Chapter Thirty-nine

♦September's POV♦

I can't concentrate for the next couple of classes after lunch, I'm too worried about Cameron and too giddy about my date with Zach to sit still and survive through boring classes of uninterested people teaching me what I already knew.

It helped that I had only two classes after lunch so I quickly grabbed my backpack and made a break for it, I walk outside with plans to wait for Zach but he bumps into me first.

"Zach?" I blink up at him in surprise."I didn't expect to see you here."

"I didn't have any classes after lunch so I was waiting for you to show up." He says, looking at me.

I think it's a thing Zach does, the way he concentrates on you like he's in an empty room and you're the only presence there, it's mind-blowing.

"Oh." Is all I manage to say without stuttering or biting my tongue off.

"How's Cameron?" He asks in concern, taking my backpack from me and throwing an arm around my shoulder to lead me to his car.

I try not to die at this series of actions and also answer his question at the same time, that's a lot of brainwork.

"He's better now, at least he fell asleep, finally." Zach had known about Cameron's case and I was grateful that even with their bitter rivalry, he cared enough and wanted me to help him.

"Doesn't he have a pack? They should know what's wrong with him right?" I ask as he opens the side door for me to slip in, how he does this easily while holding my bag and my hand is still a miracle to me.

All I needed for utter chaos to occur was to buy enough at the store to fill up my two hands and when the cashier gives me the bags and asks for money at the same time, all hell let's lose.

At least that was what happened when I went shopping, it was horrible.

Zach drops my backpack in the back seat, his satchel is already there and he opens the driver's side to come in. "He does but he's used to being a lone wolf so he's not really a part of them." He slips the key in the ignition and twists it. "The Alpha of his pack is at our school, a senior, her dad is the Council Head, she tries to pull him close but he just keeps pushing them away. Most likely, they don't have any idea of what is going on."

"Oh!" I simply say, trying to process the information I'd just gotten. "Arianna is positive that it'll pass, that maybe something just happened to trigger his episodes."

"She might be right but she also says that if he doesn't get better before the week runs out that she's going to the Alpha to report it."

"Cam is not going to like that." I find myself blurting out.

"We all know but we can't just leave him the way he is."

I nod my head, going quiet. I'm eager to change this line of conversation because as much as I love Cameron and wouldn't hesitate to take a bullet for him, I also love Zach… wait! My eyes widen, I do?

I glance at him, about to tell him that we should probably change the like of discussion, it was our first date after all. I like that, it had a really nice ring to it, it meant that there would be more.

He glances at me to at the same time like he read my mind and the unasked question I see in his chocolate brown eyes makes me let out a huff of pleased laughter, it matches the one in my eyes.

"Stop reading my mind." I teasingly accuse him.

"Or maybe you're the one in my head." He winks at me and I melt a little.

"You know when I first met you, I thought you were cold and closed off." I say mindlessly without worrying about my words, it's just so easy to talk to Zach.

"Really?" He glances at me from the side before fixing his direction on the road again.

"Yeah, the first time we met was at Club Xhex, you thought I was Selena and nearly attacked me when you figured out I wasn't." I reminisce, content to stare at his side profile while he keeps his eyes on the road.

"I figured then that it probably took a lot to impress you and there was no way clumsy, boring me could achieve that." I continued, tracing patterns on the arm of the leather seat.

"I've always figured Selena to be grumpy but a huge teddy bear at heart." He glances at me again and I'm wondering if he's using magic to drive, he's looking at me an awful lot for someone driving on the fast lane. "Don't tell her that though or she'd skin me alive so when I found out that you were here twin sister, you were a bit more intimidating than her."

I blink and huff out a laugh. "Me?! Intimidating??" I laugh again. "I doubt."

He just shrugs.

"I was pretty sure you couldn't even remember my name." I continue, content to ramble and he seems content to listen to me…

"I hope I'm not talking too much?" I ask quickly, suddenly nervous, what if he had gone quiet because I was yammering too much and he was just thinking of an easy way to let me down slowly that he wasn't interested in the date anymore.

"I'm not calling off the date September." He says in exasperation with something like fondness in his voice.

I whip my head to look at him, staring at him with wide eyes.

"If you keep that up, you'll burn a hole through my jaw." He teases me.

I blink. "What? H-How did y-you kno…" I trail off.

"How did I know what you were thinking?" He asks me and I nod, curious. "Because…" he leans forward to kiss my scrunched up nose. "Your face is like an open book, you're so expressive that I don't even need Cyril's power to tell me what you're thinking or Selena's powers to tell me how you feel."

I sink into myself, a splash of blush dusting my cheeks. "I guess that's exactly the reason why I'm so expressive, there was no hiding anything from my siblings so I didn't see the need to try, I just let everything out."

"I like that about you." He hums. "But what I don't know is why you think I would want to call off the date?"

I sink lower into myself. "I was thinking that you didn't like the way I talk too much because you suddenly went quiet."

He looks at me for a slightly longer time and gives me a wide smile. "I love listening to you talk, you sound so cute when you're serious and your voice is soothing so I kept quiet so I could properly appreciate it." He says with open honestly that has my brain shutting down.

I blush harder, unused to such frank adoration from someone else. "O-Oh

Is the only thing I manage to mutter while blushing furiously, I wasn't used to compliments. "T-Thank you."

"We're here!" He announced with a wide grin, leaning forward to steal another kiss to my nose.

I rub the appendage that he keeps showering with love and look out the window.

He's right!

We're already at Sea-Shell and I hadn't even noticed the passage of time, Sea-Shell is a tiny, aesthetic restaurant by the beach which specialized in fish recipes, at least that was what I'd heard, I'd never been there but I also heard that their pies was the best in Brenton and not being a big fan of fish, I couldn't wait to get started on the pies.

"That was fast." I say, reaching into the backseat for my phone which was in my backpack.

"Not really, I was driving really slow because I like you sitting in my car." He says sheepishly and I burst out laughing.

He parks the car and before I can step out, he's already at the side of my door, opening it and helping me out.

"You're going to spoil me." I tell him.

"If I am, then I better do it right." He replies with a cheeky smile which I find myself returning, being with Zach was freeing, it was… nice.

He wraps a hand around my waist and proudly leads me inside and I'm grateful he's being honest and open, I've lived for too long with people who didn't act or say what they truly feel, people who existed all the time with facades, pretty masks kept on for so long that you start to think it's their face.

So his honesty was refreshing and it made me fall harder for him, who knew coming to Brenton would bring me to the best thing that had ever happened to me.

A waitress leads us to a window table that has a clear even though distant view of waves crashing against the shore and we settle down.

She brings us the menus and asks if we would like something to drink before we order.

Zach declines and I ask for water.

"Okay! I'll get right on that." The cheerful redhead smiled, bustling off.