After Chapter 65 – The rumored bonfire.

Previously: Hardin begs for another chance by touching and dragging Tessa without consent.
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Marines: Dear readers, over sixty painful chapters ago we heard about a bonfire. Across sixty or so chapters of plotless nothing, we were reminded again and again that the bonfire approacheth. First, Tessa was going to take Noah. Then, Tessa was going with Hardin. Next, Tessa was going with Zed. Still, no bonfire.

“Is it real, this bonfire?” I heard you ask. “Will it ever happen? Am I stuck in a loop?”

I’m still not convinced we aren’t stuck in a Westworld-ian loop, my darlings, but the bonfire. It is here.

Samantha: There are so few things to look forward to (nothing) in this book, and I’m sure it’s a testament to how ruined I am, but I’m almost excited for this bonfire???? I’m sure it will be a big dumb letdown anyway.

Mari: That shows wisdom beyond your years.

Tessa parks her car and texts Zed. After he tells her where to meet him, she updates Landon and Dakota. Landon is less than happy about Zed’s presence. Dakota asks if Hardin is Tessa’s boyfriend, so we can belabor the point just a smidge more. Landon and Tessa both laugh because Hardin isn’t her boyfriend and neither is Zed. lol!

They find Zed and he’s nice and polite to everyone, despite the fact that he’s apparently forgotten that he’s met Landon before. They find a place to sit. Tessa asks if Zed’s ever been to a bonfire before and he lol’s because he’s too cool for school. Zed asks Dakota how long she’s in town for. She frowns because she’s only here for the weekend and won’t be able to come back for the wedding. Zed thinks that’s such a coincidence because Hardin is also going to a wedding next weekend! Such a coincidence that we’ve also just turned talk to Hardin.

Dakota starts to explain that it’s the same wedding, but Tessa cuts her off and covers for Hardin. Then she gets all defensive when Zed says he can’t imagine Hardin at a wedding. “Why?” Tessa snaps. “Because he throws chairs at yogurt establishments, beloved. It’s probably hard to imagine him at formal events,” I answer. (S: “He literally cannot function as a human being in any capacity or situation. He is worse than a literal baby,” I also add on.) Zed says it’s because he’s Hardin and the only way to get him to a wedding would be the promise of sex with all the bridesmaids. Tessa thought Zed and Hardin were friends. Zed says they are. He’s just stating facts. Hardin has sex with a different girl or two each week.

Tessa stands to her feet in shock! Shock! Probably not shock because Hardin’s promiscuity (or whatever) is not NEWS. (S: Seriously girl, whut?) She still runs away, overcome by her feelings of whatever. She takes a walk and a few deep breaths and then returns to her date. We get a weird detail about Zed turning his cell phone screen away from her before putting his phone away. Probably we could just chalk this up to the fact that Zed had to entertain himself on Twitter when Tessa freaked out or whatever, but since this is Anna Effing Todd, probably this is foreshadowing to Zed being a douchecanoe.

SPEAKING OF! Hardin shows up with a brunette in a short skirt who Tessa hates immediately for no other reason than being an innocent bystander in all this total dramz. Landon and Dakota cleared it just before this, so now it’s just Zed, Tessa, Hardin and Innocent Bystander. Hardin asks how the bonfire’s going and Tessa feels the tension in the air between the two boys. Innocent Bystander wants to grab some food and Hardin reluctantly accompanies her.

Tessa takes advantage and tells Zed she’d like to go now because she hates Hardin. Zed asks if she wants to go to the perpetual frat party, but she doesn’t want to be there either. She still wants to hang out with Zed, just not at either of those places. Zed offers up his place, or any other place she’d like, but Tessa says his place is great. She follows Zed to his apartment and spends the drive feeling bad about the fact that she ditched Hardin after basically telling him not to follow her. COOL.

Samantha: You literally did not ditch him. That is seriously not the definition of ditching someone.

Mari: And I have a feeling she’s using the word “hate” wrong, too.

Zed’s apartment is small and clean. He lives alone. Tessa feels a little awkward, but smiles when he cuddles up next to her on the couch. Then his phone rings and he stands to take it. We only get to hear his side of the conversation: “we left,” “so…,” “fair,” and “too bad.” Thrilling and mysterious.

When he comes back, Tessa asks who it was and he says it was no one important. Zed tells Tessa he’s really happy to be getting to know her. She’s like, “yeah, yeah, anyway, do you know Innocent Bystander?” Zed does. Her girlfriend is Nate’s cousin. Tessa realizes Hardin wasn’t there with her, like on a date, and she spent all that girl hate for nothing!

Zed leans in for a kiss, but this kiss is truly a vehicle in which Tessa can drive to her big realization. She thinks about Hardin and key things like his outbursts, “the ways he always shows up when I don’t want him to,” “the way he never tells his mother that he loves her,” and “the way he breaks things when he’s angry.” Zed kisses her some more, but she ~*realizes*~ that this all clearly adds up to the fact that Hardin loves her.

Tessa blurts out Hardin’s name mid-kiss and Zed is like, “dude, what?” Tessa grabs her things and runs out before Zed can ask any more questions.

Samantha:

Mari: I’ll just remind everyone that the bonfire happened and it was indeed, truly, a blip on the radar. Gone. Over. Tessa didn’t even have her big realization there, like wth.

I’m over it.

 

Next time on After: Tessa tries to find Hardin in Chapter 66.