InsaneJournal

If you believe in me, I might just wanna spend some time with you again
Who: Zeke McMahon and Holly Tremblay (plus familiars, NPC’d)
Where: Holly’s house
When: August 8, 2009


When Zeke imagined the next time he went to Holly’s house, he didn’t think it would be under the pretense of the demons returning to reek havoc on everything. In truth, he’d been trying to figure out what he was going to say when he saw her again, easier said than done for an air elemental whose head was often cluttered with more thoughts than he could handle, and all of them revolved around a certain brunette as of late. Then there was the part where he’d just straight up missed her, damn it, and Zeke couldn’t stay away if he tried. He knew what his feelings were and the longer he tried to fight them, the worse it was going to get. So, for the moment, he wasn’t going to try, but just enjoy Holly’s company and see what happened from there.

It took him five minutes to pack a bag full of clothes to last him a couple days and then close to an hour to convince Scooby to come out of hiding. Even reminding his familiar that he was best friends with a white witch wasn’t doing much to change the lab’s mind. What if something happens? Will Holly’s house be safe? I can’t fight a demon, Zeke, and neither can you. What if-

Zeke rolled his eyes. “Not playing this game with you, Scoob. We’re going to Holly’s, and that’s it. Safest place for us, unless you want to chill out in the gym again?” He paused, “Plus, Taran and Hen Wen and Slinky and all the others will be there, so you don’t have to be scared.”

Scooby poked his head out of one end of the shower curtain. You promise?

“Yes.” He was reassuring a dog. Again. With a sigh, Zeke stood up. “Come on, let’s go.”

Twenty minutes later he was knocking on Holly’s front door, bag over his shoulder, with Scooby leaning against him, every inch of the dog shaking. Oh, what Zeke wouldn’t give to have the demons go away forever, if only to calm his dog down some.

Oh dear. These words went around Holly’s mind over and over again every time she thought about Zeke coming to stay over to ride out the demon outbreak. It shouldn’t be a big deal, friends stayed over at friends’ houses all the time, but he wasn’t just a friend to her, was he? There was no point in denying it to herself anymore. She was in deep sentimental trouble and Holly knew she had to break it off with Jamie because they just made no sense anymore when all she could think about was Zeke - she was trembling with nervousness at the prospect of him coming to stay over, for God’s sake! - and Jamie was only in her mind as that dire bit of business she still had to take care of. It was not fair to the guy, he didn’t deserve it.

Stretching her back, Holly took a deep breath and shook both her arms on either side of her body. She wanted to push Jamie off her head, and maybe Zeke too at least the way he was in there right now, but then again they were such sweet thoughts that she wasn’t sure she ever wanted them gone. “Ahhh, play it cool you idiot.”

“Did you say something?” Hen Wen’s cute little voice sounded from the hallway, and Holly’s head shot that way.

“You know exactly what is going on inside my head right now, Hen, no need to play coy.” She said with a smile. Now if only her familiar knew anything about human relationships in order to give her some advice...

Hearing the knock, Holly gasped. “Okay, it’s okay, it’s just Zeke. Just Zeke.” Right, Just Zeke, the eternal crush, the end all, the ruiner of all other men. Just Zeke, she thought, opening the door. “Hi!” She greeted both Zeke and his familiar with a grin that looked very genuine considering, and moved out of the way to let them both in.

Zeke, who was trying not to lose his own cool, returned that smile as much as he could. That turmoil in him was still there, as well as the jealousy he was trying not to acknowledge, but the fact remained that he still wanted to see her. Spending the night here made sure he knew that she was okay, and in times like this that reassurance meant everything. He wouldn’t be anywhere else but right here, and he was beyond glad the offer had been made.

“Hey you,” he said, and then he did the first thing he thought of - he reached out for her and drew her into a hug. He didn’t like the idea of being away from her for another minute, much less the time they’d already been apart. Holding there for a minute, Zeke just concentrated on his breathing, not wanting to let her go. “I’m glad you’re okay.” Not that he’d expected her to get hurt or anything, but still, the thought remained.

