Hey! Okay, this is a mini ZAYA story, it'll only be two or three chapters, probably two. But they'll be long! Anyway, I posted a preview for this story on my profile, along with some others! Check them out, they're mostly ZAYA but there's going to be an EClare one and probably a Drew/Katie one shot! I'll do the full summary here, tell me what you think! Please review, I love this stroy so very much and want you gusy to like it as well! :)
Full Summary: Zig Novak is 18 and has his whole future ahead of him. He and his best friend Maya Matlin have been accepted into Yale early admissions! He can study art and she can study music. He has also just had his first art gallery in Charlie's Young Artists of Toronto show! Ready for the future, Zig can't wait to let go of everyone but Maya and move on with his best friend into a brighter future. However, his girlfriend Tori had other plans...and Zig has mistakenly gotten caught up in them! Can he get out and follow his heart? Or will he do what she wants (as usual) and give up his dream? Maybe in the process he'll figure out what he really wants...ZAYA anyone?
Chapter 1
"I just don't know what to do." An eighteen year old Zig Novak said, throwing his hands in the air angrily. The crisp winter air bit at his nose. Tiny snowflakes danced down to the earth, twirling and swirling in the slight breeze. Zig wished he was a snowflake; able to just float and fly and dance and be different from everyone and everything else.
"You're over reacting." His best friend and muse, Maya Matlin reasoned as they walked down the sidewalk that was brushed in snow.
"She picked out a ring, My." He informed her.
Wait, wait, wait. Let's back it up, shall we? Let's go back to the beginning, open the book from the first page, start with "once upon a time", and rebuild the story from its foundation instead of climax. Good choice.
So here it goes.
Zig was free. He was alive. He was opening his soul to the world all while standing in a crowded studio, drinking sparkling cider, and wearing jeans, a dress jacket and a graphic t-shirt. Zig was at his first art gallery. Don't misunderstand, Zig being the artist he is, had been to tons of art galleries before. But this was the first one where his own personal work would be featured, would be placed for auction. He stood in the buzzing crowd of rich art collectors, talent scouts, and curious buyers, watching and letting it all sink in. And Maya was standing there with him, holding his arm and grinning. She filled her soft pink, ruffled strapless dress quite nicely and looked rather happy to be at the show.
"Having fun?" Zig questioned. His best friend beamed at him.
"Zig Nicolas Novak, you sir did it. You told me at the beginning of this year that you wanted Charlie to choose you to be featured in her Young Artists of Toronto show, and choose you she did!" Maya exclaimed, throwing her arms around Zig. "I knew you could do it."
"You were my muse, My." He said. She rolled her eyes.
"Oh please, you could've done this with a cardboard box as your muse." She laughed. He nodded.
"Thanks for being here, Maya. This collection was dedicated to you." he said.
"I know, I read the booklet they gave me when we arrived. 'And to my muse, Maya Matlin, for helping me in conquering drama, hate, love, and everything in between, and turning it into magnificent art!"' Maya exclaimed, quoting Zig and waving her arms in the air dramatically. They both laughed.
"It's all true. Have you seen how much they're going for?" Zig asked, now referring to the bids on his work.
"I know! I wish I could afford one, they're all so beautiful." Maya said, pulling him over to view his work. He blushed. "The talent! The fine brush strokes! And what is that? Is that eggshell paint?" Maya bragged, talking about his paintings. She'd bought him expensive eggshell paint for Christmas, and the fact that he'd used it for a few of the paintings made her smile.
"Yes! It's extremely rare, little lady." An older man with a British accent said to Maya. "Do you know where ever he found it?"
"My muse gave it to me." Zig said, stepping in. "Zig Novak, the artist. How are you, sir?" he asked, being all proper. Maya's work was done; she'd attracted a customer. She went into the crowd to find Tristan while Zig talked with a buyer.
"Zig!" Tori exclaimed, rushing through the crowds later that night to get to her boyfriend. She'd chosen to wear a long, red strapless dress that drew attention to her, and was now having trouble running in it. "Zig, darling!"
"Tori!" Zig said, hugging his girlfriend. She grinned and waved a pink piece of paper in his face.
"Guess what." She said, handing him the paper.
"What?" he asked, examining it.
"Daddy bought me that painting of the angel. The one you said was me." She giggled. His eyes widened.
"The Only Exception" sold for ten thousand dollars to Mr. Kevin Santamaria. Zig read.
