Who: Zach and Adrienne
Where: A commons area connected to the auditorium at the school.
When: Thursday, February 15, 2007. Nighttime!
What: The group meet-up before the dance.

Zach was, in one word, nervous.

He showed up for the group meet-up dressed in the formal outfit he specifically purchased for the dance. None of his bags or suitcases included any formal wear when he had arrived. Honestly, he hadn’t thought to pack anything of that sort of nature. Not that he had any formal clothing at home. Suits only occupied his father’s closet in the Kitano residence. The only time Zach could remember wearing suits was for funerals and weddings, which happened to be rare occurrences. Anyway, there wasn’t much of point in owning formal clothes if he never wore them.

As Zach walked into the designated area Adrienne’s friend had old them about, he noticed a few of them were already there and chatting amongst each other. He decided to walk up to the group and say hey. He would be surprised if Adrienne’s friend somehow didn’t win one of the positions on the royal court. Zach greeted them all with an open smile. Friends of Adrienne were friends of his. Well, the ones who didn’t want to beat him up or kill him. Hopefully, none of these were like that.

He waited for Adrienne to show up, but not without the usual anxious habits. Biting his lip and trying to find something to occupy his hands with, which was mostly the red box with white ribbons tied around it in his hands that held the boutonniere and corsage for him and Adrienne tonight, Zach hoped she would show up soon. It was mostly just girls in the group, and they all occupied their time idly chatting with each other.

Zach sat over to the side in a nearby chair and fiddled with the box in order to kill time until Adrienne — his date for the dance — finally arrived.

Who: Zach and Adrienne
Where: Commons area, then Zach's room at the school.
When: Tuesday, February 13, 2007. Evening.
What: Dance Lessons! For the upcoming Valentine's Day dance.

Zach had figured an open commons area would be the best place to give Adrienne some formal dance lessons, but that was soon proving to be a very bad location of choice. They had barely even begun when other students were passing by the commons area, some of them snickering or outright laughing, while others sang snippets of that god awful rhyme the new jackass, aptly named Loki, had posted to his journal about Zach and Adrienne.

While he tried to act like it didn’t bother him, the teasing attitude going around rattled his calm. He and Adrienne weren’t exactly dating at this point. That’s why. Okay, if they were openly dating, Zach wouldn’t have a problem with it. He’d laugh it off and find it funny, but it felt like a serious intrusion into his privacy since there wasn’t anything final between him and Adrienne. They admitted they liked each other, and they were working on it from there. What if the jokes drove Adrienne off from pursuing anything with him? What if the teasing got out of hand and caused them to drift apart?

Despite Loki’s apology, Zach didn’t believe it. The guy was still cracking jokes at their expense. Hopefully, he’d find other people to make fun of and back off of Zach and Adrienne’s case. Nico could lure the guy’s attention elsewhere to something far more interesting. There had to be some illicit affair going on somewhere. Zach believed he was as boring as they came — he liked nice and sweet girls very near to his own age. It wasn’t like they’d get a sensational story out of him.

After what felt like the millionth sing-song call of “Zach and Addy, sittin’ in a tree” with occasional colorful and embarrassing alternations made to the original, Zach finally sighed deeply and stopped with their routine. His hands dropped to his sides, letting go of her hand and waist. Concentration was impossible with the constant interruptions, most of them jeering in nature. Sure, the rhyme was absolutely childish to the ninth degree, but that didn’t seem to stop students from singing it. Weren’t most of them teenagers and adults, anyway? Or at least supposed to be? Then, why were they acting like this was grade school all over again?

“Maybe we should go somewhere more private,” Zach suggested, scratching the back of his neck. “This is,” he gestured towards the opening of the commons area, “getting a little out of hand.” A corner of his mouth fell into an unsure expression as he waited to gauge her reaction.

Who: Zach and Adrienne
When: Friday, February 2, 2007. Nighttime around 8:00 PM-ish.
Where: Commons area near the Kitchens
What: Movie Night

After spending a good portion of his day by Adrienne’s side, Zach currently found himself sitting alone in one of the many commons areas around the school — and waiting to see Adrienne yet again for what would be the third time today. He had attended the assembly, sitting beside her through that, and had also joined her for the memorial service in the auditorium that ended not too long ago. Zach hadn’t known the people who had passed away, but there was still a sinking feeling inside of him somewhere that couldn’t be ignored.

