CHAPTER FOUR
( NIGHT )

     CARMEN WALKS BESIDE Aurora. Darkness has finally overtaken the sun, replacing it with a moon and stars. The air had grown colder within the car ride to the Why Don't We house, causing chills to run up the spine of Carmen and Aurora.

While Carmen tried to play her coldness off as nothing, Aurora immediately demanded that Jonah give her his hoodie. Of course, with a laugh, he handed it over. Carmen pulled her teddy bear closer to her side, looking up at the big house in front of them.

"Wow," She comments with content. "You guys live here?"

"Yep," Zach replies, jumping back a little as Aurora slams grandly through the door.

She gasped at the modern twist to the inside house. There were lots of windows, the light of bright stars shining through to light the entryway.

"Your lives just got better!" Aurora yells, her arms outstretched as she looks at Jack, Corbyn, Daniel, and an unknown girl.

"Thanks, Aurora," Carmen says sarcastically, stepping into the house behind her.

"No problem," Aurora grins.

With a scowl, Carmen drops the bags- ones that belonged to Aurora- onto the floor with a thump.

"Sorry," Carmen says with an innocent smile. "They slipped."

The girl moves quickly to help Carmen pick them up, but Zach beats her to it. He slips to Carmen's side instantly, picking up over half the bags, and shooting a boyish smile to Carmen. She rolls her eyes, but can't hold back the smile that plays on her lips.

"Callie," Jack says, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Meet Aurora and Carmen."

"Hello!" Callie grins widely, and waves at Carmen and Aurora.

"Hi," Carmen waves back. "It's nice to-"

"So you're Callie!" Aurora interrupts excitedly. "Jonah says the Jack always talks about you! I think we were talking about it once when he came into my apartment to raid my fridge-"

"It was your house?" Callie questions.

"Yup! Why? Did he say anything about it?"

"Yeah," Callie smirks, glancing at Jack. "He was wondering whether he should use a pizza for a shield or a peace offering after eating your cheez-it's."

Aurora and Callie break into laughter, seeing as Jack's face grew red in embarrassment.

"Stop laughing," He mutters. "It isn't funny."

Carmen watches in surprise as he sinks down onto the couch, dragging Callie to sit in his lap. He buries his red face in her shoulder, causing Callie's eyes to widen slightly. She blushes heavily as Aurora winks at her.

"Okay," Jonah claps his hands together. "Aurora is planning on spending the night."

"Oh, cool," Callie says. "Do you guys think it would be okay if I spend the night, too?"

"YES!" Aurora fist pumps. "Girl's night!"

"I don't see why you can't spend the night," Zach shrugs, looking over at Carmen. "You can stay too, if you want, Carmen."

"Are you trying to sweeten me up?" Carmen grins, crossing her arms over her chest,

"Maybe," Zach winks, not taking his eyes off of her. "Is it working?"

Carmen smiles, but doesn't answer as Callie begins talking.

"Okay, I'm spending the night, but we have a problem." Callie states.

"What's that?" Jack asks.

"What am I going to wear for pajamas?"

"You can just wear some of my clothes," Jack offers, resulting in Callie's cheeks turning red again.

"O-okay," She stutters quietly.

"Come on, I'll take you to my room," He says, grabbing Callie's hand, making Carmen raise an eyebrow at the girl.

"Mr. Avery!" Callie gasps, noticing Carmen's movements. "I don't do that until after the first date!"

Carmen snorts in amusement, covering her mouth to hide her laugh.

"I like her," Aurora points out gleefully.

Carmen jumps slightly as a vibration erupts from her back pocket. Zach drops Aurora's bags, walking to stand beside her.

"Hey guys, we've got a problem." Carmen says, staring down at her phone screen. "I can't stay the night. My mom wants me home."

"Oh," Zach mutters, his face visually falling. She looks over at Zach in guilt, ready to apologize. "It's okay. I can drive you home if you want."

Carmen nods lightly, frowning at his now disappointed expression. She lays down Aurora's bags, turning to exit the house.

"Wait, you can drive?" Aurora questions.

"I have a licence," Zach confirms with a stiff nod, opening the door for Carmen. She hesitates, looking back at the others.

"I'm sorry you can't stay the night, Caramel! I'll miss you," Aurora hugs her tightly, before letting go as she pulls Frederick from the top of one of her bags. "Frederick will miss you, too."

"Don't forget about Zach," Corbyn mutters, earning a glare from Aurora.

"I'll miss you too, Aurora," Carmen smiles, waving to the others. "Bye, guys."

She exits before Zach, making her way over to Jonah's red corvette. When reaching the passenger seat, she can't help but break into laughter at the loud pterodactyl screech that comes from inside the house.

"GOTCHA, BITCH!" Aurora yells, her laughter reaching them from inside the house.

Zach shakes his head, chuckling in the slightest. But even over the loud yells from the house, Zach only focused on the beautiful laugh that came from Carmen.

They both got in the car, Carmen tightening her seatbelt as they drove away from the house. She looked over at Zach, who had already been staring at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Carmen asks, hoping the dark would hide the faint blush on her cheeks.

"Because you're beautiful." Zach says, the edge of his lips twitching upwards.

"You're quoting my book," She murmers, not taking her eyes off of him. Her heart rate began to speed, feeling as if it had skipped a beat.

"I may have read a few pages," Zach shrugs.

