Title - The Summer Inbetween
By - PheonixFireBlack
Summary - One-shot. Based on the flashback I made up in "Life Is An
Enchantment" Fun...you should read it.
Genre - Romance/Drama
Category - School of Rock
Feedback - You know you'll want to...
Critisism - Yes, please. Flame if you must, but I see that it's pointless.
Oh well, I guess I shouldn't worry about what I can't control, right?
Disclaimer - You guys don't know me very well, so I'll let you in on a
little secret: I am insane. Ok, so maybe you know this from my other
fics...I don't know. Anyway, I don't own the characters held within this
fic; I am simply borrowing them for fun. Oh, and I guess I do kinda-sorta-
just a little bit own Hailey Sierra Martinez
Notes - I hope you guys like this one. You don't have to, I don't guess,
but I thought it was fun. Hailey is a bit of an odd character. Not in the
O.M.G. What did she just say?! Kind of way, but more in the: She seems
really sweet and acts it to Zack...until that one fateful day when she
turns out to be a total and complete BITCH! Yeah...THAT kind of odd. Read
on!
~*~*~*~
Everyone in the entire classroom was watching the clock. They were all waiting for three o'clock to come. Even the teacher was watching and waiting. Freddy was drumming his fingers on his desk; Summer was sitting with her hands folded on the desk, waiting the time out as patiently as she could; Katie was just staring at the clock, seriously wanting three o'clock to get here; Marta, Alicia, and Tomika were talking quietly amongst themselves; Zack was trying to think of lyrics for a new song; Mrs. Davis was watching the students in her class and glancing at her watch every few minutes. Finally, the bell rang and school was over. Not only was it over for the day, but it was over for almost two and a half months. Two and a half months of freedom had started ten seconds ago and every student in the Literature Sophomore class tried to get out of the room at once. When this didn't work all that well, the teenagers decided that it would be best and quicker, if they simply filed out as quickly as possible.
~*~*~*~
It was the beginning of the summer and Zack and Freddy were sitting on the front steps of Zack's house, bored out of their minds. They were sitting there, waiting for inspiration for something to do to strike when it happened. She walked by. Hailey Sierra Martinez. She had tan skin, dirty blond hair and vibrant green eyes. She was beautiful to say the least. And then, Freddy mentioned Zack liking her.
"You like Hailey, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So? Why don't you do something about it?"
So he did. He sighed and before he realized what he was really doing, Zack got up and started off to slowly follow the girl. He knew that Freddy had to be shocked. Zack wasn't the type to actually do something about something like this; that was more Freddy's thing. Zack really wasn't sure what had possessed him to do all of this in the first place. It might have been boredom, the infatuation, or some kind of combination of the two, but no matter what it was, he did it. He finally caught up with her and tapped her on the shoulder lightly.
"Yeah?" She stopped and turned to face him. Hailey put her hands in the back pockets of her low-riding, high-cut jean shorts. "Oh, Zack, hey."
'Oh, shit. She knows my name' , was the only thing that was running through his head at the moment. Zack licked his lips in the nervous habit he had formed over the years and without warning, it all came out at once. "Hailey...I...I've liked you since sixth grade and I was wondering if you might want to go out...some...time..." He closed his eyes tightly, mostly in embarrassment. "I can't believe I just did that. Can we please act like I didn't just make a complete fool out of myself and...you can go on acting like you don't know who the hell I am. Does that sound ok to you?" Zack noticed, and was sure that the three girls before him did as well, that his voice faltered slightly when he was speaking that time.
Hailey blinked and looked around at her girlfriends, as if silently asking for their opinions. She faced Zack again, and caught him by the arm before he walked away, "Actually...Zack, that sounds kinda cool. Catch a movie on Friday? Eight, my place, kay?"
"Uh...right, O-ok..." Zack barely managed to get out, mostly due to his shock. 'She touched me. Oh, Sweet Lord, the angel touched me!' He thought as they departed to go their separate ways until Friday.
Freddy looked at Zack as if he was only seeing him for the first time. He couldn't believe Zack had actually done that. That was great! He was finally coming out of his shell! ...Right? "Now there's something I didn't expect you to do this summer." Freddy clapped his friend on the back.
"It's not something I thought I'd ever do." Zack said as he sat back down on the porch.
Now the two boys were back to where they have begun. Both of them bored out of their minds, sitting on the front steps of Zack's house. They were still waiting for something to strike in their minds of what to do. The only difference now, was that Zack had a date on Friday. Not only did he have a date, but Zack had a date with one of the most popular girls in school. Maybe this summer wouldn't be as bad as he had thought it was going to be. Maybe things would actually manage to be different this summer.
~*~*~*~
Friday came all too soon. Hailey had actually been dreading this day. She hadn't really wanted to go on a date with this guy, but she figured that since almost a week had gone by and she had no plans, she'd accept anyway. Plus, it was about time she was allowed to have some fun, right? She had told her two best girlfriends, Angelina Erickson and Kelly Moore, that they had to come over so the three of them could talk about tonight. At the moment, the three sixteen year olds were all on Hailey's bed. "So...what do you girls think I should do with this one?"
"I think you should be with him until you get a better offer." Kelly said.
"Yeah...that's always fun. Then I can break it off...claiming it to only be a summer fling or something." The blond said in an offhand tone
"No." Angelina said, getting the other two girls' attention. She was actually disagreeing with them. She must have something really good in mind.
"Well, what do you think she should do, Angel?" Kelly asked curiously.
"I think.." Angelina spoke slowly, a smile starting to play across her lips. "I think that Hailes should play with him. Go with him for the entire summer. Make him think she's really into him. Then for a big finish at the beginning of school."
