Night Changes (Soon To Be EDITED)

Tell Me You Love Me, Come Back to Haunt Me

It took me about a second to come to the conclusion that what I was doing was wrong. It took about half that for me to tear away and scoot to the other side of the booth.

I couldn't begin to imagine what was running through Zane's mind. He looked as if I had just ran over his puppy and brought the deceased animal to him as proof. The blues in his eyes were so striking in that moment, I wished I could hear what he was thinking. My mind was numb, as if it had momentarily lapsed and couldn't find any coherent thoughts to latch on to.

I just kissed Zane Dryer.

Zane Dryer, the kid I had spent endless years tormenting for being smarter than the rest of the kids in our grade. Zane, the guy I had always joked around with about being too short. Zane, the boy who had changed so much in the last few years I was starting to question if I knew at all anymore.

"I'm sorry." he blurted, pink tinting his cheeks as he looked toward the stroller on his left. I tried to find the right words to say, but my mouth just hung open, lips still tingling as I reeled in shock.

I took a sip from the ice water that had been set on our table and nodded. "I think I should head back home now. I can catch a-"

"No, no. I'll drop you back off." he insisted, cheeks an even darker shade of red now. "Come on."

We had just finished strapping Liam in and getting the stroller in the trunk when a familiar laugh echoed through the alley behind us.

"Zai! Paige! What are you guys doing here?" Mark had his arm tangled around a blonde's waist, his eyes glued to me as he spoke, acting as if his brother and his poor, innocent new toy didn't exist.

"We were just getting something to eat." Zane lied quickly, stepping in between the door so his brother couldn't get a good look inside the car.

Marcus quirked an eyebrow. "I've never seen either of you here before, and definitely not together."

"We thought we'd try something new." I piped in. "Zane was tutoring me."

"You sure it wasn't more than that?" Mark's tone was teasing, but the look in his eyes was the furthest from it.

The girl spoke up for the first time since they'd appeared. "Cody asked her out, babe. I don't think she'd go out with some loser like your brother if she had the choice."

Zane recoiled against the car, turning away with a grimace. I looked toward Mark with a disgusted look.

"You're just going to let her talk about him like that?"

Marcus shrugged. "He is a loser. He's a know it all, wannabe dork that can't get a girl for the life of him. She's only stating the truth."

I ran my fingers through my hair and pushed it off my face as I glared at the couple standing in front of me.

"Yeah? Well, Marcus, I guess that makes you a self-centered, egotistical asshole that can't keep it in his pants, right?" I turned to the blonde, "And anyone stupid enough to try and date him is just as dumb as he is."

In the millisecond it took me to turn my back to him, I swear I saw hurt flash through his eyes, but it was gone quicker than it had appeared and I had to question if it was only a trick of light.

*

Zane didn't say anything until we pulled in to my driveway, hands grasping the steering wheel so tight they had begun to lose any sort of color.