Hooked on Him - Zach Herron

Chapter 9

Chloe's POV: I wake up to the sound of a sleepy Zach snoring while holding me in his arms. Smiling to myself, I think about last night. He kissed me. We kissed. And it was like nothing I've ever experienced before in my life. I could feel fireworks across my whole body, and my cheeks grow red just thinking about it right now. Just friends my ass. I want him. ⁣
He stirs in his sleep and slowly opens his eyes. "Good morning beautiful," he says sleepily as he yawns. ⁣
"Awww sleepy Zachy," I laugh and he sits up and draws me close to him. He kisses my forehead. ⁣
"Last night was fun," he says. ⁣
I smile just thinking about it. "You're quite the troublemaker." ⁣
"I can show you trouble-" he smirks, and I push him off the bed and throw a pillow on him. ⁣
"Yea, yea," I laugh. "Maybe later." He looks fake-hurt and tosses the pillow back to me. Climbing back onto the bed, he pushes me against the pillow. ⁣
"Maybe now," he says flirtatiously while looking down at me. I see his gaze go from my eyes to my lips, then back up again. He gently pulls me closer and our lips meet again, sparks flying across my body. This. This is what I want. I'm sure of it. My heart is racing and he wraps his arms around my waist and- ⁣
"Zach I need to borrow-" Jack's voice dies down to nothing as he barges into the room, and Zach and I spring apart, guiltily. "Oh hey there Chloe." He looks at us accusingly and I tug self-consciously on Zach's sweatshirt. ⁣
"Hi," I say quietly. ⁣
He raises his eyebrows at us. "You spent the night," Jack states dryly. ⁣
"Jack-" I stand up and protest. "I swear it's not what it looks like." I start to make my way over to him, but he turns away. Zach's face grows red and he's getting upset. ⁣
"Just friends, Chloe?" Jack spits. "Friends don't have-" he fumbles to find the right word, "make-out sessions or whatever the hell I just happened to walk into!" My eyes flicker over to Zach. ⁣
"Well it's her choice Jack!" Zach says loudly and pulls me closer protectively. I struggle to squirm out of his grip. Jack starts to shake his head and walk out. ⁣
"Jack.... Jack!" I shout loudly, and he stops at the door. "We didn't do anything. I promise." ⁣
"That's not what it looks like." he says, and I realize that Zach is still missing his shirt and I'm filled with dread and I quickly realize that that was the wrong thing to say because Zach looks at me, hurt. ⁣
"It was just a kiss!" I say defensively to Jack. ⁣
"Just a kiss?" Shit. Zach's upset now. I whirl around. ⁣
"No- wait, I didn't mean it like that!" ⁣
"I... I thought you felt it too," he looks down at the ground, and I can see that he's about to cry. I take his hand. ⁣
"I did," I say gently. "The fireworks?" ⁣
His eyes light up. "So you did feel it." ⁣
"Very cute," Jack says and laughs, not meanly, but not a funny laugh. We look at him, warily. He sighs. "I'm sorry. I was wrong. I'll go now." Jack steps out into the hall before I can call him back in, and I can tell that this isn't fully resolved. Zach looks at me. ⁣
"I'm sorry, Zach," I say apologetically. "That sounded awful. I didn't mean for it to come out like that, but you guys just got over a fight and-" ⁣
"Shhh," he cuts me off. "It's okay. You felt it too, and that's all that matters to me." ⁣
"I like you a lot," I say earnestly. He puts his arm around me, pulling me close. We sit quietly on the bed together, lost in our thoughts, and I know that this is far from the end of the drama. ⁣
Jack's POV: I like her. I like her too much for my own good. It's tearing me apart, and walking in on them was unbearable. I don't want to ruin my friendship with Zach, but she picked him. At least, I think she did. Maybe there's still hope. God, how could I be so stupid? And now I look like a jerk. Great. Well, I apologized at least, and I think we're okay now. It's their business, not mine. But that doesn't mean that I like her any less. I guess we'll see how this goes. ⁣