"So Jake said yes?"
"Yeah. I couldn't believe it."
"I know."
"But now you have to get a dress."
"That's the fun part."
"Who are you going with?"
"I told you, Adam."
"He doesn't go to our school."
"That's the best part."
Katie tuned out the relentless bickering of her friends the next day as they ate lunch. Instead she was focusing on something else.
She watched from across the cafeteria as Zac balanced his tray on one hand and picked up a carton of milk with the other. She looked at his hair, which was carelessly thrown back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, his slightly wrinkled shirt, and his loose jeans with a rip in the knee.
She stared at him as he waited in line to pay for his food. He looked at her and they both smiled, knowing that they had their own little secret. She looked away for a moment when Nicole asked her a question, then looked back at Zac to see him wink at her. She giggled and turned her attention back to her lunch.
>
Later that week on Thursday morning, Katie walked down the hall to her locker. She was in a very good mood today. She had gotten a ride to school with Morgan, Taylor, and Zac. They had finalized their plans for the dance, which was exactly a week and one day away. When she opened her locker a piece of picture fell of the top shelf and fluttered to the floor.
Thinking it was just a photo from her locker door that had fallen off, she bent down and picked it up. The color drained from her face. The picture was in black and white, and it was a picture of Katie and Zac, standing a few feet apart just two days ago in the park, and they were looking into each other's eyes and talking about the dance.
"Oh my god." She said to herself, and suddenly her chest began to feel tight. She sucked in a deep breath and set down her bookbag.
"Hey." Zac said, touching her shoulder.
"Oh!" She jumped.
"Oh, sorry." he chuckled. His grin dissappeared when he saw the blank look on her face.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Katie wordlessly held up the picture. Zac took it from her with a weird look.
"What the hell..." He muttered, looking at the picture.
"Zac...." Katie said, her eyes beggining to well up.
"It's okay." he said, giving her a quick hug. They pulled apart and they both looked around the nearly empty halls. Only a few people were there as early as they were.
"What's that?" A voice asked.
Katie whirled around to see Brian standing at his locker, which was only two down from Katie's. He was straining his neck in order to see what the picture was of. Katie yanked it away from Zac and hid it behind her back.
"Nothing." She snapped, giving him a glare.
"Whoa. Sorry. Touch touchy."
"Leave her alone." Zac said. He was in no mood to be messed with that day.
"Sheesh! What is it, porn featuring you two?" Brian said with a laugh.
Two seconds later, Zac's fist had connected with Brian's nose.
"Ah! Hey!" Brian yelled as he crumpled to the floor.
Katie screeched as the two boys swung at each other. "Zac! Zac stop it! Oh my god..."
A few seconds later, a few students managed to pull Zac off of Brian.
"What the fuck is the matter with you? What the hell did I do to you?" Brian yelled at Zac, struggling to get away from the two boys holding him back.
"Keep your god damn mouth shut and stay the hell away from her." Zac said, ripping away from the boy holding his arm.
He gave him a final glare then looked at Katie. "I'll talk to you about this later." He said.
Katie could tell that he was pissed. She nodded and shut her locker, giving a final look to Brian, whose nose was still bleeding. She walked down the hall in the oppisite direction, her thoughts travelling back to the picture.