Fic: You Don't Blong To People Forever
Title: You Don't Belong To People Forever
Author: mrsmarit
Rating: PG
Pairing: ToriZach
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine, only the words
Words: 1969
This is inspired by the fact that we never seem to the Zach/Shaun relationship from Tori's point of view. Hope you enjoy.
For years it has been Zach and Tori, all through junior and high school they have been together, well off and on all those years and more off than on lately but Tori doesn’t mind. For her it has always been Zach, however lately Tori has begun to wonder more and more if she is what Zach really wants. She has always suspected things about Zach and how he feels about her and now those suspicions are growing and she isn’t sure what to do. When she saw him at his Jimmy in the parking lot by the beach she didn’t hesitate to head over and invite him down for a beer, and then he mentioned he was with Shaun and she tensed a little, something about the way Zach acted when Shaun was around or someone mentioned him had always worried Tori. Down on the beach Shaun comes over and starts talking to her, reminding her of when they first met (13 and wine coolers and not a good mix btw) and she feels a faint blush creep up her cheeks as Zach runs over throwing a Frisbee at Shaun smiling and laughing in a way Tori hasn’t seen in a long time. She watches them for a while just throwing the Frisbee back and forth and talking about nothing and everything it seems to her.
Later that night sitting around the campfire while someone plays a guitar and sings she continues to watch them, sitting next to each other with their legs glancing off each other every once in a while and that sinking feeling starts to grow and she almost cracks when Zach follows Shaun down to the beach after Billy says something stupid (which is usually what comes out of his mouth) Shaun and gives Zach crap about their relationship insinuating that Zach is gay cause Tori is hot (well not everything he says is stupid J) and all she wants to do is follow them to see what they are talking about but knows that would be too obvious.
A little while later she sees Zach storming back up to the beach and she knows that look, the look the Jeanne has once again ruined Zach’s evening, and she has seen it more times than she can count. He asks her if she still needs a ride home and she shakes her head in the affirmative, they head out and Zach is pretty silent, she asks him about Shaun and how the surfing was today but what she really wants to know is why Zach wants to spend his free time with Shaun and not her, she is his girlfriend isn’t she? Sitting at Zach’s house on the couch and they are watching a movie on the TV, some old black and white horror movie with a really creepy soundtrack. She leans over to kiss Zach, hoping to get him to notice her now that they are alone and he returns her affections but really never takes his eyes off the TV, she can clearly see that his thoughts are somewhere else. She tries one more time, praying that it works this time and when she gets the same results she tells him she is going home, that she’s tired and when he half-heartedly tries to stop her she knows that this thing with Zach is truly over. She loves him and she knows that he loves her, just not in the way she needs or deserves and knows the next time they are together that “the talk” they have been putting off for a while will have to be had.
A few days she is getting out of her car at work when Zach comes up, pushes her against the car and kisses her, she slides away from him telling him she is going to be late for work. During her shift she thinks about that kiss and wonders what Zach is trying to prove, that he wants her or that he doesn’t want someone else. When she gets off work she has a voicemail from Zach asking her to go to the beach after work. She calls him back and agrees and he tells her he will pick her up in an hour. She heads home and gets ready, knowing that today is the day that they either get their relationship back on track or break it off for good. Hours later they are playing on the beach with Cody trying to build a sandcastle when Shaun walks up and she sees Zach tense up. Shaun walks down the beach and Tori introduce him to Cody and he promptly kneels down and starts playing with Cody, helping to fortify the moat. Zach tells Cody it is time to go obviously disturbed with Shaun’s presence which is a complete 180 from the other day around the campfire. She asks Shaun if he can watch Cody for a minute so she and Zach can talk and Zach looks at her trying to conceal the emotions playing over his face. She grabs Zach’s hand and drags him over to one of the closed lifeguard stands.