"Your…dad…bought…my…painting…?" he stuttered. This wasn't good. This was very, very not good.
"Yes! For me to hang in my den!" She sang, kissing him on the cheek.
"Wow…great…" he said. Maya picked up on his mood.
"Hey Zig, can I see you outside?" she asked. He nodded and followed her outside into the January air.
"What's up, My?"
"Let's try, 'what's up Ziggy?' You seemed so let down." She said. He sighed and looked his best friend in the face, pushing a blond wave behind her ear. He collapsed onto the step and sighed, looking up at her.
"You picked up on that?" he asked. She gave him a "do you really need to ask that question" look.
"What's up, Ziggy? Ten grand is a lot of money." She said.
"I wanted other people to buy my work, not my friends' dad's." He said. "I wanted people to want it."
"Zig, look around you! People are having bidding wars over your art!" Maya exclaimed, sitting down on the steps next to him. He leaned on her shoulder.
"I know."
"So go get in there and enjoy it!" She said. "This is your night, Ziggy." She said, calling him by her own special nickname.
"And I owe it all to you." he agreed.
"No, you owe it to yourself." She said. He got up and helped her up, walking her back inside.
"Thanks My."
"Anytime." She promised. And he left to go meet with another buyer, intrigued by Maya's encouragement.
"Zig!" Tori yelled, running over to him. He'd been sitting on the steps of Degrassi with Maya, talking about the previous night's excitement.
"And that's my cue to leave." Maya said, standing up.
"Please stay." He said, holding her ankle. She kicked lightly and he freed his grip.
"I'll see you tonight for studying." She promised, picking up her backpack and riding his skateboard down the sidewalk.
"You're taking my board?" he asked. She smiled and laughed.
"Yes!" She called before riding away. Zig sighed and turned to see Tori behind him.
"Hey Ziggy-pie." She said. He wrinkled his nose at the nickname.
"Can we go with Zig? It's a better name." he asked. She laughed at him.
"Oh Ziggy-poo, you're so funny."
"Ok." He said dully, looking at the envelope in her hand. "What's that?"
"My letter." she said. "I got into Toronto University."
"Wow! That's great!" He exclaimed, hugging her. She pulled him down into a long kiss. "I'm proud to call you my girlfriend." Zig said once she'd finally let him up.
"So I'll be at T of U." Tori said, running her hand along his stomach. "And you'll be in the states." She said.
"At Yale, yeah." Zig said.
"And you'll be with Maya…and all those other pretty girls." She said, running her hand lower than his stomach, trying to turn him on. And it was working.
"Uh huh…" He sighed.
"And…welllll…we should be together forever, don't you agree?" She asked, hissing his neck.
"Agreed." He said. Now, Zig may be one of the most promising young artists, but he's still a teenaged boy, raging with hormones. And when your attractive girlfriend puts you in that position…let's just say you don't want to ruin the moment by starting an argument.
"So…we should make a promise." She said. He nodded. "A promise…like with a ring…" She murmured, biting his earlobe. A shock of delight ran through him.
"Uh huh…"
"Maybe a marriage promise?" She asked. He kissed her.
"Sure, whatever babe." He said, unaware of what he'd just done. She shrieked in happiness, jumping up, causing him to fall over because he was leaning in to kiss her.
"Tristan! Darling, he said yes! I'm getting married!" She yelled happily, bouncing over to Tristan and out of Zig's prospect. Everyone was staring at him.
"Say what?" Zig yelled, standing up. But she was gone.
"Did I just propose?" He asked his little brother Toby, walking over to him. Toby was a niner.
"I believe you did." Toby clarified. Zig bit his lip and sighed.
"Holy shit."
"I'm glad you met me here tonight, Zig." Tori's dad said as the three sat down for dinner at a fancy restaurant.
"Pleasure to be here, Mr. Santamaria, thanks for having me." Zig said. Tori, Tori's mom and Zig all watched him. Zig took a sip of his water.
"So I hear you've proposed to my only daughter." Mr. Santamaria said. Zig almost chocked on his water.
"Uh..." Zig started.
"I want to give you my blessing." He said. Zig had to do something! He had to say something! He wasn't sure that he wanted to marry Tori! "Because you will never hurt my little girl, correct Zig?"
"Never." Zig repeated, still confused.
"Good! We set a date!" he exclaimed. The restaurant burst into applause and Zig looked around nervously.
