summary: y/n had never liked the fact that her soulmate tattoo was about cheez-its, and zach never thought he'd meet his soulmate at starbucks.

pairing: zach x female!reader (soulmate!au)

triggers: just cursing

link to original post: https://youngbloodseavey.tumblr.com/post/184669782013/cheez-it-zach-herron

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you look like a damn cheez-it.

y/n had always hated the  fact that her soulmate's first words that she would hear was gonna be  that exact phrase. even more so, she hated how it was permanently  tattooed on her body until she met her cheez-it man.

but alas,  that's how it worked in the world she had lived in. the first words she  would ever hear her soulmate say were tattooed on her wrist. and  apparently, her soulmate had something weird going on with cheez-its.  or, he was going to call her a cheez-it? what a pleasant first interaction with the person she was destined to be with until the end of time.

she  stared intently at the words, shaking her head as she read the phrase  before pulling her sleeve over the tattoo. y/n grabbed her purse before  heading out the door, beginning her journey to work.

her commute  was the same as it always had been every morning. get in her car, take  the highway to her job at starbucks, clock in, and start working.

y/n  hummed softly to herself as she walked in through the employee entrance  of starbucks, saying a quick hi to her manager before pulling on her  apron. the store was already buzzing with customers, and y/n quickly got  to work behind the cash register.

there was the typical  influx of customers, the people stopping by on their way to work, the  teenagers getting a caffeine fix before school, the people who just  wanted a good coffee to start their day.

"do you want your muffin warmed?" y/n asked the lady who had just ordered a blueberry muffin and a venti iced latte.

"yes  please," the lady responded, and y/n went to go grab her muffin. she  hummed as she placed the muffin in the toaster, before walking back over  to the register and quickly ringing the lady up. the toaster dinged  after thirty seconds, y/n going to retrieve the muffin and placing it in  a bag.

"here you go ma'am-"

"you look like a damn cheez-it!" y/n's heart stopped the moment she heard a loud voice utter the phrase. oh my god, it's cheez-it guy. it's my soulmate.

she  dropped the muffin on the counter in front of her, her eyes scanning  the store wildly as she looked for the origin of the voice.

and that's when she saw him.

a  brown haired boy had just walked in with his friend, who's bleached  blonde hair was a dead-giveaway as to who he was referring to when he  called someone a cheez-it. even from a distance she could see his  sparkling brown eyes, his quiffed-up brown hair and his goofy smile.

that's him.

"excuse  me miss?" y/n was snapped out of her daze by her next customer, who was  a man in an expensive suit who clearly looked like he was in a rush.

"oh,  i-i'm sorry!" y/n rushed out, her heart racing a mile a minute as her  gaze was still plastered on her brown haired, rosy cheeked soulmate.  "hey gwen, can you take over for a minute? i have something to take care  of," y/n asked her co-worker, who nodded and walked over to the  register that y/n was previously stationed at.

y/n practically ran to exit behind the counter, before slowing down to a normal walking pace.

this is him, y/n. this is the guy you're supposed to be with for the rest of your life. this is your soulmate-

slam.

"oh  my god, i'm so sorry!" she gasped, so deep into her thoughts that she  didn't even realize that she ran into someone until it happened. she  looked up to apologize again, when she locked eyes with the chocolate  brown irises that were staring down at her.

oh my god, it's him.

"cheez-it  guy?" y/n breathed out, her stomach turning itself inside and out. he  looked confused for a few seconds, before a look of realization dawned  on him.

he slowly rolled up his right sleeve, revealing the phrase  "oh my god, i'm so sorry" etched onto his skin. his cheeks darkened to  an even deeper shade of crimson, eyes widening as he realized that he  was standing right in front of his soulmate.

"it's you." he mumbled, eyes analyzing every inch of her face. her beautiful face. his soulmate's face.

when  daniel had bugged him into going to starbucks with him this morning, he  sure as hell wasn't expecting to meet the person he was destined to be  with.

he slowly lifted his hand up, cupping her cheek with  his palm as if to make sure that she was real. the moment his skin  touched hers it seemed like electricity had sprung from his finger tips,  sending a warm, fuzzy feeling though their bodies. she instinctively  leaned into his touch, eyelids fluttering shut as she soaked in his  essence.

"i hate to break this up, but what the hell is going on?"  the two jumped apart at the sound of his blonde friend's voice, who  looked very confused at the situation.

"daniel, this is-"  y/n's soulmate looked at her, before leaning down to whisper into her  ear. "uh, what's your name?" oh yeah, they had completely skipped  introductions.

"i'm y/n. and what's your name?" y/n whispered back, seeing the smile on his face grow.

"you  have a beautiful name. i'm zach." zach. it fit him well, with his  fluffed-up hair and rosy cheeks. it rolled off her tongue nicely, and  she could see herself saying that name for the rest of her life.

"daniel,  this is y/n. my uh, my soulmate." zach's friend, who y/n had just  learned was daniel, had a look of shock the moment the words passed  zach's lips.

"congrats man," daniel gave zach a bro hug,  ruffling his hair a little bit before stepping back. "now i'll leave you  two soulmates alone, because i'm craving a cake pop right now." daniel  walked off to the counter, leaving the pair alone. y/n caught gwen's  eye, her co-worker sending her a wink and giving her a shoo motion,  signaling that gwen could take y/n's shift for the time being.

"thank you."  y/n mouthed to her friend, before turning back to zach. the pair stood  in silence for a few moments, both not knowing what to say or do next.

"so,"  she started, not knowing how to end her statement. should she suggest  getting out of the starbucks and going to talk somewhere else? should  she make him a coffee? they were soulmates, shouldn't they just  instantly know what to do by looking at each other?

"so." he  replied back, casually slipping his hand into hers. it felt right,  having their fingers intertwined with each other's. their hands fit  together perfectly, a warm shock sending itself through their veins as  they stood hand in hand. "i know this park close by, care to join me?  i'd love to get to know you better, seeing as we're destined to be  together or something." he asked, his free hand going to rub the back of  his neck.

"i'd love nothing more." she squeezed his hand, a smile plastered on her face.

"care  to explain the whole cheez it thing to me?" y/n asked as zach led her  out of starbucks, feeling the warm sun cascade down her glowing  features. she really is beautiful, zach thought as he studied her features in the golden light.

"oh,  that's a long story." zach replied, tugging y/n in the direction of the  park. the pair began to walk together, their intertwined hands softly  swinging between them as they walked.

"well we've got a lifetime together, so might as well start now."