Day Five

I wasn't used to waking up to a quiet household.

Ribbons of sunlight filtered through the blinds in my bedroom window, streaming across the mustard-yellow walls of my bedroom. I admired the patterns before swinging my legs out of bed and throwing on my clothes for the day.

I tied my caramel locks into a messy ponytail and descended the stairs to the living room where Emett and Hunter were sleeping safe and sound.

Emett, merely half of Hunter's height was folded into a ball, his face pressed against the couch to create a pucker-lipped expression. Hunter was sprawled like a starfish behind him, his black-framed reading glasses perched crookedly on the tip of his nose. His mouth hung wide open, as if he'd fallen asleep mid-sentence. Papers upon papers of homework assignments were littered all over the living room floor and across the ottoman while crumpled cans of root beer and cherry soda were scattered among the chaos of assignments, along with an empty packet of Extra gum. A half-eaten quesadilla stuck to a paper plate was tucked underneath Emett's head.

It was about the cutest thing I'd ever seen.

Resisting the urge to dart up the staircase and grab my phone to take a picture, I silently marveled at how adorable the two of them were.

Hunter's shoulder shifted positions as his russet eyes blinked open.  He furrowed his eyebrows before glancing down at Emett and smiling.

"Good morning."  I smiled at him.

His eyes quickly darted to meet mine.  His lips spread into a cheesy grin.  "Good morning."  He yawned, running a hand through his curls, which were an unruly, wild mess.  He shook his head back and forth to loosen some of his ringlets and re-adjusted his glasses, blinking in satisfaction.

"Long night?"  I leaned my elbow against the kitchen bar-counter.

Hunter raised his eyebrows, blowing air out of his nose.  "You have no idea."  I smiled in sympathy before he continued,  "When'd you get home?"

"Hm..."  I pursed my lips and looked at the ceiling, trying to remember.  "I'm not sure."

"Emett was worried."  He gave me a pearly-white smile.

"Emett what?"  Emett's head peeked up at Hunter as he stretched his small hands toward the ceiling, wiggling his fingers. 

Hunter and I exchanged smiles before Emett piped, "Zoe, you're home!"  He uncurled himself from his laying position and darted over to me, wrapping his small frame around my waist.  I smiled and crouched down to meet his height and gave him a big hug. 

"Guess how late I got to stay up!"  He gave me an exhilarated grin from ear to ear, bouncing on his toes.

I looked up at Hunter, who seemed a little panicked as he slurred, "It wasn't that late-"

"Three-thirty A.M.!" Emett's light eyes sparkled with excitement.  "Cool, right?  Hunter is rad." He said, his voice dropping in an attempt to sound like Hunter. He turned to grin at his tutor, who smiled and shook his head.

"Super duper rad, dude."  I mimicked the two of them, all of us breaking out into laughter.

"We gotta clean this up, bud."  Hunter muttered to Emett as he swung his legs over the couch and boosted himself to his feet, his curls bouncing.  He began to pick up some of the mess they'd left on the living room floor and waved Emett over.  Emett skipped to help Hunter, willing to do anything to be like his tutor.  Hunter ruffled Emett's soft blonde hair endearingly as the two of them began to clean.

"How does some breakfast sound?"  I called to them as I made my way into the kitchen. 

Hunter looked up and flashed an eager grin.  "Like the best thing in the world."

--

Zak's eyes were mysteriously cloudy as he leaned against one of West Burrow High's portable classroom railings, waiting for me on my way to Theatre.  He grasped a curious sheet of lined paper, which he examined with furrowed brows and a clenched jaw.  His wispy, dark hair was a bit fluffier than usual as it fell across his forehead into his onyx eyelashes.  He sported a collared, denim-button up, the sleeves rolled up his forearms, and black jeans, an image straight out of Abercrombie and Fitch.

Just then, his eyebrows raised as his eyes flickered to meet mine.  A crooked, half smirk broke through his lips.  "Hey."

I folded a lock of my hair behind my ear and smiled at him.  "Hey."

"Come take a look at this."  He nodded at me.  I made my way over and joined him on his right flank.

"What's that?"  I inquired, looking from the paper in his hands up at him curiously. 

His eyes flickered from mine to the paper.   "Gorveau gave it to me when I walked in the door and told me to wait outside for you.  'Think it's some kind 'a scavenger hunt." He met my eyes.

I frowned and leaned forward to examine the paper.  Written in Mr. Gorveau's slanted chicken-scratch handwriting was a peculiar note.

