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Third Person POV
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Zak really likes Stella.
That was his first thought when the two stepped onto their first ride on the boardwalk, the swings.
The line isn't long at all, so conversation was easy for the time leading up to their turn.
"Let's go to the blue one!" Stella automatically suggests, giggling. She speed walks to a blue and silver swing with two seats conjoined together, Zak following right behind.
"So, how come your family chose to move here? Surfside isn't exactly the most popular place," Zak starts. Stella is still busy buckling the belt on the swing. She hesitates before constructing a full answer.
"After what happened to my dad, my mom thought it would be a fresh start for my brother and I, and she's always talked about moving somewhere with a nice beach." She buckles it and sways her feet off of the edge.
"What happened?" Zak asks.
Stella shifts uncomfortably. The boy picks up on the incoherent movements and realizes the question seemed a little far.
"You don't have to answer, sorry, that was rude—only if you want to answer," Zak's words are going a mile a minute at Stella's irregular movements. Although, she seems to calm down after he says the last bit.
"No, you're good, I guess I just haven't talked to many people about it outside of my family and my friends back home." Stella fidgets with the gold chained bracelet on her wrist. It complements her tanned skin.
"What about your friends from yesterday?" Zak fixes his hair.
"Not even them, that's why I'm kind of hesitant to talk to you about it," she lets out a small laugh at the end, trying to dull any awkwardness that could've come from how she said the sentence.
"You can tell me, I won't judge you, y'know." Zak laughs too, and Stella's nerves seemed to have calmed down.
"So, my parents are divorced.." The staff controlling the ride yell something to each other, and the pair look over.
Zak nods and looks back to Stella, urging her to continue.
"...my brother and I have shared custody with my mom and my dad, so we go to my dad's house every weekend." The two suddenly jolt at the ride starting, and they laugh at their reactions.
"Okay, I get that.." Zak says, hesitating once the swings are lifted into the air.
"Well, long story short, my dad got into a big fight with his new fiancé. I'm not sure what they were fighting about, but it had to have been pretty bad because she left crying, and my dad got super drunk—like super drunk—" she rambles, tripping over each word. Zak can tell she doesn't want to take a while talking about this.
"and we didn't figure this out until later, but, he got into his car started driving really late that night, and he ended up getting into a car accident. Apparently, his car got wrecked, but the worst part is he ended up in the ER. The impact from the sudden hit instantly killed him, and they tried saving him, but he was already gone by then." Stella finished, voice lowering by the end. It must have been hard to talk about the reason why you moved in the place you moved to.
Something confused Zak, though. Stella didn't exactly seem sad about the situation, her whole explanation consisted of her having a straight face.
Maybe some people just react differently.
"I'm so sorry, that's horrible." Zak didn't know exactly what to say, but he hoped he was saying the right thing.
Stella liked the remark. "Thank you, it's gotten easier because things are super calm here, unlike how they were in Colorado."
Zak nodded, and the sad mood seemed to lift as the ride began going faster. The pair exchanged laughs and small gestures as the ride continued.
After they got off, Stella suggested they get some food.
"So, what about you? What's it like for you back home?" Stella asked, walking alongside Zak. They're heading to get ice cream at a stand towards the back of the boardwalk.
Zak thinks for a second. "It's pretty boring back home. The summers here are what I always look forward to,"
"..but, I'm a junior right now, I just got my driver's license this year. I play soccer on my school's team, and I guess I get pretty decent grades." He thinks out loud. Stella listens.
"I don't really know what I wanna do for college though. My grades aren't my biggest priority, y'know-" Zak is cut off by Stella not answering and instead points to the ice cream stand that is close in sight.
She started walking faster, and Zak took that as a sign to stop talking. He shrugged it off, she was just hungry. He was too.
They order, Zak getting cookie dough, and Stella getting mint chocolate chip.
As Zak clutches the melting waffle cone in his hand, Stella talks about how she wants to become a nurse after high school.
"That's interesting. Do you have any hobbies?" Zak asks, liking the fact that he was getting to know the girl. He could tell that she really liked talking about her interests.
"I play volleyball, although, I'm not on a team yet or anything because I just moved here, obviously," she laughs and licks her cone.
"Maybe we could play together? You could bring your friends and I could bring mine, we'll play on the beach, wherever you want." Zak says, smiling.
Stella's face lights up. "Okay! Just let me know when!"
Something Zak noticed about her is her sweet personality. He could never imagine her being sad, or mad, or anything other than happy.
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The date had been going extremely smoothly; the boardwalk is full of entertainment and food, so the two were never caught up in an awkward moment.
Stella loved the flowers. Zak felt happy in the moment, listening to her talk about how much she loved them. He was glad that she'd like them.
The sun was setting now, painting the sky an arrangement of oranges, pinks, yellows, and purples. The light reflected off of Stella in a way that made her seem like she was glowing. Zak really admired her. It was almost like every part about her was something that he liked.
So when the date was over, Zak could admit that a wave of disappointment fell over him. He had a really great time, and was sure Stella had as well.
"Thank you again, for the flowers," Stella said, looking up at the black haired boy. Her smile radiated some sort of sweetness.
"Yeah. I had a good time, when can we hang out again?" Zak replied. The two were walking side by side towards Stella's car.
"Well, about that.." The brunette girl started, fidgeting with her keyring. Her voice seemed to trail off, leaving Zak to believe only the worst.
"I was wondering if you wanted to come to my party on Friday night."
"Sure, what time?" He was relieved that she hadn't said anything disappointing.
"Here, you can just give me your number," Stella took out her phone, typing a passcode in. Zak nodded in agreement as she pulled up contacts.
Zak typed his number in, and handed the phone back to her. "Text me when you get home, okay?" He said.
Stella's face stayed brightly lit. "Bye!" She said.
"Bye, Stella, have a good night!" The two exchanged smiles and waves as Zak walked back towards the Jeep.
Zak drives off, head filled with thoughts about the party. It was going to be the first party of the summer!
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thank you for reading! i don't know how to feel about this chapter, i kinda think it's cringe 😭 but lmk!! more engaging chapters coming soon! and thank you for over 100 views on all my stories! i appreciate all the support!
word count : 1327
published 2/10/24
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sweet nothings | skephalo
Fanfiction"..just for the summer?" his cold voice hit me harder than the salty July air that was only smelled down by the marina. Nothing could've prepared me for what else Zak could've said. I look up at his dark eyes. They're filled with complete want and d...
