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I sat at my computer late that night, staring at the screen. Zac's face stared back at me, his piercing eyes seemed to be looking right at me. I had looked him up on the internet, and I wasn't really sure why. At that moment, my phone rang.
"Hello?" I said, flipping open my cell.
"Hey, Chloe? It's Zac."
"Oh, hey Zac." I replied, trying not to sound excited. "I didn't actually think you would call."
"Why not? I told you I would."
"I don't know. I just assumed that if you were going to call anyone, it would be Ashleigh. I mean, you like her, right?" I already knew the answer, and I didn't really want to hear it coming straight from him. So why did I even ask?
"I guess. I don't know. She's pretty cool, and kind of cute I suppose." He replied. Not exactly as enthusiastic about it as I thought he would be. Maybe he just wasn't the enthusiastic type.
"She tells me that she asked you out. You guys are going on a date tomarrow."
"Yeah." He said. "I guess we're going out for a bite to eat or something.It should be fun."
"Ashleigh's a fun girl." I stated, nodding my head, even though he obviously could not see me through the phone.
"Seems to be. But enough about her, tell me about you! I want to get to know you a little better."
"Why?" I blurted. It sounded kind of rude, but I didn't mean for it to be.
"Well," He began, "You seem cool. And I think we really got along today. I'm pretty sure we're gonna end up being good friends, and I like to know my friends." He laughed a little.
I smiled. "I like to know my friends too. So, what do you want to know?"
"Let's start simple. When is your birthday?"
"May 2nd." I replied. "What about you?"
"October 18th. Favorite color?"
"Purple." I stated. "You?"
This conversation went on until about three in the morning. Finally we decided that we should get to bed, and we said our goodbyes. I went to bed feeling a lot better about the whole situation. He and I did really connect, and he seemed very interested in knowing as much as he could about me. He wanted to be my friend. He was making a huge effort to do so. He wasn't even making this kind of effort with Ashleigh. It made me feel good. Just before dozing off though, I remembered that he was going out on a date with her tomarrow night. Not me. That hurt.
***
"I have NO idea what to wear!" Ashleigh shouted, running around her bedroom, throwing every article of clothing she owned out of her dresser and on to the floor.
I stood in her doorway watching her. Deep down inside I wanted to give her horrible fashion advice so she looked horrible on her date, but I knew that was mean. She was my best friend, and I couldn;t do that to her. I loved her like a sister, reguardless of the fact that she was about to go out with the guy that I was becoming more and more sure I was in love with. Which was a lot, seeing as I had only met him the day before.
"What about my blue 50's style dress?" I suggested. I had a lot of vintage clothes, and Ashleigh always loved that dress in particular.
"You'd let me wear that?" She asked, stopping in her tracks to look up at me.
"Of course. You've got to look good for the big date." I replied.
"Oh thank you so much Chlo! I love that dress! And I look awesome in it!" She said with a laugh, running towards my room.
While she was in my bedroom changing, the doorbell rang. I ran to the door, and opened it up. Zac was standing on the other side.
"Hey Chloe." Zac said, smiling at me. "You look really good." He looked me up and down.
I stared down at myself. My hair was in two messy braids, and I was wearing fitted blue skinny jeans with a dark green v-neck t-shirt with white polka dots. It was nothing special. "Thanks." I said, smiling back at him. "Ash will be down in a second. She's just getting dressed."
"Okay." He continued to smile at me, which would normally make me feel akward, but with him, I just felt good. He brushed his shaggy hair behind his ear, and I melted inside.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Ashleigh shouted, running down the stairs.
"Hey Ash. You look good." I told her.
"Thanks!" She did a little twirl, and then grabbed on to Zac's arm. "Ready to go babe?"
Babe? I thought. She was calling him babe now? I clenched my jaw in jealousy. It just wasn't fair.
"Yeah, let's get out of here." Zac replied. "See you later Chloe." He stared at me for a minute, and turned around and followed Ashleigh out the door.
***
I paced back and forth in front of the door. They had been on their date for three and a half houres now. It was after midnight. My stomach was aching. Were they having a good time? Was Zac falling madly in love with my best friend at this very moment? Did they kiss? Are they going to kiss? What if they did more than kiss? Oh god, the pure thought of it made a giant lump form in my throat. Just then, Ashleigh walked through the door.
"Hey Ash! How was your date?" I asked, probably sounding a bit too anxious.
"Oh my god Chlo, It was amazing! He was so sweet and so nice. And SO hot! I like him so much. I really think this might turn into something serious." And with that, she pranced up the stairs to her bedroom.
I collapsed down on the couch, defeated. Something serious? I couldn't even pretend to be happy for Ashleigh anymore. If her and Zac became an item, I would have to see them together every day. It would kill me inside. I liked him too much. It was more than just like. It wasn't just a crush. I had never felt this serious about anyone in my life, especilly not so soon. My thoughts were interrupted by my cell phone ringing in my pocket. I dug it out, and flipped it open.
"Hello?"
"Chlo, it's Zac. What's up?"
"Nothing. What are you doing?" I tried to sounds like I wasn't about to cry.
"I'm out front, sitting on your swing. Come outside." And the he hung up.
I stood up and went outside. There he was, sitting on the swing. I walked over to him and sat down next to him. He scooched a little closer and turned towards me. "Hi." He said quietly.
"Hi." I replied. "So, how did your date go?"
"It was alright."
"Just alright? Ashleigh seemed so excited about it." I said.
"We had a good time. But honestly, I don't really like her that way. She's a cool girl, but I just don't feel any connection to her."
"You don't?" I asked, swallowing hard.
"No, not like I do with you. It seems like I have known you forever. Like you have been my best friend since I was in diapers." He explained with a laugh.
"Oh." I was happy that he felt this way, but I was kind of hoping he felt connected to me in a different way. "I feel the same way." I wasn't lying, I really did. It felt like I had known him all my life.
"I'm glad." He nodded his head. "So, do you wanna hang out or something?"
"It's like one in the morning." I said with a laugh.
"So?" He smiled.
"Well," I glanced up at Ashleigh's bedroom window. Her lights were out. She was asleep. "We could go up to my room and watch a movie or something." I suggested.
"Sounds good to me!" Me jumped to his feet and headed to the door.
When we got to my room, he walked around, checking out everything. "You've got cool stuff." He said, sifting through my CD's.
"Thanks."
"So where are your movies?"
I pointed to the shelf in the back left corner of my room, and he headed over to it. "You have The Goonies!" He exclaimed. "I havn't seen this in years! Can we watch it?"
"Sure, I love that movie." I replied.
I took the DVD from him and popped it in the DVD Player, then layed down on my bed. Zac jumped on to the bed, crashing down next to me, making me fly at least a few inches into the air.
"Hey!" I laughed, giving him a playful push.
He pushed me back and then tackled me, pinning me down on the bed. He sat on top of me, and leaned down close to my face. His hair tickled my nose. I could feel his breath on me. My whole body had goosebumps. "You better watch out." He said. "I'll kick your ass!"
He then climbed off of me, layed down and grabbed my hips, pulling me in next to him. I was so close to him, I could almost feel his heart beat against me, which made my own heart skip a beat. I tried to act normal, like this didn't phase me at all. He was definitly the cuddley kind of friend, and I could deal with that! I hit play on the remote, and we settled in to watch The Goonies.