Zach dempsey imagines

Not my dollar valentine

Author: hopelessimagines

"Hey! I know you had a tough week and I'm hoping you're okay. I know you're a strong girl but please, don't forget to take care of yourself."
Y/N gave a tiny smile to the little note in her hands and carefully held it against her chest along with the white daisy attached to it. This was just what she needed after all that happened the past few days.
After a long week of just hearing: "Are you ok?" "You look sick." and "You should probably get some rest." it was very nice to read something that showed genuine concern for a change.
She had to deal with a lot of things the previous days, that definitely took a toll on her physical appearance. She was sporting dark under eye circles and puffy eyes paired up with unhealthy looking pale skin.
She had been staying up until early hours in the morning to make sure she got an A on her biology test. On top of that, she had to write some history reports and all her english assignments due for that week.
She admitted that she shouldn't have procrastinated that much, but at least she managed to finish everything on time. Now that everything was handed in, she was going to take all weekend to catch up on her sleep and get rid of her sick look.
Y/N checked her brown paper bag for the remaining notes but she knew none of them would make her feel as good as the one between her fingers.
She had been finding this cute little notes that somedays are accompanied by a daisy in her paper bag, ever since Mrs. Bradley started with the "compliment bag project".
It all started with a simple "Congrats on your 95% in chemistry!" and after that message a whole bunch of notes followed.
She desperately wanted to know who left them, even though the purpose behind the bags was to leave compliments anonymously.
She even went as far as waiting half an hour after the class ended just to see if she could catch the mysterious someone who left the notes. Needless to say, her plan failed.
Y/N hoped that whoever left the notes would muster up the courage to talk to her because at the end of the day, Communications class wouldn't last forever.
-
There were a couple of days left before Valentine's Day. Everyone was going crazy with all the merchandise that was going to be given out around school, their possible dates and, of course, the oh so famous "dollar Valentine".
She honestly thought it was a waste of time and money. There was no way that something as methodical as an algorithm could tell something so subjective and random like your perfect match.
Y/N stood up and went straight to her bag after Communications class ended. She was surrounded by loud chatter of excited girls who already had a date for Valentine's day and guys who were planning on asking a girl out.
She ignored them all as she made her way to the opposite side of the classroom. Her hand reached for one of the few pieces of paper inside it and was satisfied when she recognized the neat handwriting.
"You look beautiful today."
She smiled realizing it was probably written earlier that day, lifting up her mood.
Sadly, it didn't last long.
"Aww, look at her!" Pratters exclaimed making her turn around. "looking so pathetic checking her stupid bag." Y/N flinched feeling the anger and poison behind his words. She lowered her head and awkwardly played with her hands.
It wasn't something new though. She was used to Pratters being mean to pretty much everyone outside his social circle.
He was surrounded by some of his friends and they were all laughing, except for one. Zach Dempsey.
Y/N knew he was a bit self centered, and sometimes, even stupid but it was the regular behavior that came along with being a jock in Liberty High.
Despite all of this, he wasn't a bad guy. He also had a kind, honest side that wasn't as evident as his usual self.
Y/N liked to think he was a nice guy hanging out with the wrong people, trying to fit in their world.
That being said, she wasn't surprised when Zach decide to step in.
"Stop being an ass! It's not her fault no one likes you enough to compliment you."
Y/N bit her lip in order to stop herself from smiling while Zach's friends laughed obnoxiously loud.
"Fuck off Dempsey!" Pratters scowled and swung his backpack over his shoulder before he made his way to the exit.
Y/N peeked behind her lashes and caught Zach sending her an apologizing smile. She looked down in embarrassment and waited until they were gone before she decided to leave.
-
The hallway was filled with excited teenagers flaunting red sheets of paper that contained their so called perfect matches. Some of them were debating on calling someone on their list and others were already making plans for the evening.
Y/N shook her head as she heard a group of girls criticizing each others lists. There was no way that she could stand a whole day of people talking about the same thing. She was desperate to go home and spend the rest of her day reading a good book.
However all her plans flew out the window as soon as she stepped in Communications class.
This time when the class ended, she waited until the last student left, before she decided to check her paper bag. She wasn't in the mood of being teased this time.
Her breath got caught in her throat the moment she saw a tiny bunch of daisies sticking out of her bag. She wondered why no one seemed to notice and if they did, they decided to not say anything about it.
She approached the bag with slow steps and with uncertainty filling her heart.
She carefully took the flowers and this time there wasn't a little note attached. Instead there was a red folded piece of paper.
Y/N took her time unfolding the paper. She could feel a knot forming in her stomach and it increased it's size the moment she began to read the small letter.
"Y/N:
I think you're right about the dollar Valentine survey. It's stupid and I wasted one dollar thinking it was worth a shot.
I filled in mine hoping to get your number. Sadly, you weren't part of the top 5 on my list...but I don't care. I want you to be my Valentine.
Meet me at Rosie's after school. I promise you won't regret it."
She felt her heart beating furiously against her chest as the weight of those words fell upon her shoulders.
The mysterious someone wanted to meet her.
