Sum: Zak has been rather gloomy eversince he came back from an investigation in an insane asylum that was located in (favorite state). Billy decides to set him up on a blind date with a good friend of his, who will show him a scene that could help him come out of his gloom.

Contains: gloomy Zak, cheerful Optimistic reader, some fluff, Billy and Aaron involved, cussing.

*a/n- Inspired some of this with the song you will be found by Dear Evan Hansen song. possible changes from the summary along the way haha and Then I listened to some skillet for more inspiration. Enjoy.
————————————-———
"What's going on with you man?" Aaron asks when he comes over to Zak's house and sees that he's lying on his back staring at the ceiling on his couch, completely emotionless.

"Nothing, I just don't really feel like doing anything today" he replied in a monotone voice.

"Well you've been laying like that for the past three days dude, have you even eaten or atleast left your man couch?" Aaron shook his head in disbelief. Concerned for his friend now as he doesn't make a move, he doesn't even change his expression.

"I've slept here, ate here, and I've gone to the bathroom like every normal human does Aaron." Zak sighs. Aaron mentally groans at the image of Zak saying he's gone to the bathroom part, despite knowing what he meant.

"Zak we are WAY past normal, if you won't tell me what's going on with you then I'm gonna let you know Billy's coming over to go over evidence with you" Aaron says as he tosses Zak a water bottle. It went past his head and Zak was still emotionless.

Aaron walks into another room, having enough of Zak's mood and calls up Billy for some advice.

"Hey man what's up?" Billy says.

"It's Zak, I don't know what's going on with him lately. He won't get up from his couch unless Mother Nature calls man, got any ideas?" Aaron asks as he turns around making sure Zak isn't listening in.

"We can try to get him out of the house with a friend of mine. She's a super bubbly person and might even help him rejuvenate." Billy suggests. Aaron looks in the direction of where Zak was. Never leaving the room then looks away to speak to Billy once more.

"Let's try it. I hope your friend is up for the challenge." Aaron chuckles slightly but then returns to his worried expression for Zak.

"Don't worry, she's a good person and a strong willed one too. She can handle Zak." Billy and Aaron say their goodbyes then Billy calls you up. You answered on the third ring.

"Hey Billy what's going on? How you been?" You say cheerfully.

"Hey (Y/n) I've been alright. We just went on a work trip and just recently got back. By the way are you busy tomorrow night?" You think about it before answering.

You and Billy have known one another for about four years now, you didn't really watch his show he's in but you watched a few to support him. Never have you ever met any of his other work friends though, although you didn't mind not meeting them since you were a poetry writer so you were a little too busy to meet new people.

"Nope, I'm clear as a whistle. Why what's up? You want to hangout?"

"Actually I wanted you to meet a good friend of mine, he's been a bit down in the dumps recently and I think a strong yet fun but kind person such as yourself can help him out of it. What do ya say?" He says in a singing tone.

"What's he like?" you ask in a low but enthusiastic tone.

"Well he's got black hair an-" you playfully roll your eyes then cut him off.

"No no no no no I mean what's he like on a normal day? Is he nice or is he a dick? What does he even like to do for fun? You gotta give me some details here." You both chuckle then he thinks about what you're asking.

"Well he likes the sound of water..." he thinks some more. "He loves watching Dracula, the old school version not the new ones I don't believe he watches much of the new ones. He loves his dog Gracie very much, on a normal day he's a decently good guy." You think about what he just described to you over the phone. Still you were unsure wether or not to meet his friend.

"Okay??" You make it to let Billy know to continue some more. He catches on.

"I think he's into stars, he really like dark creepy things. Very interested in the darkness and light in a lot of things actually but he does like anything that's fun to do. So what do you say?" Billy asks again.

"I can try cheering him up, but I don't think a plus size like me would even be his type Bill.." you look down at yourself then back up again. "He's a celebrity like yourself and I'm sure he has super model girls that could help get his mind off of his funk.."

