Forbidden Love: Fate (Zac and Ivy Trilogy Book 1) (18 page)

One little touch that can make me go into
this paralyzed state,

Or that one little smile that can make me
smile,

And I act like a love fool,

A lovesick fool that is in love with
you.

Ivy, can you hear the lyrics to my song? One
little touch from you and I can’t think straight. My skin burns
wherever you touch, yet I want you to keep on touching me.

The girls are screaming like mad. Mandy is
going a bit overboard, hyperventilating when I stand in front of
her, looking at Ivy. She flutters her arms about like she’s going
to faint. I move forward until I’m near the edge of the crowd where
Ivy is.

Ivy is being passive. She’s being pushed
around to the back again. I’m getting rather annoyed with this
nonsense.

Get it together, girls. I’m singing this
song for Ivy, not you Ashley, or Carina, or Mandy. Stop pushing in
front of her.

One little gesture that can make me think of
you all day,

Or that one little kiss that now traps me in
your love.

I surrender myself to you.

And I act like a lovesick fool for the whole
day.

I go to the other edge of the crowd, where
Ivy ends up, but I realize there’s no point in attempting this
route. Ivy is just going to be pushed about again, so I go back up
onstage. When my eyes connect with Ivy’s, I sing my solo.

That’s because I love you, I love you.

I want to confess I’m in love you.

That’s because I love you, I love you.

Please tell me you’re in love with me
too.

See my eyes, the love I have for you.

See my eyes, the world I give to you.

See my eyes, I want to give you all of
me.

See my eyes, I love you forever, for all
eternity

The song ends, and
applause erupts around us. I smile and wave at everyone, making
sure all this time my eyes stay in contact with Ivy’s. After the
applause dies down, I say through the microphone, “Let’s go to
Little Café to celebrate Apollo’s new single.”

“Plus, for Zac
getting well again,” Kai yells from somewhere in the crowd.

I smirk at him.
“Yeah. That too.” Then I jump offstage and approach Ivy. She’s
standing all the way at the back. “Ivy, my new friend, you’re
coming too,” I say when I go to her. And without her saying a word,
I literally drag her from the crowd and push her toward my car. Ivy
complains the whole way.

“Let me go, Zac.
Didn’t you tell me you’re going to take me home?”

“I will,” I tell
her. “Just after our little celebration.”

“But I want to go
home, Zac. Home.” She drums her feet like a kid. I find that super
adorable.

“I know you want to
go home, but don’t you want to hang out with your new friend? You
said I was your friend last week. We didn’t get to hang out with
each other at all. Shouldn’t we create a bond together now?”

The bond that I’m
planning to make has nothing to do with friends.

After another quiet
minute, she looks up at me and says, “Fine.”

I smile and open the
door for her, happy I’ve accomplished one of my goals, to be close
to Ivy. Now it’s up to nature to play our fate. After some time of
close contact, I’m sure Ivy will see me as her potential
boyfriend.

I snicker to
myself at this thought. Ivy just frowns at me and asks what I’m
snickering about. I shake my head and smile. I don’t want her to
find out about my plan, so I gesture for her to get into the front
seat, to sit right beside me, just the two of us, so we can chat
and converse about random things as I drive us to Little Café. Just
that thought alone sends a thrill down my spine.

Oh, I can’t
wait—

What the hell? Where
did Ashley come from?

Out of nowhere,
Ashley suddenly climbs into the front seat. I blink my eyes. I
can’t believe this. I demand to know who’s invited her.

I’m about to yell at
her to leave when Ivy opens the back door and steps in. All of a
sudden, Carina and Stacy come rushing in too.

What? Where did all
these girls come from? I didn’t invite any of them.

I don’t want to ruin
my good mood, so I turn my attention to Ivy. She looks like she’s
having trouble with her seatbelt.

No amount of
tackling can get my old car to release her belt to you, Ivy.

I smile warmly
up at her and ask through the opened door,
“Want some help?
My car can be a little stubborn sometimes.”

“No. It’s fine. I can do it myself,” she
grumbles while tackling her seatbelt again.

Why did she have to choose that particular
seat? That seatbelt will not work until I give it a hard tug.

