Hey guys I had to write this twice again. Power shortage from my space heater. I was in my room this time BTW and IT WAS SNOWING WHEN I WROTE THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME! SNOWING! LIKE WHAT THE FUDGE! IT IS MID-OCTOBER NOT LATE NOVEMBER WEATHER GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT GODS DAMN IT! Yeah so it was cold yesterday and still is so i am writing this with my gloves and favorite hat on and my brother says I am ready to do a lets play. Review if you got the reference Sorry I haven't been updating super busy with other projects! Yeh this is more Zarter because apparently you people like it!

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(AN: They are 16-17ish in this one!)

I walked down the halls of B.A.G heading towards my next class when I bumped into Walt. "Hey Carter I need to ask you something. Is it okay if Sadie isn't back before 9 tonight? I want to take her star gazing." Walt smiled hopefully.

"Yeah just bring her back before 11." I tell him and resume walking towards my next class. Art. It was required even though I absolutely suck at it.

In art I sat down next to my girlfriend Zia Rashid who was an art prodigy as it turns out. "Hey Z."

"Hello Carter. We are making clay bowls or pots today. Try not to burn the building down." Zia teased. I laughed slightly and went up to grab my lump of clay to work with.

I began kneading the clay mimicking how Zia did it. It was really hard at first but after awhile it soften up nicely. Then she put it on her pottery wheel. And I began failing badly. I couldn't get the edges of my bowl to stand up correctly or do anything I wanted them to do.

"Carter, do you need help?" Zia questioned. I scowled.

"Yes please." I muttered. Zia came around and sat in front of me. She gently grabbed my hands and guided them helping make the edges of the bowl do as I pleased. Her hands were warm and soft despite the clay that partially covered them. I looked up at her and smiled briefly she smiled back her eyes dancing.

I went back to my bowl Zia's hands still on top of my own.

"I think you're getting the hang of it now." Zia stated. She removed her hands and I messed up again. "By the gods Carter you are REALLY bad at this." Zia laughed.

She placed her hands back on mine and this time talked while she showed me what to do.

"You have to be gentle with the clay to much pressure and it breaks. But not enough then it flops. Okay. You need to keep you thumb always outside your bowl or pot. Some people find it helps them make a better rim if you place it here." Zia move my thumb to just outside my pot. "There now just sorta move your hands around a bit making the bottom wider but keeping the top narrow. You are making a vase right?" Zia asked. I nodded. I was now.

"Good I need to do my own project now. If you need more help I'll know." Zia flashed me one more million dollar smile and went back to her own work.

Zia visited the 1st Nome over the weekend so I didn't have much to do. Our clay pieces would be done by the time we went back to class next Monday. We would probably be painting them then.

The rest of the day on Monday passed quickly and soon I was back in art class. I never dreaded art class it had Zia in it. My only class with her except lunch. I sat down next to Zia after I had grabbed my vase from the front of the room.

I noticed that Zia's pot had a heart carved into it I also noticed something carved into the heart until she turned it away from me. I just shrugged it off and got painting.

I used first coated it in a white base coat then since it dried freakishly fast. I used vine stencils to paint green vines all over it. After that I grabbed the flower stencils and added a few bright yellow one at random points. When I finished it looked like something you would buy at Wal-Mart for 10 bucks. So some of my best work.

"Hey Zia!" I said to my girlfriend. "Check it out it doesn't look like crap this time!" I beamed happily. Zia put down her brush and examined it.

"This is some of your best work Carter! Nicely done. How about you go show it to Mr. Lizah while I finish mine." Zia shooed me away and I went and showed him my work. He was impressed. He told me that he thought I'd find a way to burn down the classroom with paint. He was pleasantly surprised with my work though. I even got a A!

I went back over to Zia who had just finished her project and just put it away to dry. "Nicely done with your project. We'll be able to take them home tomorrow okay!" Zia smiled at me happily.

"Cool. I don't know what I'll do with a vase but I'm sure I'll find something." I tell her and for some reason she looks a bit sad with that response. But I didn't probe for answers.

When we got home Zia and I trained the initiates about fire. Mostly how to defend yourself against it. I lost half my eyebrow because I didn't block one of her fire balls fast enough.

The evening went by extremely quickly and I passed out on my bed before midnight for once.

The next day school was boring. Same boring lectures, same boring teachers, same boring lunch then came art class. That class was never boring.

"Okay students since we just finished our pottery project we have a free day today! You can feel free to free paint, free draw, write, do home work, read or just chat amongst yourselves." Mr. Lizah told us and almost everyone began chatting. Including Zia and I.

"Carter I have a gift for you." Zia begins.

"Really? Why? Also can I have it now?" I ask quickly. My eyes huge.

"You are such a 5 year old sometimes." Zia remarks. "No I'll give it to you on the way home. We are walking today whether you like it or not!" Zia laughs.

"Okay then!" I smile again. "So what kind of present is it exactly?" I ponder.

"I am not telling you!" Zia smacks my arm gently.

"Fine!" I say. We begin chatting about how to train the initiates in the element of cheese when the bell rings.

"Wow that felt shorter than usual." I remarked. I began picking up my stuff ready to leave to room.

"Yeah because of the football game tonight we get out 20 minutes early." Zia tells me. She goes over to the front of the room grabs her project and sticks it in her bag. I do the same with mine.

We walk down the sidewalk hand in hand and I pull us over at a little cafe I was fond of. An elderly woman walks over to us. "Hello dears! What would you two like to drink?"

"I'll have a mint hot chocolate." Zia answers smiling. We had been coming here since last year and the elderly couple that owned the place were very fond of us.

"Oh yes I should of known that! Silly me." She laughed. Her name was Christy Loan.

"It's fine Mrs. Loan." Zia said with a smile.

"Again Zia, it's Christy!" Christy laughed again. "Carter you want a coffee with 2 creams and 2 sugars correct?"

"Yes! Thanks. Also can I have a slice of chocolate pie?" I ask. Zia and I always split a piece.

"Are you sure you don't want two? I'll add in the second for no extra charge! Zia here is too thin!" Christy poked Zia's arm playfully which earned her a smile.

"Yes we're sure." Zia answered. Christy tutted slightly and made her way back to the kitchen.

We ate and had our usual small talk. Then Zia finally told me about her present for me.

"I made this for you." Zia said and pulled out the clay vase she had made. It was painted black and in gold etched in it was a heart and the initials ZR and CK.

"Wow... this is..." I stared at it. It was beautifully done and the gold shone brightly against the blackness. "Beautiful." I muttered. Zia blushed.

"Thank you." She said softly. I pulled out my own vase and stared at it. I compared them. Mine looked like crap next to hers. I began to notice intricate swirls in the black as well.

"I don't want to give this to you because it is crap compared to yours." I tell her. She laughs.

"I say we give yours to Mr. and Mrs. Loan." Zia suggests. I nod. When Christy comes back over I hand her the vase.

"It's for you. After all you are so nice to us." I smile at her. Christy blushes. She looks at it and smiles.

"Oh it's lovely! Thank you so much dear." Christy pulls me into a hug and quickly hugs Zia as well. "You two are the most polite teenagers we get in here this means a lot. Thank you." Christy tuttles off and places it by the cash register. She then goes outside and plucks a flower from her little patch and places it in the vase.

"You just made her very happy." Zia told me. "And me too." Zia then leaned across the table and kissed me.

See sweetness! Also this is like a WAAAAAAAAAY prequel to A Zarter Proposal.