Scooby brushed against his leg, wanting some attention too. Holly! Zeke said it’s gonna be safe here. It is gonna be safe, right? No scary demons?

When Zeke drew her into a hug Holly’s heartbeat faltered for a split-second, and then she let herself go, closing her eyes. He had always given the best hugs, and her head was just the right height in relation to his shoulder that she could lay it there for however long he wanted her to. “I’m glad you’re okay too. Safe trip all the way here?” She asked softly, not yet letting go. A grin came over her lips as Scooby asked about Zeke’s safety. “No scary demons, Scooby, I put wards all around the house before you guys arrived, and I blessed the heck out of everything. We’re okay in here, cozy and safe. The boys and girls are all really looking forward to having you over, Scoob, why don’t you run to the kitchen and say hi? They’re probably eating, they always are!”

Only then noticing that she was still holding onto Zeke for dear life, Holly pulled away, looking away awkwardly, and signaled for the couch. “Come sit down, we’ll get your stuff to the spare room later.” She sat on the couch, waiting for him to do the same. “Wanna watch a movie? A show? A ridiculous reality show so we can laugh at other people’s expense? Oh, I forgot, do you want anything to eat or drink? I stocked up on yummy demon-days stuff too, I figured we needed comfort food just with the thought of demons being out there.” She smiled.

He didn’t want Holly to pull away, but knew they couldn’t just stand there and hold onto each other in her doorway for the rest of forever, no matter how much he wanted to. “Yeah, we didn’t see anything on our way over,” he said. “I would have been here sooner, but it took me a while to talk Scooby out from his hiding spot.” He glanced over at the dog, “Don’t get any ideas about hiding here, please. No jumping in the shower.”

But the shower was the safest place! There was no arguing with Scooby over this point. But I’ll go check on everyone and make sure they’re okay. And food! We can’t stay in forever without any food! The lab bounded off into the kitchen, and Zeke just shook his head. Who knew he’d get the one familiar who was scared of, literally, everything?

Zeke followed her over to the couch, collapsing onto it and resting his elbows on his knees. “Um... whatever you’d like?” he said. “Too many choices for me, so you can pick.” This was the guy who could spend an hour trying to decide between Chinese or pizza for dinner, clear evidence of the air elemental in him getting overwhelmed. He didn’t care, so long as he got to spend some time with Holly. “And comfort food sounds awesome, but I’m okay for now. Whenever we get up we’ll grab something.” So long as she reminded him about it, that was.

“Oh, thank God.” Holly sighed in relief, afraid that Zeke and Scooby had been scared off the bat by something they had seen on the road. She didn’t want to admit it but she was thoroughly freaked out about all this. She hadn’t seen a demon upclose yet, thank God, but just the idea of them actually existing was a bit too hard to digest. And because of them she was exhausted lately, always blessing and putting wards on her house, friends’ houses, her car, friends’ cars, redoing it over and over to make sure they never faltered...it was hard work. Looking down at Scooby Holly smiled tenderly and reached out to pet his head. “Aw poor Scooby, you’re safe here, I promise.” She laughed about the shower thing, patting Zeke in the shoulder. “It’s okay, he can hide in the shower, no problem. Some of the cats like to get in there too, sometimes, I’m used to it.” She listened as Scooby worried about food and sped off to the kitchen, and then she laughed some more. “It’s hilarious how Scooby-like Scooby really is.”

Knowing Zeke, Holly should have been expecting him to throw the choice back onto her instead of choosing something himself. That was Zeke, ever indecisive, and Holly had to admit she found it kind of endearing. Picking up the remote, Holly turned on the TV and left it where it was, on some channel that was airing reruns of the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. “Blast from the past!” She announced, leaning back against the couch. “You sure? I don’t know if you’ve been eating enough, you’ve been getting kinda skinny lately...” She told Zeke, poking him on the sides. Any excuse for a little contact, like a teenage girl. She was pathetic like that.

