You're No Good At Lying

“What are you up to?” Zack asked a few weeks later, coming up from behind Spencer as she tentatively filled a number of different college transfer forms. She bit her lip in concentration, reviewing her transcripts carefully and looking over the class listings for the college she hoped to switch into.

“Filling out forms,” she responded simply, and Zack leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. Pulling up another white plastic chair, Zack propped his feet up on the empty table, watching as Spencer meticulously read and re-read her forms numerous times before even putting the pen to the paper.

“What kinds of forms are they?” He asked a few seconds later, and Spencer glanced up. Her glasses, while in her opinion homely and unattractive, made Zack want to jump her bones even more.

“College transfer forms,” she said, and he cocked his head in confusion.

“Why are you transferring schools?” Zack asked, and Spencer looked back down. “I thought you said you like your school.”

“I do,” Spencer countered, checking out a few boxes nonchalantly.

Zack laughed, though it seemed like the kind of laugh that happens when a person has nothing else to say. “So then why are you transferring?”

“Because I didn’t have a good year,” Spencer replied as calmly as possible, but Zack could tell she was on edge. Without her permission, Zack leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off her chair and on his lap. Her pen and papers remained tightly grasped in her hands, and while Zack could feel her relaxing into his embrace, she still felt stiff.

“Tell me about it?” Zack asked softly, letting his lips linger on her neck, but she just shook her head.

“You won’t want to hear it, it’s –“ But Zack quickly cut her off.

“I’ll decide what I want to hear and what I don’t want to hear,” he interjected quietly, yet with enough force to make Spencer consider telling him. “And I want to hear it. So tell me.”

“I just met some girls who used me, that’s all,” Spencer said, waving away his concerns.

“Used you for what?” Pressed Zack, and Spencer sighed.

“For cheating off my calculus work,” she whispered, as if it was a sin to even mention it. Zack was silent for a moment, before bursting out laughing. Spencer’s breath hitched in her throat, her eyes casting downwards in her own shame. “Why are you laughing at me?” Spencer whispered weakly, and Zack was surprised as the tone of her voice. Never had she sounded so defeated, so upset. Not even when she was angry with Zack – only when she was angry with herself. “Stop laughing at me!” She exclaimed, and Zack caught his last bit of laugher in his throat. He could see tears pooling in her eyes, and she shifted her weight on his lap so she could bury her head in the crook of his neck, crying softly.

“Spencer,” Zack cooed, feeling a mix of guilt and confusion as he rubbed her back gently. “I’m sorry I laughed at you, I really am. But you don’t have to see those girls again. Your school has hundreds of other people. You don’t have to be around them at all.”

“That’s not the point,” Spencer mumbled against his skin; lifting her head up only enough for her to wipe the tears from her eyes, she pressed her head back against his neck. “I trusted them. They told me they were my friends.” Spencer paused for a second, before a hollow chuckle left her lips. “It sounds childish, doesn’t it? That I was lied to by a bunch of girls who wanted my calculus answers?” Zack just shrugged, and Spencer lifted her head off from his shoulder.

“How come you didn’t… do what you always do? See right through them, you know?” Spencer just shrugged.

“I don’t know. I was away from home and I was lonely. No one else bothered to get to know me.” Zack nodded, realizing that it wasn’t the calculus issue that bothered Spencer too much; more that someone had taken advantage of her.

“I understand how you were feeling,” Zack said softly after a few seconds of silence. Spencer blinked, looking him straight in the eye, as if she could read his thoughts. Yet Zack met her with as much honesty as she could have hoped.

Pressing her lips against his in a sweet, gentle kiss, Spencer smiled softly. “Thanks.”

Zack grinned, as well, before taking the forms out of Spencer’s hand. “So that means you don’t have to transfer anymore.”

“Wait,” Spencer said, as Zack continued looking down at the forms. “Maybe I do still want to transfer. It’s too hot in Florida, and –“

“Transfer to California,” Zack interrupted quickly, looking at her with hopeful eyes, but Spencer just snorted.

“Because going from hot to hotter is what I want,” she responded sarcastically.

“Because going from being lonely to being with me is what you want,” Zack retorted, and Spencer opened her mouth to respond, but closed it when she realized that was what she wanted.