Two. Three. Four. He doesn't emerge.
Why hasn't Zack emerged?
"Zack?"
No response.
My heart starts to beat wildly in my chest.
"I know you're messing with me. Stop it."
It has to be a joke. It has to be...
"Fuck!" I curse before I start to fumble with my clothes.