The Kids Don't Stand A Chance
Chapter VII
For some reason, I was surprisingly nervous to go out with Zack tonight. I straightened my hair at about 5:00, and then again at 5:45. I did my makeup not once, not twice, but three times. I changed my outfit on countless occasions, before I finally forced myself to sit down in the kitchen.
I twiddled my thumbs for another half hour or so, until I heard a brisk knock on the door. Openly it quickly, I was shocked to see Zack looking so… good. Maybe it was because I had seen him merely hours ago looking completely terrible, but nevertheless, I was shocked.
“Hey, Ava,” he said, his hands behind his back as if clasping something I couldn’t see.
“Hi,” I responded, smiling kindly. “You can come in, if you want. I’ve just got to grab my shoes.”
Zack shut the door behind him as I scurried off to get my shoes from the kitchen. When I returned to the front door, he was focused intently on a small bouquet of flowers in his hands. I felt a lump form in my throat.
Why was he so perfect?
“Oh!” He exclaimed, jumping back slightly. “Uh, these are for you… if you want them,” he said, handing me the flowers. My grin stretched from ear to ear.
“Zack, really, you shouldn’t have,” I replied, letting the floral perfume fill my senses. I walked back into the kitchen with Zack nipping at my heals. He stayed put at the entrance to the kitchen as I placed the flowers in a glass jar. The arrangement was simple enough, and there were only about two different types of flowers, but just looking at them made me feel… spoiled.
I felt like the girl in all those cheesy movies.
“They look good there,” Zack chimed, as I set them on the counter by the window.
“They’d look good anywhere,” I countered, approaching him slowly. “They’re gorgeous.” I leaned up and placed a soft kiss on Zack’s cheek, and I felt him take my hand in his. “Thank you so much, it was so thoughtful of you.”
Zack’s hand found its way to my lower back as he began to guide me out of my house. “Well, it was Lisa and Kara’s idea, but –“ He froze suddenly, as if he had given away an incredibly close-guarded secret. I just chuckled.
“But they weren’t the ones to go out and buy them,” I retorted, and his expression seemed to soften.
“Yeah,” he reasoned. “I suppose they weren’t.”
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“No, Zack, really, I’m not going to let you pay for the entire dinner,” I insisted after we had finished our meal. Zack just shook his head as he pulled out a debit card.
“Quit it, Ava. You’re the girl, let me buy you your meal.” I sighed in frustration, and while I considered snatching the bill from his hand, I decided against it. The meal was delicious, even by my standards, and while we weren’t at a particularly fancy restaurant, I still felt bad that Zack insisted on paying for everything.
“Can I at least pay for gas on the way home?” I asked as Zack signed off on the piece of paper before handing it to the waiter.
“We’ll see,” he replied. I bit my lip.
“Thank you,” I added, and Zack glanced up. “For taking me out to dinner. It was great.” He smiled.
“Thanks for taking care of me last night.”
“You were in pretty bad shape,” I added with a slight laugh, which Zack reciprocated.
“Yeah, I don’t remember much, but what I do remember was pretty weird,” he added, his eyes full of life and happiness. I leaned forward, urging him to go on. “I remember doing cartwheels on the street –“
“Bad cartwheels,” I interjected, but he just ignored me.
“And I remember a girl with her shirt on backwards.” He paused, before adding, “Oh, and I remember feeling you up.” I felt a knot tighten in my stomach. How much of that did he remember? “I mean, I’m sorry about that. I’m sure you didn’t let me do it on purpose.” Oh, if only he knew. “I guess I just took advantage of you when you were trying to help me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I squeaked pathetically.
“No, really,” Zack said. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Honestly,” I replied, finding a strength and sincerity in my voice I didn’t know I had. “I understand. I’m just glad it was you and not someone else.”
“Like that baseball player, Kevin?” Teased Zack, and I chuckled.
“Exactly.”
The conversation stopped for a moment as Zack received his debit card back, and when we stood up to leave, I could have sworn I heard Zack say, “The weird thing was, I thought I saw you take a picture of it.”
I chose to pretend I didn’t hear him.
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“So what colleges are you applying to again?” Zack asked as we walked through the dimly lit park a few blocks from the restaurant.
“Emory, Tulane, NYU…” I listed, my voice trailing off slightly. “And the New England Culinary Institute.”
“Really?” He asked, clearly surprised. “I knew you liked to cook, but I didn’t realize that much.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled, looking down at the ground. “I think I want to open a bakery after college.”
“Ava, that’s great,” encouraged Zack, and a small smile formed on my lips.
“Thanks,” I responded. “My parents are supportive and all, but they keep telling me that there’s not much of a point in starting your own business. Not now, at least.”
“My parents told me that the chances of the band making it big are non-existent,” scoffed Zack, kicking up a small rock from the ground.
“I guess we’ll both have to prove them wrong, then,” I added, and suddenly Zack stopped walking.
He jotted his hand out, expecting me to shake it. “Promise that you’ll open your own bakery after college. And I promise that my band will make it big.”
“We can’t promise that,” I said softly, eyeing his hand with distrust.
“Yes we can,” he insisted. “Now c’mon, shake on it.” I tentatively lifted up my hand and clasped his. He shook my hand with vigor and excitement, though I was still wary.