The restaurant was beautiful, five stars. Way too expensive for Zig, his alcoholic mom and Toby to afford. He'd never even looked at the place before. He felt under dressed, wearing similar clothes to the outfit from the art show.
"Great." Zig said, forcing a smile. Tori was beaming.
"Daddy, here's the ring." Tori said, pulling her left hand out from under the table. Zig's eyes nearly popped out of his head. The diamond was huge! It was magnificent, the size of a marble. A circle of rubies surrounded the diamond and a circle of sapphires surrounded the rubies.
"It's wonderful darling!" Mr. Santamaria said.
"It's a little small." Mrs. Santamaria said skeptically, shaking her head. The whole thing was practically the size of a golf ball and she was calling it small!
"You picked it out, Zig?" Mr. Santamaria asked.
"Actually," Zig started.
"Yes! He bought it for me with the art money!" Tori exclaimed.
"Zig have you ever eaten here before?" Mr. Santamaria asked, handing him a menu.
"Nope. But I do drive past it when I got to the liquor store to buy my mom more vodka. My little brother always wants to, but we can't afford it." Zig said.
"What a cute story!" Mrs. Santamaria gushed, smiling at him.
You've got to be kidding me. Zig thought. He hadn't bought Tori a ring, she'd bought it. And he prayed she didn't really use his money from his art show, he needed that to pay for Yale.
"Zig, you've got to try the lobster." Tori said.
"So I was thinking July 27th for the wedding. This way, you'll be married before you guys go to T of U." Mrs. Santamaria said.
"What?" Zig asked.
"Well you two will go to T of U together, right? You got accepted, correct?"
"Yes, but I'm going to Yale." He said. "In the United States."
"No, no. If you're marrying our daughter, you're going to T of U." Mr. Santamaria clarified. Zig opened his mouth, but something told him protesting was pointless.
"Right. Well, thanks for inviting me to dinner, but I must be going." Zig said, standing up. Tori blew him a kiss and he faked his best smile. He exited the restaurant and slid on his heavy winter coat, taking a deep breath of the crisp winter air. He took out his iphone and dialed the only person he could talk to. When they didn't answer, he did the only logical thing: he ran to their house.
He didn't care that he was slipping and sliding on the frozen pathway, he didn't care that a car had stopped to observe him, he didn't care that he'd fallen in the snow in his scuttle to get to the front door. He only cared that he was there and would soon feel better.
Banging on the door, his mind raced. A couple of seconds felt like an eternity as he hammered on the door.
Finally, the deadbolt unlocked and the door swung open, allowing light to spill out into the crisp winter Toronto night.
"Zig?" Maya asked, looking confused. "Tonight was dinner with Tori's parents. It's why you had to cancel on me." She reminded him. He studied her skinny jeans, black flats, and striped long-sleeved t-shirt, and decided she looked rather stunning with moonlight shining on her.
"I know, and I'm sorry about that." He said. She tapped her foot and looked as though she was trying to decide whether to let him in or not. At last, she smiled a welcoming grin.
"My grandparents are here because Katie's home. We were just about to eat. Did you have dinner?" She questioned. He shook his head. "C'mon in Ziggy." She said, opening the door all the way. He smiled gratefully and entered the toasty warm foyer, closing the door behind him.
"Hang up your coat." Maya requested. He hung it up on a hanger in the coat closet and slid out of his vans, revealing his black socks.
"What's for dinner?" he asked, following Maya down the hallway to the dining room.
"Chicken."
"My favorite." He said.
"Everything I make is your favorite." She said, rolling her eyes. He nodded in agreement.
"Except for your homemade ice cream. It always has too much ice." He joked. She laughed.
"Jerk." She accused teasingly. They entered the dining room.
"Who was at the door Maya?" Mrs. Matlin asked, looking up. Zig waved.
"Hey guys." Zig said.
"Zig!" Katie cheered, jumping up and running into his arms to hug him. They hadn't seen each other in a while. While Katie hugged Zig, she mouthed the words "Oh my god, he's even cuter!" to Maya. She rolled her eyes.
"So are you two dating yet?" Katie asked, pulling away.
"We're just friends, Katie." Maya said, getting Zig a plate and a glass of water. He sat down in the seat next to her and everyone got settled in.
"Bummer, I always thought you'd be perfect for each other." Katie said, truly stumped.
