Behind The Smile *[Skephalo Highschool AU]*

Chapter 8

Yo. I'm about to start a new book on this acc so I might as well do a chapter here first.

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Zak's POV

'Shoot..I have to stop them..' I look around frantically, looking for something to help me. I see a plastic cup on the ground, and quickly run and pick it up. Making my way back, I look around, trying to figure out how to use it. I think of the most generic way.

I throw the cup.

It hits Darryl right in the face, causing him to stumble and fall backwards. The whole crowd goes silent. I don't speak, a lump forming in my throat. Everyone stares at me. Everyone except Zelk, who steps in. "Stop fighting you guys! If you all get hurt and need a hospital, I'm gonna be the one charged! So stop!" Zak yells at them. Everyone suddenly jumps into action, forming a crowd around both Darryl and Dave. I take this opportunity to grab Darryl, pulling him away from the crowd.

I pull him by his blood-stained sleeve outside, past the porch, and down the sidewalk. "Zak..? Where are we going?" he asks, sounding kinda surprised at how strong I am. I don't answer him, and we continue walking down the sidewalk. Our only source of light were the street lamps.

But of course, once we got to my street, there was no such things as street lamps.

I stop at the start of my road, kinda scared to go down it. Especially in the dark. "Hey, what are we doing here? Isn't this where all those poor kids live?" Darryl asks, pointing at the road. I gulp, and just nod along. "Let's go..and watch out for any drunks.." I say quietly but loud enough for him to hear. I don't grab his sleeve this time, but I walk close by him.

We walk down the road silently. At least, we were silent. There were voices all around us. Parents arguing p, kids screaming, glasses shattering. Darryl seems disturbed by it, but I don't mind it. After all, I had listened to it my whole life. "U-Uh Zak? Why are we even going this way?" he asks, trembling a little.

"We're almost there." I lead him until the end of the sidewalks, and start walking onto the cold, wet grass. The water quickly soaked through my shoes, making me shiver a tiny bit, but I shake it away. I continue my walk until I reach the tree line. And just like before, I pull back a branch, revealing a field.

(A/N: WOAH! HALFWAY THROUGH THE CHAPTER AND I STILL HAVE IDEAS? POG!)

I grab Darryl's hand, and hold back the branch as we both walk through. He stops at the other side of the tree, looking at the sky like a baby who saw stars for the first time. "Come onn!" I whine, pulling him towards my tree. We make it there quickly. I let go of his hand, and lean down on the blanket I have set down. I reach underneath it, pulling out a first aid kit.

I wave him over, and he sits down in front of me. I frown. "Why'd you have to go and get in a fight anyway?" I ask while tending to his wounds. He stays silent. I look up at him, but my eyes don't meet his. "Darryl?" I try to get his attention. He finally looks up at me. "I'll tell you another time, okay?" he mumbles. I nod, respecting his decision.

I lean back. "All done!" I say too cheerfully, leaning up against the tree trunk. All his wounds were patched up. "How'd you even know how to do that correctly?" he asks me, sitting next to me. I brush my hands together. "No reason." Then I quickly scramble to my feet. "Hey, what time is it?"

He looks down at his watch, kinda confused. "10:54." Darryl answers, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Oh- I uh have to get home- are you ok walking alone or?-" I cut myself off to stop myself from rambling on. "Oh yeah! That's fine. Can I walk you home?" he asks. I think about it for a moment, thinking back to what he said before. 'It'd be better not too.'

"Zak?-"

"Sure!"

Shoot. I was supposed to say no. I mentally slap myself and force a smile. "Let's go." I say, walking towards the tree line. He follows behind me, and we make it through the tree line faster this time. We walk slowly, a calming silence rests between us. 'I can just walk towards the richer neighborhood, and tell him I'm fine from there..' I make up a plan. Perfect!

We walk past my house. But we don't make it far before a voice interrupts us. "Zak!" the voice of a little girl rings through my head, causing me to spin around. Mia.

"Zak! You said you would come home tonight! You promised!" Mia whines, pulling on my sleeve. "Mia-" I say, before stopping. I turn towards Darryl, who looks confused. "Hey Darryl, you can go now. See you Monday." I say before lifting Mia onto my hip.

Mia is my little sister. Or step sister. She's my mom's boyfriends daughter. I consider her my real sister, though. She was 5 years old, and she didn't go to school. We didn't have enough money. Whenever I got the chance I would homeschool her, but that wasn't much, so she didn't know very much.

"Sorry Mia. I know I promised I wouldn't stay out longer than two days." I apologize as we walk back home. She leans her head on my shoulder, yawning. "That's ok, Zak." I look behind me, watching Darryl walk away. 'I wish I could explain more to you..'

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Hi. Cool chapter and it's much longer than the last one (ITS OVER 1000 WORDS!) and as I said, I'm starting a new book, so I'm actually gonna go spend the rest of my night doing that. Woo hoo! Anyway have a great day guys I hope to see you back here for the next chapter!

Word Count: 1031