Now I panic?

Kortney's POV

I fall down into a spare chair, feeling a migraine coming on strong. This is going to be a very long day.

"Kortney darling! How about this dress? It looks like it'd be perfect for you."

"So did the last ten I tried on, mom," I say, not removing my hands from my temples.

That's right. I'm dress shopping. As in, wedding dress shopping. It's absolute torture. I wish Zach was here, but I don't really want him to see my dress before the big day...

I look around the dress shop, and sigh. This place is more like a mall. It's all themed in pure white and yellow, with giant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and crystal glasses for the champagne women like to drink while they shop(I think they're just trying to get women drunk so they'll buy more expensive dresses, personally).

Mom floats around the corner, bringing with her the smell of alcohol and her custom made perfume. "Darling what's wrong? Isn't this exciting? I'm sure you'll find the dress soon dear..."

I hold up a hand, closing my eyes. I feel nauseous...

"I just... need a minute. Please."

She watches me closely for a while, before nodding. "Alright. Call us if you need us, okay?"

I nod, and when she leaves I take out my cell phone, hitting Zach's number. I take deep breaths as it rings. What did I do to deserve this?

"Hello?"

A deep relief(I don't know where it's coming from) takes over my mind, and I relax into my chair, sighing.

"Hello? Who is this?"

I wince, laughing a bit. "Hi Zach."

His voice goes softer, almost as if he knows what's going on. "Hey. How's it going?"

"Um... how is it supposed to be going, exactly? Like, for some normal girl who actually got proposed to before-hand."

He's silent for a while, and I hope that I didn't say something wrong(again). But when he speaks again, his voice holds a note of distance, like he's thinking.

"Well... in those shows, the girl usually gets all stressed, but eventually gets her 'perfect dress'. And when I say stressed, I mean-"

"Right," I cut him off, "Well, then... I guess its going good then."

I hear him sigh, before he speaks. "Kortney... look. Tell your mom that you need a break. You've been there since 10 in the morning, and its almost 4 now. You sound like you're about to freak, so just tell her that you'll come back later on tomorrow. Okay?"

I nod, even though I know he can't see me. "Alright. See you soon."

"Okay. Try to calm down, it'll be okay."

Smiling, I hang up. Zach has been getting more and more amazing over the past couple weeks. And Derek has become a staple in my life too. I'm lucky I ended up with someone like him instead of a heartless jerk. Maybe things will be alright after all...

........................................................................

Spooning another mouthful of ice cream into my mouth, I laugh at the looks Zach is giving me.

"My plan to cheer you up is obviously working. But I think you're scaring the other customers. Isn't this your, like, third cup of ice cream? My mom would have a heart attack if she saw you able to eat all of that. I still don't believe it."

I grin, Eating some more. "I'm just gettin' started, babe. When I was thirteen, one time, Mark and the guys bought ten gallon containers of ice cream... they were gone in a week. They never even got any."

Setting down my empty container with a clack, I stand, grabbing Zach's wallet. "I'll be back."

"No you wont," he says, grabbing me around the waist. "You're not buying anymore ice cream unless you want to use your money."

Quickly, I unhook his arms from around me, and run back up to the counter. I return with a small cup of triple chocolate fudge, and walk past Zach to the door, pocketing his wallet. "Coming?"

He follows, and I feel his eyes on me as we cross the street to where we parked. I sit on the trunk of his car, facing him, as he walks the few feet over. "Okay," I start, eating some more,"what I don't understand, is how you don't like ice cream. Explain that to me please."

He rolls his eyes, crossing his arms. "I'm sure it makes no sense to an addict such as yourself, but it's very much possible for someone to not like ice cream. I am one of those people."

I narrow my eyes at him. "What if you could have nothing but ice cream to eat for three weeks?"

"Then I'd happily starve to death."

Silence commences, and I grab the hem of his shirt, pulling him closer. He looks wary, but doesn't pull away. I scoop up some ice cream, and hold it up to his mouth. "Just taste it."

"No."

"Just a bit."

"No."

"Please? For me?" I bat my eyelashes clownishly.

"No way. Not gonna happen."

Pursing my lips, I think hard. Then the most devious idea pops into my head. Laying back on the back window of his car, I hold out a spoonful of ice cream close to it. "Want this to accidentally fall on your precious car?"

He stares at it. "You wouldn't dare."

Actually, I wouldn't dare, but he doesn't know that. "Try me."

Finally, after the worlds greatest staring contest, he gives in, glaring. "A small bite."

Satisfied, I scoop up some more, and feed it to him, watching his face. It goes from passive, to disgusted in five seconds flat. "I'm going to kill you for that."

I laugh, putting the cup down, and jumping off of the car. "Not if you can't catch me. AND..." I pull his wallet out of my pocket, waving it in his face, "maybe you want this back?"

I turn and run down the street towards the park a few yards away. I make it to the swings before his arms circle around my waist, and I'm pulled back and into the air over his head. I scream. "Zach! Put me down, or I'm going to kill you in your sleep! I am Not joking."

He doesn't listen, pulling his wallet out of my hands, and slinging me over his shoulder. "You're in trouble, Kortney. I'm not gonna put you down."

"It was just sugar! Ice cream is nothing to get upset over."

"It is when you're threatened to eat it. You know that would've been vandalism?"

I sigh in defeat, giving up the fight. "Fine... I'll take my punishment. What is it, anyways?"

He walks a few more steps before answering. "You wont know. Not until it happens."

..............................................................................................

"You know that you should be in the bed by now, Kortney. What are you doing?"

I look up from my Kindle, my face blank, and my eyes hurting. "Reading?"

He rolls his eyes, walking over. He takes it from my hands, and sits next to me on the bed. "You haven't been sleeping a lot lately. What's going on?"

I look down, tracing a pattern in my blanket. "The wedding is in two weeks, Zach..."

He nods. "Yes it is. I thought we talked about this though. Everything's-"

"Going to be fine. I know, I do. I guess I just... i'm having second thoughts?"

He takes my hand, his thumb rubbing the back of it. "Second thoughts about me?"

"No, of course not! I don't regret you at all. Honest." I decide to drop it. "Never mind, I'm being stupid. It's all going to turn out okay. Deep down I know that."

There's silence while he absorbs this, before he looks at me. His hand comes up to my face, and he looks in my eyes. He seems uncertain for a minute or two, but finally, he lowers his lips to mine, kissing me deeply.

I, being me, completely freeze for a minute or two, as my mind processes what is happening. Zach is kissing me. What should I do?

But after a while, my body responds on its own. My hand reaches up to rest on his cheek, an I relax into him.

When he pulls back, our eyes meet for a little bit longer, before he backs away completely, looking nervous. "I hope that was okay. I mean, you're not mad or anything... are you? I just felt like-"

I smile, putting a finger to his lips. I've never had the nerve to do this before(I'm very nervous around him usually), but it feels natural now.

"It's fine. I... liked it. And to be honest, I've been thinking about it for a little while. I'm glad you did."

He smiles back, obviously relieved. "Okay. Uh, you should get some sleep. Well, I should too but-"

"Zach." I've never seen him this flustered. It's so cute. "Okay. I'll get some sleep. Calm down."

He nods, standing, and starts to walk out of the room.

"Zach?"

He turns back, and I wrap my arms around his neck in a hug. His arms come around my waist.

"Goodnight. And I really couldn't ever regret you, even if I wanted to."

He pulls back, smiling, and nods. "I used to, but that changed once you were really gone. I don't think things would be the same without you now." He runs a finger down my cheek thoughtfully. "Goodnight."