Hello

Eleven

Xavier tried ringing Zoe multiple times on Saturday night and Sunday morning, but soon gave up when she didn't answer any of his texts or calls. Xavier really needed to talk to  Zoe.

Zoe told Xavier all about Aaorn on Friday night, and he tried to put up with it.

Ever since she met Aaron, Xavier had noticed that Zoe had changed. A lot. When it was just him and her, she was still the shy, quiet but bubbly girl he knew but now she was out-going and trying stuff she's never done before.

Somehow, Xavier hated  that.

He knew that it was fantastic for Zoe to be trying stuff and acting like any normal teenage girl, but Xavier felt like he was being left behind. And unlike Zoe, he didn't have anyone.

Xavier's parents used to be the nicest parents on the block, always socializing with nieghbours and doing family-fun activities. Well, that was until his older brother got arrested. 

Conor didn't kill anyone, but he drank when he was under-aged. The news quickly reached his parents and it tore them apart. Constant fights sounded off in the kitchen, and Xavier would hide up in his room until it was quiet again. They were fighting since he was twelve years old. They still are at seventeen. 

But, his parents weren't the big issue anymore, it was his stutter. His parents didn't care about, maybe they didn't even know! But he never got rid of it, or grew out of it. So Xavier went on, pushed through the teasing kids when he was thirteen, forgot about the daft bullies when he was fifteen, but now he was isolated. But that changed when he met Zoe. 

When they went on their first date, or hang-out- he didn't even know what to call it- Xavier didn't have butterflies in his stomach, he had asteriods and nuclear bombs blowing off! To Zoe, she was just another plain looking girl with no special feature. But to Xavier, her eyes were a beautiful green and her button nose was adorable. He loved the way her hair would be wavy somedays and straight the next. And those small things are the reason why Xavier hated his stutter.

He also thought that if he didn't have a stutter, if he just made a move on her as more then a friend, he would be in Aaron's position. Not his position.

Sitting on his bed, Xavier face-planted into his pillow and stayed there. But he then moved of course, because he couldn't breath.

Finally, after two hours of waiting, his phone started to buzz from his pocket of his jeans. Fumbling for his phone, he took it out quickly and stared at the contact trying to call him. It was Aaron?

How had he gotten Xaviers number?

Why was he calling?

What the bloody hell did the bastard want!

Xavier slid over the answer button with a shaky hand as he pressed the phone to his ear. 

"H-Hello?"

"Hi Mate, it's Aaron. Um, so Zoe gave me your phone number and, yeah, I was just calling because, well..I don't really, i mean you're pretty close with Zoe, right?"

"Yea-h"

'Okay, hah-well that's a good thing then otherwise I wouldn't be calling...so I asked Zoe on a date-"

"Didn't y-you already do t-that?"

"Well, yeah but then I asked her on a second date because, woah she's just amazing."

"Y-eah, she..is"

"So I was asking if you know where she would want to go, for a date"

Xavier thought for a second. Should he lie in the hopes it would ruin their date and then-No. What was he thinking! 

"S-he likes the..the beach"

"Really? Awesome. Thanks for your help, see ya"

"Bye"

Xavier didnt drop his phone straight away because he was too preoccupied at the rate his heart was  beating. He let out a groan and smacked his head with his palm. It was official, the world was just being plain rude today.

Across town, Zoe was at home, sitting on her bed as well. Except, she had a cheesy grin on her face and was...happy. In her opinion, the date had gone surprisingly well, which shocked her because she half expected herself to cause some catastrophe, luckily she did not. Zoe was busy finishing her Biology homework when her phone starting ringing from her bed. Zoe tried pushing the desk chair backwards but it gotcaught on the carpet causing the chair to stop suddenly and Zoe (who was leaning on her back) fell off. Her legs were in the air and her hair all over her face. She reached one arm up to the bed and grabbed her phone. 

"Hi Aaron" Zoe said, after checking who was calling.

"Hey!"

"So..ow!" Zoe had tried to sit up but hit her head on the end of the bed instead, causing her to fall back down to the floor while rubbing the back of her head.

"You alright? I can call some other time if your having a mid-life crisis now..."

"No, it's fine. I just hit my head on the bed " There was a chuckle on the other side of the line.

"How did you manage that?"

"I may or may not have fallen off the chair....."

"You're such a clutz, it's cute"

Zoe bit her lip to stop herself from giggling like a little school girl but it didn't stop her from blushing.

"So...about that date I promised.."

Aaron asked Zoe if she wanted to go to the beach, after saying things like "It's fine if you don't wanna" or "I mean there could be sharks so..". Zoe shut off his rant and said she would be delighted to go, and soon afterwards there had alreayd rearranged a day they could both make it. Through the whole phone call, Zoe had butterflies in her stomach and she was contemplating whether or not she might throw up. Aaron on the otherhand had sweaty hands and he felt his phone kept slipping every second or so. They hung up as soon as a knock sounded form Aaron's line and he quickly but reluctantly said he had to go.

So Zoe was left sitting on her bed upside down with half her body on the floor and her legs on the bed. Somehow during the phone call she had ended up in this position.

"Zoe? There's someone downstairs who would like to see you" Andrew said as he quietly knocked on his daughters closed door. 

"Okay, gimme a sec". Zoe picked herself up and straightened her grey sweatshirt (with The 1975 written on it) before making her way downstairs.

The person that was standing in the doorway was someone she did not expect to see.