-unedited-
OH. MY. FLIPPING. C H E E S E B A L L S !!!
WE HIT 500 READS!!!! *screams happily*
I found out DURING SCHOOL, and I actually FREAKED THE FRICK OUT!! People probably thought I was a hyena on crack or something (I'm not tho), but I DON'T CARE!!
we're HALFWAY to my goal, 1k!! and I'm a little less than halfway done with my book.
My rankings overall have shot up as well! Do you think we can get to #1 in something?
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Except I can, because you guys are amazing!!
***Special thanks to PineappleGoddess_ chubsoink kristianamariee da_gril and onionshrek for being my earliest supporters. I appreciate every single one of your votes and comments! Much love to you guys <3***
I'm supposed to be busy with school, but I couldn't help to procrastinate my homework and write! So as I promised, here's the early early update hehe <3
***Remember to VOTE by clicking the star and COMMENT!! Knowing people like my work gives me motivation to write :)***
Enjoy!
-JJ
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"I can't believe I'm actually ditching school!" I said in disbelief. I hopped into the passenger seat of Zack's Ford F150 and shut the door.
"Chill, Sunshine. It's only Study Hall. It's not like we're gonna get in trouble. They don't care if you show up there or not," Zack reassured, chuckling.
"But still," I mumbled, fiddling with my key chain
"Oh, lighten up. After all, you are a ray of sunshine," he added with a wink that drove butterflies crazy in my stomach.
I rolled my eyes in a failed attempt to suppress the idiotic grin that surfaced.
"I've never ditched class before for fun," I admitted, fidgeting with the sleeves of my pastel pink sweatshirt.
He doesn't know I've ditched because I was too em
Zack frowned and started the engine. The comforting chug of the engine relieved a bit of my anxiety, and soon I relaxed into the seat.
"What do you mean by, 'for fun'?" he asked, turning his body to face me.
I looked up to meet his gaze and cracked a small side smile. "You caught that, huh?"
"Yeah. I don't miss little things like that," he said.
"I kinda noticed you pay attention to the little things I do," I responded, trying to change the subject.
"Also, you don't have to answer that if it makes you feel uncomfortable," he added.
I simply nodded and looked back down at my shoes.
Zack started to back out of the parking lot.
Should I tell him? I asked my conscience.
If you want.
Wow, thanks for the helpful advice.
Anytime.
I rolled my eyes at my conscience.
"Have you ever cut class before?" I asked, breaking the silence. I looked over at Zack to see a big grin on his face.
"Hell yeah I have."
"Wow, what a bad student," I replied in mock disappointment, shaking my head.
"Does that make me a bad boy?" he asked, smirking as he pulled out of the campus parking lot.
"Possibly," I replied vaguely, shrugging.
Zack chuckled, shaking his head.
"Oh, by the way, where are we going?" I questioned for the 6th time.
"Somewhere," he replied mysteriously, fixating his eyes on the road.
"It better not be a sketchy alleyway," I snorted.
"I make no promises."
"But you said I wasn't gonna die today!" I wailed, shaking is arm like a maniac.
Zack laughed at my dramatic reaction. "You're not gonna die."
"Who says I won't?" I asked, taking out my water bottle and took a swig.
"Me, because I'll protect you. Sometimes I walk through alleyways to look at graffiti."
I just about choked on the water I was drinking. I don't know if it was because he said he would protect me, or because if I didn't know if he was mentally okay for walking through an alleyway alone.
"Are you mentally sane?" I sputtered between coughs. "Why willingly goes into an alleyway? You could get murdered by a gang or something!"
"Not if you're buff and scary like me," he joked, flexing his arm.
Well, damn. Of course, he had to do that while wearing a tight gray long sleeve shirt, letting me see the bulge of his biceps and well-defined shoulders through the thin material. I died a little on the inside, knowing that those were the same arms that carried me a few days ago and that I may never get to experience that again...
"There's a bit of drool on the corner of your mouth," he commented, smirking. The traffic light was red, so he took the opportunity to face me.