"Oohhh, I like that. That sounds fun, but...what would I do to make it such a big deal at school?"
"Hun, you're one of the most popular girls in school!" Kelly exclaimed.
"Yeah...Kelly's right. People practically hang on your every word, Hailey. You make like your going to talk to someone younger than you and everyone will listen."
"You don't have anything to worry about, Hales!''
"I guess you guys are right...but when...where, how, I have to come up with some kind of convincable reason, right?"
And with that, the three girls went on to discuss just when, where, how and why she would do what they already had planned.
~*~*~*~
Friday had come way too soon for Zack. He wasn't so sure that he could do this, now that the day was here. He managed to look forward to Friday for nearly the entire week. Then Friday came and he was absolutely sure that he was going to die or kill himself before eight o'clock that night. Ok, so he didn't actually think he would go as far as to kill himself over a date, but still...that was how nervous he really was. Especially now. It was seven thirty and he was going to have to set out to her house soon if he planned on getting there on time. However, with the way things were going, Zack wasn't so sure that the date would even happen.
Currently, he was pacing his room, trying to think of the pros and cons of the date. Unfortunately for his self esteem, the cons were winning out. Everything that came to his mind was something that could go wrong on the date. The only positive thought that had crossed his mind in the last hour was that she might kiss him, but that was about it. When he turned around again, he glanced at the phone. Maybe he should just call her and tell her that the date wouldn't be. He shook his head. No. He couldn't do that. He was actually going to go out on a date with the girl he'd been watching for a year and a half and now he was thinking about canceling on her? Zack rolled his eyes, deciding that he must be completely insane. He paused in his pacing and sighed. "I may as well get this over with, right? If it goes too bad...she'll ditch me on the spot." He muttered and finally made his way downstairs.
~*~*~*~
Zack had informed Hailey earlier in the week that they would either have to walk or use some other form of transportation since he couldn't exactly drive. She had said that walking would be fine. All the way there, Zack was still doubting the success of the date. The single pro and many, many cons were still running through his head. He was shocked when he found himself at her front door and ringing the doorbell. He figured that it must have been the faint sound of the bell that snapped him back.
The door remained closed for a moment. However, it was open almost hastily to reveal Hailey with her hair crimped and down. She was wearing a black v- neck spaghetti strap shirt and a pair of low riding hip hugger jeans. They were normal and simple enough; just a pair of blue jeans with the studded belt being the only thing to really set them apart from any other pair. She was donning a pair of black high-top-like boots as well. She smiled, "Hey, Zack." She looked over her shoulder, "Mom! Dad! I'm going out!"
"Who, where, and when will you be back?" Zack heard a woman's voice coming not far inside the house.
"A guy I know from school, the movies, around two or three hours from now." She paused, "Bye!" And with that, she stepped out of the house, closing the door behind her. "So, anyway...with the parents out of the way, let's get this date started."
"Right..." Zack muttered and they started off towards the movie theater. Zack was usually pretty quiet, so he was typically used to silence, however, the silence between he and Hailey was killing him. He started rambling all the sudden. "Sorry about having to walk and everything...I just...I don't have a car--can't drive..no use, really...and, I--"
"Zack...shush..." She placed a finger to her lips. "Let me talk, kay?" When he nodded, she continued. "Yeah...about my attire: Sorry for the major casual-ness; I know it's not like what they do in the movies but...I was thinking that I'd save the short, red dress with matching heels and nails for the second date." She smiled and winked. "Anyway, away from clothing...I hope you don't think I'm conceited or something with that whole...let me talk comment. I'm really not, it's just...you weren't really getting anywhere and...I thought I'd take a stab at it."
"It's fine...I don't usually talk much anyway."
"Yeah...my sister's in your class, she says you're the shy, quiet type." Silence fell over the couple but Hailey picked it up. "So...you don't mind seeing this movie, right? Cause, I mean...if you do...you can totally say something and when we get to the theater, we can try and decide on something that we'd both wanna see. I don't know who you might have talked to...but the first date doesn't always have to be all about the girl, Zack."
"It's fine...I just...I, um...yeah." Zack rolled his eyes at himself. Why did he have to be so quiet all the time? It made it awkward on dates. It was always this way. Not that he had been on many dates, one or two, but it was still annoying.
"You really are quiet...I thought Lisa was exaggerating when she said you were quiet." She smiled, "Don't they say it's the quiet ones that you have to worry about?" She joked. "Oh well, that's ok...I'll watch you and make sure you don't do anything too drastic."
Zack smirked at that. And then they arrived at the movie theater. He actually surprised Hailey. For being a Freshman, he sure was a gentleman. He paid for her ticket and everything. Maybe this kid wouldn't be so bad to date for the summer after all. She smiled and winked at him before they entered the dark theater.
~*~*~*~
The summer went by quickly and had gone rather smoothly for the most part. Zack had managed to get around he bout of shyness and was actually fairly talkative on the dates he had with Hailey. It was shocking how fast the summer had gone by; school had already started again. It was only a week and a half after school had started that it happened. And it all happened right in the middle of the cafeteria, in front of everyone in the school. Zack and Hailey had an unspoken agreement that they would sit with their own friends at lunch, simply for the awkwardness that the situation might bring. Zack didn't think today would be any different, but he soon found out that he was wrong. Very, humiliatingly, embarrassingly, never-want-this- to-happen-ever-again, horribly wrong.
Hailey was with her girlfriends like usual, but she looked over her shoulder at her "boyfriend" and waved a little before turning back to the girls. "Today, right? I mean...here...the cafeteria, everyone can see it."
"I thought you actually liked this guy, Hailey." The girl to the blond's right, Darla, said.
