I’m still Alive - Part 2
Summary: Josie (MC) is going back home after spending the night at Zig’s, only to find Zack at her doorstep
Rating: a little bit of angst, not much
Words: 1730
Author’s Notes: This is the second part of the “I’m still alive”, it’s an AU of what happened after the car crash. I have about 5 or 6 parts planned and this is sort of a transition chapter. Please let me know if you think I should pursue this project.
Please check out the I’m still Alive, Part 1 if you haven't read it yet. I love this piece, it’s very emotional to me, so please be gentle.
I’d like to give a special shoutout to @darley1101 who encouraged me to continue this story and gave me reassurance when I needed it. ❤️
When Zig woke up, the first thing he saw was a little handwritten card left on the pillow.
Went home
I didn’t want to wake you
Thank you for last night
Josie.
He laid on his back, staring at the ceiling. Memories of last night were swirling around in his head. Her anger, her vulnerability… It all came back. And the kiss. He closed his eyes at the memory of it. Kissing her was like something out of this world. He knew he was going to fall for her from the first time he saw her at the coffee shop. But when he realized that she had a girlfriend, he pushed that feeling deep down. He had his share of flaws, but he was not a home wrecker. Of course, he cared for her, but he convinced himself that he could settle for being just friends.
And then there was yesterday. He had absolutely no intention of kissing her. What kind of an asshole would even think about it under those circumstances? He wanted to be there for her. Somehow, he saw himself in her. The way she shielded herself from the outside world, the way she held all her emotions inside. He knew all that. And he knew that those built up emotions would have to explode at one time and he wanted her to be in a safe place when they finally did.
But then, their lips met, by a sheer accident. At that moment, he was terrified that she could think he did it on purpose. He would never take advantage of the delicate place she was in. When he backed out, and she stood there motionlessly, eyes fixed on him, it felt like an eternity. Was she going to hate him for that? Was she going to storm off, never wanting to be near him again?
And then she pulled him into a real kiss. This one was not an accident. His heart was racing, and he froze for a second but gave into the kiss. He knew she needed that. He knew that it meant something entirely different to her than it did to him, but he felt her facade crumbling under the touch of his lips.
It took all of his willpower to finally break the kiss. Zig felt all of his feelings for her resurfacing again, and he knew that he couldn’t let himself do that. She was grieving. She didn’t want him. She just needed someone to remind her how it feels to be held. She was still very much in love with Kaitlyn, even if she was not here anymore. It was a lapse of judgment, nothing else.
Zig shrugged off his thoughts, reached out for his phone and wrote a quick message to Josie:
Hope you’re feeling a bit better.
Let me know if you got back home safely.
After a moment of staring at the screen, he added
And don’t be a stranger, ok?
***
She was walking towards her apartment building when her phone buzzed, letting her know about an upcoming message.
It was Zig. Her stomach twisted.
She felt grateful for last night. It felt almost… cathartic. She didn't want anyone to get near her after the accident. At Kaitlyn’s funeral, she heard all the not so subtle whispers.
„That’s her girlfriend, I’ve heard that she was there…”
„I would seriously lose my shit if I was in her place…”
„Wondering if she is going to drop out of school…”
„She looks horrible…”
Her friends were not much better. They didn’t say anything, but she could see the pity in their eyes.
So she cut them off. She didn't want their pity. She didn’t want to talk about it. She just wanted to pretend that it didn’t happen. Like Kaitlyn was going to burst through their front door, jump on the couch and start rumbling about her band practice.
But after three agonizing months, he made her confront the reality and how she felt. It was scary, and she was really angry at him at that moment. But when she gave in, let it all out and sank into his chest, letting herself mourn, she finally felt at peace.
But there’s also the other side of that story. The one that made her feel terribly guilty.
She kissed him.
Well, technically he kissed her first, but she knew he didn’t really mean it. He looked so scared when he realized what he’s done. And then some kind of an invisible force took over her body and drawn her to his lips again. She was living in some sort of a twisted dream that she couldn’t wake up from, and the feeling of being held, being kissed by someone pulled her back from the limbo.
Of course, Zig being Zig stopped them from doing anything else. She was not sure how far it would go if he didn’t, honestly. But she knew she would regret it.
She was not sure what to write, still feeling a bit awkward after what happened. After a moment of hesitation, she replied
„I’m at my door. Everything is fine. I’m super swamped for the next few days, but we’ll keep in touch.”
She put the phone back into a pocket and was searching through her purse, looking for keys, while a familiar voice brought her to reality.
„There you are! I was worried sick about you!”
She glanced at the person who was sitting at her doorstep, holding two cups of coffee.
„Zack, what are you doing here?”
She helped him up to his feet and looked at him. She was feeling both puzzled and thankful for having such a good friend.
„Can we talk?… I have a peace offering?”