Seeing how upset she is with her fruitless
efforts, I feel sorry for her and help her.

Actually, I want to see her try a bit more
because she looks too cute, what with that determined look on her
face, but instead, I heave in, invading her personal space. Yes,
rule number one of being a friend: invade your friend’s personal
space and you still won’t get told off.

I’m right. Ivy doesn’t tell me off, but she
does suck in her breath as I fumble with her belt.

My old car still doesn’t budge when I tug at
her to release the belt. I realize I’m spending a little too long
trying to get the belt in place, and by the time I’ve completed my
task, Ivy has her eyes closed.

I look at her straight in the eyes; my nose
is only a trace from touching hers. I smile and blow warm air onto
her face, wanting her to wake up.

Ivy must feel the air tickle her face
because in the next second, her eyes flutter open.

I’m caught off guard by her beautiful
chestnuts irises. There won’t be a day I will stop looking at those
beautiful eyes. I vow to myself right then that this is the girl I
want to marry. No matter what obstacles are in our way or whether
all hell breaks loose, she’s definitely the one for me.

Ivy continues to fix her gaze on me too. I
smile. “Hey. Just sit there for a bit. It won’t be long before we
reach Little Café.”

Her face blushes red and she nods. I love
seeing her looking shy. I just want to pinch her cheeks and kiss
them so they get redder.

I only chuckle, though, and get into the
front seat. Pressing my foot on the accelerator, I speed to Little
Café, hoping for Ashley, Carina, and Stacy to stay silent. But I
guess that’s too much to ask. When the car moves out, their voices
boom out all at once. “Oh, Zac, you were amazing.”

I know then that my plan of a peaceful ride
will never reach fruition.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

IVY

Girlfriends

“Oh, Zac, you were amazing,” Ashley says,
fluttering her arms like she’s about to swoon. Then I hear a thump
on the front seat. I bet that must be her pretending to faint.

“I love that song,” Stacy has to put in.

“I agree,” Carina, who’s sitting next to me,
says.

Carina is so absorbed with wanting to catch
Zac’s attention in the rearview mirror that she’s squashing me
against the car door. Now it’s digging into my hip.

Oww.

Why must I condemn myself to their company?
And why are they constantly seeking Zac’s attention? Is he some
kind of Greek god or something? Actually, speaking of that Greek
god, shouldn’t he be the one to blame for my current condition? If
he didn’t force me to go to Little Café and literally jam us all
into his small car, then I would’ve been home by now.

Thinking back on the event only makes my
blood boil. I shouldn’t have believed him when he said he’d take me
home. Instead, I ended up wedged into the school hall, watching him
making eyes at Mandy while he was practicing with his band. And
when he started singing that song… Oh, don’t get me started on this
one. He practically sang it to every single girl in the hall. And
here I thought we were friends. I trusted him. Now look! I’m the
only one who’s suffering in this relationship.

I give an unladylike grunt to show I’m
displeased with this whole situation. Zac flicks a smile in my
direction through the rearview mirror.

Was that his apology?
I’m not going
to forgive him. I toss my head to look out at the passing scenery
instead.

Although my eyes are looking at the
disappearing sheep, my mind drifts to another time already. I’m
replaying Zac putting on my seatbelt for me.

My heart was drumming so loud and fast my
ears were ringing. In fact, they were so hypersensitive that I
could make out Carina and Stacy whispering as to why Zac would put
on my seatbelt for me.

I didn’t quite understand it either, now
that I’ve the time to retrospectively review the event. Why would
he go to so much trouble for me?

Aaghh. Why am I even questioning these
things anyway? It’s not going to make any difference to the
situation I’m in now. I’m still wedged like a pancake. No amount of
shifting will change that fact.

And when are we going to arrive? My hip is
hurting like crazy.

“Zac, that song you sang was amazing,” Stacy
comments again, drawing me out of my raging thoughts.

“I know, right? Who did you sing it to?”
Carina asks.

“Were you singing to one of us, Zac? You
kept on staring in our direction?” Ashley probes.