However the doubt was making its way through her mind as she thought that it could all be a joke.
What if someone left the notes just to get her hopes up and later on, make fun of her? What if Pratters was the one who wrote the notes? What if all the jocks were waiting for her at Rosie's to laugh at her expense?
She shook her head.
No, that wasn't possible. It couldn't be a joke since it took months of little notes and flowers and she was sure no one would go through all the trouble just for a simple prank, especially Pratters. Plus, he never got near the paper bags.
Maybe, just maybe this was for real.
She didn't have anything to lose anyways. She could go to Rosie's, wait for a bit while she sipped on a milkshake and if no one appeared, she would just head home. There was no harm in giving it a chance.
-
She was fidgety for the rest of her classes, counting the minutes left before meeting the mysterious person.
Million thoughts raced through her mind taking her attention away from her teachers and from taking notes but she couldn't help it.
When the bell rang signaling the end of the day, she jumped from her seat and went straight to the restroom. She fixed her hair with her fingers and made sure her make up wasn't smudged. Taking a deep breath, she walked out school and started walking to the old diner.
The place was packed with teenagers. Some of them were hanging out with their group of friends and the rest, were couples having dates being cute to each other.
Y/N looked around for an empty table and took a sit by the window. She ordered a chocolate milkshake and played with the straw while she waited. It was the only thing left to do.
She had been sitting for not more than 10 minutes when a guy approached her table. She raised her head and was surprised to find no other than Zach Dempsey standing in front of her.
"Hey Zach!" she greeted him with a smile but he didn't smile back. To be honest, he was not acting as his usual confident self. He was rocking on his feet with both of his hands inside the pockets of his varsity jacket. His cheeks held a pink tint and his eyes looked around the place, unable to look at her face.
"Hey." he finally said. He seemed troubled and after a brief inner debate with himself, he looked at her nervously. "Do you mind if I sit?"
She was shocked at his request since they had only spoken a couple of times before and it was always about homework.
"Well, I don't mean to be rude or anything but I'm waiting for someone." she felt a bit embarrassed and expected to find disappointment on his face, but the only thing that she found, was that his blush had increased.
"I know." once again she was taken aback by his response.
Maybe he knew who left the notes.
"You do?"
"Yeah" he rubbed the back of his head before looking at her. "I wanted to go out with you even though your name wasn't on my list."
Y/N felt the color drain from her face and she almost choked on her spit as the realization hit her.
"Y-you're the one who left me all those notes and daisies?" Zach chuckled a bit and took a sit in front of her.
"Are you disappointed?" Y/N immediately reacted.
"No, no!" she quickly responded "I'm not disappointed. I'm surprised, that's all."
"Why? Is it that weird that I want to go out with you?" she shook her head.
"It's just that you never talk to me in school." she admitted ashamed feeling her face getting hot.
"Because I thought you hated me." he replied honestly. She could see that he was being sincere and wondered what made him think that she hated him.
"Why would you assume such thing?" she barely spoke to people at school and when she did, she tried to be as polite as possible to avoid any kind of trouble.
"You always avoid me! And when I smile at you in Communications you never smile back." he seemed sad and she felt her heart clench.
"Well yeah, maybe I do, but it isn't because of you." she looked him in the eye trying to make him see that she wasn't lying. "You're always surrounded by your friends, including Pratters and he isn't exactly nice to me." she shrugged. He still didn't look convinced. "To be completely honest with you, I think you're a sweet guy."
Zach smiled brightly at her comment and immediately his mood was lifted.
"Really?" he beamed with happiness.
"Yeah. Out of all the people who could've come today, I'm happy it was you." Y/N blushed fiercely at her sudden boldness but felt a bit better when she looked at Zach's face and saw that he mirrored her flushed cheeks.
-
Y/N walked through the school hallways, thinking about the previous day.
She had so much fun with Zach, she wished she had talked to him sooner. He really was a nice guy out of his self centered facade and he was kind to her at all times.
He made sure she felt comfortable around him and he even paid for the milkshake and drove her home later in the evening.
He promised she wouldn't regret it if she went to the diner and he kept his promise, because she didn't.
She entered the Communications classroom and went straight to her usual seat. Before she took a seat, she caught a glimpse of Zach smiling at her. Y/N smiled and waved at him shortly since Pratters was scowling at her.
Turning around, she sat down trying to ignore Pratters gaze burning holes at the back of her head.
She heard steps approaching and thinking it was Pratters ready to make some nasty comment, she held her breath bracing herself to take whatever he threw her way.
"Zach, what are you doing man?" she felt someone take the seat next to hers and, slowly, she raised her head expecting to see Pratters. She was relieved to find Zach instead.
Y/N turned around confused and noticed that the group of jocks were just as surprised as her.
"Zach, what are you doing?" she repeated the question his friends asked a couple of moments ago.
"Well...since you already know my identity, I figured I can now sit next to you and tell you how beautiful you are personally."
She bit her lip trying to hold in a shy smile but he saw it anyway.
Zach chuckled as he held her hand with his and tenderly kissed her knuckles.
"I like it better this way. Now I can see you whenever you blush." she playfully slapped his arm in response before laughing along with him.
However, she wouldn't admit to him that she also liked it better this way.