Two days. It's been two days since Zack has been ignoring me. He doesn't even look at me. Every time I try to talk to him, he just gets up and leaves, making my heart ache.
It's his eighteenth birthday in a few days. I just wanted to give him a gift but look what I ended up doing.
I was never able to stand up against the people who used to talk shit about me. I never used to yell at people who used to bully me. I wasn't able to push away Dylan when he had grabbed my throat that day.
Why did I push Zack away? The person who cares so much about me? Why did I yell at him?
He was just worried about me and I yelled at him.
I should have been patient. I should have talked to him calmly.
"Hey? What's up with you? I am noticing your change of behaviour since the last two days. Always in your thoughts with a sad face." Charlotte brought me out of my thinking.
I sighed and told her everything. She listened to my every word patiently.
"I wanna ask you something." She said with a stern look on her face.
I nodded, encouraging her to continue. "You do know that Zack likes you, right?" she asked and I choked on my spit.
I coughed and regained my posture as Charlotte shook her head in disapproval. "He what?!" My eyes widened.
"Really Jennifer? Everyone in this house knows that." She deadpanned. "Well, everyone except you." she added.
My mind began to wander in my thoughts again.
The way he looks at me. The way he smiles at me. The way he hugs me, he cares for me, trusts me. The way he had thrashed Dylan with his punches for hurting me. The way he had yelled at Celine that day, the girl he used to like. The promises he made to be always there for me. And... That kiss on the Ferris wheel.
How can I ignore all this?!
Because you are dumb.
You are right. I am so dumb!
He was jealous that you had gone out with Tristan.
Because he likes me!
"I am so stupid Char!" I looked at her.
"No offence, but you are."
"What should I do now?"
"Talk to him. What else?"
"But he's just ignoring me. He doesn't even stay in the same room as me."
"Just try Jennifer. I know that you know him so much better than I do. He really likes you, I don't know how you managed to not get that, but he'll definitely listen to you." she gave me a small smile and left, leaving me sitting there alone with my thoughts.
I ran up the staircase, towards Zack's room, determined to make him talk to me.
I knocked on his door but received no reply. "Zack? Can I please talk to you?" I banged on his door. No reply.
"Please, just listen to me." I tried again but to no avail.
I twisted the handle as I called out his name again. To my surprise, the door opened and revealed Zack who was lying down on his bed. His right arm was over his forehead while his left arm was resting on his stomach. He was staring up at the ceiling of his room.
"Zack?" He gave one look at me and got up. Then, he passed by me, leaving me standing alone in his room. I stared at his back as I saw him walking away from me, refusing to even give another look at me.
But I am a stubborn girl too. I followed after him. I saw him walking out to the garden and ran after him. Max was standing near the bottom of the staircase, with a bowl of popcorn in his hands. I ignored him and went out after Zack.
"Zack?" I screamed his name as I looked around me.
"He went that way." Natalie, who was watering the plants said to me.
"Thank you, Natalie." I gave her a grateful smile.
I saw him sitting on the bench under a palm tree, as cool breeze blew his hair which were fallen upon his eyes.
I slowly went near him and then bent down on my knees in front of him. He tried to get up but I put my hands on his thighs, halting him.
"Zack." He finally met my gaze and I gave him a soft smile. "I really didn't mean to snap at you like that." I kept my hand on his cheek.
"I am so sorry, Zack. I know that you were just worried about me and I yelled at you like that." I felt tears filling up in my eyes. "I was just angry because you looked so mad when there was absolutely no reason for yo-"
"Of course there was a reason why I was so mad!" He interrupted me, pushing my hand away from his cheek.
"You didn't tell anyone about where you were going and then you didn't even take your phone with you! Do you know how worried I was!" I looked away from his eyes, feeling even more guilty than I already was.
"And then what do I find out? That you were hanging around with that Tristan! Tristan of all people!" His tone became angry at the mention of his name.
"I know that I am not your boyfriend or your anything for that sake but that doesn't mean I don't care about you. I really do, you know." his voice became softer now.
"I also care about you Zack. And you mean so much to me!" I looked into his eyes again. His light brown eyes, shining due to the tears that were slowly welling up in his eyes.
"I am so sorry. Please talk to me again.... I really miss you." My voice broke and a tear slipped down my cheek.
"Jennifer. Please don't cry." He wiped my tear away and stroked my cheek. "I am sorry too. I really overreacted. I should have been nicer to you. Sorry."
"Don't be." He smiled at me and then pulled me up and made me sit on his lap.
