Playing Games // a Zach Herron fanfic // Finished ✨

Chapter 11

When I woke up the morning of the 7th day my heart hurt a little bit.
It wasn't only the last day of camp.. It was the last day me and my friends would be together here and do stupid stuff like playing such games. It was probably the last day I'll see Daisy and the rest of the girls in my bungalow. It would be the last day that I'll talk to Zach.
When we get back to LA, me and him would just become the awkward friends we used to be. I didn't know if I'd be able to find and excuse to talk to him ever again.
And that hurt.
What I feared for happened .. Through this week I fell in love with him. I hated myself for it but it was true.
I turned my head to see if Liv was still asleep, which she obviously was, and got out of bed.
I got changed into a Cute red crop top and a pair of black, ripped jeans. I looked in to the mirror and forced myself to smile.
Was I really a clown for thinking Zach might be falling in love with me as well? Probably..
How big was that chance? Out of all the pretty girls out there, he would never choose for me.
I put some mascara on my eyelashes and left the rest as it was. Eventually I went outside to go to the dining room. For the first time ever I was early and actually in time to get breakfast.
I sat down at our table with a bowl full of cereal in front of me. Zach was there already, along with Collin and Simon.
"Good morning beautiful." He said immediately when he saw me.
"Morning.." I mumbled. My heart skipped a beat as he let that nickname fall out of his mouth so easily.
Don't let it show, don't let it show. I kept repeating to myself.
"There is nobody here to hear you.. you can just call me by my name." I added.
I didn't mean to sound rude but there wasn't another option.. The last thing I wanted is for Zach to have a clue about my feelings for him.
"Well someone here is in a bad mood." Collin chuckled.
I rolled my eyes. "Anytime."
I scooted some closer to Zach in the hope that he would pull his arm around me but he didn't.
Damn.. I felt bad about my comment. Don't let it show. I told myself again.
Me and the boys were having a good conversation while slowly but surely the rest joined us, Liv was the last one obviously.
As soon as she sat down, Simon pulled his arm around her and kissed her. Without realising I smiled and my thoughts went back to yesterday.
What would have happened when I would've have let Zach kiss me? How less awkward would the night have been? Yesterday, after me and Zach slow danced together, it was a bit awkward.
I regretted turning my head for his kiss and not kissing back earlier that evening.
And so I did as most people would do in such a situation and ran away from my problem.
I told Zach that I had an headache, that I wanted to go sleep a bit earlier that night. And so I did.
I left him there, surrounded by people dancing while the volume of the music that bursted out of the speakers was loud enough to ruin my eardrums. When I finally walked out of the building, the fresh air hit me in the face and it felt like I held my breath for ages and was finally able breath now.
I walked to our place while it was close to midnight. It was slightly cold and I imagined how Zach would have noticed me shivering. He would have pulled me close, maybe give me his jacket.
But he wasn't there. Instead I walked away from him and left him on the dancefloor.
That night I fell asleep, overthinking what I was actually feeling for Zach. Could it be I liked him again? If it was.. Could it be he liked me back? Ughh I hate feelings..

