Note: I can't thank you guys enough for the absolutely amazing reviews. I appreciate every single one I get, and I'm so, so, so glad to see that y'all loved chapter 14 as much as I did! I also apologize for the cursing in my story... If it really does bother people, I can work around that! This may not seem sincere though, as there are a fair few questionable words in this chapter... So from here on, I'll just put up a warning if there are any bad words and such in a chapter. Okay, on with it!

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters: they all, along with School of Rock, belong to Mike White and Paramount Pictures, except for Kaleb Brown and Mrs. Teltrin (one of whom isn't mentioned in this chapter). They're mine. I also own the plot and a couple names, but other than that, nada.

Chapter 15 - The Good, the Bad, and the Flirty

The door closed behind Summer as she climbed into the Ford Explorer, ready to go to school. Marta seated herself into the front seat before turning around to give her friend an excited smile.

Summer returned it readily. Today was Tuesday, the first day of school since Eleni's party, as Monday had been, to the teens' avail, a non-school day. It was to be the first time she was going to be seen in public with Zack. Her boyfriend.

---------------

"So," said Zack, looking down at the girl in his arms. Ten minutes after Eleni had barged in, he and Summer were both still in the closet. Interrupted only by Marta taking a quick peek ("Ah! Sorry, just wanted to make sure you weren't dead or anything!"), the couple was just sitting, Summer in the boy's lap.

Summer looked up at Zack and gave him a sparkling smile. "So."

"I have a question."

"Shoot."

Zack pretended to be nervous, exaggerating a scared look in his eyes. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Summer smirked as she pulled herself closer to him. "Depends - who's asking?"

"Oh, you know, friend of a friend."

"Right. Well you tell your friend that I've got it in for one guy, and one guy only."

Summer waited for a humorous or sarcastic reply, but it never came. When she looked up at Zack to see why he wasn't talking, she saw him staring straight at her, with a look in his eyes that she couldn't remember him ever using with Eleni.

"Summer Joy Hathaway, will you be my girlfriend?"

Overcome with contentment, Summer found she couldn't answer right away. This is the exact moment I've been waiting for. This is what I've wanted for four or five years! She looked with fondness at the sincere anxiety in Zack's eyes. "No, Zack, no I won't."

Zack's face fell in slight disbelief. He looked away from Summer, loosening his grip from around her waist. "Oh."

Summer let him carry on for a couple more seconds before sitting him back down and placing herself in his lap again, facing him.

Zack looked at her questioningly, his expression extremely apprehensive.

"I'm sorry," she said, "but it was just such a stupid question!"

"So…?"

"Of course I will!"

Zack laughed in relief as he latched back on to Summer. "Thank God. For a second there I began to question my charming charisma and handsome good looks." He stood up, bringing Summer with him, and made to open the closet door.

Summer shook her head. "Oh, don't worry, there's no need to doubt those."

---------------

The party hadn't lasted all that long for the members of School of Rock after the couple's little closet scene, though. Eleni had kicked Marta out by the time Summer and Zack came back into the room, and Freddy had followed. Hardly any words had to be exchanged between Summer and the host of the party for Summer to realize that her and her new boyfriend weren't exactly welcome at the Afflerbach's, either.

Katie and Lawrence, the loyal friends that they were, left the party as well. It was still fairly early at that point, though, so everyone made their way over to Freddy's house, where they stayed until midnight, watching movies and eating way too much ice cream.

"Hey Sum?" Marta's inquiry to her attention brought Summer out of her reverie. "Do you think Zack'll be a little bit more affectionate with you than he was with Eleni?"

"I'm not sure," Summer replied to the question that had kept her occupied all weekend long. "I mean, it's not my place to say whether or not he really liked Eleni, but I'd hope that I'm a bit more favourable."

Marta laughed. "Yeah, I think everyone's more favourable than Eleni. Even my mom thinks so," she said, looking to her mom.

Mrs. Hale nodded her head. "I never liked Eleni. You can't read her. And the couple times I've had to drive her somewhere, she never said "Hello" when she got into the car. If there's one thing I don't like--"

"Okay, mom, we asked for a blurb, not the whole novel."

----

Summer looked at her watch and saw she still had ten minutes to get to class. She was alone at her locker: Marta had gone to spend some time with Freddy, which had become routine since the first week of school. Summer smiled as she saw Alicia approach her locker. "Hey."

Alicia looked slightly on guard, but smiled back. "Hey."

Summer didn't know how to put what she wanted to say. "I just wanted to tell you… How do I say this without sounding stupid? …Well, um… thanks? For suggesting 'Seven Minutes in Heaven,' I mean."

Alicia laughed. "No problem. You deserved it, anyway. I mean, you and Zack? Dude, that's been a hell of a long time coming, me and Katie were talking about it while you two were still in the closet."

Summer blushed. "Well, I don't know about that, but thanks."