Zeke didn’t want to see a demon. He didn’t want anyone else he knew to see one either, and at least this time he had a safer place to go than the high school gym. If they hadn’t lost power at the Court, he would have been tempted to stay at his apartment then, but even though he was Air and therefore perpetually distracted, he wasn’t dumb. He knew to stay safe. And at least if he was with Holly, he could reassure himself that she was safe, too. That’s all he ever wanted for her, even when every fiber in him was screaming for more. The warmth of her hand on his shoulder didn’t go unnoticed, and he found himself wishing she was still touching him after she’d pulled away. “Seriously, I had no idea when I named him,” he said, shaking his head. “Guess that was just a stroke of luck, huh?”

He stared at the TV for a second before a slow smile spread across his face. “Oh god, I haven’t seen this since I was a kid,” he said. “And I bet it’s even more corny than I remember.” And the dubbing was so bad, the villian’s mouth didn’t match her words! He chuckled a little as she poked him, pretending to move away but never actually doing so - he couldn’t bear the thought of not being near her, now that he finally was. “Well, you know, I’ve been trying to keep busy, I try not to forget the basics.” Except for the part where he hadn’t been that hungry, all this time they’d been fighting. Or not fighting, as it was. Whatever they wanted to call this tension between them.

It was better for Holly that things had turned out this way; she was home, able to take care of her father, and Zeke was here too, where she could keep an eye on him. Any other way things would have worked out would have only made her worry incessantly until it was safe again. “Yeah. Luck or fate, I have no idea which is more likely.” She said, shrugging.

“Everything we used to watch as kids is way cornier now than it seemed back then. I guarantee you.” But Holly didn’t change the channel, because seeing something on TV she used to love as a kid rarely happened outside of Holidays. “Wooow. It is bad isn’t it?” Holly chuckled, shaking her head. Turning to face Zeke Holly gave him a big, judging look and then made a face. “I’m thinking I’m going to have to make you some good dishes while you’re here. You don’t convince me Zeke McMahon I remember you used to forget to have lunch when we were in school.” All he needed was something more interesting to occupy his mind.

“Probably a little bit of both.” Zeke had no plans to take on a dog before Scooby. He still lived in a tiny studio apartment and Scooby was not exactly a little dog, either. He needed room to run and play and all those things, and he took a lot of energy even before he could talk. But then again, given how spacey Zeke could be at times, perhaps his familiar was fitting. He honestly didn’t know anymore, and yet, he couldn’t imagine his life without the dog in it.

He was still smiling, unable to stop even while there was that little nagging voice in the back of his mind that said that not all was well in his world. “Now we can mock it in a way that we just weren’t capable of as kids,” he pointed out. Seemed like a fun way to spend the evening to him. He stared at her blankly while she stared at him, judging him, before holding his hands up as if surrendering. “I don’t turn down free food, if you’re making it. But I promise you, I remember to eat. Usually. Unless I get distracted by something big.” Like you.

For a moment there, Holly got distracted by Zeke’s smile and found herself smiling back, but completely distracted from anything else. She snapped out of it when he spoke, and looked back at the television. “Exactly! The villains were always so cheesy, and they always failed, you’d think the big bad would change tactics at some point.” She pointed out, chuckling. “Okay then, we’re having pasta for dinner and you’re getting seconds.” Holly crossed her arms as if she was bossing him around, but then she glanced at him with a sideways smirk. “God, what could be so distracting that you forget to eat? I just worry about you, is all. And I like you just the way you are, so don’t go getting skinny!”

