Summer: Day 12

Mack's POV:

Zachariah lies his head at the foot of his bed as my own is propped up against the pillows. He has a football in his hand that we've been throwing back and forth since I came over. He's so cute. Ugh, he makes my heart hurt.

"Do you like leftover pizza cold or hot?" he asks, chucking the football at me.

I catch it and spin it in my hands a few times before saying, "Cold, but if you stick it back in the oven then I like it heated up." I throw it back to him. "California or South Carolina?"

"I don't know." He tilts his head up toward the ceiling. "Here is home, and I mean, California is different. I like both for their own reasons."

"Pick one."

"Home has you," he says, glancing up at me. "But California has my future."

So I'm not in his future? Despite that, I blush anyways.

I'm not surprised. California has football, his scholarship, his diploma, his success, his freedom. He has everything there. Everything but me, though it's not like I'm that big of a deal to him. Just a girl with whom he has chemistry.

"I can't wait to get out of this small town." I sit up and lay next to him so our heads are at the edge of the bed together. "I think I'd pick California. You're at the root of all the action. Here, sometimes it's too quiet here." Little did I know this summer would change that.

"Kylar sure knows how to cause a ruckus," he mutters, passing me a quirked eyebrow. "You call that quiet?"

I laugh. "He likes drama. Always has, always will." Turning my body, my chin finds my palm. "But who says you don't?"

"True," he admits, chuckling a bit. "But I don't like drama that involves me. This involves me."

I swat him in the shoulder and roll my eyes playfully. "Oh, get over yourself. You didn't have to get involved so much. Wait—" I stop myself to think for a moment. "Since when did we let Kylar know we don't hate each other?

"I don't know."

"I don't know either," I reply.

I am confusion.

"I think that's what he was skeptical about." Zachariah turns to me so we're eye to eye now. "He's afraid I'll hurt you again."

"Will you?"

He looks me in the eyes and I can almost picture the wheels spinning in his beautiful mind. We're just friends, calm down. Zachariah gives me a small smile and shakes his head. "I promise I'll never hurt you."

"Okay." I nod and fall back on my back. "But maybe you should pretend to hate me again so he can forget about what happened."

Zachariah scoffs. "Kenz, I don't want to pretend to hate you."

"Why?"

"Because I just don't."

"You're already pretending to date me," I smart, a smirk on my face in which he doesn't catch. "I mean, I'm doing you a favor. How about you do your portion of the deal?"

He sits up so that he can look at me correctly. "Wait, you're being serious?" he asks, confusion on his face. "But—"

"Yes." I suck in a breath of air and sit up criss-cross-applesauce. "I know I said I hate how we're acting differently around ourselves and other people as opposed to around Ky, but I want my best friend back. I know he's being an idiot right now, but if he sees there's nothing going on between us, then he's bound to get over it."

Nothing going on between us.

Trust me, we have secrets galore.

"Fine," he deadpans, ruffling up his hair in a frenzy. "You want me to hate you."

"Within certain boundaries, yes."

He nods, looking away so he can fathom what I just said. "Give me the rules."

"Whenever Kylar is around, we avoid each other," I explain, crinkling my nose at the sad idea. "You act like the asshole you used to be, give me those famous death glares of yours, ignore me, and I'll play my part. I've gotten quite good at it over the years."

"Mackenzie," he sighs at my comment. "Don't say that—"

"Well it's true." I shrug my shoulders with an innocent smile. "If we go back to the way things used to be, Kylar will understand that whatever these past few days were was a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" he asks, almost offended.

"Yes, idiot. Why would he walk out like that if he didn't have the explanation—"

"Right, and you're gonna confront him about that act he pulled on you?"

"Hell no," I laugh, shooting my hair tie at Zach and hitting him in the chest. "But I will once he apologizes."

He picks up the rubberband and puts it around his wrist. "Alright."

Just then, the door to Zachariah's room opens and Amber appears in the doorway. "Oh—I hope I'm not interrupting something," she says sheepishly, looking between me and her son.

"Not at all mom," Zachariah replies, giving her his charming smile. "What's up?"

She waves him off. "Nothing really. I didn't mean to intrude."

I shake my head with a giggle. "You're not, don't worry. Whatever it is you need, we're all for it."

"Well, I was just gonna ask if Zachariah would run to the store for me." She brushes her hands along her jeans. "But since you guys are busy—"

"We'll go," he answers.

She waves him off again. "Really, you don't have to—"

"Amber," I say, giving her a million dollar smile. "We'll go. It'll be good for us to get out of the house."

"If you insist," she replies without failing to show her pearly white teeth. "I'll text you the list of items, thank you."

I hop off the bed and pull Zachariah with me. "I'm gonna go make some coffee to go," I say, exiting the room.

"Don't," Zachariah argues. "We'll pick one up when we're out."

I turn around to face him, the corner of my lips curling up as I nod. "Okay. I'll just go put my shoes on then."

He chuckles as I scurry out of the room, and the last thing I hear is; "I didn't realize you and Mackenzie are back to your old ways."

