From Eden.

This boy was perfect. He was angelic, purely perfect, too good to be true. He was everything I wanted in a person, and then some. He saw the ugly parts of me and choose to stay, when he could have ran to the hills, leaving me in the dust. I didn’t deserve him, or his love. I had a feeling he would say the same, but I couldn’t help but disagree with that opinion of his, even if on my worst days, I felt as if he deserved more. Someone better than someone, someone who just wasn’t me. Someone who didn’t put his life in danger just by standing next to him. These self-destructing thoughts killed me somedays, but with everything that had happened so far, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking them. There was always that deep-seated fear Zacky would wake up one day, realize he could do better, and leave.

These thoughts swirled through my head as I watched him sleep, his chest slowly rising and falling as his nostrils flared with each breath. He snored softly, every once in a while, he snorted or muttered something random. I lifted my hand from my pillow to cup his cheek. I could feel slight stubble on my fingertips as I rubbed my thumb softly against his pale skin.

The events from last night were all too clear in my memory. It wasn't two minutes after Kaelah had explained to Vivienne that she had been assigned to kill me, but to get to know me first on my father’s orders, that Zacky had arrived. He had barged in, his voice angry and accusing. Zacky had demanded I come downstairs - how he knew where I was, I have no idea - and Kaelah relented without a fight. I was afraid she was going to try to get on Zacky’s good side to get close to me, considering the first thing you have to get through to get to me is Zacky. He was like a brick wall, separating me from all the dangers that came with me being who I am. He was my knight in shining armor, my savior. He had rescued me from what could have been a very nasty situation. She and Johnny were now banned from Brian’s house, which broke my heart but I understood why it had to be that way. Zacky had told her my mom was wondering where I was - the biggest lie you could ever tell someone. I could still feel Vivienne’s eyes burning holes in my back as I walked out of their house. I had promised Kaelah I would make it up to her later, a trip to the mall, or something, but I knew it would never happen if Zacky weren’t around.

After a few strokes of my thumb against his cheek, Zacky’s eyes fluttered open, and his emerald green eyes came back to life as they immediately looked at mine.

A sleepy smile crept his face. “Morning.” His voice croaked from awakening from the peaceful slumber he was in moments ago. He kept his arm securely around my waist, only his muscles tensed after waking up, pulling me closer to him, if that was possible.

“Good morning.” I replied in a normal tone, considering I had been up for what felt like hours already. I had awoken before the sun was up and did my normal morning routine, getting a shower, brushing my teeth, doing my hair. It wasn't until I came back into my room and saw Zacky still sleeping, did it register in my mind that we didn’t have to do anything today. After mentally slapping myself, I crawled back under the blankets and hoped to fall asleep again. I wasn't that lucky, however, considering I failed to once close my eyes longer than two seconds.

“Did you sleep okay?” Zacky asked, mid-yawn. He buried his face into the pillow so I wouldn't suffer the curse known as “morning breath”, which I could assume was truly awful this morning, seeing we had burritos from Taco Bell for dinner last night. I nodded, answering his question.. Zacky smiled slightly, “that’s good.” He said, his voice barely above a whisper.

I kept my hand on his cheek, and he didn’t object. I began to stroke my thumb against his rough cheek, only causing his sleepy smile to widen.

“I love you so much.” I whispered before mentally slapping myself a second time, then feeling my cheeks turn bright red. I hadn't meant to say that out loud.

Zacky seemed to wake himself up more, his smile only growing wider at my words. “I love you, too.” he whispered. “More than you will ever know.” If it were possible, my cheeks turned even redder, making Zacky chuckle. He leaned in to kiss me, but I pulled away, not wanting to taste last night’s dinner. Zacky’s smile faded. “Why not?” He asked.

“You have burrito breath!” I told him, pinching my nose. “Go brush your teeth and then I'll kiss you.” I stated, smirking at him.

Zacky groaned, shaking his head slightly with a smile before getting out of the bed and walking out of my room. My eyes wandered down his body—which had nothing but boxers covering as much as they could—before he grabbed his pants that were on the floor, pulling them on so Brian couldn’t tease him about being nearly naked, he walked out of my room, closing the door behind him. I turned on my stomach, my arms hidden under my pillow as I closed my eyes. I listened to his footsteps as he walked down the hallway and into the bathroom. Brian’s walls were so thin, I could hear him turn on the water, signaling he was brushing his teeth.

I opened my eyes once I heard my bedroom door open again. I rolled over onto my back, smiling and completely awake as Zacky entered, shutting the door behind him. “Now do I get my kiss?” he asked. I nodded, and Zacky walked towards me, a slight smirk playing on his lips. I moved over on the bed a bit so Zacky could have more room, even though his side was completely empty, leaving more than enough room for him. Zacky climbed back into bed, waiting for me to roll over onto my side. I leaned in, Zacky followed suit and our lips met in the middle. For half a second, I thought this would be nothing but an innocent kiss; a part of me was glad I was wrong.