When Holly looked at him - when Holly looked at him like that - it was like no one else existed in the entire world. Zeke would have given anything to stay in that moment, but then she was looking away and he snapped back to reality. “Or just given up entirely. It doesn’t matter what stupid monster you built, they’d come back with some new machine or weapon or whatever to defeat you.” He ran a hand over his hair, “Pasta sounds awesome, and yes, I will force down seconds to make you feel better.” He couldn’t resist that smirk, and he loved it when she was playful, and so the next words came out of his mouth without even thinking about it. “You do.”

“There comes a time in every villain’s life where he or she just have to take their deadly toys and go home. And the whole Power Rangers span is one of those moments.” Holly sounded solemn, but then she burst out laughing. “It’s true though. And back then I didn’t notice, but now I’m uncomfortable with how the Asian girl has the yellow suit, the black guy has the black suit, the only other girl is the pink...” Things a kid would never have noticed. Sometimes being an adult just ruined things, especially the fun ones. “Hah, force down seconds. You’ll love it, you’ll beg me for more when it’s all gone!” She wasn’t that great of a cook, so she doubted he’d beg for more, but the Internet was full of amazing and genuinely Italian recipes that she could try. The best food she had ever cooked had been typically Scandinavian, but she didn’t think Zeke was quite ready for that.

In a million years Holly had not expected that to be his answer. She looked at Zeke and blinked, her first instinct being to think he was joking. “Right, I distract you to the point of malnutrition...” She looked away, and then something snapped within her, and Holly looked back. “Do I really though?”

“Exactly. Go conquer your own galaxy, because clearly, this one is already taken.” Zeke looked up again at the screen, brain putting that together. “Oh god, you are totally right. I never even thought about it before.” No surprise there, considering that Zeke was the kind of guy who would think about everything and nothing at the same time, and it wasn’t hard to hide stuff from him if you tried hard enough. “And I’m sure, you wouldn’t feed me anything you wouldn’t eat yourself.” For the record, she could have made him Scandinavian food and he would have eaten it without a problem, considering that he was the guy who ordered take out because he forgot to go grocery shopping and therefore couldn’t cook even if he wanted to.

Sadly, Zeke wasn’t joking, and his first instinct was to try and play it off like he had been. He even opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come, so after a second of staring at her, he finally looked away. He was now looking at his hands, turning them over and over and running his fingers over the knuckles for lack of anything better to do with them. “...Kind of,” he admitted. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the last few days and how we left things and I just - it’s been rough.” Surely she could have guessed that from looking at him.

“I hope that if we ever get invaded by aliens, they’re as dumb as these were.” Holly revealed, shaking her head. “Well, of course. I don’t poison the people that I love, come on now.” Holly smirked, shaking her head. “But really, I promise I will try my best to make it so good you will want to get seconds.” And cooking for Zeke was a pleasure more than a chore, even if she wasn’t that amazing at it.

While Zeke stared, Holly stared back, suddenly aware of how much she wanted him to say yes. She kept her eyes on him as his went to his hands. When he finished Holly sighed. “I know... I’m sorry. But...” This was it. There was no point in pretending anymore, and she was getting tired of it. If there ever had been a good time to tell Zeke how she felt, how she had felt for years now, it was now. “If it’s any consolation you kind of have that effect on me too. Always have done.” It was her turn to look away at her hands, and play with her bracelet.

Zeke gestured to the screen, “Lessons we can take home from Power Rangers. At least how to fight aliens might someday be more helpful than mimicking their moves and thinking you know karate from watching the show.” Hey, he’d gone through that phase too, when he was a kid. It was the most badass thing when he was a kid, after all, cheesy or not. “I have every hope and faith that you will make something awesome. I will gladly be your guinea pig.”

All the talk about food, though, and Zeke still couldn’t avoid the subject at hand. No matter what he did it was still there, the elephant in the room, and the sooner he got this off his chest the better. “I’m sorry too,” he said. “I didn’t want to fight with you and I didn’t mean to answer your phone because I thought it was my phone and...” Only after hearing her admit that she’d felt the same could Zeke look up at her, meeting her eyes. “I didn’t mean it, I just... I got jealous.”

