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Chapter 11 | ❝ What are you going on about? ❞

Friday, November 23rd, 2018 - 7:15 p.m.

ZACH RANG THE doorbell on the house with the address of 19 Huntington Avenue. It was a house he had not been to in quite a while, the previous time being an unfortunate pool dilemma which caused Zach a bit of tension. This time, however, there was no chance of events repeating themselves. He felt safe about being there, especially if a certain someone was with him.

He waited patiently on the porch while he was quite deep in thought. A certain idea had been floating in Zach's mind ever since he returned from Florida the previous Sunday--more specifically about what happened at the pier.

"Should I ask her to talk about it?" Zach asked himself nervously even though his exterior appeared completely calm. "It's been nearly six days."

He decided against it the moment the door opened. The two of them had a beach party and a movie night to go to.

Kelsey's wide smile greeted him with pure joy from the other side of the front door. Her blonde hair was tied into a high ponytail behind her and she was tucked into a cozy, oversized sweatshirt. A tan purse was draped over one shoulder and her face was bare of makeup, which was a rarity, but there was no need for it anyway.

"Hey, Zach! I told you I could pick you up," she exclaimed happily.

Zach shrugged, her grin becoming contagious. "I thought I'd walk here. It's nice out, anyway," he replied.

Kelsey was about to say something when a certain dachshund with one ear came barreling down the stairs and out the front door. Zach took a step back while Uno attempted to climb on him, barking happily and tail wagging a hundred miles per hour. The dog was quite excited to meet a new person, especially one whom Kelsey held in high regard.

"Woah-!" Zach laughed. He bent down to pet the overly ecstatic dog. "I'm guessing this is the dog I've heard so much about with one ear."

"That's Uno, and it's one and a half ears," she corrected him playfully

"I can see that," Zach goofily retorted while carefully scratching Uno on the top of the head. "He's adorable!"

"I'm sure he'd say thank you if he could talk."

Zach smiled and when he was finished petting the dog, Kelsey picked Uno up and held him in her arms. The teenage boy stood to his full height and simply smiled at the happy dog who was looking at him with wide, fond eyes. Zach could not resist petting Uno behind his ear—the full one and not the one which was half remaining.

"Are you ready to go?" Kelsey asked when Zach did not begin talking again.

He nodded with another shrug. "Yeah, if you are."

Kelsey turned to face the interior of the house while leaning against the door frame. "Mom! Dad! I'm going to that small beach party I told you about!" she notified them loudly.

"Alright, Dear. Have fun!" a voice of which Zach could only assume was Mrs. Davis called back from the living room.

Mr. Davis added on, "Be careful!"

"I will!" she replied to the both of them.

Kelsey set Uno down onto the floor and the dog instantly began whining. She started comforting her beloved pet multiple times before eventually placing a small kiss on the top of his head and coaxing him back into the house. It was not until Mrs. Davis offered Uno a treat that he ran off, leaving the two teenagers alone and letting Kelsey shut the front door.

"Wait, are we supposed to bring snacks tonight?" Zach suddenly questioned as Kelsey unlocked her vehicle.

Kelsey shook her head and opened the driver's side door. "Nope," she responded. "I texted Harper about that earlier today and he said he's ordering pizza for all of us."

"Oh, cool!"

"Let's hope there's no pineapple on it," Kelsey wistfully stated.

Zach sat next to her in her vehicle while she turned it on. "Why's that?" he innocently asked.

Kelsey let out a feigned gasp. "Don't tell me..."

"Don't tell you what?"

"That you like pineapple on pizza!"

"Why's that so bad?!" Zach inquired at the fact he had been convicted of something he did not know was a crime.

Kelsey began to drive. "I expected more from you," she teased.

"I'm picky when it comes to food, but not that picky," retorted Zach with an eye roll. "But, everyone has their own opinions and I respect yours."

"Thank you, kind sir," Kelsey laughed, which caused Zach to do the same.

The two teenagers drove along the road in near silence. The only noise audible to them was the asphalt underneath the four tires of Kelsey's Chevrolet. Zach felt his thoughts begin to be more intrusive when he was not distracted from reality around him and flashbacks tormenting him. It was painful to think.

