Archive of Our Own

Summer was soon coming to an end, which sucked for Y/n. All she did during summer was sleep, eat and watch television. Compared to how confident she set a goal for herself at the beginning of summer that she was going to be productive and do exciting things. That all turned out to be a bust.

She’s only been out in the sun twice. Both from hanging out with her friends. They all claimed they were going to the beach, the mall–Have the best time during summer. In the end, it was hard to get everyone together with summer jobs and their own things going on.

Sitting in the passenger seat of her friend’s car, she looked out the window as the music from the radio filled up the car. Her friend behind her sang along loudly to the lyrics, not caring that they were all out of tune and not in sync at times.

An excited thrill left her friend’s lips as her grip tightened on the steering wheel. “There they are,” she sang as she turned the corner to follow the sign that had ‘Car Wash’ in big bright red letters.

Y/n immediately fixed her posture and sat straight, eyes fixed on the group of boys working at the car wash. Ever since the beginning of summer, the car wash has been going on every week in support of a charity by some boys she found out attended the same local university as her. They were all very handsome. A big reason why they always had a line of cars every week on Fridays when they’re open. And of course for charity. At least that is what the customers state.

Even though every man at the car wash was good looking, she only had her eyes stuck on one. Holding a clipboard in his hand as he spoke to the driver of a car a couple of cars in front of them, Zayne nodded his head as he wrote something down. Once he was finished, he sent the driver his classic small smile that made her melt every time and signaled for them to move up.

The car drove forward to where the rest of the men were, all with buckets of water and hoses in their hands as they washed some of the cars that had already paid. Y/n rubbed her sweaty palms in anticipation as they got closer to Zayne. Everytime she went to the carwash, she always managed to make a fool of herself in front of Zayne.

The first time was with her family. Her parents being the kind souls they were, went in support for the charity and to not have to worry about cleaning the car themselves. She remembered when she first saw Zayne. It felt like the air knocked out of her. He had such mesmerizing green eyes. She melted into a puddle on the spot.

Not to her luck she got embarrassed by her parents. Sitting behind the driver’s seat in the back, she watched as her father had a small conversation with Zayne. As they were talking, one of Zayne’s friends that was helping with the car wash went up to him and handed him some papers. His hair was a shade of brown in the hairstyle of a mullet and was wearing an all denim outfit. Taking it from his friend, Zayne placed them on the clipboard in his hand as he continued talking. Luckily there were no cars behind them since they were about to end it for the week.

Finding out that they attended the same university, her father brought up, “Oh! My daughter goes there as well! Do you perhaps know her?”

She sank into her seat in embarrassment quickly before Zayne and his friend could turn his head to her. Did her dad not understand that many students attend the university and that there are multiple classes at multiple different times? Even worse, the window was half-way down, almost allowing them to see into the car if she didn’t duck.

Y/n’s seven year old sister that was sitting by the other window let out a laugh, pointing a finger at her. “Y/n’s trying to hide!”

“Shut up,” she whispered to her sister.

“Sorry about that. It seems she’s shy right now. She’s never usually like this,” her father exposed her even more.

Zayne’s sweet chuckle hit her ears. “It’s no problem.” Telling her parents to move up to get the car cleaned, Y/n finally lifted up from her seat, peeking out the window. Luckily, Zayne didn’t seem too focused on the interaction, going back to viewing the papers on the clipboard in his hands. However, she did see a pair of eyes in her direction. The guy beside Zayne had an amused smile on his face as his eyes followed the car. She swore they even held eye contact for a moment.

Such piercing purple eyes.

The second time was when she hung out with her friends the first time during summer about a month ago. They hung out the whole day, leaving Y/n extremely tired by the end of it. She fell asleep in the passenger seat. Without her knowing, they decided to stop by the car wash before calling it a night.

Next thing she knew, she was awoken by the sound of water splashing and chatter. She let out a groan as she slowly opened her eyes. Once her eyes got adjusted to her surroundings, they widened once she realized what was going on. Three of the handsome men surrounded her friend's car, washing over it with the yellow sponges in their hands. Zayne was included in the wash.

In front of her, she saw him scrub the windshield. Embarrassment hit her at the fact that he saw her asleep in the car. Noticing that she had awoken, he gave a smile to her as he continued scrubbing. “Sorry to wake you,” he apologized in usual warm, deep tone.

That was her chance to actually have a conversation with him. When she opened her mouth to speak, a gasp left her throat instead when someone sprung up to her right beside the window. Zayne’s friend with the brown hair stood up to his feet. She didn’t realize that he was washing the side of the car where she was at. A soapy sponge was in his hand, some of the soap sliding up to his elbow.

A smirk was on his lips as he looked at her. “You got a little something,” he pointed to the side of his mouth, “right here.”

Bringing her hand up to her own face where he pointed, she felt a small bit of droll pool down the corner of her lip. As if it couldn’t get any more embarrassing. Zayne let out a snicker as he moved over to the other side of the car, washing the left side of the windshield.

Glancing back to the brown haired guy, her eyebrows furrowed downward in frustration from seeing a teasing smile plastered on his face. No doubt he purposely commented on that to mess with her.

“I’m Caleb,” he introduced himself.

Her eyebrow raised at his sudden introduction as she wiped the drool off with the collar of her shirt. Not exactly a perfect moment to give a name. “Y/n.”

“You know, Y/n,” he extended a hand out to lean against the car to gaze down at her, “I’ve never heard someone snore that loud before. Sounded like a tractor.”

Y/n sent him an offended expression. What was his damage? Who says that? A scoff left her lips before letting out a forced chuckle. “Aren’t you charming,” she sarcastically told him.

“I try,” he swiftly commented back with the same taunting grin.

She let out another fake laugh. Moving her eyes to him, she gave him a sarcastic smile. “Eat my shorts.”

Giving her one last grin, he walked over to the back of the car and continued cleaning. Y/n admired Zayne for the rest of the wash until they were done. Driving back on the road, her friends talked about the encounter at the car wash.

“That guy with the brown hair was totally into you, Y/n!” one of her friends chirped from the back seat.

“Ugh! Not even!” she spat out with a sour expression. “If that was his way of flirting, he definitely needs to work on it. Plus, I have my eyes set on his friend anyway.”

“Which one?” her friend in the driver’s seat asked.

“Zayne. The one with the dimpled smile.”

“Oh, yeah.” She nodded her head as she remembered. “He’s rad.”

“Totally,” she agreed.

“So when are you going to ask him out?”

Y/n froze. Ask him out? Would she be able to do that without backing out? Being around Zayne never went great. But perhaps she should take that chance.

Thus brings them back to present time. Y/n had plenty of time to prepare. She was determined to ask him out. As her friend in the driver’s seat was done paying Zayne for the car wash, she gestured her to head to signal Y/n to talk to him. But before Y/n could say anything, a familiar voice was heard beside her.

“Hey.”

She whipped her head to her right, seeing Caleb standing beside the car, looking down at her. Her face rested to a blank one, upset that Caleb was choosing to bother her once more. “What do you want, Caleb?”

He slightly bent forward, resting his hands on the sides of her window, fingers curled around the open window. They were now staring at each other due to his position. “I just wanted to bring up last time…” But his voice drifted from her attention, hearing Zayne tell her friend to go forward. Removing her eyes from Caleb, she caught Zayne walking away. They were the last car for the night. No doubt he was getting ready to leave.

A groan left her lips. She missed her chance.

Seeing that she wasn’t paying attention to his words, Caleb rolled his eyes as he stood back up straight. He scoffed in amusement, causing her to snap her head back at him. “I’m trying to apologize for my behavior but you’re not even listening to me. You don’t deserve my apology.”

Then she watched as he walked away as well. She released a frustrated sigh as she sank into her chair. That definitely didn’t go as planned.

With the end of summer quickly approaching and the car wash soon coming to an end, Y/n was determined to ask out Zayne before that happened. Only two more Fridays until she stops seeing the car wash. And this upcoming Friday, she was bound to ask out Zayne.

Using her dad’s car, she got in line for the car wash. Knowing that the car wash was soon closing, many others wanted to attend to get one last wash from the handsome men. The line was much longer than it had been before. Once she was close to reaching Zayne, she planned what she was going to say in her head. It was simple. Just ask him out.