Zacky’s tongue traced my lower lip, demanding entrance. I parted mine slightly, allowing him in. Zacky’s tongue roughly roamed my mouth like it had done so many times before. My hands immediately found something to do, as I kissed him back with everything I had in me. Both of Zacky’s arms had now wrapped themselves tightly around my waist, squeezing me and pulling me closer to him. Our tongues fought for dominance as my leg slowly wrapped itself around his thigh. Zacky wasn't going to back down and neither was I.

Within five seconds, I found myself on my back with Zacky hovering over me, our lips still locked in the kiss. He positioned himself to where he was in between my legs and was quick to attach his lips onto mine once more as his hands were places where he wanted them to be. One of my hands gripped the back of his neck while the other trailed down his chest, past his stomach and to the top of his jeans. A quick groan escaped Zacky’s lips once we parted, he wearily kissed my lips, lingering there for a bit, before leaving a trail of kisses down my skin. I bit down on my lip, feeling his press against my neck and collarbone, I knew he was going to do everything in his power to make me go crazy. A small whimper parted my lips when I felt him bite my neck, as gently as he could. I felt Zacky’s hand run up my shirt, and I felt him smirk against my neck once he realized I didn’t have a bra on.

A soft moan escaped my lips as his fingers danced on my breast as he began to grind his hips into mine. I wanted this, I wanted him now more than ever.

“Zacky…” his name slipped off my tongue in a moan. Hearing his name only caused Zacky to smirk as he placed another kiss onto my neck before slipping both hands up my shirt, preparing to take it off.

“Hah, fucker! You owe me five bucks!” Jimmy’s voice exclaimed as the door to my room bursted open, causing Zacky and I to jump at the unexpected interruption of our alone time.

I looked over at the doorway to see Jimmy and Matt standing there, shit-eating grins plastered across both of their faces. Zacky was glaring at the both of them like he was ready to kill them at any moment. Something told me that I wasn’t far from the truth.

“What the fuck are you two doing?” Zacky asked in a growl.

“We couldn’t decide if you two were bumping uglies or not.” Jimmy shrugged, holding out his hand to Matt, who didn’t look like he was going to give whatever Jimmy wanted from him. “I bet you weren’t, and dumbass over here did, so you owe me five bucks, dickwad!” he exclaimed, and Matt sighed, digging into his pants pocket for some extra cash.

“Matt!” I exclaimed, my eyes turning as wide as dinner plates, earning his attention. I’m guessing my look said it all, because Matt instantly looked like he regretted his bet.

“Sorry, I just thought since you two are pretty much attached at the hip this was a regular.” He chuckled, handing Jimmy his five dollars, who gladly stuck it into his back pants pocket.

“So, what if we were and you walked in on us?” I asked, anger setting the edge of my voice. I was definitely pissed at both of them for interrupting. I had never wanted something so badly in my life as I did just a few seconds ago.

“Well, number one, we'd get to see that sexy body of yours,” Jimmy winked, causing my cheeks to tint, “and number two, that’d be a hilarious story to tell Bri and Johnny.” Zacky’s arms tightened around my waist. I hadn't even noticed they were removed from my chest. The look on Zacky’s face told me he didn’t think Jimmy’s remark was funny.

“Hey! If anyone gets to see her naked it’s going to be me!” Zacky barked, only causing me to hide my blushing cheeks in his shoulder. Another thing I was never going to live down.

The shocked gasp coming from where Jimmy and Matt stood told me they couldn’t believe Zacky had never seen me naked before.

“Wow Ellie, way to push away the sexual predator.” Jimmy chuckled, causing me to bury my head into Zacky’s shoulders even more. I wanted to be invisible.

“Can you two please fucking leave?” Zacky asked them. Something told me he was still shooting daggers at our unexpected guests. Jimmy and Matt muttered something about him being a dickhead, and a few seconds later, I heard the door close.

“Sorry about that.” Zacky muttered. I nodded my head, letting him know I hadn’t died of embarrassment. I removed my face from his shoulder, and pulled myself up to where I was leaning against the pillows. I couldn’t help but giggle at the tent Zacky was pitching.

He sighed, looking down at his friend. “Can you give me a minute?”

“Just clean up when you're done.” I told him, getting out of bed. I pointed to the package of baby wipes on my dresser.

“Will do,” Zacky sighed, pressing his lips against my temple, “have fun being teased by the guys.”

I climbed out of bed, quickly changing out of my pajamas and into clothes. I didn’t dare look back as I opened the door to the hallway, closing it behind me to give him some privacy.

I could hear Jimmy, Matt, and Brian laughing in the living room. I knew the teasing and being made fun of would never end if I went out there. The thought crossed my mind to go back into my room and finish what Zacky and I started - before Matt and Jimmy interrupted. I heard a groan come from behind the door I was leaning against, and that made me place my hand on the doorknob.

I had never felt this way towards anyone before, nor had I ever been placed in this predicament. I mentally crossed my fingers as I gripped the doorknob, hoping I was doing the right thing.

Notes