The Kids Don't Stand A Chance

“Well?” Asked Kylie, walking up to me Monday in school. I smirked, unzipping my bag and letting Zack’s carabineer dangle off of my finger. She mimicked my motion; only instead of hanging a carabineer off her finger she twirled a lanyard with our school colors. “Good job, Ava-ave. I guess we’re tied then.”

“I guess we are,” I agreed, putting the clip back into my bag. “So can I give it back to Zack, now?” I asked. All weekend long I had felt terrible, wondering if Zack was distressed over loosing his school I.D. and keys. Obviously what I had done was stealing, right?

“What? Don’t be crazy,” responded Kylie with a laugh. “They’ll figure out how to get new cards and keys. We get to keep these; they’re like our prizes.” I nodded, pretending to understand what she was saying, but failing. I didn’t feel very proud of my prize.

“So what’s the next challenge?” I questioned, changing the conversation quickly.

“I don’t know yet,” she replied, adjusting the high ponytail that her wavy brown hair had been pulled back into. “I’ll figure it out tonight, and let you know tomorrow.” She paused, before continuing, “You know, Ava, it’s your game, too. You can make a challenge up if you want.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m alright. You make them up.”

“Perfect.” Kylie grinned, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Talk to you soon, girlie,” she said as she sauntered off in the other direction. Meanwhile, I turned on my heel towards English, dreading what was going to happen next.

------------

I was the last person to arrive in class, but much to my dismay out teacher was still preparing the lesson on the board. Most of the students were talking amongst themselves, but my eyes instantly flicked towards Zack. He was sitting in his usual seat next to where I should have been seated, and was staring intently down at a piece of lined paper.

“Hey,” I said, obviously startling him. However, instead of glare at me like I thought he would, he smiled cheerfully and even went as far as to pull out my chair for me. I gaped at him for a second, before putting my bag down at taking a seat.

“How was your weekend?” He asked, pocketing the paper and turning to face me.

“Good,” I responded, my eyes glancing down at his jeans where he was no longing sporting a carabineer or any sort. “What about yours?”

“Awesome,” he said enthusiastically. “My band’s been working on some new songs, and they’re really coming along.”

“You’re in a band?” I clarified, having not taken him as the musical type. I thought he was just a go-with-the-flow skate boarding kind of person.

“Yeah, we’re called All Time Low. I’m the bassist, and the three other guys all go to Dulaney.” I smiled, wondering why I had never heard of them. “And – you’ll never believe it – we got signed to a record label a few weeks ago.”

“Zack!” I exclaimed. “That’s fantastic!”

“Thanks,” he said, a small blush creeping on to his cheeks. I didn’t know if I should have found it cute or not, so I just pretended I didn’t see anything. “You know,” he began, looking down at his interlocking fingers. “We’re having band practice after school today, and, uh, I was wondering if you wanted to come along?” I opened my mouth to respond, but closed it quickly. I needed to ensure that Zack didn’t go off and hook up with any girls while the game was in play, but did that have to mean getting involved in his life anymore than just English class? “I understand if you can’t come, I mean…” His voice trailed off slightly, and he was noticeably flustered and embarrassed.

“No, no,” I said quickly, reaching out and taking his hand even though my mind was protesting. “I’d love to come. Do you think you can give me a ride?” Zack’s face brightened.

“Awesome!” He exclaimed, twisting his hand so that instead of me holding his, he was holding mine. I tried to suppress a gulp. “And no problem, just meet me out in the parking lot after school. You’re going to have a blast, I promise. Jack, Alex and Rian are really cool, and Lisa and Kara – they’re dating Alex and Rian – are really nice. They’re all going to like you, I swear.”

I zoned out as Zack continued to tell me about his band, his hand only letting go of mine when our teacher began class.

Why did I feel like I was getting myself into more than I had bargained for?

