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Chapter Five

Natalie

The sun was coming up slowly, waking up the Earth in front of my eyes as I stood in the park, waiting for Zach to arrive. I took a moment to breathe in the crisp air. It was beautiful out there.

To be honest, I was feeling pretty stupid about asking Zach to run with me. I mean, running had always been something that Max and I did together, as a couple. That's why I had stopped doing it. Since Max had passed, Zach had reminded me so much of his brother. Why on Earth did I think I could run with him, when I couldn't even joke around with him in his kitchen without breaking down and crying?

But at the same time, I needed to be with people like Zach and Quinn. Why? Because they understood what I was gong through. They knew why Max was so amazing, and they understood how hard it was to let go of him.

"Nat!" Zach called as he started walking up to me from the parking lot. He was in basketball shorts and an old shirt, and he had a warm smile on his face. Not a grin. A smile. That was nice. I smiled back.

"You're 3 minutes late." I said once he stopped in front of me.

Now the grin crept on to his face, "You're one to talk. You're like, always late, Nat."

A small laugh escaped my lips, "Whatever. C'mon, let's stretch and then get going."

The thing about Zach is that he's super athletic. I mean, really, basically his whole life revolves around his passion for sports. Max was different. Max was a History nerd, and he loved drama and plays and reading. He was athletic, of course. But if you asked him if he wanted to sit at home and watch Phantom of the Opera, or go out and play basketball with the guys, he'd probably go with the first option.

Because of this, I knew this run would be different than the ones that Max and I used to go on. For one, Zach pushed me to do better when it came to running. But he also was really, really good at it himself.

"Keep up, slow poke!" Zach called back to me, a grin on his face.

"Oh, shut up." I said as I sped up and caught up so that I was next to him.

Zach chuckled, "What, am I bothering you?"

I shook my head and smiled, "You're a pain, Zachary Wilard."

Zach reached over and softly tugged my ponytail, "Oh, I know."

I rolled my eyes, but continued to smile, "So, how's baseball going?"

Zach got a happy and mischievous look in his eyes, like he always does when people start talking about baseball, "Good as usual. We're doing pretty well this season."

I nodded, "Yeah, the last time I went to a game, I was pretty impressed."

A fake expression of shock snuck onto his face, "You, Natalie Anderson became impressed when she saw me, Zachary Wilard, so something?! I must be dreaming!"

I laughed a little, "Oh, don't be such a diva. You make it sound like I act like you're a failure or something."

"That's because you do." Zach said,

I stopped running then, which shocked Zach at first, but he stopped as well.

"You don't really think I act like that, do you?" I asked, studying his face.

Zach winked at me, "No, I don't. But it's fun to make you worried about it."

I turned and started walking now. I was starting to get tired anyway. We had run 3 and a half miles already. I shook my head, "You're mean."

"Awe, c'mon, Nat. I was joking!" Zach said, walking up next to me.

"Too bad. You've hurt my feelings now." I said, looking away from him.

"Nat..." he said, catching my arm and turning me to face him, "I really was kidding."

I cracked a smile, "I know. But it's fun to make you worried about it."

His mouth dropped open in shock at that, "Did you....you just....hey, you actually had me worried!"

I laughed, "That was so funny!"

Zach shook his head and wrapped an arm around me, picking me up and tossing me over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, "Oh, you're a little trickster, aren't you?"

I giggled, "Max, put me down!"

Those words cut through the air like a knife and after they were out, both Zach and I froze. I had called him Max? My heart throbbed with pain. Oh, Max. Oh, Zach.

There was a bit of silence and then Zach softly set me back on my feet. He wrapped his arms around me in a hug and smiled sadly, "Don't worry about it, Nat. I understand. It's okay."

A tear slid down my cheek. Why was I always messing things up and getting so emotional? Here was Zah, Max's brother, and he wasn't falling apart every other moment. And the one time I had been having fun and not worrying about anything, I had to fumble up their names, and make everything awkard.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

Zach pulled back and took my hand, "Don't. It's okay, Natalie, it really is. Now, c'mon. I think we've had enough running today, how about you?"

I nodded and started walking with Zach back towards our cars. He still had my hand in his and he squeazed it softly and in a reassuring way. I was glad he was there.

"So, running again tomorrow?" Zach asked finally.

I looked up and him and our eyes locked. His green eyes were friendly and even had a hint of brotherly love and admiration in them, which helped to put me at ease. I nodded, "I'd like that."

"Good. Now, you need to take a shower, cuz you stink, Sport." he said, tugging my ponytail again. Oh, Zach.