Huntington Avenue | ✓ [PV REWRITE]

Part II: Chapter 17

༻✺༺

Chapter 17 | ❝ You? Me? Sleepover? ❞

Friday, December 14th, 2018 - 7:59 p.m.

❝HEY, ZACH! GLAD you could make it!" Kelsey exclaimed as she opened the front door.

Zach smiled, once again tiredly. "Hey, Kelsey," he replied while stifling a yawn. "Sorry I'm a little early—I wanted to make sure I got here on time."

She checked the time on her phone. "You're literally one minute early."

"Oops...," Zach trailed off with an embarrassed blush.

"Alright, Silly—come on inside," she jokingly coaxed him, taking a hold of his hoodie sleeve and pulling him into her house.

Uno sprinted from the living room when he heard the front door close. The dachshund knew there was a guest immediately due to the new pair of footsteps going along with Kelsey's. Despite his fatigue, Zach grinned at the dog running towards him and he bent down to pet the canine's head. Uno seemed to love that.

"Hi, Uno!" He greeted the friendly pup by scratching his ear.

Uno yipped brightly in reply.

Kelsey rolled her eyes at the attention-loving dog. "He's got you wrapped around his little finger," she informed him. "Or his paw, more rather."

"I know," Zach admitted shamelessly. "What can I say? I love dogs that love me."

"He only wants a treat."

"I know."

The blonde snickered and began walking towards the kitchen. Zach reluctantly followed with the optimistic dachshund at his heels. He enjoyed spending time with animals despite not having a pet of his own. Luckily, Hayleigh let him borrow any of her stuffed animals any time. He rarely took her up on the offer, but it was there nonetheless.

Kelsey opened up the kitchen pantry and revealed a variety of snacks. "What do you want? We've got candy, chips, and popcorn," she told Zach, who was looking at the pantry with hungry eyes—as was Uno.

"You pick," he instructed her. Zach was quite indecisive.

The teenage girl went along with a little bit of everything. She put the popcorn in the microwave to pop while pouring some of the candy and chips into bowls for them to share. Zach had offered to help, but Kelsey insisted. He was her guest, so she took the liberty of preparing.

Ever since Zach's spontaneous absence the previous morning, Kelsey had been quite concerned about his well being, especially since he appeared to be quite tired. She knew he loved sleep, but it was not like him to - expressed in the nicest way possible - look like a bit of a mess. Zach was usually kept up pretty well, or at least enough to keep his hair under control.