9 A DAY WORTH REMEMBERING

I don’t know what possesses me as I throw the ball violently against the tree nearby. I hear a unanimous gasp and watch on to see the ball hit the trunk with a loud thud and possibly some branch or thorn has punctured it. It falls deflated on the ground resembling my face right now.

Shit.

That was not the plan.

I turn back to see a shocked Lily, Nathaniel mirroring her expression while Mr. not-so-invisible-anymore stands clenching his jaw, fuming and radiating sheer fury that makes me almost choke.

From the looks of it, it seems I did manage to attract trouble after all.

“Are you fucking crazy?!” Zach holds both of my upper arms too roughly as he jerks me upwards and towards himself.

His raging and excessively loud yell makes me jump as a silent terror begins to grow within me, at his sudden rise in volume.

“I-I didn’t mean to - ”

“You don’t have the slightest idea what you’ve done, do you?” His voice has raised higher and his eye bore deep hateful glares into me.

“Buddy, let it go. Doesn’t matter. Zach.”

“Leave her, she’s getting hurt.” Lily protests behind me as she tries uselessly to loosen his hold on me.

“For what you’ve done…” He whispers slowly, as if fighting hard to control his anger.

It was just a ball, Zach. I don’t get why he’s getting so touchy about it. And it’s just deflated. It’s not like it can’t be repaired.

When I was the one hit in the face, by it. Talk about overreaction.

“You don’t know me when I’m bad, Adalanna…” My eyes widen. Because as a matter of fact, I do.

I’ve seen him get bad, up close and personal and it really isn’t a fascinating area to revisit. And his taking my full name somehow manages to manoeuvre me exactly there.

He doesn’t take the full name except when he’s dead serious. His fingers digging into my arms start to pain as my eyes squint at the sensation.

“Zach, you’re hurting me.” I croak out the words fighting back the sting that slowly travels up my arm.

“You’re going to have to pay for this. You’re so going to have to pay for this.”

“Zach, relax!” Nathaniel shouts out as he untangles me from his hurtful clutches. I stumble back as I get released suddenly and rub my arms fast to ease the pain.

“Let’s go. Come on.” Nathaniel speaks after a final look at me and Zach simply stares, with a murderous look that clearly says that this isn’t over yet.

The boys leave soon after and I take time to register the events unfolding too fast for me to keep track. I almost knew something like this would happen.

“You okay?” Lily keeps a hand on my shoulder as I silently nod my head.

“Let’s just head to the wing.” I don’t want to discuss anything about this, or any other matter that somehow concerned Zach Hayden.

If this was his level of anger at my puncturing a basketball, I don’t even want to think about the other worse situations Zach handles.

This guy makes me mad. God.

*

“Adalanna Callister. This is my first day.” I speak up to the middle aged lady behind the desk after Lily, and she lifts up her spectacled eyes.

“Right. This is your schedule. And your locker combination. Please sign these papers for confirmation of your reporting.” I silently take the journal and start signing at the required places.

“Quite a first day, yeah?” Lily speaks, breaking the ice and I simply sigh with a raised eyebrow. The day hasn’t even started properly yet.

“Well, well, at least one thing we know is, you are so going to get a good number of hearts broken here.”

“I don’t know anything about whatever you wish to imply.” I reply with my head still down, signing.

“Oh come on Dello, it’s just the first day and you’ve already flipped out a list of admirers."

“You have a list?”

“Cut the pretence, okay? You know I’m right.”

“Actually, I don’t.”

“Leading the board, ladies and gentlemen, happens to be the bad boy of the century, the irresistible Casanova and Greek god, Zach Hayden…” I roll my eyes in mockery and disgust, one half at the name and the other half at the flowery description.

Did she say admirers?

“Oh please, are you seri - ”

“… Closely followed by his enigmatic, dewey eyed heartthrob of a friend, with much less of an ego, the golden boy and point guard Nathaniel Alderidge…”

“Dewey eyed. DEWEY EYED? Are you even hearing yourse -”

“Lastly, following on number three is the adorable guy with the specs, behind you, somewhat shy, staring at his lady love as we speak.”

What?

I turn around quickly to indeed see a shy guy with spectacles on, who removes his eyes the second I catch him. He turns a bit clumsy as he realises he has been caught in the act. Lily can be so embarrassing.

“Uh, I am so sorry on her behalf that was not what she meant – and you don’t have to get so nervous, it’s okay – like not that it’s okay to stare but um - I’m sure that’s not even what you were doin -”

He doesn’t even let me finish as he grabs all his stuff and hastens away from the spot without sparing a second glance.

“Great. How do you even manage to spit out so much of absurdness?” I turn around to find an amused Lily fighting back a laugh.

“It was such a scene.”

“He seemed like a nice guy. And you freaked him out.”

“Wow. It seems number one and two just got competition.” She laughs off infectiously and I find myself cracking up inevitably. She’s unbelievable.

4-3-5-6-2-1. I carefully put in the code and opening the – my locker, I dumped in most of the things from my backpack. I take out my requisites for my first class that happens to be algebra. I sigh. Can this day even get any better?

I close the locker gently, only after putting in the lotion I borrowed from Lily. It was not exactly an antiseptic but it surely did relieve out a bit of the redness on my arms. For once I’m grateful she carries these stuff.

