The Boy Next Door (An All Time Low Fanfiction)

Forty Two

2 good news. 

Number one, Lilia's agreed to let us stay at her house in the Hamptons for spring break. We're scheduled to go in 2 weeks and I can't honestly be more excited to be there with my friends.

Number two, Harry and Margo are coming to visit us this weekend! They're planning to leave early in the morning to avoid traffic, so they should be here on Saturday before mid day.

Saturday morning, I wake up at around 6 to the sound of my alarm going off. With my eyelids still glued shut, I force myself to wake up and get out of my comforter. It's still fairly dark outside, though the sun will soon rise. 

I head to the bathroom to splash my face with cold water and brush my teeth. After that, I pull out my running attire from the wardrobe and get dressed. I leave a note on the kitchen counter letting my mom know that I'm going out for a run just in case she wakes up before I get back. I grab my keys and my iPod and head out the front door. 

Looking up at Alex's window, I'm 100% sure that he's still lightly snoring in the comfort of his blanket. He never wakes up earlier than 10 am when he doesn't have to go to school. I begin by stretching first and start lightly jogging towards the park. The street is fairly empty, with just a couple of runners passing by. I reach the park in just a matter of minutes. 

I do a couple of laps around the park until I'm out of breath. I'm not that athletic of a person, I only exercise when I want to, and let me tell you that's like once in a blue moon. I sit on the bench for a bit to catch my breath and check my phone. I scroll through my camera roll to find one of the easy workout plans I searched on Tumblr the other day. 

Well, this one seems pretty doable for an unfit girl like me. 

"Gail! Is that you?" 

I look up from my phone to see Zack jogging towards me. I've seen him here once when I was skipping school to draw and he was exercising before school. "Hey, Zack! Not surprised to see you here." I greet him

"What's up?" He asks, sitting next to me on the bench

"Nothing much," I answer

Zack stretches his legs, "So, what are you up to this weekend?" 

"Well, my brother and his fiancée are coming here today from New York. I guess I'll be keeping them company until tomorrow then." I explain

"That sounds amazing. How old is he?" He asks again

"He's 4 years older than me. He turns 23 soon." I answer

"Wow. I don't mean to be offensive, but that's a pretty young age to get married. But I trust he's found the one, yeah?"

"They're a match made in heaven. I don't think I've ever seen people so in love before." I laugh

"That's good for them. Crazy how people could find their soulmates by that time when I can't even get anyone to go out with me."

Really, Zack? Have you not looked at yourself in the mirror lately?! To add that I know at least 5 girls from my school alone have talked about how hot Zack and his rock hard abs. Or the girls cheering and calling out his name at ATL's gigs. Or how literally everytime he goes to a party he's always swarmed with girls trying to get his attention?

"Are you kidding me? Dude, what do you call the line of girls who literally throw themselves at you every party?"

"I guess I just haven't found someone I really like yet."

"You will. I promise you, the time will come."

He nods, "You better be right."

"This is the first time I've seen you out running here. Do you run often?" Zack asks

"Well, not exactly. I just happened to be up early this morning." I half lie. "By the way, since you're the expert here, do you have any workout tips for beginners? I swear I'm so unfit now."

"You're flattering me, Gail. Well, I'd say starting out and maintaining a routine is the hardest part. You have to be really determined, after some time you'll get used to it. Everything comes with process and time so don't just expect a six pack after doing 10 push ups and sit ups."

He gets down on the ground and demonstrate 10 pushups effortlessly. Just looking at him do that makes my biceps ache.

"Alright, stop showing off, Mr. Athletic." I laugh

"That's the best I can think of. The beginning is the hardest, but your body and mind will get the hang of it. Do you want me to help you with some of the basic stuff?" He offers

Zack ends up showing me the proper technique on some of the basic stuff like plank, push up, sit up and many more. By 9, my whole body is aching since I'm not used to this kind of stuff. But I really like the feeling after it.

"Just ask me if you need help with anything! Good luck!" Zack waves as he starts running towards his home

I wave back at him and head home myself too. But I don't even bother to start jogging my way back, I'm already exhausted even walking. When I reach my house, I see my mom reading her morning newspaper in the living room.

"So, how was the run?" She asks

I shake my head, "Enough to make me feel like never running again. I bumped into Zack at the park, we exercised together for a bit."

"That's nice. Harry called earlier, they should be here in about an hour or so. Robin will be here soon too. You better clean up first." Mom suggests

"Alright. I'll be up in my room." I nod and head upstairs

I take a quick shower and dry my hair after that. Deciding on a pair of dark blue mom jeans and a loose white t-shirt, I throw a cardigan over it in case it gets cold. I brush my hair and put on minimal make up before heading downstairs to get a cup of coffee.

I can hear my mom conversing as I walk down the stairs to find Alex sitting in the living room with her. His smile lights up when he sees me, "Hey!"

"Hey to you too! When did you get here?" I give him a peck on the cheek

"Around 5 minutes ago. Your mom said you were in the shower so I waited here to chat with your mom." He replies

"I was just telling Alex about the venue Harry and Margo'd picked for the wedding. It is absolutely wonderful, wait until you see it!" My mom chirps in

Robin joins us not long after. When Harry and Margo arrive at exactly 10, we welcome them to our house. Margo gifts my mom a glass dish of tiramisu, Harry proudly boasts that it's her famous authentic Italian tiramisu recipe. Mom thanks her, saying that it shouldn't be necessary of her to bring anything. I greet them with a hug, Alex too. After showing them to the guest room, we all gather in the living room to catch up while slices of tiramisu and tea are served on the coffee table, I slide my portion to Alex.

Margo tells us that her family is flying in 2 weeks before the wedding to help for the preparation. My mom of course also takes part with the planning, she also understands that with Margo's family being in Italy, they can't contribute as much as she does. But they're helping as best as they could. 

After lunch, Alex and I head to the mall to go shopping, Harry and Margo tagging along. As we get to the mall, we part different ways, Margo figured Alex could probably use Harry's help getting the right suit. In the meantime, Margo and I walk around for a bit until we reach my favorite store, it's the same one where I got my dress for the art exhibition from.

"Let's see... Do you have any preferences in mind?" Margo asks as she scans through a rack of dresses

"Anything will do, I don't really have anything in mind yet." I answer

Margo ends up getting me to try on an emerald green chiffon dress that Margo swears would look good on me. I'm hesitant at first because it's not exactly my on my colour palette but when I finally try it on, the colour actually goes really well with my complexion. 

Alex and Harry are also finished by the time we pay for my dress. Harry and Margo ask if they can go home and rest since they're still pretty tired from the drive. As Alex's driving us home, the rain starts falling outside. Flowers have started to bloom again, welcoming spring. Where flowers bloom, and so does hope.