baby sister ~ zach herron
summary: on a trip to visit her older brother jack, y/n and her boyfriend struggle with a decision on how to tell him.
warning(s): cursing, angry jack, mention of sex (briefly), hella long
A smile peered on my face as my feet lifted off the ground, launching my body forward onto the curly haired boy I’d missed more than anyone could imagine. My ears filled with the soft laughter of my brother who held me tightly, spinning around in a circle.
More pressure was applied to my tiny feet as Jack set me down and grabbed my bag from next to me. Most people would argue that they could carry their own bag, but honestly i just took a four hour flight out here to see him before the holidays, this bitch can grab my luggage. Jack’s car was going to be a good bit away, i know that, but there were conversations to be had in that time. We’d been away from each other since before summer, during his graduation. Despite anytime that Jack would come home, I’d be out of town or busy.
Jack smiled over at me, “i still can’t believe mom let you take a flight by yourself”
i playfully rolled my eyes, “you do understand that i’m sixteen right? i know you’re not good with birthdays, but come on”
he nudged me, “that’s pretty young! and i sometimes know your birthday”
a scoff escaped my mouth, “i get that i’m your least favorite sister, but damn. that hurt”
“there’s a lot to choose from,”Jack joked, shrugging, “not all four of you can be my favorite”
i used my two hands, turning and pushing him so that he was further away from me, “you’re supposed to disagree!”
he laughed, “i’m kidding”
i rolled my eyes, “no you’re not”
“yeah, you’re right. i’m not”
The door to the house opened and the smell of burning food filled my nose, realizing that it would probably be like this for a while. I looked over to see Daniel taking a very steamy cup of ramen out of the microwave. knowing these idiots, someone must have forgotten to take it out or put it for much longer than the timer says and then it was destroyed.
Jack set his keys on the table, yelling through the house, “WE’RE BACK”
I heard a few footsteps and then I was immediately tackled by a blond boy. Giggles left my mouth as Corbyn nearly knocked my over, hugging me tightly. A few more boys appeared from around the corner, each taking their turn to hug me, Zach’s being the shortest. Despite a normal length hug not being suspicious, we didn’t like to take chances. Our eyes glanced towards each other, but then away.
Jack had my bags in his arms, walking away from the large group of guys, “i’m gonna put your bags in my room”
i nodded my head at him, continuing to socialize with the four boys i hadn’t seen in so long. It was nice, chatting with all of them about what we’ve each been up to. Primarily what i’ve done recently, since their recent events can easily be found on the internet.
Jack playfully rolled his eyes as I stepped away from the living room that the two of us sat in to go answer my phone out by the pool. It wasn’t necessarily important, but it was a friend and it was an excuse to talk to Zach. I quickly answered Lila’s call and as soon as i hung up, i felt two arms grip my waist.
I was surprised, but I knew he was coming. My body jumped, but an adorable laugh left Zach’s lips, giving me comfort as I turn around. One of his arms stayed on my waist as the other lifted up, pushing my hair out of my face and landing on my cheek as his lips touched my own softly. A blush appeared on my cheeks as I kissed him back, taking in the taste of the flesh i’d missed for all too long.
When we separated, i looked up at him with a smile, “i’ve missed you”
“i’ve missed you too” He brought my body close to his, wrapping me in his warmth for longer than before as if to make up for what happened when i first arrived, “i hate having you so far away”
i nodded my head, “it truly sucks”
“and i hate having to share you,” Zach admits, “i just want everyone to understand that i miss you the most”
i laughed a little bit, “i wish we could tell them, zach. you know i do”
“i know,” he let out a breath, “it just sucks keeping the most important thing in my life from everyone”
i nodded, “it’s too risky. i want to tell everyone too, trust me”
“no one can do anything about us wanting to be together, y/n” Zach tried to convince me but fear of what could come rushed my mind.
“it’s jack we’re talking about,” i remind, “as much as i want to trust that he wants the best for me, i don’t want to ruin or wreck any relationship you have with him”
“i’m dating his little sister,” Zach told me as if i didn’t already know, “how would that ruin our relationship?”
i sighed, looking away, “i don’t know. if we– like maybe one day if we were to break up and-”
“why would we break up?” Zach was defensive now, hurt by what i’d suggested.