"No, hun, you've got it all backwards. I like him, but...I like Jason more. Plus, Jason's my age. Zack..." She shrugged, "Zack's a year younger than me. It's just weird."
"Darla, darling, how could you even think that Hales actually liked this guy? I mean, look at him!" Angelina, the dark-haired girl standing on Hailey's left, said, absolutely shocked.
"Well....I...I don't know. She pulled it off really well." Darla grinned, "At least you know his heart will truly be broken, right?" Darla was new to the popular girls group, but she knew how they worked.
"Oh, yeah." Kelly, a girl with obviously bottled red hair and golden streaks said.
"Alright...I guess it's time to do my thing, then, isn't it girls?" Hailey had a big grin on her face. This one was going to be fun.
"Good luck..." The other three girls muttered almost sarcastically as they walked over to their usual table and Hailey walked over towards her boyfriend. "Zack!"
Zack looked over his shoulder at the call of his name. He frowned. Hailey never approached him at lunch. Something wasn't right, but he didn't know what and shoved that thought to the side. "Hailey, what's up?"
"Well...I've been thinking and...I think we need to talk, Zack." She said, looking as uncomfortable as she could, but not feeling one bit of anything. She knew that nearly everyone in the lunch room was watching the two of them and knowing that Zack would fall straight into the trap. He wasn't exactly what you called an "experienced dater".
"About...what?"
"Zack...I'm sorry, I have to be blunt or it just...it'll take to long...and it'll be too painful." Hailey went as far as to have tears brimming her eyes. However, everyone that knew her would also know that she wasn't about to let those tears spill over. Hailey Sierra Martinez never truly cried over any guy.
"What? Hailey...what's going on?" Zack didn't even think about the pair of them being in the middle of the lunch room. He didn't seem to even realize that almost the entire school was watching them. And he definately didn't see the trap that he had just allowed himself to get into.
"Zack..." She sighed, "I don't think...I don't think that we can go out any more,"
"Wha--Why?" Hailey waited a moment, hoping and praying that he would continue and babble. It would be great if he realized that the school was watching him, but then again, maybe it would be a little more fun if he didn't realize it just yet. Hailey was grinning on the inside, despite the tears in her eyes on the outside. "But...I...was there something that I did wrong? I mean, I--" He stopped himself, confused, and managed to make a few slightly strangled noises.
"No, Zack, honey, you didn't do anything wrong." Hailey touched his cheek with her hand. She seemed just fine now. The tears were gone and was smiling and talking sickeningly sweet and even glanced around the room a little before speaking. "Unless you count falling for a trap being wrong." She smiled and tapped him on the nose before letting her hand fall back down.
"What?" Zack was obviously still completely confused.
"Hun, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret." She leaned closer to him, "It's what I do." She said slowly. "I set up guys that I know are weak, or like me...I set you guys up...and then... then I break your little hearts into millions of tiny pieces...in front of everyone possible in the school." She stepped back, grinning. This was fun. This was just what she liked to do.
"But...I thought...I mean, I--" That's when it hit him. Zack suddenly remembered that they were both stand there in the middle of the cafeteria. He could even feel the eyes of the hundreds of students in the room upon them. He could feel the heat coming to his cheeks. Zack closed his eyes and turned around, walking out of the lunch room with Hailey's words, as well as the rest of the school's laughter ringing in his ears. When he reached the nearest set of lockers, Zack stopped and stood, but started talking to himself. "I can't believe I let her do this to me."
Before he could get any farther, he heard the door open and close as someone else came out. He knew who it was. It was Freddy. "Man...that was cold. I knew she was popular...but I didn't think that Hailey was like that."
"Not your fault...It's my fault. I fell for it. I actually managed to convince myself that she liked me. Well, that won't happen again."
"Why's that?"
"Because...I won't let it."
"How are you going to prevent it? I mean, you're gonna date girls for longer than that and come ta find out, bam! All the sudden.." Freddy shook his head, "All the sudden, the girl who used to be perfect, is a bitch."
"There's only one way to prevent it."
"And that would be..." Freddy sounded honestly and throughly confused.
"I won't go out with another girl until I'm out of school."
This comment later lead to Freddy making his own comment about Zack going to college a virgin and how absolutely and universally wrong that was. With that said, Zack shook his head and officially labeled that day as the Worst Day of his Life...Ever.
~*~*~*~
Zack couldn't focus completely in any of his classes after lunch. His mind was too occupied by what had happened. He had even been so out of it during literature that when Mrs. Kaegan asked him a question, he didn't even respond. This made her repeat the question, as well as say his name sharply. The harsh way that she had said his name was what brought him to.
"Mister Mooneyham..." She snapped, standing right above him.
Zack swallowed, "Yeas...Mrs. Kaegan?"
"What's the answer?"
"I...I-I don't know..."
"Did you do your homework last night, Mister Mooneyham?"
Zack nodded.
"Then why do you not know the answer? You must not have read to retain, Mister Mooneyham. Next time I give you an assignment...read it and retain it, Zack." Sierra Kaegan loved Zack as a student. He was usually quite good in her class. Today, however, he seemed very odd and...off somehow. She decided that it didn't matter, however, and was none of her concern and simply went on with her class.
Even though no one had said anything and no laughter or even snicker had been uttered, Zack could feel half, in not the entire class staring at him. Then he felt the crimson heat come to his cheeks as he sank down in his chair. This wasn't something that happened every day and it wasn't something he was going to slip by without being embarrassed.
~*~*~*~
Zack was glad when school ended. Literature was the last class of the day, and the last class he had managed to embarrass himself in. It was just his luck that he would manage to embarrass himself in the last class of the day. Zack shook his head as he slowly made his way out of the classroom and to his locker. He stopped at the light gray locker and routinely twisted the locker combination, opening the locker and putting the literature workbook away and getting other books for homework.
