Loose Change~ Montgomery De La Cruz / Zach Dempsey/Scott Reed

Part 4 Chapter 5a

Justin was waiting for the two of them on the bench outside the front entrance. He stood up quickly, smiling when he spotted them.

"Happy Valentine's Day!"

She could hear the smile in his voice. Honestly, Ophelia loved Justin's voice. It was unique, and it always gave away his mood.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Justin," Ophelia giggled.

He dropped his backpack onto the bench, zipping it open. He pulled out one of those small, heart shaped chocolate boxes.

"For you," he told her.

"Oh, Justin," she gasped. "Oh my god, you're so sweet."

"Wait," he said. He pulled out another one, and handed it to Estella. "And for you."

The younger girl blushed brightly. "Thank you, Justin."

"Happy Valentine's Day, ladies," he said again.

Ophelia opened the box of chocolates, holding it out to offer him one, which he grabbed quickly, popping it into his mouth.

"I didn't know what kind of chocolate you liked," Justin said, mouth full and chewing. "So I got you one of those variety packs."

"A million times thank you," Ophelia said, her smile beaming.

They walked into the school, stopping and waiting to go past the metal detectors. 

"I'm gonna drop this off at my locker," Ophelia told Justin, holding up the chocolate. "I'll meet you in first."

"I'll go with you," he offered.

"I'll just be a second," she told him. She said good-bye to Estella before making her way down the hall.

She put in the combination of her locker, and then opened the door. She had to react quickly when a bouquet of flowers fell on her. She caught them quickly before they fell to the floor.

A smile slowly formed on her lips as she looked at the dozen roses now in her hands. They were pink roses, beautiful to look at. She paused for a moment. Who were these from? Briefly, she wondered if they were from Scott.

"You used to say you liked the pink ones more than the red ones."

Ophelia turned to see Zach had come up, now leaning on the locker next to her. He was dressed handsome, with his hair gelled back. He looked sober too.

"These are from you?" she asked.

His eyes caught sight of the chocolate box in her hands.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he told her.

"Thank you, Zach," she breathed. "You didn't-"

"I didn't have to," he said. He shrugged. "Yeah, I know. I wanted to."

His eyes flicked back down to the box in her hands. It was nearly falling out of her arms as she tried to balance the flowers back into the locker. He reached out and took it, turning it upside down to look for a name.