Chapter 260 - The Snap
Roxie woke up the next morning feeling better than she had any right to.
She was still tired. Her eyes felt slightly swollen from all the crying she had done over the last few days, and waking up alone in the bungalow still sucked, but Zac had been pissed yesterday.
Really pissed.
She had seen it all over his face when she walked toward the gym with Mike. He could ignore her messages, sit across the cafeteria pretending his phone was more interesting than her, and walk around school acting like this breakup had somehow turned him into a calm fucking adult, but he still hated seeing another guy beside her.
That knowledge carried Roxie all the way into AP Chemistry.
Zac looked worse today. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes, and he barely spoke to Mason when Mason dropped into the seat near him. Roxie watched them from the corner of her eye while pulling out her notebook and almost felt bad for him.
Then Zac looked straight through her while getting something from his bag, and the sympathy disappeared.
Fine.
Apparently she had to work harder.
Neill walked past her desk before class started, and Roxie caught his sleeve.
"Hey."
Neill stopped and looked down at her. "Hey."
"What did you get on the homework?"
He stared at her. "Why are you asking me?"
His eyes moved toward Zac before Roxie tugged his sleeve again.
"I wanna know." She smiled. "Bet you got a high score."
Neill looked suspicious now. "You called me an idiot last month."
"You were being an idiot."
He glanced toward Karen, who was sitting nearby.
Karen looked up at him. "Don’t ask me. I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with her anymore."
Roxie smiled sweetly. "Ignore her."
Neill laughed and leaned against the edge of the desk while telling Roxie what he had gotten on the assignment. Roxie barely cared about the answer. She cared about what was happening across the room.
Zac looked over.
Only once.
But he looked.
Roxie smiled at Neill a little longer than necessary before Mr. Callahan walked in and everyone started moving toward their seats.
Karen waited until Neill was gone before leaning toward Roxie. "How long are you planning to keep doing this?"
Roxie opened her notebook. "Doing what?"
"Whatever the fuck this is. Is he even looking?"
"He’s looking all right."
Angela leaned over from her other side. "I think she should keep going. Even if it doesn’t work, she’s giving him the same dose."
Karen looked at her. "Right. Because that always ends well."
Roxie laughed under her breath and glanced across the room.
Zac was looking again.
His eyes met hers for a moment before he turned back toward the board.
That was fine.
Roxie knew now.
He could pretend all he wanted.
By lunch, though, her good mood had started wearing thin because knowing Zac was jealous apparently did nothing to make him actually come near her. She sat with Karen, Angela and the cheerleaders, ate half her lunch and looked toward the football table often enough that even Karen eventually gave up commenting on it.
Zac barely looked back. He talked to Dylan, ate, checked his phone a few times and generally acted like Roxie had not spent the last two days trying to make his head explode.
Nothing.
Roxie was starting to wonder whether jealousy was all she was going to get from him.
Then Mike found her after lunch.
He was waiting near the cafeteria doors when Roxie walked out with Karen and Angela, looking far too happy to see her.
Karen saw him and muttered, "Fuck."
Mike ignored her and fell into step beside Roxie. "You going to practice later?"
Roxie looked at him. "Probably. Considering I’m on the team and the captain."
Mike grinned. "Want me to walk you again?"
Karen looked directly at Roxie.
Roxie ignored the warning in her eyes and turned back to Mike. "Sure."
Mike smiled. "Cool."
Karen closed her eyes while Angela bumped Roxie lightly with her shoulder.
"Have fun."
"Thank you."
Karen looked between them. "I’m going to lose my fucking mind."
Mike eventually left for class, and Karen waited until he disappeared into the crowd before grabbing Roxie’s arm.
"You know he thinks you actually like him now, right?"
Roxie pulled her arm free. "That sounds like his problem."
"Roxie."
"What?"
"You’re using him."
"He likes the attention."
"That isn’t the point. Karma is going to beat your ass."
Angela shrugged. "He does look pretty happy."
Karen stared at her. "You are no help."
"I’m helping Roxie."
"That is exactly my concern."
Roxie laughed and started walking.
