I wake up, and the first thought in my mind is that it's Friday. The second thought is, where am I?
It takes me a second to realize that I'm in Zay's bed, in his house. But I'm not with him. His side of the bed is still warm, so he must have just gotten up.
I get up slowly, feeling oddly refreshed, like I actually got a good night's rest. I check my phone and I have two messages from Savannah.
Sav: hey. how r u feeling after last nite😏
Sav: was it good
I just leave her on read.
I pick out a pair of jeans and a black V-neck from my bag, hoping Zay is downstairs. When I'm done getting dressed I go down there and my nose leads me to the kitchen. I find Zay and a plate of cinnamon buns.
"Good morning angel. Did you sleep well?" he asks me with a smile.
I nod, eyeing the food. He smiles wider when he sees me looking.
"Sorry, but I love these! How did you know? Do you read minds too?" I ask him.
"Maybe I do. Or maybe a certain somebody was talking about how much they wanted some in their sleep this morning," he responds with a smug smile.
I'm embarrassed for about one second that I was talking in my sleep. But I can't dwell on that for long because there are some yummy cinnamon buns waiting to be eaten!
I sit down and eat with Zay, savoring the sweet taste. We've both eaten three when Zay looks at the time. "If we don't want to be late, we have to leave now."
I look longingly at the single bun sitting on the plate. "Okay, lemme get my bag," I say.
I run upstairs to get my backpack. As I look at Zay's room and his bed, I realize that I didn't even sleep with Chip. That's the first time since I got him that he hasn't been with me when I sleep. The smile still liners on my face when I step into Zay's car.
I end up taking the last cinnamon bun with me.
***
Savannah stares at the guy next to her who is chewing on his pencil eraser. "I'm pretty sure you can get cancer doing that."
The guy, whom I think is Brady, looks at her with annoyance. "No you can't. You just made that up because you don't like me."
It's true. Savannah hates him for some unknown reason. She picks on him like a bug.
She feigns a look of innocence. "What makes you think I don't like you?"
"You broke my glasses last week."
She ignores his statement. "I'm just trying to give you advice. I very well could be helping you live longer."
"Well I don't want your advice," he says bluntly.
"Well then I hope you choke on the eraser shavings," she says to him.
"I hope you fall in a lake on your way home," he replies.
"I hope your mom sells you to a pet store."
Brady puts his pencil down. "I hope Lola wins prom queen."
He hit home there.
"I hope you die in a pit and go to hell," she retorts sharply. Thankfully she refrains from hitting him. He shuts up, clearly not wanting to agitate her further.
"Well, that was harsh," I say from the other side of her.
"My middle name is harsh."
I smile. "No it's not. It's-"
"Shhhh! Don't actually say it. Someone might hear," she looks around wildly.
"Why? Lee is a cute middle name."
"No it's not. I can't-"
Whatever she was going to say is cut off by the bell. I quickly gather my books and walk out with her.
"We need to go dress shopping," Savannah announces.
I inwardly groan. I hate dress shopping. I never can find the right dress. I'm always unsatisfied. "Can't we wait until next week?"
"No way! Next weekend is Prom, we can't wait till last minute," she exclaims.
"That's kinda the point," I grumble.
I feel Zay fall into step besides me. "Hello Amber. Savannah." He nods to her.
She stares at him for a second before saying, "Okay. That's my cue to leave."
"Sav, please," I say.
She dismisses my disapproval with a smile. "I'll see you at lunch." She starts walking faster in order to rid herself of me and Zay.
"Why doesn't she like me? What did I do?" he asks, defeated.
I laugh. "Remember way back when? You kissed me and then totally shunned me the next day? Well she saw that it upset me and that's all it takes to get on her bad list."
He widens his eyes. "Did I ever apologize?"
"Yes, you did but I'm always open to hear it again."
He puts his face near to mine. "I'm sorry I was a jerk, I was being stupid. I can't think of any good reason to treat you like that, because you deserve to be treated like gold." He kisses my cheek at the end of his apology and I feel my stomach flutter.
"Apology completely accepted. Now go to class."
He frowns adorably. "I don't want to."
"You need your education." I kiss him, savoring the taste of his lips. "Bye bye."
"Bye angel," he says and turns to his class.
I daydream about him on the way to my class and just about knock over some guy as I turn a corner.
"Oh, my bad," the guy says politely.
I don't acknowledge him. Embarrassed, I keep walking. I'm so clumsy, it's awful. One day I might fall into a hole without realizing it.
***
"Why do these mashed potatoes taste like vanilla? And they're cold," Max comments.
"That's because it's ice cream," Ethan says, giving him an odd look.
"Oooh. That explains it."
Savannah steals the attention of the lunch table. "Me and Amber are going shopping this weekend. If you guys want to come, you can."
The guys give each other a look. Max widens his eyes, Ethan starts coughing, and Zay scrunches up his nose slightly. "Uh, shopping?" Zay asks.
"Yeah, for Prom?" she says.
"Um... I'm busy this weekend," Zay says, lying through his teeth. He would have told me if he was doing something.
"Yeah, me too," Ethan adds, also lying.
"With what?" Savannah says incredulously.
"Actually, the three of us were going to buy our stuff for Prom together. But it's a guys only type of thing," Max decides.
"Why can't we just do it together?" Savannah complains.
"Sav, it's obvious they would rather die a slow death than go shopping with girls. Let's just keep it you and me," I say saving them all.
They give me a thankful look that I understand. I mean, I don't even want to go dress shopping with myself.
Savannah frowns. "Well, fine. You dorks can ditch us then." She faces me. "Did you hear about the new kid? He's a senior and apparently he's really hot; Lola wants him."
"Who transfers at the end of their senior year?" Max puts in.
I go to ask Zay if he's seen him yet, when all of a sudden, his eyes go distant and a chill goes through my body. A strange look goes over his face. I touch his hand and lower my voice. "What'd he say?"
He shakes his head, still not completely here. "It's... nothing."
I don't believe him. "Zay, what's wrong?"
He gets up abruptly. "Hold on, I'll be back." I move to go with him but he shakes his head again. "No, stay here," he says in a voice that makes me falter for a second, giving him the chance to leave.
Savannah nudges me. "It's okay. It's probably nothing," she says with a reassuring smile.
I smile back at her as if I don't suspect anything bad. But something tells me that whatever just went on definitely wasn't good.