37| Young Love

Althea and her friends were sitting in their favourite Italian restaurant, waiting for Ethan to show up. Like always, he was late for their hangout and it was irritating Althea to her core. She had repeatedly told them to be there by 6 but still, he just had to be late.

She gave a glance to rest of them. Zoey, who nowadays doesn't have time for them because of her new pointless job, Olive who spent most of her time practicing soccer to beat the frustration of not coming out to her parents, Zachary who had his mind wrapped around that ordinary girl Maya. They rarely get together these days and it annoyed Althea. It was their senior year and this year was all about making memories but somehow, their little group was slowly drifting apart.

"Did you choose your dress for the pageant yet?" Zoey asked her, breaking her chain of thoughts.

"Not really." She replied and took a sip of her smoothie. "My stylist has sent me some clothes. I'll try then out tomorrow."

"Great." Zoey replied.

"Why is Ethan not here yet?" Althea grunted at Zachary who was busy smiling at something on his phone screen.

"I am here." She heard a voice coming from the door. Lifting her head, she found Ethan walking towards them but a frown appeared on her forehead when she found Cindy following him to their booth. Cindy, this girl somehow annoyed her more than Blaire Willow and the rest of the cheerleaders combined. She was always with Ethan, following him like a trail and surprisingly, he didn't mind it at all.

"What is she doing here?" She asked Ethan and Zoey elbowed her to be nice. But faking pleasantries wasn't her style. "It was supposed to be just us. Outsiders and fuck-buddies are not allowed to our hangouts."

"First, she is my girlfriend, not a random chick. Second, I am sure nobody else minds." Ethan replied, pulling out a chair for Cindy. Stupid Cindy.

"I do mind." Althea stated.

"Relax, sis. Be a little welcoming, will you?" Zachary said and Althea rolled her eyes.

"So Cindy, why did you transfer from London?" Zoey initiated the conversation and Althea eyed her begrudgingly.

"My father was transferred here by his company." She said.

"Oh. How is our school treating you, by the way?" Zoey asked further while the rest of them decided their order.

"It's nice. Different than my last school which had a lot less drama." She smiled. "I am planning on joining the cheer squad for fun."

At this, the rest of them got silence because they knew how much Althea hated cheerleaders.

"Cheerleader? So you are exactly Ethan's type. He has slept with the whole squad I guess." Althea smirked at her and Cindy blinked twice in return.

"Are you this rude to everyone or just Ethan's girlfriends?" Cindy asked Althea and the rest of them just stared awkwardly.

Althea widened her already huge blue eyes and asked, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, isn't it obvious? You are jealous." Cindy said.

"Jealous of whom exactly?" Althea gritted her teeth.

"Me." Cindy said and Ethan held her hands to stop her from saying anything else. He didn't want her to suffer Althea's wrath. "What? Am I supposed to just ignore everything she says or does like the rest of you guys?"

"Tell her to stop talking, Ethan." Althea threw daggers at Ethan.

"Guys," Olive interfered to stop the catfight but it was too late. Althea stood up angrily and walked past them towards the exit of the restaurant.

How dare that girl accuse her of being jealous of her? What does she have to be jealous of anyway? Althea's blood was boiling by then. She was angry at Cindy for being rude to her, she was angry at Ethan for not taking her side and she was angry at her other friends for just silently watching this instead of defending her.

She reached the parking lot where Zachary's car was parked, Zachary's car that was hers for that day. She was about to sit inside it when she heard footsteps running towards her.

"Wait," Ethan said, holding her hand that was tightened around the keys of the car.

Althea freed her hand with a jerk and glared at him. "So now you decide to speak."

"What was I suppose to do? Defend you when you were obviously wrong?" Ethan asked gently.

"Wrong? I was wrong?" Althea snorted. "She said I was jealous of her."

"Are you?" Ethan said and stepped closer to her. He was few inches taller than her despite her heels.

"In your dreams, Ethan O'Connell." She roared. "I don't get jealous of anyone."