For my precious little twinkies,

Piglet and Eeyore, I've decided to further complicate this Chemistry Test and throw in a little side activity to burden you.  Yes, this will be graded and count for 20% of  your grade for this assignment, so there's no getting out of it.  Don't fret, my pets, it's good for the play, and, most importantly, entertaining for me.  Have the footage ready for me first thing you step in the door Monday morning, or you fail!

Good luck, puppets!

1. Find a camera to vlog with.

2. 11:30, WBHS parking lot.

3. Snacks.

4. Misty Way (the top).

5.  Make silent eye contact for three minutes.

6. Jars. (Mine first, because it's the best. Duh.)

7. Have fun. You're too damn uptight.

After reading, I looked up at Zak in puzzlement. 

"Yeah."  He muttered, gazing into the distance.

"Maybe it'll be fun."  I shrugged, skimming over the list again. 

Zak glanced down at me and gave me a close-lipped half smile.  "Maybe.  I don't know about the staring."

"Oh, I don't mind."  I shrugged again, immediately regretting saying anything.  Zak raised his eyebrows expectantly as I stumbled over my words, "No, I mean-yeah that's totally weird."  My cheeks burned as I peeked up at Zak, who was trying to suppress a giant grin.

A wavy silence hung between us, and I could feel my cheeks increasingly brightening.  He looked away for a second and chuckled to himself before looking me straight in the eyes and murmuring, his voice deep and hoarse.  "I was kidding."

11:03 p.m.

Car keys?  Check. 

Sweatshirt? Check. 

Flashlights? Check. 

Camera? Check.

On my way out the door, the baby-faced delight that was my younger brother piped, "Where are you going?"

I turned around like the caveman-Spongebob meme and relaxed once I realized he was alone.  "You're supposed to be asleep, Emett."

"So are you."  He raised his blonde eyebrows and crossed his small arms over his chest. 

I made a few small, quiet steps toward my brother and crouched down to his height.  "Negotiation time, I assume?"

He batted his large, olivine-flaked eyes as he let a crooked grin worm its way onto his face.  "Whatcha got?"

"What about..."  I took a second to think.  Emett brought his chin down and raised his eyebrows expectantly.  "Three bags of Germie Wormies."

"Five." 

"Four."  I negotiated, tilting my head at him. 

"Ya got yourself a deal."  Emett decided, his cheeky grin widening.  I shook his hand with a smile and rose to my feet.

"I love you."  I chimed, glancing back at Emett as I turned the doorknob.

Emett turned around and headed for upstairs.  Just as he reached the staircase, he remarked cockily, "Ya better."

--

11:26 p.m.

Zak pulled a black beanie over his ears as he spotted my car pulling into West Burrow High's empty student parking lot.  In the bright glow of the headlights, Zak licked his lips and smiled at me, his exhaled breaths contrasting white against the black air of the night.  He'd thrown on a navy colored hoodie with white drawstrings to keep him warm, which made him appear less willowy and more pillowy.

He jogged over to the passenger seat and jumped in without hesitation.

"You ready?"  I turned to him, my eyes straining to make out his facial features through the darkness.

"Ready is my middle name."  He countered.  I was able to make out a smile from him, which brought a smile to my lips in return.

"Got the camera?"  He asked quickly.  "'Cause I got the snacks."

"Yup."  I chimed.  "What'd you bring?"

"Let's see..."  Zak dug around in a Grocery Galore plastic bag.  "Snickers, Doritos - Spicy Nacho kind, of course."  He smirked. "Mike-N-Ikes, Corn Nuts, M & M's, Nutella, Chex Mix, and Oreos." 

"Now we're talking. We should film this."  I muttered, fiddling with my camera. Once I got it rolling, I smiled over at Zak and started talking, "Okay so it's...Zak what time is it?"  I turned to him.

Zak lifted his butt off of the seat to grab his phone and sat down, "It is...11:29."

"11:29 p.m. and we're heading for Misty Way."  I smiled as Zak whoop-whooped and did a little dance for the camera.  I laughed and got a shot of the snack bag Zak had brought.  "Zak bought all of these snacks for us, and we're ready to go." I grinned.  "We're super pumped and ready to have an adventure."  I turned toward Zak.  "Isn't that right?"

"That's right."  Zak grinned, giving the camera two thumbs up.  I ended the video shortly after and set the camera on the divider. 

"Let's do this." 

--

"It says to take a right up here."  Zak instructed, pointing a finger at a row of trees.  We'd been following Google Maps for the past twenty minutes, and I could comfortably say that I'd never been more lost in my entire life.

"Zak, I don't see a road."  I slowed the car down and pulled into an empty dirt lot.  "Just a lot of trees."