Holly stared at the screen for a while in thought. “You know, with all the supernatural creatures about, and most of them with a really refined survival instinct, I think we could kick alien ass pretty easily if we came together.” Of course humanity coming together was almost a laughable idea, but Holly wasn’t that much of a cynic. Maybe in extreme circumstances people would actually unite. “And I totally know karate. Just try me one of these days grasshopper.” She was joking, obviously, but it was something that had crossed her mind - learning a martial art was always good as a means of self-defense. For certain circumstances being a witch alone wasn’t enough, she needed a more rapid response.

“It’s okay! It’s forgotten, I don’t mind, mistaking my phone for yours is absolutely not your fault.” She rushed to rest his mind on that, because she really did not blame him. Holding his gaze was hard for Holly and she felt her heart racing and her mouth drying as she tried not to look away. Especially when he said he’d gotten jealous. “Jealous? But...” Well now here was a dilemma, and it was a moral one. She couldn’t forget about Jamie all the way in London waiting for her, but the truth was that Holly didn’t want to be anywhere else but right here, with Zeke. She had always wanted to be with Zeke, it just hurt too much to admit and so she had managed to keep that feeling in the back of her head for all these years. But Jamie wasn’t here right now, and Zeke was, and he had always mattered more than anything to her. And he was telling her he had gotten jealous of her boyfriend. If this didn’t mean he cared about her as more than a friend then she didn’t know what on earth that meant. “This should be easier now than it was in High School.” She grumbled under her breath. “Zeke...” She paused, looking down at a fixed point of the couch despite her body being turned to him. “The truth is you have nothing to be jealous about because it’s not him that I love. Well, not like that. Not like it matters.” She rubbed her eyes and sighed. “It’s been you all along, ever since High School.”

“You know, that’s not a bad idea. Hollywood’s probably making a movie about it as we speak.” It wouldn’t surprise him, anyway, that someday they’d put out a Vampires Vs. Werewolves Vs. Aliens movie. If only the real world worked that way, and everyone could work together. But if he couldn’t make things work with Holly, then how could he believe everything else would work out, too? He was thinking too much and he knew it, leaving him more than a little quieter than he’d be if he was in a better mood.

This was it, the important conversation, the one he should have had the day he came to swap phones with her. They both had iPhones, so it wasn’t a hard mistake for him to make, but he still hadn’t intended to interfere with her personal life. But wasn’t he a part of her personal life, too? As her best friend, wasn’t that something he was supposed to know, whether or not she was seeing someone? He never really wanted to ask, because Zeke didn’t want to know the answer for fear of this exact moment. “Jealous,” he repeated. “I just... he said ‘boyfriend’ and....” And then the rest of what she said hit him. Nothing like this was easy for him, the guy who avoided his emotions until he absolutely had to face them, and now that he had to face it he was scared to death. She wasn’t looking at him but he heard those words. “Wait.” He reached over for her hands, knowing his own were shaking. “When Jamie called himself your boyfriend, I wanted to tell him he wasn’t. Because it should have been me.” Holly loved him. She’d loved him all along. “Hol... I love you too. I always did. Still do.”

“The blockbuster of the century.” Holly rolled her eyes. Those ‘versus’ movies were never that great, they always tried so hard to make them epic that the movies ended up on the other end of the spectrum, right on top of cheesy. Then again Holly had gotten to like European cinema and it was quite different than your typical Hollywood blockbuster. God, she’d sound like such a pretentious bitch if she said this out loud.

