When I woke up, Lizzy was still asleep. So I crept along to the door and sneaked out the door. I tiptoed down the stairs just to see Zac quickly walk out of the room. I followed him. Once I opened the door to the common room, I saw him walk down the stairs to the main part of the castle.
I caught up to him once he got to the front doors. But I hid behind a pillar. He walked down to the lake and through a grove of trees. I followed him. I sat behind a bush and looked at him. He walked over to a beech tree and carved something into it, but I couldn't tell what from here. So I watched him sit on the shore of the lake and take the picture of me out from his pocket.
While I watched Zac, he watched my picture. Eventually, he got up and started walking back towards me. I went deeper into the bush and waited for him to pass. Once he did, I stood up and walked over to the beech tree. I found where he carved and saw the initials M.E. + Z.O. surrounded by a big heart. Those were my initials! I felt a fluttery feeling in my chest as I walked back to the castle.
By the time I got back, Lizzy was awake. So I told her everything I saw, from the picture, to the carving. Lizzy told me to just tell him how I feel because he feels the same way. I said no way. I was way too embarrassed to tell Zac that I like him. But Lizzy wouldn't give up.
Around 3:00, Lizzy was sitting with me on the couch in the common room when Zac walked in. Lizzy smiled at me when Zac wasn't looking, then she stood up and said, "I'm tired, I'm gonna take a nap before dinner." She turned, winked at me very briefly, and walked to the dorms.
"Sooo..." Zac said. "Yeah..." I said. Our eyes made contact for a while, then we both looked away embarrassed. "So," I said. "I like you!" we both said at the exact same time. "Really?" Zac asked. "Um, yeah," I said. "Well," Zac said blushing, "You wanna go somewhere else?" "Where?" I asked. "Somewhere special," he said. "Sure!" I answered very excitedly.
We started walking down to the clearing in the grove of trees that I followed him to earlier. Halfway down, he hesitantly took my hand in his. My chest did the fluttery thing again and I squeezed his hand. He led me into the clearing and I realized how beautiful it was. The trees closed in around us on three sides. The fourth side was the lake, the sun was shining off of it and it was wonderful. It really was somewhere special.
"It's better at dusk when the fireflies fly around here," Zac mentioned. "It's beautiful! Perfect!" I told him. He sat down on the shore and I sat down next to him. He took my hand again and I loved it. Very slowly, I scooted towards him. I saw him blush, which made me blush. I rested my head on his shoulder and we sat like that for a while. I loved this position and I wished we could stay like that forever.
My stomach growled and I sat up. I felt him look at me, so I turned to look at him. We both blushed and I gave him a peck on the cheek. I was so surprised that I did it. And from the look on his face, he was too. I stood up and started walking up to the castle, not looking back. I was so embarrassed. But all of a sudden, I felt a warm hand grab mine and looked at whoever grabbed it. Zac smiled at me. I smiled back. And we walked hand in hand to the Great Hall.