Chapter eight::
“Dammit!” Zac shouted banging his fists on the door.
“Face it, we’re stuck.” Becky sat down on a crate. “Someone will find us here, right?”
He studied the worry on her face. “No one knows we’re down here.”
Becky nodded, and drew in a shaky breath.
Zac tugged at the door handle. “Come on… come on…. I can feel it moving! It’s opening!” He pulled harder at the doorknob until it popped off into his hands.
“Fuck!” He moaned.
He found Becky curled up on top of a wooden crate. He pulled his stool up next to the crate she was sitting on. “Don’t worry, someone will find us. I mean, they’ll miss us eventually, right?” He laughed, “Let’s play a game or something.”
She nodded, nervously biting her fingernails.
“What’s wrong? Come on, you’re normally so relaxed and calm.” He smiled.
“Zac, I’ve never told anyone this… but I’m a little claustrophobic… I hate basements… and this… feels like a basement.”
“Really? Are you afraid of the rats?”
“Not helping.” She trembled, hugging her knees tightly.
“Sorry. Everything will be okay. Just pretend we’re not here.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“Well… Pretend we’re sitting in your back yard again. On your porch, can you hear the crickets chirping, and the wind?”
She laughed nervously, “This is crazy.”
“Just pretend.” He urged.
She sighed and closed her eyes.
“What do you see?”
“Nothing.” She sighed.
“No? Okay. See the big willow tree? We’re having a picnic, with your cookies and dr. pepper.”
She laughed, “Okay.”
“Yeah, we’ve eaten half of the batch already.”
“What else?”
“Well… we’re skipping rocks on the pond… Mine hopped three times yours hopped five. We throw some more. Mine only hops once but your hits a frog and knocks it out.”
She giggled. Her laughter sounding much less worried.
“Why don’t you try to sleep?” He pulled off his sweater and draped it around her shoulders.
“Okay.” She nodded.
“Come on, there’s an old sofa in here somewhere.” He rummaged between boxes and pulled a tarp of an old sofa.
“Tada!”
He helped her step over a pile of junk on the floor and sat next to her on the sofa. She curled up close to his body for warmth and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Go to sleep…” He said softly.
“Okay.” She whispered before drifting off.
Shortly after, he followed suit.

Zac woke up sometime later, feeling disoriented. The light bulb had burnt out sometime during the night.
He squinted through the darkness and saw Becky sit up, tucking her French braid over her shoulder.
He reached out slowly and touched her cheek. His fingers slowly traced her eyebrows, nose and lips. Everything was so perfect and beautiful.
Before he realized what he was doing, he leaned forward and was gently kissed her, his lips barely gracing hers. She kissed back almost shyly.
Part of him couldn’t believe his own courage in starting his first kiss.
Another part wondered why he hadn’t done it before. The kiss ended abruptly as the door broke open, freeing them.
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“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” Christy, gushed, as the girls were getting ready for bed.
Jenna was sitting on Becky’s bed fumbling through Becky’s make up kit for a hair elastic, while Christy sat pressing buttons on the CD player, attempting to listen to some of the Hanson CDs she had borrowed from Becky and Jenna.
Becky was sitting in a rocking chair combing through her hair.
“It’s like romance in a rat infested basement.” Jenna teased.
“It was really… sweet.” Becky gently put her brush down. “I like him.”
“When do you see him next?”
“I don’t know.”
“What about tomorrow?” Jenna asked.
“Isaac said they had a sound check and concert.” Christy said.
“What are we doing?” Becky asked.
“Want to go to the mall?”
Becky nodded. “Okay.”
“Good night,” Christy turned off the light next to her bed.
“Night.” Becky responded, slipping under the covers.
Jenna turned off her light, plunging the room into darkness. She thought for a few minutes.
“Christy?” Jenna asked suddenly in the darkness. She stretched out on her back staring up at the ceiling.
”Yeah?” Christy answered, turning on to her side.
”Do you really like Isaac?”
”I think so. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I feel like I can be myself and he doesn’t want me for my body.”
”He probably does, he’s just a little classier than most.” Becky spoke up. “I mean, the first thing he noticed was probably your boobs. How could he not?”
Christy flung a pillow at Becky.
Becky laughed. “Ow!”
Jenna smiled, thankful she wasn’t on the receiving end of the pillow. “Just do me a favor, Christy? Please?”
”What’s that?”
”Don’t hurt him.”

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