W-What?

I stare up at him with shock, the tears drying up quickly. He stares back down at me anxiously. My mouth opens and closes as I try to respond. What are words again?

He looks away and bites his lip, sending my poor heart into a frenzy. Oh gosh, is this real life? Did he really just ask me out on a date?! His eyes lock onto his shoes, his brows creasing into a small frown.

"On a date . . . A date?!" The words tumble out of my mouth in shock. His eyes stay locked with his shoes, examining some imaginary dirt or something. A date?!?!

"I-I mean you don't have to if you don't want to, I'll understand and stuff I've just uh been wanting to ask for a while now and uh - "

I giggle softly, cutting off his nervous ramblings. He's too darn adorable. I gently move my hand to his cheek, bringing his face back up to look at me. My heart melts into a little puddle when I see the panicked look in his eyes, fear of rejection clouding over whatever confidence he had. Oh my fudge, he was actually nervous!

I smile up at him brightly, my cheeks tinting pink the more I think about the question.

I would like to take you somewhere.

Feelings burst throughout my chest, my skin tingling and my heart so feeling light and happy.

On a date.

I can't help to stop the excited squeak that passes my lips, surprising both of us. I quickly nod, "When?!" I'm basically bouncing in place, my excitement coursing through my veins like wildfire.

He kissed me, and now he actually wants to take me on a date?! This is like a fairy tale!

A huge grin spreads across his face at my words. He gently wraps me up in his arms, laughing loudly in delight while spinning me in place. He sets me down but doesn't let go, keeping our bodies pressed together in a way that has my cheeks flushing bright red.

He moves his hand up and gently brushes away a few stray hairs then cups my cheek in his palm. "Tomorrow night, I'll pick you up around seven. You'll want to wear something cute, even though no matter what you wear you look adorable in."

"Okay." I smile up at him widely, my arms wrapping around his neck. "I'll see you then?"

He grins and nods, "See you then." He pulls me up again into a bone crushing hug, taking my breath away. I squeeze back and shut my eyes happily, savoring the hard yet gentle embrace. I sigh softly and open my eyes again but almost gasp in shock. Out of the corner of my eye I notice someone staring. I quickly look away and pull away from the hug, glancing around Zander's arm to where the person was standing only to be met with a few bushes.

I'm losing my marbles.

"Everything alright?" Zander turns to look in the direction I am, then turns back to me with a confused smile. I quickly smile back reassuringly and pat his cheek.

"Yup, everything's fine. Just thought I saw something."

He nods in understanding then pulls away, keeping a firm hold on my hand, and mounts his bike. He smiles up at me, "See you tomorrow, Cupcake."

I blush again and nod, gently squeezing his hand in mine. Slowly, he lets go of my hand to start put on his helmet and start his engine. It roars to life, the loud sound seeming to vibrate right through me. He flips the visor of his helmet up to smile at me again, then moves to flip it back down. Quickly running forward, I stop his wrist from pulling it down and land a quick kiss on his nose.

"Bye, Zander."

His cheeks flush brightly and he quickly flashes me a huge grin before flipping his visor back down. I take a few steps back and gently bite my lip to suppress the huge smile wanting to bloom across my lips. He revs his engine at me then takes off, leaving me and a trail of dust behind.

I slowly make my way towards home, kicking little pebbles along the way. Gina's words ring through my head on repeat: If it doesn't feel right, it's not. A small smile forms on my lips when I think about all the little moments spent with Zander, all the sweet nicknames and kisses, all of it.

Then I think of the date with Keagen.

Oh my gosh,

Keagen!

I quickly whip out my phone and send him a text telling him to meet me at the park. He replies immediately, much to my surprise, and agrees. I hurriedly change my direction and walk to the little park only a few minutes away from the school. Kids run around screaming and covered in dirt, their parents shouting after them to stop what their doing or to be careful.

Ah, parenthood.

I spot a bench in a more secluded part of the park and take a seat, my legs anxiously bouncing up and down while I wait. It'll be alright, he'll understand.

"Hey, Sarah." His voice causes me to jump in fright. He chuckles and takes a seat beside me, "Did I scare you?"

I let out a breathy laugh, brushing off the chilling feeling I got just then. "Just a little bit, yeah."

He smiles sheepishly and scratches the back of his neck, "Sorry about that."

We both kinda look away from each other, the silence growing awkwardly thick between us. I take a small deep breath and prepare myself.

"I would like to hang out with you more."

"I think we should just be friends."

We both stare at each other wide eyed. My eyes soften towards him, my heart aching when I register what he said. He wants to hang out more, and I just crushed his dreams.

He looks away brokenly and laughs it off, "Alright then, this just got even more awkward but okay. May I ask what happened?" He looks back towards me confused, "I thought we had a good thing going?"

My heart breaks a little bit the more he talks. I instantly try to reassure him, "No no, I had a really great time on our 'date' it's just . . . I like someone else right now." I bite my lip again and look away from his saddened eyes. I see him nod then sigh softly, laughing almost bitterly to himself.

"You like him." He says almost bitterly, taking me by surprise.

I look back over at him with wide eyes, "I-I'm sorry Keagen, but I really really do like him. I didn't want to lead you on."

He quickly snaps out of whatever thought process he was in and looks over at me with a grin, "That's okay, Sarah. I'm happy for you." Again, I'm taken by shock and tears well up in the back of my eyes for the second time today.

Gosh, Sarah, get a grip!

"Thank you." I smile over at him brightly and pull him into a small hug, "Friends?"

He chuckles softly and hugs me back, pulling away to give me a small smile of his own. "Yeah, friends."

My small smile turns into a grin and I hug him tighter, my heart finally happy again. This has been a great day!

~•~

Keagen's P.O.V.

This has been a shitty day.

Sarah hugs me tightly, her smile turning into a grin. My heart lurches bitterly, my mind raging as I think of that arrogant asshole. She was supposed to fall for me, not him!

She breaks away from the hug and her face practically glows from happiness. I smile back in return, hiding my true feelings of wanting to slice Zander into a million and one pieces.

"See you later." Her words snap me back into reality. She gets up and starts walking away, making it to the far sidewalk then giving me a little wave. I smile and wave back, quickly retracting my hand down to my side once she turns her back to me.

I groan loudly in frustration, rolling my head back to rest on the bench. A few kids prying eyes make their way over to me in curiosity, only to be met with my hard glare. They quickly look away and run back to their parents. I roll my eyes and groan again.

This sucks.

I mean, why did she have to fall for him already? I didn't even get a second date! This bastard's got game, I'll give him that. But I'll be damned if he gets the girl.

I grab my phone from my pocket, quickly dialing the top number on the list and sighing in annoyance while I wait. C'mon pick up, pick up, pick up!

"Hello?"

"We need to talk."

~•~

JOSH DUN DUN DUUUNNNNN
Okay okay I'm bren-don with the band jokes I swear 😂

Well that was a fun chapter to write! Who's excited for chapter 30?!?! I am!! Where do you think Zander will take Sarah on their date? 😉

17K reads and ranked #184 in the teen fiction section, WOO!!!

Zarah has saaaaiillleeeddd
Seagen has siiinnnkkkkeeeddd
I feel like siiinnggiinngggg
Okay I'll stop.

It's again another late night of writing for me, honestly I always write better when I'm in the dark and ready to pass out. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did!

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Stay friendly!
~Molly