Let It Shine

Taylor's POV

Today is my first day at Poway High. I want to know about all the crazy rumors and see what this school is all about. I want to find my kind of people because I don’t plan on hanging out with Zach. As we walked in the school girls would walk up to Zach and give him hugs, guys would stop by and they would talk. I guess he is kind of popular. I did see one girl who looked at him while he was talking to some guy and she had a sad expression as she watched him. Hmm I wonder what happened there.

"There goes David... with a new friend I see" a random girl said and Zach rolled his eyes.

"Look Samantha I'm in a good mood right now so don’t ruin it" Zach said

"Well that sucks for you cus I don’t plan on going anywhere" Samantha said. Who is she? What does she want with him?

"What happened to 'I'm not going to talk to you ever again' huh" Zach said.

"That’s right I’m not supposed to talk to you" she said and Zach rolled his eyes.

"Hey Zach, hey Taylor, hey... Samantha" Kiara said

"You know she is the reason we stopped talking" Samantha

"That’s not my fault! I’m not the one who is desperate for guys attention" Kiara said

"Let’s just go ok" Zach said and they walked away. Wow drama, what happened there?

"So I never got the chance to ask, how come your staying at Zach’s?" Kiara asked

"Because his parents are my guardians" I answered and she looked confused.

"My parents died" I said

"Oh... um... I’m so sorry about that" she said

"Yeah... Just don’t go around saying that" I said

"Yeah sure" she said

"Z-Zach" Kiara said shaky

"What is it?" Zach asked, she pointed at some people.

"Don’t look at them, I’m right here" Zach told her with an arm around her shoulder. Okay I don’t understand anything here.

We entered a building and she let out a sigh of relief. Then they took me to the office to get my schedule. We got out of the office and a girl came up to Zach.

"Hey Zach" she whispered in his ear as she hugged him.

“He-” Zach was saying

"No shh" she said putting a finger on his mouth, "I missed you so I have a little present for you"

"Oh really, well-" she cut him off again but this time by her lips on his.

"I hope you liked my welcoming present" she said walking away.

"Whoa Porter get some. Let me give you some advice; go after her and make her your girl, she is hot" this guy said and walked off

"Zach do NOT listen to a word he just said. If you want a girlfriend ok fine but not her" Kiara said

"Relax, you already know what I think about that" Zach said. What does he think about that? What is that?

"Class we have a new student, her name is Taylor Porter" my new teacher announced and then told me to go sit by this girl.

"Are you related to Zach Porter?" the girl asked

"Yes" I said. I’m not exactly happy about that.

"Nice, then you’re part of the group" she said

"What group?" I asked

"Zach, Cameron, Kiara, and Nathan" she said

"And they are a group?" I asked

"Well not really but they are always together" she said.

The rest of my classes went by kind of boring, same as any other day. I miss my old school.

Zach's POV

I'm sitting at "our" table eating lunch.

"Zach your cousin seems nice" Kira said taking a bit. When she said that I almost chocked.

"Are you kidding me! She is the opposite of nice!" I exclaimed

"But she seems like such a nice person, in the past 3 days she has seemed like a polite person" Kira said

"No Taylor is the definition of mean. She has always been mean to me, she always calls me names, tells me things that aren’t very nice, she pulls mean pranks and more" I said

"And you have to live with her!?" Nathan said

"Unfortunately yes" I said sighing

"Ok enough about me, anything new you guys wanna tell" I said

"Well I went up a level in my video game..." Cameron said

"I got and A on my Math test" Kira said

"Nerd!" I yelled and laughed and we all turned to Nathan

"Um... I... there is this girl..." Nathan said

"Ooh Nathan has his eyes on someone" Cameron said

"So tell us a name, we won’t scare her off, promise" I said

"Shawniqua" Nathan said

"Want us to help you get her?" Kira asked excitingly

"We'll give you tips on how to treat a girl" I said

"You don’t even have a girlfriend" Nathan said

"That’s my choice, I don’t want a girlfriend, but I do know how you should treat a girl... or maybe not and that’s why things ended with my exes" I said poking at my food

"No Zach I think you say the cutes things" Kira said.

"Oh look its Zach Porter the guy who couldn’t make the hockey team" Mark said bragging to me like always.

"Well with a talent like yours I’m sure the team will make it far" I said sarcastically

"Then why did I make the team and not you?" Mark questioned

"I don’t know you tell me" I said rising an eyebrow, he walked away.

"That’s what I though" I said

"Oh was that another thing Zachary fails to do" Taylor said passing by

"Shove a stick down your throat and shut up" I said. I am so tired of her, now that she is living with me she is even more annoying. Since her parents had died I have just been ignoring her but I just had it with her.