"Admit it." Ethan whispered, taking another step close to her and she backed away into the car. "You are jealous."

"I am not." She screamed and attempted to push him away but Ethan gripped her wrists and locked them behind her back, pulling her towards himself.

"Is your ego more important than the guy who has loved you for years?" He asked, more like whispered, while looking deep into her eyes.

"Love?" She chuckled. "You say you love me and then you flirt with anything that breathes."

"What else am I supposed to do, Thea?" He asked in frustration. "I am tired. I have been tired for so long. You act like I am the worst thing that can happen to you. How long do you want me to run after you?"

"Shut up, Ethan. Don't dump your mistakes and shortcomings on me." Althea replied, ignoring the warm feeling in her belly due to his closeness.

"Just once. Admit it." Ethan whispered and closed his eyes. "Admit you love me." He said and leaned closer in a way that the side of his face touched her. "Just once."

Althea's mind numbed and for a moment, she caved in. For a small moment, she was ready to admit that.

But thankfully, her senses returned soon and she realised admitting it would mean becoming one of his conquests. Ethan wasn't the kind of guy she wanted to date and to marry. He was far away from the man of her dreams. She wanted someone who owns the world, someone who would make her his queen, someone who won't have commitment issues like him. She didn't have time to waste on stupid boyfriends or highschool crushes. She had long term plans, plans that don't involve a manwhore.

"I don't love you and I never will." She said and pushed him away. Hurt flashed in his dark eyes and his lower lip trembled for a moment. "Don't ever touch me again without my permission."

Shouting this, she slid inside the car and drove away.

••••••••••

"Oh, no no no." Zachary said as he watched Maya's pick for the pageant. "Althea will crush you with her heels if you wear this against her."

"But what's so bad about this dress?" Maya raised her eyebrows.

"For starters, it looks straight out of 90's. You need to impress the judges, especially Isobel Harper." He said.

"Isobel? Is your mother a judge too? Holy shit, Zachary. Why didn't you tell me?" Maya said in panic and paced to and fro in her room. She didn't want to humiliate herself in front of his mother, not at any cost.

"Yes, and that's why I am saying, you need a better dress." He said and walked towards her closet.

He gave a quick glance to her wardrobe that mostly consisted of neutral T-shirts, jeans and some tops. There was rarely any dress in there, unlike his sister's closet which was always flooding with expensive dresses of every length.

"I am going to come last." Maya whispered under her breath.

"No, you won't. I entered your name. Now it's my duty to make you win." He said and hit upon a plan. "Let's go."

"But where?" Maya asked.

"Ssshhh." He said and together, they both made their way out of Maya's house.

"Where are we going, Zachary?" Maya asked, sitting on the passenger seat of Zachary's father's limo. He had lost his own car to his sister for some reason.

"To my house." He replied.

"But why?" She asked in confusion.

"Ssshhhhhh...." He repeated and drove both to them to the Harper's mansion.

Once they were inside, Zachary led Maya upstairs. Maya looked around in confusion, not knowing why she was in Zachary's house at this time of the night. Her eyes lingered on their linked hands and heat crawled up her neck at this.

They continued walking through the hallway until they reached a particular door. They entered through the door and darkness greeted them. Zachary turned on the lights and once the room brightened, Maya gasped on seeing the huge array of gowns and dresses.

"What's this? Why are we here?" She asked.

"These are the clothes Althea's stylist has sent for her. She hasn't even checked them out yet and I am sure she won't notice if one goes missing." He said.

"No." Maya pulled her hand away. "I am not going to wear Althea's dress."

"Come on, Maya. She won't notice, believe me. In fact, I don't think she would even go near half of these. My sister is a very choosy person." He said.

"But still, I can't wear clothes that I didn't pay for. Sorry, Zachary." She said, shaking her head.

"Please Maya. I was the one who entered your name. Let me do something for you." He requested gently and Maya shook her head once again.

"You can pay me back, by helping me in homework." He offered.

"I already help you in homework, as a friend." She said.

"Okay, consider it a gift for your help, from a friend." He proposed.