She took a deep breath as she stopped the car beside him. They first talked about the car wash and she paid him. Then before he asked her to move forward, he breathed out once more and put her plan into action. “Hey, um–” His eyes glanced up from his clipboard to her. “So… I was wondering if you maybe–” She tried her best to play it cool, resting her elbow on the steering wheel. But as she leaned against it, her elbow slid to the car horn. It made her jump from the sudden, loud honk.

Zayne chuckled at the sight as she tried to compose herself, hands gripping tight onto the steering wheel. “Are you ok?”

“Mhm,” she hummed out in embarrassment, putting her attention forward as she refused to look back at him.

“Good,” he responded back before saying, “You can move up now. Since we're high on customers today, we’re only having one worker wash a car at a time.”

“Ok thanks,” she mumbled as she pressed down on the gas pedal.

Y/n felt like slamming her head on the steering wheel. Why did she lean against the wheel like that? There went her chance. Again. Pulling up to an open spot, she groaned out once more. The event kept replaying in her head, wishing that it went differently.

“That was painful to watch,” a voice suddenly said.

Y/n knew that voice all too well now. Turning to her left, she saw Caleb walk by the car. A large bucket of water was in his hand. Stopping in front of the hood of the car, he placed the bucket down then sent her his usual teasing smile.

She rolled her eyes at the sight. “I really don’t need to hear your helpful comments, Caleb.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Alright. Just here to wash your parent’s car.”

As Caleb grabbed a sponge from the bucket to prepare, Y/n leaned back into the chair as thoughts ran into her head. Why did everything go wrong whenever she was around Zayne? It was like the universe was against them. Not only that, but it seemed like Zayne was showing no interest in her at all. Perhaps he didn't find anything charming about her. If his feelings were mutual to hers, surely he would have made some attempts to actually have a conversation with her too. He showed more interest in his clipboard than anything.

She let out a defeated sigh. Maybe Zayne and her weren't meant to be. There was probably someone out there she was truly meant to be with.

The sound of water interrupted her thoughts. Y/n glanced back at the man washing the car. Caleb was already at work. Water spread over the hood as Caleb scrubbed it with a sponge. Bubbles of soap were appearing. At that moment, the sunlight hit him perfectly. The rays of sunshine bounced off his fluffy hair and skin, making him glow in front of her. The soap was twinkling by his hands, looking like sparkles. It seemed as if time slowed down, somehow making him move in slow motion.

Y/n’s eyes shined, widening in awe as realization hit her. Poking her head out the window, he called out in a soft tone, “Caleb.”

At the sound of her voice, he snapped his head up in surprise and made his way over to her. He rested his hand on top of the car, leaning his head down towards her to hear her better. Their faces were now very close as they stared at one another for a moment.

“Yeah?” he replied back in a breathless tone.

Time continued to slow down. The sound of chatter and water running disappeared from their hearing. All they focused on was one another.

“How well do you know Zayne?”

Every loud noise around them returned. Caleb brought his head back slightly from shock, eyes blinking in confusion. “Huh?”

Sure Zayne might not have an interest in her now but that doesn’t mean she can’t try to gain his interest. “How long have you known Zayne?” she rephrased the question.

“Um.” Caleb collected his thoughts as he moved his way over to where he was standing before. He grabbed the sponge as he answered, “He’s my homeboy. We’ve known each other since we were kids.”

“Really?” She smiled enthusiastically at his response. Now comes the real question. Nervously placing her words together in her head, she hesitantly started, “I want to apologize for not listening to your apology that one day. It wasn’t my intention to ignore you.”

Caleb tilted his head to the side at her words, puzzled. But either way, he said, “It’s alright.”

Then she continued on with a relieved expression, “Great, because… I know this might sound a little strange… But do you think you can help me get Zayne's attention?” Seeing Caleb’s expression stay the same, having a moment to take in her words, she immediately went on to explain herself, “I can’t seem to ask Zayne out. And I want to do it before summer ends. Since you have known him for so long, you can help me learn things about him that can help me gain his interest.”

Caleb’s face finally changed, giving a blank look as he nodded his head. Taking a towel he had beside the bucket, he wiped his soapy hands as he slowly walked back towards her. A nervous pit was resting in her stomach. It felt nauseating to wait for his response, instant regret hitting her for what she just asked of him.

Once he stood beside the door to glance down at her, the mischievous smirk reappeared. “What’s in it for me if I help?” he asked as he tossed the towel on the hood when his hands were dry.

Of course he would say that. But she suppose it was only fair. “I’ll pay you if you’d like.”

“Hm.” He gazed up at the sky as if to be deep in thought with her offer. Then he quickly placed his eyes back on her. “How can I refuse that? How much?”

“Depends on how the results turn out. Give me useful tips and you’ll be rewarded.”

“Deal.” Extending his hand out towards her for a handshake, she gave a smile as she took his hand and shook it. After pulling his hand away, she grabbed a small notebook and pen her parents leave behind in the car, she wrote her number down and handed it to Caleb.

Caleb took the piece of paper. “I’ll give you a call when I have time to meet up.”

***

A nice, sunny Saturday morning approached. Y/n was in the living room with her younger sister. They both still wore their pajamas as they sat comfortably on the couch with a bowl of sugary cereal in their hands. Their eyes were glued to the television in front of them, watching a cartoon that was playing.

The sound on the home phone began ringing. Despite the loud noise ringing in the air, both of them didn’t move an inch, taking another spoonful of cereal into their mouth. Watching them stay still in the kitchen, their mother groaned as she made her way over to the phone, which was resting on a small table beside the couch they were sitting on.

“Let me just answer the phone since you two are so busy,” their mother sarcastically said with a fake smile.

“She’s closer,” Y/n mumbled with the food in her mouth, pointing her spoon at her younger sister.

“Y/n’s older. She should answer the phone if it ends up being someone important,” her sister defended herself.

“Oh, both of you shush.” Their mother rolled her eyes as she picked up the phone, the springy cord following it as she brought it up to her ear. “Hello?”

Y/n placed her attention back on the cartoon characters on the television screen. A small chuckle left her lips from watching a funny event happen, placing another spoonful in her mouth.

“Xia Caleb?”

Shocked by the name that left her mother’s mouth, she choked on the milk. Coughing loud to catch her breath, she quickly stood up and placed her cereal down on the coffee table in front of the couch.

“I got this,” she weakly said, her voice still recovering from her choking. Quickly making her way to her room, she called out, “And do not eavesdrop!"

Closing the door to her room behind her, she went over to her phone by the bed. She picked it up and placed it by her ear. After taking a moment to clear her throat, she spoke into it, “Hey, Caleb.”

“Hey. I’m calling to let you know I’m free to meet up after work at six.”

“At six,” she repeated with a head nod. “I can do that. Where should we meet up?”

“How does Bobby’s Burgers sound?”

“Sounds great.”

“Good. I’ll see you there. And you better be there on time. If I wait long, I’ll leave.”

“Got it. See you there.” Ending the conversation, she pressed the phone down in its slot. Stepping out of her room and heading back to the living room, she raised an eyebrow from seeing her mother and sister quickly move from the phone in the living room. Of course they were eavesdropping even though she clearly stated not to.

***

Sitting on her bed with music playing from the boombox in the background, Y/n held a magazine in her hand. Her eyes canned through the latest fashion trends and heartthrobs in the pages. She was so caught up that she forgot about the plans she made.

The door to her room swung open, her little sister barging in without a care. “Can I borrow some scrunchies?” she asked as she walked over to her vanity and rummaged through the drawer before Y/n could answer.

Y/n gritted her teeth as she slammed the magazine down on her bed. “I told you to stop coming in here without my permission.”

Her sister ignored her words as she picked out some scrunchies, observing the colors. “It’s already six. Shouldn’t you be on your date?”

“Date?” Face twisted in confusion, she tried to understand what she was talking about. Then it hit her. Caleb. Bobby’s Burgers. At six. “Oh, crap!” she yelled as she sprung up from her bed and ran to her closet. How could she forget? Caleb was definitely not going to help her now that she’s late. He probably already left the diner by now.

Quickly picking out some clothes, she rushed to get ready and ran to the living room, spotting her mom watching television. “Dad is still at work, right?”

