03

3

"Oh God," I muttered in annoyance as Jade, Bea and I walked into Tyler's house where the party was being held. The place was already packed. "Why did I agree to come?"

"I'm surprised you did," Jade said to me, glancing around to find some familiar faces when we stepped inside.

"Hey," Bea turned to look at me with narrowed eyes. "Why were you so late to come to my place? And why'd you Uber?"

I blew air out in my cheeks because I hadn't told them who it was I was tutoring. "Long story," I sighed. "I'll fill you when we're not in a crowded house with 50 other people."

Bea gave me an odd look but nodded as she pulled Jade and I to the kitchen. "Let's get our drink on, girls."

She shoved a drink in my face which I quickly pushed away. I scrunched my noes from the strong smell of alcohol, "You know I don't drink."

Bea groaned, "Loosen up and have some fun, Jas. We all have to Uber back home anyways so it's fine, you can drink tonight since you're not the DD."

I shook my head, "No thank you."

To my luck, my prince cut in and saved me.

"You look lovely like always," Evan wrapped his arms around me from behind me and leaned down to kiss my cheek, instantly making me smile. "You came."

I turned to face him, his arms still wrapped around me. I leaned up and kissed his lips, "I did."

"Oh God," Bea practically cried out. "I need something stronger if I have to watch you two be all cute and nauseating."

Jade laughed as she left with Bea to find more drinks, leaving me with Evan.

"You didn't reply to my texts earlier. Everything okay?"

I had completely forgotten to tell Evan I was with Zac. They both were on the soccer team but I had never seen them talk before so I wasn't sure if they were friends.

"About that," I pulled him to the side so we weren't standing in the middle of the kitchen. "I told you about the kid I have to tutor."

"Right, right," Evan laughed. "I didn't know it was starting today."

"Neither did I," I sighed. "It's..."

"What is it, babe?" Evan looked at me more seriously now.

I frowned a little, "I have to tutor Zac."

Evan's face went straight. "Zac Miller?"

I nodded in response.

Evan let out a sharp breath, "Great." He glanced away from me. "Where you at the library tutoring?"

I shook my head but he wasn't looking at me. "No, we were at his house." As much as I felt anxious having to tell Evan this, now realizing he didn't like the idea of me tutoring Zac, I wasn't going to lie to him.

Evan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You should have told me this before, Jasmine."

I reached up and cupped his face, turning his head so he would look at me. "I'm sorry," I mumbled. "It happened really fast. I forgot."

Evan exhaled through his noes. I could tell he was agitated but he remained calm. He nodded his head, "Okay. Just..."

"What is it?" I asked him, growing concerned.

Evan sighed. He glanced around for a moment before leaning down a bit more, "Zac is not a guy you want to get close to, Jas. He's very good at being manipulative and hurting people — especially girls."

I narrowed my eyes, feeling very confused. "What are you talking about?" I knew Zac was a player but Evan made it sound like it was more than that.

"It's nothing," he excused. "Just... don't be spending too much time with him, okay?"

"Okay," I mumbled unsurely, not understanding what exactly Evan was trying to say.

"Evan, my man!" Some of Evan's friends came rushing over causing Evan to pull away from me and give them a bro-hug.

"Jazzy Snazzy," one of his friends, Lucas, turned to me and smirked. "Surprise seeing you here. You never come to the parties."

I gave him a forced smile, "Well, looks like I'm breaking out of my shell, Lucas."

Lucas quirked an eyebrow, "Want a drink?"

"No thank you." I again, forced a smile before glancing away from Lucas, trying to see if I could spot Jade or Bea somewhere.

"Aw, come on. Lighten up, princess. It's a party," Lucas feigned a dramatic frown, looking at me like a puppy dog before he started laughing.

"I'm fine staying sober."

"Leave her alone, man," Jack pushed Lucas's shoulder. "Jazzy doesn't like doing the grown up stuff, you know that."

I narrowed my eyes at Jack who was grinning triumphantly like he just said the smartest thing in the world.

"Leave her alone you asshole," Bea broke through the boys and grabbed my arm.

"Bea! My favourite feisty babe," Lucas swung an arm around her shoulders but she quickly pushed him away and glared at him.

"Oh, go play in traffic, Lucas." She muttered as she started to pull me away from my boyfriend and his friends.

"Ouch, mami." Lucas laughed. "That one hurt."

"Someone must be on their period," Jack muttered, quietly chuckling.

Bea spun around and gave Jack an intense death glare, "Why don't you go sleep wth your cousin again, you fucker." Bea did't wait for a response as she pulled me far away from them.

"Woah," I exhaled, though it wasn't anything new seeing Bea snap at the boys like that. She wasn't fond of anyone on the soccer team, except for Evan and a very few others. "Maybe you should stop drinking."

Bea scoffed, "I need another drink," she told me as she pulled me to the kitchen where she did indeed get herself another drink. "Sure you don't want one?"