Well, it seemed like they were finally getting everything out of their systems, and Holly could only hope that they solved their issue then. She couldn’t bear to be even a little bit mad at Zeke, which she wasn’t anymore, but that she had been had left a mark. She remained quiet as Zeke spoke, and however hard it was for him to get the words out Holly would wait in silence until he had. There were bound to be less misunderstandings that way. Then again, she could just have blown their friendship of years if she had misunderstood him in the first place. Oh God that was a frightening notion. Now, as Zeke spoke, and hesitated, and spoke again, Holly was in panic. Of course the panic soon dissipated. She had been right, he did love her. Holly gave such a sigh of relief that she even lowered her head for a moment. Her hands were still shaking but then so were his, and that was okay. “Yeah it should. It should always have been you.” She said in a faint tone. Hearing the next words coming out of Zeke’s mouth was like a dream come true. Holly couldn’t hold back the tears that were now rolling down her cheeks, but at last she cracked a smile. Then, without saying anything else Holly scooted closer to Zeke on the couch and wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could. This moment was ten years or so coming, she had to make it last.

Zeke could watch movies, but there were times when he got so distracted during them that he would walk out and not be able to tell you exactly what he’d seen. Something would get him thinking and his brain would take it from there, which was why he didn’t really bother to go to the movies that often to begin with. Right now, though, all that mattered to him was Holly and what they were talking about, and all thoughts of movies were gone to the wayside.

And it was scary, putting all his emotions out on the table like that. Zeke didn’t talk about his feelings and when he did, it was for something important. He couldn’t think of anything that was more important than this moment right here, finally telling the girl he loved how he felt. She still took his hands, and then he could see she was crying. He reached up to brush her tears away just as she hugged him, and it was all Zeke could do to hug her and cradle her close to him. After this, he wasn’t sure he could let her go, boyfriend in London be damned. “It’s okay,” he murmured in her ear, “I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere.” It would kill him to leave her now, knowing what it was like to live without her as a part of his life. Even if she didn’t want him like she clearly did, he’d still be her friend, and that would never change. After a long moment, he brushed her hair back from her face and leaned in to kiss her. Just soft, nothing too pressing, but damn it, he’d been waiting to do that since forever.

If someone asked Holly how she was feeling in that moment she would have answered that it was like riding three rollercoasters at once, as if such a thing was even possible. She was scared out of her mind, and yet she wasn’t going to take anything back, she was going to see this through. Holly closed her eyes as Zeke said he wouldn’t go anywhere, as she established in her mind that she wanted nothing else. She felt sorry for Jamie for a brief moment, but life was like this sometimes, and they had been waiting for this for years, apparently. There was nothing stronger than a love that had lasted that long without being cultivated. Holly turned to him, brushing her nose against his cheek and said, “And neither am I. Not ever again.” That was that. London wasn’t an option anymore, even if her father wasn’t sick anymore. Holly was actually shaking when she realized Zeke was about to kiss her, but she didn’t pull back. Instead she brought a hand up to his cheek, her heart pounding in her chest so hard she could hear it. How many times had she imagined this, dreamed about it, longed for it? Now it was happening and Holly’s heart felt like it was about to explode with so many feelings pent up for years.

There was no turning back for either of them and now that this was off his chest, he didn’t want it to change. Zeke was sure Holly could probably hear the way his heart was pounding in his chest as he kissed her, slow at first, unable to bring himself to pull away. Hearing her say she was going to stay had him flailing about inside, because that was what he’d wanted all along. They’d both grown up a lot since high school, seen so many things outside of Scarlet Oak, but this was where he was home. The town, his job, his dog, and now, with his best friend turned so much more. They didn’t have to define it, but after this, they were more than friends now. Always would be. When he finally ended the kiss he didn’t pull away, resting his forehead against hers. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to do that?”

Suddenly the very air of the room had changed. Holly felt warm, and happy, and a little lighter than before. Her head was also a little lighter than before, and all her face seemed to want to do was smile. Of course there was guilt spoiling this wonderful feeling, but that was going to be dealt with, she vowed, as soon as possible. She had gotten the man of her dreams since forever, nothing else compared to that. And she might even have her father sick, and have uncertain jobs which meant uncertain pay, but in the time she had been back she had felt much happier than she had anywhere else. And seeing as she hadn’t been exactly unhappy anywhere else, that was saying something. Her home was here now, she knew it in her heart. “About as long as I waited to tell you what I just told you? And by the way you should’ve done that sooooo long ago, you don’t even know.” She scolded him playfully. Holly fought not to ask ‘what now?’ and ruin the moment, though something inside her was aching to know. However logic dictated that she let this moment last a little longer before worrying about definitions, and so she would.

