𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 | 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥/𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐲

18. Edition

Zach's p.o.v.

"Zach."

"Zach..."

"Zach!"

I finally snapped back to reality, noticing Jonah snapping his fingers in front of my face. I gave him a weak smile, showing I was paying attention.

"Ok, so as I was saying..." he continued. I let his voice dissipate into the backround once again as my mind wandered. The group Jonah had selected were all out on the football field - each team had been given a place to train and practise. I was freezing, wearing only a shirt and some shorts. My bare arms were exposed to the bitter cold air, and I had never resented the jackets the baseball team got to wore more.

I tried not to shiver, not wanting to draw attention to myself. I had been pretending not to notice, but Jack's eyes had been burning into me the whole time. I'd made the effort to stand on the opposite side of the group from him, but it didn't exactly make a difference in how he evaded my privacy with his piercing glare.

I'd thought surely by now Jack would've heard enough lies about me to want to stay away - surely Mark had put him through enough too. I thought by now he'd understand I wasn't worth the trouble, but it appeared I stood corrected.

And that scared me. It scared me that there was potentially a person willing to get to know me - to protect me and put up with stuff because of me. I was scared because anyone nice enough to be willing to do that for me didn't deserve to get hurt. Everyone who gets too close to me ends up damaged, and worse than they were. I liked this Jack kid, and I didn't want it to happen to him to. The best way I could protect him is by staying away and letting him forget me.

"Alright." Jonah finally concluded. I blinked blankly, realising I had missed his whole explanation of what exactly we were supposed to do. "Go ahead and get into partners" he warmly ordered, counting us to make sure there was an even amount to ensure no one would be left alone.

Ah fuck. This is a nightmare. How the hell am I supposed to work with someone when everyone thinks I'm-

"Zach?" A familiar voice asked. I pursed my lips and intook a breath before turning around. Jack stood there timidly, shuffling his feet. "You wanna be partners?" He quietly asked, looking down at the floor.

I indistinctly groaned, realising I had no one else to work with instead. How the hell was I going to do my job of protecting Jack by staying away when he was trying to buddy up with me?

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. We're just doing a short exercise together, it's all fine. I gave him a small nod, and could've sworn I saw his cute little face light up a little.

"Alright" Jonah called out to grab everyone's attention. "Now that you're with your partners, I think it's a good time to tell you that the person you have chosen will be your partner for the rest of the term." Jonah announced.

Well, isn't that fantastic? I sarcastically thought to myself. Jack without hesitation grabbed onto my hand and dragged me over to Jonah. I widened my eyes at him as I unwillingly trailed along behind him, surprised by his assertiveness.

"This is Zach! He' my partner!" Jack proudly announced, beaming like a five year old who had just won a goldfish at the fair. Jonah chuckled, giving me a soft pat on the shoulder. "Hey Zach, it's been a while" he greeted warmly. I gave him a soft smile, looking down. "Wait, you two know each other?" Jack asked curiously, looking between the two.

"Through Corbyn" Jonah stated, as if correcting himself. I looked to the side awkwardly. "Yep..." I muttered under my breath. Jack shook it off, gently holding my arm and pulling me away into an empty space.

He sat down on the field, indicating for me to do the same, in the space in front of him. I mimicked his sitting and sat down crossed legged, facing him.

"Since we're partners for a while..." he started to say, picking at the grass next to his knee. "I think we should get to know each other better. I'll go first. I'm Jack Avery and I really like noodles" he stated. I giggled. "I can tell by your hair" I joked, causing him to playfully roll his eyes. Damn, he looked so cute when he did that.

An uneasy feeling stirred in the pit of my stomach, but I tried to push it away. I didn't want to think about that feeling and what it meant, so I tried to ignore the butterflies spreading through to my chest. Focus on something else - just tell Jack about yourself.

"Uhh" I began, not sure of what to say. I wasn't a very open person and I didn't like sharing things. It was hard for me to talk to people like I used to. Ever since Daniel, I haven't been the same...

"I'm Zach Herron." I finished lamely, swallowing back my sadness. Jack raised an expectant eyebrow at me. "That's it? No noodles or anything?"

I thought for a moment. "Ok then. I'm Zach Herron and I like playing guitar" I admitted. "Well, used to..." my voice lowered as I looked down. "Why'd you stop?" Jack asked curiously, innocently tilting his head to the side in confusion.

He looked as if he was studying me, my face, my features... as if he was trying to make out the thoughts in my head. My mind only repeated three words; because of Daniel.

I bit back my words and sprung up off of the ground, snapping me and Jack out of our little moment. "Right, we should uhh.. get back to it" I announced, avoiding the frown that crossed Jack's face. Thankfully he just decided to let it go.

I reflected on what had just happened. For a moment, he had managed to take me out of time - he managed to actually talk to me, and get me to talk back. There's something about him that I just sink in to, and before I know it my mind's lost and I can't keep the words from rolling off my lips.

Geez, one minute I'm swearing to myself that I won't talk to Jack in case it puts him in a compromising position with Mark, and the next thing I know I'm telling him more about myself than I've told anyone since Daniel. This guy is dangerous... he knows how to open me up. If I'm not careful I might even start to trust him...

Because that would be so awful, wouldn't it Zach? I mean GOD FORBID YOU ACTUALLY LEARN TO TRUST PEOPLE AGAIN! You need to stop pushing people away and learn how to form real relationships with people again. They're not all bad...

I pushed that annoying little voice in the back of my ahead aside, dismissing it. I hated accepting the truth. It was easier to just lie to myself and believe I'll be fine without anyone, but it's not true. I've become so used to pushing people away, it's like I've forgotten how to let them in...