22. Hello Zack

Chapter 22: Hello Zack

Kelsey's POV

*****

"No you can't just come here," I heard Ethan saying into the phone as I entered the kitchen. "No, you listen to me Zack, I don't want you anywhere near here," he said yet again, his voice getting angrier by the second. He was frowning, his forehead crinkling slightly and his eyebrows creased.

He suddenly let out a loud sigh, rubbing his temples as if he couldn't believe what he was about to say. "Fine. Three days, after they're up you get out of here," he said before roughly hanging up and slamming his phone on the kitchen counter, bringing his hands up to his hair in frustration and messing it up slightly.

He hadn't seen me yet, lurking in the doorway looking at him like some sort of creep. A part of me feared to interrupt him, scared that he might get angry at me for trespassing in his personal matters. Yet I couldn't help but worry for him, fearing that he could have been in trouble of some sort.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked, finally convincing myself to talk to him as soon as his eyes met mine. I took in a sharp breath as soon as he noticed me standing there. His eyes instantly turned softer as he took in my presence, the frown never subsiding from his lips.

He didn't say anything for a while, making me think that maybe it was something too personal and he didn't tell me. I wanted to know what was going on, and possibly be able to help him, but I was certainly not going to force it out of him.

As I was about to give up on him telling me anything, he finally speaks, a smile forming on my face at the fact that he actually told me what was going on. "It's my cousin. He wants to stay over here for a few days because his parents kicked him out, again," he explained, letting out another frustrated sigh.

I was confused at first, asking myself why it was such a horrible thing that he wanted to stay over for a couple of days. From the tone of his voice, one would have thought that something much worse was asked from Ethan.

"I'm guessing you don't like your cousin," I said, still trying to comprehend the situation.

"Not at all. He always comes here and acts like this is his house and we're here to serve him. He always tries to be better then me and always goes on about how I can never have a real relationship and he just irritates me so much," he said, moving a hand through his hair.

I was slightly shocked as soon as he said those words, the tone of his voice being rather spiteful towards his cousin's actions. But it wasn't his tone that shocked and scared me, but much rather what he said. I was the one being paid to keep the Walkers happy, doing my best to do what they ask me to. If this cousin was domineering towards Ethan, then I didn't even want to imagine what he was going to do when he found out I worked for them.

Ethan looked at me sympathetically as soon as I voiced those same concerns to him, his face softening as he walked closer to me, his body only inches away from mine.

"Trust me when I say this, I will not allow him to treat you like a slave," he said, his voice low and raspy, as if even the thought of me being treated badly was enough to rile him up.

I smiled at his thoughtfulness, his words suddenly making me feel safe.

"Thank you," I said, sending him a small grateful smile.

He smiled back, sending me one of his signature winks and making me roll my eyes at him before he let out a small chuckle and helped me cook breakfast for the rest of the guys.

******

"Are you crazy Eth?! You let him come here?!" Noah yelled as soon as Ethan told everyone about his cousin, Zack.

From all of their faces, I could tell that this Zack wasn't liked by a single person in that household. Noah was red in the face, his eyebrows were creased and an evident frown was plastered on his lips. Lara and Ellie also didn't seem to happy about it all. They looked at each other in shock as soon as he mentioned him, both looking perplexed.

"I don't want him anywhere near you! We all know what happened the last time," Noah screamed, his tone of voice harsher than the one Ethan had used to talk to Zack on the phone.

"What happened last time?" I curiously asked.

I knew that it was none of my business, but by how Noah reacted, it seemed like it was a pretty important thing. I had never seen Noah react that way, not even when he saw Ethan with Annie that day at the beach. He seemed furious, completely and utterly furious. His eyes were full of emotions; hurt, sadness, betrayal.

"Nothing!" Ethan snapped, making a lump form in my throat at his aggressive response.

I nodded my head, knowing that it was best for me not to push it anymore. It was my fault that he snapped after all. I knew that it was probably something serious and personal and I had no right to stick my nose in it.

Seeing that I was going to be living with this Zack for three days, I wished to at least know what it was that he had done. From Noah's words, I felt as if this boy was going to be far more dangerous than I initially thought he would be.

"I know Noah but you know him, he doesn't let anyone say no to him," Ethan said with a sigh, calming himself down from the outburst he had only moments before.

"If he hurts you again, I'll hurt him in ways he has never been hurt before," Lara said as she angrily took a bite from her toast, her attitude shocking me.

I had never seen Lara talk that way about anybody before. She was always so sweet and helpful, and the thought that she seemed to be so angry at her cousin concerned me.

Was the Zack they were all talking about really that bad? What could he have possibly done to make them hate him so much?

I couldn't understand why Ethan accepted his request if he had done something so bad. Something not even I could know about. No matter how difficult it was to say no to the guy, the house was Ethan's, and he had every right to refuse if he didn't want to.

"When is he coming over anyways?" Noah asked.