Luckily, Kelsey seemed to notice the sensation of something being off kilter in the air. "Hey, would you mind if I play some Taylor Swift? Her newest album is good."

"Yeah, sure," Zach replied instantly with his signature smile. His attention went from the window to the girl driving in a matter of half a second.

"You might like it."

Little did Kelsey know, Zach had already listened to it. He nodded.

Kelsey stopped her car at the next stop sign and quickly browsed the music in her phone until she came across the Reputation album. She plugged her phone into the Bluetooth radio gimmick her vehicle possessed. Zach blinked in surprise at the song which was picked after Kelsey hit the button for shuffle play.

Don't Blame Me.

"Hey, I'm learning this song on guitar! It has a nice melody and the beat drop during the choruses is awesome," he commented casually as Kelsey began driving again.

The blonde sputtered in surprise, "You are?"

"That's what I said—was it not?" joked Zach. He saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"What happened to you "not being into that type of music?"" she asked, quoting his words from over a month prior.

"How do you even remember me saying that?"

Kelsey smiled cheerfully. "I like remembering the little things," she answered truthfully, and then out of curiosity, she questioned again, "Why'd you start listening to her songs?"

"Why do you think?" Zach answered her question with a metaphorical one of his own.

The blonde was confused until it hit her. She smiled - mostly to herself - as she drove along in the direction of Harper's house, which was close by. Kelsey's cheeks felt warm and pinkened, thinking about the fact Zach began listening to a different style of music because she said she enjoyed it. It was a small gesture, but a meaningful one.

Words were not exchanged between the two of them until they reached Harper's humble abode. It truly was humble as the name suggested—being a small house on the oceanfront. Rather than the structure itself, the view was the priceless part despite it being dark. Neither Zach, nor Kelsey expected such a view where the sandy shoreline was literally in Harper's backyard.

Zach and Kelsey left the vehicle after Kelsey parked it safely on the curb near another which must have belonged to Mason or August. While they were walking up the driveway, they noticed the back gate to be open and stopped. The two of them awkwardly looked at each other.

"Should we just...walk back there or knock on the door?" inquired Zach.

Kelsey shrugged. "It's not like we're criminals or something," she noted. "Let's just walk back there and if we get mugged, so be it."

Zach chuckled with a shake of the head as the two began walking towards the opened gate. It itself seemed welcoming, but then again, Harper's whole demeanor was. Even his house had open, hospitable doors.

Once the boy and the girl passed through the gate, they were met with the sight of Harper and Mason aggressively passing a volleyball to each other. There was no net, so the two of them were racing amongst the sand wildly in an attempt to keep the weathered ball into the air. Mason and Harper were shouting and laughing at each other when they thought the volleyball would roll at their feet, but ultimately, it remained in orbit.

Meanwhile, the quiet and reserved August was sitting on the edge of the small patio which overlooked the sand. Rather than having his nose in a book, his laptop, or both, he was watching his two friends intently. He had little to no interest in playing with them, but he enjoyed watching his two friends having a good time.

August gave Zach and Kelsey a friendly wave, spurring the teenage boy to greet them. "Hey, guys! We're here!"

"Hey, you two! Welcome!" Harper enthusiastically welcomed them—so much so that the volleyball nearly hit him in the face when he stopped to say hello.

It was not like that had not happened before.

Mason grabbed the volleyball and tucked it under his arm. "Hello, Zach! Hi, Kelsey!"

"Hi!" the two of them chorused.

"Do any of you want to play with us?" Harper offered. "I don't have a net - I'm asking for one for Christmas - but we could just play around. We tried persuading August, but he decided just to watch."

"Uh, I can try," committed Zach. He had no clue what he was getting into.

"Awesome!" Harper cheered before his eyes landed on his other friend. "How about you, Kelsey?"

Kelsey generally was not in the mood for sports. "I'd rather watch, but thank you. Maybe later," she politely declined Harper's request.

"Sounds good to me. Alright, Zach—come over here and we'll show you how to play!"

