Later on that day, Nicole was walking around the small pharmacy that was a few blocks away from her house when she spotted Zac and his brother ambling around.
"Hey." Nicole said, touching him on the shoulder.
He turned around. "Hey." He said. "What's up?"
"Not much. Hey Taylor." She said. Taylor looked up from the magazine he was flipping through.
"Hey Nicole." He said.
"What are you up to?" She asked them.
"Just lookin at magazines." Zac said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Oh."
"What are you up to today?"
"Oh...not much...I talked to Katie." Nicole said, remembering her earlier conversation.
"Oh. Cool." Zac said, his face brightening a bit. "What did she have to say?"
"Oh, I mostly told her about me and Adam."
"Oh." Zac said. He kicked at a tile on the floor with his shoe. "So how is she?" He asked.
Nicole nodded. "She's good. She was a little upset though."
Zac looked up. "Why's that?" He asked.
"Oh, she got another phone call." She said.
"Oh...I take it she hadn't gotten one in awhile?"
"Nope."
"Does she know who it is?"
"Nope."
"Oh."
"She's a little shaken. She won't tell anyone about it though. I told her to tell Judy, but she won't." Nicole said.
"I didn't think she would." Zac said.
"Yeah, well. She's scared."
"I don't blame her."
"I wish there was something..."
"Anything I could do to help?" Zac asked.
Nicole sighed and looked at him sympatheticly. He was so hung up on Katie it wasn't even funny.
"Well....If you see her, try and get her to talk about it. Maybe you can convince her to do something." Nicole said.
"Okay." Zac said, nodding.
"We gotta go man." Taylor said, patting his younger brother on the shoulder.
"Oh, okay." Zac said.
"See ya Zac."
"Yeah, see ya." Zac said, walking away. Nicole looked after him. If she couldn't convince Katie to tell someone, he would be the person to change her mind.
A week later, Zac was in the nearby park, walking his dog, Winston. He sat on a swing and watched as the bulldog dug his nose in the sand. Zac stood and took off his coat, setting it on the swing beside him. It was nearly fifty degrees out, and it was still January. He sat back down and continued to watch Winson. He reached in his pocket and unwrapped a Tootisie pop, then stuck the red piece of candy in his mouth.
"Mind if I swing too?" A voice asked.
Zac looked up and squinted in the winter sun.
"Sure." he said, moving his coat. He threw it on the ground beside him.
"What are you doing here?" Katie asked, plopping down on the swing beside him.
"Just letting Winston get some exercise." He said, holding up the bulldog's leash.
"Oh." Katie said, leaning down to give the dog a pat on the head. Zac watched her as she scratched behind his ears, and he smiled as Winston leaned on her hand, begging for her to never stop. The dog looked up at her and let out a satisfied bark when she finished. He flirts better than I do.... Zac thought to himself with a smile.
The last week had been a good week. Katie hadn't gotten any more phone calls, and he had resumed walking her to class every morning. She had even called him one night in the middle of the week 'just to talk' because she was bored. Zac was more than happy to do so.
However, their talk had drifted to the fact that they were just friends, despite what people said. He sighed to himself, remembering her words.
"So what are you here for?" He asked, looking over at her.
"Oh, I'm baby sitting the group today, and Ben and Madison were going wild, and I had to get the out of the house." She said with a laugh. She looked over a ways to where Ben, Madison, Melissa, and Krista were playing on a set of monkey bars.
"I understand." Zac said.
"They were driving me nuts."
"Where's the baby?" He asked.
"I left her with Sandra."
"Oh." Zac said. "How is Sandra?"
"You mean why has she left you alone for the past couple of weeks?" Katie asked with a grin.
Zac laughed. "Yeah." He said.
"She has a boyfriend." Katie said, smiling.
"SHe DOES?!?" Zac asked, surprised.
"Yup." Katie said. "She came home one day, bragging that this one guy named Scott liked her, and then the next thing we knew it was official." Katie said.
"Ah, seventh grade love." Zac said.
"Uh huh." Katie replied with a laugh. "Well, now she leaves me alone."
"True. And maybe now she'll give up on me." He said, sticking his sucker back in his mouth.
Katie watched him. Zac looked over at her and noticed her looking at him. "What?" He asked.
"You have candy." SHe said.
Zac smiled the best he could with a tootsie pop in his mouth.
"I want some candy." She said to no one in particular.
Zac pulled the sucker out of his mouth. "Want some?" He asked.
Katie looked over at him, then at the sucker. "Ulgh, but you've started it." She said.
Zac shrugged. "So?"
"I dunno..." She said skeptically.
"I've had my tongue in your mouth. This isn't any different." He said.
Katie gave him a shocked look. Zac just raised one eyebrow at her and then looked at the sucker. She looked at him, then at the sucker. "I guess." She said, accepting the sucker and sticking it in her mouth.
"Well I have." Zac muttered. Katie looked over at him and let a smile slip onto her lips.
"I want it back in five minutes." He joked.
"Okay." She said with a laugh, watching her siblings play. They sat in silence for a fe minutes, just observing the children playing.
"So, I heard you got another call." Zac said casually. He wanted to see what she would say.
Katie looked down at her hands, taking the sucker out of her mouth. "Yeah." She said. "Last Sunday."
"Oh. Did they say anything?" He asked.
Katie shook her head. "Nope."
"Oh." Zac said. Katie looked up at him, and Zac could feel her eyes on him. He looked over at her, and was surprised to see the look of panic on her face.
"Zac, I'm scared."