Heartthrobs Don’t Date Wallflowers (Texting the Boyband)

Chapter 9

nine

“Quit asking about boys.” I flopped into the chair on my balcony, with my phone pressed up to my ear. My sister sighed deeply on the other end, as if I’d asked her to stop breathing.

“But it’s the most interesting part of starting a new school!” She sighed again, and I swore I could almost hear the eye roll through the phone. One time, I counted how many times she sighed in a conversation—she managed to get all the way up to twenty-seven.

“Poppy, I haven’t even had time to figure out where the bathrooms are, let alone scope out any cute guys.”

“Come on! There’s got to be someone.”

My mind flashed back to the moment seeing Zach in front of the school this morning—then I remembered the way the secretary called me a lovesick puppy on my first day and how Zach saw me dancing through the window, and quickly pushed any thoughts about thinking he was cute to the back of my mind .

“There’s no one,” I said firmly to Poppy. “Anyway, what about you? Any cute boys there?”

Poppy sighed yet again. “Why do you think I’m hounding you about the boys at your school?”

I laughed, even as my gaze slid over to the house next door. It was dark out now but all their lights were on, illuminating their back patio.

I hadn’t told Poppy that I’d met some of the boys, mostly because I didn’t know how to bring it up or how she would react. She wasn’t one of those girls who was absolutely obsessed with the band, but she definitely liked them. I was pretty sure she knew all their names, regularly played their music, and had a poster of them on her wall. So, how was I supposed to tell her about them? About the four moments now that I’d had with Zach? I wasn’t sure I could call them interactions since we’d barely spoken, but they were moments. Embarrassing moments for me, sure, but moments nonetheless.

Once again, against my will, I felt the way his hands had been on my arms as he moved me aside in the office and pulled me away in Starbucks. So warm and big. Comforting, even. I shook my head. I shouldn’t have been thinking about him like that. He’d barely even spoken to me, so I wasn’t sure why I was. But then, as if he was waiting for me to be thinking about him, the back door slid open, and someone walked out.

It could’ve been any one of them. All five of them lived in that house, so it could’ve been any of them going into the backyard, but the second he stepped out, I knew.

The dark hair. The tattered shirt. All of it.

But in the end, he wasn’t alone. Another boy and a girl trailed up after him, both laughing about something. The boy, I realized after a moment, was Finn—the light brown hair was the give-away for him. I’d done a little more research on the band after talking with Sloane and Megan, because it felt only fair that I learn their boyfriends’ names. So, if that was Finn, then the girl next to him must’ve been his girlfriend—Jude’s little sister, according to Sloane. The three of them all went to sit on some chairs set up in a circle in their backyard, and my heart clenched as I watched them and remembered my own house behind me, so dark and empty. My parents were out at some dinner with their friends and wouldn’t be back until very late tonight, so it was just me here. Alone.

And of course, Poppy on the phone, who I had completely forgotten about until this moment. She was babbling on about something in her math class, but I was coming into the conversation halfway through, distracted by the sight of what was going on next door.

I was a terrible big sister.

“Uh, Ivy?” Poppy’s voice broke through my thoughts, pulling me back to the present. “You still there?”

“Uh-huh,” I mumbled.

“Ivy!” She yelled and I almost dropped my phone from shock.

“Jeez!” I rubbed at my ear. “What was that for?”

“You were ignoring me.”

“No, I wasn’t!” I argued, even though there was no denying I was. Clearly, sitting out here was too big of a distraction. “I was just… distracted.”

“By what? Are you watching TV?”

“Not exactly.” I bit my lip, fighting the urge to spill about what I was looking at. “Just, uh, thinking.”

Poppy groaned. “You’re the worst.”

“I’m sorry,” I said again.

“Forget it,” Poppy said. “Call me back when you’re less distracted .”

She hung up before I could even try to promise her I was listening now. I groaned. At least Poppy didn’t really hold grudges, so she wouldn’t be mad at me for long. My phone buzzed and I assumed it would be a text from her telling me she’d call me tomorrow, but when I glanced at it, it was the group chat again. It had died down for a little while, but now it was filling with texts again, so rapidly that I could barely keep up. How much time did these people spend on their phones?

Group name: I promise this isn’t a group chat, Dad

Members: Ni-Ni, Bay, Sharky, Tis Moi Luca, Eggo, Not Zesty, I cheer you cheer, the fangirl, Ivy

Tis Moi Luca

I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW

I am alive.

Bay

We appreciate the update.

Eggo

What prompted this?

Tis Moi Luca

Just keeping you apprised about my life

I cheer you cheer

Thank you

Every time you don’t answer my tweets, I assume you’re dead

It’s a real rollercoaster of emotions

Eggo

That’s love

Tis Moi Luca

Do you go into full mourning every time

I cheer you cheer

Of course I do

Full victorian mourning outfits

Black veil and everything

Sharky

Is that historically accurate?

I cheer you cheer

Do I look like I care

Sharky

I—

Tis Moi Luca

Ask a stupid question…

When I finally got too cold from the night air and headed back into my room, I caught myself glancing at the side window, the one that faced the boys’ house. Light slipped through a gap in the curtains over there, casting a soft glow into my room. Ever since last weekend, I’d been avoiding that window like it was cursed. The whole embarrassing incident replayed in my mind whenever I got too close, and my skin prickled just thinking about it. I couldn’t even bring myself to stand near the window anymore; I’d actually moved my bed down the wall, so he couldn’t see me at all. The only downside was that now, I couldn’t see him either.

