"Why are you driving so slowwww?"

"I'm not," I tell the asshole, even though I kind of am. I don't feel confident driving a car like this.

"You are."

"Please shut up, Zeke," I rub my temples, tired from the night I've had and mostly from Zeke's constant annoying conversations he keeps trying to have with me.

"I saw you and Mason," he says after a moment of silence.

I glance at him. He's slouched against the passenger side door, looking at me with a look in his eyes I can't recognise.

"I don't like it," he states.

"Like what?"

"You and him."

"Why?"

"Can't tell you," he looks away.

"Fine."

Another moment passes.

"Marnie?"

My head snaps to the side. "You just called me my name."

Oh my God. He's only called me my name once, and it was when he was mad at me for telling Cole and Isaac about babysitting him.

I like the way it sounds rolling off his tongue, even when he's drunk. I remember getting butterflies the first time he said it, too.

"Are we friends?" He asks, as if he didn't hear what I just said.

"I guess."

I hear him sigh. "I wish we weren't."

"Why?" I can't help feeling a little hurt.

"Because."

I groan. He hasn't been able to form a proper sentence and I always have to keep asking why why why until what he's saying makes sense.

"Because what?"

"I don't like being around you."

I grit my teeth. "Why?"

"Because."

I almost swerve off the road from rage. This is so irritating.

"Because why, Zeke?" I say harshly.

"Because you make me happy."

My rage disappears. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"No."

"How?"

"Because if you make me happy then i'm just giving you the power to hurt me."

I heart sinks. "I would never hurt you, Zeke."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

I pull up into his driveway and turn off the engine. Taking the keys, I walk round the car to help Zeke who has managed to pull himself out the car and stumble towards the door a little.

I shut his car door and help him inside.

When we entire his house, Evelyn comes rushing out of the kitchen.

"Where have you been? I've been calling you-" She cuts herself off and gasps when she takes in the state of her son.

"Ezekiel Blakely!"

I almost snort.

"Are you drunk?" She turns to me, "What is he on?"

"Marijuana I think," I say, remembering the smell of his cigarette.

"I'm not," Zeke says and begins walking to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Evelyn follows him.

"I'm hungry."

"Take an apple then, and some water."

Zeke scrunches his nose and shakes his head.

Evelyn goes over to a fruit bowl and takes an apple, then gets a glass of water and hands it to him. "Drink this."

He sighs, doing as his Mother says and gulping down the water.

"Now go to bed."

"Okay, goodnight," he wraps his arms around his Mom, his tall body towering over her.

"Thanks for bringing him back here, Marnie," Evelyn says, smiling warmly at me.

"No problem, I better go-"

"No," Zeke cuts me off, taking my hand and pulling me towards the stairs, "I need to talk to you."

Evelyn smiles a little at me before I walk upstairs, helping Zeke even though he was the one pulling me.

"Wanna undress me?" He asks, falling down on his double bed.

"No, I don't."

I realise that this is the first time i've been in his room. His bed is in the centre with bedside tables on each side. Black metal drawers sit on the left side of the bed, and a desk in the right corner – although there are no books on it, just clothes and piles of CD's. Lots of them.

After looking around his room, I turn back to Zeke. He's in bed with his shoes off, eating his apple, and staring at me.

"You're really pretty," he comments.

"Thanks, so are you."

He does his young baby smile. "Stay with me."

I shake my head and pull his bed covers over him, "I need to go home."

"No you don't."

"I do."

And i'd rather not share a bed with someone who I could smell alcohol off from a mile away.

"Please, Marnie."

I sigh, "I'll lie with you until you fall asleep."

He smiles and holds the covers up for me to come in beside him.

I kick my shoes off and lay down. He covers me with the sheets and pulls me close to his hard chest. We lie there, looking at each other, our faces just inches apart.

I wish he smelled of his beautiful natural scent right now instead of alcohol and cigarettes. It reminds me of my Dad.

"I lied," Zeke whispers.

"About what?"

"About you not having nice legs."

+++

Buzz buzz.

Buzz buzz.

