~Althia~

"Did you spend the day with Jess?" Zach asked me as he leaned on the railing of the stairs

I nodded

"With Jeff too" I added quietly, finally finding my voice back

"That's good" Zach nodded

I shifted my weight onto my right foot as we found ourselves in an awkward silence

"You were at Alex's?" I asked him

Zach looked at me before leaning forward

"What'd you say?" He asked

"I asked if you stayed at-" I went to repeat myself but someone bumped into me making me lose my balance and fall right into Zach's chest

"Oh shit, I'm sorry" I immediately said, lifting my head up as I tried to get away from him

"Are you okay?" Zach asked me at the same his arm lightly wrapped around my lower waist

"Yeah, someone just bumped into me" I told him as I leaned back a bit

I noticed my hand was on his chest so I quickly pulled it away while Zach was still holding me slightly

"I meant are you okay...With us?" He asked me again

"Oh, um" I looked down trying to figure out how to answer

"Look Thi-" Zach went to start but then he grabbed my arm and moved me beside him

Before I could question him, I saw that another kid was going to bump into me

Without saying anything Zach put his hand on my lower back and led me towards the side of the dance floor

"Dance with me?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist slightly

I found myself nodding yes and I slowly moved my arms around his neck

"Althia" Zach spoke again and I looked up at him "I did what I did because I care about you" Zach said

"I know" I sighed "It's just I feel like I'm the only one hurting" I whispered

"Thi, I broke down as soon as I got off your street. I went over to Alex's crying hysterically, I regretted what I did and I was so close to calling you or driving back to you and apologizing for everything and begging you to take me back" He told me "It didn't help that I was updated on how you were doing this morning, I felt like the biggest asshole ever knowing that I was causing you to cry because hurting you is the last thing I want to do" He went on and my breathing got caught in my throat as I couldn't take my eyes off his "But then as I was watching the guys play games and I was in my own corner, I knew that I did the right thing. It was in that exact moment that I found out the saying 'If you love them sometimes you gotta let them go' was in fact a real thing" He finished

"But I love you Zach" I whispered since I couldn't get my voice to go any louder without crying or having it crack

"And I love you Althia" Zach responded "I want you to know that I'll always love you and that I'll always be there for you. None of this changes a thing in our friendship. I'll still drive you around, cheer you on at practices and games, take notes for you in chem, watch Zac Efron movies with you, eat way too much with you, cook for you. I'll keep doing it all because no matter what I care about you more than anything. I care so much about you that I'm begging you to talk to Justin and figure out everything that you need to figure out for both you and him" He added

I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out, I was lost for words

Zach unwrapped himself from me only to place both hands on either side of my face

I took a shaky breath and let some tears spill from my eyes as Zach leaned in and kissed my forehead

His lips gently stayed on my skin for a couple of seconds before he pulled away

I looked him in the eyes as he wiped away my tears with his thumbs as his own eyes were watered

"I'll see you around, Thi" He whispered before fully pulling away from me

My hand fell down to his arm towards his hand, slightly locking my fingers to his as he turned around and began to walk away from me

I watched him leave the room and felt myself taking small deep breaths

"Are you ok?" Jeff asked me, suddenly appearing out of nowhere

I nodded, not letting my eyes move from the place where they watched Zach leave

A big part of me hoped that he would be coming back but an even bigger part knew that it was officially over

Jeff stepped in front of me making me blink and catch up on my breathing

"Here's your drink" He handed it to me

"Took you long enough" I replied as I took a sip

"Thia, it doesn't take 4 dances to go make a drink" Jeff said

"How much did you see and hear?" I asked him

"I saw you and Zach looking at each other and then Justin was looking at you and then next thing I knew Zach and you were talking and then dancing and then crying and here we are now" He answered "Now tell me, are you okay?" He questioned

"I will be" Was my answer

"That's good mama, I'm glad" He nodded as he brought me into a hug "You ready to go? I can drive you and Jess home before I go pick up more booze" He asked

"Jess will probably want to stay a little while longer so we'll probably ride with Alex" I told him "But you have been drinking and I don't want you driving to get cheap beer for a bunch of little kids" I looked at him and then down at the dark liquor in his solo cup

"Mama, I had 2 beers when we first got here which was almost 2 hours ago and I've been drinking cola since" He told me

I gave him a suspicious look and took his cup out of his hands to smell it

I handed it back to him when it smelled like soda

"Promise me, you haven't drank anything but those 2 beers Jeff" I looked at him again with concern obvious on my face

"Althia Dawn Knight, I swear to you and promise you that I've had no alcohol but 2 beers this night and I am completely sober and capable to drive" Jeff swore as he placed his hand over his heart

"I'm trusting you Jeff, drinking and driving isn't anything to joke around with" I told him

"Yes I know, I would never do that" He replied as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" He asked in a joking tone

"I want you to text me when you get back here after the run and then I want you to text me when you get home" I answered him in a serious tone

"That I will do" He nodded and I smiled slightly as I squeezed his side "Now let's go find someone that we know because I'm not leaving you alone at a party" He added as he led our way outside where we easily spotted Montgomery brutally winning at beer pong against some freshman on the football team.