"Oh, that makes sense."  He muttered to himself under his breath. 

"What?"  I queered, leaning over my seat to examine his phone.

"It's a trail."  Zak informed me as he opened the passenger-side door and grabbed the Grocery Galore bag of snacks.  "C'mon." 

To be fair, neither one of us had ever heard of Misty Way before, which is probably why Gorveau chose it. 

"Is it safe?"  I stuffed my things into my backpack and climbed out of the car. 

Zak strode over to me as I locked the car and gave me a reassuring smile.  "'Course. You're with me."

I rolled my eyes but grinned and threw on my hoodie. Halfway through putting it on, my arms got stuck. I heard Zak chuckle from somewhere nearby. 

"Do you need help?"

I sighed and turned in the direction of his voice, certain that I looked absolutely ridiculous. 

"Maybe."  I murmured, my words muffled by the clothing.

Suddenly, I felt the familiar pair of hands belonging to Zak pull the sweatshirt down my sides.  He grabbed hold of my arms and gently guided them through the arm holes.  Once my hands emerged from the sleeves, I wiggled my fingers toward the sky and poked my head through the sweatshirt.  Zak's body was merely inches away from mine, warmth radiating from his body. He smiled down at me.

"Thanks."  I whispered, taking a small step away from him.

A sliver of a smile wormed its way through his lips. "Don't mention it.  Let's go."

--

12:09 a.m.

It had been twenty minutes aimlessly trekking through the moonlit glistening forest before I came to accept the fact that we were completely lost.

Zak had climbed up the mountain quite a ways to try to find the trail we'd lost sight of, leaving me alone among the crickets and rustling brush.

One part of my brain entertained the possibility of him stranding me here, but the logical side reassured me that he wasn't cruel enough to do such a thing.  He wasn't Damon.

My body was trembling from the cold air as I waved my flashlight to and fro to find a trace of Zak among the foliage.

A sudden rustling in the foliage nearby brought me to full alert.

What was that?

Locking my flashlight on the area of brush I'd heard the noise come from, I stood at full attention, slowly becoming paralyzed with fear. For few long moments, there was nothing but the thumping of my heartbeat.

"Zoe!"

"Bwahhh!" I yelped, my flashlight toppling onto the sodden earth. Through the darkness I made out Zak's figure, a tidal wave of relief washing over me.

"Hey, it's just me." Zak chuckled, resting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I brought my hand over my heart and panted, "That was terrifying."

"I didn't mean to scare you."

I shook my head. "Any luck finding the trail?"

"Yup." Zak grinned, popping the 'p' with extra emphasis. "Are you okay?"

"I'm good."

"Cool." Zak grinned, tilting his head backward. "It's this way."

The top of Misty Way was a peak above a cavernous valley of pine and cedar trees. Looking up, almost the entire night sky was visible to us. It was a viewpoint you'd want to watch a sunrise from, or in our case, a meteor shower.

Just as mentioned on the list, two mason jars were set near the edge, containing what appeared to be slips of paper.

I glanced over at Zak, whose eyes were already locked on mine. I gazed into them for a moment, admiring the reflection of the sky portrayed among the blue of his irises.

"Where's Orion?"  I muttered, a cold breeze weaving through my hair.  Zak blinked and parted his lips, as if debating whether to say anything.  He took a step closer and I could have sworn I was one step away from tumbling off the cliff.

"In your eyes." 

--

12:36 a.m.

"So, here we are." I narrated to the camera as Zak and I sat criss-cross apple sauce across from each other. "We got just a little lost on our way here, but thanks to Zak's incredible bravery and strength, we made it." I turned to Zak, who gave me a smile like: Gorveau's not gonna believe a word of that.

I ignored him.  "We're about to start this little jar activity you've planned for us. We don't really know how it's going to go, but I guess we'll see." I smiled, shrugging before I ended the video.

"So," I started, setting the camera next to one of the mason jars.

"So," Zak mimicked, smirking.

"I guess we have to stare at each other for three minutes."

"How awful."

I ignored his sarcasm and set a timer on my phone.  "Ready?"

"Is my middle name."

I started the timer.  My eyes had adjusted well to the darkness so I could make out most of Zak's features. I tried to keep my eyes on his rather than the indentation made in his cheek when he clenched his jaw, or how his Adam's apple slowly lowered and raised as he swallowed. His expression remained neutral for the most part, except for when his teeth tugged at his bottom lip, drawing it back and releasing it.

I tried my best to keep from fidgeting uncomfortably, but my fingers found their way to each other and tangled themselves in my lap.

