Carter threw her arms up into the air and screamed, "GUTTER BALL!!!!!" The rest of the bowling alley stopped what they were doing for the fourth time to look over at her. A man, well into his seventies, dropped his ball on his foot, and a four hear old spit her Pepsi all over her mom's lap.
Taylor shook his head and sighed. "I swear, she's the only girl I know that does that."
"It's her motto. Aim to entertain." Zac grinned as Carter bounced back to her seat and grabbed her soda. He laughed once again at her appearance. She was wearing her favorite black pants which were about sixth inches too long for her. After the third frame, and the third time landing on her butt, she'd tied each pantleg into a knot which showed off her socks. Which, by the way, her socks didn't match. One was green, one was hot pink.
"I wish Meli could have came." Taylor sighed as he stood up and stuck his fingers into a bright purple ball. He was bowling with a sixteen-pounder, showing off his "manliness".
"Yeah well, unfortunately, dad saw through your pajamas and her cute lil blue eyes and grounded her for a week." Carter answered. Melissa was lucky though. Taylor did stand up for her. Said she came home at midnight and thought she'd get in trouble, so she crashed at his house. Her dad believed that and lessened her sentence.
Carter looked over to the side as Taylor took his turn and then looked quickly back at Zac. "Uhm... Zac..."
"What?"
"I think that guy's checkin you out."
Zac's jaw dropped and he looked over. He was about Zac's height with dark hair and what appeared to be blue-green eyes. He couldn't really tell, nor did he care. He knew right away that he wasn't checking out Zac, he was checking out Carter. "I don't think he wants me. But hey, the chicks he's with are pretty hot." He pointed to the two girls sitting around him. One had blonde hair and was poking the computer, the other had brown hair and was examining her balls. (ok... forget I said that and move on...)
"Whatever." Carter rolled her eyes as the guy who was watching her stood up and walked towards their lane. "Uhm, Zac, help... what do I do?"
Zac laughed as Carter grabbed his arm and shoved her head underneathe.
"Hi." He stood proudly and smiled down at her. "I'm Tom."
Carter blushed and pulled herself out from under Zac's arm. "Hey." She smiled politely.
"Do you... have a name?"
"Yeah." She smiled again.
"Oh." Tom looked genuinely stumped. "So uhm... ok. My friends over there have been telling me that you were looking at me... while I bowled... and they made me come over here."
"Wait, they said what?" Carter looked up, now she was interested.
At this point, Taylor sat down next to them and Zac got up to bowl. "Dammit, I don't wanna miss this."
"My friends... over there... said that you were checking me out."
"DUDE! I WAS NOT! I just looked over there and you were looking at me!"
"But they said when I'd bowl you were looking at my ass... you weren't... looking at my ass were you?"
"FUCK NO! You go over there and tell your bitch ass friends that they need to fuck off before I come over their and kick their asses down the gutter!"
Tom's eyes widened. "Ok. I'll do that." He shrugged and went back to his lane, his two friends laughing their butts off.
"Dude. Chick's suck." Carter slouched down into her seat. "I would have too you know."
"What?"
"Kicked their asses."
"I'm sure you would have."
Carter grinned as she grabbed her black ball and ran up to bowl. She looked to her left again and watched the blonde girl throw the ball halfway down the lane before it hit the floor and rolled right into the gutter. "GO YOU!" She screamed as she rolled her ball. She grinned as it went straight down the middle and knocked over every last pin. The blonde girl sighed as she reached for her ball again for her second try. Carter made two fists and hit them against eachother, mimicking an insult from friends, and yelled, "STRIKE BABY! BEAT THAT!" She smiled and sat back down.
Taylor jumped up. "Alright, I'm taking my turn and then getting some drinks. You guys want?"
Carter and Zac both shook their heads as Taylor walked away. Zac yawned and leaned his head on the back of the chair.
"You ok?" Carter asked, worried as ever.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just kinda tired. I haven't slept all that well."
"Oh."
"I don't know how I can break up with Justine without hurting her." He sighed. "It's like, her big fear. Losing me to you. And I don't want her to be hurt. I still like her a lot."
"Wait... you're breaking up with her?"
Zac nodded slowly and leaned foward, putting his face in his hands.
"You... you know you don't have too. If you don't want too."
Zac nodded.
"I'll be fine..."
Zac sighed into his hands. "I won't."
"What?"
He mumbled again.
"I can't hear you."
Zac lifted his head up and looked at her. "I said, I won't. I'm not gonna be ok unless I break up with Justine and give you and me another chance."
"But you don't want to hurt Justine."
"And I won't. I'll explain it to her. She has a good head on her shoulders. She'll understand."
Carter laughed. "Yes, oh wise one."
Zac smiled and reached across the chairs. He grabbed her hand and held it in his own. "I let you figure things out with Taylor, and I hoped and prayed you'd come back to me. And now that you can... I'm not going to ruin that chance because I don't want Justine to get hurt. We can still be friends. But you and me... we're so much more than that." He smiled and squeezed her hand lightly.
Carter smiled back and nodded. She looked over Zac's shoulder and with her other hand, she gave the blonde girl the finger.