"Let's get off the boyfriend talk, shall we?" Mr. Matlin asked, eyeing Maya.
"Agreed." Zig and Maya said together.
"Good!" Their father said.
"So how's University, Katie?" Zig asked. Katie smiled.
"Amazing! The classes are so great, and my teachers this semester are really cool." She said.
"That's great." Zig replied. "Is T of U nice?"
"Absolutely! But you have Yale, and Yale is SO much better." Katie informed him.
"I've decided to not go to Yale." Zig said. Everyone at the table went dead silent. The Matlins were Zig's second family. Katie was the big sister he'd never had. Mrs. Matlin made him home cooked meals to bring to him mom and gave him motherly advice. Plus she was always there to help sew on a button when it fell of a shirt or help with Trig homework. Mr. Matlin was a teacher at T of U, so he helped Zig prepare for the SATs, decide what colleges he wanted to apply to, and write the admission essays for his college apps.
"Please repeat that." Mr. Matlin questioned in his instructor tone of voice.
"I've decided to attend T of U." Zig repeated once more. Somehow, out of all the people he'd just disappointed, he was most fearful of Maya's reaction.
"Zig, you and I are taking a walk after supper." Maya told him. He stole a peak at her. She didn't look angry, but confused.
"Okay." Zig practically whispered.
"So Maya, is this your boyfriend?" Maya's grandma asked. Zig chocked on his water for the second time that day.
"No Grandma." Maya said. "Not really."
The rest of the dinner was silent and awkward for both Zig and Maya. The Matlins interacted together, however Zig and Maya just stayed quiet. Zig ate his chicken and turned down a second helping. Maya served her family and didn't oblige when she was offered help.
The second her grandpa scraped the last morsel of mashed potatoes off his plate and shoveled it into his mouth, Maya collected the dishes and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Excuse me; I'm going to assist Maya in the kitchen." Zig said, standing up. Katie scoffed.
"Assist is code for rip her clothes off and kiss her." Katie informed her family. Everyone laughed and Katie sighed. "One day you people will see." She said.
Zig ignored this and walked into the kitchen, closing the doors behind him.
"Hey My," he said, coming next to her at the sink. She didn't say anything, she just kept scrubbing dished furiously. "Maya, I know you're mad." Zig said after a moment.
"Not mad. Frustrated. Disappointed. Confused. Perplexed. Distraught. Infuriated. Mystified. Baffled. Thwarted. But no, I'm not mad Zig." Maya said.
"Okay, Maya look." Zig said, taking a towel and drying dishes.
"No Zig, you look! I worked my ass off to be able to get into Yale! Do you want to know why?" She asked.
"Because you wanted to go to school there?" he guessed.
"No you stupid idiot! I wanted to go to school there with you! I don't care where I am or where we go or what we are, I just want to be with you!" Maya yelled. "Get it through that thick, skateboarder skull of yours, I've stuck by you all these years because-" Maya's mom interrupted,
"Maya dear, can we get that cherry pie out here? Grandpa is getting a bit sleepy." Maya bit her lip in frustration and sighed.
"Sure mom." She said, washing her hands and walking over to the fridge. "Just a second." Her mom rolled back into the dining room and Maya grabbed plates, forks, a pie cutter, and put it all on a tray along with the pie.
"I'll finish up here." Zig said. Maya nodded and walked into the other room. Zig picked up another dish and started scrubbing it with all his might. Tori was ruining his life! Sure, they had fun. And sure, he enjoyed having sex with her. But he wasn't sure he loved her. He wasn't sure he wanted to spend the rest of his life with the girl from eighth grade biology class. He deserved Yale! And he wanted to go there with Maya! He'd worked his ass off trying to break even for six years, ever since his dad died. He'd been saving tips from his job at the Dot in a jar labeled college fund. And art was where his passion was! He was good at it, and he'd made almost twenty thousand dollars at his show! That was a fanatical amount of money! Of course half of it was Tori's dad's…and that was another thing! Tori's dad spoiled her rotten! She would never be able to live in a studio apartment or in a cellar or in an attic. He'd been moving from filthy apartment to filthy apartment for six years, he was able to handle a little grime. Tori was a princess with butlers and maids and drivers and cooks! She lived in a mansion! He would never be able to satisfy her with the salary he intended on making!
"I'm back." Maya said, breaking his thought. He was forever grateful.