When he was done with this, Zack closed the locker and locked the padlock. He made it out the door, but not much farther. He didn't want to go home...he couldn't...he didn't want to deal with explaining everything right now and he definitely didn't want to deal with his mother right now. All of this going through his mind, Zack went a little to the left, sitting against the wall of the school. He watched as the rest of the student body walked by, going on their way, not paying heed to the dark headed boy sitting against the school wall with an absolutely discouraged and dispirited look on his face.
She was seriously starting to wonder about all of the homework the teachers were giving them. You can't get her wrong, she loved school, but this was really kind of absurd. Not only did she have homework in almost all of her required classes, but some of the extra ones as well. She rolled her eyes and closed her locker and made her way to go home. When she had gotten outside, she waited for a moment, just standing there, taking in the sunlight and fresh air. She closed her eyes for a moment, then started off towards the steps. Then something caught her attention; she saw it from the corner of her eye. She frowned. Was that-- "Zack?" She mouthed. She looked at him with a saddened look. She knew what happened and she knew that it had to hurt. Maybe I should just leave him alone...he probably needs his time. He'll come to one of us when he wants to talk. She shrugged and shook her head, making her jet black hair sway slightly. She finally decided to take off.
"Summer?" He sounded almost desperate as he spoke
"Zack..." She said, shocked he had said anything.
"Yeah..."
Summer slowly walked over to stand in front of him. At the moment, she was glad that Zack wasn't like most guys. She was in skirt--and a rather short one at that. "Zack..." She repeated, "What's going on?" She asked, looking down at the boy in front of her.
Zack wasn't in the best state that he had ever been in. He wasn't and he knew it and so did Summer. He was sitting there, against the wall with his knees drawn slightly towards him. His hair wasn't like it usually was, it was disheveled and completely out of place. He could still feel where the tears had been running down his cheeks. His eyes were still filled, but he wasn't going to let them spill, he wouldn't let Summer see him cry. She could see the tear stains on his cheeks from before, but he wasn't going to let her witness him like that. "You know what happened..."
"When, Zack?" She knew exactly what he was talking about, but she was going to make him tell her.
"Today...in the cafeteria...with Hailey..."
"Yeah, I know what happened. What about it?" She sounded like she usually did, but her tone was a little less bossy.
"Your just like the rest of them." He muttered.
"What--or more specifically who--are you talking about?"
"The others..."
"Oh...you mean--"
"Yeah, everybody. Nobody's...nobody's said anything. Nothing that's been encouraging or offhand or...anything. No one has said anything, Summer."
"Well...we're not mind readers, Zack. We know you need to talk about it-- trust me...if you could see us on the last two practices you've skipped," She shook her head, "We're all really starting to worry about you, Zack. But we also all know that you need to come to someone to talk about it. There's no point in one of us coming to you. It's not our problem...it's yours."
Zack smirked. That was Summer. She was always brutally honest, but sometimes that just what people needed: The harsh truth. "I guess you're right..."
"Of course I'm right. Honestly, Mooneyham, you say it as if you don't expect it." She smiled, letting him know that she wasn't completely serious.
Zack looked up at her and sighed.
"Come on, up you come and be taller than me like it's supposed to be." Summer said, extending her hands out on front of her, palms down. When he didn't do anything, she made her fingertips just barely touch the palms of her hands quickly, as if to tell him to hurry up. "Come on."
Zack shook his head. He knew that she would stand there until he took her hands, so he decided to do it now. He reached up and grabbed her hands, pulling himself up. "Happy now?"
"No."
"Why? What have I done wrong, now?"
"Well, you haven't blown me away or swept me off my feet. Isn't it obvious, Mooneyham?" She asked with a smile.
"I guess I'll have to fix that, won't I?"
"Ooohhh, Hailey, look out. He's already on the rebound." Summer said teasingly.
"Let's...not talk about her." Zack whispered, leaning towards her.
"Zack..." Summer started.
"Come on, you know you want to...you know you can't resist the Mooneyham Mystique."
Summer rolled her eyes, "Boys can be so narcissistic sometimes."
It was Zack's turn to roll his eyes before kissing her lightly.
That was how it all started. It wasn't something that went on for very long, but Zack and Summer did have a little fling. Like all flings and good things, it came to an end. It wasn't that they didn't like each other, but they had figured they were better friends. They were just more compatible as friends. Summer had told Zack from the beginning that he shouldn't be expecting a very long-term relationship or anything. Zack had responded that, though he hadn't ever expierence a real one, he wasn't into having a long-term relationship. The affair only lasted a month and they had ended it in mutual understanding. It wasn't as if they had expected anything out of it anyway.
~*~*~*~
"Zack...we need to talk." Summer had approached him at lunch.
"My thoughts exactly." He said, motioning for her to follow him over to the only empty table in the cafeteria.
"Great." She said, flashing a jerk of lips, "I was thinking that maybe--"
Zack had started at the same time she did, "I don't think that we should--" They looked at each other for a moment before laughing. "So...it's mutual..." Zack started.
"We'll just terminate whatever it is you want to call--"
"What we had for the month." They finished the entire conversation with a few flip-flopping of continuations of sentences. Everything was done and shared. They neither wanted anything from the other any more and they had let themselves, as well as the other, know so.
Little did Zack know, but he would soon enough be glad that he hadn't kept everything going on with Summer. Zack had no idea what was in store within the next year. He had no clue that Freddy had a beautiful cousin. Zack had no idea that she would be coming to town within the year. And he had no clue that he would fall head over heels for the girl with just one single meeting. Zack was just your typical, clueless, and very much not clairvoyant teenage boy who had gotten out of a bad relationship, into a rebounded one and out of it within a single month. Life was back to normal and nothing was out of the ordinary. Life was simply bliss.
