Wedding Bell Rush - A.U. (H.S., Z.S.)

Chapter 8: Almost There

We stopped at a gas station about an hour away from Tahoe. We were going to get there at about 6 P.M. Zach got out to pump gas and use the restroom. While I was waiting, Harry woke up.

"Hey," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"Good rest?" I asked.

He nodded. "Just so you know, I didn't hear anything about what you guys were talking about earlier. Don't worry about it."

I groaned. "You shouldn't have said anything then! Now I'm convinced you heard it all."

He threw his hands up. "All I heard was that you were crying. I swear I didn't hear anything else. I was thinking you were worrying I heard your conversation."

"Thanks, don't worry about it. I somehow feel okay with you hearing my life story."

I could just feel him smiling behind me. He let out a chuckle. "When Zach comes back, tell him I'm still asleep. I don't want to drive." He went back to his sleeping position.

A minute later, Zach came back.

"Alright, ready to go? You sure you don't need to use the bathroom?" He warmed up his hands as it was getting dark and cold outside.

"Yeah, I'm good. Harry told me to tell you that he's actually awake but doesn't want to drive."

Harry sat up immediately. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He said, laughing.

I shrugged. "No liars allowed in this car."

Zach laughed. "It's okay, I'm fine with driving. When you drive, you're boring. You don't even play music."

Harry went back to his position. "I like my car rides silent."

We finally went back on the road. I was fully awake and started to get nervous about Lila. I never actually confirmed she was at the cabin, so she could really be anywhere. I checked my phone for the first time since the morning. I didn't want to look at it because I was nervous Hunter would be bothering me.

I had three missed calls and two missed texts from Hunter.

"She told me she was in Tahoe. Is that where you are going? I saw you leave earlier. Everyone is freaking out," read the first text. "I'll make sure everything is fine here," the second text read.

"Harry and Zach are with me. We're almost to Tahoe. I'll update you when we get there," I texted back.

A few seconds later, Hunter replied. "I know, Zach texted me earlier. I've been saying that Lila wasn't feeling well and was staying in the hotel room all day. Her parents kept bugging me to see her, but I told them she needed rest. They keep questioning where Zach is, but I told them that he took you on a tour around town. The dinner rehearsal is in a few hours. People are getting suspicious. What do I tell them?"

"Just tell them she's been feeling nauseous and won't join the rehearsal. If anyone wonders about Harry, Zach, and me, just tell them that our tour went longer than expected and won't be able to join too. Thanks," I reply back. I trusted Hunter that he would get this done.

I put my phone away in my pocket and looked at the time. We had less than an hour to kill so I decided to hit Zach with a question.

"Why were you so mean to me when we were kids?"

I saw Zach start getting smiley and nervous. He looked down and wouldn't look at me. "You know."

"I don't know anything. That's why I'm asking," I replied to him, repeating what he told me earlier. We both chuckled. I knew he wanted to get out of the conversation, but he didn't.

"I liked you."

My heart suddenly raced. Part of me knew he had weird feelings towards me, but he was just so mean to me that it felt impossible. I hate thinking that when guys are mean, they like you, but Zach was on point with that.

"You didn't."

He shrugged, and his smile didn't fall. "I did."

I had a small schoolgirl crush on him when I was staying at the Chamberlain's house because whenever we would see each other, he was actually being nice to me. I got over it quickly, though.

"Maybe I would have a crush on you if you weren't so mean to me," I quietly said.

"So, you're saying I had a chance?" He raised his eyebrows at me. I just shrugged.

"Of course. Look at you! As dorky and weirdly proportioned as you were, you always had a kind face. Your dimples are pretty cute too." I felt myself blushing saying those words. I shouldn't have been nervous saying that, but I was.

"Well, if you were wondering, I still may have a small, tiny, little crush on you to this day," he blushed too.

My heart started racing, and my palms got sweaty. "Still?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah, I never got closure with you, so I still may have like a puppy-love crush on you. Don't get it twisted though, I wouldn't date you."

I felt disappointed. If he liked me, why wouldn't he go out with me? It's not like I would say yes, but it just broke my heart. "Why not? I think I'm pretty dateable!"

"Because you're my sister's best friend. She would kill me if she found out."

"So, now you're saying that there's a chance?"

He shrugged and shook his head. "Don't put me on the spot like this. You wouldn't go out with me anyway."

I pushed his arm. "Maybe I would! You just never asked."

"Okay, would you like to go out with me sometime?"

Itapped my chin. Part of me wanted to go out with him, but for humor's sake..."No," I said.