"(Y/n) I'm not asking you to date him or sleep with him. I just want Zak to see how fun and caring and full of light you are. I believe that you could help him way better than those fake women he's been around. Please give him a shot?" He begs slightly. You sigh as you think for a brief moment longer about his request.

"Alright fine, I'll pick him up around 7 o'clock okay? Tell him to dress casual and to expect a surprise by the end of the night." You could hear Billy do a 'awesome' first bump to himself.

"Thanks so much you're the best! I'll make sure he's on his best behavior. Where might you take him?"

"The ending is a surprise but I might take him early on to a special classic film showing, or maybe I can take him to go bowling if he's into that." You think about what you could do with this guy. Billy chuckles and shakes his head.

"You'll do wonders if you can get him to move. Thanks again and I hope he'll live to survive the night."

"Oh shut up Billy! You make me sound like I'm going to force him to work around my house!" You both laugh.

"Oh man that mess you have in your room, he will definitely run for the hills if you took him inside." You wanted to go over to Billy's house and punch him. Both of you laugh even harder at the playful teasing. Finally you both bid your goodbyes and wait until Billy gives you the go.

I'll just have atleast my dark red v-neck shirt go with my black flannel and my dark grey jeans for the night. You thought as you looked in your closet.

Billy then calls Zak and tells him to get ready in casual clothing tomorrow, Zak tries to give him excuses but Billy persists.

"Zak dude just trust me on this Okay? Someone I know wants to take you out on the town. Please just go out On the blind date tomorrow, you need to get out and around man." Zak groans in annoyance.

But he looks at the mess he had in his living room he's been laying at. Bottles and bottles of empty water bottles were lying around. It was such a huge mess that Zak finally realizes that Billy and Aaron are right.

"Fine, what time and where are we going?"

"She will pick you up at 7, don't be an ass to her alright?" Billy says sternly. Zak rolls his eyes but complied and they both bid their goodbyes and hang up.

-time skip to when Zak is getting ready, while you are on your way to get Zak-

Ugh I can't believe I'm going through with this. Casual he says..

In the end Zak decided to wear his dark grey y-neck Henley t-shirt along with his black baggy pants and black shoes. He spikes his hair up rather nicely and gives himself a clean shave, grabs his wallet  and sits to wait for you to arrive.

Ding dong

He sits up and walks towards his beautiful yet intricate door, he opens it and sees you standing there with a plastic skull in your hand. He looks up at you confused.

Wow, he's handsome. You thought as you saw Zak.

"I was told you were into creepy stuff so I made this for you, painted it and everything. Here you go." You smile as you handed the gift to him.

"Thanks." He awkwardly chuckles then places your gift on a table nearby.

"Let's go?" He asks awkwardly. You nod happily and lead him towards your car.

The car ride was slightly unsettling. Zak hardly spoke even after your endless chattering and efforts to have a conversation, but he only ever gave you short subtle answers.

Good grief hopefully the movie will cheer him up.

You finally arrived at the theater, Zak looked around and noticed the billboard up top saying 'playing - Dracula'. He stared wide eyed at you.

"What? Dracula is a good movie and today is the last day to see it. You like it?"

"Like it? Dude I love the shit out of it." He almost smiles as he nearly runs to the ticket booth to get inside. You both pay for your own tickets and both head in to take a seat. After the movie, Zak opened up a little to you about his favorite scenes in the film and you were more at ease that he was able to talk a bit more. The next place you took Zak to was a bowling alley that was a few blocks down, it got heated as Zak began to bet money for whoever won.

In the end, you won a hundred bucks. Zak pouted but you did get to make him laugh when you fell on your ass after tossing the ball to hit the pins. He stifled his laughter but you noticed him shoulder shake dramatically.

And now the surprise ending for the night. You really hoped this would truly get him out of his funk he's been in. After the bowling alley, you get into your car and take him to a parking lot that was near a small area of the canyon.