~*~*~*~
Notes - Well, that was fun, don't you think? I thought so. It was fun to write. Oh PLEASE tell me you didn't expect this to be long-term Zack/Summer! I'm not so sure that I could do that. If I wanted to, I guess I could...but not with the way this fic had been going...and where it eventually leads to *grin* Drop me a line and tell me what you thought!
Later days, ~PFB
~*~*~*~
Everyone in the entire classroom was watching the clock. They were all waiting for three o'clock to come. Even the teacher was watching and waiting. Freddy was drumming his fingers on his desk; Summer was sitting with her hands folded on the desk, waiting the time out as patiently as she could; Katie was just staring at the clock, seriously wanting three o'clock to get here; Marta, Alicia, and Tomika were talking quietly amongst themselves; Zack was trying to think of lyrics for a new song; Mrs. Davis was watching the students in her class and glancing at her watch every few minutes. Finally, the bell rang and school was over. Not only was it over for the day, but it was over for almost two and a half months. Two and a half months of freedom had started ten seconds ago and every student in the Literature Sophomore class tried to get out of the room at once. When this didn't work all that well, the teenagers decided that it would be best and quicker, if they simply filed out as quickly as possible.
~*~*~*~
It was the beginning of the summer and Zack and Freddy were sitting on the front steps of Zack's house, bored out of their minds. They were sitting there, waiting for inspiration for something to do to strike when it happened. She walked by. Hailey Sierra Martinez. She had tan skin, dirty blond hair and vibrant green eyes. She was beautiful to say the least. And then, Freddy mentioned Zack liking her.
"You like Hailey, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So? Why don't you do something about it?"
So he did. He sighed and before he realized what he was really doing, Zack got up and started off to slowly follow the girl. He knew that Freddy had to be shocked. Zack wasn't the type to actually do something about something like this; that was more Freddy's thing. Zack really wasn't sure what had possessed him to do all of this in the first place. It might have been boredom, the infatuation, or some kind of combination of the two, but no matter what it was, he did it. He finally caught up with her and tapped her on the shoulder lightly.
"Yeah?" She stopped and turned to face him. Hailey put her hands in the back pockets of her low-riding, high-cut jean shorts. "Oh, Zack, hey."
'Oh, shit. She knows my name' , was the only thing that was running through his head at the moment. Zack licked his lips in the nervous habit he had formed over the years and without warning, it all came out at once. "Hailey...I...I've liked you since sixth grade and I was wondering if you might want to go out...some...time..." He closed his eyes tightly, mostly in embarrassment. "I can't believe I just did that. Can we please act like I didn't just make a complete fool out of myself and...you can go on acting like you don't know who the hell I am. Does that sound ok to you?" Zack noticed, and was sure that the three girls before him did as well, that his voice faltered slightly when he was speaking that time.
Hailey blinked and looked around at her girlfriends, as if silently asking for their opinions. She faced Zack again, and caught him by the arm before he walked away, "Actually...Zack, that sounds kinda cool. Catch a movie on Friday? Eight, my place, kay?"
"Uh...right, O-ok..." Zack barely managed to get out, mostly due to his shock. 'She touched me. Oh, Sweet Lord, the angel touched me!' He thought as they departed to go their separate ways until Friday.
Freddy looked at Zack as if he was only seeing him for the first time. He couldn't believe Zack had actually done that. That was great! He was finally coming out of his shell! ...Right? "Now there's something I didn't expect you to do this summer." Freddy clapped his friend on the back.
"It's not something I thought I'd ever do." Zack said as he sat back down on the porch.
Now the two boys were back to where they have begun. Both of them bored out of their minds, sitting on the front steps of Zack's house. They were still waiting for something to strike in their minds of what to do. The only difference now, was that Zack had a date on Friday. Not only did he have a date, but Zack had a date with one of the most popular girls in school. Maybe this summer wouldn't be as bad as he had thought it was going to be. Maybe things would actually manage to be different this summer.
~*~*~*~
Friday came all too soon. Hailey had actually been dreading this day. She hadn't really wanted to go on a date with this guy, but she figured that since almost a week had gone by and she had no plans, she'd accept anyway. Plus, it was about time she was allowed to have some fun, right? She had told her two best girlfriends, Angelina Erickson and Kelly Moore, that they had to come over so the three of them could talk about tonight. At the moment, the three sixteen year olds were all on Hailey's bed. "So...what do you girls think I should do with this one?"
"I think you should be with him until you get a better offer." Kelly said.
"Yeah...that's always fun. Then I can break it off...claiming it to only be a summer fling or something." The blond said in an offhand tone
"No." Angelina said, getting the other two girls' attention. She was actually disagreeing with them. She must have something really good in mind.
"Well, what do you think she should do, Angel?" Kelly asked curiously.
"I think.." Angelina spoke slowly, a smile starting to play across her lips. "I think that Hailes should play with him. Go with him for the entire summer. Make him think she's really into him. Then for a big finish at the beginning of school."
"Oohhh, I like that. That sounds fun, but...what would I do to make it such a big deal at school?"
"Hun, you're one of the most popular girls in school!" Kelly exclaimed.
"Yeah...Kelly's right. People practically hang on your every word, Hailey. You make like your going to talk to someone younger than you and everyone will listen."
"You don't have anything to worry about, Hales!''
"I guess you guys are right...but when...where, how, I have to come up with some kind of convincable reason, right?"
And with that, the three girls went on to discuss just when, where, how and why she would do what they already had planned.