"Liar," I scoffed, raising my hand to my mouth to make sure he was just making fun of me.
To my surprise, Zack beat me to it.
He brought his hand to the corner of my mouth and gently brushed my bottom lip with his thumb, causing me to shudder.
what is going on what is going on what is -
"It's gone now," he said in a husky voice, leaning closer to me. I could feel my heart racing at a million miles a minute and the electricity humming at the place where his fingers made contact with the skin on my face. He dragged his thumb slowly to my chin, tilting my head up slightly. This small motion was enough to send sparks rushing through my veins and butterflies to fly up a storm in my stomach. I leaned closer, letting my body respond to him.
I craved his touch like I craved cheese balls 24/7.
I craved his touch like an addict craves his next high.
And it took me this long to realize what I've felt like I've been missing.
His face got closer and closer until our foreheads were touching and I could feel his hot, minty breath on my lips and -
HONK HONK!
Zack and I instantly jolted apart. He cursed when he looked up, realizing that the light had turned green, and pressed on the gas.
I blushed and looked down as we accelerated forwards.
What the hell just happened?
***
A few minutes later, Zack pulled into a parking lot that I was unfamiliar with.
"Where is this place?" I asked, confused. I looked around and sway that we were downtown, off the side of a busy street. It looked like the center of an old town, with short one-story brick buildings and retro cafe signs.
"The sketchy alleyway," Zack deadpanned.
"Ha ha, you're so funny," I remarked, rolling my eyes. I took another swig of water.
Man, I'm thirsty today.
"Thank you," he said with a wink that made me choke on the delicious water I was drinking. Again.
He laughed while I coughed like a cat with a hairball the size of Garrett's ego.
I literally hate choking on water. Don't even fight me on that.
"I'm glad you find amusement in my suffering," I said sarcastically.
Zack just shook his head and smiled before hopping out of his seat. Taking this as my cue to get out, I unbuckled my seat belt and leaned against the passenger door. I had my grip on the handle and was about to exit the truck when the door opened, causing me to tumble out.
"AHHH!" I shrieked. I closed my eyes, expecting to hit the ground... but it never came. I opened my eyes, confused.
Zack's face was only a few inches from mine and my arms were clutched around his neck for dear life and one of his arms was under my legs and the other held me securely around my mid back and -
"Zack carrying Raven bridal style, part three?" I sputtered awkwardly, quickly glancing at him before averting my eyes to the floor.
He laughed, causing his eyes to light up cheerfully before gently setting me down.
"Is this going to be a series now?" he smirked, taking my hand and intertwining his fingers in mine.
"Only if you want it to," I replied, looking him in those beautiful green eyes that I could never get sick of.
"I would like to," he responded.
Before I could say anything else, he looked away and tugged at my hand, cuing me to start following him.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"I told you, the sketchy alleyway," he deadpanned, dragging me along.
"Hey!" I laughed, following him anyways.
We reached a small place, Jerry's Coffee Shop, a few seconds later. Zack released my hand to open the door for me, where he bowed dramatically to play the part of a gentleman.
"Why thank you, good sir," I said, playing along.
He took off his imaginary hat and dipped his head at me. "Anything for my Sunshine," he replied happily, smiling that heart-melting smile of his.
Oh, who am I kidding? That's the snowman melting, not me. I sWeAR.
I couldn't wipe of the goofy smile on my face as I walked into the shop. In fact, my smile got even bigger when Zack took my hand again.
An annoyed-looking college girl who seemed like she was fighting with someone over the phone stood behind the cash register in the empty cafe.
Figures. Everyone is probably at school or work, so it's a slow time of the day for business.
"Can you seriously not? You promised me that you wouldn't cheat, and you -"
Poor girl.
"Carly! There are customers, get off the phone!" a male voice hollered from the background.
The girl, whose name I assumed was Carly rolled her eyes and hung up the phone, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulders. "Sorry, Grandpa."
Carly turned to face us. "Hi, welcome to Jerry's coffee shop. What can I get for - Hey, Zack! How are you doing?" she smiled warmly at him before looking at me.
