Saving His Smile

BONUS: 0.5

During the last week of their junior year, Grace was unpleasantly surprised when Zachary clacked his plastic tray down next to her and slid onto the bench with his smile, as asinine as ever, plastered across his face. Perhaps his incisors were more crooked today, or maybe his hair was a in that ridiculous "I-just-rolled-out-of-bed" style that probably actually took twenty minutes, but his appearance was more irritating to Grace than usual.

"Hello, ladies," he greeted brightly, picking up one of Grace's carrots and chomping off half of it, passing her a fry that she didn't want in exchange.

A couple of Zach's friends joined them at the table, crowding Grace and Melody onto the far side, only adding to Grace's aggravation.

She turned to face Zachary, trying her hardest not to grit her teeth together. "Hi, Zach."

No further conversation ensued from there and she threw a glance at Melody. Her friend just shrugged her shoulders in response. Grace was about to try to resume her conversation with Melody when Zach shoved violently into her, almost knocking her completely off the bench.

"Hey, watch it, Duncan," she yelped, grabbing onto the table and staring at him with wide eyes. "What the heck was that for?"

Zachary ignored her and looked at his friend to the right of himself, James or something, whilst rubbing his side. His hand went out to Grace and rested on her forearm before he turned again and looked at her with concern and an apologetic smile. "You okay? I didn't mean to do that, I swear."

"I'm great," she ground out, jerking her arm away from his touch.

To ensure that Grace didn't do anything that could get her into trouble, Melody popped into the conversation. "So what brings you to this table, this fine Monday afternoon, Zachary?"

With one last glance at Grace, Zachary turned the blinding power of his smile towards Mel. "Well, as I'm sure you're both well aware, the end of the school year is upon us."

"Wow, thanks for that enlightenment, Duncan," Grace muttered, earning her a swift kick to her shin underneath the table from Melody.

"It had come to our attention," Melody answered over Grace.

"Well, there's the end of the year party happening at James' tomorrow night, and I was thinking that maybe you two would like to come with?" A very quick look at Grace.

James threw his arm around Zachary's shoulders at that moment and shook him a little, popping his head into the midst of their conversation. "It's just a little thing," he assured them. "Very selective."

Grace let loose with her biting sarcasm. "Well we're so honored to have been considered."

James raised a dark eyebrow at her and smirked a little bit. "Zach was not exaggerating about you..."

Grace was taken aback and frowned at the two boys. "What?"

"Anyway... " Melody cut in, waving one hand in front of Grace's face to distract her. "What time?"

James shrugged and waved away Melody's question. "Like eight...ish."

"Well we would love to come," Grace began, putting on her most regretful face. "But—"

Melody kicked Grace in the shin under the table, hard, again. "We'll be there."

Was it actually possible? Zachary's smile touched his ears. "Great. Can't wait." He turned away from them then and focused solely on his friends for the rest of the lunch period, though his head was always turned slightly towards them.

~/~/~

"Well, that was weird," Grace commented, as soon as she and Melody were out of Zach's earshot. "What was that all about?" Sure, she and Melody had been invited to parties before, and yeah, sometimes Zach was the instigator, but it was never really as... awkward as that.

Melody just smiled and shook her head, pausing in front of her classroom, her hand on the door handle. "You are so clueless, Grace."

Grace was slightly taken aback, and cocked her head to one side. "What?"

"Isn't it obvious? Zachary totally likes you." With that ultimatum, Melody disappeared into her next class, leaving Grace standing in a still-bustling hallway trying to process what her best friend had just said.

She walked to her own class, stepping in and taking a seat just as the tardy bell rang. Her thoughts, she hoped, would not be long occupied with Zachary's theoretical affections, however, as a precalculus final was handed to her. Two pages, seven questions. She needed all the brain power she could spare. She shoved away the unwanted suppositions and tried to focus instead on the first question, chewing on the metal band at the end of her pencil. Her mind was not so easily persuaded to forget her friend's words, however, and the echoed through her brain incessantly, nearly driving her mad. Frustrated, she began to write out equation for the first problem, focusing on each and every mark her pencil made on the paper. Zachary totally likes you. She pushed down too hard, and the lead snapped.

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I'm pleased to reveal the title and cover for SAVING HIS SMILE's sequel: