A/N: Guuuuuuuuuuuuys! I know it's been a billion years since I decided to update but honestly I was just trying to put off this chapter cause I'm nervous to see what you think. I hope ya'll like it and if you do please review. Believe me, I read every single one of your reviews and they're my favorite part about this. I'm already working on chapter six so hopefully it'll be up soon. Thanks!


I got home at six, way earlier than I had planned to. Bex had a late soccer practice she had to get to and Liz wanted to study for a test that was planned for next week so by five forty-five Macey and I were heading down the twisted tree lined road on the way to my house.

The radio was playing quietly in the background, some song that I didn't recognize but Macey shut it off when we parked in my driveway. She turned to me in her polished leather seats, and grinned. "So where's Zach's house?"

I rolled my eyes and the two of us stepped out of the car and into the cold evening. "Quit being weird Macey." There was no way I was going to talk about Zach with Macey. We had already spent, what, two? three? hours talking about him at Bex's house. Here, it was a Zach-free zone.

"Hey Gallagher Girl."

Or not.

Zach was leaning against his car, wearing a dirty football uniform and a smirk. Macey elbowed me in the side. "Um, hey." I mumbled, turning away from Zach and towards my door. The faster I could get inside and away from him, the faster Macey could wipe away her smug little smile.

But Macey wasn't in on the plan. "Don't you look adorable," She sneered, crossing her arms. "Just got back from practice?"

"No, I just think the practice shirt brings out my eyes, don't you?" He was talking to Macey but his eyes didn't leave mine. Oh, he definitely knew how the green and white uniform looked on his eyes. I mean, girls probably mentioned it all the time. But I was definitely not telling him that.

"From over here you're eyes look kind of brown," I retorted, wrinkling my nose and taking a step towards my front door. Zach's eyebrows rose, but his smile didn't disappear. Instead, he laughed and opened his mouth to say something, just as his front door swung open, and all of us turned to see a pretty young woman with dark red hair poke her head out. "Zach, what's taking—" She caught a glimpse of Macey and me and cut herself off, stepping out fully into the dimming light. "Macey! Hey, I haven't seen you in forever. How are you?"

"I'm great, Kate, thanks." Macey smiled at her, going from sarcastic bitch to polite sweetheart in seconds. I suddenly understood what Bex had meant when she had mentioned Macey's inherited people-skills.

"That's great," The woman, who I'd intelligently deduced to be Zach's sister, Kate, leaned against the doorway in a very Zach-esque way. "Because from what Zach tells me, or doesn't tell me, more like it, you might have been dead in a ditch or married or something." She rolled her eyes. "He thinks he's too cool to talk to his sister anymore."

Instead of being embarrassed, he laughed, shoving himself up from his car, pulling his backpack out of the backseat, and swinging it over his shoulder. "I don't talk to you because you're a worse gossip than Tina Walters."

Kate ignored him and turned to me. "Hi there! You must be our new neighbor. I'm Kate."

I waved awkwardly. "Hi. I'm Cammie." Real smooth, Cameron, real smooth. Now I sounded like I did today in class, when the teacher asked me to introduce myself. Hi, I'm Cammie and I'm from New York…

Kate grinned, her eyes sparkling. "You're just as pretty as Zach said you were."

"Well, that doesn't sound very much like me." Zach reasoned. He turned towards his house, and pushed past Kate. Once he was in the house he turned and said, "Besides, I don't tell you anything anymore, remember?" The door shut behind him.

For some reason, I felt embarrassed. I didn't need Macey another excuse to tease me even more. I was hoping she wouldn't mention anything, but the smile on her face read, 'wait for later'.

"How bout you two stay for dinner? Your mom can come too, and we can finally get to know each other!" Kate was saying. She placed her hand on the handle of her front door and turned it in her palm.

"No, no we can't st—" I wearied, but before I could Macey dug the heel of her boots into my foot. "We would love to." The two of us followed Kate inside, out of the cold and into the warmth of the house. Kate pulled off her scarf and coat and hung it up on a coat rack.

The inside of the house smelled like cinnamon and fresh baked something, and it looked like something straight from an IKEA magazine. The sound of a shower running upstairs was the only sound heard. Nothing was out of place, from the throw carpet in the foyer to the framed pictures hanging on the (perfectly painted) wall. There were lots of pictures of Zach—playing sports, posing at different landmarks exc., -and there were a lot of Kate, but I couldn't help but notice neither of their parents were present.

"Wasn't he the cutest?" Kate asked. She must have caught me staring, but now her eyes were trained on a picture of Zach missing his two front teeth and holding up a baseball.

I turned away from the wall. "Yeah, he was." From the corner of my eye I could see Macey grinning and not in the I'm-having-so-much-fun-here-with-my-friend kind of way, but in the I'm-totally- tormenting-my-friend-about-this-later kind of way. It was pretty unsettling.

The three of us stepped into a gorgeous kitchen (the kind that would bring Mom to tears) and Kate started fumbling around in the cabinets. She pulled out onions, and tomatoes, and pasta, and some weird spices and a laid them all out in front of her on the cabinet. She tapped her finger on her chin, speculating her options.

"How does lasagna sound?"

Macey flashed her one of her perfectly polite smiles. "Perfect."

That was all Kate needed to hear. She started to work, pulling out different shaped knives and all sorts of tools I didn't even know you needed for cooking. Mom would have been really impressed.

"Macey," she said, pointing a steak knife in the direction of my friend, "could you chop me some garlic?" Macey nodded, and Kate and the sharp knife turned to me too. "Could you shred the mozzarella, Cammie?"

"Sure." At least that's not something even I, with the Morgan genes, could screw up. I slid the bowl towards me and started carefully shredding the block of cheese Kate had handed to me.

Ten minutes passed with us working amiably and talking— Kate chattered cheerfully and Macey and I responded when we could. I didn't know if Kate really was a gossip, but she definitely liked to talk. I had just managed shredding half the block of mozzarella without grating one of my fingers in the process, when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I put the grater down on the kitchen counter and slid it out of my pocket. It was Mom, finally off of work and probably wondering if I was home. I stepped out of the kitchen to answer the call. "Hello?"

"Hey, are you still at your friend's house?" Mom asked, over the sound of a radio. She was probably driving on her way back from the school.

I looked over my shoulder, at Kate and Macey who were greasing the lasagna pan. "Uh, not exactly…"

"What? Where are you?"

I explained the whole Kate inviting us over for dinner thing, and how she wanted Mom to come too, and by the time I was done explaining the whole situation the sky was darkening outside and Mom was too nervous she'd get a ticket for talking on the phone and driving to continue or conversation.

I turned and made my way back to the kitchen, only to find that Zach had taken up my job as cheese grater and Macey and Kate were no longer in the kitchen.

"Where'd Macey go?" I asked, stopping the in the kitchen doorway. Zach looked up from the giant bowl of mozzarella and shrugged. His hair was wet from his shower, and he had changed out his uniform into a t-shirt and some basketball shorts.

"How should I know?"

I paused. "Um, because they were just in here?" Seriously? This guy was impossible.

He just shrugged and went back to shredding the mozzarella. "Your grating sucks by the way."

I stepped towards him, not bothering to hide my annoyance. "Are you kidding? I'm a great grater!"

Zach's mouth twitched. "You're a great grater? That's cute." I blushed. He set the cheese grater down on the kitchen counter and wiped his hands on the front of his shorts. I crossed my arms across my chest and stood up a little taller, so I wouldn't seem so small compared to him and said with as much force as I could, "Where did Macey and Kate go?"

Zach didn't even bother answering this time and instead turned towards the half-finished lasagna and started filling it with the cheese. "I don't know Gallagher Girl, they said something about special occasions and good china, and then went upstairs. Relax."

I nodded, and watched him finish sprinkling the mozzarella over the lasagna and then slide it into the pre-heated oven. Was it weird that a seventeen-year-old boy could cook better than my Mom? The answer was definitely a hands-down yes.

Zach slid the oven door shut and then turned around, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms. "So…" he said, with the air of someone who isn't used to being awkward but is definitely feeling awkward. "How was your first day of school?"

I couldn't help it. I started laughing. He looked offended, but I could see he was hiding a grin too. "Seriously? Of all the things we could talk about, you ask me how my first day was? What are you, forty?"

"Hey!" He exclaimed, but he was chuckling. "Help a guy out here. I usually have a couple of lines prepared before a dinner date."

"Please, Zach," I responded, trying, and probably failing, to act suave even though my stomach flipped. "This is hardly a dinner date. Your sister, my mom, and Macey, for goodness sake, are all here."

Zach raised an eyebrow. "So if they weren't here…" He trailed off.

"It wouldn't necessarily be a date anyway." I hurried to add. I don't know why, but the look he was giving me was making me feel incredibly nervous. "I barely know you."

Zach laughed, looking away from me and giving me a chance to collect myself and stop acting like a total idiot. "Good thing we're neighbor's then, huh?"

I was about to respond (with what, I don't know), but before I could Kate and Macey came back into the kitchen. "—and the guy at the counter gave me a twenty percent discount," Kate was saying to Macey. She looked at us when she walked in. "Oh, good Zach, you finished the lasagna. I'll get started on the garlic bread and some salad. Why don't you, Cammie and Macey go hang out until dinner?"

Zach shrugged and shoved off the counter, still looking at me even though by now there were two other people that were both definitely more interesting to look at. I decided to keep my eyes on the suddenly intriguing salt and pepper shakers on the counter.

We made our way out of the kitchen, down another picture-covered hallway and into some sort of den. It was covered in beanbags and sports jerseys and posters of NFL players. There was a giant flat screen in one corner and a pool table in the other and in the very center there was a giant futon. Macey immediately dropped into a green bean bag and crossed her legs in front of her.

Her blue eyes swept over the room, taking everything in her judgmental Macey way. They landed back on Zach. "Nice clubhouse."

Zach snickered, crossing the room to sit down on the futon. He sat on the edge leaving the other one completely vacated. I considered sitting there for a moment, and the look Macey was giving me was definitely urging me to, but I settled for the Cammie-like thing to do and sat in a beanbag a safe distance away from Zach.

Zach's stare lingered on me and for a moment he looked a bit confused, but the look disappeared as fast as it had come and the next second he was glaring at Macey and saying, "It's not a clubhouse, it's a man cave, okay?"

Macey nodded but her face remained unimpressed. She turned to me and said, "I'm pretty sure Cammie and I have both seen way better man-caves than this, am I right Cam?"

I looked up from my half-bitten nails and stared at my friend. The truth? No. I hadn't seen better man caves than this one, partially because this was my first time since elementary school being in a guy's house. I was guessing that as far as 'man caves' go this one would be pretty good, but I didn't really have extensive knowledge on the subject, so I just followed Macey's lead. "Oh yeah, definitely. This is kind of sad, Zach."

Zach grinned, probably seeing right through my lie (I was a pretty awful liar after all) but threw his hands up in surrender. "Well, I definitely can't argue with two against one."

Macey smiled. "Of course you can't."

I heard the doorbell ring, and a second later my mom's voice drifted through the door. I could tell she was super excited to meet Kate, because there was a lot of laughter and loud exclamations before their voices finally faded to the kitchen. Macey grinned. "Hey, I just realized I'm going to be having dinner with the new principal."

I snorted. "Hardly. Mom doesn't act like a principal when she's outside the school building." Remembering my mom's embarrassing thumbs up in front of Zach sent a shiver of dread down my spine. Hopefully she wouldn't alienate my new friend and…whatever Zach was to me.

Macey laughed at my expression (though she probably couldn't figure out why I suddenly looked like someone put a gun to my head) and said, "That just makes it even better."

"Come on, Mace, it's not like you haven't dined with important people before," Zach joked, throwing one arm along the seat of the futon and casually stretching out. Macey rolled her eyes. "Is dinner with the president getting to be too conventional for you?"

"Har har, Zach," She deadpanned.

"The president?" I asked, not sure if they were joking or not.

Macey inspected her nails as she said, "It was one time, and it was before he was actually president, so no."

"Right…"

Zach winked at me.

Kate and my mom called us in for dinner before I knew it, and we all sat in Kate's pretty dining room table. Macey had strategically maneuvered my mom and Kate's seats so that somehow, I was sitting across from Zach, which really upset me because I don't think I would be able to eat an entire meal with those annoyingly intense green eyes so close by. I glared at her at she sat down.

"Now, now, Cameron." She muttered quietly so only I could hear. "Just trying to be a good friend here."

"You're killing me, Macey."

"Oh!" she squealed, catching me by surprise and almost causing me to spill my water. "Wait til we tell Bex and Liz. You are so in for it."

"Nothing has happened!" I groaned. My mom, who had just set down the bowl of garlic beard and sat down, gave a look and I immediately lowered my voice. "I have no idea what you're even talking about!"

"You are so oblivious," Macey said, and she seemed genuinely bewildered. I was about to retort, but was interrupted by the arrival of Zach and Kate.

As painful as it could have been, dinner really wasn't too bad. My mom and Kate practically carried the conversation on their own. Macey and I sometimes spoke, but for the most part it was typical adult talk.

Until my mom started interrogating us.

"So, Macey, what grade are you in?" She asked, once the lasagna had been finished and we had started on the pie my mom had (picked up from the store) brought.

"I'm a junior, Mrs. Morgan."

My mom waved off the formality and said, "I'm only Mrs. Morgan at school. Here you can call me Rachel."

Macey shot me a look and I grinned at her, mouthing I told you so. "Okay…Rachel."

"Do you play any sports? I know Zach here does football, and Cam runs cross country…do you do anything involved in the school?"

"Well, I play tennis…kind of."

"Macey was on the tennis team, but she hated the uniform so she quit," Zach inserted with a smirk.

Macey glared at him. "Tennis skirts are supposed to look cute, so why the heck do ours look like umbrella shades?" She shot back.

"That's an interesting opinion, Macey," My mom interrupted diplomatically. "Why don't I take a look at the school budget and see if we can buy the tennis team new uniforms? Then maybe you can join the team again."

To my surprise, Macey looked like she was actually considering the offer. "That sounds like a deal, Rachel." She said, and flashed my mom a winning smile. I applauded my mom's ability to make Macey McHenry change gears.

My mom turned to Zach, who had just shoveled a slice of pie into his face and was working on the other. "And how's football going for you, Zach?"

Zach shrugged. "Not bad, I guess. The first district game is this Friday."

Kate piped up from where she had been surprisingly quiet. "Zach has got scouts looking at him."

"Kate," Zach groaned, running a hand through his hair and looking thoroughly pink. He glanced at me quickly but looked away before I could react.

"He's got first team all district the last two years too." Kate continued, looking particularly happy to be embarrassing him. "They think he's going to lead the team to State this year."

"Okay, that's it," Zach stood up and started taking the plates to the kitchen. "You're going to bed."

"But Zach," Kate whined, though she followed him up and helped him.

"No buts," he said firmly.

Mom laughed and motioned to me to help them clear the table. I did. Macey helped me take everything left to the kitchen.

"I can't even handle you two," she remarked on our way out of the dining room.

"What do you mean?"

"You mean you didn't notice how he stared at you the entire time we were eating?"

I thought about it. I mean sure, I had sometimes thought he had been looking at me. I certainly felt those intense green eyes on me a couple of times. But I had been so set on not looking at him, that I hadn't noticed if he was staring at me.

I waited until we had left the plates in the kitchen, where Zach and Kate were putting the leftovers away and the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and made our way out into the hallway, where we couldn't be heard, before safely continuing. "I didn't notice," I said honestly.

Macey sighed ruefully. "So oblivious."

Kate and my mom spent ten minutes talking to each other instead of saying goodbye, like they should have been. I was glad Mom was making a friend, but did they really have to talk for forever? I was getting tired.

We were outside, Mom and Kate were chatting on the steps, and I was trying to figure out how I could get inside my house twenty feet away and out of the cold air without being totally rude.

"Well," I began awkwardly. Zach, Macey and I were all standing on the path that led up to his door. "Thanks for having us for dinner."

"It was our pleasure," Zach said smoothly. It all seemed so very 1920's, that I almost laughed, but Macey cut me off before I could.

"Wow, would you look at the time," she exclaimed suddenly. She started towards her car. "I really should go. Thanks for the invite Kate!" She called up to the two women standing on the steps. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Mo—Rachel!" By this point, she was already next to her car and had the door open. "Bye Zach. And Cammie?"

I flinched as she stared very pointedly at me. "We'll talk later."

She peeled out of the street before I cold respond, and I silently wondered what the heck I'd gotten myself into when I'd sat down at Bex's lunch table. Zach stared after her in some amusement. "She's nuts."

"Just a bit," I muttered.

He turned his gaze back to me. "I meant it, by the way. Thanks for coming. I know Kate can be a little…overwhelming. It was nice to see you again."

"We saw each other at school," I reminded him, slightly nervous. I really wished he would stop looking at me.

"Yeah," He conceded, mouth quirking a bit. "But it was nice to see you here. I haven't all week."

"Yeah, I—" I cleared my throat. "Yeah."

"And I guess I was wondering…" he trailed off, looking, for a moment, as nervous as I felt. He ran a hand through his hair. "…if maybe you were coming to the game on Friday?"

I flushed. "Um, yeah. Sure. If you want me to."

Zach relaxed and smiled, the nervousness vanishing as fast as it had come. "Good."

"Yeah…" I looked at the floor. "Well, I guess I should go." I started walking towards my house, suddenly feeling reluctant to go even though I'd been wanting to leave all night. "Bye, Zach."

He nodded at me and half turned towards his house. "See you, Gallagher girl."


A/N: February 21, 2014- Okay so it's hashtagfanfiction here and if you're re-reading this than you probably notice I took the very ending out. I was reading over it and I realized I didn't like it at all, so I cut it out. It was a little to You Belong With Me video-like for me. But anyways, on a more positive note Read & Review ASAP because I'm dying to know what you think!