57| Testing. One. Two. Three.

Travis looked for Zoey everywhere but she was nowhere to be found. Just few minutes ago, she was sitting by the lake with everyone and now suddenly she was gone. It annoyed him how much her absence affected him and how he had this urge to find her.

At the end, he made his way to her room upstairs to find her. If she wasn't there, they would have to arrange another search party like they did with Althea.

Hoping to find her there, he opened the door and his eyes fell on the sitting figure of Zoey. She immediately hid his face from him but he had already seen the huge tears trailing down her cheeks.

"Zoey," he whispered.

"Go away." She said and hid her face in between her knees.

"What happened?" He entered inside the room and locked the door behind him.

She lifted her head and the sight of her swollen nose and red eyes caused a tug in his chest. "Go away, Travis." She said.

Ignoring her request, he say down beside her on the bed and contemplated what to do. "What happened Zoey?" He asked gently, resting his hand on her back.

"Nothing. I just..." She raised her head and showed him what she was holding. Travis took it from her and stared at the happy family photo. A couple was standing side by side, with the woman picking up an infant and the man had her hands around the finger of a little girl of 4 or 5. "I miss this time."

"Is this you?" Travis said, smiling at her chubby cheeks and pigtails. "You were such a cute kid." He said and Zoey let out a small chuckle at this.

"I was, wasn't I?" She ran her fingers along the edge of the frame. Her face once again drowned in sadness and it made Travis feel sorrowful as well.

"Are you going to cry again?" Travis asked and she bobbed her head up and down. Sighing, Travis scooted closer to her and rested his back against the headboard of the bed. "Come here."

"Why?" She asked.

"Just come here. I think you can use a hug." He said.

Zoey smiled and scooted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her waist in a way that made her feel protected. His presence immediately refreshed her mood and she felt better.

After few minutes, all the sadness left and all remained was the butterfly in her stomach because of Travis. She inhaled deeper and his scent filled her nostrils, increasing the warmth in her belly.

The sight of his smooth neck just few inches away from her face persuaded her and she moved forwards, placing a small kiss on the side of his neck. The sudden gasp by him urged her and she placed another kiss right below the first one.

"Zoey," Travis sighed, his voice raspy all of sudden.

"Hmm," she said and kissed him again, this time sucking the skin a little harder.

Before she could do anything else, Travis rolled her over and lay her down on the bed, straddling her. Zoey's cheeks warmed up as she stared into his eyes filled with desire for her.

"Please Zoey," he said, staring into her eyes. "It's taking everything in me to keep my distance from you. Don't make it harder for me."

Zoey nodded. "I know." She whispered. "I just... I can't stop myself because I don't think I have much time left."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Travis asked, looking worried all of sudden.

"Nothing." She said and looked away because his face inches away from her was testing her patience. "I think... I think I have a brain tumor or something."

"What?" Travis' eyes widened. "Who told you this?" He assessed her face for any sign of a prank or joke.

"Nobody." Zoey replied innocently. "I feel different these days. I feel things I never felt before, especially when I am around you. All this warmth and gooeyness, it can't be normal, right? I saw in a TV show that a girl was experiencing changes in personality and she had a tumor in her frontal lobe."

She stared at him for a response. He blinked twice, with face completely blank and then suddenly, he started laughing. Lowering his head, he hid his face in the crook on her neck and laughed against her skin.

Zoey remained still and confused about what was happening and why he was laughing. She might die and he was finding it funny. "Travis, why the hell are you laughing?" She growled.

After laughing for some five minutes, he lifted his head and stared into her eyes once again.  "You don't have a disease." He said.

"I have." Zoey replied.

"No. You just like me, the same way I like you." Travis said and the last part made her excited.

"You like me?" She repeated his words.

Travis didn't speak for a moment and kept looking at her. His weight was crushing her but she didn't care. She liked having him this close to her.

Not waiting for an answer, she asked further, "So what's the treatment of this condition?"

A corner of Travis' lips lifted up. "There is no treatment for it. We can date but that's not possible."

"Why" Zoey asked.

"Because our parents won't be happy with that." Travis replied.

"Fuck them." She said and extended her hand to trace his cheeks. He had a thin stubble covering the hard contours of his face.

"Zoey!" Travis glared at her and pulled himself up to sitting position.

"Sorry. I forgot some of us like our parents." Zoey muttered our breath and sat up.

"Besides, you yourself told me that you don't want a relationship." He reminded her.

"Yeah, I did." She said. It was true; she had never felt the need to be with one person before Travis.

"Hmm." He replied.

After thinking about this situation for some time, Zoey started again. "We can do beta testing."

