𝕔𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕦𝕡 ♢ 𝕫𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕙

five

on sunday morning, i make my way down to the bookstore near my house, wanting some space to clear my head slightly. the house is still tense after ryan and my mum's fight, even with my dad being around for the weekend. it isn't a comfortable environment, and, especially right now, i just can't handle it.

the bookstore is one of my favourite places. it's quaint and small, everything being made of light brown wood. the smell of books fills my senses as i enter the small store, hearing the soft ding above my head. i look over at the front desk, a smile filling my face.

"zachary! oh, i have seen you in ages! how are you doing, lovely?" mary, the owner of the store, says as i walk up to her, my smile increasing simply due to the familiarity.

"i'm okay, thank you mary, yourself?" i say charmingly, giving her a hug. she's fairly elderly, having owned the store for over forty years now. her smile is always bright and welcoming, small glasses resting on the bridge of her nose and her light hair pulled up into a neat bun.

"i'm doing really well actually, thank you. are you looking for something in particular today?" she asks.

"not really, i'm just going to browse." i smile.

"well, i'll stop bothering you then. don't leave without saying goodbye." she winks, making me laugh as i walk off, assuring her that i won't leave without doing so. i make my way through the fairly empty corridors, dragging my fingers over all the books, my eyes skimming over the titles. suddenly, i notice another presence nearby, and i look up. my eyes widen when i see the familiar curly locks, and i turn away quickly, hoping he hadn't spotted me. unfortunately, luck is not on my side. i feel him walk up to me until he is right next to me, and that's when i look up, meeting eyes with him shyly.

"hey, you're that herron kid aren't you? zach, or something?" my eyes widen slightly when he says my name, not having expected him to actually know it.

"y-yes." i mumble. he smirks and sticks a hand out, that i glance down at in surprise.

"nice to meet you, i'm jack." he says. i just stare at his hand, not quite believing that he's actually speaking to me.

"i don't bite." he laughs when he notices my shocked look.

"o-oh, sorry." i murmur, quickly sticking my hand out to shake his. his hand is soft, his grip nowhere near as hard as i expected. i finally let go, pulling my hand back carefully.

"you're cute." my jaw drops slightly when he says those last words, my eyes widening slightly and my face heating up. his tone is soft as well, his smirk no longer apparent on his face.

"i-i..." i stutter out, not sure how to reply.

"clearly you don't get told that enough. well, you should know that. i don't mean it in a weird, flirty way, i just think everyone deserves to hear those words every now and then." his smile is contagious, and i find myself smiling along with him.

"well thank you jack. that means a lot." i smile gratefully, a blush still apparent on my face.

"i know someone else who thinks you're cute. but i can't tell you who." he clucks his tongue, a mischievous look in his eyes. i furrow my eyebrows, licking my lips slightly.

"o-oh..." is all i say. jack chuckles breathily, before eventually patting my shoulder.

"i gotta go, i had to find a book for my little sister. i'll see you around zach, yeah?" he says before finally waking away, leaving me in complete shock, standing rigid. what just happened?

***

"i swear to god! i-i was so fucking confused!" daniel's frown is still prominent as i tell him about my encounter with jack, my eyes slightly dazzled.

"i don't know what's going on zach, but this is kinda weird. why would they suddenly be interested in you?" daniel murmurs, his eyebrows furrowed. i roll over in his bed, stuffing my hands into my hair.

"i don't know, dani. it's confusing me." i groan, covering my flushed face with my hands. i hear daniel chuckle, coming over to my side and pulling my hands away from my face. i roll over a little more so that my face is squished up against his torso, my arms going to wrap themselves securely around his waist. i hear him laugh above me, making a smile form on my face, even though it's stuffed into the soft fabric of daniel's hoodie.

"what are you doing, silly?" he chuckles, running his hands through my hair, making me giggle.

"i'm cuddling with you. i need to stop thinking about this dickhead, who doesn't give a shit about me." i finally say sternly, more to myself than to daniel.

"good for you bub. you wanna do something fun today? we could go ice skating or something." daniel says suggestively, and i roll my eyes, knowing how desperately daniel has wanted to go ice skating for the longest time.

"okay fine." i say, dragging out the vowels. daniel cheers loudly, picking me up as we get up.

so that's how we spend our afternoon; we go down to the ice rink, renting some skates and making our way to the ice. the cold radiates from it, and we slide around for a while, neither of us being very good. i laugh as i speed up slightly, trying to catch up to daniel, who had managed to go faster. suddenly, i tumble forwards, crashing right onto daniel and pulling him down with me. we both cry out loudly and laugh intensely as we lie on the ice, our bodies freezing.

it's fair to say, i wasn't thinking about jonah.

i'm neglecting this book, sigh.