(3) Not the Same: An All Time Low Fanfiction Romance

Chapter 29: Happy

        "How do you even think about riding that thing in this heat?" I groaned from the back of his car, fanning myself with an old baseball cap that he kept back there. It was nearing six o'clock, but the humidity was enough to kill someone. My shorts were sticking to my legs, tank-top clinging angirly to my body. It was way too hot even for the summer time.

        He rolled past me on his board, hands on his bare hips with a small, teasing smile on his mouth. His hair was pressed to the side of he head from sweat, but it only made him look hotter. I just never got how after a day of hibernating in the studio, he came out here and actually wanted to do something. Maybe he was just stir crazy.

        "I've been stuck inside for weeks, I needed to do something," he bent his knees, never missing a word as he did a kick flip, making it look simple. I rolled my eyes at his effortless movements, sitting up inside the trunk of the SUV. I slid my legs off the back, letting them dangle above the pavement.

        "I think you're insane," I answered truthfully, letting his hat fall from my grip before fanning myself with my hands. Nothing was helping; I didn't even know why I was trying.

        I glanced around his empty parking lot, not seeing a soul in sight. I guess most people were either in their apartments, or still trying to make it home from work in the crazy Los Angeles traffic. Whatever the reason, I felt comfortable only being with Zack. I almost preferred it that way.

        Zack pushed off his foot, sailing over me. He was almost at a complete stop when he was in front of me, leaving his chest in my line of vision. I looked up at him, noticing the small shadow that was casted on the side of his head from the sunset.

        "I still haven't taught you how to skateboard yet," he said, leaning his hands forward, placing them on the edge of the car on either side of my legs. The movement placed his face centimeters from mine, leaving me frozen. I was still relearning to breathe whenever he got that close.

        I closed the gap between us without so much as a second thought. My hand found the side of his neck, damp from the heat. He grinned against my mouth, only leaning closer as a response. I let my eyes close, moving my mouth slowly, trying to remember everything I had forgotten about the way he felt.

        As pathetic as I was, I couldn't get enough of him. It was like I was making up for all our years apart in the last three days that we've been trying things out again. I learned that I didn't like it when we said goodbye at the end of the night, and how I wished that there were more hours in the day. I hadn't felt like this since high school when we were dating.

        He pulled away, another thing I forgot about him. He was always cautious with me, never pushing his limits. It was one of the reasons I liked him so much. He was a gentleman, even if people thought differently at first glance. I guess there's a lot of things about Zack people don't usually get to me, some of them were only meant for my eyes.

        "Don't think I forgot what I just said," he murmured against my lips, kissing me again for a moment before standing straight. I let out a breath, meeting his hazel eyes again.

        "I'm going to fall. I'll probably break something and it won't be pretty," I said, trying to sum up what was running through his, allowing him to tug me to my feet to keep the distane small.

        He let the board fall to the cement between us, placing one foot between the two sets of wheels, not allowing it to move more than a foot. He nodded towards the board, signaling for me to get on. I sighed, placing a shaky foot on the moving object. It slid slightly, stopping when it hit the block he created under it. I reached over to his free hand, gripping his forearm tightly. He responded by holding my elbow, stopping me from rocking back and forth.

        "Relax Ace," he said laughing lightly. My heart fluttered at the old nickname that I hadn't realized I missed so much.

        I told him how much I liked that nickname when I heard it on Gilmore Girls when I forced him to watch a marathon with me once when I was sick, and it just stuck. I knew he did it to make me happy, and I don't think he realized just how much I loved it. I could see him saying it in my head when we'd hang out in high school, sounding just as wonderful as it does now. I looked up from under my lashes, noticing the way his eyes focused on my leg, making sure I was stable.

        "I haven't heard that in a long time," I whispered, eyes falling onto my feet. I really didn't want to fall off it. I'd probably hurt a lot more than it looked like it would.

        He shrugged, not seeming to think anything of it. "It seems appropriate now, doesn't it?"

        I smiled to myself, laughing softly before nodding. Noticing the way he began to slide his foot out from its hold on the movement of the skateboard, I felt my eyes go wide.

        "Whoa there cowboy, hold your horses," I protested, but he ignored me, taking his foot out. "If I fall off, you're paying my medical bills."

        "And when you don't fall off, we'll go upstairs, order dinner and rent a movie," he said with an obnoxious smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes at him this time, but I barely got the time to react when we were moving slowly.

        It wasn't anything significant, or impressive for that matter. My grip loosened from Zack's arm, sliding comfortably across the ground, feeling safe with Zack's hand hovering close at my side, walking with my turtle-like speed.

        My heart clutched in my chest, and my pulse was soaring. I couldn't even believe I was moving on top of a skateboard, without anyone touching me. It might have been stupid, and I might have looked like a complete idiot, but with Zack giving me a knowing smile from the corner of my eye, for the first time in a while, I was happy.

        One-hundred fifty percent happy.