A Flame Inside Me

Chapter 3

 My phone buzzes, displaying a message from an unknown number. I look away from my textbook temporarily to read it as I shove my glasses up my nose more. Yes, I do normally wear glasses. I just don't wear them at school since I'm worried they'll break, instead I wear contacts. Hey, it's me. Zach. What's your address? I reluctantly send it as I look back to my textbook.

Bzt. Bzt.

I look back, reading the text slowly.

Zach: Thank you! See you then.

Marshall: Ok.

Not long after, a knock sounds on the door. Maggie had lied, she wouldn't be home. She had an "emergency track practice" to attend. So now, I'm stuck with Zach. Alone.

I open the door, looking at the boy. "Hey." He pushes me out of the way, throwing his bag on the couch as he jumps on.

"Excuse you."

"Where's Maggie?"

"Emergency track practice," I say, using air quotes.

"Oh." He laughs.

"Do you like my sister or something?"

"Ew. I mean, not like what I'm guessing you mean. I think she's nice though and I'm open to being her friend. If she wanted to, which I doubt she would."

"No, she definitely wants to be your friend. She's friends with everyone though." I look at him, flopping down onto the couch and subconsciously laying my legs over his. Something I do with Maggie all the time.

He looks down at them, his eyes going wide, but doesn't move. I don't either. "Um, so next question. Favorite animal?"

"Deer, I guess. Maggie's is a fox."

"Did not expect that to be your answer."

"What did you expect?" I ask him with a puzzled look.

"An owl or cat, I don't know."

I shoot him a seriously? look and then ask his favorite.

"I don't know. I guess a cat."

"Wow, original."

He laughs, smiling brightly before writing it down on the sheet.

We go back and forth for almost two hours, quickly finishing all the questions. "Say," I ask him, which stops him from laughing so he can focus on me, "If you never do any work or pay attention why are your grades so high?"

"Who said I don't do any work? I do it all at home and I get a hundred percent on all my tests." He says as he shrugs. He looks to me, a gleam in his beautiful black eyes.

"But your oral presentations always suck."

"Wow, thanks. I'm not good at presentations, that's all. I get nervous I guess, I don't like dealing with them." He stares at me, his mouth slightly agape.

Sitting up, I lean on his shoulder. I look at his packet, his handwriting neat and perfect. I look up at his face, still leaning. He stares back, shock written on his face.

Just then the door opens, Maggie and Chloe coming in. We both stand, awkwardly fidgeting and staring at the two who simply stare back as they whisper something I can't quite hear.

I look back over to Zack from the corner of my eye, watching his hair flop over his eyes as his leg stomps up and down, his thumbs moving rapidly as he looks down at his shaking legs. He looks up at me, a nervous look on his face paired with a slight blush. His freckles stand out even more, speckling his rounded face. Cute.

Wait.

Did I just say cute?

Shit. This shouldn't be happening to someone like me. I can't find Zack cute, can I?

Maggie pulls me out of my thoughts, grabbing Zack and pulling him into another room as she talks to him a mile a minute about something I couldn't quite understand and I doubt he could as well. I can't believe this, the one person I hated most is becoming the one person I like most.