Zach eagerly jogged over to the sandy clearing while Kelsey sat down on the patio to watch with August. The two quieter beings of the group had become much better friends ever since the unfortunate event of Kelsey's breakup. They bonded over the physical and emotional pain they shared, which was something special to have in a friendship.

Mason tossed Harper the volleyball; the latter of which began to speak, "Okay, so the general goal of volleyball is to keep the ball from hitting the ground when it's on your side of the net, or since we don't have a net, when it's passed to you."

"That doesn't sound so hard," Zach commented nonchalantly.

He was confused when Mason laughed a bit. "We'll take it easy on you since you've never played, but it's actually quite difficult."

"How so?"

"Just wait and see," Harper insisted, brushing his blond hair out of his face.

Zach watched in awe as his tallest friend popped the volleyball up into the air at least ten feet with his own two bare hands locked together. He then served it to Mason, who passed it back to Harper. Zach waited his turn in the circle, but when it came after a couple more passes he gave it his all. Needless to say he hit the ball, but before it pitifully rolled across the sand.

Zach blushed in embarrassment. "Oops."

"That's okay. You'll get the hang of it," encouraged Harper and Mason nodded in agreement. "Want to try again?"

"Yeah!"

The three boys once again engaged in a volley of the ball with the old, round, appropriately named object. Kelsey watched their playful banter from the patio with an intent gaze which refused to tear off of them--especially a certain someone with black hair, glasses, and a goofy smile. A grin of her own unconsciously appeared on Kelsey's face.

A sudden voice startled her out of her thoughts moments later. "If you're so enthralled by the concept of volleyball, you can join them, you know."

"Oh, I'm not into sports," Kelsey clarified. Her eyes broke from the scene in front of her and landed on the boy next to her. "I don't even like volleyball, to be honest with you."

"Then why - if you mind me asking - do you look so intrigued?" August questioned.

"Because there's nothing else to watch?" Kelsey's answer seemed more like an inquiry itself.

The brown-haired boy chuckled under his breath like he knew something she did not. "You look rather infatuated with something in particular if you ask me."

"What are you going on about?"

"I may be a guy who knows absolutely nothing about a girl's emotions, but I'm not blind," August stated bluntly. His eyes widened as he faltered over his word choice, beginning to ramble out of character, "Not that it's a bad thing, I know what Zach went through and stuff, but I can see you're watching one of them particularly."

Kelsey knew exactly what and which person he was talking about, however she played dumb. "I'm sorry, I'm confused."

"No, you're not."

"You can't just assume-" Kelsey began before she was cautiously cut off.

"It's Zach, isn't it?"

Kelsey's river of words instantaneously became dry. She did not attempt to reply since she knew her voice would croak like a lonely frog in the middle of nowhere. How did August know? Kelsey was so sure that she kept everything she felt under wraps, but apparently not so.

Her cheeks reddened at his question when she finally was able to speak, "What about him?"

"I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, but it seems like there's something going on between you two," he explained in his normally quiet tone. "You don't have to tell me, but I've noticed how you blush every time his name's mentioned. I mean, don't get me started about when on Tuesday, my sister unknowingly called him your boyfriend."

"I guess I'm a tomato, then, aren't I?" Kelsey frowned, looking away.

"There's no shame in that. If you like someone, you like someone. That's okay," August advised, which only caused her blush to intensify.

"How would you know if I liked him?"

"Well, if I can ask, do you?"

Kelsey opened her mouth to answer when she heard a loud thud of a body against the sand nearby. Her head snapped towards the group of three boys once again, but this time, the very person she was speaking about to August had tripped while in the midst of attempting to dive and pass the volleyball and gotten himself punched in the face by the beach itself.

She was about to run over with concern until Zach rolled over and laid down on his back. His uncontrollable laugh rang throughout the air around him despite his unfortunate footing. Zach did not appear injured. Instead, he was happy as a clam and the reason was because he could finally hang out with his friends like a normal person. Kelsey smiled in his direction before turning back to August. She was genuinely overjoyed for him.

Rather than expecting an answer, August changed the subject slightly. He had already gotten the information he requested simply from Kelsey's body language. "You know, actions guided by feelings don't go anywhere unless you execute them. I'd suggest you talk to him if you want that."

