What was he like?
What did he eat?
Did he have any favorite TV shows?
This was all for the fan club. She needed the gory details. It didn’t matter that we hadn’t seen each other for a week. So after three hours of fan club this, and Zack Warren that, I was ready to explode.
We were in the dressing rooms of Victoria’s Secret, and I was contemplating the purchase of a pink polka dot bra, when Lana took it one step further. “I think I’ll start a website.”
A website? What was wrong with this girl?
“Hell, no!” I barged out of the dressing room, pulling my shirt on.
She poked her head out. “Chloe, why don’t you shout a little louder? I think the people in the food court might have missed that.”
“You are not starting a website. Forget it.” The sales lady was staring at me, probably thinking we were just some stupid teenagers goofing off. I ignored her. “I thought you were taking things too far before, but this is crazy.”
“Lighten up.”
“Fine, you want to be that way, Lana, then you’ll have to choose between our friendship and the club.”
“Zack is never going to find out.”
“How can you possibly know that? Do you have a crystal ball?”
“He’s not smart enough to figure it out. Neither is Kyle.”
“You obliviously don’t know them very well.” Zack had brains, brawn, and charm. Kyle might be thinking with his penis most of the time, but he was a lot smarter than he let on.
Lana shut her the dressing room door in my face.
“You need to stop being so uptight have some fun.” Her muffled laugh grated on me in ways Zack’s teasing never had.
This bitch was toast.
“If you do this, I will tell Kyle you have a sick fascination with his best friend.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“Try me.” I growled. A boy was going to come between us. Only it wasn’t because of some silly argument about him not being good enough, or Lana not liking him. It was because of a moral reason. Which was better than any in my book.
On my way to the register I snagged the matching polka dot panties. I was out of the store before Lana finished trying on her things. Zack and Kyle were where we left them in the arcade shooting gangsters. They weren’t big on the mall, but as long as they could hang out together, they seemed to tolerate it. Having them come with Lana and me wasn’t the original idea. But when I mentioned where I was going, Zack said he wanted a new pair of running shoes, and Kyle had nothing better to do.
“Hey, that was fast.” Kyle paused the game. “Where’s Lana?”
I shrugged. “I left her. Zack, I want to go. Please.”
“Something wrong?” He finished his game, shooting pretty accurately and shedding buckets of fake blood.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I glanced at a very confused Kyle. “Lana and I are having an argument. When she decides to see my side, tell her to call me. Until then, our friendship is over.”
Kyle snapped his gum and removed his mirrored aviators. “I have no clue what you are talking about. But I will relay the message.”
With a firm nod, I marched out of the arcade.
Zack caught up after saying goodbye to Kyle. “What was that about?”
“It’s complicated.” I said. We reached the exit and stopped at the doors leading out to the parking lot. It was raining, again.
“Chloe, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not exactly the dumb jock.” He tucked the bag with his new sneakers under his arm.
“I know. I just can’t tell you.” I pushed the door open searching for Zack’s truck.
“Wait here, I’ll go get the car.”
I grabbed his hand before he took off running. “I don’t care if I get wet.”
Forget wet. The rain soaked us. I had to wring myself out once we made it to the truck.
“That was fun.” Zack pulled a black duffle from behind his seat. The one he always took to practice with him. He had a couple towels in it and handed me one.
I agreed, drying off as best I could. A run through the rain refreshed me. “I feel so much better now.”
“So,” he said, running his hands through his wet hair, “this thing with you and Lana sounds bad.”
“Bad is putting it lightly.” I chose my words carefully. “We started a game when we were kids, and I can’t get her to let it go. People could get hurt.”
“Physically?”
“No, emotionally. Feelings are involved.”
“If you told me more, then maybe I could be of some help.”
I groaned, squishing back into the seat. Zack liked to listen to my problems, I’ve noticed. He had endless patience in that area from what I’ve seen, almost as if he wanted to help me. If it had been something else Lana and I were fighting over, I probably would have enlightened him for his view.
“As nice as your offer sounds, this is something I have to do on my own.”
The next day Zack and I drove back to Eckerd. Lana didn’t even speak to me. We had our first class together and she pretended like I didn’t exist. I began to realize my so-called friend had issues, serious issues.
She moved out of our dorm room and stayed with Kyle upstairs. Then she managed to turn every member of the fan club against me by mid-week.
And when Friday came, not even Marcy, the nicest, most accepting girl in school, wanted to sit with me at lunch. I ended up alone outside the cafeteria on an old bench dedicated to a guy who donated money to the theater troop last year.
Really, I was having a fantastic week.
“Hey,” I looked up to see Kyle.
“Hi.”
“Mind if I join you?”
“It’s your social life at stake if you do.”