He held one of the cups out to her, looking at her with his sad puppy dog eyes. She held it close to her nose, inhaling the well-known scent. She immediately recognized that it was her favorite blend from the coffee shop. She took a sip, and a warm feeling went down her chest.
„Of course, and you don’t have to make peace offerings. We’re not at war”. She opened the door to her apartment end let Zack in.
He looked around. It was the first time he went there after he helped her move from Vasquez’s house. It seemed like time stood still from that moment. Boxes were still in the exact spot he left them, only a few clothes and books laying around.
„Josie… I’m sorry about the dinner. It was probably too much, right?”
She took another sip, her finger fidgeting at the lid of the cup.
„Yes… It was… But I’m glad you talked me into it. I think it’s time for me to get out of my cave.”
He took her hand in his and rubbed her knuckles with his thumb, smiling gently with a hint of pain in his eyes.
„I really missed you Zack, and I’m sorry I’ve cut you out of my life for so long…”
He pulled her into a tight hug.
„Hey, it’s ok. I know you had to take your time, deal with it your own way. I wish I could do more to help you…”
She pointed them to sit on the couch and leaned on the armrest.
„So… What happened after you left?”
Zack was eyeing her from top to bottom.
„Can’t help to notice that you’re wearing the same clothes as yesterday”
One of his eyebrows arched and she let out a little laugh because it reminded her of the signature Dwayne Johnson look.
„To be fair, lately it was not so unusual for me to wear the same clothes for few days straight.”
„But…?”
„I’ve spent the night at Zigs.”
His eyes widened, mouth slightly opened, as he was not sure what to say.
„Did… Did you guys…”
„What? No Zack, get your mind out of the gutter! He found me after I ran out of the apartment and we just talked. I said that I didn’t want to go back to my place and we went to his”
„So… you talked?”
„Yes, actually… I hit him.”
It was almost like something out of a cheesy comedy when Zack jumped on his seat.
„You what?! Did he make a move on you? If he did, I’m going to kick his sorry ass!”
The image of Zack trying to fight Zig was both hilarious and endearing. But she knew he meant every word of it.
„ No, of course not. He was a perfect gentleman. But he forced me to confront my anger. And then I yelled at him…”
„Sounds intense.”
„Yes… it was. I yelled at him and threw few punches at his chest… It was emotionally draining, but to be honest, I kind of needed that. I’ve spent the last three months running away from my feelings, and as painful as it was to talk about her… I needed that. After that, I was so tired, that he offered me to stay the night.”
„And nothing happened?”
She didn’t want to tell him the whole truth. She didn’t want him to think that she was forgetting about Kaitlyn. She still loved her, and her own guilt was enough.
„No, he offered to sleep on the couch. We’re just friends, nothing more. And I don’t know if it was the talk, or if he’s got some sort of a magical mattress, but it was the best sleep I’ve had in a long time.”
She decided to left out the detail that she asked him to stay with her.
„Well, I’m glad that you are well rested, cause I’m taking you somewhere.”
„What? I’ve got classes.”
„No you don’t, they actually canceled prof. Keith’s classes today, apparently he slipped on a banana peel and broke his tailbone.”
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
„You’ve got to be kidding me!”
„No, I swear, it’s the truth! James saw it! He said it looked like something straight out of silent movies.”
He couldn’t contain the laughter, and she soon joined him.
„Oh… my… god… Poor professor Keith.”
She said, still laughing. Zack looked at her, happy to see her smiling again.
„Ok, get dressed, we’ve got so much to do!”
28 notes
·
View notes
Three years (Kaitlyn and MC fan fiction)
Note: This is a bit long, but I hope you guys will appreciate it. I have already started this weeks ago as an entry for the Choices Creates round with the prompt kitchen. But being so busy lately, the round closed and I’m only halfway through. I decided to finish it anyway and then the prompt for this week was released and I found a way to merge it with this week’s prompt. This is my entry for Choices creates round 12.
Sooooo, @hollyashton and the rest of the fandom, here it goes. Happy reading!
—
Good morning, sunshine! Got you this before walking to class. Drink it up before it gets too cold. I love you! See you in the evening. xoxo
P.S. Wish me luck for my song presentation today! I couldn’t have done this if you didn’t help me with the lyrics!
P.P.S. You’re drooling! But still beautiful, don’t you worry sweetheart. *grin*
I smile to myself as I finished reading the note beside a cup of coffee on the bedside table. On the cup is my name with a heart icon beside it. I drink my first sip and take time to realize how lucky I am to have Kaitlyn. For the span of our three-year relationship, she never failed to make me happy even with the little things, despite of being busy especially now that we are in our senior year.
Yes, it has been more than three years since the day I bumped to Chris, splashed with Kaitlyn in a bikini, appreciated Abbie’s artwork for the first time, and spent the first night at the rooftop together with my suitemates. We still do, though, even if all six of us have gone different ways to pursue our passions.