"Dishes are done." Zig said, stacking them in their set cabinets where they belonged.
"Great. So how about that walk?" Maya asked. He nodded and they both walked through the living room to get to the foyer. Maya's family was eating pie in the living room and all eyes were on Maya and Zig as they entered the room.
"We're going for a walk." Maya informed her mother. Her family dismissed them and they walked through the room and into the foyer. Zig and Maya both dressed in their winter clothes, and Zig tied his sneakers. Maya slipped on her coat and her knit cap and was ready to go.
"We'll be back!" She called before they exited the toasty warm house and walked out into the bitter Friday night.
"I wish she would just kiss him already." Katie said once Zig and Maya were no longer around.
"Katherine!" Mrs. Matlin scolded.
"Katie, you'll jinx it." Mr. Matlin warned. She rolled her eyes.
"Watching them be "just friends" for four years is like stabbing myself in the eye with pins." Katie said. "Watching them pretend not to be infatuated with the other…it's heartbreaking. They belong together." Katie explained.
"I know, Katie. I know." Mrs. Matlin replied.
*Meanwhile*
"So explain to me why you're ruining your life." Maya said as they walked down the sidewalk. Zig sighed. She was making this so hard.
"Maya, you know that I'm not good with words." He started. She shook her head. "And?"
"I'm going to try and explain this the best I can." He promised. She nodded and he continued. "Do you remember today at lunch when we were hanging out on the steps? And Tori came over, so you left?" He asked.
"Sure." Maya said, linking his arm with hers.
"Well…Tori told me that she got into T of U. And she said something about how we're going to Yale together, and she wanted a promise. Point is, I wasn't really listening to her because she was seducing me." He said.
"Zig, c'mon I don't wanna hear about that." Maya cut in. He smirked and continued.
"Anyway, I wasn't listening to her and somehow or another, she asked me to marry her. And I said 'Sure, whatever babe'. And then Toby told me that I'd proposed, and Tori ran off yelling 'I'm getting married!"' Zig said. Maya wasn't surprised.
"Go on." Maya encouraged. Zig sighed and continued.
"Then at dinner, I tried to speak up and say it was all a big misunderstanding, but then Tori started talking about the wedding and her father gave me this speech about never hurting his little girl…I didn't know what else to do, so I went along with it. And then he told me that I can't go to Yale if I marry Tori." He said, slumping against a tree. "He's changing my whole future because of one tiny misunderstanding! I'm so angry! I just don't know what to do." Zig said, throwing his hands in the air angrily. The crisp winter air bit at his nose. Tiny snowflakes danced down to the earth, twirling and swirling in the slight breeze. Zig wished he was a snowflake; able to just float and fly and dance and be different from everyone and everything else.
"You're over reacting." His best friend and muse, Maya Matlin reasoned as they walked down the sidewalk that was brushed in snow.
"She picked out a ring, My." He informed her. She stopped and looked at him. He noticed the pain in her face…why was she so sad?
"Wow…I never thought this would happen." Maya said. He raised an eyebrow.
"What?" he asked. Maya turned away, hiding her face from him.
"I just…I never thought that you'd end up with her, Zig." She said, tears now running down her face.
"Maya…what's going on?" Zig asked, turning to face her. He saw her tears and wiped them away.
"Nothing…I'm fine." She said.
"Maya, I know you. You're not fine." He said.
"I just always thought that we'd have a shot." She said. His eyes widened.
"Wait…what?" he asked. She groaned.
"Forget it."
"Did you just say that you…liked me?" he asked, still shocked by the news.
"No! No, it's okay." She said.
"No, you wanted to be with me." he said.
"Forget it, Zig. It's over. You're engaged." Maya said. "Look, I've got to go. See you in the morning? You're driving me to school?" She asked.
"Sure. But wait, let's talk about this." He said.
"Nothing to talk about! Bye Ziggy!" Maya called, walking away. He watched her go, tears coming to his eyes.
Maya Matlin loved him. She loved him. She wanted him. What was he doing? Every nerve in his body was on fire, telling him to run after her! She was the one! He'd painted "the only exception" about her, not Tori! He loved her!
But he didn't follow her. No, instead he ran the other way. Because he was marrying Tori whether he liked it or not and he couldn't back down.
He was unaware that Maya cried the rest of the way home.
a/n: what did you think? please review and tell me, I love this story and want your opinions, they really mean a lot to me. As always, thanks for reading!