If Zeke wasn’t careful his emotions were going to activate what little elemental powers he had, but somehow he didn’t think Holly would mind having a little breeze right about now. It was hard to feel guilty about anything when he felt so good right now, being able to hold her in his arms and call her his. The actual term for their relationship could come later, because right now he didn’t plan on letting her go any time soon. Zeke was happy, and when he was happy everyone and their grandmother would be able to tell. “I think I was... 15? Yeah, somewhere around then, when I first started thinking about it. I was scared then.” He kissed her again, soft and sweet. “I shouldn’t have been, but I didn’t know that then.” And yes, kissing her was totally worth the wait.

If Zeke’s powers got activated Holly wouldn’t mind at all, especially if it was a breeze. Seeing as everything was closed in the living room it would be funny to have a breeze run through her hair. She didn’t think he ought to feel as guilty as she did, and she felt it. But right now it was the culmination of years and years of what she thought were one-sided feelings; she couldn’t care properly about anything else. “Yeah, same here. So scared that you’d look at me funny and never talk to me again...and then you left and I never got the guts.” She shrugged, giving herself to the kiss again. “Neither did I, which is a shame. But it could be worse, it could have taken us longer.” Holly was imagining them figuring things out about ten years later when they were already married to their respective silver medals and thought about each other every time something came up that reminded them of the other. What a sad life that would be. Leaning her forehead against his Holly looked into Zeke’s eyes with a stern expression. “Look I know things are complicated now, but I swear I’ll take care of it. Just give me some time. I’m not going anywhere and I mean everything I said, I just need you to know that. I love you and I want to be with you, I really do.” It was important to her that he knew this, because there was still Jamie in the equation and things might get weird. Whatever feelings she had for him were nothing compared to what she felt for Zeke, she didn’t even think it was actual love, more like a really strong fondness that she wanted to make into love because “it was the thing to do at her age”. That didn’t matter now, she had the real thing.

He let out a little chuckle - they’d wasted well over a decade with those unrequited feelings between them. And for most of that, he’d had no idea where she was, if she was happy, what she might be up to. “I could never not talk to you again,” he said. “Even when we fell out of touch... I still kept everything, you know that. The pictures and the letters and everything and I always hoped I’d find you again.” Zeke gave her a little squeeze as he kissed her back, “But we’re together now, that’s what matters.”

What she brought up next had to happen, but that didn’t mean that Zeke wanted to hear it. He’d rather live in his little bubble where he could pretend it was just him and Holly, and that Jamie never existed. But Jamie was real, and he did have some sort of claim to Holly too, as much as Zeke might not like it. “I trust you,” he told her, making sure he was looking in her eyes as he said it. “I couldn’t give you up, not with how I feel about you and - I love you, Holly. I’ll do what it takes to make sure I get to be with you.” If she needed time, he could give that to her. It might hurt him a little to do so, but he’d respect her wishes, because he never wanted to force her into something she wasn’t happy with. Besides, he was here, and Jamie was in London. Therefore, it was kind of like he won automatically.

It had been so hard to go on all those years without knowing anything about Zeke. Holly would sit and think about him at times and she always ended up tearing up a bit over how much she missed him. In hindsight it had been stupid of them to break off contact like that, there could have been ways to keep in touch. Holly would have loved to tell him all about her college experience, her travels, how she was getting on in other countries...It would have been a much more fun experience if she had had Zeke to share it with. “I know, I did, too. I actually wrote you a few times while I was abroad, but obviously I didn’t have an address to send it to. It was just a way to keep you close, I guess.”

