Thirty-four

When he opened his locker there was a loud popping sound and something burst from it, covering him, the floor and splattering several nearby people with a red substance. Both Cindy and I swung back behind the wall utterly shocked.

"Uh..." I trailed, holding my racing chest in pure horror.

"W-what the hell was that?" She gasped. I looked at her wide-eyed, not speaking a word. After a moment I peaked around the corner, hoping to see what's become of this situation. Zhan stood there still in shock, but he was now holding a zip lock bag and inside it looked like there was a.note. He zipped it open and pulled out the note. He looked horrified as he read through it.

When he finished he crumpled the note and shoved it in his pocket. Was my note that bad? Heck, was that even my note? It seems someone sabotaged his locker during the short period we were gone. Zhan just stormed off not saying a single word to anyone, not even his friends that were calling out to him. There was a sea of silent laughter and gasps. It made me furious. Who could have done this?

"It seems someone is trying to sabotage our plan." She mumbled to herself. "You haven't told a soul about our plan have you?" She asked, glaring at me.

"No way!" I replied, waving my hands. I don't even think I'd have the courage to tell anyone to be honest. She seemed to be lost in thought for a second.

"Good. We have to be more careful." She stated, thoughtfully. We're still doing this? Is she crazy?

Zhan looked upset when he left so I ran after him to make sure he was okay, this was my fault, after all, at least I feel it is.

I just caught sight of him entering the boys locker room. I wasn't thinking at the time and followed him in.

"A-are you alright?" I called, raising my hand a little as if I were reaching for him.

"I'm fine." He grumbled. After much staring and a long awkward silence he spoke again. "I just came for a quick shower." He informed me with a forced smile. My eyes stayed frozen on him as he peeled his skin-tight shirt off of his toned body. My body responded in a way I hoped it wouldn't. I did my best to contain myself.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked nervously, scanning the area.

"You're going to be late for class." He notified, giving me a questioning look.

"I don't care." I shrugged.

He eyed me for a moment before responding. "Alright, well if you don't mind, could you take these to the laundry room?" He asked, holding out his shirt and socks in a pile. I nodded and took them in

my hands. Just as I was turning around to head to the laundry room he called out.

"Oh, and these too." He said. I turned back to see what he was talking about an-OH GOSH, he's taking off his pants! I could feel heat crawl through my body. My face, ears, and neck felt like they were on fire.

He finished pulling off his pants, revealing his gray boxer briefs, adding fuel to my fire. I did my best to play it off, but I probably gave myself away when I hurried for the door after he shot me a smirk.

I made my way to the laundry room in a daze and placed his clothes in the washing machine. I've seen my mother use this enough times when I was a kid to know how to operate it, the same thing with my grandma and her sewing machine.

I did a quick wash and added a little more soap than usual to get rid of that strong-smelling ketchup. That got me thinking about who could have done this. I sighed to myself trying to figure it out. Before I knew it the wash was done. I took the clothes and placed them in the dryer that sat next to the door. I took a seat on one of the benches in the room and waited for the dryer to finish. I had my head lowered to the ground and heard a noise in the distance. I looked up to see Zhan making his way over. It felt as if my heart stopped beating when I caught sight of his appearance. He wore nothing but gym shorts and his hair was still wet from the shower. I froze up in my seat as he sat next to me. I tried to avoid his gaze at all cost, but somehow locked eyes with him.

"Thanks a lot for doing this." He said, growing a half smile. "I hate doing.laundry, so this is a huge help." I guess Cindy was right, he really doesn't like laundry.

"N-no problem!" I stuttered nervously. The sound of beeping coming from the dryer caught both of our attention, that had to be the sound of the dryer finishing or my last name isn't Canterberry. I stood up and took his clothes from the dryer and. held them up to him, trying to contain my nerves. He sent me another thankful smile before sliding his hands under mine with them sitting there for a while. I felt my breaths grow smaller. Gosh, what is he doing to me?

"Hey, wanna come over tonight?" He asked, looking curious.

"I'd love to, but I have work." I tried to act casual but I was dying inside.

"How about after work? It's been too long since we spent time together." He whined like a little kid which made me break a smile.

"I didn't mean for it to sound weird." He said waving a hand. I laughed, but it also kind of hurt. Whenever I felt like there was a slight chance he had feelings for me they'd just get pushed under the rug by actions showing otherwise.

"I have no way of getting to your house." I pointed out, making him go into a thoughtful state.

"How about I take you to work so I know where it is, and I can just come back and pick you up?" He proposed. He was certainly dedicated, I'll give him that.