Zak blinked and quirked an eyebrow upward at me, but I was certain it was more of a nervous twitch than a judgement. Very slowly, the corners of his lips curled upwards into a cheeky grin. If we were allowed to talk, I would have asked what he found so amusing, but for now I was left in the air of mystery.

The timer beeped.

I realized I had been holding my breath for the past few moments and exhaled the air from my lungs.

"That went by fast." Zak nodded, puckering his lips in satisfaction.

"Yeah." I agreed, examining the mason jar titled, Gorveau's Questions.

"Let's crack that sucker open." Zak nodded at the jar. I unscrewed the lid to find a note attached to the bottom of it, written in Gorveau's familiar chicken scratch handwriting.

I raised my flashlight to the paper, cleared my throat, and read, "Congrats, twinkies! You didn't get lost in the woods or mauled by the wild animals! Yippee for you!"

Zak chuckled at my tone. I gave him a sheepish smile before continuing, "It's a pretty simple concept, one of you will draw a question at a time and the other will answer. You have to film going through the first jar, but I don't care about the second one. Your classmates wrote them, so it doesn't matter. Enjoy yourselves, I'll be laughing at you later."

"Okay, then." Zak's tone fluctuated.

I giggled and fiddled with my camera to get it rolling, "Here goes nothing."  I swallowed the lump in my throat and watched the seconds on the video accumulate.  "I'll go first." I told Zak, handing him the jar.

He fished his fingers in and pulled out one of the slips of paper. Quickly, he skimmed it over before glancing at me. "Zoe, what is your favorite body part of mine? And why?"

"It does not say that."

"It does."  He smiled, clearly amused.

"Uh," I started, meeting Zak's gaze. "Your eyes."

"Because...?" He shook his head at me.

I made a defiant rumble in my throat before continuing, "I don't know...they're wise.  And expressive.  Captivating, really."  I muttered before clearing my throat.

He allowed a half-smile to occupy his lips before he handed the jar over to me.

Scrambling my fingers among the paper, I drew a random piece and read, "Zak, of all of your pet peeves, which is the strangest?"

"Oh, God." He sighed, chuckling to himself as he ran a hand through his wispy hair. "Uh..." He turned toward the stars, suspended in thought before he looked at the ground and chuckled again.

"Sometimes during breakfast, my sisters will talk to each other while they're still chewing their cereal and then laugh and make a complete mess all over the table," He scrunched his nose at the thought. "And I have to clean it up. I hate that."

I giggled. "My brother does that, too."

"It sucks." Zak and I laughed before I handed him the jar.

Pulling a slip of paper out, he read, "Who is or was your celebrity crush?"

"Oh, no." I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment.

Zak chuckled. "Can't be that bad."

"For like, five years I was completely obsessed with Hugh Jackman."

"The Wolverine?" Zak cried in disbelief.

"I know. It's so embarrassing." I shook my head and ran my hands down my face. "But now it's your turn."  I fished into the jar. "Have you ever been caught naked by someone?" I covered my mouth to mask my giggle-fit.

Zak's response was extremely animated.  "All the time. God, it's like every damn time I'm naked someone walks in on me.  My room, the locker room, freaking everywhere!"

I clenched my diaphragm, uncontrollable laughter erupting from my chest. "Why are you naked so often?"

"I'm not.  That's why it's ridiculous." He snatched the jar from me, fishing out the second to last slip of paper. "Zoe," He met my eyes playfully and smirked. "Who was your first kiss?"

I felt my cheeks redden as a nervous smile came to my lips.  "You know Kyle? From-"

"Theatre?"  Zak's jaw fell ajar.  He reached into the Grocery Galore bag and proceeded to open a bag of Doritos. 

"Yeah."  I murmured in embarrassment.  "Mark, Kyle, Miranda, Misty, a few other people, and I were playing Spin the Bottle sophomore year, and Kyle and I kissed."

"He's kissed everybody, hasn't he?"  He chuckled, handing me the jar after popping a Dorito into his mouth.

I laughed away my embarrassment and nodded.  "Okay, Zak, last question from Gorveau's jar."  I licked my lips.  Zak rubbed his hands together in anticipation as I drew the final slip.

"Tell me your three weaknesses."  My eyes flickered to meet his. 

Zak brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as he thought.  Skimming his tongue across his lips, he gazed up at the night sky and spoke in a low, hoarse voice, "Should I just list them?"

"Sure."

"Um, " He started, "I tend to, uh, get overly invested in people, and things that matter a lot to me.  Uh, what else?"  He muttered to himself, biting his lips.  "Oh, I'm not very practical.  And third...I over-analyze a lot of things, even if it seems like I don't care."  He clenched his jaw and tugged a dew-speckled blade of grass from the soil beneath us.  His eyes reluctantly trailed up to mine.