"Where are we?" He asks you. You then grab your long black scarf from your backseat and wrap it around your neck. Then turn to look at Zak.

"You'll see." You unbuckle your seatbelt and hop out of the car. He follows your action as well.

After a while of walking, all you both saw were small rocks on the way. Nothing but sand and dirt was what you heard under your shoes as you walked. Zak finally broke the ice.

"You know.." he begins. "It's been actually decently fun today." He watches his feet as he walks.

"Decently fun?? Damn I gotta improve my A-game if I want to add this to my resume." You laugh at your weird joke. He looks at you as you slightly walk ahead of him.

She's so different..I sense that she's got a pure presence around her somehow..

"Well Id just like to say is thanks..I'm sure I was a handful earlier." You look upwards as if reminiscing his quiet self. "You weren't really a handful more like a MOUNTAIN full." Making him laugh at your change in wording, you continue on.

"You're not that bad Zak. You're just going through something and I wanna help you cheer up." Silence fell between you for a moment. "To be honest I dont know why I'm depressed, but I'm glad that Billy forced me out here hehe." You smile.

That cheeky little.. you laugh on the inside as you thought of Billy nagging at this big strong man to go out of his house.

After walking for a while longer, you notice your favorite familiar spot you wanted to take Zak to.

"Come on Zak, I wanna show you something" you smile as you gently pull him by the hand. Without much of a fight, he follows right behind you.

"What is it?" He asks.

"You have to close your eyes okay?" You pull out your scarf and wrap it around his eyes.

"I mean we are in the middle of the desert. Are you sure this isn't gonna end up becoming a murder scene?" He slightly chuckles at his own joke. His dark humor made you laugh. You told him 'not yet' as you pulled him a few more steps towards your destination, it was actually not too far from the car despite the walk.

This looks like a date..you blush at such a though but shake it off.

"Now can I open them?" He asked you. You look behind you to make sure you both weren't standing close to the edge, you most certainly didn't plan a murder suicide to happen for your sort of 'date' night.

"Alright...now."  You pull off your scarf from his eyes. After adjusting his eyesight he finally saw what it was you wanted to show him.

The starry night sky.

"Wow..I didn't think there were so many" he spoke softly as he stared at the sky almost like a trance. You gaze up at the same scenery, the stars enraptured you to the full extent. No matter how you felt, one look at the stars and you felt at peace with the hope that things will turn out for the better. You hoped that the stars would help Zak with him getting out of his funk as well.

"When it's completely filled with darkness, sometimes it makes it easier to see the light in it." You softly say as you stare at the sky as well. In awe at the starry night sight. Not long after looking up, you followed your eyes to stare back at the man whom you felt the need to stare at more than the stars.

You hear Zak chuckle, you watch his shoulders shake as he does so. Causing you to tilt your head in confusion.

"What?"

"You bring me out here to stare at the stars and yet you aren't looking at them yourself." Zak looks down at his feet And then back up at the stars. Then you capture his attention with what you said next.

"Now why would I wanna look at the stars when I wanna look into your eyes." His heart nearly stopped as he turns his head to look back at you. He's never heard anyone say something like this to him, he stared at you trying to see if you're lying but he can't detect it. "You're a strange woman you know that?" He smiles at you. "Right back at you ghost boy." You smile back.

After staring at the stars for what felt like hours, your stomachs began to growl. Welp...I guess we kinda did spend the night hanging out. Should've thought of a food place to eat. You thought. "Wanna grab a bite?" He asks, you nod. Eventually you both began to walk back to the car and as soon as you were within a few feet of it..

He then heard slithering, it was actually your ringtone on your cellphone. But he didn't know that of course.

"Woah!!!!" Zak shrieks as he rapidly jumps onto the trunk of your car. You began to laugh to hard you ended up sliding off of it and landing back first on the floor.