~*~*~*~
Friday had come way too soon for Zack. He wasn't so sure that he could do this, now that the day was here. He managed to look forward to Friday for nearly the entire week. Then Friday came and he was absolutely sure that he was going to die or kill himself before eight o'clock that night. Ok, so he didn't actually think he would go as far as to kill himself over a date, but still...that was how nervous he really was. Especially now. It was seven thirty and he was going to have to set out to her house soon if he planned on getting there on time. However, with the way things were going, Zack wasn't so sure that the date would even happen.
Currently, he was pacing his room, trying to think of the pros and cons of the date. Unfortunately for his self esteem, the cons were winning out. Everything that came to his mind was something that could go wrong on the date. The only positive thought that had crossed his mind in the last hour was that she might kiss him, but that was about it. When he turned around again, he glanced at the phone. Maybe he should just call her and tell her that the date wouldn't be. He shook his head. No. He couldn't do that. He was actually going to go out on a date with the girl he'd been watching for a year and a half and now he was thinking about canceling on her? Zack rolled his eyes, deciding that he must be completely insane. He paused in his pacing and sighed. "I may as well get this over with, right? If it goes too bad...she'll ditch me on the spot." He muttered and finally made his way downstairs.
~*~*~*~
Zack had informed Hailey earlier in the week that they would either have to walk or use some other form of transportation since he couldn't exactly drive. She had said that walking would be fine. All the way there, Zack was still doubting the success of the date. The single pro and many, many cons were still running through his head. He was shocked when he found himself at her front door and ringing the doorbell. He figured that it must have been the faint sound of the bell that snapped him back.
The door remained closed for a moment. However, it was open almost hastily to reveal Hailey with her hair crimped and down. She was wearing a black v- neck spaghetti strap shirt and a pair of low riding hip hugger jeans. They were normal and simple enough; just a pair of blue jeans with the studded belt being the only thing to really set them apart from any other pair. She was donning a pair of black high-top-like boots as well. She smiled, "Hey, Zack." She looked over her shoulder, "Mom! Dad! I'm going out!"
"Who, where, and when will you be back?" Zack heard a woman's voice coming not far inside the house.
"A guy I know from school, the movies, around two or three hours from now." She paused, "Bye!" And with that, she stepped out of the house, closing the door behind her. "So, anyway...with the parents out of the way, let's get this date started."
"Right..." Zack muttered and they started off towards the movie theater. Zack was usually pretty quiet, so he was typically used to silence, however, the silence between he and Hailey was killing him. He started rambling all the sudden. "Sorry about having to walk and everything...I just...I don't have a car--can't drive..no use, really...and, I--"
"Zack...shush..." She placed a finger to her lips. "Let me talk, kay?" When he nodded, she continued. "Yeah...about my attire: Sorry for the major casual-ness; I know it's not like what they do in the movies but...I was thinking that I'd save the short, red dress with matching heels and nails for the second date." She smiled and winked. "Anyway, away from clothing...I hope you don't think I'm conceited or something with that whole...let me talk comment. I'm really not, it's just...you weren't really getting anywhere and...I thought I'd take a stab at it."
"It's fine...I don't usually talk much anyway."
"Yeah...my sister's in your class, she says you're the shy, quiet type." Silence fell over the couple but Hailey picked it up. "So...you don't mind seeing this movie, right? Cause, I mean...if you do...you can totally say something and when we get to the theater, we can try and decide on something that we'd both wanna see. I don't know who you might have talked to...but the first date doesn't always have to be all about the girl, Zack."
"It's fine...I just...I, um...yeah." Zack rolled his eyes at himself. Why did he have to be so quiet all the time? It made it awkward on dates. It was always this way. Not that he had been on many dates, one or two, but it was still annoying.
"You really are quiet...I thought Lisa was exaggerating when she said you were quiet." She smiled, "Don't they say it's the quiet ones that you have to worry about?" She joked. "Oh well, that's ok...I'll watch you and make sure you don't do anything too drastic."
Zack smirked at that. And then they arrived at the movie theater. He actually surprised Hailey. For being a Freshman, he sure was a gentleman. He paid for her ticket and everything. Maybe this kid wouldn't be so bad to date for the summer after all. She smiled and winked at him before they entered the dark theater.
~*~*~*~
The summer went by quickly and had gone rather smoothly for the most part. Zack had managed to get around he bout of shyness and was actually fairly talkative on the dates he had with Hailey. It was shocking how fast the summer had gone by; school had already started again. It was only a week and a half after school had started that it happened. And it all happened right in the middle of the cafeteria, in front of everyone in the school. Zack and Hailey had an unspoken agreement that they would sit with their own friends at lunch, simply for the awkwardness that the situation might bring. Zack didn't think today would be any different, but he soon found out that he was wrong. Very, humiliatingly, embarrassingly, never-want-this- to-happen-ever-again, horribly wrong.
Hailey was with her girlfriends like usual, but she looked over her shoulder at her "boyfriend" and waved a little before turning back to the girls. "Today, right? I mean...here...the cafeteria, everyone can see it."
"I thought you actually liked this guy, Hailey." The girl to the blond's right, Darla, said.
"No, hun, you've got it all backwards. I like him, but...I like Jason more. Plus, Jason's my age. Zack..." She shrugged, "Zack's a year younger than me. It's just weird."
"Darla, darling, how could you even think that Hales actually liked this guy? I mean, look at him!" Angelina, the dark-haired girl standing on Hailey's left, said, absolutely shocked.
"Well....I...I don't know. She pulled it off really well." Darla grinned, "At least you know his heart will truly be broken, right?" Darla was new to the popular girls group, but she knew how they worked.
"Oh, yeah." Kelly, a girl with obviously bottled red hair and golden streaks said.