“Nah, Lana can’t touch me. I made her queen, remember that.” He dug into a sub from the cafeteria, hunching over the grass so nothing landed on his crisp baseball uniform.
“Why are you so dressed up?”
“Lost a bet. Have to wear this for the next three days.” He sucked down half a coke before speaking again. “Listen, this thing with you and Lana, it creeps me out.”
I froze. “What thing?”
“Dude, I’m not in the dark anymore.”
“I’m not sure if I follow.”
“The club, Baker. I know.”
I’m so dead. “Excuse me, but, oh shit.”
He patted my hand. “It’s cool. I know you aren’t the one behind it. Lana tried her best to make it look that way, but you aren’t a controlling, manipulative bitch. This is all her.”
“Wow. How did you find out?”
“After you left with Zack, I went to the panty store and got a confession. It took forever, and I am not ashamed to admit, the threat of me dumping her little ass.”
“She just told you?” oh no. If she can tell Kyle so easily, what would it take to get her to talk to someone else? Like Zack? What if she went really crazy and decided he should speak at the meetings or something?
“Yep, spilled the whole pile of shit over a fudge sundae.” He winked. “I’ve got your back, Baker. If Zack ever finds out, I’ll set him strait.”
“Thanks.” This I was not expecting. It would have been more believable if he freaked out and told Zack.
“I should be thanking you.”
“Why?”
He sighed. “I really care about Lana, but this is a twelve out of ten on the weirdo scale.”
“I agree. I’m not sure I can be friends with her anymore, either.”
“Her loss. By the way, we’ve got practice this evening. Zack wants to talk to you, but it looks like I got here first.”
“Thanks, if you see him, tell him I’ll wait in the stands.” I paused. “What does he want to talk about?”
“Well, Lana has kind of taken over our room. He was hoping he could crash with you until you guys make up. Or until you and Lana can live together without wanting to
kill each other.”
I shook my head. “Uh, I almost feel bad for him. If you see Zack before me, tell him he can crash in my room.”
“Sure thing.”
If hell suddenly merged with earth, I’d say this is how it would feel. I was a leaper. The school freak. For the rest of the day ignored by every girl Lana could get to before me.
Finally, in ethics, someone spoke to me.
“Hey, Chloe.”
“Christy.”
“Thanks for not calling me chomper.” She leaned across the isle.
“No problem. But why are you talking to me?”
She whispered as best she could through the metal headgear. “I think Lana is being really mean, and what we are doing is a little strange. I’m not going to quit the club, but I just wanted you to know we’re cool.”
“Thanks, that means a lot.”
“Some of the other girls feel the same, but we’ll become social outcasts if we quit. Besides, it is fun. We don’t just talk about Zack.”
“I know.” It was the camaraderie I missed the most.
“So Lana was saying you and Zack are really close now.”
“Uh, yeah.” I was wary. Something I said could be easily relayed to the club. “We’re friends.”
“I wouldn’t want a bunch of girls having a meeting about a boy who was my friend either.” She winked.
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“I never said that. But now that you bring it up…”
“Don’t make me call you chomper.”
She laughed. “I was just playing.”
For the first time today I laughed too.
I’d also managed to hide my new role as the social pariah from Zack. He had baseball and a biology test to worry about this week, so thankfully his focus stayed elsewhere.
I found myself alone again that evening, watching baseball practice. Lana and her band of nitwits were giggling under the magnolia tree. Every few minutes one of the girls would squint at me from across the field, and then turn her back.
But I was content. I even smiled and waved. Eventually they stopped staring and went back to talking about the poor guy behind his back.
Trying to stop the crazy fan girls had lost its appeal. I had no wish to revisit last week. Kyle, of all people, had my back. I knew he was good on his word. If Zack ever found out, I had someone to support my side of the story. Zack listened to Kyle more than anyone else. They trusted each other. That was easy to see.
I made an effort to clear my head of this week’s drama, listening to Zack’s iPod while I did my homework. He was kind enough to leave it with me so I’d have something to do.
And he meant what he said. He’d stopped ignoring me, acting funny. It felt like we were developing a true friendship.
I’d finished a review on Hamlet when the steel walkway under my feet vibrated rhythmically with approaching footsteps. The person drew closer, toward me. I looked up and my stomach dropped.
If this day got any worse, I might consider transferring to another school an option.
“Hey, take those out of your ears.” Max smiled, leaning over me. Why did he always find me at the worst moment? When I was alone? When I was having a bad day? And why did he reek?
I took the bud out of my right ear. “Hi.”
“I saw you sitting up here alone, thought you might like some company. Uh, I had fun the other day on the boat.”
What was I supposed to say to the guy? How could I say it without sounding interested in him?
“Me too.” There. That was general enough, I hoped.