I gave him a smile of reassurance and reached for the camera to end the video.  My foot soon fell numb after I folded it underneath me and leant back.

"Time for the other jar."  I smiled.

"I'll go."  He piped hopefully. 

"Okie doke."  I unscrewed the lid from the new jar and pulled out a piece of neon-pink colored paper.  Just below the question was a dash followed by Kyle's name.  "Would you go skinny-dipping with me?  -Kyle."  My cheeks became increasingly hot.

Zak's lips broke into a gigantic grin as he chuckled.  "Why not?  It'd be fun."  He looked me dead in my eyes, his grin transforming into more of a knowing smirk, as if he could read the mini-debate occurring inside my head.

I opened my mouth to say something, but found my words absent.  Zak laughed for a second before running a hand through his hair and shaking his head, "Your turn."  He fished into the jar.  "If I asked you to go to a rave with me, would you go? -Miranda."

"Hm."  I thought about it for a second.  Zak's smile lingered in anticipation as his eyes bored into mine, making it harder to formulate a sentence.  "I don't know."

He crossed his arms over his chest.  "You don't trust me."

"Not true."  I lied.  "It's just not my scene."

"Zoe," I drew a sharp breath in as he said my name.  "Ya know I'd keep you safe, right?" 

I gulped and merely blinked at him, cynicism plaguing my judgement.

His voice softened in resemblance to a whisper, "I would.  I care about you."

I couldn't tell if he meant it or not.  Tonight was especially hard to judge how much of him was real.  I didn't know if it was the time messing with my head, or what.  Nevertheless, I grabbed the jar and drew a piece of paper.

"What happened between you and-"  I stopped.

Zak furrowed his brow and leaned forward.  "And?"

Mark.

I didn't know if I could read the question.  Where a dash and a name should have been printed was nothing but white.  The question was anonymous.

I gulped and forced myself to read.  "Mark."

Zak's face went pale as a ghost.  He sat in silence for a moment before furrowing his eyebrows and cautiously asking, "Who wrote that?"

"It's anonymous."  My heart thudded against my chest. 

Zak took a moment to compose himself before he cleared his throat and spoke in a low, slow voice.  "I don't think I should go into that.  Don't wanna spoil the night."  He gave me an acting smile.

I pursed my lips and softly made out, "It wouldn't spoil anything." 

"Out of respect for Mark, I'm not gonna say anything." He tore another blade of grass from the ground. 

It was classy of Zak to maintain respect for Mark, even though the guy treated him like gum on the bottom of his shoe.  Zak won major points for that. 

Even if it was only part of his facade.

--

1:42 a.m.

"Well," I yawned at the camera.  "It's almost 2 in the morning.  Both of us are pretty tired.  Would you say that's true?"

I turned to Zak, who sleepily blinked at the camera and groaned.  "I'm dropping Zak off at his house.  We had a lot of fun, but I'm glad it's over."  I laughed to myself, forcing my eyes to stay open.  I heard Zak's head thunk against the window as he leaned against the car door.

"This is Zoe Scott, and barely awake Zak Riley signing off."  I turned off the camera and nudged Zak's shoulder. 

He groaned and drowsily blinked at me.  "Tired."

"Go home."  I rubbed my hand down my face and smiled.  "See you Monday."

Zak raised his eyebrows and yawned.  "Unless you get coffee with me tomorrow."

"What?"  I smiled, my eyes straining to stay open.

"Coffee.  With this guy."  He pointed to himself.  "'Morrow."

"What time?"  I whispered, smiling over at him.

He gave me a weary smile in return and muttered.  "I'll text you."

"You don't have my number."  I laughed.

He furrowed his eyebrows sluggishly and puckered his lips.  "Oh, yeah."

"Give me your phone."  I yawned.  He slowly unlocked it and handed it over.  I put my contact in and gave it back to him.

"Okay."  He smiled, unbuckling his seat belt and opening the door.  "I'll see ya in the morning."

"Okay."

His eyes lingered on mine for a heavy moment, leaving me completely incapable of reading them.  He licked his lips and blinked a couple times before stepping out of the car.

"Drive safe."

I returned the smile, thinking back to how he'd said the same thing the other night I'd driven away from his house, and started up the engine.  I watched Zak's figure slowly become smaller and smaller in my side mirror as I drove away into the darkness.

It was then that it hit me.  The chemistry test was working.

Maybe we'd be able to pull it off after all.