𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐏 | 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐲

23. Give it up

Zach

I sighed, throwing my bag down onto my bedroom floor and sitting on the edge of my bed. I opened up my phone, scrolling through my contacts. It didn't take long for me to find Daniel's name.

My finger hovered over his contact for a short moment before I pressed the call button and raised my phone to my ear. I wasn't surprised when he picked up after a single ring.

"Hey loser" I greeted down the phone. I snorted. "What time are you coming over?" I asked him mindlessly. "Bitch, I'm already pulling up to your house!" Daniel exclaimed. I creased my eyebrows in confusion.

"I thought you were going to your sister's concert? She's playing the violin-" I began, but unsurprisingly I got cut off by Daniel. "That thing doesn't start for an hour tops, so I decided I'd swing by here before I have to go. I'll come back later, don't worry" he assured.

I bit my lip nervously. I knew why Daniel was so eager to come over - I hadn't told him what happened at lunch with Corbyn yet, but he could tell something was up and I refused to say anything.

"Come down and answer your door" Daniel yelled down the phone before abruptly hanging up. I sighed, tossing my phone onto the bed as I sprung up and left downstairs.

Once I was at the door I swung it open, revealing an impatient Daniel standing behind it. "Let's be honest, you know why I'm here, and I know why I'm here, and you know I know you know why I'm here-" Daniel began.

"Okok I get it, just shut up and come inside" I instructed, walking back upstairs. He closed the door behind be and followed me back up to my room.

"The reason I didn't want to tell you earlier is because I thought it would be best not to tell you at school" I admitted. Daniel's eyebrows raised in curiosity. "Jeez Zach, what did you do? You're making it sound like you blew up the place."

I groaned. "Fine, fine, well.... at lunch when you left to go buy food and I was at the table all alone... uhh, Corbyn came to talk to me" I breathed out, my cheeks heating up from nerves.

Daniel's eyes widened in shock. "Omg, about what?!" He exclaimed excitedly. "God, I'm always missing the action, all down to a stupid sandwich."

"Well, he- he uhh, he found the letter, and he kind of maybe sort of slightly... thought the letter was from me?" I squeaked, almost as if I was asking him rather than telling him.

Daniel gasped, sitting down on the bed next to me. "What?! Well did you tell him it was from me?" He urged, wanting me to keep going. "Well no not exactly-" I began.

"You didn't tell him?! Zach, you dumbass!" Daniel exclaimed in annoyance, lightly hitting my shoulder. I raised my hands in defence. "Look I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do! I at least told him it wasn't from me" I defended myself.

"Besides," I continued. "I have good reasoning for not telling you. Daniel cocked an eyebrow. "And that reason was?" He urged sarcastically.

I breathed out heavily. "Well y'know corbyn... nice guy - supposedly - but he's still one of those basketball guys. Ya know what else that means? He's friends with Jack, and from what we both know it takes a certain type of person to be around Jack for that long without feeling your moral conscience dimisnish..." I huffed, taking a short moment before continuing.

"Listen, I just... don't want you getting hurt by one of those basketball assholes, alright? And even if you say you don't care about what happens to you, you gotta think about saving my neck too-"

Daniel's face softened. "What were you worried about?" He enquired gently. I looked down. "Corbyn... before he came over, he was sitting with Jack. I'm sorry, I just got scared that he would- that it was all some sort of set up or-"

Daniel interrupted my nervous rambling. "You were nervous that they had bad intentions? Because of how Jack feels about you, you were worried it was some sort of plot against you where he'd managed to get Corbyn on board?" Daniel questioned.

I nodded, letting him know he'd took the words right out of my mouth. "But the weirdest thing was..." I began. "Corbyn, when he came to speak to me about the letter he... he was really nervous. He was shy and he was kind, it really seemed like he was the one who was nervous when it should've theoretically been me. Do you think he... was actually hoping that it had been a guy who had written the letter?"

Daniels eyes widened in shock. "You mean you think he actually might be-" I cut him off, smirking. "Heck yeah, he was radiating all dem vibes" I teased, laughing along with Daniel.

Soon the laughter died down and we were left in a comfortable silence, until I spoke aloud a thought that had been troubling my mind. "What about Jack? What do we do now?" I asked nervously as my eyes looked up to Daniel's.

"Give him nothing. Even if he turns again, don't forgive him or fall back into that. He hurt you once and I don't want that to ever happen again."