Zach settles himself against the railing, arms crossed defensively over his chest and she knows that this is the end, that this on again off again thing is truly over and it breaks something inside of her. She asks Zach what he wants, that she can’t keep doing this, if they are over then she is moving on and he barks off a fine and heads back to where Cody and Shaun are still playing with the sandcastle. Zach barks at Cody that it is time to go and Shaun asks him if they can destroy the castle and Zach reiterates that they need to leave, Shaun asks again and says the tide will get it anyway. Zach gives in and they both watch as Shaun and Cody jump up and down on the castle laughing and giggling. Tori helps Cody get in the car as she can sense that Zach and Shaun need to talk. When Zach comes up to the Jimmy she can tell he is even more agitated then when they got there. When Zach drops her off at her house she jumps out of the car and bolts towards the house without turning back, she can hear Zach say he’ll call her but the tears are already coming and she doesn’t turn around and she hears him peel out and head out.
A few days later she is driving around town and she sees it and she knows without seeing the signature that the work is Zach’s and it is beautiful and full of every emotion that Tori always wanted Zach to express to her is here on this wall and she knows who it is for and it isn’t her. She sits and stares at if for what seems like hours making sure to take some pictures just in case Zach needs a little reminder later on because god knows he always puts everyone before himself and he has got to be torn between his feelings and his responsibilities.
That weekend late one night and there is a knock on the door and she opens it and it’s Zach, looking utterly destroyed, he indicates that he would like to come in, to crash at her place when he doesn’t seem to have anywhere else to go. She indicates that someone is inside (well her cat counts doesn’t it) and Zach’s expression turns to anger and he stomps back to his car and leaves. Tori knows she did the right thing for Zach, knowing that he needs to figure out what he wants with his life on his own without her influence and she hopes other people (and by other people she thinks of Jeanne). She closes the door, locks it and sinks against it and Thai her cat comes up and butts against her hand and she cuddles the cat close hoping that Zach will figure out where he belongs.
Tori gets the call from Zach that she has been waiting for a week later, he wants to meet her on the bluff where she knows he goes when he really needs to think. She sits down on the hay bale opposite him and she waits for him to finally tell her, tell her what she has suspected for so long but that she knew that Zach had to admit to himself before he could admit it to anyone else. Zach sighs and tells her about Cal Arts, and Jeanne and Cody and then he pauses and tells her there is something else he needs to tell her. She smiles and tells him she knows, that she’s known for a while, he tells her that she is the only reason he wishes he wasn’t the way he was, that he always wanted to be everything and anything she needed. Tori smiles again and asks him the question she needs answered, does Zach love Shaun. Zach shrugs and she tells him he is a good guy and you don’t belong to people forever (she should know as Zach is no longer hers, someone has taken her place) and he asks her what’s the point. She asks him if it was worth it, she sees him pause for only a second and he whispers a silent yeah. Zach asks her if he can crash at her house tonight, he can’t deal with Jeanne (how he deals with her at all is beyond Tori) and she agrees as long as he doesn’t try and fuck her. He chuckles and they head out.
Zach and Tori sit up most of the night talking, about their past and about what they both hope for Zach’s future. He also tells her that Gabe knows, about how he stopped by the diner the day after Zach tried to destroy his chance at happiness with Shaun. He also fesses up about the feeling he had back in high school, about the day him and Gabe made that video and the way he felt in that bathroom with Shaun, and also about Shaun’s book and how many times he has read it, he then goes to his car and brings it in so she can read it too. They finally drift off and Tori stir slightly when Zach gets up in the morning, and she hugs him and wishes him good luck and with a light kiss on his cheek pushes him out the door.
Now its six months later and things couldn’t be better. Zach, Shaun and Cody are together in L.A. and Zach is at Cal Arts, Cody is in school and Shaun is working on his new book. Zach is regaling Tori with Cody’s latest escapades (something to do with Cody and drawing on desks, wonder where he got that fromJ) and he asks her what is new with her. Tori pauses before answering and tells him about Jack the pre med student she met at her creative writing class and how he has been taking her to the beach and they have been going on hikes on the weekends. She can feel his smile over the phone and he tells her that he is happy for her and can’t wait to meet him and to make sure to let him know that if he hurts Tori that Zach will be coming back to have a “talk” with Jack. This pulls a laugh from Tori because she knows that Zach is serious, that just because they aren’t a couple anymore that they are still important to each other. You may not belong to people forever but that doesn’t mean that just because they aren’t yours doesn’t mean you lose them forever.