Page 58 of Heartthrobs Don't Date Wallflowers
Ivy
Hope you have a great night <3
There. It was subtle enough that he didn’t know that I’d seen his message. It was just a nice message from one to another.
As we pulled up to the stadium, it was already buzzing with energy, and I could barely hear myself think over the screams of the crowd. It was intense—everywhere I looked, there were people laughing, shouting, and snapping selfies in their Take Five merch. Girls had signs with neon letters, or blown up faces of the band members on sticks and others were already holding out their phones, ready to capture every second. It was like stepping into another world—one made of flashing lights, pounding bass, and glittery fans who seemed to have their lives way more together than I did. My heart was racing as I followed Poppy through the throng of people, my ticket clutched so tightly in my hand that the edges were starting to crumple.
Poppy, on the other hand, was living her best life, practically skipping ahead of me, her dress swooshing around her. She seemed completely in her element as she weaved us through the crowd to find our seats.
“This way!” She yelled over the sound of thecrowd, keeping her hand gripping mine tightly. The second we got to our seats, she pulled out her phone and tilted it toward me. “Okay, smile! This is your moment!”
I gave her my best grin, but it felt awkward, like my face didn’t quite know what to do. The nerves were starting to creep up again. The lights were still on, but any minute now, they would dim for the show to start, and I wasn’t sure I was ready. Not for all of this. Not with everything that had happened with Zach.
Poppy laughed at me but didn’t make me try to redo the photo, thank goodness. And then, the lights dimmed, and the crowd went absolutely wild. The stage lit up, and the first beats of the opening song pounded through the speakers, making the ground shake beneath my feet. It was like the whole stadium was moving with the music, and I couldn’t help but get caught up in it, at least a little.
And then he appeared.
Well, the whole band appeared, but my eyes were entirely locked on the figure on the far right.
Dressed in leather. Hair perfectly tousled. Mic in hand.
Zach.
He looked like he’d just walked out of a music video. He had this casual, effortless vibe that made him stand out even more than the bright lights.
He was in his element. And I could feel a true genuine smile creep over my face. If Poppy had asked for a picture now, I’d look less like adead fish than earlier, that’s for sure. Zach hadn’t even sang a word yet and I was beaming. For him.
I watched as he sang into the mic and listened to the way his harmonies blended with his bandmates. It was mesmerizing. It made my stomach do a weird flip, like when a roller coaster suddenly takes a nose dive. I tried my best to focus on the music, on the show, on anything that wasn’t the butterflies swarming in my stomach, but my eyes kept drifting back to him.
Zach Miles. The boy next door. The boy I’d been texting without knowing who he was.
Was he going to see me? Could he even notice I was here, out of all these thousands of people? I mean, I was probably just another face in the sea of screaming girls. But still... what if he did?
What if he didn’t?
And it was ridiculous. Because up there, he wasn’t just Zach, the boy next door. He was Zach, the singer, the rockstar, someone larger than life under the spotlight. Untouchable. While I was just… me, lost somewhere in the crowd, wearing his sweater like it meant something.
To my right, Poppy was full-on dancing, waving her phone in the air with no care in the world and I wish I had her confidence, rather than the nervousness eating me up inside. Still I couldn’t help but laugh despite myself. This was her night, her thing, and I wasn’t going to ruin it with my own weird feelings. So I took a deep breath and tried to relax, even as my heart kept pulling me back to his side of the stage,wondering when—no,if—Zach would look over and see me.
And what I’d do if he did.
The crowd hung on his every word, every movement, like they were spellbound. I was too—but for different reasons.
Then the song faded, the lights dimmed, and a hush fell over the stadium. It felt as if we could hear a pin drop as every audience member waited with bated breath in anticipation for what might come next.. The roaring screams turned into a dull murmur. The stage was dark. And all we could do was wait as the air shifted in a way that felt like something important was about to happen.
Then a spotlight turned on and Zach stepped forward, toward the mic, and my stomach lurched. He was looking out into the crowd now, his expression softer than it had been all night.
Something told me that this wasn’t part of the performance.
“I just want to say,” Zach began, his voice smooth, deep, and just loud enough to be heard above the crowd’s screaming that erupted the moment the spotlight turned on. “There’s someone here tonight who’s really special to me.”
The crowd erupted in shouts and cheers. How many girls thought it might be them? How many girls wished for it? Zach glanced out into the sea of faces, his eyes searching, and for a split second, I swore he was looking right at me.
I froze in myseat. Wait. Was he?—?
My breath caught in my throat.
“I can’t say who,” he added. His fingers nervously gripped the handle of the mic, but my eyes were fixated on his smile. The way it grew as he spoke,, “but I think she knows. But uh, in case she doesn’t… If you knew me, you’d know, I’m terrified of making the first move.”