“Yes. He won’t be back until eight.”

A groan left her lips at the response. She didn’t have a car to get her there. And she can’t walk to the diner. “I need a ride. I have to meet with someone.”

Her mom’s eyes lit up, turning to her. “Oh, right! Your date.”

Y/n released another groan, running her hand down her face. “It’s not a date. He’s just a–” she paused, nose scrunching up as she tried to find a word to describe her relationship with Caleb, “friend.” Caleb definitely was not a friend to her. But it made more sense to describe him as that than what she is actually going to meet up with him for.

“Well, your dad took the car. There’s only one other thing you can take.”

“Oh, great.” Y/n immediately understood what her mother was referring to.

***

Huffing, Y/n peddled fast on the bike, holding a tight grip on the handles. It was her younger sister’s old bike. It was a shade of hot pink with a white basket in the front. Her sister claimed that she was too old for the bike and wanted another one. So the pink bike has been sitting in the garage ever since. Her chest was heaving, already going out of breath due to her not riding a bike for a long time. Heck. She can’t even remember the last time she went out for a walk. Her thighs and calves were burning. No doubt she was going to feel sore in the morning.

Once she reached the diner, relief hit her. After parking on the bike slot, she hurried into the diner. Glancing at the clock on the wall when she entered, the time read twelve minutes past six. There was no way Caleb was still there.

However, to her surprise, when she turned to the booths, her eyes widened when seeing Caleb. He was sitting alone at a booth, eyes going through the menu in his hands. She hurried over and took a seat across from him. “I’m sorry–”

“Finally you have arrived,” he said while taking a quick peek at her then moved his eyes back to the menu.

“I wasn’t expecting you to still be here. You told me you were going to leave if I was late.”

“Lucky for you I am hungry. I decided to stay to have dinner.”

“By yourself?”

He shrugged his shoulders as he placed the menu down. “Nothing wrong with that.”

Now able to see his face, her eyes scanned him up and down. Usually she would only see him in his denim outfit for washing cars. This was the first time she has seen him in a different outfit. He wore a bleck flannel with a basic, white shirt underneath. A silver necklace rested on his chest. And he had on some regular jeans with black, high-top converse.

Giving a small nod in agreement, she grabbed a menu. Presenting it in front of her, she pretended to scan through it. She’s been to Bobby’s Burgers many times. She knew exactly what she wanted. But it was to reduce the awkward tension around. She can’t remember the last time she hung out alone with a guy.

“Are you ready to order now?” a worker’s voice popped up beside her.

Snapping her head to the waiter, Y/n gave a smile upon seeing who it was. “Tara.”

The woman beside her was wearing the baby pink dress with a white apron that the waiters usually wear. Moving her attention away from the small notepad in her hands and placing it on Y/n, she returned the smile. “Y/n! It’s great to see you. How has your summer been?”

“It’s been… great,” she lied. “Yours?”

“It’s been alright. I’ve mainly been working here this summer. You know how summer jobs can be.” She let out a giggle as she brought her pen to the notebook. “So what can I get for you both?”

“I’ll have a cheeseburger, some medium fries, and a coke,” Y/n replied, Tara writing down her order as she spoke.

“I’ll have the same thing but with extra onions on my burger,” Caleb said.

“Got it,” Tara chirped as she finished writing. Tucking the pen and notepad into the pocket of her apron, she leaned over to grab their menus. “Your food will be with you shortly.”

Once she walked away, Caleb folded his arms on the table, getting comfortable in his spot. “So what would you like to know about Zayne?”

“Um… Anything, really.”

Caleb thought for a moment, trying to remember anything interesting to bring up about Zayne. Zayne and him were total opposites at times. He never found Zayne’s hobbies and interests something to be excited about. Something crossing his mind, he snapped his fingers as he said, “He loves science fiction. Books, movies—You name it, you’ve got his full attention.”

“Science fiction?” Y/n repeated. She did find the genre captivating at times, but she can’t say she is a lover of science fiction. Not typically what she would go for.

“Yeah. And speaking of books, he also loves to read books. It doesn’t just stop at science fiction. Although it’s his favorite, he reads whatever catches his interest. He even has bookshelves filled in his house.”

Another thing that stumped her. She doesn’t read books very often. Usually she’s a bit picky with books and has a short attention span. Even if she’s fully immersed in a book, laziness hits her to actually sit down and finish it. So many words and pages to go through.

Once the waiter dropped off their food, Y/n munched on her burger as she listened to Caleb go on. Zayne was a lover of animals and has many pets. She has never owned a pet in her life. Often in the mornings, Zayne would wake up early for a run. He enjoys going on hikes and being in nature. She hardly left her house and can’t remember the last time she went on a run. High school during her physical education class was most likely the last.

“In high school, he was valedictorian in our grade. He was involved in many school activities. Teachers loved him,” Caleb said as he ate his fries. “And he played basketball and soccer during all his years in high school. Despite him not having any experience beforehand, he immediately became one of the best players on each team.”

More stuff she couldn’t relate to. She wasn’t athletic nor involved in high school. “Wow,” she breathed out in envy, twirling the straw in her drink, “Zayne really has it all together.”

Then a smile appeared on her face. Even if she couldn’t relate to Zayne and have similar interests, he was still amazing to her. She admired his hobbies and enjoyed hearing about his past. Zayne sounded like a dream.

“Sure does,” Caleb agreed once he swallowed the bite he took from his burger.

Taking a sip from the straw, she watched Caleb place some fries in his mouth. His demeanor seemed to have changed. His shoulders slumped slightly. His tone when he answered was a mixture of frustration and sadness.

Scanning his face, she took in his look. Pushing his handsome features aside, there was an uneasy gaze in his eyes. Eyes flicking down to his hands resting on the table, she observed his fingers clenching then unclench. His fingers would wiggle and brush against one another.

Seems like he was just as nervous as her.

Backing away from the straw, she drummed her fingers against the cup before asking, “What were you like in high school?”

Snapping his head up in surprise, mouth full, Caleb froze from her sudden question. Waiting for him to swallow his food and take another sip from his drink to clear his throat, she pushed back her drink to place her attention on him.

Eyebrows pointed downward in confusion, he questioned, “Aren’t we supposed to be talking about Zayne?”

Hearing his words made her tense in her spot. Why did she ask that? Zayne was the reason she was meeting with Caleb. And since when was she interested in hearing information about Caleb?

“Just curious. You don’t have to answer.”

A smirk reached his lips as his hands finally relaxed while he reached over to grab another fry. “Interested in learning about my background?”
She shrugged her shoulders, confused by her own words. “Perhaps.”

He let out a faint chuckle at her words, swallowing the small amount of food in his mouth. “High school was nothing special to me. Compared to Zayne, I showed up to school to get my education over with. I only joined basketball for a little bit. But I’m not a fan of sports. I didn’t join any clubs or activities. And I was called ‘Zayne’s good-looking friend’ all throughout our school years. The name stopped when we entered college.” Grabbing a hold of his cup, he guided it to his lips to take a sip. He carried a blank expression as he swallowed, showing no emotion after he explained. Not even giving her a moment to take in what he said about his past, he asked, “What about you?”

“Oh. Um,” she gathered her thoughts together, her mind still on what he told her, “My high school years were nothing special as well. I hardly got involved in much. I was just there, you know?” She chuckled at her own reply. Seeing Caleb’s small smile on his lips as she spoke made her heart spin. His eyes were fixed on her, leaning his cheek onto his fist. He actually had a nice smile. She never noticed that before. Feeling awkward from his gaze, she released another chuckle as she changed the subject back to what they were originally there for. “So what is Zayne’s favorite book? I can read it to spark some conversation between us at the next car wash.”

“Oh, right.” It sounded as if there was a bit of disappointment in Caleb’s tone. Based on his thrown off expression, it seemed he also forgot about why they were there. “Um.” His eyes went over to stare at the ceiling as he tried to remember. Once it finally hit him, he moved his attention back on Y/n. “His favorite book is called Dune. It’s a science fiction book, which shouldn't be a surprise.”

“Alright.” She nodded her head. She’s never heard of that book before.

