Stand Up » 1D

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Zaylin Matthews

I checked the time on the stove. 7:40pm. Zach was coming to get me in twenty minutes. I was the only one who knew this. Nobody knew I was going out on a date tonight. Nobody could know.

I finished dinner early and brushed my teeth. I styled my uncooperative hair as much as humanly possible and put on better clothes. I sighed at my reflection.

This was getting tiring. I was tired of it. I wanted to say I hated it, but I didn't really. What girl doesn't want more than one boy fighting over her?

But this was difficult. Both were my best friends, one of whom was a celebrity. I'd known one of them since birth, and the other I'd known for only a few weeks. They both made an impact on me. I loved them both. But still... who?

"Why are you dressed like that?" a voice asked, and I jumped thirty feet in the air. I expected it was Louis, since I was in his room, but it wasn't. It was Abby.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, avoiding her question.

She shrugged. "I truly don't know," she said honestly. "I saw the door open, and for some reason, my mind wondered: what does my ex-celebrity crush do for fun?"

I smiled and chuckled in amusement. "Nothing much," I said, gesturing around.

"You didn't answer my question. Why are you dressed like that? Why are you all dolled up?"

I bit my lip. I still didn't want anyone knowing the truth, but what difference did it make? Why did this have to be a secret? Only one person couldn't know, and that would be Harry.

"I'm going out on a date," I mumbled.

"Harry?"

I shook my head. I didn't feel like speaking anymore.

"Zach?"

I nodded.

"If you don't make up your mind soon, I'm going to smack you," Abby suddenly threatened. "It didn't take Bella this long to choose Edward, and that chick was loco-crazy! I think the answer is obvious."

"I know who you're thinking," I snapped out of the blue. I wasn't mad at her, I was mad at myself. I was frustrated with my love life. Why did this have to happen to me?

"That's why I can't choose him. It's not a matter that I WON'T choose him, it's that I CAN'T. Everyone thinks I should pick Harry. What's wrong with Zach, huh? The boy I've known since birth? The boy I've had a crush on since I was six years old? The boy who has stood by me all these years, while Harry hasn't been around for a single one?"

I was breathing heavily and I forced myself to calm down. I figured I was taking this too hard and too personally, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want to hurt anyone. I just wished the answer was obvious.

Abby didn't say anything for a moment. Then she came over to me and put an arm around my shoulders. "I have dozens of reasons why both of them should be with you," she said quietly. "Most are logically, but the answer comes from your heart. You make the choice. Your heart makes the choice. Not your brain."

That sounded convincing enough, but still I worried. Would it be wise to choose Zach and leave Harry with a broken heart? To break all of my connections with these boys and move on with my life like they were never there? That's what Zach would want.

And what if later in life I found out I made the wrong choice? What if it was Harry all along? Or vice versa, depending on which boy I chose.

I ground my teeth together to keep from screaming. This was just all so hard!