Zach Dempsey x OC Reader

04

Thanks for the reads, I only started this yesterday :)

Later that evening, the boys were all in Bryce's house. All were awaiting the arrival of Mae, and Clay Jensen who, unbeknownst to Bryce, was supposed to be bringing over the tapes. Justin, who was anticipating Clay's arrival more than anyone, was clearly on edge.

Soon there was a ring at the doorbell which came through to the buzzer in the pool house where the boys were. Zach, who was playing a video game with Bryce, leapt up over the back of the sofa and pressed the button, "Candy's in the bowl" he said quickly. "Zach it's me, Mae. Let me in" her chuckles heard through the receiver. "Oh sorry" Zach laughed, jogging out from the pool house and to the front door. Mae stood there in a pair of black jeans, a maroon t shirt and her hair cascaded to her shoulders in loose curls. She also had a pair of brown glasses positioned on her face. "Since when do you wear glasses?" Zach asked, pointing to the pair that she wore. "Always. I just wear contacts for school" she answered. "You should wear them. They look cute" Zach laughed, allowing her to enter the house. "Thanks Dempsey, you look cute too" she chuckled. Little did she know that this caused butterflies to flutter in Zach's stomach and his cheeks to tint a light pink.

Within a few minutes, Mae was sat on the sofa with Zach and Bryce playing a game on the large television. She wasn't really playing, she was just watching the screen mindlessly as the boys repeatedly smashed the buttons of the controllers. "Can someone show me the bathroom please?" Mae asked, getting up from the sofa. Zach nodded and lead the way to the bathroom. His dark hair bobbed up and down as he walked through the house and up the large staircase. Mae followed quietly behind "You know, you look like even more of a giant walking up a flight of stairs" Mae said, running to catch up with him. "Where's Mae gone? I cant find her" he asked, looking around when they had reached the top of the stairs. "I'm right here!" She laughed, poking his stomach. "I can't see her" he grinned, pretending to not see the girl in front of him. "Stop being mean! I'm not even short, you're just a giant" she whined, jumping up and down.
"Oh look, there she is!" Zach exclaimed, looking down at Mae. He then wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up over his shoulder. "Zachary Shan-Yung Dempsey, put me down!" She yelped, stifling her laughter. "You asked me to take you to the bathroom" he shrugged, carrying her through the hall. When they reached the bathroom he put her down and smiled. "Here" he said curtly, opening the door for her. She curtsied politely, "Thank you, good sir".

Zach leant against the wall, waiting for Mae to come back out of the lavatory. Secretly, he had always had feelings for Mae. She was the kind of girl you could always talk to without a dull moment, she was funny and had a smile that brightened the room. Infatuated by her, he had always tried to win her over and it was finally going his way.

"Done" Mae smiled, exiting the bathroom and standing in front of Zach. He smiled back before moving closer to her, "Can you carry me back? I'm ever so tired" Mae sighed dramatically, hoping for Zach to hold her again. "Anything for you, my lady" Zach bowed, picking her up so that they were still facing each other. His deep brown eyes gazed into her captivating blue eyes. In that moment, everything slow down. No one else in the world existed besides the two of them as their heads moved closer to each other. "Is this okay?" Zach asked, as they were about to kiss. "Yeah, just kiss me you fool" Mae giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. Then it happened, their lips synchronised as they tasted the sweet taste of each other's lips. For five minutes, they held each other, still kissing passionately.