A thought coming to his head, Caleb licked his bottom lip. “Maybe,” he softly spoke up, eyes on his tray until he redirected them back on Y/n’s face, “we can go to the library after we’re done eating to get the book. It’s not late–Although it’s up to you.”

Her head tilted to the side slightly in surprise. Instead of asking the question in a flirty way, he was tense with the tips of his ears a shade of pink. She sent him a smile. “Sure.”

After they finished their food and stepped out of the diner together, Y/n came to a halt in embarrassment. The pink bike that she took to get to the diner was right where she left it. She forgot about it.

Caleb stopped upon seeing Y/n’s actions, following her terrified eyes to see the pink bike with colorful streamers. He couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, bringing a hand up to his mouth to muffle it. Y/n rolled her eyes at his action, waiting for him to calm down.

Placing a hand on his chest to help his breathing return, he walked up to the bike and pointed at it. He sent her a teasing smile. “This your ride?”

Obviously she wasn’t going to let Caleb get to her, despite her hating the bike. She went up to it and chirped, “Sure is.” Resting her elbow on the seat, she leaned against it with a winning smile. “Bitchin’ huh?”

Letting out a breathy chuckle, he replied, “Yeah.” Glancing out to the parking lot, once he saw his car, he turned his head back and pointed his thumb in its direction. “My car is over there if you want a ride. Although if you want to take your pretty bike, I won’t stop you.” The last part he said with his taunting grin. He already knew what her answer was going to be considering the library was a distance away. Would definitely be faster by car.

Immediately taking his offer, she trailed behind Caleb to his car. It was a red convertible. Easy for her to follow Caleb’s instructions and place the bike in the back seats. Sitting in the passenger seat, an excited thrill filled her chest. She’s never been in a car like that before.

As Caleb drove, Y/n enjoyed the feeling of the fresh air hitting her face. It felt freeing. Music poured out from the speakers. Caleb’s music taste was great. She wishes she had a car like his. Would be a dream to drive everywhere with it. She wouldn’t even mind picking up her sister from school and going supermarket runs.

Once they reached the library and went in, they went through the aisles. After reaching the science fiction books with author’s last names that start with the letter H, they scanned through the titles of the book located on the spine. “Ah.” Caleb triumphantly smiled as he pulled out a book. “Here it is.”

Y/n immediately sprung up at the sound of that, disregarding the books she was going through near the bottom. Caleb handed her the book. Having it in her hand made her face scrunch in disappointment. “Oh, shit.” It was bigger than she thought. Not an insane amount but it was more than she usually reads.

Caleb chuckled at her reaction. “That’s the one.”

“Gosh. It will take me a long time to finish this,” she whined.

“If you push yourself you can get it done fast. Zayne finished it in a day.”

“Jeez. Did he stay up the full twenty-four hours without stopping or eating?” Flipping through the many pages, she wondered how Zayne was able to finish it in one day. Scanning the back of the book, her eyes landed on the barcode and asked, “Do you have a library card?”

He hummed in response as he took out his library card from his pocket to present it to her. She raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Never took you for the reading type.”

“Zayne liked to come here a lot so I would join him. Sometimes I would get a book. But the rest of the time I would go to the comic book store a couple of stores down.”

“Comic book store?” she repeated, interest caught in her eyes. “I’ve actually never been to one before.”

Caleb’s face lightened up in surprise and excitement. “Really? You’ve never been to one before?” Seeing her shake her head in response, he proposed, “We should go check it out if you want. There’s lots of great comics there. It’s one of my favorite places to go.”

On board with the idea, once they checked out the book, Caleb guided her a couple of stores and buildings down til they reached the comic book store.

He recommended which ones to read and went into detail about his favorites. A euphoric expression was on his face as he spoke passionately about something as silly as comics. Y/n never thought so highly about them before. But she admired his interest and followed his words. She picked two superhero comics he recommended, a horror comic, and a romance comic. Before she could pay for the comics, Caleb stepped in and paid for them. He claimed it was better since he gets a discount for being a frequent customer. He even gets first pick whenever new comics arrive.

As soon as Caleb dropped her off home, she got ready for bed and made herself comfortable in the sheets. She held the Dune book in her hand and read the title in her head. Y/n recommend they should meet up again to learn more things about Zayne. Caleb said he would call her to let her know when he was available. So she had time to read it before their next meet up. Caleb said that Zayne talked about all the Dune books to him, so he practically knew what went down.

But as she began reading the book, she was already hit with struggles and laziness. With a huff, she rested the book on her lap. Without realizing, her eyes were moving towards the comics resting on her vanity.

***

Sitting at a nearby bench, Y/n waited for Caleb to return. It’s been three days since they last saw each other. Strangely, Y/n got a funny feeling in her stomach when Caleb called her to meet up. And she couldn’t stop the smile on her face as she got ready. He even picked her up in his car, which Y/n definitely couldn’t decline. As he drove, she complimented his music taste, which he bashfully thanked.

“Here you go,” Caleb chirped as he approached her. He was wearing a denim jacket with a white tank top underneath, denim pants go match with. And a pair of white, high top Reebok shoes. He took a seat beside her, handing her an ice cream sundae.

“Woah!” Y/n was in awe as she held the dessert in her hand. When Caleb said he was going to get ice cream for both of them, she was expecting for him to grab a single cone not a whole sundae. Three big scoops with sliced bananas on each side. Topped with whipped cream, syrup, and a single cherry to finish it off. “Thanks, Caleb! I can’t remember the last time I had one of these.”

“You’re welcome.” In Caleb’s hand was a cardboard, rectangle plate holding three scoops of different flavored ice creams with chocolate syrup drizzled on top. Before she could begin enjoying hers, her eyes went wide when she saw him smush the flavors together with his spoon.

“What are you doing?” she questioned.

“Mixing them,” he answered swiftly as he kept going with his action. “It tastes better like this.”

Face twisted in disgust, she watched as Caleb mixed the flavors, the chocolate syrup blending into the mix. She didn’t find the sight appetizing. “It looks grody.”

“Trust me. It’s really good. I do this all the time when I get ice cream.” Smiling down at his creation, he collected a scoop and directed it into his mouth. He hummed in satisfaction as he savored the taste. “You should give it a try.”

Debating in her head if she should go for it, she watched as Caleb happily ate his ice cream. She had to admit it did look good and she was curious about the taste. Deciding to give it a go, she mixed up her own ice cream together. Caleb caught was she was doing and watched her. Once everything was mixed to her liking, she scooped up a spoonful and placed it in her mouth.

Caleb had an anxious expression seeing that she was giving no reaction. But before he could apologize for the suggestion, a joyous smile spread across her lips. “It’s really good!”

A relieved sigh left his chest. “Glad to hear that. All my friends don’t like the taste and hate it when I mix up the flavors. Especially Zayne. When we would get ice cream, he would get disgusted every time.”

She raised an eyebrow at his words. She noticed that he often brought up Zayne in the past tense. Weren’t they friends?

“So did you finish the book?” Caleb asked as he ate another spoonful.

“It was a struggle, but, yes, I finished an hour before meeting up with you.”

He chuckled at that. “You barely finished today?”

“Hey! That book is so hard to read. Five pages in and I was already confused,” she defended herself. “Plus I kept getting distracted with the comic books.”

Coming to a stop midway from entering the spoon to his mouth, he snapped his head to her in surprise. “You actually read the comics?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“You didn’t think they were lame or anything?”

“Not at all! I enjoyed them way more than reading Dune.” Her eyes lighted up in excitement as she recalled what she read. “I loved that scene where Batman was fighting Bane.”

It was Caleb’s turn to get excited as the panels popped up in his mind. “Right? You can really feel the action through the pages. It’s like watching a movie.”

“Yes, it does!” she agreed. Realizing her excitement toward a different topic and remembering why they were there, she closed her mouth. No need to talk to Caleb about something that Zayne had no interest in. She resumed back to the thing at hand. “Speaking of movies, I was thinking of watching one of Zayne’s favorite movies so we can have more to talk about.”

“Oh… Sure.” Caleb directed his attention down to the ice cream, pushing the dessert around with his plastic spoon. He thought about movies Zayne brought up in the past until he recalled his favorite. “The Blob is his favorite movie. It was one of the first sci-fi movies he watched as a kid, so he has a close connection with it. If you ask me, it doesn’t sound all that interesting. He has been trying to get me to watch it for years. Especially when I would go over to his place.”