“i don’t know,” i sighed, “i don’t want to, ever, but you never know”
“baby, we’re not breaking up, right?”
“no, of course not! and i don’t want to” i tell him, “i just don’t know what to do about this whole jack situation”
“my relationship with him is separate from my relationship with you,” Zach informs me.
“i know,” i sigh, “just give me some time to think this over”
Zach nodded his head, slipping his fingers onto my cheek and feeding me a small and beautiful smile, “i love you”
“i love you too” i wrapped my arms around his body, taking in the scent that i could never get enough of.
I sat on the counter top of the bathroom, Zach standing in front of me as the door was lightly closed. Despite the pretty wide chance of someone walking in, it seemed less suspicious than the two of us being locked in one of the bathrooms together.
My eyes dazed into his as we talked about anything and everything. His smile lit up my world, making everything about the day seem amazing, even the boring times. The way his laugh filled my ears made me want to crumble beneath him.
His lips came closer to mine, nearly touching my own before the door opened and he quickly pulled away.
Jack looked highly confused, but within the .5 seconds of silence, his confusion turned to anger and rage, “what the fuck is going on?”
i was quick to spit out a few senseless words, “zach was just- my contact,” i realized this didn’t make sense and jack gave me a look and some time to continue on and make some sense of the words i’d blurted out, “he was just checking to make sure my contact was still in my eye”
“why wouldn’t you know if your contact was in your eye?” Jack glared, crossing his arms over his chest, “and why can’t you just check your case to see if it’s in there?”
“she might have dropped it,” Zach went along with what i was saying.
“might’ve dropped it?” Jack didn’t believe a single thing we were saying.
“yes,” i blurt more words, “i couldn’t tell if it was still on my finger and then i had a hand cramp”
jack took in every bullshit lie i said, thinking about it for a second. for a split second i thought he was gonna believe me until fury filled his eyes, “you don’t even wear contacts! you hate touching your eyes!”
this was true. he’d caught the fact that i was completely lying about wearing contacts and he knew me too well. i quickly came up with the reason he wouldn’t know about my completely fake affiliation with contacts, “we’ve been apart for a long time. i got over my fear”
He rolled his eyes, “you’ve literally been wearing your glasses all day! you can’t even deny that”
my jaw dropped at the fact that our lie had come to an end and i didn’t have any ideas on how to save it, “well i–,” i started, “we–”
Jack realized that there was no way for me to explain the close proximity of Zach to my face and quickly turned to shove Zach, his fingers digging into my boyfriend’s shoulders and forcing the younger boy against the wall. a squeal escaped my pleading lips as jack spit words at Zach, “what the fuck were doing with your face so close to my baby sister’s?”
zach hadn’t any idea of what to say, “jack! stop!” i squealed at my older brother, but it was ignored.
“fucking answer me!” Jack’s fingers pushed Zach back against the wall as zach tried to move off of it. another squeal left my mouth as i tried to yell at my protective older brother who didn’t seem to understand what was happening.
“hey, calm down,” Zach tried but my brother only grew closer to him. Although i couldn’t see his face, i knew jack was getting angrier by the second.
“what the fuck were you doing with my baby sister?” Jack questioned him and I heard footsteps running closer to us as my squeals and stops grew louder, “you have a fucking voice, answer me!”
The three other boys living in this house came in, Jonah immediately stepping between jack and zach, pulling jack back and away from him as zach quickly walked away from my raging older brother and back towards me.
i got down from the counter, stepping in front of my boyfriend and staring at jack, “i’m not your fucking baby sister”
Jack’s eyes turned from rage to sadness in the matter of two seconds after processing what i’d told him.
