Huntington Avenue | ✓ [PV REWRITE]

Part I: Chapter 13

"Hey, Zach, is everything okay? What's the rush?" Kelsey asked with concern flooding her tone of voice.

The teenager blinked at the sound of her voice, almost as if he was surprised to be in her presence. "Hey, uh, everything's fine," he fibbed. "I just wish I knew what was happening to all my work in class, that's all."

"It's still acting up?" she inquired, and when Zach nodded in reply, she frowned. "I'm sorry. I have no idea what's going on, but do you need any help with studying?"

Zach shook his head. "I'm alright, thank you. I don't have any tests anytime soon so I should be okay when it comes to that."

"Okay." Kelsey then took a closer look at his facial expression. "Is anything else bothering you? You look upset."

"Stress," was the one word which escaped Zach's lips.

Kelsey's head tilted in the slightest. "Do you want to do something to get your mind off of it? It might help."

Zach was puzzled. "Now?"

"Yes, now," Kelsey giggled, her face lighting up more than it had before. "Unless you don't want to, that's fine with me. Want to go down to Moonriver and get some lemonade or something?"

It was Zach's turn to smile at her request. "Yeah, I'd love to—but one thing first."

"Sure, what is it?"

Zach took his backpack off his back and fumbled with the zipper until the large compartment opened. He grabbed his phone and pressed the home button to make the lock screen appear.

"Uh, would you mind texting my mom and letting her know where I am?" he asked her sheepishly, holding his phone out to her.

Kelsey let a small, friendly laugh out as she took his phone. "Yeah, of course. I don't mind," she replied, finding his mother's contact in her phone and beginning to type a message.

The blonde was a bit of an overthinker. When it came to text messages, she never knew what to type, especially to people she did not know well. Kelsey typed several drafts of the message into Zach's phone before finally deciding on her final wording.

"Hello! This is Kelsey—Zach's friend. He wanted me to let you know that we're heading over to Moonriver Cafe for a bit. I'll give him a ride home afterwards. Have a great afternoon!"

"Thanks," Zach chuckled a bit timidly at the subject.

"No problem!"

Kelsey was about to give him his phone back until it beeped in her hand. She looked down at the new message from Mrs. West and smiled at the positivity radiating from a simple screen.

"That sounds like fun! You two have a great time, and thank you for taking care of my son! I know he really loves spending time with his friends." Mrs. West even sent a smiley face emoji at the end.

Kelsey decided not to respond to the text message and returned Zach's phone to him. He put it in his pocket rather than his backpack since he did not particularly want to have to fish it out of his bag. Zach appeared to be in a better mood already, and Kelsey was more than happy to keep it as such.

"Ready to go?" Kelsey asked him. She already had her belongings in her own backpack while holding her car keys in her right hand.

Zach adjusted how the straps of his bag laid on his shoulders. "Yeah, if you are."

Zach and Kelsey then braved the outside world together, walking through the double doors of Oceanview High and out into the sunny weather. The late September air was cool as it vaguely signified the transition from summer to autumn. It was the type of weather where shorts and a sweatshirt were acceptable, and that was exactly what Kelsey was wearing.