"Ouch Zach that hurt" Taylor said pretending to be all innocent and I rolled my eyes

"Oh yeah well deal with it" I said

"I told you that you were a failure and you always will be" she said and she started to walk away then stopped, turned around and looked at me and said one last thing, "a failure and a big mistake, not wanted"

"Hey! You better watch how you talk to my friend or you'll regret it!" Kira yelled at her about to throw herself on Taylor.

"Just let her go" I said quietly looking down. That really hurt, what she said. I am a mistake.

"Zach" Kira said

"Hm" I said

"Look at me" Kira said but i didn't look up

"I said look at me" Kira said louder and I sighed and looked at her, "Please dont listen to what she said, Zach you’re NOT a failure and are NOT a mistake"

"Zach your mom LOVES you" Cameron said

"But I ruined her life, I’ve heard her say how she say how she wanted to be a doctor but since I was born I ruined her plans" I said looking at them

"Zach how could you say that!?" Nathan yelled at me

"Zach snap out of that you’re not a mistake and we're all lucky to have met you, Zach you are important and needed. I need you" Kira said

"Does she always tell you things like that?" Cameron asked and I nodded

"Don’t listen to her Zach" Nathan said

"I don’t want to talk about it" I said. I feel like I’m holding Mom back. Who knows maybe Mom and Dad didn’t want to have me, I was just an accident, a mistake.

Kiara's POV

After lunch Zach was very quiet. I hate seeing him all crushed. It’s all her fault! If she keeps messing with him she is going to get it from me, she can't go around insulting my best friend! Also ever since he came back he has been acting weird. He seems so life less, so not himself.

The guys are at my house, well except Zach.

"We should get Zach" Cameron said

"He hasn't been wanting to hang out, I always call him but now he doesn’t even answer my calls or my texts" I said

"Let’s just go get him and if we have to we will force him out" Nathan said

"Let’s do this" I said. We all got up and walked next door. Vic opened the door before we even knocked

"Oh hey" Vic said

"Hey" we all said

"Zach's in his room" Vic said then walked past us and left to who knows where. We got to Zach's room to see him on his bed looking up with and expressionless look on his face.

"Zach lets go out, all four of us" I said

"Naww I don’t feel like going anywhere" Zach said

"You are not getting rid of us that easy" Cameron said

"It’s not that I want you to go away I just don’t feel like hanging out" Zach said

"Well your still coming with us" Nathan said

"No guys just leave me alone" Zach said. Nathan and Cameron went next to Zach and stood by his side

"Um what are you going to do, there is a loo-" Zach was saying but Cameron grabbed his arms and Nathan his legs.

"Zach you are getting Kidnapped" Cameron said before they lifted him.

"No let me go!!" Zach yelled. I opened the door for them and they got him out his room. Zach kept wiggling, he looked like a fish out of water. Zach was screaming like if he was being tortured.

"Zach buddy calm down" I said

"Noo! Leave me alone! Let me go! Get away from me!" Zach let out another piercing scream. It pains me that we are the ones causing him to scream like this but I keep telling myself it’s for his own good to stop myself from getting the guys to let him free.

"What's going on here!?" Zach’s mom yelled from the top on the stair case.

"We are kidnapping Zach, we just had to get him out of his room" I said. Zach was still trying to get free.

"Please just don’t hurt him" his mom said

"We promise we won’t hurt him" I said.

We finally got him to my back yard and we had him pinned to the ground so he won’t run away.

"Zach we are sorry ok but we had to do it" I said. Zach was still trying to break free from
our grasp. Cameron was holding him down by the wrist and Nathan had his ankles down, I was sitting next to him. I tried to touch his face but he moved it away.

"Look Zach we just wanted to get you out of your room" Cameron said

"Let me go!" Zach yelled. I sat on him and put my hands on his chest to keep him from wiggling

"Get off of me! Don’t touch me!" Zach yelled. He was about to say something but I covered his mouth with my scarf. He looked at me with anger in his eyes.

"Zach please don’t look at me like that" I said

"Zach calm down we are doing this for your own good" Nathan said. Zach was still shaking his head and making noises.

"Zach if you keep struggling we are going to throw you in Cam's pool" I said. He shook his head faster and then stopped

"Good choice" I said. I undid the scarf and he just laid there with his eyes closed

"We are going to let you go but if you try to run away we will catch you and throw you in the pool" Nathan said. They let him go and he stayed the way he was. He had red marks on his wrist were Cameron was holding him.

A while later we went to the park. We wanted Zach to have fun and forget about everything but he kept holding himself back. We took him out for ice cream and nothing. Then I remember his favorite place is the beach so that’s where we went. When we got this his expression looked relaxed. We stayed there for like an hour and we even saw him smile. That means mission almost accomplished. We left the beach and headed to my house. I convinced Zach to stay a little later one of his favorite movies; Hocus Pocus. Watching the movie he totally forgot about everything because he got so into the movie. The movie finished and my mom had pizza for us. I told her to make the pizza that Zach likes so much and to make a red velvet cake for him.