I nodded my head, looking at her in concern. It was not a good idea for mad Bea to drink. She'd probably punch someone by the end of the night.

"God, his friends are assholes."

I shrugged, "They're drunk."

"Why are you defending them, Jas. You know they're pricks."

I sighed, "I deal with them for Evan who is neither an asshole or a prick."

Bea sighed as she downed her drink, "Whatever. Let's go dance." Although I was very out of my comfort zone and didn't want to, I joined Bea and started dancing between the crowd in attempts to calm her down and get her less agitated.

"Woah," I mumbled as I stumbled on my feet and almost fell to my ass. A pair of arms caught me, holding me up.

I turned to see Zac, a soft look on his features. We were standing in the middle of the living room that was turned into the dance floor, a bunch of sweating bodies jumping and dancing around us.

Zac still hadn't let go of my arms, "Bloom."

"Miller," I mumble, a little lost as I locked eyes with him. I awkwardly pushed myself off him but we were still touching considering the crammed crowd we were standing in.

Zac grinned, "Maybe nerds really can have a life."

I rolled my eyes but let out a small chuckle, "So I've heard."

Zac smiled lightly, a soft look in his eyes which was something I hadn't seen. I liked it much better.

"What do you say we get out of this crowd?"

"Please," I responded happily, wanting to get away from all the people who were sweating and grinding all over over me. I glanced over to see Bea dancing with Jade so I let Zac take my hand and guide me away from the crowd, further into the kitchen where it wasn't as packed.

He picked up two beers from the cooler and held one out to me, which I shook my head at.

"You don't drink?" He raised his eyebrows.

"No," I leaned against the counter.

He nodded and placed the second beer down, opening one for himself. I was a little surprised to see that he didn't make another nerd comment or push me to "loosen up" like everyone else had been tonight.

"I'm not surprised you're here." I told him after a moment, as I watched him sip on his beer.

He leaned against the fridge across from me and quirked an eyebrow, "Of course you're not. You, on the hand, don't seem like a party-type."

I refrained from rolling my eyes at his assumption that everyone else assumed as well. "You're not wrong."

I knew how to have fun. I just didn't think parties were it. I didn't like not having control over my body and needing to drink alcohol to have fun. I hated all the smoking and drinking that went on in parties so I never went to them, unless I had to come pick up my drunk friends.

"Then why'd you come tonight?"

I shrugged, "I honestly don't know. Everyone was telling me to come and I was getting tired of people telling me I didn't know how to have fun."

Zac quirked his eyebrows up in an amused manner, "And you're having fun right now?"

I grinned a little, "It's not the worst experience at a party I've had."

I wanted to ask Zac why he was talking to me instead of talking to some other more cooler, more popular and better looking people but I didn't. I didn't mind talking to Zac when he was calm and laid-back the way he was right now.

"Hey babe..." An arm was swung around my shoulders. I looked up to see Evan standing beside me, looking at Zac with his jaw clenched. "What are you doing here?"

By here, he meant with Zac.

"We were just talking," I forced a smile, seeing how cold Evan looked when he stared at Zac. I didn't understand why he disliked him so much but it worried me because I knew Zac and I would have to spend time together now that I had to tutor him.

"I was looking for you." Evan was still looking at Zac instead of at me.

Zac leaned against the fridge, slowing sipping on his beer. He had an amused smirk resting on his face, his eyes lit up. He was enjoying this because he could see Evan was annoyed.

"She was dancing," Zac spoke up which only caused Evan's body to tense and his hold on me to tighten.

"Right," I quickly added. "I was with Bea."

When Evan still hadn't looked at me, I reached up and cupped one side of his face to turn his head so he would look at me. "Are you having fun?" I forced a smile but looked at him in a way that I was telling him to breathe and calm down with my eyes.

Evan finally exhaled and offered me a very small smile. "Yeah, I just missed you." He leaned down to peck my cheek.

Zac pushed himself off the fridge and walked away with saying anything or giving me single glance.

Again with his constantly switching personalities.

As soon as Zac walked away, Evan sighed. "I thought I told you to keep your distance from him."

"We were just talking, Ev. He saw me and we started talking for a minute, it's okay. Why are you so worried?"

Evan ran a hand through his hair and once again, dodged my gaze. "I don't like him. I don't want you being around him."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion because none it this was making sense to me. I understand if they don't get along but the way Evan reacts when he talks about or sees Zac, tells me there's more to this hatred than shows.

"I can handle myself, you know. I'm not going to let him... harm me in anyway."

"I know," Evan mumbled. "I'm going to go find the boys. See you in a bit?"

I blinked. "You know, I think I might just head home now. Bea and Jade are good to get Ubers and Jade's sober so they don't need me."

Evan frowned as he tucked a stand of my hair away, "You sure?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm tired."

