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Zach and Ana – I.

(Repost.)

"It's extravagant, not overkill," Gavin Hayward insisted to his long-time-friend Scott Aston. Gesturing vaguely over his shoulder to the recently completed extension of his house, Gavin offered a content shrug as he took the beer his wife offered him. Perfect weather for a bar-b-q had brought the Aston's across the street to the Hayward's newly renovated on-the-water home.

It seemed no amount of questioning got him a response as to why Gavin had gone through with the extension or what it would be used for. The past six months had consisted of Gavin's 'project' and though his wife Ashlee had bit her tongue and let him do as he pleased, Scott had heard from Alex that she wasn't that interested in his sudden decision to expand.

The large swimming pool ahead of them allowed for Scott to simply conclude the separate (but second-level patio joined) two-story extension to be a pool house. Yet as Gavin's son walked past in his swim trunks, he suddenly spoke up. "The boy's got to have a place of his own, am I right?" gesturing towards a passing seven-year-old as he carried two red cups of soda to a blanket and shaded area his mother had set up.

"He's seven!" Scott laughed, though simply rolled his eyes at his friend's desire to add the unwarranted extension onto the house. Their business was booming and they had the money to spare; Gavin saw no reason not to do such a thing.

Zachary Hayward, with hair to match his father and features to match his mother, handed the less full of the cups to a girl just two years younger than him as she reached up for it. He waited until she took a firm enough grip on the cup to lower himself to sit across from her. "Two hands, Ana," he said, repeating what Mrs. Aston had told him to remind her daughter of. As he set his own cup down at his side, Zach's attention turned downward between them and a moment of disbelieving silence past before he quickly lifted his eyes to her face. "Ana-! Did you eat all the Oreos?" he asked next, his lips parted and slight frustration forming on his face as he saw the crumbs on her face and the empty plate in front of her.

Anastasia Aston obediently took the cup she was given between two hands, still sitting with her legs bent against the blanket, her bare feet beside her hips. Before she could even take a sip of the soda her mother so rarely let her have however, Zach's accusing tone made her tense a bit and she quickly looked up from the bubbling surface within her cup. "I..." the five-year-old began, her features scrunching slightly with the guilt she suddenly felt and her eyes dropping to the empty crumb-covered paper plate in front of her. She hadn't meant to eat them all, it had just happened...

The two had grown up together mainly due to the fact that their parents had been friends for years. With two years between them, Ana had grown to look up to Zach as an older brother since both had no siblings otherwise. She listened to him, followed him around without question but at times, as younger sisters should, she did things that annoyed him.

"I was hungry..." she mumbled, part of her loose blond hair slipping forward from her ponytail and brushing both her cheek and some of the crumbs away in the process.

"Ana! Sweetie! Be careful with that!" Alex Aston called over to her daughter from where she sat at the patio table with Zach's mother, a glass of wine in hand and a plate of pasta salad in front of her.

Zach said nothing, merely stared unhappily down at the plate through his dark hair for a few moments. He sighed, rolling his eyes as he shifted to get up once again. He could see the way her features twisted up and not wanting to upset her, he tried to pretend he wasn't as annoyed as his expression conveyed. "No more, Ana," he said, scolding her slightly as he pointed back to the house. "I have to go inside now. You stay here and don't go near the pool," he instructed, watching her for a second before turning.

Ana's blue eyes followed Zach as he got to his feet, the guilt remaining in her tensed features even as she nodded. Luckily for her parents, Zach always kept an eye on Ana and Ana always listened to him. "Sorry..." she mumbled, resting the cup between her hands still against her thighs.

Yet just as Zach had stood up, his mother was on her way over with a small bowl of chips to retrieve the empty paper plate in exchange. "Zach, Ana, burger or hot dog?" Ashlee questioned, crouching to set the bowl down on the blanket.

Zach only made it a few steps until he saw the empty Oreo bag beside his dad and gritting his teeth in frustration, he turned on his heels to watch his mom set down a plate of chips. Admitting defeat and deciding to simply accept the chips as a substitute, Zach returned to the blanket and took a seat. "Burger," he replied, though as she stood and began to take the empty plate away, he turned a little. "Wait, mom, with cheese," he corrected, catching sight of her waiting to hear what Ana wanted.

