Chapter 4: Yell.

Chapter 4: Yell.

Zachary and I agreed to meet at The House of Cubes. My favorite restaurant in Langston. It has this whole cube theme that I love. Even the food comes in the shape of a cube.

I am sitting at a table waiting for Zachary, like a cat lady that's been stood up for the third time. I check the time on my phone, it's 8:30 and he's still not here. If he doesn't show up in the next ten minutes, I'm gone.

The door of the restaurant opens and Zachary walks in. The chatter in the room ceases and everybody stares at him as he walks over to the table I'm seated at.

"What an entrance." I tell him, folding my arms.

"I'm sorry, I'm late." He says, kissing me on my cheek as he sits across the table.

"I was actually about to leave." I tell him.

"Why? You know it takes a while to get all this ready." He says, pointing at his body.

This boy's ego is bigger than life itself.

"Anyway." I say, letting out a sigh. "Your parents came to my house yesterday." I inform him.

"Why?" He asks, taking a piece of the French fries I ordered earlier.

"They want me to date you." I tell him and a smirk appears on his lips instantly.

"I said no." I tell him, bursting his bubble.

"You can always change your mind, if you want to." He says, trying to convince me to go down that road with him.

"No way." I tell him, shaking my head.

"Why? What did I do to you to make you hate me so bad." He asks, trying to hold my hand but I move it away from his reach.

"Don't make me go there." I warn him.

"Just say it already, look I'm tired of all these games. I want to be with you." He says, his eyes fixated on mine.

"Then, you shouldn't have locked me in that apartment building." I say, the memories from that terrible night resurfacing in my mind.

"I was high, faded even." He says, trying to make what he did sound okay.

"I almost died, Zach." I tell him.

"Look, like I said before, one of my gang members started the fire." He informs me.

I'm just hearing this for the first time.

"Why? What reason could this person possibly have to want to burn me alive?" I yell at him.

People are staring at me again.

"He wanted to get with you, but I said no. So, that night I went out to meet up with them and they beat me up. They just left me there in a pool of my own blood. The next morning, I woke up on a hospital bed with my mother beside me bawling her eyes out." Zachary says, looking at his fingernails.

I put my hand on his and he looks up at me and I stare at him.

"So, that's why you never came back?" I ask him and he nods.

"I forgive you, Zachary." I tell him and he lifts his head up and smiles at me.

"Does this mean that we're back together? Yes." He says, doing a happy dance without waiting for my answer.

I laugh at the sight of him dancing.

"Whoa, easy there tiger. I said I forgive you, not I want to run away to Jupiter with you." I tell him, chuckling.

"Don't worry, you'll get there soon enough." He says and I throw my head back in laughter.

"I love it when you laugh." He says, staring at me.

My laughter seizes and I stare back at him.

Our amorous exchange is interrupted by Courtney.

"What are you two doing together?" She asks, flipping her blonde hair.

"It's none of your business." Zachary says, telling her off.

"So, move along now." I say, waving my hand at her.

She scoffs before walking away, her Louis Vuitton heels clicking on the tiled floor.

"So, where were we?" Zachary asks, holding my hand.

***

The spring formal is today and I have no one to go with, even though Zachary and I patched things up, he doesn't seem like the best candidate. My mother wants me to go with Ashton, but that's never happening.

My phone rings and I pick it up.

It's Hannah.

"You know what today is?" She says through the phone.

"The spring formal, I know." I reply, already bored with the conversation.

"Not that dummy, it's Zachary's birthday." She informs me and my eyes widen in shock.

"Holy shit." I say and she laughs on the other side of the phone.

"How do you even know that? You hate him, so how am I sure that you're not pranking me?" I ask her.

"I am not pranking you. He's throwing a party tonight at The Garage." She says.

In case you're wondering what The Garage is. It's a club where most of the kids in my grade go to. They have stripper poles and a lot of rum. I'm pretty sure some of the girls in my grade are undercover strippers and nobody cares. But if I was a stripper everyone would know in a heartbeat.

"Um, I don't think I'm gonna go." I tell her.

"Same, I'm going to the spring formal anyways, and I'll be way too tired to attend the party after." Hannah says.

"Well, I gotta go. I have some movies to get back to." I tell her. She says goodbye before hanging up.

"Valarie!!!" My mother calls out for me, from the other side of my bedroom door.

"I'm in here." I reply.

She opens the door and walks in. She sits on my bed and starts staring at me.

"Mother, what is it?" I ask her.

"Ashton's downstairs and he looks absolutely divine." She squeals

"What is he doing here?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"He's here to take you to the dance." She says, patting my head.

"No, he's not." I say, folding my arms.

"What? You don't want to go with him?" She asks me.

"Yes. I don't want to do anything with that boorish, brainless, blockhead." I yell.

"B-but he's the perfect suitor." My mother adds.

"Argh, Mother." I groan in annoyance.