The chronicles of Phoenix Zach

Zach’s POV I tied my long black hair into a messy bun while trying to cover my puffy eyes with eyeliner and mascara. God, I looked exhausted. Oversleeping after finishing math homework at two in the morning was definitely becoming a personality trait. “Zach! Zach!” Mom’s voice echoed from downstairs along with the smell of pancakes filling the house. And any not normal pancakes. Mom’s pancakes!. The kind that could emotionally heal people. I grabbed my bag quickly and rushed downstairs, almost tripping over my own feet. Mom stood near the stove wearing one of her oversized sweaters, her dark curls tied back loosely while she flipped pancakes with one hand and drank coffee with the other. “How are you this pretty this early in the morning?” I asked dramatically. “I moisturize and mind my business,” she answered calmly. Fair enough. I laughed before kissing her cheek quickly. “I’m late.” “You’re always late.” “I get it from you.” “That is slander.” I grabbed one pancake from the plate and shoved half of it into my mouth while heading toward the door. Mom crossed her arms immediately. “You’re leaving already?” That tiny look on her face made guilt hit instantly. Mom worked a lot, so mornings like this mattered to her. Usually Uncle Dean drove me to school, but apparently being chief detective meant murder cases ruined breakfast schedules. “I’ll make it up to you later,” I promised. “You better.” I smiled softly before opening the door. “I love you.” Her expression immediately softened. “I love you more.” Rain covered the streets while I hurried toward the bus stop still chewing a pancake like a criminal. The school bus eventually stopped in front of me with its usual dramatic screech from hell. “Morning, Mr. Meyer,” I greeted while climbing inside. “Morning, Zach.” I scanned the bus looking for my friends. Stella, Maya, Amber, and Kimberly had basically been my family since middle school. Which honestly explained why my life constantly felt chaotic. As I walked toward them, someone suddenly stretched their leg into the aisle. I stopped immediately. Of course. Jeremy McDowell. My entire mood dropped. The guy had been bothering me for months. Tall. Annoying. Overconfident. Basically every school bully wrapped into one oversized football player. “What do you want, McDowell?” I asked while crossing my arms. Jeremy smirked lazily from his seat. “Damn, baby, relax. You never answer my calls anymore.” “Maybe because I enjoy peace.” The surrounding boys laughed. Jeremy leaned back confidently like he owned the bus. “Still playing hard to get, huh?” “Still being delusional, huh?” i retorted, That earned a louder reaction. His grin widened. Honestly, I hated that grin. Not because it was ugly. Because it always meant trouble. “How many times do I have to say no?” I asked seriously. “I’m not interested.” Jeremy tilted his head slightly while staring at me. “Feisty,” he said. “I like that.” I physically cringed. Then I kicked his leg out of the way hard enough to make him curse. As I walked past him, he shouted dramatically: “You’ll be mine eventually, Zach Andrews!” The boys behind him cheered like idiots. I hated this bus. Genuinely. I finally reached my friends and practically collapsed into the empty seat beside Stella. “So,” I sighed dramatically, “what are we talking about today while McDowell publicly ruins my life?” “YOUR BIRTHDAY!” All four of them yelled together. I blinked slowly. “You guys realize that’s literally four months away, right?” “Exactly,” Maya said excitedly. “Which means we have enough time to plan everything properly.” That immediately worried me. I loved my friends. Truly. But they treated birthdays like national ceremonies. Meanwhile, I preferred: Small gatherings, cake, music, And surviving quietly. Large attention made me uncomfortable. Always had. “You’re not escaping this year,” Stella warned while wrapping her arm around my shoulders. “I fear all of you deeply,” i said concerned. “Good.”Amber said The girls continued discussing decorations, outfits, possible venues, and things that sounded unnecessarily expensive. I slowly put on my headphones instead. Not because I didn’t love them. But because eventually, their boyfriends would join us, and I’d become an accidental fifth wheel again. Story of my life. All my friends were in relationships. And honestly? Watching them date constantly reminded me why I stayed single. Stella cried every three business days because Jake couldn’t stop a puppy who followed her everywhere. Amber complained about Dean loving football more than oxygen. Kimberly constantly threatened Daniel’s existence because he flirted too much. And Maya nearly fought Blake weekly over emotional communication. Meanwhile, somehow I always became their relationship therapist. Gift planner. Mediator. Emergency emotional support. Honestly I deserved a full payment. Relationships looked exhausting. Not because love was ugly. But because giving someone the power to hurt you sounded terrifying. I preferred peace. And snacks. Mostly snacks. The bus stopped again. I looked up briefly as more students climbed inside. Then someone sat beside me. I