"Okay," he leaned down to kiss me. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

I nodded and gave him a quick hug before I pulled out my phone to get an Uber as I headed out of the house. I left Jade and Bea quick texts to let them now I'm leaving which they would see eventually.

I finally exhaled when I got out of the house, not realizing how hot it was in there. I waited outside for my Uber to get here.

"What are you doing?" I spun around to see Zac.

"Oh," I mumbled, still confused why he had left so abruptly not long ago. "I'm going home."

"You're standing here, doesn't seem like you're going home."

I rolled my eyes, "My car is still at the school so I got an Uber."

Zac nodded before he started walking down the front steps, "Come on."

"Where?"

"Let me drive you home."

"What?" I exhaled but he wasn't looking at me. He was walking to his car because he knew I wouldn't end up winning the argument and getting out of him driving me.

"Get in the car, Bloom," he sighed. "I'm driving you home. Cancel the Uber."

"No, you drank. You're not driving." I started to catch up to him. I didn't want him to drive me home but I sure as hell wasn't going to let him drive himself either.

Zac turned to face me when he got to his car, rolling his eyes. "I had a few sips and I'm a heavy drinker so I'm not even tipsy."

"I don't care," I shook my head, looking at him in disbelief. "You're not driving. You drank and that's all there is to it."

Zac rolled his eyes, "So what do you suggest we do?"

I held out my hand.

Zac's eyebrows pulled together. "You want me to let you drive my baby?"

I rolled my eyes. Of course he was in-love with his car. "Well, you're not driving so yes. If you want to get home."

Zac debated for a moment before he groaned and tossed me the keys which I easily caught. We got in the car and started driving.

Zac leaned his head back against the seat and looked at me. From the look on his face, I could easily tell that he lied. He had much more than a few sips and was indeed tipsy.

"Jasmine, like the princess, tea, or flower?"

I glanced at him for a moment, a smile making its way onto my face. "The flower. Why do you call me Bloom?"

He shrugged softly, "I figured it was the flower. Blooming, like flowers do."

I nodded my head, not thinking Zac was the type of person who would put thought into a nickname like that but for some reason, it made my heart warm.

He licked his lips, "Why'd you get named after a flower?"

I looked at him for a second before looking back at the road with a small smile on my lips. I exhaled, "Jasmine's were my moms favourite flowers. It was my parents wedding flower, the flower my dad got her on all her birthdays and other holidays. She loved them so when I was born, I got the name."

When Zac didn't say anything, I looked at him. He was looking at me in thought, his features soft.

"What?" I mumbled sheepishly, feeling pathetic having told him all that. Nobody had ever asked me about my name like he did.

"Nothing," he shook his head. He kept his eyes trained on me while I drove. "You said that all in past tense."

A sad smile was resting on my lips as I watched the road while I spoke, "She passed away a few years ago. I was 13."

"What happened?" Zac's voice was gentle.

"Lung cancer," I told him honestly, not looking at him. "She smoked before I was born and then stopped when she got pregnant with me. She still got cancer."

"Is that why you don't like drinking and coming to parties?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I don't like people ruining their bodies by drinking or smoking."

Zac didn't say anything. I heard a soft sigh leave his lips but the rest of the short car ride back to his house, we didn't talk. But it was a comfortable silence which was much unlike the first time I got in his car which was earlier today.

I pulled into his driveway and got out of the car, going to the passenger side to help his drunk ass out of the car.

"What are we doing at my house, Bloom?" He sighed as he walked up to the veranda. "I was supposed to get you home."

"Well, you're the one who is drunk. And I already called an Uber to pick me up from here so I win this one."

Zac let out a chuckle as he plopped down on the veranda steps. "Let me wait for it with you. Although," he pointed at me. "I do not agree with this. You should not be getting into some creeps car in the middle of the night."

I rolled my eyes at the concern he had, ignoring the fuzzy feeling it brought to my stomach. "I got into your car at school today, didn't I?" I sat down on the steps beside him.

"I'm not some random creep," he grumbled.

We sat in silence for a minutes, both of us looking at the stars in the dark sky.

"You're dating Evan," he spoke after a while, his voice flat and monotone.

I nodded, not looking at him. "I am."

He nodded curtly. "Why?"

I let out a small laugh, "What do you mean why? He's a good guy, I like him."

Evan and I met in sophomore year in math class. He sucked at algebra and asked me to explain some things to him which led to us becoming friends. Of course I had already known who he was before that because everyone knows the who the guys on the soccer team are.

We had been good friends for a while and then a few months ago he asked me to be his girlfriend.

Zac exhaled but didn't say anything. It was hard to read the look on his face but I knew he didn't agree with me.

A few minutes later my Uber pulled up.

I stood up and turned to look at Zac, "Goodnight, Zac."

He offered me a small smile, "Night, Bloom."

I turned and started walking down the driveway when Zac stopped me, "Hey Bloom," I turned to look at him. "I'm... sorry, about your mom."

I smiled, "Thank you." And then I got into the Uber and left.