"You want a cheeseburger too?" he questioned Ana upon turning back to her with raised brows, the look on his face conveying that it wasn't much of a question; it was rare she ever got something different than him.

Ana only nodded to Zach, failing to properly address Mrs. Hayward in the process as she continued to feel guilty for eating the remainder of the Oreos. Yet as Ashlee started once again to go inform her husband of what the children wanted, Ana spoke up to Zach. "I'll ask my mom to get some more. She will if I ask. Okay? -and you can have all the chips."

Zach shook his head a little as he reached out for the bowl of chips, sliding it closer to himself in the process as he lifted one. "It's okay," he said to reassure her, satisfied with the chips that'd been brought in front of them. "You can have some," he offered next before eating the chip he'd taken.

Gavin was currently manning the grill, applying cheese to the already cooking burgers as he cast a look over at the two children. Zach had yet to grow to a stage in which he was rude to Ana or undesiring of her company and it made him grin to himself as he turned the hot dogs. "Zach, you going in the pool before we eat?" he called to his son, watching the kids turn their attention towards him. "Wanna go in the pool, Ana?" he called over, his voice taking on a more kid-friendly tone as he spoke directly to her.

Looking over from Zach to Gavin instead, Ana again simply nodded as she tried to stop feeling guilty for having eaten all the cookies. She had her bathing suit on under the printed sundress her mother had dressed her in and she had been hoping for a chance to go in the water. Finally, she voiced her answer. "Yes please!" she called back with a slow-growing smile before turning back to Zach for agreement.

Zach nodded, chewing the last of a few chips he'd quickly eaten as he pushed himself up to stand. Already in his swim suit, he reached down to help her to her feet by taking her forearm and helping pull her up. "Does she need her swimmies?" Zach called over to Mr. and Mrs. Aston, waiting for one of the two to provide him with an answer.

Alex looked up from the bite of pasta salad she'd been eating, easily taking notice of what Zach was asking and with a short nod, she leaned aside to begin fishing through the small mesh beach-bag she'd brought over for the deflated swimmies within. Moments later, she produced them and got to her feet, carrying them over to the blanket as she began to inflate one. "Ana, sweetie, here..." she called to her daughter.

Ana stepped over to her and held her arms up over her head for Alex to lift her dress up. "Do I have to wear them?" she questioned, hating how it felt to have them around her arms.

Gavin watched Alex head towards her with the swimmies, smiling as he heard her protesting. "They'll be eating in almost ten minutes," Gavin called over to her, also addressing Scott in the process. "Why not just let her play on the stairs?"

Zach shrugged just slightly as he watched Mrs. Aston inflate the colorful swimmie. "I'll stay with her..." he offered, noticing how Ana's eyes lit up at the prospect. "It's just for ten minutes..."

Ana quickly spoke up in agreement. "Please mom? Just for ten minutes," she pleaded hopefully, retracting her arm and pulling it into her chest for emphasis. "Daddy, can I?" she called instantly afterward to Scott, hoping to find a better answer with him.

Scott gave Gavin a tired look, hating when he played the kinder of the two. "You know I don't like that, Ana..." he began, though sighed at the hopeful look she wore. Waving his hand somewhat dismissively, Scott sighed aloud. "Whatever mom says," he concluded, leaving the decision up to his wife entirely.

"Please, Mrs. Aston..?" Zach chimed in, his brows rising as he reached out to take Ana's forearm gently and ease her closer to his side as he waited. "Everyone's outside," he noted. It wasn't as if there wouldn't be eyes on them at all times.

After a few long moments of reluctant consideration, Alex finally gave in to the children's unignorable pleas. "All right... but no leaving the stairs, okay Ana?" Alex gave her daughter a stern and serious look and the obedient, hurried nod she received from Ana (not to mention her silent resolve to keep her attention on Ana throughout the duration of her time in the pool) could only make her smile. "Be careful. I'll go grab your towel from the bag."

"Okay!" Ana answered happily from where she stood at Zach's side, partially unable to believe she was being allowed to go in the pool without floats for the first time.

