~Althia~

I looked through my closet trying to figure out what to wear for Zach and I's date today. I finally decided on a black floral print skirt with a plain white top. I quickly got changed and made sure to tuck my shirt into the skirt, before heading to my bathroom where I moved onto makeup.

Just as I was putting some last touches to my whole look, the doorbell rang. I glanced at myself one more time before making my way downstairs and opening the door for Zach

"Give me one more second" I told him before he could say anything

I went looking in our closet to find my white flats and put them on.

Zach was still at the front door with a pout on his face

"What are you already pouting about?" I asked him as I grabbed my purse and keys

"I didn't even get a proper hello" He stuck out his bottom lip further and crossed his arms

"I'm sorry" I apologize "Good morning, Zachy! How are you?" I cheesed at him as I wrapped my arms around his tall torso

"Hi baby! I'm good! You are looking fantastic on this bright morning" Zach replied, his tone matching my enthusiasm, as he brought me closer to him

I looked up at him and a smirk appeared on his face

"I never thought this day would come" He gasped "Is looking up at me, your way of asking me for a kiss?" He continued gasping

"No" I rolled my eyes "I'm looking to see if you have any boogers" I added with a sarcastic tone

"Thi is asking me for a kiss. Thi is asking me for a kiss. Thi is asking me for a kiss." Zach chanted, teasing me

"If Zachy doesn't kiss me, he won't get any kisses for the rest of the day. If Zachy doesn't kiss me, he won't get any kis-" I started to reply but got cut off by Zach leaning in and kissing me

I smiled through the kiss and we released

"Now we can go!" I said

Zach laughed and walked outside. I closed the front door and locked it behind me.

Zach opened the passenger door for me and I got in. He went around the car and got in on his side.

"Soooooo can you give me a hint of where we are going?" I asked him as we pulled out of my driveway

"I'm just going to give you a tiny hint" Zach answered

"Okay, I'm fine with that" I replied

Zach thought for a moment as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song that was playing on the radio

"Alright so I'm taking you somewhere that I hold really close to heart and that I go to whenever I need to clear my head" He finally told me

I sank into the seat as I thought about his hint

I could feel Zach's eyes on me as he watched me trying to figure out where we were going

"Ugh" I finally let out when nothing came to mind

Zach chuckled and reached over for my hand

"I hate that I never know where we're going" I told him

"It's not my fault that you suck at guessing" He replied

"And it's not my fault that you suck at giving hints" I said

Zach laughed again

"I promise you that one of these days, I'll give you a hint and you're gonna figure out where we're going" Zach promised

"That could happen or you'll give me a hint and I won't be able to figure it out and you'll just take me somewhere to murder me" I said, jokingly

"Yeah, one or the other" He agreed

For the rest of the car ride to wherever it was we were going to, Zach and I sang along to the radio and discussed how he would murder me if it becomes the case.

After 2 and a half hours of driving, Zach finally turned into a parking lot. It wasn't until we had parked and gotten out of the car that I've realized we were at an Aquarium.

"We get to see fishies?!" I exclaimed once I figured it out

"Yes, we get to see fishes" Zach laughed at my excitement

"Do they have a turtle?!" I practically screamed at the thought of seeing a turtle went through my mind

"You'll just have to wait and see" Zach replied

We walked inside and went up to the front counter, waiting for someone to help us

"Zach, hey! You're back for more already?" A man said as he walked around the counter

"Hey, Cole" Zach greeted him "I had to come back here to show this place to my lady" He added

Cole's eyes drifted onto to me and I smiled

"Hi, I'm Althia" I introduced myself

"Nice to meet you, I'm Cole" He smiled at me and I saw him give a thumbs up to Zach which made me giggle a bit

"Full admission?" Cole asked Zach

"Yes please" Zach answered as he got his wallet out of his back pocket

"45.50$" Cole told him and Zach nodded, taking out a 50

"You should really start giving me your discount, man. I come here enough that I think I deserve it" Zach said

"You know I would, but you already use the membership discount" Cole responded "Have a great time in there" He added, handing us tickets

We thanked him and moved further into the building. Zach greeted the girl who scanned our tickets and she let us in.

