Hooked on Him - Zach Herron

Chapter 7

Chloe's POV: The past few days have been utterly miserable. My parents can tell that something is obviously wrong, but they don't press me on the matter. My phone buzzes with yet another call from Zach, and I press decline and chuck my phone across the room. Jack's tried to call a few times too, but he gave up once he realized that I wasn't gonna answer. ⁣

The doorbell rings, and I ignore it. It continues to sound, over and over and over, and I hear someone start to pound on the door. ⁣

"GO AWAY," I shout and bury my head in my pillow. The banging continues, and I drag myself out of bed to open the door. I'm a mess. My hair is an absolute wreck and my eyes are bloodshot from crying. I open the door to find Corbyn standing there, about to pound on the door again. I cross my arms. ⁣

"What?" ⁣

Corbyn doesn't even bother to answer, just pushes past me until he's inside. ⁣

"What in the world did you do to Zach and Jack? They won't talk to each other at all, and the atmosphere over at our house is unbearable." ⁣

I bury my face in my hands. "They were fighting over me, so I kicked them out." ⁣

Corbyn raises an eyebrow at me. "I've never seen them so mad at each other." ⁣

"Well, I'm mad at them. They both said some pretty awful things." My heart hurts just thinking about that night. And as much I'm mad at them, I also miss them both terribly. ⁣

"The band literally can't function with them like this." Corbyn sounds desperate. He grabs my hand and drags me to the door. "Please fix this. Something needs to be done." ⁣

"I don't know what to say to them. I don't want to hurt either of them." I'm on the verge of tears. ⁣

"Hey," he says gently. "If I was you, I would be pretty pissed off too. Just tell them honestly how you feel." ⁣

I don't want to do it. But that's a pretty selfish thing to say. I caused this, and I need to be the one to resolve it. ⁣

"Fine," I say, and his face lights up with a smile, and before I know it he's dragged me to his car. The car ride is so short and I have no time to plan what I'm going to say before we're suddenly in front of their house. Corbyn moves like he's going to get out, and I shake my head.

"Give me a minute." ⁣

His face softens. "Oh, Chloe." His voice is full of sympathy and he reaches over and gives me a tight hug. I cling to him, needing someone to share this burden that I've been bearing by myself. ⁣

"You can do this. I promise that everything will be okay." ⁣

"Thanks, Corbyn." Taking a deep breath, I get out of the car and go up to the door. It's unlocked, so I walk inside with Corbyn trailing after me. Zach's sitting on the couch. He looks terrible. His hair is sticking up in all different directions and he looks utterly exhausted. ⁣

"Chloe!" He stands up when he sees me and rushes over to me. "I tried calling you but you didn't answer and I'm just so fuc-" ⁣

I interrupt him. "JACK AVERY GET YOUR ASS IN HERE," I shout loudly at the house, and I hear footsteps cautiously make their way downstairs. Jack steps into the living room. ⁣

"Chloe." He says cautiously, but his face hardens when he sees Zach. ⁣

"Sit." I order, and he sits down at the far end of the couch, away from Zach. Zach glances at Jack, and I can see how much he misses his best friend. ⁣

"You two," I tick my finger between the two of them. "Were being jerks the other night." They just sit there silently, not even trying to deny it. I look at Zach. God, even at his worse he still looks like perfection. "You need to quit being so possessive. We're not dating." He starts to protest, but I cut him off. "And I'm free to be friends with whomever I'd like." ⁣

"And you." I look at Jack. "You need to quit being so rude to Zach. He's your best friend, and I don't want to change that." ⁣

"I want to be in your lives, but I don't want to be if I am going to ruin your friendship and mess up the band." ⁣

They're still silent, and I'm growing extremely frustrated. "Well? Say something." ⁣

The boys look at each other, unsure. Zach speaks first. ⁣

"I'm really sorry, Chloe. I just care so much about you. I know I was out of line, and I want to make it up to you. Give me another chance."

Jack joins in. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I was awful that night." He looks at Zach. "I'm sorry." ⁣

"I am, too." Zach reaches over and gives Jack a long hug. "Jachary?" ⁣

"Jachary." Jack says and hugs him back. I smile. Good. They've made up. ⁣

"I like both of you as friends," I say, emphasizing on friends. That's kinda a lie. Oops. "Is everything okay again? Are we good?" ⁣

"Yea," Zach says, and I can't take it anymore, I just miss him so much. I run over to the couch and throw my arms around him. "Whoa. Hey there," he says while laughing and pulls me into his lap. "I've missed you." ⁣

"Trust me, I've missed you too," I say, and Jack smiles at us, a little sadly. ⁣

"Hey," I say softly. "I've missed my best friend, Jack," and he leans over and gives me a hug. ⁣

Corbyn walks in and chuckles. "I take it everything is okay now?" ⁣

"Yea," I say happily. Zach and Jack are friends again, and that's all that really matters to me. The gang's all back together again. ⁣