"I really miss you too, Jennifer." he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to his chest.
I snaked my arms around his neck and rested my chin on his shoulder, absorbing all the warmth of his hug.
The cold breeze blew and I lightly shivered. The atmosphere around us was so calm and I was enjoying every bit of it. It felt so good to be with him again. To be in his arms again.
"Are you feeling cold?" Zack asked as he pulled away from me. I nodded.
He unwrapped his arms from around my waist and rested his hands on my cheeks.
His light brown eyes met my blue ones with a look of affection in them. He gave a soft smile to me before he leaned in closer to my face. He closed his eyes at the same time as I did. I felt his breath on my face and then, our lips met.
His lips slowly parted mine, as he kissed me with a deep passion. Our lips moved in sync, as we kissed, with an unspoken desire in the air.
My hand found its way to his soft brown hair as I ruffled them, moving my fingers in his silky hair, pulling him closer to me, feeling every bit of him.
The coldness that I was experiencing just a few seconds ago, was replaced with a sense of warmth. With a sense of affection.
We pulled away slowly to catch our breaths, both looking equally flustered. I chuckled on seeing his cute blush and he grinned at me.
Then I did something I never thought I would do to anyone. I put my hands on his cheeks and said the words that I never thought I would be able to say to anyone.
"I like you, Zack."
His grin immediately fell and he looked so taken aback. His eyes slightly widened as he stared at me, seeming to not belive his ears.
"Wh-what?" He asked in disbelief.
"I like you so much, Zack. I realised this now, when you weren't talking to me. Until now, maybe I was just ignoring my feelings for you, but I can't anymore. Because now I am sure than ever about how much I like you. You care so much for me Zack. You try to look after me. You promised to be always there for me. I know that I can always confide in you. I know that you will always be there for me whenever I need you. I really like you, Zack."
He stayed silent for some time as I patiently waited for his answer.
"Jennifer... You're the first person who has said that you like me with so much sincerity. How can- why.. How can you like a shitty person like me?! I don't deserve you Jennifer. I-"
I put my hand on his mouth, stopping him before he can complete that ridiculous ramble.
"You are not shitty. Got it? You are an amazing person, Zack. No matter how much you deny that, you're awesome. You care so much for all of us. You, you are there if we need you. I know how much you try to keep up with that façade of yours, showing how strong you are. But I can see through you, Zack. I see how sweet you are from the inside. You're like a coconut." I giggled on seeing the weird look he gave me at the end of my sentence.
"Just like a coconut, you have a hard shell, difficult to crack. You're so strong on the outside, but from the inside, I know how sweet you can be."
I removed my hand from his mouth as I continued. "You remember that day, when I was getting bored and you took me to that empty basketball court?" He nodded.
"You had told me something. That we set our boundaries on our own. That we have to believe in ourselves for others to believe in us. But I believe how amazing of a person you are, Zack. It's time you believe that too."
He looked away from me for a second before connecting his eyes with mine again.
"I still can't believe how lucky I got to have found you. No one has really showed so much care for me before, maybe because I always showed that I don't need anyone. But the truth is that there have been times when I felt so alone and lost, and I couldn't share my problems with anyone. I always believed that I can survive and fight alone, but Jennifer, I don't want to just survive alone anymore. I want to live and enjoy my life, with you."
"I am here for you, Zack. Always."
I rested my forehead on his as he closed his eyes. He waited for a few seconds before opening his eyes again.
"I like you too, Jennifer."
The both of us smiled adoringly at each other. The breeze blew again. "You are feeling cold, right? Let's get inside."
"With you I can stay in any part of the world." I whispered and he kissed my forehead.
Together, with our hands joined and fingers intertwined, we went inside to relish the rest of the day with each other.
Charlotte's POV:
I felt guilty on spying at them like this but this was just too cute to miss.
"The both of them are perfect for each other." Liam mumbled from behind me.
"Since when are you standing here?!" I asked, a bit startled at his sudden appearance.
"Since you said that big and long 'aww' when Zack pulled Jennifer on his lap." He shrugged and then grinned.
"They really balance each other out. I can't believe it took this long for Jennifer to realise how much Zack likes her." I said.
"My sister can be a bit slow sometimes.... maybe always." A voice that didn't belong to Liam said.
"Since when are you standing here!?" Liam asked, extremely startled by Max's sudden appearance.
"Since you were giving that big cheeky smile to Charlotte when she smiled on seeing Zack hugging Jen." Max shrugged and Liam blushed.
I shook my head at the two as they started bickering about how they shouldn't spy on people.