Chris had rerun for the student council president position several times, and had won in every single one of them. I always believe that being a Public Administration major has given him an additional edge against his opponents. Tyler took Information Technology and is bound to finish his own mobile game. Abbie pursued Fine Arts, and has already accomplished putting up several art exhibits to showcase her works. Zack took up Fashion and Design, and plans on having his own clothing line in the future. James had found a new agent who’s willing to bring his original play to life. He’s back in LA and is very busy with the movie right now. Zig is a major in Mathematics, a consistent Dean’s Lister and a candidate for honors in graduation, continuing to uphold that the Second Chance scholarship program is indeed possible! Kaitlyn, obviously, continued pursuing her career in music. She is the lead vocalist of The Perfect Circle, a band she joined after she quit Gutter Kittens. They’ve been playing together for almost two years now, and three of their original singles have been hits across many social media platforms. I won’t be surprised if Kaitlyn will be signing her first recording contract right after graduation. I pursued a career in journalism. I am now in the process of writing my third novel, the second sequel to the novel I first wrote for Professor Vasquez.
The clock reads 8:10 AM. Kaitlyn’s music composition class had started ten minutes ago. I take one last sip of coffee before pulling out my phone and typed:
To: Kaitlyn
Good luck on your song performance! Go on and nail it! I know you can do it. I love you! xoxo
My relationship with Kaitlyn is one heck of a roller coaster ride. There are so much good times – from the romantic dinner dates, spontaneous movie nights, adventurous hiking days, late night booty calls, to the exchange of flirty, sweet text messages – I only found myself falling for her more and more every single day. But just like any other relationship, bad times happen as much as the good times. Time came when Kaitlyn became very jealous of Becca, when I felt bad thinking that Kaitlyn isn’t proud of being my girl in front of her high school gang, or when both of us struggled to make time for each other. There were also times when we wouldn’t speak to each other days after a fight, for the argument to cool down, for the heart to heal, and for the mind to wander for a bit. And as it is said, not all who wander are lost. Sometimes, it will just make you realize that you will always tend to come back to where you truly belong. And that’s how it goes for me and Kaitlyn. We belong to each other and nothing’s going to change it.
My phone buzzes and Kaitlyn’s name appears on the screen.
Thank you babe! You don’t know how nervous I am now!
Don’t be, silly. You’ll do great! By the way, I’ll see you at dinner. Wear your best!
My best? For what?
I laugh upon reading her reply. I’m thinking she might be forgetting something.
On Fridays, Kaitlyn’s schedule is more packed than mine. My classes already ends at 2 o'clock in the afternoon while hers ends at 5, not to mention her band practice that lasts up to 7 o'clock in the evening. I’m the lucky one today; I have lots of time to prepare for my plans tonight.
Before the sun sets, I find myself standing at the kitchen, looking around to check if everything is perfect. Lights are slightly dimmed, giving way for the candles at the table’s center and some are scattered at the floor. The food is already set – from the appetizer to the main course to the triple chocolate cake dessert – at the bar counter, which is now covered with white linen. The table is also covered with white cloth, chairs placed on its opposite sides, two sets of eating utensils placed above it. Rose petals are also scattered on the floor to add to the romantic vibe of the setup.
I then look down on myself, smoothing the white, floral dress I am wearing. I glanced up the clock and it reads 6:37 PM. Kaitlyn will be home at any moment.
Not for so long, the suite’s doorknob clicks. The door opens and there emerges Kaitlyn, wearing the same red dress she wore during our first formal together. Her hair is tied up and she is holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand. She smiles widely at me as she sees my reaction.
No, she had never forgotten.
I greeted her with a long passionate kiss, and after she pulls away, she said, “Happy anniversary, babe.”
I tell her the first words my tongue could find, “How… I thought you forgot.”
She hands me the bouquet before answering, “How could I forget the day I became the luckiest girl in the world?” She grins.
I smile at her as I take the flowers from her hand. I set them on the table first and pull out a small paper bag. I gestured at her, “Here, I have something for you, too.”
I unpacked the paper bag’s contents and reveal a silver bracelet similar to the lucky charm bracelet I lend her when she almost failed all her subjects during our first spring term. The pendants of the bracelet include two female symbols joined together, a musical note, a zombie, a heart and a letter E – each representing different sides of her personality.
Her eyes follow my hand as I clasp the bracelet around her wrist. I could sense the genuine happiness in her eyes when she turned them back at me and hugged me. I returned the embrace and whispered, “Happy third anniversary, babe. I love you.”
She replied, “I love you, too.”
I pull away and lead her to the dining table. I pull her seat for her before sitting in mine, and tonight, we both have the dinner of our lifetime.
92 notes
·
View notes