Maya's eyes switched between Zachary's face and Althea's outfits repeatedly. She felt like she was taking advantage of being Zachary's friend but then, he was the one who entered her name in the competition so it was his duty now to help her.

"Fine." She sighed.

A smile appeared on Zachary's lips and he pulled three dresses out of the organizer after a long contemplation. Maya picked out the first one, which was a satin blue gown and went behind the curtains to change.

Once she appeared after changing, Zachary's mouth fell open. The dress was simple but it hugged her like a second skin. The design of the dress highlighted her cleavage and made her look like a sexy goddess.

"You... You aren't wearing that." He said because he didn't want other hormonal boys in school to think what he was thinking right now.

"But why?" Maya asked.

"It's... Um... I don't think the color will look good on stage." He said.

Nodding, Maya went behind the curtains once again and reappeared with a maroon sleeveless dress. The dress although beautiful, didn't do justice to Maya's beauty. Zachary scrunched his nose and shook his head in no.

"You are just as choosy as your sister." Maya grumbled and went behind the curtain for the third time.

Zachary walked to and fro in impatience, waiting for her to come out. His feet only stopped when he heard Maya's voice from inside the dressing room. "Help."

He immediately went behind the curtain to check if she was alright and his breath got caught when he found her with her bare back towards him.

"The zip... I can't reach it." She said and Zachary gulped.

"Wait. Let me check." He stepped forwards and locked his fingers around the zip. His fingers glided across her silky smooth skin and he felt her shiver at his touch.

Slowly, he zipped the dress and when she turned around, his breath hitched. The rose gold color contrasted perfectly against her tanned skin and accentuated her grey eyes. The dress hugged her figure but in a more subtle way than the previous ones. He couldn't help but feel the desire to touch her delicate waist that was often hidden behind her T-shirts.

"Wow. This is the one." He whispered.

"Is it?" Maya looked into the mirror at one side of the dressing area.

"Undoubtedly." He whispered and looked at her through the mirror. She smiled on seeing herself in the dress and her smile made Zachary smile as well.

"Okay now---" He was about to talk further when he heard the sound of door opening. "Shit." He cursed and pulled Maya along himself to the back end of the dressing space. He kept one hand on Maya's mouth to stop her from saying something and used the second hand to silently raise the curtain to look outside.

Both Maya and him stiffened when they found Althea entering inside. She had her usual smug look on her face as she walked inside and made her way to the floor-length mirror in the room outside.

"We are so dead." Maya whispered through his hand blocking her voice.

"Just hope she doesn't decide to try the outfits." Zachary said in hope and then looked down to Maya's curls that were tickling the skin of his neck. Her back was pressed against his front and this position could result in some serious embarassment for him if he doesn't divert his mind to something else.

He looked through the slit in the curtain at his sister who was standing still against the mirror. She stared at herself in the mirror for a moment and then suddenly, she did something really strange for Althea Harper.

She started to cry.

Propping her hands on the dressing table, she clenched her eyes and tears after tears streamed down her cheeks. Maya and Zachary exchanged a worried look at this.

"Why is she crying?" She asked.

"I don't know. This is the first time I have seen her cry." Zachary replied. This was the first time his sister looks so defeated and broken that he couldn't help but feel pity for her. His sister that always looks so maintained and polished in public was crying like a baby in private.

They watched her silently as she cried for some five minutes. She didn't say anything, she didn't do anything, just let the tears silently stream down her pale cheeks. And after that, she rubbed her face to wipe off the tears and once again plastered a smug smirk on her face.

Althea retouched her makeup, ran her fingers through her hair, straightened the creases on her dress and once again made her way out of that room in her signature arrogant style.

"That was weird." Maya commented, pulling herself away form Zachary. "I didn't think Althea was capable of showing such emotions."

"Neither did I." Zachary commented.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

What is your ship name for Althea and Ethan and Maya and Zachary?

And if you missed our Travis and Zoey in this chapter, don't worry. The next chapter will relieve you of your cravings. ;)