Don't Stop the Rain

Chapter Five

[Author's Note: Another long chapter after a long week of school! Hahaha. I hope you're liking the flow of this story. :) -- Shan]

Weird Around You - Eerie Summer

"i feel so weird around you
i've never really been in love
i keep my words and my problems
i'd rather keep it bottled up

and even though i know i miss you
i'd rather keep it all inside
and now I know I will regret it
I'd rather keep it all inside

confessing seems just a little bit pointless with a guy like you

i'd rather sit and stare at the tv with you"

**  

It's just a crush. It's just a crush. It's just a crush.

"—Lily!"

I was walking to the bus stop that Monday morning when Zac suddenly appeared beside me. I was in the middle of convincing myself about the fact that liking an extrovert like Zac is like fangirling about your favorite member of a famous boyband. Having him like you back is completely impossible. All you can do is stare at his posters and watch videos of him on YouTube and dream that soon he would pop out of the screen and fancy you as well. But no, this is not like an MTV teen series. This is reality.

I tried to hide my thoughts (which, I would brag, I am really good at) and smiled at him; while he put his arm around my shoulder while we continue walking.

I didn't even flinch. Damn. I'm doing so well.

"Good morning Zac," I greeted him.

"Thanks again for last Saturday," he started.

I rolled my eyes, "You've been thanking me for the past three days."

He does. He's been texting me like every hour about how thankful he is because I helped him find his Dad.

Finally we reached the bus stop. I looked at Zac's watch while his arm is still clinging on my shoulder. We're five minutes early.

"Haven't you asked Spencer or any of your other friends for help before?" I asked him.

He removed his arm around my shoulder and put his hands inside his hoodie's pockets. He shrugged, "You're the first one to know about Dad."

"W-what?" Wow. Great Livvie. You were doing so well and now you have to ruin everything with a stutter.

"I don't know," he puffed his cheeks. "It just seems like you're the kind of person who would understand."

"Understand what?"

"You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand," he said.

He quoted the line from Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

"I thought you don't like reading books?" I asked casually, even though deep inside my heart is racing because he just quoted one of my favorite books.

Zac nodded, "Yeah. But it was a reading requirement for us last year. It's a short one so I didn't have that many problems with it, and it was a good."

"It's one of my favorites," I confessed out of the blue.

"He reminds me of you," he agreed. "I mean Charlie."

Charlie is the main character in the book.

Well, I couldn't agree with him more though, I relate with Charlie so much.