Alicia winked as she closed her locker and walked away. Summer looked back at her own and smiled. Alicia and I are cool again… This day seems promising. She began to collect her books for her first couple classes, hoping to find Zack at his locker before school started, when she realized Zack had come to her. As she went to grab her Math and French books, she felt broad hands come to rest on her shoulders.

"Hello," came Zack's voice from right beside her ear. He leaned in to give her a quick peck on the cheek.

Summer laughed giddily. She turned around to give Zack a proper hug, and put her arms around his neck while he delicately wrapped his around her waist. "Good morning."

He pulled away to look at her. "Well, you look bootyfull this morning!"

Summer blushed and laughed at his pronunciation. "I'm wearing a uniform!"

Zack shrugged. "So? Doesn't mean you can't look hot."

Summer, surprised at Zack's bluntness, slapped him on the shoulder. "Zack! Hush!"

"Oh, you hush! I have something for you!" Summer noticed, for the first time, that a tall, slim gift bag rested on the floor by Zack's feet.

"Ooh, what is it?" she inquired.

"Well," he said while picking up the bag, "when I was at your house that one time, remember, I noticed something in your front garden, so I decided to bring you something else to compliment it." He handed the bag over to Summer.

Summer carefully pushed the single sheet of tissue paper away before gasping quietly. Inside of the flowered gift bag was a single tulip, red and yellow in colour, in a shiny red vase. She looked up at Zack. "It's beautiful! How did you know I loved tulips?"

"I just said I saw them in your front lawn!"

"Oh," said Summer, laughing at her own stupidity. "You must have been really careful carrying this in to school, no water's spilled or anything!"

Zack nodded. "You bet. I carried that thing so carefully, you'd think it was priceless. Which," he added, "it may very well be."

Summer placed the gift carefully at the bottom of her locker before pulling Zack into another hug. "Thank you so much, Zack!"

Zack placed a single kiss on Summer's nose. "No problem, of course."

----

"That had to be the best day of school ever," exclaimed Summer as her and Marta made their way down the stairs to Marta's bedroom after school.

Her friend nodded in agreement. "I've never seen Eleni look so sour, but not be able to take it out on anyone!"

Summer sighed as she flopped onto Marta's futon bed. "I know. It was pure bliss for six hours."

"I feel bad for Zack, though," said Marta. "I mean, sitting next to your ex-girlfriend all day has to be a bit awkward, don't you think?"

"Yeah," replied Summer, realizing she had never even thought about it, "I guess you're right. I was too wrapped up in the moment to notice any awkwardness, though."

Marta shrugged as she turned around to open her closet. "Where did you guys disappear to at lunchtime?" she asked over her shoulder, her tone of voice playful.

Summer was appalled at the implication. "Marta Hale! If you guys had even bothered to look for us, we ate outside today! We weren't in the boy's bathroom like some people I know!"

Marta laughed as she continued to rifle through her clothing. "You should try the bathroom some time, it's great fun."

Summer shook her head. "That's kind of dirty, Marta."

"Man…" Marta exclaimed, not listening to Summer anymore, "what am I going to wear tonight?"

"…It's just practice," Summer said, slightly confused.

"So? Doesn't mean I can't look good, does it?"

"Who are you trying to look good for…?" Summer came to a realization. "Is this about Kale?"

"No," said Marta. Summer could tell that her reply was an automatic reaction, and not exactly the truth.

Neither of them said anything for a moment, and the only noise in the room were hangers scraping along the pole in Marta's closet. As Marta began to pull out a pair of worn jeans and a blood red shirt, Summer finally spoke up. "I know it's none of my business, Twink, but I'll take some liberties here, as I'm your best friend." She paused. "I know how much you like Freddy... Well, liked him anyway, and I don't want to see you throw out what you two have, because it's cute and not something you see everyday, for some new guy who's a couple years older and may not even be interested."

Marta sighed. "Thanks, Tink, but really, I don't need your advice. I've got it under control."

----

"Can we stop for a second?"

Everyone stopped playing their respective instruments as Marta called on the band to stop playing their warm-up of "Lady Madonna" by the Beatles.

"What's wrong, hun?" asked Freddy.

Summer couldn't help but feel bad for Freddy when Marta didn't even bother to look at him.

"It's nothing, really," Marta said, her voice rather melodramatic, "I just really need some water, for my voice, you know?"

"Ditto," pitched in Kale, "my throat's going all raw."

"Ohhhhmigosh! Mine too!" Marta, in her attempts to woo Kale, came out sounding like a ten-year-old.

Still, Kale laughed. He turned to Zack. "Dude, where's the H2O? I'll go get some for both of us."

Zack explained his kitchen, and Kale promptly left the room.

"God, Zack, I'm sorry my brother just invited himself in, he's a bit rude. Well… a lot rude," Katie apologized.