“Looks like Zack and Regina have a thing.” His eyes were nowhere near my face, not even focusing on me anywhere above my neck. I took a quick inventory and realized he had a clear view down my shirt. Towering over me the way he was, I couldn’t change that, so I hugged my backpack to my chest.
“I wouldn’t know.” I said, peering around him to see that practice was over and the team had left the field for the locker room. “Don’t you need to go with the rest of the team?”
“Nah, I’ll shower at the dorms. I’m not cool with other dudes seeing my junk.”
“That sounds uncomfortable.” Gathering my things, I stood. “Well, it was nice talking, but I have to get going.”
I left Max on the bleachers, making a beeline for the girl’s bathroom. I’d hide there until Zack texted me to meet him at the truck. It was the perfect plan.
I dumped my things on the counter, brushed my hair, glossed my lips, and went to the bathroom. Zack hadn’t texted, so I figured he was showering and changing. Probably doing guy stuff. Though I had no idea what boys did in the locker room. Part of me didn’t want to know.
I was washing my hands at the long line of sinks, humming one of the songs from Zack’s workout playlist, when the hair stood up on the back of my neck.
It was a prickly feeling, like I wasn’t alone anymore.
Feeling foolish, I peeked into the mirror over the sinks.
I never thought I’d have a stalker, but it was time to start considering the possibility.
“Max?” I shut off the water, wiping my hands on my jeans. “What are you doing in here?”
“I wanted to talk to you, alone. This is as good a place as any.” He pushed away from where he leaned against the door.
“I don’t see how we have anything to talk about.” I spun around, my sneakers squeaking on the tile.
“Chloe, just hear me out.”
“Why should I? This is the girl’s bathroom!”
“Hey, I’m asking nicely.”
“You’ve got thirty seconds before I scream.” Not that anyone would hear me.
His bushy eyebrows lowered. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to look pathetic, hope I’d fall for it, or if he was scowling. “Will you go out with me?”
“Huh?”
“On a date. We could go to dinner and a movie.” He shoved his hands in this pockets. It was a very nonthreatening stance. However, backing me into a corner aided in my panic. I tried to slip left. He cut me off. To the right was a toilet stall.
I was trapped.
“That sounds fun, but I would just like to be friends.”
He grunted, resting one of his hands on the wall by my head, and keeping the other in his pocket. “What do I have to do to make you like me?”
“Max, you can’t make me. It doesn’t work that way.”
“This is because of Zack, isn’t it?” he drummed his fingers on the wall. My heart beat ten times faster. Fast enough for me to wonder if it would beat out of my chest. “You like him better than me?”
I hate to admit I flinched, and hoped that when I screamed, someone heard me. Max deserved my crazy award, more than so than Lana. She looked like a saint next to him.
“If you don’t let me go I’m going to tell my counselor you’re harassing me. Then you will be in a lot of trouble.” Yeah, that squeak sounded real threatening.
He chuckled, dragging his fingers down the wall, and tapping them against my cheek. “Your can’t touch me, baby. I’m Max McFarland, and I’m going to keep at you. You’ll break down eventually.”
“Keep dreaming.” I stayed very still, holding my breath as he sauntered out of the bathroom. It seemed like the wall was the only thing holding me up. Had I not been plastered against it, I would have hit the floor.
Once I was sure Max had gone I moved so fast I didn’t realize I’d gathered my things and ran to the boy’s locker room.
A group of guys exited.
“Is Zack in there?” I asked, sounding calmer than I felt. Although, panting from running halfway across the stadium probably gave me away.
One of them winked at me. “Yes, he’s all alone…in the shower.”
“Pervert.” I muttered, opening the door.
To be considerate, I kept my gaze trained on the floor, only looking up to see the lockers. I found Zack’s. His last name was on the front in big blue letters. In the back I could hear the shower running.
So I sat on the bench, head down, eyes closed.
By the time the water shut off I was much calmer inside, but part of me wanted to burst into tears. Max had gone too far. I had to do something, except I didn’t know what.
Why couldn’t I handle one stupid boy?
“Chloe?” I slouched forward, resting my elbows on my knees, , putting a hand over my eyes. “Why are you in the locker room?”
I was at a loss for words. “Because.”
“Oh? That’s as good a reason as any.” I heard Zack open his locker. “You can open your eyes.”
He’d pulled on a pair of black boxers.
“Sorry.” I whispered, biting my lips to keep them from trembling.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“What?”
“Like I kicked a puppy.” He sat next to me on the bench after pulling on a pair of jeans. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m having a bad day.” I said, trying not to be a baby and cry.
Zack threw on a shirt and shoes. He looked irritated by my vague answers. His mouth was doing that twitchy smile. He was humoring me, but irked.
The Unofficial Zack Warren Fan Club Page 12