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Three Months Later
"So," Zac said, flopping down into the LA-Z-BOY in his living room, next to the couch where I sat, "what are we doing for Christmas?"
"I don't know," I replied, "I hadn't really thought about it. I don't like Christmas much."
"You don't like CHRISTMAS?" Zac's eyes bulged at the pure though.
"Nah, I mean, it's all hype. It's for consumers. They make you feel so pressured to buy stuff for people, and for you to go broke, all for a holiday."
"Chloe, you can't go broke. You're like, a millionair." Zac laughed and took a sip of his lemonaid.
"Ya well, I never was before, and I definitly know what being broke feels like. It's not fun. And anyway, the whole season kind of depresses me."
"Why is that?" He asked.
"Well, it's all about togetherness and stuff. What if you are alone? Like, nobody to love and nobody to love you back or whatever. It makes you feel horrible." I explained, only to have Zac smile at me and shake his head. "You know, the suicide rate practically tripples at Christmas time, so I'm obviously not the only person who feels this way." I added.
"Well, you aren't alone. You have me, and Ashleigh."
"Right..." I said..
It had been three months since I met Zac, and he and I had become super close. My friendship with Ashleigh, however, seemed to be dwindeling. Reguardless of the fact that Zac didn't feel much for Ash, and he explained this to her, she was persistant, and just knew that one day, he would fall in love with her. She thought that part of the reason this didn't happen right away was because he and I were so close. She said that if he didn't spend so much time with me, he would have more time to get to know her. The whole thing was rediculous. Sure, I was majorly in love with Zac. But he didn't know that, and neither did Ashleigh. I wasn't trying to get in the way of anything. It's not like he liked me as anything more than a friend. He and I just had more in common than he had with her, so we became closer.
"Well, you're coming with me to Ryan's party at least, right?" Ryan was one of Zac's good friends, and every year he had a big blow-out on Christmas eve.
"I guess so." I replied.
"I'll make you like Christmas, trust me." Zac smiled mischivously.
"Don't count on it."
***
It was the day of the christmas party, and I was out shopping, desperatly trying to find something to wear. It was a slightly formal event, and I really didn't have anything apropriate. I never liked malls to begin with, but going to a mall the day before Christmas was just stupid, so I decided to check out the vintage shops downtown, which I knew would not be nearly as packed. After hours of searching, I found the perfect outfit. It was a silky, emerald green coctail dress from the 1950's. It was sleevless, and had a very low back.
When I got home from shopping, I put on a little more makeup than usual, but I never wore much so it still wasn't a lot. I also decided to wear my long hair down for once, since I always had it tied back. I flat ironed it, even though it was naturally very straight anyway, just to give it a more sleek look.
"Where are you going?" Ashleigh asked me in a snotty sounding voice. She had been using that tone with me for weeks, and I was growing pretty sick of it.
"To Ryan's Christmas party," I said. "with Zac." I added that last part purposly. It was a little catty of me, but by this point I didn't care much. She was getting on my last nerve. She was always so rude to me, and I hadn't even done anything.
"Have fun." She said sarcasticly, then twirled around and left the room. I heard her bedroom door slam moments later.
When the doorbell finally rang, I ran downstairs the best I could in a pair of heels, and swung the door open fast.
"Hi Zac."
"Hey...Chlo...wow..." His jaw was practically on the floor. "You look...wow...really...amazing."
I smiled. I'd never seen him have such a loss for words before. "You look really good too." I replied. And that he did. He was wearing a pair of brown, very nicely fitted dress pants, and a green button down dress shirt. (We matched!) He was holding a blazer in his hand.
"Are um, are you ready to go?" He asked.
"Yeah, sure."
When we arrived at the party, there were at least 150 people there. Music was playing, people were dancing, and everyone was having an all around great time. We headed for Ryan's huge living room, where a good amount of the people were hanging out, and started mingling with everybody.
"Hey Zac, who's your girlfriend?" One guy I had never met asked.
"This is Chloe. Chloe, this is Tom."
"Hi Tom." I said cheerfully, reaching out to shake his hand. Zac never corrected him when he called me his girlfriend, and for some reason, that made me happy. Probably a little too happy.
"Ryan says there are going to be fire works at midnight." Tom explained. "So at about 11:45, we are all going to go outside and around back."
"Cool, thanks for the heads-up." Zac said, nodding as Tom walked away.
We stood there for a few minutes, sipping our drinks and saying hello to people who passed by or occasionally stopped to talk. Finally, Zac turned to me. "So, do you wanna dance or something?"
"Sure."
He put his hand on my shoulder and led me out to the dance floor. We danced to quite a few songs. A few times, a different guy would come up and ask me to dance, so I would go off with him instead. Tons of girls ask Zac to dance, but he declined every time, and just stood in the corner, waiting for me, and sipping his drink. I normally would have said no to a strange guy asking me to dance, but I guess in some weird way, I was trying to make Zac jealous. I knew I was crazy for even attempting such a thing, since he obviously would not care who I danced with. I did it anyway though.
Before we knew it, it was almost midnight and people were filing into the backyard for the fire works. We headed outside too, and Zac grabbed his blazer on the way. It may be California, but sometimes the nights still got pretty cool in the winter. Not nearly as cool as I was used to in Maine though, that's for sure.
"Are you having fun?" Zac asked, leaning in close to my ear.
"Actually, I'm having a great time. Thanks so much for inviting me to come with you."
"Hey, you're my best friend, who else would I invite?" He smiled that amazing smile of his.
"I am?" I asked, touched.
"Of course." He said, as if I was being absolutely rediculous. "Are you cold?" I was shivering a little.
"Ya, a bit." I said, rubbing my arms.
"Here, take my coat." He took off his blazer and draped it over my shoulders. Then, he pulled me against him and wrapped his arms around me. This took me totally off guard, but I didn't resist. I lay my head against his chest, and put my arms around his waist.
"Is that better?" He asked.
"Much better." I replied. I could have stayed in that position forever. No matter how cold it got.
Just then, the fireworks began. Zac and I stood there, our arms wrapped around eachother, my head on his chest, and his chin resting on the top of my head.
"They're so pretty." I said under my breath. I didn't think it was even loud enough for him to hear.
"So are you." I heard him say.
I lifted my head and looked up at him, just to smile. He was always saying such nice thinks to me. Always making me feel good about myself. I never knew how to thank him, other than to smile. When I looked up though, he was already staring down at me, and he had the most serious look on his face. We stared at eachother for a few seconds, then he put his hand on the side of my face. Before I could say or do anything, he leaned down, and his lips touched mine, and he kissed me. It was the most amazing kiss I had ever had in my life. We stood there, with all those people around us, but yet it felt like we were the only two people in the universe. His lips his tongue, everything felt so soft, so sweet.
"I've wanted to do that for a long time." He said breathlessly when we finally pulled apart.
"You have?"
"Yeah...Chlo, I'm crazy about you. You're amazing."
"Zac...I..." I had no idea what to say.
"I love you Chloe." He blurted.
My heart jumped into my throat, I was so excited. Did he really just say that, or was I hallucinating? I realized a few seconds had gone by and I still hadn't said anything. Zac was staring down at me. His blue eyes burned into mine.
"I love you too."