Her head tilted to the side at his words. “You know, every time you bring up Zayne, you speak of him as something of the past. Aren’t you two friends?”

The question threw him off. He wasn’t expecting her to ask him that. He wasn’t expecting her to notice. “We… are best friends… sorta,” he unconfidently answered as he continued to play with his ice cream, “I don’t know. We're in a rough patch right now. Ever since we started college.”

“Ah, I see. College getting in the way of friendship.” Y/n nodded in understanding.

“Yeah. Nothing out of the ordinary. Happens to many friendships.” She took in his words, but she could tell that their situation bothered him. Noticing her frown as she was staring at him, Caleb sent her a comforting smile. “Nothing you need to worry about though. It’s good that we are having this complication. It’s something we need in our friendship. Sometimes it’s good to have a break from your friends for a while to understand yourself without the influence of those around you.”

She was surprised by his response. She thought back about her being upset about the chance of not hanging out often with her friends. But she had to admit, it did feel more freeing without them. Not having to worry about other’s decisions for the summer. Just doing things for herself under her schedule and terms. It was just nice to relax by herself, having a break from school and assignments that stressed her out.

“Shall we go to the video rental store once we’re done?” Caleb’s question snapped her out of her thoughts. “We can get the movie there.”

Nodding at his suggestion, she answered, “Sounds great.”

***

Surrounding them were aisles filled with vhs tapes. Posters of the latest and popular movies were decorating the walls. Signs of genre titles were above certain aisles to help direct the customers on what movies they desired. Caleb and Y/n made their way to the science fiction section and Y/n began searching for the movie. Unsurprisingly, Caleb found it fast, already knowing the spot it was located in.

Y/n held the movie in her hand and scanned the cover. It was a 1950s film, the cover a painted, old-timey look. Caleb was right. It didn’t look very appealing. Just by looking at it, she could already tell it was a type of movie she would struggle to get through. Sitting through it alone will be a challenge. “Will you watch it with me, Caleb?” she sweetly asked.

He bursted into laughter, palms against his stomach. “Oh, please. If Zayne hasn’t gotten me to watch it despite the many years of trying to convince me, what makes you think you can?”

“Oh, come on! It will be fun.” She took a step closer to him, catching that he took a small step back to keep a distance. “We can order pizza, make some popcorn–It will be a fun hangout. Just the two of us.”

The last sentence seemed to have gotten to him. His pupils dilated, growing bigger from the idea. “Well–” He pretended to think for a moment, arm resting on top of the small aisle beside them, running his fingertips against the edges of the movies. Then he turned to her with a small smile. “Perhaps I can work some things around.”

She smiled back. “Perfect.” A movie title capturing the corner of her eye, she turned her head left to spot the movie. Taking some steps closer, she pulled the movie out in excitement. Showing the cover to Caleb, she said, “A Nightmare on Elm Street. I’ve been wanting to watch this movie. I hear it’s really good. We should give it a watch after The Blob.”

Caleb had an uneasy expression, teeth clenched together as his eyebrows furrowed downwards. “You sure you don’t want to stick with just The Blob?”

“Why?” A puzzled expression hit her features. But she caught his nervous look and stance. A teasing smile reached her lips. “Are you afraid of watching the movie?”

“What?” He let out a loud and over-exaggerated scoff. “I am not scared of the movie.”

“Then you shouldn’t have a problem watching it.”

***

Y/n met up with Caleb the next day, him giving her a ride to his house to watch the movie. It was a better decision since her family were all there at her house. She didn’t want them to bombard Caleb with questions and make him uncomfortable. Caleb had no siblings and his parents were currently both working, so the house was empty.

Sitting comfortably on the couch, Y/n and Caleb watched The Blob. Was it a good movie? Well, she had to stop her eyes from closing every once in a while, sleepiness hitting her. Boredom has never hit her as much as it did in that moment.

Snoring was heard beside her. Turning to her right, she saw Caleb asleep in his spot. His head was tilted back. Looks like the sleep won him over.

She chuckled at the sight. He did say that he was going to watch it with her. No way she was going to suffer alone. “Caleb.” She nudged him with her shoulder. His body stayed in the same position, more snored escaping his mouth. “Caleb—” A gasp left her when she nudged him once more, his reaction cutting her off.

His head moved to rest on her shoulder, making himself comfortable in place. Y/n’s body tensed up. She was holding her breath without realizing it, as if letting out a single breath would cause a big movement and disturb Caleb’s slumber.

Getting a hold of her breathing, she stayed in place. The pleasant sound of Caleb’s easy breathing was heard beside her ear. His hair gently brushed against her cheek. Her heart thumped in her chest at their closeness.

Should she wake him? Should she leave him be?

After collecting herself, she came to the conclusion that she should wake him up. Moving her free hand to his arm, she lightly shook it while calling his name. Thankfully, Caleb finally woke up from his slumber. He slowly lifted his head up, eyes half-open as they tried to adjust to his surroundings. He brought his hand up to cover his mouth as a yawn escaped his mouth. Once his eyes landed on the television screen, his eyes shot open.

“We’re still watching the movie?”

“Yeah. We’re only a couple of minutes in and you already fell asleep.”

Stretching his arms out, he replied, “I told you it was going to be boring. You cannot tell me that it’s interesting.”

“Actually–” She shut her mouth before continuing. She could lie and say that she wants to continue watching it just for the purpose of Zayne. But she couldn't handle the idea of watching the whole movie any longer. “Yeah, you’re right. I was about to fall asleep as well.”

Caleb released a breathy chuckle at her response as he rubbed his eye with the back of his hand. Moving back up to her feet, she went up to the television and took out the vhs tape. “Oh, well. I guess we can skip the movie and put on a better one.”

His hand froze upon her words. He totally forgot about the other movie.

“It's time for A Nightmare on Elm Street!” Y/n cheered in excitement as she began to place the vhs in.

“You know what? We should give The Blob another chance. Maybe it's because we’re hungry. No one can enjoy a movie well on an empty stomach.” Quickly springing up to his feet, Caleb went over to the house phone. “I’ll order the pizza now.”

Sending a smile in his direction as he dialed the phone, Y/n said, “Oh, come on, Caleb. It’s fun to watch scary movies. None of it is real.”

Caleb ignored her words and began ordering the pizza. Wanting to take up more time, he went to the kitchen and made two large bowls of popcorn for them. Y/n was slumped on the couch, eagerly waiting for Caleb to finish. She knew what his intention was. “I’m waiting!” she teased.

Bringing over to her each bowl at a time, setting them on the table in front of the couch, Y/n watched his shoulders tense up. He made the same nervous gesture that he did back at the diner, which was curl his fingers, making a fist from time to time. To his relief, the pizza arrived. At least his stress will be lowered with the delicious taste of cheesy pizza in his belly.
But once he set the pizza on the table and sat down to see the movie was beginning, he quickly added, “You know what else? I don’t have any soda. It’s practically impossible to eat pizza without soda. I’ll go get some–”

Before he could get up, he came to a stop from feeling Y/n’s hand on his wrist. His eyes moved over to her, somehow his face feeling hot at her touch. Hopefully she didn’t realize. However, her next words knew him off.

“If you really don’t want to watch it, Caleb, we can put on something else. I don’t want to force you to watch it if it makes you uncomfortable,” she told him with a frown.

Caleb could feel his body relax. Seeing what her action was, she sheepishly removed her hand away from him. As much as he really didn’t want to watch the movie, all he could think about was her happy smile when she saw it at the rental store. She was excited to watch the movie with him. He hated that his fear was in the way of their plans. With a warm smile, he said, “Thanks for saying that but I do want to watch it. Movies like this aren't my thing, but I’ll do it this time.”

Her frown disappeared to a wide grin. “Really? Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” His head nodded up and down. Bringing his hand up to her face, extending his index finger out to indicate the number one, he said, “Only this once. And do not tell anyone I agreed to this. I don’t want my friends to drag me to watch horror movies with them. I’m only doing this for yo–” He stopped himself from finishing that sentence, embarrassment and regret flooding him from what he almost said.

“For?” Y/n questioned with a raised eyebrow as she grabbed a slice of pizza.