Zach shared in Ana's excitement mainly due to how close the two were and wearing a bright smile of his own, he leaned down just a few inches to smile at her. "Ready?" he questioned, her arm still in his hand as he turned and began to lead her toward the smooth concrete steps of the pool. "Hold onto the railing, okay?" he instructed slowly, pointing for her to take the shiny metal railing with a hand as she reached it.

Ana's hand closed around the cool metal railing, gripping it securely as she took the step from the pool ledge down onto the first of the pool's concrete steps in ankle-deep water. "It's cold," she laughed, moving one of her legs around a bit before kicking at the shallow water to splash the surface ahead.

Zach was usually one to jump in at first to get wet, but he knew he had to stay with Ana the entire time. "Only a little," he replied through a laugh as he stepped in as well. His hand was still on her arm to guide her, already on the step ahead of her as he turned a little to make sure to watch her the entire time. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt and forbidden to go in the pool again without any floats.

"Okay?" he questioned, aware she usually got a little nervous in the water when it passed her waist as she descended the stairs after him. "Can I let go now?"

As the water grew level with her chest, Ana's hand tightened on the railing as her other arm pulled free of Zach's grip and she took hold of Zach's arm herself instead, her nervousness slightly amplified with the knowledge that she had nothing to hold her up in the water. "Uh-uh," she protested, holding on to his arm lightly.

While she was on the last of the steps leading to the low-end of the pool, he knew she still wanted him close to help. "Okay, okay," he assured her, nodding as he kept his arm where she could hold onto it. He lifted a hand from his side, running his soaked hand through his hair to dampen it and keep it pinned back to some degree. "You can let go of the railing," he offered, his attention briefly slipping over to the distracted parents to make sure she wouldn't be scolded for doing such a thing. "...I've got you, see?" he added, turning his arm out of her grasp to take it in his own again instead.

"Mom said... she said I can't leave the stairs," Ana whispered quietly as if he hadn't heard Alex in the first place. She was grateful for his presence and as she slowly (and a bit reluctantly) released the railing, she too glanced over toward their parents, fearing being yelled at for doing such a thing given the circumstances.

"We'll stay close," he promised, reaching for her other arm as she released the railing. "Keep your head up, okay? I'll pull you around," he smiled, beginning turn and step backwards with her in the water to stay at the base of the stairs all the while.

Ana might have been nervous... but Zach was there to keep her safe, wasn't he? The water only came up to just under his shoulders after all. Straining her neck to stretch it a bit just after answering with a short nod, she took the last step off the stairs onto the floor of the pool, easing herself closer to him in the water purposefully. "Cold!" she laughed, all but her head now submerged.

Though Gavin had caught a glance of the two in the water, he concluded they were safe enough and said nothing. The food was served to the adults first to let the kids play and no longer worried about getting scolded by their parents, Zach kept his attention on Ana as he guided her back and forth near the steps. She dipped under at one point and he moved forward enough to quickly reach beneath the water for her sides to pick her up effortlessly and keep her head above the surface. "Sorry!" he whispered quickly, "You okay?" he asked as he tried to see her face through the her hair in her eyes.

Sputtering a bit from unexpectedly slipping beneath the surface, Ana brought her hands up to push her soaked hair back from her face, a quiet cough leaving her before she found herself laughing. "I'm okay," she answered just as quietly as to not draw their parents' attention toward them. Reaching out, she took hold of his shoulders and kept herself close to him, partially for fear of going under again.

Smiling at her determination not to be scared or let anything ruin her time in the water without floats, Zach nodded as he began to glide over toward the stairs again. A short glance over his shoulder rewarded him from a measuring look from Ana's dad and he offered a small smile to signal that everything was fine before he turned back to Ana again and quietly laughed. "Your dad looks worried. Should we eat?"

"Okay, maybe," Ana answered with a short nod, releasing his shoulder with one hand once again to push away the water that continued to run down her face from her soaked hair. Stepping up onto the first step and feeling a bit more secure after doing so, Ana reached out to pull Zach along with her by the wrist. "That was fun," she added with another short laugh, "maybe I won't have to wear them anymore!"