We started to walk towards a tunnel and Zach reached for my hand. I looked up at him and a huge smile appeared on my face as I saw how excited he was

"Lead the way, babe" I told him as we entered the tunnel

Zach immediately led me to the right side of the tunnel where there was a bunch of different types of fishes.

"Ew those are ugly fishes" I said

Zach chuckled

"Those are Atlantic Menhaden, they swim all together with both mature adults and juvenile fishes and you call their groups 'schools'" Zach told me

We looked at them a bit more before another type of fish caught my eye

"What's that?" I asked him

There were obviously many signs that informed me what type of fishes were in a certain tank and what they did and where you could find them but I enjoyed seeing Zach get all excited to tell me what he knew

"Those are Giant Groupers, they are the largest known bony fish that you can find in coral reefs. They can weigh up to 800 pounds, hint to why they literally have the word giant in their name" Zach answered me

As we made our way down the tunnel, we looked at a bunch of crabs and lobsters and a couple more of not so pretty fishes.

"This next section, I'm sure you're going to love" Zach told me as we, one last time, looked at the American Lobsters

We walked down a small ramp and I wrapped my arms around Zach's arm as I rested my head on it

Zach led me to the next part and I gasped as I saw a bunch of colourful plants

"They're so pretty" I said

We walked closer to a window and I could see them slightly moving

"These are all cold water invertebrates" Zach said "There are hard coral, soft coral and a bit of anemones" He added

We stayed looking for a bit since I was so in awe at how beautiful and colourful they were

"Are those ones over there the same thing?" I questioned Zach as I pointed to another window that had also the same type of plants

"Those over there are warm water invertebrates" Zach informed me "You see that black pointy thing over there?" He asked while pointing

I nodded against his arm

"That's a sea urchin" He told me

"Those things can kill you, right?" I questioned

"Some are more dangerous than others but yes if you step on one of these, they have poison on their tip and you'll need to be rushed to a hospital" He answered "Of course, some of them, if you step on it you die right away" He added

"Well I'm gonna skip going to the beach for a bit now" I replied

Zach laughed and looked down at me

"You're so cute" He randomly said

I smiled and he leaned in for a kiss

"Shall we continue making our way down?" Zach asked as we released

I nodded

We walked down another ramp and I saw that the next part was like the other tunnels except it was all see through and a bunch of fishes and sharks were swimming all over the place

I stopped on my tracks, making Zach stop as well since I was still wrapped around him

"What's wrong, baby?" He asked

"That's terrifying" I answered "I can't walk through that" I added

"Babe, are you serious?" He looked at me

I nodded

"I have a huge fear of the deep sea and seeing all those sharks and the water everywhere, Zach, I'm going to cry" I told him as I turned away from the tunnel, starting to panic "That glass is going to burst and I'm going to drown in the water while being attacked by the sharks" I added

"Thi, it's ok. We'll go through it fast and then once we're out you'll get to see jellyfishes" Zach said as he put his arm around me, trying to comfort me "Look at me" He added

I took a deep breath and slowly look up at him

"Okay, we'll walk through and you'll cover your face the whole time. Okay?" He asked, his eyes locking with mine

I nodded and wrapped my arm around his torso as he tightened his grip on my shoulders

I buried my face in his chest and shut my eyes tightly

We slowly started walking and as we made our way through the tunnel, I relaxed and slowly looked around

"You doing ok?" Zach whispered to me

I nodded as I look to my side and saw clownfishes and whatever type of fish Dory is

"Is that Nemo and Dory?" I asked

Zach looked in the direction I was looking and chuckled

"Yep, that's Nemo and Dory" He answered

We continued our way down and I gasped as I saw a turtle

"Zachyyyyyy! It's a turtle!" I exclaimed "Oh my god, it's a fucking turtle" I squealed out in excitement

Zach looked down at me and smiled

"Yes, baby, it's a turtle" He responded

There were so many turtles and pretty fishes that I ended up forgetting about the sharks and the water

Once we finally made our way out of that section of the aquarium, we continued our way and looked at the jellyfishes, eels and seahorses. Zach told me everything he knew about them and I couldn't help but to just enjoy how happy he was to be here.