Zach's POV

I left home and I got to the door at the same time Vic did so entered together.

"Taylor I'm glad you're living here. I always withed for a daughter" Mom said. Vic and I looked at each other.

"So Zach and I..." that’s all I heard Vic say because I ran out. I was running towards the beach. As I ran by Kira's house I ran into someone.

"S-sorry" I stuttered and tried to go but the person didn’t let me. I looked up and saw it was Cameron's mom.

"Zach are you ok? What’s wrong?" she asked

"I need to go" I said trying to leave but her hands were on my shoulders.

"Please tell me what’s wrong" she said looking in my eyes and I couldn’t hold it in anymore

"My- my mom didn’t want me" I said looking down and she hugged me

"Don’t say that" she said

"I ruined her hopes and dreams" I said

"Why would you say such a thing?" she asked

"I heard her saying that she always wanted a daughter and she was probably disappointed when she found out I was a boy, I stopped her dream, I- I stopped her from her dream, I-I was never wanted" I said

"Zach you shouldn’t feel that way" she said and held me in a hug.

"Zach" I heard my mom say. Taylor was right I was a mistake.

"Do you care about me? If I disappear right here right now would you care?" I asked her with pleading eyes

"Of course I care" she said looking at me and then past me, probably my mom

"Then would you let me live with you?" I asked

"But your mom-" she was saying but I cut her off

"She doesn’t care" I said quietly

"No Zach I'm sure she does" she said

"No, she doesn’t want me she never did" I said then I got on my knees, "please let me live with you"

"Zach stand up" she said

"Zach listen to me" my mom said

"I- I understand how you feel, I'm sorry" I said

"No you don't Zach, you don't understand" Mom said

"Yes I do, you wanted something else but you got stuck with me" I said

"That’s not what I meant-" she was saying before I interrupted her

"You don't care!" I yelled and looked at her then whispered, "You never did"

"Yes I do!" Mom yelled back and I saw Kira opened her door

"I'm not what you wanted! You just got stuck with me! I ruined everything for you! I held you back! You wish I was never born! You wished you never had me! I'm not what you expected me to be! I'm not good enough for you! I was just in your way! I- I was just a-" I yelled looking directly in her eyes but Kira interrupted me.

"Zach stop it!" Kira yelled at me. I was about to break down and cry but I wouldn’t let myself.

"All I said is true" I said

"I told you to forget about what happened, I told you not to pay attention to what was said! That was stupid and I told you not to feel that way" Kira said getting louder

"But my mom she..." I said trailing off

"Zach I-" Mom was saying but I didn’t let her finish

"Is all you think about having a good time!? Not everything is about fun Zach! I’m tired of always leaving without saying anything! You can’t even do that right!" I said after cutting her off saying the last part louder

"Zach way did you say that?" Cameron's mom asked

"Because that’s what my mom told me" I said looking down

"When did I say that?" Mom asked

"The day Kristen and Taylor moved in" I said

"Zach I didn't mean any of that, I swear I didn’t. I was really stressed that day and I guess I took it out on you. I'm sorry Zach, I'm sorry" Mom said with tears running down.

"No Mom, you’re tired of me, you’re tired of the way I am" I whispered

"No Zach, I'm not, I love you just how you are. Is that why you wouldn't leave your room?" Mom asked

"Well you said that not everything was about fun so that’s what I did I didn’t have fun" I said

"No Zach please no that’s not what I want, honey I'm sorry" Mom said

"See Zach you mom loves you" Kira said

"Zach none of the things you said before are true, look at me Zach, I love you please believe me" Mom said kneeling down in front of me.

"See Zach I told you not to listen to what she said" Kira said putting a hand on my back

"Who is she?" Cameron's mom asked

"Someone at school told Zach a stupid thing, she said that Zach was... a mistake" Kira said

"Please don't please believe that, you were not a mistake, I'm glad to have a son like you, Zach you are my everything. You and Vic are the best that ever happened to me. You're my life, Zachary I love you, believe me, please, you were a miracle for me and your dad, we are both very proud of you" Mom said crying and then she hugged me. The moment she hugged me I felt safe, like I belonged there. I felt like I did matter to her. How could I have been so stupid and not see it before? Why must I be so blind?

"Mom I'm sorry" I said hugging her tight

"Zach I love you so much that words can’t explain and what I said to Taylor was just to make her feel welcomed. My life is perfect with my little boys" Mom said

"Zach see, I told you not to listen to that bi- big liar" Kira.

I shouldn’t have let Taylor get to me. I will never again doubt my Mom.