He couldn’t imagine how it would feel to lose someone he cared about. Thinking about his family, and even the new friends he had just made, a poignant emptiness gripped coldly at his insides at the mere idea that something could happen to them at any moment. Already he had grown partial to a handful of people here. Zach wasn’t ever the emotional type, but always he wanted to protect people that mattered to him. It was possibly the only real time when he couldn’t lie, even if he wanted to do so desperately. Take care of people. His mother, the idol that she was to him, had taught him that.

All of their names had echoed earlier in his head like a mantra during the service as he sat next to Adrienne, and he had remembered holding her hand at some point. Who had taken whose hand was beyond his memory. However, he was refusing to think on the darker aspects of today. Zach was going to have fun now. Adrienne was supposed to show up soon, and she had picked out their movie. Popcorn sat on the table, freshly popped in the kitchen, still hot, and lightly buttered. Its enticing aroma filled the common room.

Zach was lounging on a very cushiony and comfortable sofa in his winter pajamas with some throws taken directly from his room. There were no pillows. He hadn’t planned on pillows for a reason. They weren’t really needed when the two people involved had agreed that using each other as pillows was just fine. A small smirk crept onto his face at that, and he tilted his head back to see if he could spot anyone coming. Specifically, Adrienne.

Valentine’s Day. There was that, too. Everyone had been talking about getting dates for the dance, while Zach had purposefully not mentioned that yet. He knew who he wanted to ask, and he wanted it to be surprise when he did. Well, as much as a surprise as it could be, considering how much time they had been spending around each other ever since they had met. Hoping he wasn’t too late and that she would say yes, Zach waited for her to arrive.

He would ask Adrienne tonight in person — and the idea, honestly, scared him shitless.

Who: Zach, Adrienne, and an old friend Meredith
When: Wednesday, January 31, 2007. Noon.
Where: The School
What: Their first real meeting. Exploring via Hide ‘n’ Seek!

Lounging against the wall with his hands in his pockets, Zach had shown up a few minutes before noon to wait for the others. Meredith would be here first since Adrienne still had a final, which was good because he wasn’t sure if he wanted to see Adrienne immediately. His brain was a little foggy since he was so sleepy while talking to her last night, but he remembered most of their conversation and felt embarrassed about it. Flirting wasn’t exactly Zach’s thing, especially not with someone he hadn’t even met in person. He had a said a lot of interesting things last night, though, to anyone who happened to message him as he lingered on one of the library’s computers long after he should have been in bed.

He was wide awake now and a little anxious. He figured his openness online, despite the fact that he hadn’t really used those chat programs much before, came about due to anonymity. What he didn’t really figure last night was that he would eventually meet these people in person, and his first impression made him look either borderline crazy or narcissistic and flirtatious. Whenever Meredith arrived, Zach made a mental note to give her his entire pack of caffeine mints. Those things were evil. She could have every last one of them.

This making friends business was a change for him, especially considering his seclusion back at home. Zach was hoping he was giving everyone the right impression. Laid back, friendly, and easy to get along with seemed to fit the rest of his personality like a glove. His withdrawal all those years wasn’t because he disliked people. It was because he was different. He was strange, not normal — a freak of nature, to put it simply.

Hiding wasn’t necessary here, though.

Zach didn’t plan on befriending the entire student body, but he was working on getting to know the people around him and finding ones who enjoyed his company. Everybody here was so diverse. Zach didn’t follow the normal patterns of cliques or packs — a ‘social chameleon,’ as his sister had called him. He was bound to make friends with people who hated each other, coming from such separate ends of the social spectrum, but that was okay. Zach’s new friends didn’t have to all like each other and hang out with each other.

Whether or not they liked him . . . well, that was all that really mattered.

Who: Zach and Adrienne
Where: Over computers ;P
When: Tuesday, January 30, 2007. Nighttime.
What: Their very first 'meeting.' It was over AIM. Awww.

( “A jacuzzi party. So that’s what she was talking about in her journal. Next time I think I should be invited.” )