In My Dreams It's Me And You

(Nat's POV)

After breakfast, Zack and I made our escape from the house where although Matt was trying to hide it, tensions between him and Brian were still running high. We walked for about half a block, neither of us really saying anything, until we got to the main street.

"So Nat," Zack said, throwing his arm over my shoulder, "what do you feel like doing today?"

I smiled and leaned into his side as we started to mindlessly wander down the street. "How about we go hang out at the beach?" I suggested. "I haven't been there in such a long time."

Zack looked down at me with a slight grin. "Neither of us has our bathing suits, though."

"That doesn't make a difference, does it?" I asked, looking back up at him with my eyebrows raised.

Zack laughed and shook his head, refocusing his attention to the sidewalk in front of him. "I guess it doesn't," he admitted. "Off to the beach we go."

Zack and I continued to walk, his arm still around my shoulder, until we reached the beach. Once we reached the sand, I carefully slipped out of my flats and ran towards the water, not bothering to wait for Zack as he took his shoes off. As I neared the water, I took in a deep breath and let the ocean air fill my lungs. It really had been too long since I'd been near the ocean; the salty air was nearly overwhelming. As I started to roll the bottoms of my jeans up, I felt Zack come stand next to me.

"Are you really going in?" he asked, his green eyes wide.

I stood up straight once my jeans were rolled up to my liking and smiled at him. "Of course I am," I replied. "And you are too."

"Oh no I'm not," Zack said and started backing away from the shore.

"Come on, Zack, it'll be fun!" I said and took my first step into the cool water. The sand beneath my feet felt amazing and I started to wade in further as more waves started to crash around my legs.

I was a few feet in when I heard Zack groan and follow after me. I waited until he caught up to me and then smiled at him. "I only came in because I didn't want you to get eaten by sharks or some shit like that," he mumbled.

"No, I think you came in because you knew I was right and that it will be fun," I teased him. Zack rolled his eyes and splashed some water on me. "Hey, what was that for?" I asked, playfully shoving some water back at him.

"For making me come in the water," he replied and tried to shield himself from my splash.

I laughed and started moving further into the water. "I did no such thing," I answered. "It's not like I forced you in after me, babe."

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Zack asked as I started to get further away from him. "You can't just leave me here!" I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him. "Don't stick that out unless you're planning on using it, doll," he smirked and slowly started wading out towards me.

I just laughed and waited for him to catch up to me again. We were now about waist-deep in water, but neither of us really cared that our jeans were wet. As he started getting closer to me, Zack started splashing me again.

"You better stop splashing me, Zack," I said, trying not to laugh as I tried to defend myself from yet another wave.

"Or what?" he asked, sending more water towards me.

I thought about it for a bit, and then replied, "Or else I'm going to dunk you, that's what!"

Zack laughed and started making his splashes bigger. "I'd like to see you try, doll. Nobody ever dunks me," he stated proudly as he came to stand in front of me.

I smirked and put my hands on my hips. "I guess that changes today, then."

"Like hell it does," Zack laughed and before I knew it, he was tackling me backwards into the water.

Zack surfaced before me, and when I finally came up, he was laughing at me. I moved my hair out of my face and quickly returned the favor of tackling him into the water. Zack came out of the water gasping and spit some water out before he ran at me and threw me over his shoulder, spinning me around a few times before he threw me into the water. This was going to go on for a long time, I could already tell....

A few hours later, Zack and I sat on the beach, trying to dry off. We were both soaking wet after our little battle in the water, and were both eager to get dry. As I lay back in the sun, Zack sat quietly next to me. I could tell there was something on his mind, but I didn't know if he wanted to talk about it or not. I didn't want to push him, so I figured that if he wanted to talk about it, he would.

"Hey Nat?" he asked after a while.

I sat up from my position in the sand and turned to look at him. "What's up, Zack?"

Zack stared at me for a little bit, seeming to think about what he wanted to say, and then let out a sigh. "What's really going on with you and Brian, if you don't mind me asking?" he finally said.

I sighed in return and shook my head. "Nothing," I replied.

"Nothing?" Zack asked, raising his eyebrows slightly. "You don't like him or anything?"

I let out a small laugh and smiled at him. "No, Zack, I do not like Brian. I'd really like to be friends with him, but he's definitely not my type when it comes to dating."

Zack gave me a wicked grin and said, "So if I were to make a move on you, you wouldn't be like, 'No Zack, I'm more interested in Brian'?"

I laughed again and replied, "No, I would not tell you that."

His green eyes glowing with excitement, Zack lowered his face to mine and spoke, "So then if I were to kiss you, would you reject me?"

Looking from his eyes to his snake-bitten lips and back to his eyes, I said quietly, "No, I would not."

Slowly, Zack closed the gap between us and pressed his lips to mine. Just as before, the cold metal of his piercings sent shivers down my spine, but I had a feeling this kiss wouldn't stay as innocent as the first. And I was right: after a moment, Zack slid his tongue across my bottom lip and I willingly parted my lips for him. Our tongues clashed together and made their way past each other so we could explore each other's mouths, while Zack slowly started to pull me into his lap. I quickly situated myself and straddled his lap as he pulled me in closer so we were now chest to chest. I rested my hands on his shoulders while Zack settled his on my hips, squeezing tightly when I moved up in his lap and softly grinded against him.

After a few minutes of this, I reluctantly pulled away, nipping at one of his snake bites. Zack closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against mine. When he opened his eyes again, Zack smiled. "Matt would definitely not have approved of that," he chuckled.

I smiled and pressed my lips softly to his and then pulled away. "No he wouldn't have," I agreed. "And even after what he said this morning, I know he's still not going to approve of me and you."

Zack smiled softly and tucked some stray hairs behind my ear. He let out a sigh and then placed his hands on my hips again. "I know you've heard some stuff about me, Nat," he began, "but I just want you to know, I'm not like that anymore. Yeah, I used to be a major tool, but I'm past that. And I know I just got out of a long-term relationship, but I'm not using you, Nat. I can promise you that."

I nodded my head and Zack took one of my hands in his. "I know, Zack. You don't have to tell me," I replied. "It's not like we are getting into anything serious, anyways, right? We're just seeing where this takes us."

Zack nodded his head. "I just wanted to tell you that, though. I don't want you to think you are just my rebound girl."

Smiling softly and nodding my head, I leaned in and pressed my lips to Zack's once again. When we pulled apart, I got to my feet and helped Zack to his. "We should probably get home," I said as we started walking. "I'm fucking starved, and because I didn't tell Matt where I was going, he'll probably fucking send out the National Guard to come find me pretty soon."

Zack laughed and agreed, subtly taking my hand and lacing our fingers together. I smiled the whole walk home.