I thought for a second, is work too close to my home for him to know about it? I suppose it would be fine, as long as I didn't do anything to indicate that I live nearby.

"Alright, that would be cool." I accepted shyly, noticing he was still shirtless. Just the sight of his chest sent electric through me, gosh I'm pathetic.

"Great! Meet me in the driveway after class." He said, waving to me on his way out. When he disappeared from view I released a large sigh, getting rid of all my nerves. I suddenly had something to look forward to though. Being with Zhan was always going to be a pleasure. He's fun, kind, and charming. Everything I like in a person. The same can be said for Cindy, but somehow it just isn't the same.

On my way into the math classroom my teacher called me out, I explained why I was late and she let me off with a warning. As I was going to take my seat I tripped, I fell to the floor, only after falling into someone's desk. I looked up and saw my old buddy smirking down at me. He tripped me, he even had his foot still sticking out. I stood up, brushed myself off, and apologized to the person I bumped into. She rolled her eyes and went back to reading her paper. I saw this girl around often, I definitely would have taken it upon myself to talk to her if she wasn't so pissed off all the time. She'd roll her eyes at everything she didn't find amusing. As I ventured over to my seat I spotted Cindy glaring at Durant. I gave her a reassuring smile, trying to get her to calm down, which thankfully she did.

The teacher handed us our homework on our way out of the final class. It felt a little stressful knowing I had more responsibilities nowadays, but it was also fun and exciting in a way. I slang my bag over my shoulder and hurried off to the driveway.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Cindy asked just before I reached the door.

"Ah... Zhan is taking me to work." I blushed, even after trying so hard to hold it back.

"Well, you are excited." She teased with a smirk.

"He's also letting me come over tonight." I admitted. She looked a little surprised and then disappointed.

"I want to come over." She pouted. "I have a ton of drama practice though, so I couldn't even if Zhan let me." She sighed. Cindy is in the school's drama club. She is a really good actor. She always got me to come and watch her practice and perform. She could become a professional in the future.

When I got to the driveway I saw Zhan waiting for me as he had before. I made my way up to him and he was too distracted to notice me. I tapped his arm softly and he pulled his head from his phone to look at me.

"Sorry, I didn't see you coming." He apologized, growing a smile.

"It's okay. Can we head out now?" I ask not wanting to be late for my first day of work.

"Yeah, sure." He said, pushing himself off the car. He walked over to the driver's side and I got in the passenger seat. He pulled out of the driveway and I directed him to the location of my job.

"Oh, so it's right in your neighborhood, huh?" He stated and questioned at the same time. I nodded.

He pulled into the driveway of the small diner and shut off the engine. I quickly unbuckled my seat belt and exited the car.

"I'll walk you in." He said doing the same. I smiled shyly as he walked alongside me into the building. He looked at me while twirling the keys of his car. It made me a little fidgety from his attention, but it also made me feel like I existed.

"Welcome!" The woman greeted us. "Who's your handsome friend?" She asked flirtatiously.

"Hey, I'm Zhan, Yibo's friend." Zhan introduced tossing a little wave before resting his arm on my shoulder. I felt a blush coming on. I looked at Zhan with my reddening face and he smiled at me, making my heart flutter. Yeah yeah, I know, I'm like a high school girl head over heels for her crush.

"My, nice to meet ya." She said, I noticed her carrying a tray of pastries behind the counter.

"Would ya'll like one?" She asked when she caught me staring at the pan. I looked up at Zhan to see what his answer would be.

"Sure." He accepted quickly, walking over to the counter. When I got close enough I realized she was holding tarts of some kind. She held out the pan and waited for us to take it.

"Thanks Sandra." He said. I looked at him curiously. Did he know her? I looked back and almost facepalmed when I realized her name tag. How could I have missed that before.

We ate the tarts. They were delicious and zesty. I think they were lemon if I'm not mistaken. Right after we finished Sandra made me put on a silly-looking apron and

Zhan was giggling the whole time.

"I think it looks cute on you." Sandra complimented.

"Yeah I think so too." Zhan followed. My face lit up like a candle hearing him say it.

"Well... alright I guess." I gave in. I didn't think it suited me but they sure seemed to think so, and I didn't want to go against my boss's wishes, especially on the first day.

"Alright, I think I should get going." Zhan said with a sigh of contentment. I guess he enjoyed being here huh, that makes me happy, as an employee of course! Gosh, who am I fooling? I was A little sad that he was leaving but I didn't even expect him to

stay as long as he did so I'm just happy he came at all.