The Wallflower Effect

Chapter 13: Fate's Plaything. Part 1.

I managed to go through the entire day without running into Eathan or Gage, thankfully.  Before the bell, Jessica, who'd asked me to call her Jess, and I had made plans to go to Janey-Lou's with her. We were going to call detective Coleman. It was nice to know that I had an ally in all of this, someone I could talk to. Somewhere along the line, I had done to him the very thing I had begged Gage not to do to me, I shut him out. I felt terrible about it, but I needed space from him. I clearly didn't know Eathan all that well, so I needed someone I could trust. It sure wasn't going to be my parents. They would just tell me I was a naive, worthless teenager. I needed someone I didn't hate to confide in. Someone who didn't want to date me and didn't disapprove of me wanting to get some justice myself. So Jess was just what I needed.

Before that, though, I desperately needed some running time with Honey. I walked home from school in gym clothes, which I hadn't bothered to change out of because it was my last period. I walked in through the door, and she was ecstatic to find me in workout clothes and a leash that I kep in my backpack in hand, ready to spend some quality time with her.

"You ready to go for a run, Honey?" I teased at her. She whimpered and shook her tail, giving me her puppy dog eyes. "Are you, girl?" She barked out what sounded like a 'yes' to me. I swear after having her for three years, I'd picked up her little way of communicating.

"Let's go, then." I didn't want to keep the poor girl waiting for long, so I put on her leash. We went out through the back door, and I started to jog at a medium pace, my loyal German Shepard going at exactly the same pace. We were perfectly synced. I was a machine, running gracefully through the vast woods. I ran past the small creek, past my special tree. I just kept running. Before I knew it, I could feel a liberating strain in my legs, and it was almost enough to shut out the pain. Almost. Now that I was alone, well, not counting Honey, the horror of the past few days really hit me. One second, my powerful legs gracefully leaped over a log, the next, there was Adira's body. Her epmty eyes and deathly pale skin.

I almost tripped. Honey whined, and I kept going. The red cooler. The note. The fact that someone had killed people for me. I ran faster, as if that would somehow put distance between me and my memories.

Me in Gage's arms, smiling as we talked about our shared childhood memories. My mother calling me a worthless brat after I had spilled juice over her medical files when I was a child. Being the new kid in town, getting harassed by pretty girls and mean boys. All of my memories melded into one massive, painful blur. I forced my legs to pump faster, Honey adjusting her pace to meet mine. I was going fast. Tears were clouding my vision.

"Hey! Zoey!" A voice called, clear as day. I skidded to a halt, astonished to see Eathan Harker, tousled golden hair and all, also in athletic clothes, which looked so freaking hot on him by the way... oh wait, I was mad at him for something.

"Eathan? What are you doing here?" I asked, wiping my tears away quickly. Honey usually growled at strangers, but she just sat down beside me in an exhausted heap.

"Well, I heard you were a runner, and I knew about the paths back here, and my house isn't too far away, and I wanted to tell you that I was really sorry, so I kind of just.. um," He rambled, then paused, looking concerned. "You've been crying!" He exclaimed, taking a few steps toward me and studying my face. He looked so worried for me, like he took my tears as a personal offence.

"Yeah, I have." I conceded, looking at my feet, not used to being cared for. In close proximity. By a really hot guy. Away from civilization.

"I'm sorry, Zoe. That scene in the hall way with Gage was stupid and impolite." He whispered, pulling me into a tight embrace. I welcomed it, bringing my hands up to his drool-worthy, comforting chest. He lightly ran one of his hands soothingly up and down my back, the other playing with my hair absently. There was nothing sexual about it. He didn't feel me up or anything, like lots of guys would've tried to. He just held me, purely for comfort.

"I know you are. Thank you, for doing this." I whispered back to him, feeling his arms tighten ever so slightly around me. The forest and Honey faded away, and there was only the intimacy of being held in his arms, him somehow managing to make me feel like a precious treasure.

"Doing what?" He asked, lowly, his deep voice and warm breath on my ear giving me delightful tingles. I felt his lips curl into a smile. He liked being close to me, too!

"Come all the way out here to apoligize to me, see me crying, not ask why, and just hold me withought trying anything." I explained, pulling back just enough to make eye contact with him, but landing on his lips instead somehow. Totally by accident. Totally.

"What kind of guy do you take me for?" He spoke, looking mildly affronted.

"The very best kind." I responded, playfully, thought I meant every word. He smiled goofily. In that moment, he wasn't the king of the school. He was just a cute guy who was happy I didn't think he was a jerk. In that moment, he stole a piece of my heart. "The kind that doesn't run away screaming from the weirdo outcast chick who has a psycho stalker." I added. Eathan stepped back, releasing me from our hug, and putting his hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes.

"Is that really how you think of yourself?" He questioned.

"Yes, it is." I stated, matter-of-factly.

"That's not how I see you, Zoey." He informed me, stepping closer to me again, bringing up one of his hands to stroke my cheek.

"How do you see me?" I wondered aloud. He chuckled.

"Well, I see you as the girl who came to town, and had every boy after her and didn't know it. I see you as the girl who didn't look at me when I picked up the math test you dropped in eighth grade, but stood up to a linebacker who made fun of a larger girl, on the same day. I see you as the only girl who never flirted with me, or tried to use me for my family's money, or for the popularity that comes with being with me. I see you as the beautiful girl in the back of the class wearing a hoodie and jeans, and just being herself."

"I see you as strong. I see you as kind towards people not as strong as you. I see you as the girl that's shy, but stands up for herself. I see you as a bookworm that's always in her own world. I see you as the girl that didn't break down after having the worst week I can imagine." He described, getting a happy look in his eyes as he spoke about me. I was shocked. I had no idea he felt this way about me! How on earth had I not noticed him?

"I see you as the girl I've had a massive crush on since I've know her. I see you as the girl so pretty I didn't have the guts to talk to you. I see you as the girl that made me unbelievably grateful I got a hot cup of coffee spilled all over me." He finished, teasing me at the end. I giggled, blushing so much I probably looked like a tomato.

"I'm really sorry about that." I said, looking down at my feet.

"I'm not!" He declared. I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in his neck.

"You really feel that way about me?" I asked, my heart warm from his words.

"Yes." He confirmed. I said nothing, simply not having any words. "Well, are you going to say anything? You're kind of leaving me hanging here..." He babled. If I didn't know any better, I would've said he, the great Eathan Harker, sounded nervous.

"I have feelings for you too." I confessed, beaming at him. His whole body looked far less tense after I said those words.

"Really! Oh, um.. good. I'm really glad. Uh, what are those feeling, exactly?" Eathan said,  looking for clarification. I smiled, studying his golden eyes and hair for a minute, before settling for looking at his full, pink lips again.

"I may just be falling in love with you." I revealed. I stepped closer to him, feeling completely unrestrained and wild. And then I did something that this new, bold Zoey Castro I was becoming was very, very proud of. It was probably very stupid, but I didn't care.

I made out with the really hot guy with a crush on me, in the middle of the forest.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This was orignally going to be a meeting between Zoey, Jess, and Detective Coleman, but I got carried away! I felt that with Zoey and Eathan being who they are, this was bound to happen. Don't worry, she's run into Gage in the part two! Follow, vote, comment, all that good stuff. And oh, do I have a plot twist for you guys... ;)

~Mage