"Maybe!" Zach replied with a smile at how optimistic and cheerful she was over such a simple thing. His dad never dreamed of making Zach wear swimmies and gave him swimming lessons at an early age, he found that although he couldn't relate to Ana's graduating from swimmies to holding onto someone, he was happy for her. "Wait, here's your towel," he pointed as she turned the wrong way once she got out of the pool.

"Zach! Come on! What's the big deal?" A now ten-year-old Ana shouted in frustration after her friend as he walked his bike out from within his garage, her own on its side in the middle of the two-car driveway. "I can keep up!" Stomping her foot, she folded her arms tightly across her chest, her hair pulled characteristically back into a ponytail and her clothes consisting of shorts and a usual tank top.

In the course of only half a decade, the two childhood friends were slowly coming to realize that they couldn't remain as close as they once had been - at least one of them was realizing it. Ana was determined to have none of it. Why couldn't she hang out with Zach and his friends? Why did her being a girl have to be a factor at all?

Zach had no doubt that Ana could keep up with him and his friends, but he had no desire to allow her to tag along every single time. "No!" he replied through a heavy sigh and roll of his eyes as he raked his hair back with a hand. Wearing a pair of just-a-little-too-baggy-jeans (as his mother had called them) and a white t-shirt, Zach reached for his baseball cap where he'd left it on the trunk of his dad's car before guiding his bike out onto the driveway. "No one wants you to come," he lied, hating how his friends had begun to tease him on Ana's constant presence.

Pulling it down over his hair, the rim facing forward, as he swung a leg over the bike to take a seat, he turned to her. "You're gonna piss my friends off and then I'll have to leave with you. Again ." He realized he was taking his frustration out on her and he tried to remind himself that it wasn't entirely her fault. "-Look, we can hang out later, okay?"

-but Ana didn't want to hang out later. Her features were set in an expression of vague frustration but also helplessness. "It's not fair," she argued quietly where she stood, watching Zach as he mounted his bike and situated his baseball cap on his head, her arms still folded. He was supposed to be her best friend... didn't that mean including each other in whatever they did?

"Ana, we talked about this..." he groaned as he remained seated on his bike and leaning against a foot to keep it unmoving. "Your dad even talked to you about this. You're not a guy. Can we please just hang out later? Go call Samantha or something," he offered with a tired stare. He wasn't that comfortable just leaving her there since he knew he would suffer guilt for the remainder of the day, but he wanted her to understand that it wasn't fair to him either.

"But-" Ana caught herself as she began to whine. Didn't he understand that she liked hanging out with him and his friends? The girls she knew were all right to hang out with, but they were more concerned with brushing their Barbie's hair or trying on what they could of their mothers' make-up without getting caught. Ana much preferred biking around town and playing sports to such things.

Slowly, her shoulders dropped as her arms slackened against her chest, her stare dropping to the ground as she mumbled reluctantly. "Fine. Go."

Zach could only hope that she would grow to understand and they could keep their friendship as they went in whatever directions they would. Zach wasn't that far away from high school and Ana was an entire two grades behind him. He knew it would be tough for her, but Zach was always nice to her and most of the time, understanding as well.

His eyes dropped to the digital watch he sported and he sighed at length as he dropped it back to his thigh and began to shake his head to himself. He wouldn't always cave, or at least he tried to tell himself that he wouldn't, he just wanted her to understand that he did care. "It's early. I can go later," he sighed. He wasn't going to let her go with him, but they could hang out for a while together beforehand if it made her feel better.

Ana quickly lifted her eyes to watch him, surprised by his offer despite the fact that such a change of heart happened quite frequently with him, and she didn't bother to hide her growing smile that he'd decided to hang out with her even if she couldn't go with him later. "Okay," she answered agreeably, turning and hurrying over to where she'd left her bike in the driveway, "we can go to the park!"

Zach smiled pathetically at her excitement and nodded slowly as he pushed against the driveway with his foot and glided down into the street. The park was just down the block and next to her house, his own house was even visible from there, so he agreed wordlessly as he began to pedal slowly down the street. He glanced back once to make sure she was keeping up and turned forward with another sigh. He knew that when it was time to leave her, she would still be upset, but at least this way he could keep her happy for at least some time. She'll get over it, he told himself, able to envision a more uncaring Ana in the future when he mentioned he was going out with his friends. It couldn't stay like that forever...