“Nevermind,” Caleb quickly replied with a head shake, reaching over to grab a slice of pizza for himself.

The movie played on as they ate. Soon, with full bellies, they were immersed into the movie. Now with a blanket covering their bodies, their shaky eyes were stuck on the screen. Without realizing, their shoulders were pressed against each other’s. Occasionally they would jump from a scare. The fact that it was already dark out made it worse. They were silent the whole movie. Once the movie was over, they froze in their spot for a moment to collect their thoughts as the end credits played.

After collecting herself, Y/n let out a shaky chuckle. “That was a good movie, huh?”

“Y-yeah–” Caleb answered back in a high pitched voice. Catching his tone, he cleared his throat with slight embarrassment before repeating himself in his normal voice, which still contained a hint of fear, “Yeah, it was great.”

“That was definitely not scary,” Y/n pretended to sound unimpressed as she pushed the blanket away.

“Definitely not.” Caleb also tried his best to sound confident and unshaken.

“Well,” Y/n stood up, “I should get going now. Mind giving me a ride?"

“Sure.” He stood up beside her.

Before they would say another word, a loud screeching sound was heard by a nearby window. They both screamed at the sound, the movie still fresh in their minds. Since she was closer to the window, Y/n quickly moved to behind Caleb for protection. She gripped on tightly to his shoulders. The sound was heard again, making them jump back. The curtains covered their view, unable for them to make out what was making the noise.

“It–It’s outside the window,” Y/n shakily told him. “Go check it out.” She held onto shoulders tighter and she nudged him forward.

Planting his feet harder against the floor to stop himself from going closer, he shouted, “Why me?!”

“You’re the man!”

“So?! You’ve watched a lot of horror movies! You should handle this better than me!”

The scratching was heard again, making Caleb swallow the lump in his throat. “Ok,” she whispered. Gathering all the courage in his body, he took some small steps closer til he reached the window. With a shaky hand, he carefully moved the curtain out of the way. Y/n closed her eyes, fear of finding out the source.

Seeing what was the cause of the scratch, Caleb felt the fear rush out of him. He let out a chuckle, laughing at themselves for their reaction.

“What is it?” Y/n asked, eyes still closed shut.

“See for yourself.”

Hesitantly, Y/n opened back up her eyes and cautiously peeked over Caleb’s shoulder. A cat was outside by the window. Raising up its paw, it scratched its sharp nails against the glass.

Y/n let out a sigh in relief, followed by a giggle. Of course it was a simple thing like a cat. Caleb glanced back at her, eyes flicking down to see that she was still gripping onto him. A smirk was on his perfect lips. Upon realization, she jerked her hands back.

“Sorry about that,” she awkwardly apologized.

“It’s alright,” he replied back in his usual honey tone. Walking over to the coffee table, he picked up his keys as he said, “I’ll give you that ride now.”

As Y/n was in Caleb’s car, she thought about how the last day of the car wash was tomorrow. The first thing that came to her mind was that her time hanging out with Caleb was coming to an end. After today, she won’t be around him any more. The deal was for him to help her gain Zayne’s attention. Sorrow hit her. An unexpected feeling. She never thought she would feel sad about not being able to see Caleb.

“We’re here,” Caleb announced as he parked in front of her house. He turned to look at her, speaking in a sad tone, “So, uh… I’ll see you tomorrow. I hope you get to have what you want and ask Zayne out.”

“Yeah,” Y/n whispered as she stared down to her thighs. She slowly brought her head up and gave him a small smile. “Thanks for helping me out.”

Caleb mirrored the smile. “You’re welcome.”

Y/n started getting out of the car. Closing the door, she added, “I’ll bring the money tomorrow.”

To be honest, Caleb forgot about the money. But he just nodded his head in response. With a wave goodbye, Y/n walked over to her house. He kept his eyes on her until she was inside. Now with her out of sight, Caleb let out a sigh and ran his hands down his face. A feeling was taking over him, and he felt selfish for feeling that way. But he decided to push it aside.

There was no use feeling that emotion anyway. Y/n wanted Zayne.

***

An anxious feeling hitting her at every corner, Y/n waited in line at the car wash. It was the last one. It was now or never. Caleb told her to arrive near the end of the day so that there will be less cars. Tapping her fingers nervously against the steering wheel, Y/n moved up in line. Two more cars were in front of her. Instead of Zayne usually being in the front with the clipboard, it was now Caleb. Zayne was one of the helpers washing the cars today. Most likely since it was the last day.

“Hey,” Y/n sheepishly greeted Caleb when she reached the front.

For some reason, seeing him again made her heart speed up with excitement. Yet she also felt shy. She couldn’t help but keep on the smile plastered on her face as she placed her gaze on him. Just looking at him somehow made her heart soar.

His beautiful smile made a way to his lips when seeing her. “Hey.”

But the sound of water splashing snapped her away from Caleb’s eyes. She saw Zayne in the distance. He was busy wrapping up a car, finishing off from washing it. Following where her attention was, his eyes landed on Zayne, making his smile disappear.

They both looked away from Zayne at the same time, now staring at each other. There was something that Caleb wanted to ask but he didn’t know if he should say it. “Y/n, would you–” He came to a stop to swallow the lump in his throat. Y/n looked at him with her perfect eyes that he adored, making his heart skip a beat. He decided to go for it. “Would you like to meet up after the car wash is closed? I want to take you somewhere before our deal is done.”

Immediately smiling at his question, she chirped, “I would like that.”

He smiled back at her response. “Ok.” But upon remembering what she was about to do, he backed away and looked down to the clipboard. Once she paid, he waited for the perfect timing and gestured for her to go where Zayne was. Nerves explotted in her stomach as she drove over, not realizing that Caleb carried a frown as he watched.

Parking in the assigned spot, she watched as Zayne went closer to the car. He flashed her his charming small smile. Only this time, she didn’t get the explosion of butterflies in her stomach like usual.

“Hello, Y/n. Nice to see you back on our last day,” Zayne greeted as he placed a fresh bucket of water that he was holding down to the floor.

Y/n was shocked by what he said. “You know my name?”

“Of course. You come here often and I overheard your friends and parents say your name.” He let out a chuckle at his own words. “Not to frighten you or anything. I just happened to pick it up and remember.”

“Right.” She nodded her head. A trill of happiness filled her chest. She didn’t expect Zayne to actually know her name.

As Zayne washed the car, Y/n managed to start some small talk with him, sneaking into some things that Caleb told her. And Caleb was right, Zayne was a big fan of science fiction. His eyes lit up in astonishment and interest from hearing her bring up Dune. She managed to keep the conversation going without giving away that she didn’t know much about the genre when it came to anything like books and movies.

Towards the end of the wash, as Zayne was finishing up, she realized that it was now the perfect time. Before she could open her mouth to say what she planned, she was caught off with Zayne saying, “Would you like to go out sometime?”

She was stunned for a moment, not believing what she just heard. “Sure! I’d love to.”

Flashing another smile, Zayne told her if tomorrow night was good and said to meet him at Bobby’s Burgers at six. Y/n quickly agreed with the time and location. With a wave goodbye, Zayne walked away from the car and over to the spot where they kept the supplies.

Since the car wash was coming to an end, the helpers were stacking the buckets and putting the sponges and washing clothes away. As Zayne arrived, he passed by Caleb, turning his head away slightly to not make eye contact with him.

Caleb didn’t even notice his action. He was far too focused on Y/n. He kept his shaky eyes on her as she began to drive away, wondering how the results were. But upon seeing a smile on her face made his heart sink. She did it. She asked Zayne out and he said yes.

After putting the bucket away, Zayne came to a stop when his eyes landed on Caleb. He was standing off in the distance with slump shoulders. As much as Zayne hated being concerned, he decided to go check on him anyway. Hesitantly walking over, he asked when he reached him, “Are you alright?”

He watched as Caleb’s shoulders tensed up, shocked by the voice he heard. Not turning around, he replied flatly, “I’m fine.”

Zayne anxiously rubbed his hands together. Awkwardness filled the air. He wasn’t sure what to say next until he decided on, “I know we’re not on good terms right now… but if you ever want to talk… I’m here.”