I groan, reaching my hand over to the bedside table and grabbing my phone. I click the snooze button from the alarm with my eyes still shut. It's my usual weekend alarm that I set for 9am.

I don't like sleeping in on weekends because I worry it might mess up my sleep routine. If that happened I wouldn't get enough sleep on school nights and I'd do bad in class and stop learning and fail my exams which would lead to me being homeless which would lead to me being eaten by a bear in the middle of the night.

So yeah, always gotta set my alarm.

I'm about to pull myself up, when I realise I can't. Because there's an arm going around my stomach.

Then I remember that I'm in Zeke's bed, with Zeke himself.

Oh God.

I look to the side, where he's sound asleep with a permanent frown on his face.

He's lying on his stomach, his head facing me and his arm resting on me. It's amazing really, how gorgeous he looks yet he's so unaware of it.

I look at my phone and see I have lots of worried texts from my Mom. I fell asleep last night without realising and I had told my Mom that I wouldn't be back late. I think this is a tad late.

I text her back telling her I fell asleep at Zeke's. I thought about telling her I'm at Zoey's house, but i'm pretty sure Evelyn knows I didn't go home and will tell my Mom.

Mason also texted me, asking if I got home okay. I tell him yes, not mentioning that i'm in bed with the last person he'd want me to be in bed with.

I look at my other texts; one is from Evelyn.

Hey, Marnie. Just wanted to ask if it would be okay if you babysat Zeke today? After last night I'm not sure I can trust him anymore. Hopefully he isn't too much trouble, and thanks again for last night!

She's such a sweet lady, I wish Zeke was nicer to her like he was last night. I was surprised when he hugged her, it seemed very out of character. Maybe he's just mean to her when people are around to keep up his bad boy rep. Or maybe he's only mean to her when he's sober.

I tell her it's fine, dealing with a hungover Zeke can't be that bad, right?

I slowly lift Zeke's arm off of me and get up, straightening out my clothes. I really need to shower and change. It's drives me insane when i'm not one hundred percent clean.

Leaning down, put on my converse and tie them.

"Nerd?" A croaky voice says.

I stand back up, "Good morning." His face is tangled in confused.

"What are you doing here?"

"You don't remember?"

"No..." His eyes widen, "Fuck, did we have sex?" He sits up on his bed, then his hands immediately go to his head and he groans.

"No! Of course not."

"Then why are you here?" He falls back down on his bed.

"I drove you home and you made me lay with you, and I fell asleep."

He takes his hands away from his face and the pain in his expression starts to fade away. Realisation takes over.

"Oh," Is all he says.

I look at my shoes awkwardly.

"Do you want me to get you some pain killers?"

"Yeah, please," he closes his eyes and sighs.

I head downstairs and into the kitchen. Remembering where Zeke had got the advil last time he was hungover, I take two pills from it and a glass of water.

"Sit up," I tell him, handing him the glass of water.

He moves up and leans against the backboard of his bed and takes the pills.

After that, he just looks at me with an unreadable expression.

"What?"

"Nothing," he looks at the glass in his hands.

I sit down on the edge of his bed. "What's the last thing you remember from

last night?"

"Well, we were dancing, then Lucas made me be on his team for beer pong. When it was over you were gone," his face becomes confused as if he's trying to remember, "I looked for you, and then I saw-"

He cuts himself off and looks at me, his lips slightly parted.

After a moment he clears his throat and looks away again. "Then I started drinking a lot, and everything's kinda blurry after that."

"You said you'd be right back but you weren't. I was looking for you."

"And I was looking for you."

"You wouldn't have had to if you didn't go play a stupid game while I was waiting."

"I couldn't get out of it okay? Didn't look like you needed me anyway."

He turns his head away, anger in his eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Mason. You were basically dry humping in the hallway."

"No we weren't! Shut up," I stand up. "I need to go home and change. You're coming with me because i'm babysitting you today."

"No way. I'm not leaving my bed."

"Get up now, Ezekiel."

He snaps his head to me, eyes widened. "What did you just call me?"

"Ezekiel."

He groans, "My damn Mom always calls me that when she's angry."