ignored them at first and increased the volume of my music. A few seconds later— Tap tap. I removed one side of my headphones. “Hm?” The guy beside me gestured toward my music politely. I lowered the volume immediately. “Sorry.” “It’s okay.” His voice was calm. I finally looked at him properly. grey long hair, Sharp features. Silver piercings. Black hoodie. Definitely attractive. Annoyingly attractive actually. “I’m Xavier,” he said while offering his hand. “Zach.” He raised an eyebrow slightly. “Zach?” “Yes?” “That’s usually a guy’s name.” I stared at him. “Wow. Starting strong with sexism this early in the morning?” To my surprise, he laughed softly. “No, I just wasn’t expecting it.” “Well now you can tell your future children about this shocking experience.” That earned another laugh. Interesting. I noticed the thick book resting in his lap. “Heavy reading?” “Just something to wake my brain up before school.” Psychopath behavior honestly. “I’ve never seen you before,” I said. “You new?” “Transferred recently.” “Senior?” “Yeah.” “Great,” I sighed dramatically. “Another person suffering through final year.” Xavier smirked slightly. “You make school sound like war.” “It is war.” The bus slowed near the next stop, school, Blackthorne Academy. Xavier stood afterward while adjusting his bag over his shoulder. “I’ll see you around, Zach.” “Yeah, probably.” Then he stepped off the bus. The weird part? Jeremy had been glaring at him the entire conversation. And honestly… That made me happy. Tiny victory. I stood up to get off ,smiling to myself, until suddenly— Maya appeared directly in front of me. Way too close. I nearly screamed. “What the hell?!” “Who was that?” she asked suspiciously. I blinked. “A person?” “Zach.” “Nothing happened!” The other girls immediately surrounded me dramatically. “Was he flirting?” “What did you talk about?” “Was he cute up close?” I smiled. “All we did was talk about school,” I defended while laughing nervously. “He seems nice though.” Stella narrowed her eyes, suspiciously. “Nice?” “Like… potential friend nice.” That somehow made them react even worse. I immediately felt awkward. Which was ridiculous because nothing even happened. Still… Something about Xavier felt strange. Not bad strange. Just… Different. I closed my eyes briefly while the bus continued moving. Then suddenly— Pain shot through my head. Sharp. Violent. Wrong. My stomach twisted instantly. I opened my eyes and froze. Flames. Everywhere. Fire surrounded me violently while smoke filled the air around my body. The heat didn’t burn. It called. Like something inside the flames wanted me to step closer. My breathing became uneven. Then suddenly— “Zach!” A familiar voice snapped through the chaos. I blinked hard. The vision disappeared instantly. And headlights flashed directly in front of me. A black SUV sped toward the bus stop. Everything happened too fast. People screamed. My body froze. The car got closer. There was no way to move in time. I closed my eyes automatically waiting for impact. But it never came. Silence. Confused, I slowly opened my eyes. The SUV had stopped centimeters away from me. My heart nearly exploded from shock. The car doors opened immediately. Then I saw them. Black polished shoes stepping onto the wet road. My friends rushed toward me but suddenly stopped moving completely. Like they’d seen a ghost. A pale hand stretched toward me. I grabbed it instinctively. The second our skin touched— A strange buzzing sensation rushed through my fingers. Electric. Sharp. Warm. I slowly looked up. And forgot how breathing worked. Black hair slightly messy from the rain. Deep dark brown eyes. Sharp jawline. Black suit perfectly fitted against broad shoulders. He looked unreal. Not handsome unreal. Dangerous unreal. The kind of man people warned daughters about in old stories. Then suddenly— “Edward!.” His cold voice snapped me out of my trance. An older man quickly stepped from the driver’s seat holding sanitizer and wipes. Wait. What? The guy cleaned his hands carefully while staring at me. I just blinked. Was he serious right now? “You should watch where you’re walking next time,” he said calmly. Excuse me? YOU almost killed ME. “And clean the bumper before tonight,” he added while adjusting the sleeve of his coat. I stared at him in disbelief. This man almost turned me into roadkill, and somehow I was the inconvenience? He turned and walked toward the school entrance without another glance. My jaw literally dropped. “What the hell was that?” I whispered. The old man gave me an apologetic smile before driving away. My friends rushed toward me immediately afterward. “Are you okay?” “Did he touch you?” “What happened?” “I’m fine,” I said quickly while fixing my skirt. “But who IS that?” The girls exchanged strange looks. The kind that immediately made me suspicious. “Someone you don’t want to get involved with,” Stella said quietly. Kimberly stared toward the school entrance almost nervously. “That,” she whispered, “was Damien Black.” The name somehow felt heavy. Important. Dangerous. And judging by the way everyone whispered about him afterward, I had a feeling my life had just become complicated.