Nevertheless, as we continued our walk through the park that night, I tossed the promise into the far corners of my mind, never expecting any part of it to ever come true.
I twiddled my thumbs for another half hour or so, until I heard a brisk knock on the door. Openly it quickly, I was shocked to see Zack looking so… good. Maybe it was because I had seen him merely hours ago looking completely terrible, but nevertheless, I was shocked.
“Hey, Ava,” he said, his hands behind his back as if clasping something I couldn’t see.
“Hi,” I responded, smiling kindly. “You can come in, if you want. I’ve just got to grab my shoes.”
Zack shut the door behind him as I scurried off to get my shoes from the kitchen. When I returned to the front door, he was focused intently on a small bouquet of flowers in his hands. I felt a lump form in my throat.
Why was he so perfect?
“Oh!” He exclaimed, jumping back slightly. “Uh, these are for you… if you want them,” he said, handing me the flowers. My grin stretched from ear to ear.
“Zack, really, you shouldn’t have,” I replied, letting the floral perfume fill my senses. I walked back into the kitchen with Zack nipping at my heals. He stayed put at the entrance to the kitchen as I placed the flowers in a glass jar. The arrangement was simple enough, and there were only about two different types of flowers, but just looking at them made me feel… spoiled.
I felt like the girl in all those cheesy movies.
“They look good there,” Zack chimed, as I set them on the counter by the window.
“They’d look good anywhere,” I countered, approaching him slowly. “They’re gorgeous.” I leaned up and placed a soft kiss on Zack’s cheek, and I felt him take my hand in his. “Thank you so much, it was so thoughtful of you.”
Zack’s hand found its way to my lower back as he began to guide me out of my house. “Well, it was Lisa and Kara’s idea, but –“ He froze suddenly, as if he had given away an incredibly close-guarded secret. I just chuckled.
“But they weren’t the ones to go out and buy them,” I retorted, and his expression seemed to soften.
“Yeah,” he reasoned. “I suppose they weren’t.”
------------
“No, Zack, really, I’m not going to let you pay for the entire dinner,” I insisted after we had finished our meal. Zack just shook his head as he pulled out a debit card.
“Quit it, Ava. You’re the girl, let me buy you your meal.” I sighed in frustration, and while I considered snatching the bill from his hand, I decided against it. The meal was delicious, even by my standards, and while we weren’t at a particularly fancy restaurant, I still felt bad that Zack insisted on paying for everything.
“Can I at least pay for gas on the way home?” I asked as Zack signed off on the piece of paper before handing it to the waiter.
“We’ll see,” he replied. I bit my lip.
“Thank you,” I added, and Zack glanced up. “For taking me out to dinner. It was great.” He smiled.
“Thanks for taking care of me last night.”
“You were in pretty bad shape,” I added with a slight laugh, which Zack reciprocated.
“Yeah, I don’t remember much, but what I do remember was pretty weird,” he added, his eyes full of life and happiness. I leaned forward, urging him to go on. “I remember doing cartwheels on the street –“
“Bad cartwheels,” I interjected, but he just ignored me.
“And I remember a girl with her shirt on backwards.” He paused, before adding, “Oh, and I remember feeling you up.” I felt a knot tighten in my stomach. How much of that did he remember? “I mean, I’m sorry about that. I’m sure you didn’t let me do it on purpose.” Oh, if only he knew. “I guess I just took advantage of you when you were trying to help me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I squeaked pathetically.
“No, really,” Zack said. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Honestly,” I replied, finding a strength and sincerity in my voice I didn’t know I had. “I understand. I’m just glad it was you and not someone else.”
“Like that baseball player, Kevin?” Teased Zack, and I chuckled.
“Exactly.”
The conversation stopped for a moment as Zack received his debit card back, and when we stood up to leave, I could have sworn I heard Zack say, “The weird thing was, I thought I saw you take a picture of it.”
I chose to pretend I didn’t hear him.
-----------
“So what colleges are you applying to again?” Zack asked as we walked through the dimly lit park a few blocks from the restaurant.
“Emory, Tulane, NYU…” I listed, my voice trailing off slightly. “And the New England Culinary Institute.”
“Really?” He asked, clearly surprised. “I knew you liked to cook, but I didn’t realize that much.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled, looking down at the ground. “I think I want to open a bakery after college.”
“Ava, that’s great,” encouraged Zack, and a small smile formed on my lips.
“Thanks,” I responded. “My parents are supportive and all, but they keep telling me that there’s not much of a point in starting your own business. Not now, at least.”
“My parents told me that the chances of the band making it big are non-existent,” scoffed Zack, kicking up a small rock from the ground.
“I guess we’ll both have to prove them wrong, then,” I added, and suddenly Zack stopped walking.
He jotted his hand out, expecting me to shake it. “Promise that you’ll open your own bakery after college. And I promise that my band will make it big.”
“We can’t promise that,” I said softly, eyeing his hand with distrust.
“Yes we can,” he insisted. “Now c’mon, shake on it.” I tentatively lifted up my hand and clasped his. He shook my hand with vigor and excitement, though I was still wary.
Nevertheless, as we continued our walk through the park that night, I tossed the promise into the far corners of my mind, never expecting any part of it to ever come true.