Of Course Zack Does

Zack watched as his ex-girlfriend walked out of the bathroom, leaving him in his thoughts. It wasn't like Zack didn't want to be with Chloe anymore; he wanted to go to his room and just hold her, support her and apologize until he was blue in the face. The only thing that kept him back was his own mind, telling him that maybe, just maybe, Chloe would be better off without him. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was the right thing to do. If she weren't with him, then she wouldn't have been tormented by Ashley, and Kurt would never have had the chance to take advantage of her.

Still, Lisa's words rang true in his head, Chloe needed him. She needed someone on her side. Zack would always be her friend, but he just wasn't sure if he should be her boyfriend anymore. With a broken sigh Zack got to his feet he held his bandaged hand, finally feeling the pain, and made his way to his room. As he stepped inside Victoria and Chloe quickly looked over at him, he awkwardly looked back at them before looking down at the floor, "I'll...give you two some privacy." Victoria quietly murmured before excusing herself from the room, closing the door behind her.

Chloe bit her bottom lip while Zack stood on the far side of the room, she felt nearly terrified as she could tell Zack wanted to say something but didn't know how. She quickly got to her feet and took a few steps towards him, "Chloe...I-" Zack started to mutter only to quickly feeling Chloe pounce at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Zack pursed his lips and slowly lowered his head, wrapping his arms around her back, he pushed his face into her shoulder and let out a soft sniffle, "I'm so sorry Chloe, I'm so fucking sorry," He whispered out to her,

Chloe silently held onto Zack for minutes, finally feeling a genuine embrace from him. "It's not your fault, Zack," Chloe murmured back, nearly breaking down as well as she heard Zack's soft whimpers, "It was a mistake, that's all it was."

Zack carefully pulled back from Chloe and took her hand, heading to the bed and sitting down on it with her, "Chloe, this was my fault," Zack insisted, "If I didn't have sex with Ashley, if I did cheat on you, then none of this would have happened. I almost got you...I almost..." Zack said with a break in his voice,

"No, Zack, no," Chloe softly replied, a pain in her heart, now knowing that Zack completely blamed himself for Kurt's actions,

Zack lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut, "Chloe, you don't need someone like me, all I've done to you is brought trouble." Zack hardly said causing Chloe's eyes to water instantly, "Maybe we should-"

"Don't say that," Chloe interrupted as tears rolled down her cheeks, "Please don't say that Zack." Chloe softly begged, "I can take everything else, but I can't take that. I can't hear that...not from you...Zack, I still love you."

"I love you too," Zack instantly replied, "But I'm trying to do what's best for you. Look what's happened to you in the first week of our relationship. I don't want to put you through anything else like this, ever again."

"This wasn't you Zack; it was Ashley! It was Kurt! You-I need you!" Chloe exclaimed through her tears. Zack lowered his head again and closed his eyes, unable to respond, "No!" Chloe suddenly shouted out while grabbing Zack's head, pulling his eyes up to meet hers, "You are not getting rid of me Zack, I'm not leaving! You're not leaving! That's that!"

"Chloe, put your feelings aside, look at the facts." Zack weakly replied, "Can you honestly say you want to go through that all again?"

"If I can stay with you then yes!" Chloe immediately shot back, "I'll go through it ten more times Zack, I don't care, I just can't lose you!"

"You wouldn't," Zack softly replied, bringing his hand to her head, petting her hair slowly, "I'd always be there for you, I just want to protect you," Zack explained before shutting his eyes, "But, I...I can't say it; I can't, I need you to tell me to go...please,"

Chloe stared back at him and quickly pressed her lips against his. Zack's hand tightened on her hair, and he quickly pushed back against her lips, sharing a deep loving kiss with her for nearly a minute. Chloe finally pulled back, resting her head against his forehead, "I won't let you go, we have something, something I can't lose in any way."

"I know..." Zack finally agreed, letting her scent fill his nose, "I just...I hate that I failed, I didn't keep you safe, I wasn't there when you needed me."

"You're here now," Chloe warmly replied, "And I need you now. So stay, don't leave me now or ever again."

Zack let out a slow breath through his nose, and Chloe felt his head slightly nodding, "Okay..." He finally said after a minute causing Chloe to instantly let out a bursting sigh of relief mixed with a joyous smile. Zack looked at her and wrapped his arms around her, "I won't leave you, Chloe," He said smiling back at her, feeling assured in himself, "I'm yours," He softly added on,

"And I'm yours," Chloe said back to him before pressing her lips back against his.