Not that I wanted to.

Definitely not.

But what if I’d gotten it all wrong and the window didn’t even look into his room? Maybe I’d been jumping to conclusions and it was just a random space, like a hallway. Before I knew it, I’d taken a few steps forward, my curiosity dragging me toward the window. Just one look. No harm in checking, right? I nudged the curtain aside, squinting as the light from next door hit my eyes.

And there it was—his room, clear as day. Posters cluttered the walls, clothes were scattered everywhere, and the bed was a crumpled mess. A gaming chair faced a TV mounted on the wall, frozen on a video game screen. The room looked like the set of every teen movie ever.

But he wasn’t there. Relief washed over me, mixed with a tiny, unexpected pang of disappointment. I guess now that I knew it was Zach’s room, I couldn’t help wondering what he was like when no one else was around. Did he stare at the ceiling, lost in thought? Did he stay up late, texting his friends or some girl he actually liked? No, stop. I had zero business thinking about him like that. He was just the guy next door who’d happened to catch me at my most embarrassing.

Then the door to his room opened, and he walked in. My pulse quickened as I ducked out of sight, heart hammering in my chest. Slowly, I peeked out again. He was in workout clothes, a towel slung over his shoulder as he crossed the room. He tossed it onto the bed, flopping into his chair like it was no big deal. The glow from his phone lit up his face as he started scrolling, oblivious to me watching from my own window.

Was he texting someone? Probably. Someone important, maybe even someone he liked. Not that it was my business. My cheeks heated up as I forced myself to look away, but I couldn’t shake the itch of curiosity. Just a quick glance, one last time. I leaned forward, only for him to suddenly look up.

I dropped to the floor so fast I might as well have melted into it, my heart pounding in my throat. Did he see me? Or was I just being paranoid? I pressed my back against the wall, resisting the urge to sneak another peek. Nope. No more.

Eventually, I dared a tiny look, barely peeking over the windowsill. He was back to scrolling, completely absorbed in his phone, unaware of the ridiculous drama unfolding in my head. Crisis averted. I slumped against my bed, letting out a relieved sigh. Enough of that for one night. Maybe tomorrow, I’d figure out a way to say hi without looking like a total stalker… or maybe I’d just avoid him altogether.

Yeah, that sounded like the safer plan.

Just as I laid back down, my phone buzzed on my night stand. I practically slammed my hand down on it and slid it over to myself to read. I had a few texts from the group chat again but the most recent notification was a gif from Not Zesty, in response to a text I’d sent earlier. I reacted with a laughing emoji and a text came through from him less than ten seconds later.

Not Zesty

Why are you awake?

Ivy

Why are YOU?

I glanced at the clock—12:01 a.m. I didn’t realize how long I’d been watching Zach. I was gonna be exhausted at school tomorrow, but that was just my daily life right now.

Not Zesty

If you knew me

You’d know that I always work out at midnight.

Ivy

Well, if you knew me, you’d know that I’m a total night owl

It was really a shame that high school had to start so early in the morning because if I could just stay up till 3 a.m. every day, I’d be happier. Why not have school at a more reasonable hour? I’d rather get out at 5 p.m. than have to get up as early as I did.

Ivy

Why is midnight the best time to work out?

Not Zesty

I’m the only night owl in my house

So I get time alone

Sometimes it feels like whenever I’m awake, I have to be doing something

Why are you a night owl?

Ivy

Well my reason is boring next to yours

I just am

I’m the only one who’s up this late now that my sister is at boarding school so I don’t have anybody to hang out with

But I like it anyway

Not Zesty

Which school does your sister go to?

It took me a second to remember. I scrolled through my photos, back to the first weekend in September when she moved in. There she was, standing in front of the school’s huge sign: Hartwell Academy. I sent him the name, and once again, his text came back just a second later.

Not Zesty

Mine goes to Westwood

The name tickled my brain and I looked up Westwood to figure out why exactly it sounded so familiar. For a moment, I thought maybe it just had the same name as a school I’d gone to or a similar enough one that it was making me think of it.

But it only took me a few minutes of searching to realize that it was Hartwell’s rival school. And a moment after that, I realized why I recognized it. Poppy had mentioned they’d had their homecoming game against them.

I grinned as I texted him back.

Ivy

Oh, so our sisters go to rival schools

Well, I better not tell Poppy

She won’t be happy to hear that I’ve been fraternizing with the enemy

Not Zesty

Do I count as the enemy if I don’t actually go to the rival school?

Ivy

I’m not sure on the exact rules, but I better play it safe anyway

She knows how to hold a grudge

Not Zesty

What a shame

Ok I’ll call my sister and let her know she needs to drop out of Westwood immediately to make sure nothing happens between you and your sister

I laughed. It only took me a second after that to realize that we had both shared something about ourselves that we hadn’t before. Both being night owls was one thing, but starting to share about our sisters and where they went to school was getting into a level of personal details that I wouldn’t just share with anybody. And I’d said it like it was nothing, like he was a friend.

Which, I guess, at this point, he was, wasn’t he? He might have been a stranger that I met online, but somehow, along the way, he had become my closest friend. And I didn’t even know his real name.