Zack

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MNever break a sweat for the other guysWhen you come around, I get paralyzedAnd every time I try to be myselfIt comes out wrong like a cry for helpIt's just not fairPain's more trouble than love is worthI gasp for airIt feels so good, but you know...

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MNever break a sweat for the other guys
When you come around, I get paralyzed
And every time I try to be myself
It comes out wrong like a cry for help
It's just not fair
Pain's more trouble than love is worth
I gasp for air
It feels so good, but you know it hurts
Demi Lovato, Heartattack

School has never been my favourite place on Earth. Really the only reason I go is because it's required of me.

It became worse when my father died and my world just changed. I didn't see the need for anything anymore, really. It's like an important part of me had been taken away and I forgot how to function. How to relate to people and generally how to operate. I forgot how to be the Zack I had been as a child.

But then Cindy came along and I didn't have to be the Zack everyone knew and expected me to be. I was a new Zack. Her Zack.

Cindy's Zack didn't care so much about what other people thought. Cindy's Zack could breathe for once in his life because Cindy's Zack was oblivious to everything else that was happening as long as I was with her.

I liked that Cindy didn't pressure me like everyone else doing things like constantly asking me what I wanted to do after high school or what my plans were for the future.

Cindy didn't stress about all that. She lived in the now. She was adventurous, she took me places I never even knew about in our town. And the best part about Cindy? She valued our privacy. Or at least I thought she did...

"So... um... how do we do this? Do we just like, walk in?" Maya asked from beside me in the passenger seat.

I was pulled out of my thoughts about Cindy and turned to look at her.

"What?" I asked absent mindedly.

We were seated, parked in the school's parking lot.
We had dropped Eddie off at the junior high section. The kid had barely waited for the car to stop before making his escape. I don't get it.

Eddie and I had been cool when he was younger. Sure we didn't talk as much when Maya and I stopped hanging out but we were still neighbours, still cordial enough. I mean I still kept my distance for obvious reasons but I thought the kid and I were cool especially after... Well I promised not to tell Maya about that but I thought he trusted me after that day.

Guess not.

"What's our big entrance going to be?" Maya continued. "Are we going to hold hands and walk in or..."

I shrugged. "Don't ask me. I'm not an expert on fake dating. What feels natural to you? What would you do with Daniel?" I asked.

Maya's face immediately dropped and I had a feeling I had hit a nerve. Maya has always been sensitive. Even as kids, it wouldn't take much to make her cry. I could say something as simple as 'Winnie the Pooh sucks!' and she would burst into tears.
(Winnie the Pooh was her favourite cartoon character)

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