Trust me, ma'am—we're not.

Acquaintances. Almost friends. Hopefully but probably never more than that.

******

Kylar's POV:

I hate the ice cream parlor.

Well maybe I don't hate it, I just hate my boss. She has me working all the time, leaving me with sore feet at the end of the day. I guess it has something to do with having a shortage of employees, but even still I wouldn't blame them.

The girl is psycho. Quite literally.

When I put my job application in, she called me right away. I could help but laugh at her desperation. During the interview, she was very sweet. In fact, I almost thought she was pretty. But then Mackenzie came to my mind which quickly made the thought fade away. That, and she was the devil when I showed up for work the next day. But anyways, I'll only ever like Mackenzie—she can break my heart into a thousand pieces and I'd still love her.

I'm that whipped.

Yes, and proudly so.

When the bell to the parlor's door chimes, I roll my eyes to myself. Thankfully my back is to whoever decided to order ice cream. "Welcome to Sugar Cones, what can I get for you—"

"Hello Montgomery." Her evil voice was matched with a mischievous smile. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Well yeah. I work here, Britney," I deadpan and turn around to give her a look that screams, 'Get on with it.'

"May I please get a scoop of birthday cake?" she asks, her sickeningly sweet act still up.

I glare at her. Since when did she have manners?

"Oh, I'm sorry." She gives me a toothy grin. "Did I strike a nerve?"

Rolling my eyes internally, I plaster a fake smile on my face and avoid her comment. "Sure, birthday cake is a good choice." Handing her her cone, I try my best to not make contact with her, but her small fingers brush over mine. Great, now I have the plague.

"Thanks," she says, pulling out her card to pay for her ice cream. "But this wasn't what I originally came here for."

"Sorry, but if you want a boob job, the place is two doors down," I advise, a smirk playing on my face. "Unless you wanted a STD test, that place—"

"Shut up," she snaps. "I didn't come here to get insulted, Kylar. I came to show you this."

Britney holds up her phone, showing a picture of Mackenzie and Zachariah too close for my liking. Her hands are laced around his neck and he has his arms around her waist, their faces so close they could be kissing—but they aren't. Thankfully. Zachariah's whispering something in her ear, probably another one of his pretty little lies, and she's looking at him with such an adoring expression, it makes my stomach twist.

"Just thought you should know," she cheers, throwing her dry hair over her shoulders.

"W—Where was that?" I ask, my words barely coming out.

She lets out a small giggle. "Oh, she didn't tell you? A party last Friday, at my brother's house."

"No, she was with her mom last Friday," I reply, turning back around so that I don't have to face her. "Please stop showing me things and telling me lies that aren't true."

"You must really love her, huh?" she insists, continuing to state her case. "For you to trust her so much—I mean, sure, there has to be something about her to make Monty forget about me so fast. I just wish she could give you a little more credit. You've always been there for her—" Finally, someone who gets my point of view. "It's a shame she let such a hot guy like you go."

This is when I allow myself to whip my head around. "Did I hear you correctly?"

I may not be the smartest cookie in the jar, but hearing the most popular girl in school call you hot is definitely enough to make you drop your ice cream cone.

"You're really hot, Kylar," she gushes, batting her eyelashes at me. "No one's ever told you that?"

I shake my head and gulp. Hot. Kylar. Two words that have never been used in the same sentence. If anything, it was the opposite.

"Hm, what a shame," she says, giving me a small pout while her brown eyes droop a little. "Anyways, thank you for the ice cream."

"This is my job, Britney," I remind her.

"I wrote my number on the receipt by the way," she adds, giving me a wink. "Call me sometime and we can go out or something."

"Sure—yeah—okay."

She gives me a small wave. "Bye, Montgomery."

I salute her like an idiot. "Bye."

What the heck just happened? Did the cheerleader, drop-dead blondie, son of a popular chick just give me her number—and ask me out?

Holy cheesecake, Mackenzie.

Wait, what?

"Mackenzie," I whisper to myself, looking at the ground. "Crap, Mackenzie."

Dammit, I called her Mackenzie.

I messed up big time, didn't I?

No. She lied to me. The picture of Corey's party looked real; too real. And it only made more sense considering everything going on between her and Zachariah. The 'stuff I don't know about.' Maybe Zachariah was right, I have to tell her how I feel.

No.

Not now, not any time soon. I don't want to risk something so precious; Mack is worth the wait. I can't throw everything at her. I can't and I won't. And why would I tell her my feelings if we're in the middle of fighting? I have to wait until the moment is right, until everything is perfect.

Otherwise, she will leave.

God. Stupid brain, shut up.

Without thinking, I pull out my phone and punch in the digits to a number I never thought I'd get.

"I didn't know you'd call so early." Britney Hamilton.

"How about dinner at five tomorrow?"

"Sure," she says with no hesitation. Britney Hamilton.

"Cool, I'll pick you up."

Britney Hamilton. A distraction. That's what I need.

Author's Note:

OKAY- yes, you're angry with me. Here's where you can rant XD

Anyways, who senses ulterior motives and more drama?