Typical // Z.H.

Ten

"So, what shop should we hit up next, Val?" Laura asks me.

Laura and I decided to have a day out on the town. I've received many messages from the boys, but only told them I'm fine and with a local friend. So, here we are, trying to get my mind off of them by spending money.

"Your pick, girly." I smiled.

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, "American Eagle? They have a great sale going on. This includes a buy-one-get-one-free sale on the jeans."

"Love it!" I squealed. As we entered, I asked, "Are they doing that sale for any pair of jeans?"

"Of course, besides for clearance jeans." Laura looked at a turtle neck.

"Be honest, do light, or dark wash jeans look good on me?" I held up two different pairs of jeans, both ripped.

Laura directed her attention to me, "I like the light ones on you for any day. Though the dark ones make you look rebellious. I can't choose." She shook her head.

I laughed, "I guess I'll get a few pair of both."

"Perks of being rich." She muttered playfully.

I grabbed different pairs and put them in my basket, then turned to her. "I need new shirts if I'm gonna survive here. Oh, and maybe a few new swimsuits."

"You have all of those already." Laura pointed out.

I smirked, "That's why I said new."

"Goodness, Valorie!" She laughed.

I laughed and moved on to shirts. After picking out about 7, we headed to swimsuits.

"Would this look good on me?" Laura asked as she held a one piece up to her.

I thought, then spoke, "I think it'd look okay. Try it on before you buy it so we don't have to come back."

"Gotcha."

"Oh, look at this, Laura." I reached out to a two piece swimsuit that caught my eyes. It had more than two straps, but still managed to look good.

She observed it before speaking, "I kind of like it. Get it."

After trying on our many clothes, we headed towards Forever 21. We chatted along the way, mostly about New York and our old friends before she moved away.

But before we reached the store, one thing caught my eye that was definitely interesting.

It was the guys getting swarmed by fangirls. They looked happy, but Zach's expression gave it all away.

I could see the fake smile sitting on his face like it'd always been there. Even from here, his eyes appeared dull and lifeless as he signed girls' backpacks and phone cases.

"Pretty ironic, huh?" Laura said right by me.

I jumped as she said that. It was then I realized that I'd stopped walking completely.

"What do you mean, L?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the boys.

She shrugged, "We're doing this to try and take your mind off of them, and yet here they are, ruining our plan."

"You make it sound like we're planning to kill someone." I said.

Laura chuckled, "You never know." I sent her a cold stare that made her chuckles stop. "Anyways, what's our new plan?

I pulled out my phone and went to my contacts. I pressed call and put the phone to my left ear, then waited with my eyes on the boys.

"What're you doing?" Laura whispered frantically. "This wasn't what I was thinking! I thought we'd leave and go to the beach or something, without getting noticed by the people we're avoiding!"

"Hm. No." I squinted against the sunlight as she muttered incoherent words under her breath.

I called him a second time and kept my eyes strained on the boy. This time, he pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. He frowned and stuffed it back in his pocket.

I lowered the phone slowly and shook my head. I took a deep breath and looked to my close friend with a polite smile.

"Let's head to the beach, shall we?"

-~-~-

"I don't get what you're so upset about. We avoided them, didn't we?" Laura spoke beside me.

I rubbed the tanning lotion onto my legs, "Yes, but he completely ignored my calls."

"Who, Zach?" She looked to me.

"No, Peter Pan. Who else?" I laid down on my towel.

"If it was actually Peter Pan, that'd be way cooler. Imagine him flying through the air and taking us to Neverland. We'd be free of all this drama. Maybe-"

I groaned, cutting her off, "Laura!"

"Sorry." She snorted. "But anyways... maybe the reason he didn't answer was because he was surrounded by girls. He probably wouldn't even be able to speak if he answered, Val."

"That's not an excuse." I huffed.

Laura sighed, "Why did you call him?"

Silence.

"Valorie."

"I don't know." I said frustratedly. "I felt like it was the right thing to do."

"What if he answered? What would you say?"

I responded instantly, "That I'm sorry for leaving but it had to be done. That I'm okay. That your house is 7.6 miles away from theirs. That I miss them-"

"Slow your roll, Valorie." Laura interupted. "You miss them?"

"Of course, but I can't go back right now. I need some time." I said.

She shook her head in the corner of my eye, "You don't have all the time in world. You have to make quick choices sometimes, and if you don't, you can lose a lot."

"I know." I sighed. "I'm sorry for bringing you into this."

"Perfectly fine to me." Laura smiled. "Two girls, one that received no calls or texts. While the other has boys calling and texting her to where she was forced to power off her phone."

"You're idiotic." I threw my head back laughing.