' MOTIVE ' - zach herron

32☆; Talking Stage

Third Person.

Melody took a deep breath and wiped over her face before picking up her phone and calling Zach's number.

It had been 3 hours since she had announced to her friend group that she was calling Zach, but she decided that she needed a bit more time to prepare herself. She truly thought she wouldn't be ready until tomorrow.

Yet here she was, calling her favorite boy.

The phone kept ringing, Melody almost thought he wasn't going to pick up. But just as the last ring was about to sound, she heard Zach's voice boom throughout her ears.

"MJ?"

Melody completely froze. She hadn't heard him say her name in weeks. Hearing him say it again almost felt like falling for him all over again.

"MJ? Melody Jane? Um, you there?" Zach's voice became more raspy, Melody couldn't tell if it was because he had been crying or because he was about to cry. Either way, it broke her heart.

"Hey, Zachary...Uhm, yeah, I'm here."

Zach took a deep breath and sat back in his chair, "What, um, I mean, why are you calling me?"

Melody sat up, trying her best to sound like she had all her shit together and wasn't crumbling to pieces. "Yeah, I really want to talk to you." She breathed out. "Can I come over? Or maybe we can meet up somewhere?"

"Sonic?"

"Sonic is an hour and a half away, Zachary."

"I can drive us."

Melody couldn't help but crack a smile and let out a small laugh, causing Zach to smile wide as all his nerves went away. "Pick me up in 10 minutes, okay?"

Zach nodded, "Okay, MJ. See you in a bit."

And with that, Zach hung up the phone, happier than he's been in weeks, and jumped up to get ready for his girl.

♤♤♤

Zach stopped the car infront of Melody's house and sent her a text, letting her know he was waiting outside. The girl soon started walking to his car, and his nerves immediately came back. He knew they'd go away again after their "talk", but it really depended on how the talk went, and that scared him.

"Hey." Melody said softly once she set down in his corvette and buckled up. "Hey, Mel." Zach replied, not looking into her eyes.

The first 10 minutes of the drive was complete silence. Neither of them spoke a word. Zach eventually couldn't take it anymore and let out a sigh, "You said you wanted to talk to me."

"Oh, fuck, yeah..." Melody sighed and looked out the window. She went silent for a few more seconds as she gathered her thoughts.

"I'm sorry. Holy shit, I'm so sorry. I like completely lead you on, I pushed you away after getting closer to you just cause I was scared to admit my feelings. I know there's no excuse, I just...I'm so sorry. I miss you."

Zach finally looked at her. "Its, okay, MJ. I just...I need to know this before I forgive you. Do you like me or not?" He asked, his eyes not moving away from her face. She turned away from the window and looked at him.

"Yes. I really, really do. I have for a while." She nodded. Zach couldn't help but smile and shake his head, "God, you're killing me, MJ. I've waited so long to hear that from you."

Melody laughed. "Well, now you're hearing it. I really...really want to be with you."

"MJ, you know I want to be with you. But we shouldn't just go from a fight like that straight into dating. I just want this relationship to be as happy and healthy as possible, for your sake and mine, and I think the best thing for us is to...take it slow, you know? Like we're still in the talking stage." Zach touched her hand as he spoke, drawing little shapes on it while still paying attention to the road.

Melody smiled wide and nodded, perfectly content with the state their relationship was going into. "Wow, Zach Herron rejecting me? What a plot twist. Can't wait to tweet about this."

Zach laughed loudly, "Shut up. Don't make me write another song about you."

"Great song, by the way." Melody laughed. Zach smiled, "Thank you. Jokes aside, I'm sorry for all the hate the fans are giving you. I just needed a way to express my feelings."

Melody quickly shook her head, "No, don't apologize. I was gonna get hate either way...and the song is really good. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, gorgeous." Zach beamed and kissed her cheek. "By the way...I don't have to worry about Jay, right?"

"Nope. I promise he's nobody. We don't even talk anymore." Melody immediately responded. Zach nodded a bit and raised her hand up to his lips to plant a soft kiss on it as he drove.

"I wanna watch the muppets."

"We still have an hour left until we get to sonic, beautiful. And then we have the drive back."

Melody frowned. Zach glanced at her then sighed and turned the car around, driving back towards her house. "Lord, the things I do for you, MJ."

Melody's frown quickly turned into a smile, "Yay! Thank you, I'll postmate some chipotle when we get there to make up for it."

Zach smiled and put his hand on her thigh, glancing at her face to make sure she was comfortable, then looking back at the road when he knew she was okay.

"Sounds good to me, babe."

☆☆☆☆
authors note

THE ZELODY SHIP HAS OFFICIALLY SAILED YUL