Caleb knows he was supposed to feel comforted by his words, but he felt frustrated instead. His eyes moved back to the spot where Y/n was just at in her car. Sadness and anger flowed in him. “Why do you always have to have everything?”

Eye going wide at Caleb’s sentence, Zayne froze in place. Confusion hit him hard. “What?”

“In high school, you got all the friends. All the attention was on you. Everyone loved you. And all I was called throughout our school years was ‘Zayne’s friend.’”

Zayne took in his words, beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together. “Is that why you didn’t want to hang out anymore after high school? That’s the reason why you’ve been ignoring me?”

“I haven’t been ignoring you,” Caleb quickly said. “We still talk and everything.”

“Please.” Zayne let out a scoff, crossing his arms across his chest. “You ignored me at the beginning of college, we talked for a bit throughout our first year, then you started ignoring me again this past week.”

Caleb stayed silent. He didn’t know what to say. “Well?” Zayne pushed him to answer.

“Ok, yes, you’re right! I was jealous! I wanted to experience what it was like not being in your shadow for once!”

Silence filled up the air. Zayne was shocked by Caleb’s confession. With a stunned expression, he brought down his arms. “You were jealous of me?”

“Who wouldn’t be? You were the best at everything you did. Everyone’s so nice to you and everything always works out your way… I was jealous that I couldn’t be like that,” Caleb admitted in a sorrowful tone.

Letting out a small sigh, Zayne added, “I was jealous of you too.”

Caleb’s mouth slightly hung open. Never in a million years would he have even considered Zayne feeling jealous over him. What was there to be jealous about? “You were jealous of me?” he asked, not fully believing him.

“Definitely. I was jealous about how free you are with yourself. I was always so stressed about school and the future. You were always so calm and did fun things. Seeing you ditch class to go to arcades and comic book stores,” Zayne stopped to let out a chuckle, “I remember wishing that I could be risky as well. You would go to skateparks and parties while I would stay at home to read or do homework.”

A smile spread across his lips as he recalled those memories. He continued on, “I guess in a way, I’m glad you wanted to take a break from being friends. Without you around, I stopped comparing myself to you. I realized that I’m happy with how I am. It may not be anything risky or exciting, but it’s something I enjoy.” Thinking about what Caleb said, Zayne added, “And I hope you’re happy with yourself as well. You’re an amazing person, Caleb. Anyone who hangs out with you could immediately realize that. Even prefer you over me.”

The beginning of summer was when Caleb found confidence in himself, realizing that he didn’t need to be jealous of Zayne. But Y/n came to his mind. The frown still stayed on his face. “That’s where you’re wrong.”

Sighing, Caleb ran a hand through his face, regretting what he suggested to Y/n a while ago. “I’m sorry for my behavior towards you, Zayne. I hope we can still be friends. I would ask if you would like to get something to eat but I have to meet up with someone right now.”

Chucking at Caleb’s words, Zayne replied, “It’s ok. Who are you meeting up with?”

Caleb tensed up at the question, not sure how to answer. After a short second, he decided with, “Someone you don’t know.”

***

There she was back in Caleb’s car. The smell of the night air filled her nose. The cool breeze felt like heaven on her face. And with the music playing, it just added to the excitement. She leaned back in the car, eyes closed as she enjoyed the ride.

She had no idea where exactly she was going. Caleb said that there was someplace he wanted to go.

After a couple of minutes, they arrived at the location. Y/n opened back up her eyes upon feeling the car park. When she opened them, she was stunned at what she saw. They were on a hill above the town, the lights emitted from the house shining underneath them. The bright, beautiful moon was above the sky, the stars twinkling around it.

“I’ve never been here before,” Y/n stated in awe.

“Yeah. Some of my family members know about it. I come here at times to relax or just to admire the view. It’s beautiful at night.”

She agreed with his words, smiling as she gazed out in front of her. But she was confused about why they were there. “Why did you bring me here?” she asked.

“Oh, well,” he brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck, “Our deal is now at an end since Zayne asked you out so I thought why not meet up one last time? But as a hangout without Zayne in our minds.”

Somehow, she felt her stomach churn at his words. She’s glad he thought of it. She’s going to miss hanging out with him.

“Caleb,” she breathed out, turning to look at him, “What will happen to us if my date with Zayne goes well? I’ve been enjoying this past week with you. Being with you has been the most fun I’ve had all summer. I… I don’t want it to end.”

Heart fluttering at her words, Caleb turned his head to lock his eyes with hers. She actually had fun with him? He felt relieved and happy. However, focusing on her question, made his sorrows return. “Well… if it goes well we probably shouldn’t meet up anymore. Being around your best friend’s girl wouldn’t leave a good message, huh?”

He attempted to make a joke, light chuckles in the air. But sadness was on Y/n’s face at his repose. “You're right.” Although it didn’t sit right with her. Something was against it. “Zayne’s a really great and nice guy,” she began, Caleb sublely grinding his teeth going unnoticed by her. “And he is someone close to you. I don’t think he will mind if—”

Caleb’s index finger moved to underneath her chin, closing her mouth to stop her from continuing. He sent her a smirk upon seeing her confused face. “I told you, let's not focus on Zayne. Let’s just enjoy the moment with just the two of us.”

Pressing her lips together with a smile, her thoughts went away. Slowly removing his hand away, Caleb leaned back comfortably in his spot. Y/n followed his action and pressed her back against the seat, admiring the view. No other words left their mouths. Usually she would find the silence awkward, but she felt comfort instead. Just knowing that Caleb was beside her was amazing.

After enjoying themselves for a couple of minutes, Y/n remembered something. “Oh!” She reached into the pocket of her pants to pull out the money. “Here, Caleb. Thanks for helping me out.”

He stared at the money in her hand for a second before shaking his head. “I don’t want it anymore. You keep it.”

“What?” she was appalled. That was part of their deal after all. “Why not?”

He did a simple shrug. “I don’t care about it anymore.”

Although she was puzzled, she listened to Caleb and put the money away. If that’s what he wants. Going back to gazing up at the stars, she kept thinking about Caleb’s words. Why did he not want the money? Wasn’t that the main reason why he agreed to help her?

Recalling something in his own pocket, Caleb thought about the gift he had for Y/n. Moving his hand swiftly to slide it into the pocket of his jacket, his fingers nervously brushed over the item.

Y/n kept her eyes on the stars until Caleb’s voice distracted her. “I… have something for you,” his tone sounded timid and hesitant. She’s never heard him speak that way to her before. They both placed their attention back on each other. “Well, I guess you can say I… made something for you. It’s ok if you don’t want it. You don’t need to keep it.”

She giggled at him rambling on. She scooted in closer to him, her eyes not leaving his nervous expression. “What is it?”

Sticking his tongue out to lick his bottom lip, he breathed out an “Ok.” His hand pulled out from the pocket with the item. Y/n’s eyes went wide at what it was. It was a mixtape. “You told me you liked my music so I decided to make you a mixtape,” Caleb’s bashfully explained as he fiddled with it in his hands. With a small breath out, he guided the mixtape towards her. “I picked out some songs that I’d thought you’d enjoy.”

Her heart swelled up. No one’s ever made her a mixtape before. And for Caleb to take the time out of his day to pick out the music and make one for her made her extremely euphoric—Emotional even. She carefully reached out to grab the mixtape, gently holding it in her hands as if it was a precious artifact. The white space in the front that allowed people to write a title had the words “For Y/n” written in red ink. A small heart was beside her name.

“Oh, Caleb, I love it,” she beamed.

At the sound of her reaction, he redirected his attention to her. “Really? You do?”

“Of course. I can’t wait to play it when I get home.”

His heart soared in his chest, letting out some chuckles in satisfaction. “I hope you like them."

***

Once they arrived at her house, Caleb parked the car. They both sat there for a moment, both not wanting to say goodbye. A pain was in their hearts. The more she thought about the date with Zayne tomorrow, the feeling that something wasn’t right grew. But she liked Zayne… didn’t she? She’s been looking forward to going on a date with him since the beginning of summer. She couldn’t let a chance like that go away.

Palms going sweaty, she rubbed them against her thighs while saying, “I should get going. Thanks for the ride. And thanks for everything, again."

“Yeah,” Caleb replied back in a quiet tone.