"This isn't a game, You wanna suck the venom out of me?" He asks you with a look of seriousness yet panic. You were now wheezing while laughing on the sandy rock floor.

"I don't wanna suck anything out of you." You laugh all the more hysterically as you fall back again as you see Zak looking at the ground looking for any snakes under the car.

"Dude Zak there's no snakes out here, it's cold out I'm sure one look at the cold and they slither away." Zak doesn't look convinced. You then pull out your phone and show him your snake ringtone.

He breaths a sigh of relief but still stays on the trunk of the car. He doubted there wasn't atleast one snake out there. Suddenly you got an idea on how to end the night before going to eat.

You go to your driver's seat and turn on your car, you start to play 'Stars by skillet' on your CD player.

"Come on Zak there ain't no snakes here. Dance with me." You take Zak's hand and slide him off the trunk of your car. The rustling of the dirt and rocks under his feet was what you could hear along with the music.

As you slowly get into the rhythm of the music, Zak then reaches his hand out and you intertwine your fingers together, placing his other hand on your waist while you placed your hand on his shoulder. Slowly swaying together, feeling warmth from one another even in the cold night.

You subconsciously leaned your head into Zak's chest. His height made it all the more possible to do so and it made you smile as you smelled his cologne. You look up into his blue eyes and it felt as if this was the norm for the two of you as you danced under the starry night sky.

"You're not so bad of a dancer I must say." You smirk at him. He shakes his head while chuckling at your comment. "You're not so bad yourself, normally I step on women's feet when we dance. I'm sure I've stepped on my grandma's toes atleast a few times back then." You stay silent as he continues. "She passed away a while ago and I still miss her. We had a lot of good mementoes together and..this reminds me of her sometimes. The dancing I mean."

"She sounds like she'd be proud of you for not stepping on my feet." You both start to laugh again. Zak then pulls you apart and twirls you around and back to him.

Zak began to hold you close and dips you slowly while never breaking eye contact. The music was probably over at this point but you both didn't care, this had felt comforting somehow.

*a/n- they don't kiss when they dip lol.

As he kept you there in the dip, you realized he never appeared to have any trouble even holding you. As if you were as light as a feather when you were a bit curvier than other women. It made you blush at such a simple thing. Finally he brings you back up, he still kept his arms around you. But the stare shared between you felt like it became something more somehow. Slowly you both begin to lean in until..

Your stomachs growled again.

"Oh good grief hahaha." You hide your face in his chest in embarrassment. He laughs along with you.

"Come on let's go eat, I know of buffet we can go to." Zak suggests. The mere thought of eating anything you could made you drool but neither of you wanted to move away from each other yet.

"Hey Zak.." you both barely moved away from each other when you asked. "Yeah?". Your heart began to
race when you continued. "Would you like to hangout again sometime?"

"I'd like that. I felt a whole lot better after I met you today." You began to gush but tried to appear cool and collected.

"Awesome! Now let's go tear up some food!" He laughs as you hop into the car and he tells you where to go on your journey towards (food place).

You finally find a place to sit and grab whatever your hearts desired. As soon as you place your plate down, you began to tell him about your job as a poetry writer and about your home life. He tells you about a time he tried writing a poem for a ghost woman and ended up falling on ice. You laughed causing water to come out of your nose, making Zak do the same. As the night continued on with talks and laughter, Zak began to feel much less gloomier than he was before as you smiled your sweet smile at him. It was a pure and genuine smile, one he doesn't always see with the women he's interested in.

At the end of the night he's noticed earlier he never got the chance to ask you anything about yourself other than what Billy partially told him when he was getting ready.

I can't wait to learn more about her. He smiles to himself as he watches you not hold back on your (food choice). He liked that you weren't some fragile little thing when it came to your food.

I can't wait for future dates to come. He smiled at his thought. Eating his food and enjoying your company the rest of the night.