Carmen looks out the window for the rest of the ride home, a huge smile wiped across her face.

---

When Zach arrives back at the Why Don't We house, he tosses Jonah's car keys onto the living room coffee table, and slouches down onto the couch.

"ZACH IS BACK!" Aurora yells, running into the room. But, seeing as she wasn't paying any attention, she trips over a chair, and faceplants the floor with a bang. She groans, before looking up at Zach, who watches her with a semi-straight face.

"Why didn't you catch me?" She asks. "You always catch Caramel! Piece of shit."

She pushes herself up off of the floor, wrapping her hair into a messy bun as she takes a seat across from Zach. Jonah stumbles into the room, crouched over in hysterics as he points at Aurora.

"Fuck off," She glares, turning back to Zach. "Are you okay, Heroin?"

Zach ignores the nickname, looking down at the floor. "Yeah," He mumbles. "I'm fine."

"No you aren't." She states. "You miss Caramel, don't you?"

She gets no response from the boy, causing an idea to pop into her mind.

"We should kidnap her!" Aurora announces, standing up from her position. "Come on, Zach! Be happy, we're going to get your girlfriend back!"

"I don't think she likes me," He admits, not moving from his spot.

"You're almost as oblivious as she is," Aurora rolls her eyes, tugging Jonah to her side. "Don't you agree, Marais?"

"I think she likes you," Jonah says.

"See?" Aurora yanks him from the couch. "I know you're depressed without her. And while I'm here, there will be no depression! Let's go, Romeo! We will get your Juliet."

---

Carmen sighs, shuffling over to her bathroom mirror. By this time, she had already stripped from her clothes, and changed into her pajamas- short shorts and a tank top that exposed most of her chest.

She stares into the mirror, upset at what she saw. She was an idiot for ever going on a date with Zach. She should've just allowed him to take her book, and let it go. She should've blocked his number, and never spoken to him again.

Because as Carmen got home, closing the door behind her as Zach stepped down from her front porch with a smile, she realized how attached she was getting.

Within a small period, she had grown to care for him deeply, even though she tried to hide it. She didn't want to end their relationship the way Jackson had ended theirs- suddenly. And that sudden break was enough to throw her into depression for months.

After that, her life seemed to go downhill. Her high school friends decided that she was no longer the girl they once knew, set off by a rumor that Jackson had spread. And it spread like wildfire, taking Carmen down from what she thought was happiness.

The bullying began days after, much like Jackson's torture of taunting her. And soon enough, it became enough that her parents took action, moving them all the way to Las Angeles to ensure her detachment from them.

But once again, she was hit hard on the way to her new home just four months ago.

The nightmares she reoccuringly had pertained to what happened as she escaped from Jackson- a car crash that made an even bigger impact than the breakup.

A car crash that killed her father, and left a jagged scar running down Carmen's waist. From then on, she decided that relationships came with karma, and that all boys were the same. She would never be the same after the incident, even when she found a new friend that helped her through the pain- Elle.

Carmen moves away from the mirror, not wanting to look at herself any longer. She steps into her bedroom, before laying down on her bed. She stares at the ceiling peacefully, holding back any thoughts that could torment the silence with sobs.

A tap on her window urges her to stand, walking to her balcony cautiously. But upon looking down, and seeing Zach with small pebbles in his hands, she can't help but smile.

"What are you doing here?" She asks, hoping her mother wouldn't wake up from the bedroom below her.

"Aurora told me to kidnap you," He says with a grin, his mood immensely brightening at the presence of Carmen. "So here I am. Would you like to stay the night?"

"I would, but my mom-" She pauses, glancing at her bedroom door, before looking back down again. "Okay. Yeah, I'll do it."

Zach's eyes light up.

She chuckles, realizing that she was on a second story balcony. "But how am I supposed to get down? The front door downstairs has a security lock on it. If I leave, an alarm goes off."

"Jump." He states seriously.

"Zach, I eat like a pig, and weigh as much as an elephant," Carmen rolls her eyes. "If I jump, I'll crush you."

"Trust me," Zach says, holding out his arms. "I've caught you before, haven't I?"

"You've never let me fall," She murmers, hesitating to jump. Slowly, she hops onto the balcony railing, looking down at Zach.

Then, closing her eyes tightly, she jumps.

And the next thing she knows, the warm and familiar arms of Zach embrace her. Opening her eyes, she finds herself staring into those of Zach's.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" He asks, placing her gently on her feet. "I'd never let you fall."

Taking her hand in his, they walk to the car, both holding the brightest smile they ever had.

And from the first story floor of the Elliot household, Alyssa Elliot watches Zach open the door for her daughter, before getting into the car himself.

Closing her white silk curtains, she smiles to herself.

Her daughter was finally moving on.

---

"CARAMEL!" Aurora screeches, tackling the girl to the floor. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too," Carmen chuckles, sharing a glance with Zach.

"Oh my, I like your pajamas," Aurora says, pulling back to look over Carmen's shorts and tank top. "I'm sure Zach does too. Right, Heroin?"

Zach sighs, used to Aurora's teasing. He pulls his hoodie off, revealing a Why Don't We t-shirt underneath, and hands it to Carmen.

"Jealous much?" Aurora asks, raising a brow.

He doesn't respond, though, watching as Carmen shrugs, and pulls the hoodie over her clothes.

"Now, this is where the fun begins."

_____