The Minor Complications of Love

Chapter Eight: The Shadow Behind Her Prince

"Hey, princess? I need you right now."

As soon as she had received the text, Bella rushed to Zack, because for once in their relationship, he needed her this time. Like some kind of humanoid cheetah, Bella ran through the streets after taking the nearest bus that would lead her to Zack's university. He told her to meet him there. As soon as she arrived, a skinny shadow appeared from behind her and hugged her. She had flinched a little, but as soon as she heard his voice, she let herself drown into his cozy embrace.

"Princess," Zack sniffed, "you came," he continued on like a little child.

"Of course I did," Bella smiled as she nestled her head in his embrace.

At this point, Zack started bursting into tears. Bella looked up at the gray clouds as she let him cry. She watched as what seemed like tears from the heavens fell upon them. It was like the sky decided to grieve with him. Bella smiled. Now, Zack wasn't alone and he didn't have to feel alone any longer, she thought as she felt tears flow down her own eyes.

Zack led Bella to his dorm that was fifteen minutes away from his university as the quiet drizzle was slowly turning into harsh rains showers. He scratched his head as he opened the door and switched the light on. 

"Sorry," he apologized. He kicked over a pile of clothes to the side. "It's kind of messy." 

He walked to his bed and picked up his stash of books and shoved it over to the nearest drawer. 

Bella chortled at the sight of her boyfriend. He had never seen this embarrassed side of him before. 

"It's not that messy," she said as she looked over his room. "This looks just like any average guy's room," she shrugged.

Zack turned to her and pouted. "So you think that I'm just any average guy?"

Bella laughed at him. She walked over to him and clung to him. "Well, not really," she snickered, "because you're my guy."

Zack grinned. "You know," he slid his arm right over her, "everything feels sorta better now that you're here." He looked at her sincerely. Even if he was still wearing a jacket that had been doused by the rain, Bella still felt a warm atmosphere surround them. She didn't know if it was because of how sweet and sincere his words were or because of the fact that he was looking at her with such spellbinding eyes. But even if she couldn't figure it out, for some reason, it didn't matter to her as long as he was here.

"I also feel happier now that you're here," Bella said as she felt her heart thumping and beating loudly.

Zack returned a smile to her before taking off his jacket.

"I think you should take a shower first," he suddenly told her, surprising her.

"H-here?" She stuttered. 

He smirked. "Well, where else?"

Bella awkwardly wrapped her arms around herself. Zack took notice of this as he sat on his bed.

"Relax," he began comforting her, "it'll just be a quick shower. I won't peek anyway. Promise," he raised his right hand. "I just don't want you to get a cold."

Bella nodded. Of course, Zack is respectful and is just looking after me, she told herself. 

"I don't have anything to change into though."

Zack cheekily grinned. He took out a clean blouse, skirt, and towel from his closet.

"Here," he said as he reached his arm out to give her the clothes and towel. "You can borrow this."

Bella confusingly looked at the clothes that he had. "Why would you have women's clothes in your closet?"

"Oh," Zack looked back at his closet before turning back to her. "It's my sister's," he smiled.

Bella sighed in relief. For a moment there, she thought that Zack might be cheating on her. She laughed faintly. No, of course he wouldn't do that. He isn't one of those playboys. She's always known that Zack was far from that, especially since he has promised her that he'd be loyal after she told him the story of her womanizing father. 

Bella took the clothes from Zack's hands. "Of course. Well, guess that's a new piece of information about you," she giggled.

"Yeah, well, there's plenty more from where that came from."

Bella nodded again then proceeded to his bathroom. She locked the door upon entry. She then caught a gaze of herself on his mirror. Well, she looked pretty drenched. She took her clothes off quickly then entered the shower. As she bathed herself, she thought about how this was the first time that she had ever washed herself in another guy's house. It was quite nerve-wrecking, but at the same time, she felt a rush of happiness because it was as though she was on a little adventure as she was doing something that both her mother and brother wouldn't want her doing. It was a silly thought considering it was just a bath, but still, she was breaking some rules and for the first time in her life, she could feel like she was one of those strong and dauntless female leads in coming-of-age movies just doing whatever they'd want. For once in her life, she felt powerful.

Once done with her bath, Bella turned the shower knob to close it. She wrung her hair then stepped out of the shower, reaching out for the towel. As she used the towel to dry her hair a little, she heard a little creak by the bathroom's doorway. She instantly turned around to see that the door was open. Scared, she quickly closed the door. No way, she thought as the question of whether Zack saw her bare naked or not bothered her. She quickly put the clothes he gave on then rushed out of the bathroom. 

"Hey Zack did yo—"

Zack sat up from his bed. So he was lying down this whole time.

"Hm? What?" He asked.

Bella looked back at the bathroom door. "Oh, it's just. The... The door. It opened and I swear that I locked it bu—"

"Oh, the door's lock is broken. There's nothing to worry about though. I didn't peek or anything," Zack said.

Bella gulped. Oh yeah, of course, she thought again. Zack is respectful. He wouldn't do that to her, she convinced herself.

"Anyway, you done?" He asked her.

"Yeah," she grinned, shaking away what had happened earlier. Of course, it was nothing.

Zack nodded then made his way to the bathroom with a towel of his own while Bella made her own way to his bed, sitting on his mattress and waiting for him.

It only took Zack a few minutes to finish bathing. He stepped out of the bathroom, dripping wet. Bella chuckled which made Zack give her a puzzled look.

"What?"

"Nothing," Bella answered, hugging onto her knees. "It's just that it was a quick one. You really are like the average guy."

"Every time you say that, I feel less special," Zack pouts once again like a little puppy before laughing and sitting at Bella's side. He began to hug her -- his touch feeling a little more cold now after his bathe.

"I wish every moment were like this," he whispered.

Bella smiled faintly, a little bit tired from everything that had happened today. Resting her head on his shoulder she thought to herself, "I wish so too."