DUSK TILL DAWN

11

i'm allowed to do what's best for me, even if it upsets people

It had been a few days since Neve snuck Zach in for the first time. Since then, she'd managed to sneak him in one time other than that and successfully lied to Chris so she could go over to his house. It was nerve-wracking, but she began to love it. 

This was the first time Neve had felt alive in a long time. She felt something she'd never felt before, not to mention she enjoyed Zach's company. He was nice, sweet, and he even put others' needs before his own. It also felt nice not being so lonely, because even though most would consider her and Chris close, they weren't that close.

They hadn't ever been that particularly close, and the moment they moved to Shadowbrook they had only drifted further. The older Neve got, the more she realized she wanted to have more control. She had none after everything happened with her parents, and the older she got the more she realized she wanted the things that others had. That Chris had.

"What's that pretty little brain thinking about?" The sound of Zach's voice was heard.

Neve glanced over to see Zach sitting down next to her. He sat his lunch tray on the table and began to eat, his eyes looking over at her every so often as he waited for her response.

"Just stuff," She softly responded.

Zach smiled, a half-smile. "Don't want me to know?"

Neve's cheeks burned, and she shook her head at her uneaten food. "No—no, it's not that," she mumbled. I was just thinking about how different my life is now compared to the way it was a few months ago."

"Life changes pretty quickly," Zach said. He then smiled brighter, "Hey, are we still hanging out after school?"

Before Neve could respond, the table grew. Dina, Riley, Cece, and Cloe sat down, all taking different spots around the table. 

"Sorry, Z, but not today," Cloe said, smiling at the boy.

"And who says?" He scrunched his nose up, looking at the blonde.

"Neve and I have a date," Cloe said. Cece suddenly choked on her milk, causing everyone to look at her. She coughed a few times before wiping her lips with the back of her hand.

"What?"

"I've invited Neve over," Cloe said.

"For what?" Dina asked, looking between the two girls.

Cloe smiled, "Nobody's business but ours." She then winked at Dina before eating a grape.

"Either way," Dina sighed. "You guys going to homecoming this weekend?"

"I completely spaced it," Cece said, looking over at the other girl. "You going?"

Dina glanced at Zach, "Yes." She then looked back at Cece. "Do you all have dates?"

"Nope," Cloe quickly said, to which Cece agreed.

Dina's eyes then landed on Neve, who shyly shook her head. "No, I probably won't go."

"What?" Dina asked, looking at her before the other girls. "You're not going to your senior homecoming."

"I've never been to a dance," She murmured, messing with her uneaten food.

It was true. She had planned on going to her first high school dance the weekend after everything happened with her parents, but when everything happened she withdrew from everything, and Chris took custody of her. Then after that, nothing was allowed.