“it’s not your job to protect me,” I continued, feeling the need to go on with my argument against my brother, “i’m my own goddamn person and i’ll do what i fucking please. you can’t keep me in this little box like i’m four years old jack. newsflash, i turned sixteen months ago. i know you weren’t there, but trust me, it happened”
It was silent as i scoffed and walked out of the bathroom, trying to find some place safe for me to be alone, but it seemed like being in someone else’s house gave me no option. everyone had a room and i couldn’t find a spot to just sit.
instead of staying in this poisoned house, i went out the back door. LA was cold at night, but my anger kept me warm as i walked as far away from the house as possible, sitting down on the ledge that overlooked the city. it was quiet, other than the sounds of cars driving down the street and fireflies looking for mates.
a cool draft tickled my shoulders, making me shiver as i felt the presence of someone next to me. despite my usual fear of someone murdering me, i felt safe in the fact that it was one of the two people i’d have liked it to be.
a short breath left his mouth as i continued to stare out at the pretty city lights at night, not daring make eye contact, “can you at least look at me?”
jack’s voice cracked and i felt my heart shatter. i didn’t know what to say, but i figured it’d be easier than looking at him, “what for?” it was a cold reply, but nonetheless he deserved it, “you gonna push me too?”
a soft and sad scoff left my brother’s lips, “i don’t care what you tell me or how old you are, you will always be my baby sister”
“you’re two years older than me, jack,” i say, “you don’t even remember me as a baby”
“that’s not the point,” he paused, “the point is that i don’t care that you’ve turned sixteen because you will always be my baby sister. you have to live with the fact that i won’t like it when you get boyfriends, it doesn’t matter how old you are”
“and you have to live with the fact that you don’t get to protect me from everything in the world,” i finally looked up at him, “maybe i’ll always be your baby sister, but i am sixteen, despite you choosing not to abide by it. i’m going to act my age. i’ll get boyfriends and i’ll have sex and i’ll make mistakes because that’s how a person is created. if you want me to be the best person i can be, and to live up to my potential, then you need to stop protecting me from the world. i am very much aware of the damages that could do to me, but if i don’t make mistakes i’ll never learn”
“i don’t want to watch you make mistakes, y/n” Jack told me, “i want to protect you from making them. what you make a mistake that’s too big for you to handle?”
“we’re given the things we can handle,” i stare at my older brother, “the strongest soldiers get the toughest battles. i will find a way to handle what i need to”
jack looked back at me, “so are you and zach a thing?”
i sighed, letting out a deep breath, “yeah, zach is my boyfriend”
“how long did you keep it from me?” he questions and i suck in a deep breath.
“maybe six months?” i estimate and his eyes sadden.
“you really didn’t trust me to keep it?” i didn’t answer, “did anyone else know?”
“mom, sydnie, and ava,” i tell him, “i wanted to tell Isla, but you and her have this bond and i had a feeling she’d tell you”
he laughed a little bit at what i’d said about isla, “at least i’m not the last one to find out”
“i guess that’s true” i say, “i didn’t tell dad either. i figured that i should probably tell you first to prepare myself for what he’d have to say”
“oh shit, i’m not even the worst of your problems”
“i don’t see what the big deal is,” I admit to him, dangling my legs, “sydnie’s had boyfriends, she has one right now. and you two have still got ava and isla to protect from boys”
he sighs, “how long do you think we’ve got with single ava?”
i giggled, “not long. she’s thirteen and already prettier than me. i give it six months, a year tops”
“shut up!” jack nudged me, “you know that’s not true”
“yeah yeah,” i rock and then look at him with a small smile, “now i love this sib moment, but can i go see my boyfriend and make sure you haven’t scared the shit out of him enough to break up with me?”
“go getchya man” Jack smiled widely at me and stood up, helping me up as i ran towards the house, opening the door and leaving it for jack as i searched around for zach.
I found him sitting on his bed in his room, his head in his hands. the boys were all sitting in the room too, but watching tv and trying not to bother him. i looked into the room and then moved in front of him quickly, sitting down next to him.
he looked up as the bed sank and the smile on my face gave him a bit of hope as he wrapped his arms around me. i heard a few awes as i hugged him back, falling over onto the bed.
“ok ok, i don’t care that you’re dating but please, no pda around me” Jack walked into the room, cringing.
i stared at jack and then turned around, planting a kiss on zach’s lips, making his cheeks turn red.
“i swear to god she just likes to bother me” Jack gave up, sitting down on Jonah’s bed as the boys laughed.
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