However, their kiss was interrupted by a loud series of rips from the kitchen. "We should go" Mae nodded, dashing down the stairs to find the source of the noises. Zach happily chased after her, both entering the kitchen to see Justin ripping open a cardboard box with a knife. "Oh shit is that it?" Marcus asked, referring to the tapes as Alex shrugged, everyone staring at the box. Justin aggressively tipped the contents onto the kitchen counter. Turns out it was some golfing things, soon confirmed by Bryce, "What the fuck? They're for my dad!" He announced, pelting into the room and packing everything into the box again. "Sorry dude, I must be super stoned or something" Justin laughed, attempting to cover up the fact that he was looking for some tapes. Tapes that Bryce didn't even know existed. Bryce took the box and left the room, his face showing his scepticism.
"Um, Mae. Why are your lips all swollen?" Alex asked, approaching her with a worried expression. "Hm, what?!" She asked nervously. "Maybe we should ask Zach the same thing," Justin smirked "looks like you had a bit more than bathroom on your mind" he grinned. "Oh shut up Foley" Mae laughed, playfully punching her friend. "So, are you two an item now?" Alex asked, a wide smirk plastered on his face. Mae and Zach turned to each other before both replying, "Yeah, I guess" Zach nodded, snaking his arm around Mae's waist. She nodded in agreement, feeling accomplished knowing that she had a boyfriend.

---

Zach, who was happier than ever, had driven Mae home. Their hands interlocked as he walked her up to her front door. "I'll pick you up tomorrow" he smiled, looking into her eyes. "See you then" she smiled, kissing his lips once again. He kissed back, embracing her in a warm hug. They released each other and Mae entered her home, shutting the door behind her.

She spun in a circle gleefully before skipping up the stairs. "Hey honey, what's got you in such a good mood?" Lindsey asked while she folded clothes into baskets in the hall. "Just...someone" Mae shrugged, starting to walk to her room. "Who is this someone?" Lindsey asked, putting air quotes around 'someone'. "Zach" Mae said quickly, opening her bedroom door. Lindsey followed her, "Dempsey? The boy who is here every morning?" She asked, smiling. "Yeah" Mae nodded, laughing at her mother. Lindsey smirked and placed a last shirt into the basket, "What a shock, how did this come about?" she asked. Mae explained the gathering at Bryce's house, her mother interjecting with 'ooo' and 'aww' every now and again. When Mae had finished explaining, her mum pulled her into a hug. "I'm happy if you're happy" she said as she rested her head on her daughters. "I am happy" Mae said, unable to wipe the huge smile off her face.

---

The next morning Zach picked Mae up, as usual. However this morning, there was a different air about them. They kept their friendly manners, but were a lot more intimate than ever before. "So, how long have you wanted this to happen for?" Mae asked, looking at her and Zach's hands that were connected again. "Since we met to be honest. I've always liked you, secretly" Zach replied, rubbing his thumb against her hand, keeping his other hand on the wheel. "What about you?" He asked her. She nodded, "Ever since Preseason. You just showed yourself in a different light. A much better light" she laughed. "How's my light now?" Zach asked, chuckling as he pulled up into the car park of school. "Perfect" Mae replied, pecking him on the cheek.

They walked into school together, Zach's arm around Mae's shoulder. Word had gotten around already that basketball star Zach Dempsey was dating the head cheerleader. Students greeted the couple with warm smiles, it had always been talked that they were perfect for each other but were both too frigid to make a move.

(I'm English so I don't know if this is right but I'm going to have it so the Winter formal, that happened in their sophomore year, is happening again. In England we have dances every year so I'm gonna write it as the winter formal but in junior year, without Hannah. Sorry if this makes no sense context wise but I thought it'd be a nice edition to the story)

The group of jocks stood around Justin's locker with Jess and Mae. They were talking about the upcoming Basketball game so Jess pulled Mae to the side. "So, you and Zach?" She smirked, eyeing the tall jock. "Yeah, it happened last night at Bryce's house" Mae nodded, smiling. "Are you going together to the Winter Formal?" Jess asked, referring to the dance that would happen in a week. "I don't know, he hasn't talked about it" Mae shrugged, looking at the group of jocks. Jess took Mae's hand and pulled her back over to Justin's locker. She waited for their conversation to die down before asking, "So Zach, are you going to the Winter Formal?" He nodded, "Hopefully, if I find someone to go with. If only I could see Mae" he did the same as he had the night before, acting as though he couldn't see her. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hold back her smile. "Oh look I found her, looks like I am going" Zach laughed, wrapping his arms around Mae's waist. "That's if, you want to go together" he said to her. She nodded happily, "I'd be happy to"