"No worries, Katie, he's welcome in here!" Everyone turned to Marta as she talked for Zack. Summer tried to catch her eye to give her a stern look.

Marta didn't catch on. "He's nice, eh? Kale?"

"You certainly seem to think so," shot Freddy from the back of the room.

Marta turned around to look at the drummer. "What are you saying, Freddy?"

"What do you think I'm saying, Marta?" Summer groaned inwardly. She knew Freddy was feeling uncomfortable when he didn't bother beating around the bush or using sarcastic humour, and he certainly didn't seem to want to use either of those tactics.

"I think you're being a paranoid freak, to be honest," shot back Marta.

"Don't get mad at me, here, I didn't do a single thing wrong. You, on the other hand, are parading yourself around as if you were a fucking showgirl."

"It certainly seems one of us is jealous, doesn't it Fredrick?" spat Marta.

"Can you blame me?" Summer's jaw dropped at his sincerity.

Marta opened her mouth to retort, but stopped herself once she saw Kale heading back towards the garage with two glasses of water. "Shut up!" she hissed, then plastered on a smile as the seventeen-year-old walked back in.

"Miss me?" he asked with a smirk.

Marta giggled. "Of course!"

Zack caught Summer's eye, and they simultaneously rolled their own.

"Before we start, did Katie tell you guys about the Halloween party?" Kale asked.

"Do tell, Katie," said Zack.

Katie laughed. "Oh, well, the parentals are going out for Halloween, and they're leaving me and Kale alone at home, so he's having some friends over, and I'm allowed to invite you guys! Interested?"

Summer got excited, and nodded her head vigorously along with the rest of the band. Katie smiled. "Awesome! I mean, we'll talk about it more later… It's a costume party, that's all we really know."

"Just so long as you guys don't get in the way of my friends, it would be awesome if you were all there," said Kale casually.

"Kaleb! You're such a jerk!" cried Katie, face screwing up in indignation.

He shrugged as he picked up his mic once more. "So… From the top?"

----

"It seems we're always the last ones left, doesn't it?" Zack said as they waved goodbye to Katie and Kale after their practice had ended. Lawrence had left five minutes earlier.

Summer laughed. "Yeah, kinda."

"Can we go now?" Marta asked with a tinge of impatience.

"Not until my dad gets here, Twink," said Summer coaxingly.

"We need to talk, Marta," suggested Freddy and he turned to his girlfriend.

"No we don't. I don't want to talk to you right now, Fredrick." Marta crossed her arms and immaturely turned to face the wall.

Freddy grunted in frustration. "Why are you being like this? What the fuck's up with you? And why am I in trouble?"

"We'll be outside," called Zack over the commotion as he took Summer by the hand and pulled her into the backyard.

"God," groaned Summer walking along with Zack, "that's getting really bad, I should be in there trying to stop them."

"Hey, they're fifteen, they should be old enough to figure it out," said Zack.

Summer sighed as she sat in the grass. "I guess… But if voices start to raise, I'm going in."

"Understandable," returned Zack as he sat down beside Summer. "So, are you excited for that Halloween party?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Summer. "It's still a month away, but whatever, it's exciting. What do you think you'll go dressed as?"

"I'm not sure," answered Zack. "Maybe Bigfoot."

Summer raised a single eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"So I won't get in trouble… FOR TACKLING PEOPLE RANDOMLY!" he yelled as he indeed tackled Summer to the ground.

"Zack Mooneyham! That's the stupidest and most non-funny thing you've ever done!" she cried between laughs.

They were quiet as Zack rested on his side beside Summer. "You know," he said, voice turning serious, "it took me forever to get used to going everywhere with Eleni… For me to be associated with her automatically. But with you," he said, pausing to pull her hair as if they were five, "with you, I felt comfortable right away."

Summer's eyes widened. "…That's a good thing, right?"

"Summer!" Zack said in playful exasperation. "Leave it to my girlfriend to ruin a moment!"

"Hey, lovebirds, break it up," came Marta's irritable voice. "Your mom's here, Summer."

Summer stood up hastily, feeling guilty for not paying attention to her friend's situation. She quickly said goodbye to Zack, and made her way to retrieve her guitar. In the garage, she saw Freddy sitting on his drum stool, head resting back against the wall. "Bye Freddy," she said softly.

"See ya," he said, not looking at her.

"Don't say goodbye to him, he's an immature, jealous loser, Summer."

Summer shook her head as she quickly pushed her friend out of the garage, preparing to calm her down, and hoping that Zack would do the same with Freddy. She always had to do everything.

A/N - I really hope that was alright, I didn't exactly know how well this would follow up to the bliss that was the closet scene... Oh, closet scenes... I don't know if I'm moving too fast with the Zack/Summer relationship, so if I am, please review and tell me! And if not... Well, review anyway! I appreciate everyone reading, as well as reviewing, so thank you guys so much!