That afternoon we went back to the lake. I sighed as I looked over the water. This would probably be the last time I'd stand here.. I still couldn't believe it.
"Audrey! Come join us when you are done overthinking!" I heard Liv voice yelling at me. I turned my head and saw her with some other people pulling some canoes in to the water. I chuckled and walked up to them.
"Crazy that this is probably the last time here." I spoke out my thoughts to Liv.
She nodded slowly. "If you think of it.." she sighed. "I am going to miss this so much."
We stood there for a while, staring over the water when Sarah called our names.
"Are you still going to help us or not?" She was trying to pull a canoe in to the water but failed since it was a bit too heavy.
"Oh yeah.. sorry." I rushed to her to help carrying the canoe. Soon they all laid in the water. Sarah and Liv already went in to one and I was standing on my own on the jetty. I pulled a life jacket over my basic black swimsuit and was just about to step into the canoe when I heard Zach's voice behind me.
"You are not canoeing all alone are you?"
I shrugged. "Well I was planning on it but apparently not."
"It's not allowed to sit in a canoe alone, that's against the rules."
I chuckled as he tried to get in as well. "It is against the rules to not wear a life jacket.. The only rule about being alone in a canoe breaks is the unspoken rule of being cool because it makes you look like  loner."
He laughed and grabbed a life jacket. "That's what I meant."
I giggled and rolled my eyes. "For sure."
I carefully got in the canoe, deadly afraid that it would flip already by my weight. Zach, on the other hand wasn't scared at all since he basically jumped in making the water splash loudly against the border of the already unstable canoe.
I turned around and gave him a death glare. When our eyes crossed he raised up his hands sheepishly, which made the boat wiggle even more.
As soon as we found our balance again I wanted to be mad at him but he looked at me with such a look on his face that I couldn't help but bursting out in laughing.
"Okay.. let's go." I said as we were eventually done laughing and I grabbed the paddles.
We were both paddling to the middle of the lake.
"Let's stop for a while." Zach suggested.
I nodded as I noticed my arms started to hurt a little bit.
We stopped rowing and the canoe grinded to halt. I took a deep breath of air and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I stared at the little beach that was filled with all the people from camp. Familiar people.. Less familiar people.
It was like a perfect picture you could take and put in an aesthetic scrapbook.
"Do you know that feeling that you just want to capture a moment and keep it forever." I turned my head to him and only when I saw his face, I realised I said my thoughts out loud. I turned completely red but instead of him making fun of me a smile formed on his lips and he nodded.
"I know that feeling.." He softly took my hand and made my cheeks turn even more red. I turned a bit, so that I was facing Zach but that wasn't the smartest idea ever.
With the movement of my arm I hit one of my paddles, causing it to fall into the water.
I rolled my eyes. "Shit.."
The paddle was floating away from us. I stuck my arm out to take it but it was too far away already.
"Wait I'll help." Zach said. He made the canoe come a little closer. "Almost.." I was hanging over the edge of the boat, just to try to reach it but my arms were too short.
I stretched out a bit more and with that the canoe started to turn dangerously. The tops of my fingers were only inches away from the wooden paddle.
Just a bit more...
"Audrey! stop!" Zach screamed but it was too late.
The canoe flipped over and we were both laying in the water. It took a little before I had my head above water again and I gasped for air.
I looked around to see if I could find Zach. Fear overwhelmed me when I couldn't and I started screaming his name. I swam around the boat to search a sign of him. But I couldn't find him anywhere.
I was on the edge of getting a panic attack when I felt a pair of strong arms grabbing me around my waist. I screamed and turned around to see Zach's laughing face.
Normally I would have slapped him but instead, I let myself fall into his arms. I think I've never been more happy to see that face of his, ever. He responded my embrace with a grin and put his hand through my wet hair.
When we eventually let go of the hug I hit him in the face as he deserved. "Don't- don't d-do that ever again."
He still had that grin on his face as he placed his hand on his painful cheek.
"Sorry.." With a chuckle he continued: "If you didn't convince me to wear this life jacket I probably would have been dead by now."
He said it in a joking way but I took it seriously.
I swam back to the canoe, which was floating a bit away from us.
"We have to find a way to get this thing back with the right side up." I mumbled.
I put my hands on the boat, trying to push it over but I only pushed it further away.
"Wait let me first show something.." Zach swam over to the canoe again. When he reached it he pushed himself up on his arms and climbed on the boat.
I swam after him and chuckled. "Was that what you wanted to show me? Your biceps?"
He smirked. "Well if that was what you were looking at, then yes."
I rolled my eyes but smiled. "Oh shut up."
He stuck his hand out for me to grab it and when I did, he pulled me on, what used to be the bottom of the canoe. I sat down next to him and my eyes went back to the beach just like last time.
"Well.. This is actually just the same as sitting in the canoe with its right side up."
"It is but it also isn't right?"
I giggled and looked at him. "Yeah kinda."
I looked back at the beach and the other canoes that were floating over the softly rippling water.
"They are looking at us." I smiled and scooted a bit closer to my 'boyfriend'. He pulled his arm around my waist and kissed my cheek.
I slightly turned red and laid my head on his shoulder. I couldn't believe that I did that so easily. It just felt natural.
"I am sorry for what I said this morning.." I mumbled.
"What did you say again?"
I looked at him. did he really forget about it? I thought he was mad.. "That when you called me beautiful. I thought you were upset or something."
"Oh no I wasn't upset.. I thought you were the one who was upset."
I chuckled and shook my head. "Not at all." I felt my cheeks burn red as I said the next words. "I actually like it a lot when you call me beautiful.."
He smiled wide. I couldn't help but smiling back widely.
We were sitting for a while like that with a peaceful silence between us until I noticed him slowly leaning in. And I slightly started panicking.
Was this real? If it was, what should I do?
And, stupid me, for no reasonable explanation other than impulses, I let myself fall from the boat into the water.
When I came back above water and saw Zach's confused face, I could seriously hit myself.
Why am I like this?
I smiled awkwardly. "We should go back maybe.."
He nodded and jumped in as well.
We tried to push the canoe on its right side but gave up after a few tries. Eventually we just pushed it back to the beach keeping it upsidedown like it was. I held the paddles in my arms while I was swimming back.
The distance was so much longer now we had to swim it ourselves instead of sitting in the canoe. But after a good 10 minutes we finally reached the sand.
I dropped the paddles on the beach and with a sigh I flopped on my towel. Surprisingly Zach came to sit next to me.
I didn't expect that after me jumping in to the lake while he tried to kiss me but anyway.
We started a conversation about whatever until our friends called us to join them with swimming.
I tried to enjoy every second of the afternoon but it was over in the blink of an eye. With reluctance, every went back to the camp where dinner was already waiting for us.