Zac coughs, and I look up and our eyes
accidently catch in the rearview mirror. Zac gives me a smug look
and a dashing grin.

Don’t even pretend to be nice. If my hip is
still sore tomorrow, you’re in big trouble.

I give him one of my cold glares as an
answer. But he…
Why is he still grinning back at me?
Don’t you know I’m mad with you, Zac? Stop that grinning at
once.

Of course, Zac can’t hear my internal
thoughts. He continues to give me his dashing grin. This time I
simply ignore him and turn my attention to the passing scenery
again.

I really don’t like eavesdropping on
people’s conversations. That’s not one of my normal traits, but
because we’re jammed in here like sardines, any conversation they
speak ultimately gets transferred into my ears. And now I can’t
help but pry.

“Come on, Zac, tell us,” Ashley asks again
when he doesn’t reply.

“Maybe.” I hear Zac chuckling as if he finds
their conversation funny.

But the girls don’t seem to find it humorous
at all. From the look on Carina’s face, she looks pretty serious to
me.

“Oh, Zac, really?” she asks, her tone
increasing an extra notch.

“Could it be me? Did you sing it to me?”
Stacy, on Carina’s other side, starts hopping in her seat.

“Of course not. He was singing to me,”
Carina argues.

Those two keep on bickering with each other,
and my head is about to burst with a headache.

“Girls! Girls!” Ashley comes to my rescue.
“Everyone knows the lead singer of Apollo will only go out with
someone who’s refined and a top representative in the whole school.
And wasn’t it true that in the lyrics, Zac sang it started with
algebra and then a conversation about his dreams. I’ve taught Zac
algebra. And we’ve talked about his dreams.”

“Are you referring to yourself, Ashley?”
Carina asks.

“Yes, I am. Isn’t that right, Zac?” Ashley
asks him sweetly.

Really? Ashley taught Zac algebra too? I
thought that was Mandy. I myself have taught him, but it was only
for a few lessons, so that didn’t really count. My ears pry open
again, wanting to listen to Zac’s response.

“Girls.” Zac chuckles instead. “Please. You
don’t have to take it too seriously.” At that split second, Zac’s
eyes catch mine again.
Why is he staring at me so intently? It’s
making me nervous.
“I was only joking,” he says and then turns
back to look at the road.

The girls slump back in their seats,
slightly defeated. But somehow Ashley just doesn’t get the hint, so
she probes for more information.

“That’s no joke, Zac. I saw your eyes
staring in our direction. Tell us. If it’s not me, then who were
you staring at?”

“Really?” Zac asks, enjoying his time
taunting the girls. “I didn’t notice.”

“Come on. Just give us a hint.” Carina is
whining like a baby beside me.

“Girls,” Zac drawls out again, followed by
another chuckle. “Please. Let’s change the subject. Who’s going to
get an ice chocolate? I’ve heard it’s very good.”

“Don’t change the subject. We’re still
talking about who you sang that song to.” Ashley tells Zac off
sweetly.

“I know. I know. You must have been looking
at Mandy,” Stacy shouts out. Ashley turns to bore a hole straight
through her.

“What?” Ashley asks in her heated voice.
“Why would Zac look at Mandy?”

“I don’t know. I’m just assuming. I saw him
staring in Mandy’s direction,” Stacy comments.

What Stacy said catches my attention. Was
Zac really singing that song to Mandy? Mandy stood beside me most
of the time. I thought he was staring at me, but I may have been
wrong. It kind of makes sense now when I think back to the lyrics.
Mandy was also one of the few who taught Zac algebra lessons.

Can it really be Mandy? Was Zac really
singing that song to Mandy?

“No, I wasn’t looking at Mandy.” Zac
blatantly refuses.

Okay, that’s one hypothesis out the window,
then.

Who did Zac sing to? When I find myself
pondering that question, I get pissed off with myself. Why am I
getting into his business? This is none of my concern. I grimly
resume my gaze out the window.

“Then who were you looking at when you were
singing?” Ashley asks.

“Look, girls. You’re all analyzing the
situation too deeply here. I was only practicing singing that song
to my future girlfriend.”

“Future girlfriend?” They all gape. And that
includes me.