World of Color | Skephalo

IX

Zak froze when he heard the voice. His heart starting beating rapidly, his mind racing a million miles a second. He didn't know what to do, or what to think.

He wanted to get out of there, avoid the situation, but he knew he couldn't.

Then, anger started to build up. His mind told him to stay calm, but the more he tried, the angrier he got.

Why is he here? Why now? Why can't he just leave me alone? Zak thought. He didn't want to scream at Darryl while in the store, but he didn't know what to do.

Then, Darryl broke him out of his thoughts, "Zak, are you ok?"

If Zak couldn't blow up at Darryl, he decided he'd go with the second best option. He turned around, and with the most sickenly sweet voice he could muster, spoke.

"Hi, how can I help you?"

Darryl's face turned into a look of confusion. His eyebrows furrowed and his jaw dropped slightly.

After a few moments, he broke out of his silence, "Zak, we need to talk. You know that." Zak's face dropped, his expression now completely flat.

"I'm sorry, I'm really busy at the moment, so if there's nothing I can help you with in the story, I need to get back to my work." He began to turn around, until Darryl reached a hand out and put it on Zak's shoulder. Zak froze up again, unsure of what to do anymore.

"Wait! I have a game I ordered online last night, I need to pick it up." Now, Zak could see that was part of Darryl's plan. If he wouldn't speak with him, he had a backup to keep Zak talking.

Zak jerked his shoulder away, heading to the back room. He grabbed the game Darryl had ordered and walked back out. When he opened the door, Darryl was still standing in front of the counter, waiting for him.

He had somehow hoped Darryl would have magically disappeared while he was gone.

Sighing, he headed over to the counter and set the game in front of Darryl. He also grabbed the bag with the game he left previously, setting that down as well. Then, with the fakest smile Zak could, he said, "There you go, have a nice night. Come again!"

He then turned back around, going back to the box he was sorting.

"I'm not leaving until you talk to me."

With that, Zak's anger bubbled over the edge. He whipped around, becoming face to face with Darryl. Green eyes pierced his own brown ones as they got into an intense staring contest.

Zak began to speak, not losing eye contact with the man. "Me? You're not leaving until I speak to you? That's funny, because when I least tried to speak to you, you pretended you didn't know me. Why didn't you just want to talk then? Why now? Do you realize how much that hurt? How much pain I was in because of it? How much pain I'm still in because you're here? I didn't want to talk to you, I didn't want to see you, I didn't even want to think about you. Now, I'm going to ask you to leave before I call the police. Sound familiar?"

Darryl seemed taken aback, his mouth dropped open and his eyes wide. He tried to speak, but nothing came out. After a few attempts, he finally choked out,

"Zak...I-"

Zak cut him off, "Please leave. This is your final warning."

"Please, just give me a few minutes to explain. I need you to listen to me." He pleaded with the younger boy, tears beginning to form in his eyes. Zak was shocked, he didn't think Darryl actually cared that much.

His anger began to die down, empathy getting the best of him. He nodded, sighing as he backed away.

"Fine, but you have to wait until I close up the store." Darryl nodded, taking off his glasses and wiping his eyes. Zak knew it was time to close up anyway, so he began to do is nightly routine.

He counted the register and put any extra money in a safe bag and stuck it in the safe in his manager's office. He swept behind the counter and cleaned up the sales floor, straightening out any shelves that looked messy. From the corner of his eye, he could see Darryl taking the trash bag out of the container behind the counter and tying it up.

"Darryl, what are you doing?" He called out, his voice monotone.

"Just helping."

Zak sighed, nodding slightly before going back to what he was doing. Darryl went out the back door and chucked the garbage bag into the dumpster behind the store before heading back in. He grabbed a new bag from the shelve under the counter and placed it inside the container.

Zak finished up quickly since the store wasn't very messy today. They had less people come in than usual, which was both good for Zak and bad for the store.

During the day, Zak had taken on his sweater and had just worn the white t-shirt he had on underneath. He made sure to grab the sweater off the chair behind the counter before he went to flip off the signs in the windows. He turned off the main lights and motioned for Darryl to follow him.

Darryl quickly moved from his spot in front of the counter, trailing behind Zak. The younger boy flipped the sign on the door from Open to Closed before opening the door for Darryl to head out.

He followed the older man out, pulling the door closed behind him. Zak pulled out his key and locked the store before turning around to meet Darryl's eyes.

"So, where are we going?" He asked, sticking the key back in his pocket. He still tried his best to keep his voice monotone, he didn't want to show Darryl that he was actually glad they were speaking.

Darryl thought for a moment, scratching his head. "Well, it's kind of late so I doubt many places will be open. How about Holly's?"

He looked down at Zak, smiling slightly. Zak huffed, turning away before agreeing. Holly's was a small diner that was open 24/7, and Zak had only eaten there once in his life.

Together, they headed down the block to the diner, which was nearby. The silence was awkward, and the air was extremely tense.

For some reason, Zak had the urge to hold the older man's hand. Little did he know, Darryl was feeling the same thing.