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"You know, like they do in case of a new software. We can date without telling anyone, just to see if we are compatible." She proposed.

"Are you serious?" Travis asked.

"Pretty serious." Zoey nodded.

"Zoey, we are so different and--"

"Yeah, yeah. We are different. I am rich. You are poor. Your mother works for me. Blah, blah, blah. We like each other Travis and if we resist this, we will be miserable for the rest of senior year." Zoey tried to persuade him.

"Zoey, it's not like buying a cereal. We can't just discuss it one minute and then do it the next. I have to decide first." Travis groaned.

"Let me help you decide then." She said and gripping his cheeks, pulled him forwards for a kiss. He gasped and that gave her way to enter her tongue into his mouth. The kiss made her dizzy and she feared she would fall, even though they were sitting on a bed. To avoid falling, she moved on his lap and continued exploring his mouth until they both were breathless.

Breaking the kiss, Travis exhaled. "Fine. We will do the beta testing for a month." He said, resting his forehead against her.

"See. Was it difficult?" Zoey grinned and Travis rolled his eyes. Once again, he lowered his head and kissed her, but pulled away before Zoey could take off his shirt.

"No. Maya or Zachary will be coming up soon." Travis reminded her.

"So? We will be done by then." She said and Travis chuckled at her excitement.

"Bye." He put her back on the bed and stood up. "Go take a cold shower or whatever you girls do to calm your hormones."

"Do you really want to know what we do to calm our hormones?" Zoey smirked and lay back on the bed.

"Zoey!" He glared at her again and she winked mischievously. "I am going before you can tempt me back in your bed." He said and made his way out of the room.

This girl was going to be death of him one day.

•••••••••••

It was their last day on that trip and tomorrow morning, they will be leaving this place. Zachary was in the kitchen, making hamburgers for everyone. Through the kitchen window, he could see Maya talking to this new friend she made this morning.

"Hey." Zoey appeared out of nowhere and caught him looking at both of them with a frown. Zachary immediately averted his eyes and focused his attention back on the hamburgers.

"You look extra chirpy today. What is it?" He asked Zoey who had a huge, creepy smile on her face.

"Nothing. I am just happy." She shrugged and picked up a hamburger. "Who is this Johnny Bravo by the way?" Zoey asked as she noticed the guy walking beside Maya.

"Just some loser she met by the lake. Apparently, he is your neighbour." Zachary said.

"And why are you such a sourface today?" Zoey asked, pointing at his frown.

"I am not. I just..." He sighed. His gaze once again moved back to the window and he saw her laughing at something that idiot was saying.. "I think I need some rest."

Placing all the hamburgers in a tray, he walked towards the stairs. Reaching his room, he closed the windows and lay down on the bed. He hated that the time she could have spent with him, she chose to spend it with a stupid stranger. If only he could throw her over his shoulders and show her how angry he was at this moment.

Maya had this weird control over him. He was becoming more and more protective of her but he couldn't tell her that. He still remembers months ago, when he accidentally tried to kiss her. She got so angry and he didn't want a repeat of that. He had no idea what to do about her and this was making him frustrated to his core.

He was drowned in these thoughts when suddenly, the door opened and someone walked in. Zachary immediately closed his eyes and acted like he was asleep.

"Hey, pretty boy. Wake up." It was Maya's voice. He kept his eyes closed although he could hear her stepping closer.

After few seconds, he felt the bed dip beside him and then Maya's flowery scent filled the air around him.

"What are you doing?" He opened his eyes and looked at Maya's head resting on his stomach.

"So you are awake." She asked without bothering to lift her head.

"Yeah. What are you doing here? Did your new best friend bore you already?" Zachary huffed.

"Oh so that's why you have been a cranky idiot all day?" Maya asked and raised to sitting position. "Come on Zachary, you are still my best friend, well after Travis and Mario."

"So I'm your third best friend?" Zachary frowned.

"Um... Actually, there is a girl in my Geography class who is my third best friend. But yeah, you can be my third best guy friend." She joked in an attempt of making him laugh but he kept his grumpy look on.

"Zachary, why are you so---" Her words got caught in her throat when Zachary gripped her arm and tugged her forwards. She ended up on top of him with their faces inches apart.

"Don't you get it?" Zachary whispered, his warm breath tickling the skin around Maya's mouth.

"Get what?" She asked in a clueless manner.

"That I don't want to be just your friend." He said and Maya's eyes widened.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her gaze switching between his piercing eyes and his mouth.

"Nothing." He loosened his grip on her arm.

"Zach---"

"I am tired, Maya. Let me sleep." Zachary said and closed his eyes.

"But---"

"Close the door behind you." He pulled the blanket on top of his head.

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