Ethan looked down at his food, clearly not wanting to answer Noah's question. He drank some of his orange juice as soon as Noah pressed him to answer, sighing before giving him an answer.

"In an hour," Ethan mumbled, eating a bit of his breakfast.

Everything went quiet as soon as the words escaped his lips. So quiet that you could even hear a pin drop. The look of pure horror on Noah and Lara's face gave me an unsettling feeling. I stared silently at Ellie, who was innocently munching on her cereal, quietly listening to her siblings' conversation.

I felt highly out of place in that moment. It had gone through my mind that maybe it would have been best for me to go out of the kitchen and give them some space to talk, but I knew that doing that would have made the entire thing more awkward than it already was.

"An hour?!" Noah and Lara said in unison as they were finally able to grasp exactly what their brother said.

I felt as if I were an intruder, prying in on their personal conversations. I felt as if I had to stay silent, let them settle the entire thing on their own, but I couldn't. I was never one to be highly curious when it came to other people's personal matters. It was always best for me if I didn't know. When it came to the Walkers, however, I felt the need to know. I was put in charge by their parents to make sure that everything was going well in their absence, and I could not just sit there not knowing what was going on or who this Zack was.

I had the power to refuse this cousin to enter the household if I deemed him as a threat, but I couldn't do that unless I knew things about him.

"Can someone tell me why this Zack is so bad?" I finally asked, getting frustrated at the fact that I was being kept out of the loop.

"Well two years ago he s-"

"Nothing happened!" Ethan yelled, cutting Lara off, once again wanting to forbid me from finding out what happened.

"Okay," I mumbled, slightly hurt at the fact that he snapped at me for the second time that day. I decided it was best to drop the matter, because clearly he wasn't going to be giving in at any point in time.

I wanted to know what was going on, I wanted to be able to do something to help. It was as clear as day that none of them wanted Zack there, but he was going to be showing up at the house in an hour. I loved those guys, and I didn't want anybody to just walk in and ruin their happiness. It broke me every time one of them seemed unhappy, including Ethan.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap, it's just that it's a delicate thing," he said, his voice softer as he looked at me apologetically.

I sent him a smile, trying my best to mask the fact that his words truly hurt me. I was being over-emotional, but I hated it when people snapped at me. Maybe that was what I deserved for being so nosy in those matters.

"It's okay, sorry, I didn't mean to butt in."

"Thanks Kels," he replied, smiling back at me.

*****

As soon as the doorbell rang signalling Zack's arrival, Ethan instantly stiffened up. I frowned slightly at how nervous he seemed. I wished there was something I could do to make him feel calmer, but there was nothing for me to do.

"I'll get it," I said, wanting to open the door myself to try and avoid anyone from jumping him before he even steps foot in the house.

"No! I'll get it. You stay behind me. Far away from him as possible," Ethan said as he walked towards the door keeping me behind him, his hand gripping my wrist lightly. I was shocked at his words. He seemed as if he was truly scared of me meeting Zack, and my chest tightened with both fear and appreciation that, in his own way, he was trying to protect me.

I could feel his hand tightening around my wrist as soon as he stopped in front of the front door, his other arm hanging on his side with a clenched fist. I could notice the muscles of his back tensing up as he took a deep breath and opened the door.

The boy waiting outside was nothing like I had imagined him to be. I couldn't deny that he was really good looking with his ginger hair and chocolate brown eyes, his plump pink lips stretched out into a smirk.

"Well hello cousin," Zack said, leaning over the door frame.

I could see the difference between Ethan and Zack's attitudes towards seeing each other. Ethan seemed angry and uncomfortable at having Zack there, while Zack looked nonchalant. There was something about his smile that put me on edge. It seemed to malicious to me.

"Hello Zack," Ethan spat, clearly not happy to be uttering a single word to his cousin.

"Who are you hiding there?" Zack said, motioning to me as he tried to side-step, only to be blocked by Ethan, who was slightly taller than Zack.

"No one," Ethan replied, his grip tightening against my wrist.

I tried to stay as quiet as I could behind him, but I could feel the pain flooding through my entire arm at how tight Ethan was holding me, and I was sure that it was going to end up leaving a bruise. I winced at the pain, not able to withstand it anymore.

"Ow Ethan you're hurting me," I whispered, probably blowing my 'cover', or what Ethan thought would be a cover anyways.

I knew that Ethan was going to probably get mad at me for talking, even if I was certain that Zack had noticed me standing there behind him.

"Doesn't sound like no one to me," Zack said as he closed the door and walked towards me, leading Ethan to remove his grip from my wrist.

My arm flew up to my chest as I tried to soothe the pain by rubbing it with my other hand. I noticed Ethan's gaze fly over to my wrist, which had apparent red marks already forming on it. I could tell that he felt horrible for hurting me as soon as his eyes softened, his face morphing into one of guilt and regret.

