In Too Deep ♡ Zach Herron Imagine
Pairing: Zach x Jonah’s Ex!Reader
Summary: Jonah can’t understand how you’ve moved on so quickly
Warning(s): Angst Central!!!
A/N: Thank you so much for the request, @ramennoodlequeenilovefood ! I hope you don’t mind, but I modified your request just a lil! :) If anyone would like to request an imagine, you can do so here: x
You never meant for any of this to happen. You never wanted any of this to happen. Jonah was the love of your life—at least, you thought he was the love of your life. But when you saw him curled up against another girl, fingers intertwined, a peaceful smile on both of their faces, you knew that he didn’t love you as much as you loved him.
It was a quiet break up. There was no shouting. There wasn’t a fight. You couldn’t find the energy to be angry. You were only disappointed that Jonah was so insecure in his feelings that he felt that he couldn’t confide in you that he was unsure of your relationship. In the end, there was no shouting, or fighting, and nothing was broken. That is, nothing but your heart.
You left quietly. The boys didn’t even realize you had gone. They assumed you’d been busy, completely oblivious to the fact that your relationship had gone awry. You could never blame them, though, for not knowing what Jonah had done. They trusted him just as you once had. You loved them all, you really did, but you knew that after Jonah’s colossal fuck-up that you couldn’t be friends with them anymore. You’d only be constantly reminded of the heartache. So, you left their lives without them even realizing.
It was foolish, though, to think that they never would have noticed. As oblivious as they could be, they weren’t dumb. After days turned to weeks turned to months, they realized that you were never coming back. Jonah never told them why, when they had finally asked. All he ever said was that he fucked up, and that you were right to leave him. He couldn’t move on. He didn’t know how. He didn’t deserve to.
You could only wish that, one day, the boys would forget that you existed. It was a naïve wish, you would admit that much, but you didn’t want to hurt them like Jonah had hurt you. Leaving without a word was the only way to do so. If you said goodbye, it would be too hard...You just couldn’t stand to see their heartbroken faces.
You stopped going to the places they frequented. You unfollowed all of them on social media. You blocked their numbers. You didn’t want to be associated with them anymore—you couldn’t be associated with them anymore. But, even though you effectively cut them out of your life, you couldn’t stop the Limelights from guessing what happened to you.
From the moment you unfollowed the boys, they were dead set on trying to find out what happened to you. So, you decided to throw them a bone, help them get the hint.
After that, your social media went dark. No one heard from you for the longest time. It was like you’d dropped off the face of the earth. No one knew where you were. No one knew if you had left the city. No one knew what happened.
Until, of course, you were found.
You had met Jonah a long time ago in a small, quirky cafe. It had been months since you were there last, and you knew Jonah had never gone back since your break up. So, on a chilly morning, you went to the cafe and ordered your usual. You slid into a booth and took out your laptop, starting to work on a paper for one of your classes while you sipped your coffee.
The bell of the door jingled, and you instinctively glanced up. Your blood ran cold when you saw who had come inside. You ducked your head down, praying that he hadn’t seen you.
A few minutes passed, and you were still too scared to look up to see if he’d gone. Then—
“Hey, uh, is this seat taken?”
“Don’t. Please, don’t do this.” You didn’t look up. You couldn’t. “You’re only going to make this harder, Zach.”
He sat down anyways. “Why did you leave, Y/N? None of us know why. Jonah won’t tell us anything.”
“It’s between me and him.”
“Then tell me why you didn’t say bye to any of us.”
Zach took a deep breath. “We all miss you, Y/N. You were a huge part of our lives, and then you were just gone.”
“Just seeing you guys again would’ve killed me. I couldn’t be around any memory of Jonah. Not after what he did.”
“Well, what the hell did he do that was so bad?”
“He...He moved on.” You picked at your fingernails. “At some point, he just stopped loving me. I wasn’t wanted, so I left.”
Zach’s mouth fell open, then shut again.
You took the opportunity to duck out of there. You shut your laptop, shoving it into your bag, and started to get up. But Zach recovered quickly from his shock. He grabbed your hand, stopping you from getting up.
“What, Zach?” you asked, exasperated.
“I just...I just wanted you to know something.”
He took a deep breath. “Jonah wasn’t...He wasn’t the only one to like you. I had the—I still have the biggest crush on you.”
“Zach...you can’t just say shit like that.” You got up, pulling your hand out of his. “It was nice seeing you again, it really was, but I can’t do this.”
And just like that, you were gone, praying that you would never see him again.
But, as luck would have it, you were destined to keep running into the damned kid. When you went to the park, he was there. When you went grocery shopping, he was there. Wherever you were, he was there. And slowly but surely, you started to open up to him.
You unblocked his number. You started texting him, talking to him. He became your friend once again, but you never addressed his confession in the cafe. He didn’t really care though. As selfish as it was, he loved having you in his life, away from all the other boys.
But neither of you were prepared for what would happen when you ran into the rest of the boys.
One day, you had met up with Zach at the park, going for a walk. As you walked, your hand slipped into his. It was innocent enough. Nothing could’ve gone wrong from that. Friends hold hands, right?
You thought that was the end of it.
Because you had gone off social media, you didn’t see anything anyone posted about the boys. Zach, however, did. He sent you a screenshot of an Instagram post with a single message:
You need to come over. Now.
Your heart was racing as you sped over to the Why Don’t We house. You didn’t bother knocking when you got there, deciding that it was best if you just walked in.
Only Zach and Jonah were in the house. All of the other boys were elsewhere. You didn’t know where. You didn’t care.
Zach looked ashamed. Jonah looked pissed. You probably looked scared to death.
“Are you two together?” Jonah asked. He didn’t beat around the bush.
“I’ve already told you—” Zach started to say.
“No. I want to hear it from her.”
You all but scoffed. “We’re not together, Jonah. But I don’t see why it concerns you. You’re the one who ruined our relationship. You have no say in who I date.”
“He’s one of my best friends!” Jonah shouted. “And you two have been sneaking around, doing God knows what and—”
“And it doesn’t concern you! You forfeit the right to know what goes on in my life the moment you brought another girl into the equation!”
“And you were my boyfriend!” you shouted back. Tears started to prick at your eyes. “But, fine, if you want to be protective of your relationships now, I’ll leave. You won’t ever hear from me again. Neither of you.” You took a laboured breath. “I’m done. I’m going to walk out and neither of you will have to deal with my ass again.”
You started to leave, but Jonah and Zach both shouted, “Wait!”
Your head whipped around, the tears freely falling. “WHAT?! What could you possibly want? Me to stay? Jonah, you know why I can’t do that. I loved you for the longest time—and I still do. But I can never forgive you. I can’t see you without my heart breaking. And Zach, I love you, I really do...But I’m not going to be the one who gets in between yours and Jonah’s friendship. The only thing I can do, is leave. I’m not coming back. This is the last you will ever see of me.”
“No, Y/N, please,” Zach begged.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve got to do what’s best for all of us. You’ll hate me for now, but one day, you’ll forget about me. And that’s fine. That’s what I want you to do. Just...Just don’t let me ruin your friendship.”
“Goodbye. Have a nice life—and I really do mean that.”
You didn’t stay any longer. You got back in your car, sobbing, praying that one day everything could work out. Praying that one day, you could be with someone who loved you and not have to worry about ex-boyfriends. Praying that you could be happy again.
Maybe, if you prayed hard enough, it would all come true.
Maybe, if you prayed hard enough, everything would go back to the way it used to be.
Maybe, if you prayed hard enough, you could start all over and be with the one who loved you all along.
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