The blonde blinked in surprise. "What-?"

But before she was able to get another word out of August, two pairs of running footsteps entered the backyard. Kelsey's attention was drawn to the two smiling girls approaching her.

"Hey, Kelsey! Autumn happily exclaimed. "Sorry we're late, Phoebe forgot her phone at home so we had to do a u-turn halfway here and go get it."

"That's okay, hello!" Kelsey stood from her seat and warmly hugged her two friends.

Harper perked up from the sound of new people in his yard and grinned. "Welcome! Want to join us in volleyball? Some of us are playing until the pizza gets here, then we can start the movie."

"I'll watch with Kelsey," replied Autumn kindly. "Thank you, though!"

Phoebe agreed with a nod. "I'll watch too, but thanks for the offer."

"No problem!" Harper served the ball to his friends between his words. "But if any of you do want to play, just jump on in."

"What movie are we going to watch anyway?" Kelsey asked out of curiosity.

Mason looked over at the group of people on the patio. "Haven't decided yet!" he called from the sandy clearing. "We're open to any ideas, though."

"How about we take a vote?"

"Sure!" Harper replied, but before any voting was going to commence, a voice sounded from the house.

"Pizza's here!"

The back door opened and a woman seeming to be in her mid to late forties stepped out carrying a few pizza boxes stacked on top of each other. She looked an awful lot like Harper, but of course a female and older version. Her blonde hair was cut into a wavy bob which framed her warm, dimpled face. Zach, Kelsey, Phoebe, and Autumn all assumed this woman was Harper's mother, but that did not seem to be the case.

Harper suddenly deserted the volleyball game and dashed over to her. "Thanks, Auntie! I can take those," he declared, and his "auntie" handed him the pizza boxes.

When Harper turned back around to face his friends, he noticed a look of confusion on their faces, so he decided to explain, "I live with my aunt. Things with my...parents weren't going so well a few years ago, so she offered to take me in."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kelsey apologized since it was second nature to her.

"Don't worry about it—I like telling people about it," Harper beamed to most of his friends' surprises, but not Mason and August's. "And besides, she's more like a mother than anything."

Auntie smiled when her nephew wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug. "You flatter me," she joked, reaching up to ruffle his hair. "Now, go enjoy your party! You know where the projector is, and let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you!"

As soon as Auntie reentered the house, Harper began to set up the pizzas from Dominos and other food which he had provided from inside on the patio's table along with the help of Mason and Zach. Eventually, everyone had gotten their food and the party, no matter how small, was in full swing. The only thing left to do was to pick a movie.

Needless to say, the group of seven decided on a Disney movie—more specifically, The Lion King. It was indeed a little bit childish, but then again, Disney movies were for everyone to enjoy and relish. It was one of Zach's first movies he had physically been able to watch since he was a little kid, so it was an understatement to say he was looking forward to it. He had listened to The Lion King several times due to Hayleigh.

Harper set up the projector to illuminate the movie on a large wall on the backside of the house. Mason went inside and grabbed several blankets for seating. Harper, Mason, and August ended up sharing a blanket, Phoebe and Autumn had the second, and Zach and Kelsey had the third. The sky was just dark enough to watch a movie when it began.

Knowing the group of friends, it was never a dull moment. The commentary throughout the cartoon was unmatched, and when they did not think it could get any better, Harper and Mason attempted to recreate the scene where Scar pushes Mufasa off the cliff, but with the patio.

Long story short, Mason had a sandy bum and grins and giggles followed afterwards.

Throughout the entire get together, Kelsey's mind forced itself to stay above the sea of her thoughts. August's advice rang through her ears every chance it was able to, and she knew she should take it and use it wisely. Her actions, especially the ones directly before and after Zach's venture to Florida, spoke louder than words ever could. She needed to do something about it.

Even on the drive home, she was thinking about it, and her imagination refused to leave. She knew what her heart wanted, but the question was, how would she get it?

Little did she know, Zach was thinking the exact same things and having the exact same emotions, since the last three words which flew out of his mouth before he walked home at around ten thirty in the evening were:

"Can we talk?"

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