"This is my favourite part" Zach told me as he led me near the end of the aquarium

We reached it and I saw a bunch of stingrays

Zach gasped and I looked up at him, questioning

"Thi, look" He pointed

I looked in the direction he was pointing in and saw a stand with a worker that had a huge sign saying you could swim with the stingrays for half an hour for an additional cost of 40$.

"Babe, you should do it" I told him

"I can't" He frowned as he continued looking at the stingrays

"What? Why?" I asked him

"I only brought enough money for admission and food" He answered

"Ah well lucky you, Zachy, because ya girl gots you" I told him

"Um no" He shook his head

"Um yes" I replied and went to the stand before he could try and stop me

"Hi, I'd like to pay to have him swim with the stingrays please" I told the lady

She nodded and told me that it would be 40$, I reached for my wallet in my purse and gave her the money while thanking her

I waved Zach down to us

"Althia, no, I won't let you pay for me" Zach said as he joined us

"Would you just hush it and let me treat you" I told him "Now follow this nice lady to get suited up and then listen to the instructions" I added

Zach glared at me but soon followed the worker to go find himself a suit

I waited for him to get changed then followed the 2 of them to where Zach would be jumping in

"You look adorable" I complimented him

He smiled widely

"Thank you" He said

I nodded in response and the worker told him that he could go whenever he wanted

"I'll look at you through the window, kay?" I asked him

"Mmh" He answered before bending down to give me a quick kiss

I left and made my way back to where I could see all of the stingrays

Soon enough, Zach had joined them and he waved at me

I smiled and waved back to him

I sat down right in front of the window as I watched Zach play with, touch and feed the stingrays

//

"Do you need to go right away?" I asked Zach as we were walking up to my front door, hand in hand

He looked at the time on his phone quickly before responding

"I can stay for a bit but not too long" He answered

I frowned as I got my keys and he looked at me

"Baby, I'm sorry" Zach apologized "My mom wants me home by 5:30" He added as I unlocked the door and stepped inside

"Yeah I know but I don't want this day to end" I pouted as we both took off our shoes

"I'll stay until the very last possible minute" He promised "How about I make you something quick to eat?" He suggested

"A grilled cheese would be nice" I told him as I smiled up at him

"Oh, I see now" Zach started as we went into the kitchen "Your whole plan was to pretend you'd miss me so I would make you food, huh?" He asked me in a joking tone

"No!" I asserted "I will miss you and I don't want you to leave" I added, frowning again

Zach turned away from the fridge to come up and hug me

I wrapped my arms around him tightly

"You make me feel bad that I need to go soon" He said

"I don't want you to feel bad, it's just ugh" I mumbled against his chest

"Let me make you that grilled cheese" He slowly pulled away from the hug

I nodded and watched as he found bread and took out cheese and butter from the fridge

"Is that an apple and ham?" I questioned as he took those out too

"Yes, you'll love it" He promised

Usually, when Zach cooks, I sit on the counter and watch him from there. But today, I just wanted to feel as close to him as possible so I slowly moved behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist

"Can you still work like this?" I asked him as I rested my head on his back

"Mmh" He replied "Whatever makes you less sad works for me" He added

I stayed glued onto him until my grilled cheese was ready

Zach plated it and cut it before turning around and holding a half to my mouth

I took a bite and closed my eyes as the amazing taste took over my mouth

"God you're so amazing" Was all I could say before taking the half from his hand and taking another bite

"I'm glad you like it" Zach chuckled at my reaction "I hate to say this but it's time for me to go, Thi" He added as he looked at the clock

I pouted my lips and sighed as I placed the slice back on the plate

We walked to the front door

Zach put his shoes back on and pulled me into a hug

"Can you come over tomorrow?" I asked him

"God, I wish I could" He mumbled "I can't do anything until like 6" He answered

I sighed again and he kissed the top of my head

"Don't be sad please" He said "Finish your grilled cheese, watch Jersey Shore and then I'll be facetiming you before you know it" He added, trying to cheer me up

"Okay" I responded

I went on my tippy toes and placed a kiss on his lips

"Bye baby" Zach said once last time before walking to his car

I watched from the door as he pulled out of my driveway and waved goodbye before closing my door again and locking it.