The marks are at exactly the same location they had been bruised previously when that day, Zach –

It’s like the spot, his spot, where he always holds the arms and bruises them. Its almost like he measures them, to hurt the same place over and over to ultimately cause some permanent damage.

Well it really isn’t something to dwell on, but I sadly realise that the only and every contact that has happened or will ever happen, between us, is him hurting me.

I let out a deep sigh and the moment I turn around, I’m knocked out of all my breath with a loud surprised gasp, as my back hits the locker with a loud metallic bang and I’m met with brown familiar eyes of Zach’s, who happens to be standing too close. What the -

“Zach? What the hell do you think you’re doi -” I try to push him off as I speak, to which he forces me back, more violently this time, the metal creating a rattling sound against my back.

Zach has me pinned against my locker with both of his hands actively trapping me. His fragrance hits me like a ton of bricks and a loud gasp escapes my lips.

“Zac-h, I-I…” I try so hard to speak but my words run out of voice and air.

“Go on. I’m listening.” His drowning voice is laced with slow, carnal teasing and envious calm. Words fail me as I hold onto the last shreds of my senses and feel an embarrassing blush heat my face.

“Zach let m-me go.” I breathe out hardly audible.

He pushes himself closer to me in response and I close my eyes involuntarily, as my heart beats against my chest frantically. Oh my.

“Did I hear the magical word, sweetheart?” I feel his fingers tucking a strand of my hair behind my earlobe and refusing to remove themselves.

“Zach.” My voice cracks terribly as I turn my head away from him while his fingers find their way behind my neck and wave imaginary patterns, making me go weak in the knees.

“Adalanna… hush.” He whispers against my earlobe, his hot breath fanning my skin, and I find myself clenching my fists almost painfully. I make one last futile attempt to save my heart from the wrath that is Zach Hayden as I once again put my palm on his chest, trying to push him off.

“Sweetheart… Don’t. Just. Be.” I hear his hushed voice, his lips lightly brushing my ear and I lose all of my much preserved control.

His fingers retract along the path they previously followed and I’m aware of nothing more than him all around me. He traces it along my neck and I clutch his t-shirt tightly as I feel myself losing balance due to the adrenaline pumping.

I can’t help it. I just can’t help that this feels too good. I don’t want it to. But then, when have I ever gotten what I want, when it comes to Zach.

“It’s gonna be a day worth remembering, I promise.” I take in his words, relishing the sound of his voice and cologne that has enveloped me by now and as I contemplate the meaning behind it, he suddenly jerks away with unarmed force.

His t-shirt slips off of my hand as he stands gazing at my reaction. I’m flushed, hardly being able to breathe and with a last smirk, he walks away coolly before I can even blink.

I swallow deeply and rest my head against the locker behind me as I allow my heart beats to normalise.

“Crap!” I gasp as my body continues to reel with the after effects. What the bloody hell was that?

“O-kayyy, you’ve got some serious explaining to do.” I turn around to see Lily gaping at me in utter shock. Damn it.

I hold her arm as I steady myself, shaking my head and straightening my shirt stupidly.

“That was Zach, right? What the hell was that?” I am so in a mess.

“You saw that?”

“Almost all of us did.”

I look around to see everyone looking at me with weird undefinable expressions. Remind me why I haven’t killed him yet. Zach did this. In a freaking hallway. Full of people. I feel giddy. And my throat hurts from being too dry.

“DELLO?”

“Yes?” I see Lily with a raised eyebrow. “Yes.”

“I’m all ears?”

“Um, yeah, I – I don’t know.”

What did he do? What did he want to? Why did he?

Is Zach completely incapable of holding on to rationality for more that ten seconds?

First he yells and fights with me like there’s no tomorrow and then he goes on to do… this. And I bloody go on to like it. I’m just as insane as he is.

“Zach Hayden almost made out with you in the middle of a freaking hallway and you’re telling me that YOU FUCKING DON’T KNOW?!” Lily whisper yells at me and I understand her curiosity. Same, Lil. Same.

“No. I mean yes. I mean no, we didn’t really make out, and yes, I don’t know. He just, suddenly…, well…, appeared and…, pushed me to the locker and…,” I clear my throat roughly and silently, thinking what I am supposed to say right now. God, this is embarrassing.

“… Ahem, well you know the rest.”

“Thank you for the subtitles, but my question was the ‘why’ part of it. I mean one minute I see you both fighting like archenemies whose voice almost bleeds your ear and the next minute the same guy is nuzzling the same ear? Like what the fuck?”

“That’s… probably the same thing I’m thinking right now.”

“Well, you gotta postpone that and manufacture a nice, satisfactory explanation for me because a) I’m freaking the fuck out, and 2) we’re running late.” I realise she’s right and I pick up my things along with my dropped sanity and let her guide the way.

I sense hushed murmurings and occasional glances at me as I walk along.

Zach! What the hell are you up to now? And why did I have to let him?

I’m ironically reminded of how I was thinking not so long ago, that the only contact between us was him hurting me. Whatever happened minutes ago, whatever it might be, hurting was supposedly one thing I wouldn’t call it.

But then with Zach, you never know.

Author's note:

Zach Hayden is as unexpected as gonorrhea by the way. *eye roll*

Moments start and so does something bigger.

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