Her eyes lit up. "Oh my god, Zack, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!"
An old man that looked the age of a grandpa walked out from behind the kitchen curtains before Zack could reply. "Zack! Good to see you again."
"Hi, Jerry. How are you doing?" Zack greeted.
"I see you brought a girl with you. She must be special," Jerry said with a wink.
"Oh she definitely is," he grinned, releasing my hand and putting his arm around my waist.
God, I'm literally gonna melt. Into a huge puddle.
I smiled politely. "Hi, I'm Raven," I said, introducing myself.
"Raven! You're such a cutie," Carly gushed, winking. "How'd you manage to get Zack's attention? I've never ever seen him with a girl besides his sister!"
Zack stiffened a little. He has a sister? He's never brought a girl here?
"Carly!" scolded Jerry.
"It's okay, guys. She's doing a lot better right now," reassured Zack.
What are they talking about? I never knew Zack had a sister!
What if he didn't tell you for a reason?
Maybe. I guess I shouldn't press him for answers if he isn't willing to talk about it.
Good idea Raven, good idea. It's just like how you hate it when people demand answers from you, even when you don't want to talk.
"That's good to hear. We miss her. Tell her we love her and to come visit us," Jerry said.
The bells by the door jingled, signaling that other people had entered.
"So, what can I get for you two today?" Carly asked, switching back to her business mode.
I looked at the menu for a minute while Zack ordered a hot caramel latte.
"I'll get a double fudge mocha. Can you make it iced, please?" I requested.
"Of course!" She punched some stuff into the cash register. "That will be $8.25, please."
Zack began to pull a ten out of his wallet, but I beat him to it, immediately slapping my own ten dollar bill on the counter.
"Hey!" complained Zack. "I'm paying!"
"No, you're not," I argued.
"Yes I am!" he fought back.
"No. Carly, take my money," I begged. "I'm paying."
An older couple caught my attention with the smiles on their faces.
"Oh, Harold, remember when we used to fight over who paid for things?" said the elderly lady.
A reminiscing look crossed his face. "Edna, I remember those times like it was yesterday! I can't believe we've been in love for so long."
The two shared a smile so sweet that I got diabetes.
Raven, you can't get diabetes from a smile!
I internally rolled my eyes at my conscience.
Zack turned around to talk to them. "Hi! You two look lovely together."
I took the opportunity to sneakily sneak Zack's bill back into his pocket and slide my money to Carly, who was holding back giggles as she began counting change.
"Why, thank you," replied Edna. "We've been together forever."
"Since high school," sighed Harold. "I've been putting up with this old fart for over fifty years now."
"Hey!" exclaimed Edna, slapping his arm. "You're the old fart here!"
"I was joking, love," reassured Harold.
"One seventy-five is your change," said Carly, bringing my attention back to her as she slid me the the coins.
"Keep it," I urged, winking at her.
"Thank you," she smiled, slipping the money into the tip jar.
Zack finally noticed that I had paid for the drinks.
"Hey, what the - Sunshiiiine!" he whined. "I was supposed to pay! Carly, can you let me pay?"
Carly smirked, shaking her head.
Zack huffed and crossed his arms.
"Aww, Mophead," I cooed jokingly, pulling him into a hug. "Just be happy that you're not ten dollars poorer."
Zack uncrossed his arms slid them around my waist. He was at the perfect distance so that I was still hugging him, but we were looking into each other's eyes.
"But I wanted to treat my girl," he pouted.
My girl.
Am I his?
I brushed off my thoughts and stuck my tongue out at him. "Well, too bad, so sad."
Zack opened his mouth to reply, but Carly cut him off.
"One hot caramel latte and one iced double fudge mocha."
I begrudgingly pulled away from him to grab the drinks. As soon as his warmth left my body, I missed it.
When I turned around to find Zack, he was already sitting at a table by the window. I slid into the seat across him and folded my hands in front of me on the table.
"So... you've got some explaining to do," I said, busting out the long-avoided topic.