Hooked on Him - Zach Herron

Chapter 28

Chloe's POV: Jack lifts his head up after a while and I lean back against the bench. I play with his curls absentmindedly as he checks his phone for the time. I see his eyes widen a bit as a text comes in and he suddenly stands up. 

"I've gotta run. Family dinner that I completely forgot about and I'm late now," he laughs a little at his forgetfulness. "I'm sorry," he looks into my eyes. "I hate to leave you here. I promise I'll make it up to you." 

"No, it's totally fine." But I have to wonder why he made plans with me if he knew he had a dinner. He's got too much on his mind right now. Too much to think about, me and the band and his family and everything in between. I chuckle at his bad memory and then try to shoo him away. "Go, go be with them. Tell them I say hi and tell your sisters that I miss them." 

"Well, actually," he says as he smirks at me. "Now that I think about it, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you tagged along." 

My heart skips a beat as I think, really think about what he is saying, about what he is suggesting. I've met his family before and he's introduced me to them as his girlfriend, but.... this would be different. Sitting down with them to have dinner. My stomach knots up as he looks at me with a sheepish smile on his face. 

"I was going to try to reach Zach...." I say apologetically, and his face falls for a second before brightening back up. 

"Even better. I'll leave you to it," he says. "We can do dinner another time." 

I nod my head rigorously and he wraps me up in a hug before gently kissing the top of my head. "I'm sure everything will work out," he says softly as he steps back and grabs my hand.  

"I know it will," I say. "Have fun with your family." 

He steps away and lets go of my hand, keeping his stretched out towards me. "Good luck." 

I smile at him as he lets go and leaves after shooting me another wave. Pulling out my phone, I type in Zach's number and then look at it. My heart starts to pound. I've never really liked making phone calls, and now I'm nervous for what he's going to say. Before I can change my mind, I quickly press the button to dial and then move my finger away like it's been burned. My face turns red as I anxiously hold it up to my ear and wait for him to pickup. 

It rings, and rings, and rings. I tap my foot a little to call my nerves, and it's a reassuring sound. I'm about to hang up when I hear him pick up. My breath catches in my throat and we sit in silence for a second as I try to think of something, anything to say. 

".....Hello?" he says and it's shocking because I haven't heard his voice in a while. 

"Hi," I say meekly. "Can we talk?" I manage to get out. 

"On the phone?" he laughs a little and I grip my phone tightly. I've missed his laugh. 

"No. I was calling to see if we could meet up sometime- if you want- we don't have to-" I cringe inside and mentally curse myself out for saying something that stupid. 

 "Where are you?" he asks lowly as he interrupts me.

I blink in surprise and look around at the trees and lake from where I'm sitting on the bench. "I'm at the lake." 

"I'm on my way," he says. "I'll be there." My stomach fills up with butterflies and I'm taken aback by his sudden decision. 

"I've missed you," he says quietly, and then there's a click as he hangs up before I have time to comprehend what he just said. 

He's missed me. He's coming to talk to me. Right now. I comb my finger through my hair anxiously as a nervous tick and my face starts to turn rosy. I wasn't expecting to talk to him right now. Maybe tomorrow, at the earliest. My mind fills with lots of different thoughts as I try to think of how to approach this, how to apologize. And I don't even have time to come up with something good to say because he's on his way. Standing up from the bench, I start to pace slightly as I overthink everything, just like always. 

I guess he's not upset at me anymore, if he agreed to come talk with me. I'm not mad at him, just frustrated at myself for allowing our friendship to fall apart. And nervous for what he has to say to me. I'm ashamed that I treated him that way, but it was an emotional night for both of us. I just hope that he understands and gives me a chance to explain myself. 

After a while filled with anxious pacing and my own jumbled thoughts, I see a figure start to walk towards me with his hands in his front pockets. He's here. I stop in my tracks and stand still, twisting my hands together behind my back as he heads towards me. I see him smiling faintly at me, and he gives me a small wave shyly. 

And I can't take it anymore. I'm suddenly overwhelmed by how much I just miss him, and it starts to weigh me down. I clench my hands into fists nervously, and then I make my decision. I start to walk briskly towards him as my faces flushes red, speeding up until I'm slightly jogging. My hair starts to blow everywhere and I can feel the wind hitting my face. I see his face flash with surprise and then settle into a warm smile. Reaching him, I wrap my arms around his waist and nuzzle into him, brought back into the familiarity of his embrace. Zach puts his arms around my shoulders and pulls me close against him, stroking my hair affectionately before resting his head on top of mine. I close my eyes for a second and melt into him, and it feels like home. I could honestly stay like this all day in his arms. 

I step back after a few seconds and look into his eyes, suddenly jittery. "Hi," I laugh a little. 

"Hey there," he chuckles. 

I take a deep breath. "I just wanted to say.... I'm sorry. For everything. For falling for your best friend. For ignoring you. I was scared, Zach, and I didn't know what to do, and Jack was there for me-" I struggle to put all of my emotions into words. "And I didn't listen to you. I didn't let you explain." 

"Chloe......" he says softly. "It's oka-" 

"No!" I interrupt him fiercely. "It's not okay. I was wrong." I hang my head. 

He tilts my head back up, forcing me to look at him as I get lost in his eyes. "Okay. It's not okay," he agrees. "But the important thing is that I forgive you. No one's perfect." 

"And I'm sorry, too," he adds on to this. "I'm sorry for taking everything out on you when my fans were being mean to me. I'm sorry for being violent and irrational and scaring you. And I'm sorry for that night." 

"I messed up too. And I was rude to you about it, and that was wrong. I thought I had lost you for real after that, and I've been feeling down for the past few weeks." 

"But then you called. And, well, here I am," he smiles at me. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. 

"Are we okay now?" I ask tentatively.  

"Yes," he says simply. 

"Friends." 

"I was thinking more like best friends," he smirks at me.

"That's pushing it a little," I tease and nudge him slightly as we start to walk. I don't even know where we're headed, just following the path, and it's nice to be with Zach again. All is forgiven. After talking for a while, I can tell that something's on his mind. 

"Chloe?"

"Yea?"

"Are you happy? ..... with Jack?" he asks cautiously. 

I pause for a second as I try to think about how to answer this. I am happy with Jack. He's my best friend. But that's the thing. Sometimes it feels like we're more best friends than anything else. I still can't deny the fact that he makes me happy though. "Yes," I answer honestly. 

"As- as long as you're happy," he gets out, and slings an arm around my shoulder playfully. My skin flushes slightly pink at the sudden contact, and it's electric. 

"Yea," I say quietly. "I am." But who am I trying to convince? Him? Or myself?