With a small nod, she opened the door and stepped out of the car. She couldn’t handle looking at Caleb once more, so she didn’t. Without giving him a wave goodbye like usual, she began walking over to the driveway of her house.

Eyes staring at her back, Caleb let out a sigh in frustration, hands gripping tighter onto the steering wheel. Not thinking twice, he called out, “Y/n, wait!”

Y/n quickly came to a stop and spun around, puzzled written on her face as Caleb got out of the car and made his way over to her. Coming to a stop in front of her, he said, “Don’t go on that date tomorrow.”

“What? Why not?”

“Um… I—” His mouth suddenly went dry. He licked his lips before explaining, “Well—There—Ok there’s two reasons.” Another thought came to his brain that he had to bring up. He collected his head together, now speaking seriously, “Listen, I know I said Zayne and I have been in a rough spot, but we shouldn’t do this to him. We can’t trick him into thinking that you like the same things as him.”

“I don’t mean to trick him, Caleb. I just wanted to get his attention.”

“I know… But this isn’t the way to do it. Plus it isn’t right for you as well. You shouldn’t pretend to be something you're not to impress someone. The real you is perfect. I know it can be hard to see that in yourself. Trust me, I know."

“But Zayne didn’t like the real me.”

“I do.”

A quiet gasp left her lips, mouth slightly open. At his confession, Caleb let out a breathy chuckle, ears turning red. Might as well tell the truth. “Another reason why I decided to do this bet was because I wanted to get close to you. I thought that if we hung out, you would forget about Zayne and possibly fall for me.” He put his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “Silly, huh?”

Y/n didn’t know what to say. Too much information was being thrown at her. Giving a small sigh, Caleb said, “It’s all up to you on what you decide to do. Go on the date or not.” A small, forced smile was on his lips, his eyes showing sadness. “Goodbye, Y/n.”

She watched as Caleb walked back to his car and started it up. Her eyes never left it as it drove out of sight. A wave of emotions stirred inside of her. Definitely not how she thought the night would end.

Laying in bed after getting ready, Y/n thought about Caleb’s words. He liked her? He thought she was interesting and wanted to be around her? Butterflies were in her stomach. That explained why he got her ice cream, watched the movie, and gave her the mixtape. At first she thought those things were an act of kindness.

And there was Zayne. She doesn’t mean to trick Zayne. Pretending to be interested in his things was just a jump to get a date. She didn’t know how things would work out after that. But Caleb was right. It was wrong. She always had that feeling, but Caleb confirmed it more to her.

Running down her face in frustration, regret was on her mind. She wished she could travel back in time to the day Caleb and her did the bet with what she knew now. It was simple. She liked Caleb. He should’ve been the one she wanted to ask out.

Recalling the mixtape he gave her, Y/n got up and placed the tape into a boombox. As she laid in bed, she enjoyed the music pouring out. The songs all involved love, which just made her heart ache even more.

***

Night was beginning to fall quickly the next day, the time for Y/n’s date. She gave much thought about her plan since she woke up. She got ready in her usual outfit and grabbed the pink bicycle. Since her dad was at work with the car, she had to use another source of transportation to get her there.

When she arrived at the diner, her eyes landed on Zayne sitting at a booth. With a deep breath, she made her way. “Hey, Zayne,” she said as she slid her way into the seat across from him.

Zayne sent a warm smile. “Hello, Y/n. Glad you’re finally here. Now we can get ready to order—”

“I need to tell you something,” she cut him off. His smile left his face, a puzzled look plastered instead. He watched her expression, an uneasy look in her eyes.

“What is it?”

“I’ve… been lying to you,” she shamefully admitted. “I actually am not a big fan of science movies or books. I didn’t watch The Blob like I said I did. I barely read Dune this week. I just said all those things because I wanted you to like me.”

She hung her head low, feeling too ashamed to make eye-contact with him. “I’m sorry. I should’ve viewed my plan in different angles before going through with it. I didn’t mean to trick you. And… I realized that I like someone else—”

“You like Caleb.”

Snapping her head up to him in shock, she saw Zayne had a smile on his face. Chuckling to himself, he said, “I had a feeling something was going on with Caleb this past week. He’s been going out more recently and coming back late. I thought it was strange that you happened to bring up my exact interests on the day Caleb wanted to take my place in the car wash.”

Crossing his arms across his chest on the table, he continued on, “Don’t feel bad for what you did. I’m glad you apologized. Now you should go and tell Caleb how you feel.”

Y/n smiled back at Zayne, warmth hitting her. “Thanks, Zayne.” She quickly got out of the booth and stopped once she realized something. “Wait. Is he at home?”

“Nope. I didn’t see his car at his place.”

She was right. She knew exactly where Caleb was. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out some cash and placed it on the table in front of Zayne. “I’m sorry again, Zayne. Here’s some money to pay for your meal.”

Before Zayne could refuse to take the money, she went over to Tara who was just about to head into the kitchen. “Tara, I have a quick to-go order to make.”

***

Back on the hill, Caleb parked his car and looked out to the view. But instead of a smile on his lips, it was a frown. Y/n was on her date right now. He saw Zayne leave to the diner before he decided to go up there. He went to the hill to clear his mind and not focus on the date.

However, it was hard when he was just in that spot with Y/n last night. The seat beside him was empty, wishing that she was there beside him. But she made her choice. She still wanted Zayne. Getting frustrated with the music that was playing, he lowered the sound until he could no longer hear the tunes. He slumped in his seat and closed his eyes.

Seeing Caleb’s car in the distance, relief waved over Y/n. She was breathing heavily, her legs hurting from the trip there. As she got closer, she took a glance at the basket in front of the bike, making sure everything was still there.

Hearing the sound of someone approaching him, he opened his eyes and scanned around. When his eyes landed on Y/n, they went wide. Wasn’t she supposed to be on the date? And did she bike up the mountain by herself? Once she reached him, he took in her tired expression, chest heavily up and down.

“What are you doing here?” he questioned.

She got off the bike and held it up straight with her hands as she looked at Caleb. After getting a hold of her breathing, she began explaining, “I wanted to tell you how I feel.”

At her words, he felt his heart skip a beat, listening as she went on. “I think you’re a wonderful person, Caleb. I love every single thing about you. Hanging out with you this summer has been a dream. I want us to continue going to comic book stores, going out to eat, watching movies—Do whatever makes us happy.”

She reached into the basket to pull out one of the items she had in there. “I got a movie that I thought you might like. It’s a comedy so we won’t have to worry about getting scared.” She presented it to him before putting it back in to grab another item. “I also picked up some comic books at the store. I don’t know if you own them yet but I thought we could read them together.” Then she put the books back and pulled out a bag of food. “And I got you a burger at Bobby’s. Extra onion. Just how you like it. I’ll even give you mine if you want.”

Caleb stayed still and silent in his car, Y/n getting nervous about what he thought. Her heart beated faster when seeing him get out of his car.

With a serious expression, he took the bag from her hands and placed it back in the basket. I guess that was his answer. She frowned at him. But before she could say anything else, she was thrown off he suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

She melted into his embrace, immediately tightening her arms around him. He could feel himself relax in her hold, joy in his heart. “I want the same as well."

Enjoying their bodies against each other for a moment, she asked, “Will you go out with me, Caleb?”

Upon her words, Caleb backed up a bit but still kept his arms around her. His eyes gazed lovely into her. He brought a hand up to cup the side of her face, slowly leaning in towards her. She felt her breathing slow down when his lips hovered over her own.

“Of course,” he whispered before finally connecting their lips.

Their kiss was sweet as can be. Many feelings were poured out into that kiss. Their lips moved in rhythm perfectly, as if meant to be. After a while, they disconnected their lips, both to get a grasp of breathing.

“Now.” He moved his hand down to rest underneath her chin. “How about we eat that food you bought? I’m extremely hungry.”

Y/n giggled at his words and agreed. Tossing the bike to the back, she hopped into the car with the other gifts she brought. “Oh, I also brought the mixtape you made for me.” She pulled it out of her pocket. A teasing grin was on her lips as she looked at him. “All love songs, huh?”

He sent her a smirk. “I’m romantic like that.”

Giggling at his response, she put the mixtape into the car and played the music. Both of them enjoyed their company as they ate under the stars, more beautiful moments to come in the future.