The truth was she barely cared what Mike thought. Mike was useful because Zac already hated him.
That was all.
At least that was what Roxie kept telling herself when Mike found her again after the final bell.
He was leaning against the lockers with Caleb, and Caleb gave Roxie an apologetic look the moment he saw her. Angela walked straight toward Caleb anyway while Karen looked from Mike to Roxie and sighed.
"Here we fucking go."
They started toward the gym.
Mike stayed beside Roxie, and this time he was even more confident. He walked close enough that their arms brushed once, then touched Roxie lightly at the elbow when someone almost cut between them in the crowded hallway.
Roxie noticed.
She let him.
Karen definitely noticed too, and Roxie could practically feel the judgment coming from behind her.
Mike leaned closer while telling her something about one of the guys on the basketball team. Roxie missed half the story because her attention had moved farther down the hallway.
Zac was ahead.
Dylan was beside him.
Roxie immediately forgot what Mike was talking about.
Zac saw her at almost the exact same moment. His eyes dropped toward Mike’s hand near her elbow before moving back to Roxie.
She turned toward Mike and smiled.
"Seriously?"
Mike laughed. "Yeah. I swear."
Roxie had absolutely no idea what he was talking about anymore.
She laughed anyway.
Then she looked directly at Zac.
Only for a second.
Long enough.
Something changed in his face.
The anger was still there, but now there was something else too.
He knew.
Roxie’s smile weakened slightly.
Oh.
He fucking knew she was doing it on purpose.
Zac kept walking toward them, and Roxie’s heart started beating harder. She was sure this was it. He was going to stop, say something to Mike, maybe finally ask what the fuck she thought she was doing after two days of this shit.
He got closer.
His eyes moved to Mike.
Then to Roxie.
And he walked straight past them.
Roxie’s stomach dropped.
What the fuck?
Mike kept talking beside her, but Roxie heard none of it. She kept walking while every bit of satisfaction she had been carrying since yesterday disappeared almost instantly.
Zac had fucking walked past her.
Again.
Maybe he really was done.
Maybe he could hate seeing her with somebody else and still decide she was no longer worth dealing with.
That thought hurt more than Roxie expected.
"Roxie?"
She looked toward Mike. "What?"
"I asked if you wanted to hang out sometime."
Roxie stared at him.
Of fucking course.
She opened her mouth, but before she could answer, she heard quick footsteps coming from behind them.
Then fingers closed around her arm.
Roxie turned.
Zac.
Her heart jumped so hard it almost hurt.
"Come with me."
Mike frowned. "Dude."
Zac looked at him. "Stay out of it."
Mike straightened. "She’s walking with me."
Roxie almost laughed at how quickly Zac’s face changed.
"Mike," Caleb called from behind them.
Mike looked back.
Caleb shook his head. "Leave it."
Roxie should probably have pulled her arm away from Zac just on principle. After spending two days acting like she could do whatever the fuck she wanted now that they were broken up, going with him immediately probably destroyed half the point.
She went anyway.
Satisfaction rushed back through her so fast she barely cared that Karen was somewhere behind them probably preparing an entire speech about what an idiot she was.
"Zac."
"Come on."
He started walking, and Roxie went with him.
Of course she fucking did.
Zac took her around the side of the gym toward one of the storage rooms used for cheer equipment. Roxie barely managed to keep the smile off her face while he opened the door and waited for her to go inside.
The door closed behind them.
Zac turned toward her, and the look on his face made it obvious that whatever control had gotten him past her in the hallway had already disappeared.
Roxie leaned against one of the shelves and crossed her arms. "What?"
"Are you having fun?"
She knew exactly what he meant.
"Actually, yeah. My ex boyfriend’s an asshole, so this has been pretty fun."
"You’ve been doing this for two fucking days, Roxie."
"Doing what?"
Zac stared at her. "Seriously?"
Roxie shrugged.
"The flowers."
Her mouth twitched.
"The guys in the hallway. Every fucking idiot who stops at your table. Mike yesterday. Mike again today."
Roxie stared at him.
He had noticed all of it.
Every single fucking thing.
"You saw the flowers?"