"Alright...I guess it's time to do my thing, then, isn't it girls?" Hailey had a big grin on her face. This one was going to be fun.
"Good luck..." The other three girls muttered almost sarcastically as they walked over to their usual table and Hailey walked over towards her boyfriend. "Zack!"
Zack looked over his shoulder at the call of his name. He frowned. Hailey never approached him at lunch. Something wasn't right, but he didn't know what and shoved that thought to the side. "Hailey, what's up?"
"Well...I've been thinking and...I think we need to talk, Zack." She said, looking as uncomfortable as she could, but not feeling one bit of anything. She knew that nearly everyone in the lunch room was watching the two of them and knowing that Zack would fall straight into the trap. He wasn't exactly what you called an "experienced dater".
"About...what?"
"Zack...I'm sorry, I have to be blunt or it just...it'll take to long...and it'll be too painful." Hailey went as far as to have tears brimming her eyes. However, everyone that knew her would also know that she wasn't about to let those tears spill over. Hailey Sierra Martinez never truly cried over any guy.
"What? Hailey...what's going on?" Zack didn't even think about the pair of them being in the middle of the lunch room. He didn't seem to even realize that almost the entire school was watching them. And he definately didn't see the trap that he had just allowed himself to get into.
"Zack..." She sighed, "I don't think...I don't think that we can go out any more,"
"Wha--Why?" Hailey waited a moment, hoping and praying that he would continue and babble. It would be great if he realized that the school was watching him, but then again, maybe it would be a little more fun if he didn't realize it just yet. Hailey was grinning on the inside, despite the tears in her eyes on the outside. "But...I...was there something that I did wrong? I mean, I--" He stopped himself, confused, and managed to make a few slightly strangled noises.
"No, Zack, honey, you didn't do anything wrong." Hailey touched his cheek with her hand. She seemed just fine now. The tears were gone and was smiling and talking sickeningly sweet and even glanced around the room a little before speaking. "Unless you count falling for a trap being wrong." She smiled and tapped him on the nose before letting her hand fall back down.
"What?" Zack was obviously still completely confused.
"Hun, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret." She leaned closer to him, "It's what I do." She said slowly. "I set up guys that I know are weak, or like me...I set you guys up...and then... then I break your little hearts into millions of tiny pieces...in front of everyone possible in the school." She stepped back, grinning. This was fun. This was just what she liked to do.
"But...I thought...I mean, I--" That's when it hit him. Zack suddenly remembered that they were both stand there in the middle of the cafeteria. He could even feel the eyes of the hundreds of students in the room upon them. He could feel the heat coming to his cheeks. Zack closed his eyes and turned around, walking out of the lunch room with Hailey's words, as well as the rest of the school's laughter ringing in his ears. When he reached the nearest set of lockers, Zack stopped and stood, but started talking to himself. "I can't believe I let her do this to me."
Before he could get any farther, he heard the door open and close as someone else came out. He knew who it was. It was Freddy. "Man...that was cold. I knew she was popular...but I didn't think that Hailey was like that."
"Not your fault...It's my fault. I fell for it. I actually managed to convince myself that she liked me. Well, that won't happen again."
"Why's that?"
"Because...I won't let it."
"How are you going to prevent it? I mean, you're gonna date girls for longer than that and come ta find out, bam! All the sudden.." Freddy shook his head, "All the sudden, the girl who used to be perfect, is a bitch."
"There's only one way to prevent it."
"And that would be..." Freddy sounded honestly and throughly confused.
"I won't go out with another girl until I'm out of school."
This comment later lead to Freddy making his own comment about Zack going to college a virgin and how absolutely and universally wrong that was. With that said, Zack shook his head and officially labeled that day as the Worst Day of his Life...Ever.
~*~*~*~
Zack couldn't focus completely in any of his classes after lunch. His mind was too occupied by what had happened. He had even been so out of it during literature that when Mrs. Kaegan asked him a question, he didn't even respond. This made her repeat the question, as well as say his name sharply. The harsh way that she had said his name was what brought him to.
"Mister Mooneyham..." She snapped, standing right above him.
Zack swallowed, "Yeas...Mrs. Kaegan?"
"What's the answer?"
"I...I-I don't know..."
"Did you do your homework last night, Mister Mooneyham?"
Zack nodded.
"Then why do you not know the answer? You must not have read to retain, Mister Mooneyham. Next time I give you an assignment...read it and retain it, Zack." Sierra Kaegan loved Zack as a student. He was usually quite good in her class. Today, however, he seemed very odd and...off somehow. She decided that it didn't matter, however, and was none of her concern and simply went on with her class.
Even though no one had said anything and no laughter or even snicker had been uttered, Zack could feel half, in not the entire class staring at him. Then he felt the crimson heat come to his cheeks as he sank down in his chair. This wasn't something that happened every day and it wasn't something he was going to slip by without being embarrassed.
~*~*~*~
Zack was glad when school ended. Literature was the last class of the day, and the last class he had managed to embarrass himself in. It was just his luck that he would manage to embarrass himself in the last class of the day. Zack shook his head as he slowly made his way out of the classroom and to his locker. He stopped at the light gray locker and routinely twisted the locker combination, opening the locker and putting the literature workbook away and getting other books for homework.
When he was done with this, Zack closed the locker and locked the padlock. He made it out the door, but not much farther. He didn't want to go home...he couldn't...he didn't want to deal with explaining everything right now and he definitely didn't want to deal with his mother right now. All of this going through his mind, Zack went a little to the left, sitting against the wall of the school. He watched as the rest of the student body walked by, going on their way, not paying heed to the dark headed boy sitting against the school wall with an absolutely discouraged and dispirited look on his face.