"And who may this be?" Zack asked as his eyes landed on me, making me shift uncomfortably on my feet.

"I'm Kelsey, I'm Ethan's b-"

"Girlfriend," Ethan said, cutting me off, making my eyes widen.

Everything around me froze as soon as the words escaped his mouth. For a second I thought that I must have heard wrong, but one look at his dead serious face, all of my doubts fled. I was confused as to why he introduced me that way, but there was no missing how those words made my heart skip a beat, my face reddening slightly.

"So you finally got a girlfriend huh?" Zack said, patting Ethan on the back before Ethan gave him the fakest smile I had ever seen plastered on his face.

I looked down in embarrassment as soon as I grasped the meaning behind Zack's words. I felt stupid for not having realised it earlier. Zack had always made fun of Ethan for not having a girlfriend, and thinking that he introduced me that way to get Zack off his back hurt me slightly. I hoped that I was wrong, that he had done it for another reason, but I knew that doing that, my feelings would get hurt more if I were to find out that I was right.

"Ethan can I talk to you alone for a minute?" I politely asked. I wanted to know the reason behind his introduction. There was no way I was going to let him lie like that about us without knowing why first.

"Erm yeah, sure babe," he replied, nervousness evident from the tone of his voice.

Babe.

Hearing it from Ethan sounded so weird and foreign. It wasn't that I had never heard him say it to other girls before, but that was it. It was never directed to me.

"Use protection!" Zack yelled from behind us, making me roll my eyes in annoyance at how perverted he was already seeming to be.

Grabbing Ethan by the wrist and dragging him with me to the kitchen, I finally turned around to face him, my arms crossed. He looked down, unable to meet my eyes as a slight pink colour tinted his cheeks.

If I wasn't so mad at him I would have smiled at how adorable he looked. One second he seemed as if he was about to murder somebody, and the next he looked like a puppy who was getting scolded at.

"What was that about?" I asked him, the tone of my voice softer than I had initially wanted it to be. I found myself incapable of yelling at him when he looked at me the way he did, even if I was still slightly mad that he presented me as his girlfriend in front of his cousin without any warning.

I didn't want his cousin to get the wrong idea about me. I cringed at the thought of what Zack would think when he finds out that I'm living there, probably thinking that Ethan and I are up to all sorts of dirty things and my cheeks reddened at the thought

"I'm sorry Kelsey but I couldn't let you tell him that you were our babysitter. He would just take advantage of you and there's no way I'm letting him do that," he said, looking honest.

I looked up at him as soon as he explained, my eyes locking with his. He looked so truthful that I couldn't do anything else but believe him. I suddenly felt horrible for thinking what I did about him when the sole reason he told his cousin I was his girlfriend was to protect me.

"Couldn't you just present me as your friend?" I asked, my eyes softening. I put my hand on top of his own, placed on the kitchen counter. I wanted him to know that I wasn't mad at him about it.

"Yes Kels, you're right, I'm sorry but there was no way that Zack was going to believe you and I were just two friends who just so happen to live together," he explained, his eyes desperate for me to understand. "Please, just pretend to be my girlfriend for three days. It will make him stop nagging me about never having a serious relationship," he begged, taking my hands in his and  pouting.

Disappointment hit me like a truck as Ethan said the things I had just ruled out. I felt stupid for thinking that he was only doing it for me, and that he wasn't going to be getting anything out of it.

"Is this what it's about? You want him to stop making fun of you?" I asked, slightly upset that he would just use me like that.

"No! Kels, it's not like that, I really did say that so he wouldn't take advantage of you, please believe me."

I looked at him for a moment too long. His pleading eyes seemed to speak straight to my heart, as he bit down on his bottom lip nervously.

"Okay fine. I'll pretend I'm your girlfriend for three days," I said with a sigh.

"Thanks Kels, you're the best," he said, letting out a sigh of relief as he hugged me tightly.

I didn't know what I had just gotten myself in to, or why I had gotten myself in to it. All I knew was that they were going to be the longest three days of my entire life.

A/N: Hey guys I know it's short please don't kill me or throw chairs at me. This was kind of a filler chapter that I decided to write. It's going to lead to some major chapters so don't worry about that. I know you may be a bit upset that it was a super short and boring chapter and I'm so sorry, but isn't this better then waiting for two weeks for another update?

Also, I wanted to ask you guys something. I was thinking that maybe after the exams I could dedicate a chapter of the book to do a Q and A, you know like all dem famous you tubers -grins-

I don't know I thought it would be fun and might get you guys to know me better and stuff. But it's all up to you I will have a little poll to see if you guys want to do it or not so....

Vote here for yes

OR

Vote here for no

Mkay jellybeans imma leave you now because I'm tired so I'm going to head to sleep. I'm so proud of you for not throwing anymore chairs :') Ahem clearly I'm very tired so I'm going to bed now byeeeeeee.

Stay perfect.

Love ya

~M