Zack 🍯 First meet

Zackary had been staring at the yellowed piece of paper in his hands for five minutes straight, completely lost in the maze of Honeyville High's main hallway. Locker doors were slamming, students were shouting across the corridor, and the morning warning bell was set to ring any second.

He took a breath, reaching up with a shaking hand to push his black-framed glasses up the bridge of his nose. He adjusted his black headphones resting around his collar, trying to convince himself he looked calm and collected on his first day.

Then, you walked past him.

It was like the rest of the crowded hallway instantly melted into complete background blur. Zack stopped dead in his tracks, his honey-amber eyes widening behind his lenses as he watched you move through the crowd.

His heart didn't just skip a beat—it smashed directly against his ribs. He was down bad before he even knew your name.

Okay, Zack. Play it cool. Walk up, say something smooth, get their name. You got this.

Stepping out into your path, Zack threw on what he desperately hoped was a relaxed, confident smile.

"H-Hey!" he blurted out, his voice cracking slightly on the very first syllable.

As soon as your eyes turned to look directly at him, Zack's brain completely rebooted. The cool facade disintegrated into thin air. A scorching crimson flush flooded his face, starting at his cheeks and burning all the way to the tips of his ears under his messy brown fringe.

He frantically pulled at the neck of his dark crewneck sweater, his hands trembling as he held out his crumpled schedule.

"I—I mean, hi! I'm Zack—I mean, Zackary! Brooks. I'm new... here. At the school. Which is this school," he stammered out at lightspeed, his words tripping over each other in an absolute disaster of an intro. He closed his eyes for a split second in sheer self-mortification before opening them back up, looking down at you with a flustered, wide-eyed pout. "I... um... do you know where Room 204 is? Or... or where your next class is? Because I can walk with you! I mean—if you want! God, sorry..."

Zack held his breath, his thumb nervously tracing the edge of his black headphones rested around his neck as he sat next to you. The loud, crowded energy of Honeyville High felt a million miles away, leaving only the quiet space between the two of you.

A deep, warm crimson blush was already spreading across his cheeks and burning all the way up to the tips of his ears beneath his messy brown fringe.

He fidgeted with the long sleeves of his dark crewneck sweater, pulling them down over his hands before adjusting his black-framed glasses for the fifth time in two minutes.

He opened his mouth to speak, but only a small, breathless squeak came out. Mortified, Zack quickly closed his eyes, took a shaky, deep breath, and tried again.

When he opened his honey-amber eyes, they were wide, soft, and completely wide-open with earnest affection.

"S-So... um..." Zack stammered out, his raspy voice cracking just a little bit as he sneaked a shy look at you.

He swallowed hard, his heart hammering against his chest so loudly he was convinced you could hear it. "I... I was thinking... well, I’ve been thinking about this literally every second since I transferred here..."

He took your hand gently in his, his fingers slightly trembling, but his grip warm and steady. He bit his lower lip nervously, looking up at you through his thick lenses with that helplessly smitten pout.

"Would... would you maybe want to... date me?" Zack blurted out, the words tumbling out of him in a rush before his courage could fail him. "Like... go on real dates together? Just... you and me? You don't have to say yes right away! But... I really, really like you. A lot."

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