"I'll get angry if you don't move."

He smirks, "I would love to see you angry. Your last episode in the parking lot was quite entertaining."

"Just get up, asshole."

He sighs, "Fine," standing up from his bed, he pulls off his t-shirt, revealing his beautiful six pack. Then he starts unbuttoning his jeans, and I spin around and walk out.

"What's wrong, Princess? You worried you might lose your innocence?"

"Yes, I am," I stand outside the door, my back facing him and my hands over my eyes.

"Hmm, I'll take that as a challenge."

+++

"Hey, Charlie. Where's my mom?"

"She went out to buy some groceries. She should be back soon."

"Okay, thanks. I'm just gonna go shower."

"Who's this?" Charlie asks just as i'm about to go upstairs.

Zeke reaches his hand out to shake Charlie's. "I'm Zeke, Marnie's boyfriend."

I start choking on air. "No, he's not. I babysit him."

"Right," he shakes Zeke's hand and laughs.

I pull on Zeke's hoodie. "Come on."

"Coming, babe," he smiles at Charlie before coming up the stairs with me.

As soon as we get into my room I smack his chest. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's your problem? It was a joke," he rolls his eyes and falls on my bed. "Who was that guy anyway?"

"My mom's boyfriend," I walk over to my wardrobe and pull out a pair of jeans and band t-shirt.

"Ooo, is he gonna tell your mommy about your player ways?"

"It's not me with the player ways, asshole."

"Yes it is. I still haven't forgotten you ditching me on our date and going away with Mason."

"Shut up, that wasn't a date."

"Mmm-hmm."

I close my closet and go into my drawers for clean underwear. When I look back at Zeke I see him lying there with his eyes closed, yawning.

"I'll be right back, don't fall asleep, babe."

His eyes snap open, making me laugh.

When I come out the shower, I change into my clothes and brush my teeth and hair. Opening the bathroom door, I see that my room is empty. Zeke is gone.

Oh God.

I rush downstairs, hoping Zeke isn't with Charlie.

The kitchens empty, and then I hear them in the living room. But when I look in, I find something worse.

It's Zeke with Charlie and my mom.

"What's going on?"

I take in the scene in front of me. Zeke sitting next to my mom with a photo album in the middle of them.

Oh God.

"Oh hi, Marnie. I was just showing Zeke some of your old baby photos," my silly little mother says.

"Yeah, you were super cute," Zeke says. It's now I realise, standing at least three metres away, how tired he looks. The bags under his dark eyes stand out and his hair is falling down onto his forehead.

He looks adorable with his hair like that.

"We need to go," I pull Zeke up from the couch and rush him to the door.

"Wait!" My mom calls, "Where are you going?"

"Zeke's house. I'm babysitting."

My mom frowns, "Well, I guess we'll talk about you not coming home last night later."

Oh God.

I hate it when my mom has to discipline me. It doesn't happen often because I've never had a social life until I met Zeke.

"It was totally my fault, Joe," Zeke says, "She was so exhausted from looking after me that she fell asleep, which wouldn't have even happened if she didn't kindly take me home."

Since when is he on first name basis with my mom?

"Oh, well that's okay then. I'm glad you two have become so close."

Wow.

I'm beginning to think my mom likes Zeke more than she likes me.

Zeke slings his arm across my shoulder, "Me too."

"Thanks," I say as we leave my house, "for what you said."

He shrugs, "don't make a big deal out of it."

"I'm not."

"Okay," he says fast.

Weird boy.

We walk in awkward silence until we reach his house.

"Who's car is that?" I ask.

There is a black range rover parked in the driveway next to Zeke's car.

Zeke furrows his eyebrows. "No idea."

We quickly walk to the front door and he opens it. It's unlocked even though he locked it before we left since his mom was at work and Maggie didn't come back from the party.

"What the f-"

"Hi, son,"

I look up to see a tall man standing against the living room doorframe.

"Dad," Zeke says quietly.

+++

ahhhh daddy blakely in towwwn

do y'all think Zeke will be happy to see him?

vote, comment, follow

ly

-e