Zac looked at her like he could not believe that was what she had taken from everything he just said.
"Mason almost shit himself trying to explain those fucking flowers."
Roxie laughed.
Zac’s eyes narrowed. "You think this is funny?"
"A little."
"You’re fucking insane."
Roxie smiled. "You already knew that. Didn’t you call me crazy before?"
That shut him up.
Zac looked away and rubbed a hand over his face while Roxie watched him. For the first time since they entered the room, she really noticed how exhausted he looked. His hair was a mess, his eyes were tired, and tension seemed to sit in every part of his body.
Still, she could not stop the satisfaction warming her chest.
He had noticed.
She had spent two days wondering if any of it actually mattered to him, and apparently every single bit of it had.
Zac dropped his hand. "What the fuck do you want from me?"
Roxie crossed her arms tighter. "Nothing."
"Bullshit."
"We’re broken up."
"Stop fucking saying that."
Roxie went still.
Zac seemed to realize what he had said a second too late.
Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"
He looked away.
Roxie pushed herself away from the shelf. "You’re the one who wanted this."
"I fucking know."
"Then why are you dragging me into storage rooms because Mike is walking me to practice?"
"Because you know exactly what you’re doing."
"So?"
Zac looked back at her. "So you’re driving me fucking crazy."
Her heart kicked hard against her ribs.
Roxie moved a little closer. "Sounds like a you problem."
"Yeah. Apparently."
"You could ignore me."
"I’ve been trying."
The answer hurt and pleased her at the same time.
Roxie stopped a few feet from him. "Doesn’t look like it’s working."
Zac gave her a hard stare.
She almost smiled.
"You miss me?"
Something shifted in his expression.
Roxie stepped closer until she was standing directly in front of him. She rested one hand on his shoulder and looked down at the lettering across his hoodie because suddenly meeting his eyes felt harder than all the flirting she had spent the last two days doing.
Zac’s breathing changed beneath her touch.
"Don’t."
Roxie slowly lifted her gaze. "Do you?"
"Roxie."
"Answer me."
His gaze fell to her mouth.
Roxie felt his shoulder tense beneath her hand.
He swallowed hard before finally looking back into her eyes.
"Every fucking minute."
Something inside her softened so quickly it almost hurt.
All she had wanted for two days was proof. She wanted him jealous, angry, miserable enough to finally come after her. She had wanted to know she could still get under his skin after he had walked away from her.
Now that she had the answer, the game suddenly felt stupid.
"I miss you too."
Zac stared at her.
Neither of them moved for a few seconds.
Roxie put both hands against his chest. His heart was beating hard beneath her palms, fast enough that she could actually feel it through the hoodie.
That made her braver.
She bit her lip and slowly slid one hand up toward the side of his hood, the same way she always touched him when she wanted him closer.
Zac swallowed again.
His eyes dropped to her lips.
Roxie tugged him down.
He let her.
Zac leaned toward her slowly, giving her enough time to stop him if she wanted to.
She didn’t.
His mouth touched hers.
It was barely a kiss at first, soft enough that Roxie suddenly became painfully aware of what she had just done.
She pulled back.
Embarrassment hit immediately.
"Fine."
She barely got the word out before Zac’s arm wrapped around her waist.
He pulled her back against him and kissed her again.
Harder this time.
Roxie grabbed the front of his hoodie, and every thought she had managed to hold onto disappeared.
Zac kissed her like he had spent the last two days trying to stop himself from doing exactly this. Roxie pressed closer, one hand tightening in his hoodie while the other slid around his neck. His hand settled against her waist, familiar enough that something inside her finally relaxed for the first time since he had walked out of the bungalow.
They broke apart long enough to breathe.
Roxie stared at him, breathing hard.
"I fucking hate you."
"I know."
She kissed him again.
Zac made a frustrated sound against her mouth and pulled her closer.
Roxie almost laughed because this was so fucking stupid. They had spent days sitting across classrooms and cafeterias pretending they could stand being strangers, and apparently neither of them could even survive being alone together for two minutes.
She kissed him harder.
And Zac kissed her right back.