ᴛᴏᴏ ʏᴏᴜɴɢ » ᴢᴀᴄʜ ʜᴇʀʀᴏɴ

Chapter Twenty-One

May 27, 2018

Maeve grinned as the crowd started screaming happy birthday.
   
Zach held his microphone away from his mouth. His cheeks were red, but he was smiling. And in honor of his seventeenth, Maeve started singing along.
   
Corbyn was already chuckling when he spotted her back in the sound booth, nudging Zach in the arm and nodding in her direction.

Zach's eyes rested on her figure and she noticed, flailing her arms around and pointing at him as she sang animatedly. Infuriatingly, that was still something he had yet to hear her do, so he feigned annoyance of that fact as her stared back at her and shook his head.

She was laughing as the crowd erupted at the end of the song.

***

Maeve: Are you still awake?
   
Zach read the text, responding almost immediately.
   
Zach: Yeah, you okay?
   
Maeve: Yep, I'm great. So I know it's not much, but do you want to go to the McDonald's five minutes from here? It won't take very long, and it's still your birthday :)
   
Zach glanced at the clock, seeing it was 11:47 p.m.
   
He knew they shouldn't leave the hotel, but as he glanced around, Jack and Jonah were already asleep and the idea of going somewhere when it would be just the two of them helped him make up his mind very quickly.
   
Zach: I'll meet you in the hallway in two minutes.

***

"Hoods up," Maeve said as they exited the hotel lobby. He complied as she did the same, knowing that avoiding a fan encounter at that moment in time would be best.
   
They walked at a brisk pace, arms brushing as they moved along side by side.
   
"I am determined," Maeve said, "to be the last person to tell you happy birthday."
   
That made him smile.
   
It was 11:54 when they arrived at the deserted McDonald's. They stood together looking up at the menu.
   
"Get whatever you want," Maeve said lightly, pulling her wallet out of her sweatshirt pocket.
   
Zach halted her movements by clasping his hand on top of hers.
   
"No, Mae, I'm not letting you pay." He was already reaching for his own wallet in his shorts pocket, but Maeve pulled his wrist back.
   
"You wouldn't let me get you an actual present, so I'm paying for this."
  
"Maeve—"
   
"Zach," she cut in firmly. The look in her eye eventually made him nod in defeat.
   
She lifted her arm, muttering, "Triumph."
   
They ordered and waited near the counter. He glanced at her.
   
"You got coffee at midnight?"
   
She made a face.
   
"Coffee is a 24/7 kind of thing."
   
"Oh," he said sarcastically, like he was supposed to know that, earning him a playful glare from the girl standing next to him.
   
Finally, their tray of fries, a milkshake, and coffee came out. Maeve then urged Zach over to a table in the corner of the building, glancing at the time to see that it was 11:59.
   
Grinning, she looked across at him. He met her eyes mid-handing her coffee and smiled a little at the gentle display of joy on her face.
   
"Happy birthday," she said, and it was so simple, but so wonderful to hear from her, just her.
   
Time passed with idle conversation and soft laughter.
   
At one point, there was a lull when she wasn't looking at him.
   
He was trying not to stare at her, but he wasn't succeeding. She kept glancing warily around McDonald's as if screaming girls would suddenly come bursting through the door at one in the morning. He found it both amusing and adorable. Her hair was down for once, slightly covered by the hood of the sweatshirt that was too big for her, and he realized that he was happy.

He was genuinely happy, and it was simply because of her.