The bubble was a fine place to be, Holly agreed, but she couldn’t live with the guilt for much longer and things had to be dealt with. Especially where she and Zeke were concerned - she had to make clear that despite whatever she had with Jamie, she wanted to be with Zeke exclusively. “No, don’t, don’t give me up, I don’t ever want you to!” She smiled. “You don’t have to do anything, because I’m already here, and I’m with you. I just have to...well I have to end a chapter of my life before I can start another properly.” It was a good way to put it. “And it’s going to be really difficult for me this time because he kind of doesn’t deserve to be hurt and I only know how to run away.” It was the truth, she might as well let him know. “So it might take me a few days to get the guts to pick up the phone, but I will, as soon as I can, I promise.” Holly nodded reassuringly. “And then I’m all yours.” And that sounded beautiful to her.

Hearing that she’d actually still written, even when she didn’t have an address to send it to, it had Zeke beaming like an idiot. “I guess you could have sent it to my mom, if you wanted, she’s still at the same address,” he said. “But it wouldn’t be the same. I always used to write you little song lyrics and things - they were horrible, trust me,” he was quick to point out, because writing wasn’t exactly his strength, “but you know. I still thought about you regardless.” And he always would. It was refreshing, being able to finally say that out loud, like a weight lifted from his chest. Almost as much as it felt to say those three little words to her.

He reached up, so both his hands were cradling her face, needing to touch her in that moment. “I understand that,” he murmured. And he did - Zeke was the last person who would ever want to walk into a confrontation. When he had to, he would, and he believed Holly would do the same, for him. He knew the girl well enough by now to know she wouldn’t lie to him - she wouldn’t have it in her. “I don’t want you to run away. You don’t have to run anymore. We’ll figure this all out.” He leaned in to kiss her, one more time. “I was always yours. You don’t have to worry about that.”

Well she had thought of that...but then for some reason Holly wanted the letter to reach him directly and as much as she hated to think so she didn’t even know if his mother would have given him the letters anyway. Holly giggled when Zeke confessed that he’d written her lyrics and little things. “I know, I thought about you too. Every God-forsaken Scandinavian cold winter I kept wishing you were there to warm me up.” And now he was and it wasn’t even winter but that didn’t really matter.

“I know you understand, I just wish I hadn’t dragged you into this too...” As for running away, she wasn’t going to, this time. Not from Jamie, who deserved an explanation, and not from Zeke, for obvious and overwhelming reasons. That feeling she had now, like her chest was going to explode with too much happiness, Holly never wanted to lose that. She brushed a thumb over Zeke’s cheek and smiled. “I would die of frustration if I wasn’t so happy. This entire time, Zeke!” It was too silly to forget and now Holly understood what people meant when they kept harping on about lost opportunities and missed time. Not that she was going to let that hinder the experience now but it still bugged her. “But I got back the one that got away, someone must really like me up there.”

Though he’d known, at least in theory, that Holly had missed him as much as he’d missed her, hearing her say it out loud still had him blushing and grinning. And for Zeke, that was a big deal. Inside it had him flailing around like something of an idiot, and he was sure Holly knew it, knowing him as well as she did. He wondered if being with her would always feel like this, and he hoped this excitement never wore off. And yes, his mother would have given him the letters eventually. His mom was a bitch, but she wasn’t always mean. She was just wrong about a lot of things going on in his life. “Now the next cold Michigan winter that comes, you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

He smiled at her again, sure he was going to keep doing that from now until forever. “It’s not dragging me into it if I want to be here. And I do want to be here.” He’d tell her again and again so she didn’t forget. Though Zeke knew his memory was shit, it wasn’t like he could forget something like this. “And I got back the one I always wanted. See, it’s a win-win situation.” He brushed his nose over hers, mostly because he could. “I love you,” he reminded her again. “Love you, love you, love you.” Damn, that felt good to say.