She was seriously starting to wonder about all of the homework the teachers were giving them. You can't get her wrong, she loved school, but this was really kind of absurd. Not only did she have homework in almost all of her required classes, but some of the extra ones as well. She rolled her eyes and closed her locker and made her way to go home. When she had gotten outside, she waited for a moment, just standing there, taking in the sunlight and fresh air. She closed her eyes for a moment, then started off towards the steps. Then something caught her attention; she saw it from the corner of her eye. She frowned. Was that-- "Zack?" She mouthed. She looked at him with a saddened look. She knew what happened and she knew that it had to hurt. Maybe I should just leave him alone...he probably needs his time. He'll come to one of us when he wants to talk. She shrugged and shook her head, making her jet black hair sway slightly. She finally decided to take off.
"Summer?" He sounded almost desperate as he spoke
"Zack..." She said, shocked he had said anything.
"Yeah..."
Summer slowly walked over to stand in front of him. At the moment, she was glad that Zack wasn't like most guys. She was in skirt--and a rather short one at that. "Zack..." She repeated, "What's going on?" She asked, looking down at the boy in front of her.
Zack wasn't in the best state that he had ever been in. He wasn't and he knew it and so did Summer. He was sitting there, against the wall with his knees drawn slightly towards him. His hair wasn't like it usually was, it was disheveled and completely out of place. He could still feel where the tears had been running down his cheeks. His eyes were still filled, but he wasn't going to let them spill, he wouldn't let Summer see him cry. She could see the tear stains on his cheeks from before, but he wasn't going to let her witness him like that. "You know what happened..."
"When, Zack?" She knew exactly what he was talking about, but she was going to make him tell her.
"Today...in the cafeteria...with Hailey..."
"Yeah, I know what happened. What about it?" She sounded like she usually did, but her tone was a little less bossy.
"Your just like the rest of them." He muttered.
"What--or more specifically who--are you talking about?"
"The others..."
"Oh...you mean--"
"Yeah, everybody. Nobody's...nobody's said anything. Nothing that's been encouraging or offhand or...anything. No one has said anything, Summer."
"Well...we're not mind readers, Zack. We know you need to talk about it-- trust me...if you could see us on the last two practices you've skipped," She shook her head, "We're all really starting to worry about you, Zack. But we also all know that you need to come to someone to talk about it. There's no point in one of us coming to you. It's not our problem...it's yours."
Zack smirked. That was Summer. She was always brutally honest, but sometimes that just what people needed: The harsh truth. "I guess you're right..."
"Of course I'm right. Honestly, Mooneyham, you say it as if you don't expect it." She smiled, letting him know that she wasn't completely serious.
Zack looked up at her and sighed.
"Come on, up you come and be taller than me like it's supposed to be." Summer said, extending her hands out on front of her, palms down. When he didn't do anything, she made her fingertips just barely touch the palms of her hands quickly, as if to tell him to hurry up. "Come on."
Zack shook his head. He knew that she would stand there until he took her hands, so he decided to do it now. He reached up and grabbed her hands, pulling himself up. "Happy now?"
"No."
"Why? What have I done wrong, now?"
"Well, you haven't blown me away or swept me off my feet. Isn't it obvious, Mooneyham?" She asked with a smile.
"I guess I'll have to fix that, won't I?"
"Ooohhh, Hailey, look out. He's already on the rebound." Summer said teasingly.
"Let's...not talk about her." Zack whispered, leaning towards her.
"Zack..." Summer started.
"Come on, you know you want to...you know you can't resist the Mooneyham Mystique."
Summer rolled her eyes, "Boys can be so narcissistic sometimes."
It was Zack's turn to roll his eyes before kissing her lightly.
That was how it all started. It wasn't something that went on for very long, but Zack and Summer did have a little fling. Like all flings and good things, it came to an end. It wasn't that they didn't like each other, but they had figured they were better friends. They were just more compatible as friends. Summer had told Zack from the beginning that he shouldn't be expecting a very long-term relationship or anything. Zack had responded that, though he hadn't ever expierence a real one, he wasn't into having a long-term relationship. The affair only lasted a month and they had ended it in mutual understanding. It wasn't as if they had expected anything out of it anyway.
~*~*~*~
"Zack...we need to talk." Summer had approached him at lunch.
"My thoughts exactly." He said, motioning for her to follow him over to the only empty table in the cafeteria.
"Great." She said, flashing a jerk of lips, "I was thinking that maybe--"
Zack had started at the same time she did, "I don't think that we should--" They looked at each other for a moment before laughing. "So...it's mutual..." Zack started.
"We'll just terminate whatever it is you want to call--"
"What we had for the month." They finished the entire conversation with a few flip-flopping of continuations of sentences. Everything was done and shared. They neither wanted anything from the other any more and they had let themselves, as well as the other, know so.
Little did Zack know, but he would soon enough be glad that he hadn't kept everything going on with Summer. Zack had no idea what was in store within the next year. He had no clue that Freddy had a beautiful cousin. Zack had no idea that she would be coming to town within the year. And he had no clue that he would fall head over heels for the girl with just one single meeting. Zack was just your typical, clueless, and very much not clairvoyant teenage boy who had gotten out of a bad relationship, into a rebounded one and out of it within a single month. Life was back to normal and nothing was out of the ordinary. Life was simply bliss.
~*~*~*~
Notes - Well, that was fun, don't you think? I thought so. It was fun to write. Oh PLEASE tell me you didn't expect this to be long-term Zack/Summer! I'm not so sure that I could do that. If I wanted to, I guess I could...but not with the way this fic had been going...and where it eventually leads to *grin* Drop me a line and tell me what you thought!
Later days, ~PFB