-----------

“So this is… Alex’s house?” I clarified as we pulled into the driveway of a white house with red shudders. I had told Kylie that my parents needed me to come home right after school, and while she looked at me with a strange expression on her face, she didn’t protest.

“No, this is Rian’s,” he responded, opening his door. I got out, as well, shoving my hands in the pocket of my sweatshirt. “Rian is the drummer, and Kara is his girlfriend.”

“Alright,” I nodded. “And Lisa’s dating Jack?”

Zack laughed. “No, Lisa’s dating Alex. Jesus, Ava, you’d think you were memorizing the periodic table or something.” I blushed as he led me through the basement door, the sounds of tuning guitars and giggling girls filling my ears. I instantly recognized Rian, because he was the one standing behind the drums. However, even though Zack had explained to me which boy was Alex and Jack in the car ride, I couldn’t seem to figure out which was which.

And I didn’t even bother with Kara and Lisa.

“Guys, this is Ava,” he introduced, putting his arm around my waste. I shifted uncomfortably on my feet as I felt everyone looking up at me. “I sit next to her in English, remember?” The way he said ‘remember,’ however, implied that there was more he was trying to get his friends to remember. Rian chuckled and Jack and Alex both smirked. I could hear Lisa and Kara giggling from where they were sitting. “So, if you want to sit down –“

“Yeah, for sure,” I muttered, cutting him off and taking my seat across from the two girls.

“Hey, I’m Lisa,” she introduced, smiling softly at me. I could hear the boys beginning to warm up, but I didn’t want to look at Zack.

“And I’m Kara,” the other one said.

“Nice to meet you,” I responded with a small grin. The band broke into their first song, and I was shocked at how great they sounded. Zack told me how they had been signed to a label, but I still didn’t know what I was expecting them to sound like. As soon as they finished, Lisa and Kara turned back towards me.

“So how long have you known Zack?” She asked, leaning forward.

“Uh, all year, I suppose. Our English seats are alphabetically assigned, you know? My last name is Lysander, and his is Merrick.” The two laughed, but I could tell this wasn’t the answer they were looking for.

“No, like how long have you known him?” Lisa put extra emphasis on the ‘known,’ and I finally understood what they were getting at.

“Oh, um, well we spent some time together at a party, and –“

“Doing what?” Interrupted Kara.

“Stuff,” I mumbled, a blush creeping on to my cheeks.

“Like did you guys make out, or do more?”

“Just make out!” I nearly yelled before sinking back into the sofa. Even though I was completely embarrassed and ashamed (for all the wrong reasons) Kara and Lisa seemed to think it was cute.

“Aw, don’t worry,” Lisa cooed. “Is Zack a good kisser?” No, I wanted to say. I nearly choked no his tongue, he tasted like a bad combination of booze and Doritos, and I wasn’t making out with him for the reasons he wanted me to be. But I just smiled sheepishly and nodded. “So cute,” she stated, and Kara nodded.

“Yeah, it’s about time Zack got a girlfriend,” Kara said, and my eyes suddenly went wide.

“I’m not his girlfriend,” I defended. “We’re just… friends.”

“Don’t worry,” Lisa replied, patting my knee kindly. “He’ll ask you soon.”

“He’s totally into you,” Kara added, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“He is?” I mumbled, glancing over to Zack and seeing that he was completely engrossed in the song they were playing. His focus was impressive, but I thought I saw his eyes flicker up to meet mine for a split second.

Kara nodded and smiled widely. “Completely. I don’t think he’s even talked about a girl the way he’s been talking about you since that party. We gave him a hard time about it because he’s sat next to you all year but he only started to notice you after the party –“

“Don’t take that the wrong way, of course,” Lisa added, receiving a nod in understanding from me.

“—But he just said he never saw anything but… friendship in you.”

“And now he sees something more?” I asked quietly, wondering how I could stall his feelings while simultaneously making sure I could complete each challenge along with being positive he didn’t make out with any other girls.

“He sees a lot more,” Lisa reassured.

Fuck.