Behind The Smile *[Skephalo Highschool AU]*

Chapter 25

Hi! How's everyone today?

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Zak's POV (again, haha sorry)

As we leave the house, the sun hits my eyes, causing me to close them for a moment. When I open them again, Darryl is waving me over. He's on the sidewalk.

I quickly walk over to him. "Aren't we going to drive?" I ask, pointing at his car. He shakes his head, smiling. "Nah! I think it'll be better to get some exercise, don't ya think?" he responds, and I just nod.

We walk for what feels like ages, and I have no idea where we're going.

When we finally stop walking, I find we are in front of a cafe. The same cafe Theo took me to.

My eyes widen, and I look over at Darryl. He seems to have no idea I've ever been here. I step away from the building a little. "What are we doing here? We've already eaten," I mumble, just loud enough for him to hear me.

"Oh! One of my friends work here, and I wanted to say hi before we go to our destination," he explains, smiling. I put my head down, not responding.

I follow him inside. I didn't want to be here. But I'll do it. For Darryl.

When we make it to the counter, I look up. Darryl's talking to someone that looks around his age, with black hair and green eyes. He looked happy. And familiar.

Then I realize, that's the guy who served Theo and I the other day. Oh god, please say he doesn't recognize me. I step behind Darryl.

"Oh yeah! This is my friend, Zak!" Darryl says out of nowhere. Then I realize I wasn't listening to their conversation. He sidesteps, putting me into view.

The guys eyes light up with knowing. "Oh! I know him, he was here the other night with someone!" he says, and I internally groan. I see Darryl give me a look. Is he mad? Probably.

"Oh really? I didn't know. Hey, we'll be going now," Darryl says slowly, waving and walking past me. I quickly walk after him, guilt and regret building in my stomach.

When we make it outside, Darryl stops. I want to say something but my voice is caught in my throat. "So that's where you were, here? With who?" he asks, not turning to face me. I still don't say anything, and I feel like screaming.

"Zak, you could've at least called me. You didn't have to ditch me like that. If you don't want to hang out with me, then it's fine. I understand," he says, sounding sad. "No, Darryl it's not like that-" but he's already walking away.

"I'll see you tomorrow Zak."

Then he's out of site. Now I really feel like screaming. Tears are falling down my face, and I feel like I'm gonna have a full-on panic attack. In an attempt to calm myself, I turn around and run the other way.

This time I'm not asking others for help. I'm just going home. I'm not gonna ruin someone else's life with my problems. That seems like all I can do nowadays.

I run and run, tears falling down my face, hitting the ground like crystals.

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Darryl's POV (yes, pov change)

I walk away from Zak, leaving him speechless on the side of the road. I felt bad, but it was his fault for leaving me in the first place! If he didn't then I wouldn't have been so mad.

I take a few deep breaths. I'll just continue the day without him. He'll be fine, right? He didn't seem sick anymore this morning, so it should be fine.

Worry bottles up in my stomach. If he didn't have me, the only place he could go was home. The last time that happened, he came back with a black eye. Is he really safe?

I shake my head. He's fine. I have to focus on myself for once.

I stand in front of a grocery store. I had no food, and plenty of money. Might as well stock up. I walk inside, voices filling my ears.

This is gonna take a while.

———

When I first thought of walking home with grocery's, I thought I'd have Zak to help me. But now that I walked away from him, it's just me. Carrying I don't even know how many bags.

I sigh, evening splitting the bags into my two hands. It's not that long of a walk when you know the way. I bet when Zak came running to me the other day he didn't.

Stop! Just stop thinking of him. Focus on getting home.

And that's what I do.

———

Zak's POV

When I got home, I was greeted the the usual sound of screaming. My tears have stopped, but I still have a stuffy nose from the fact I was crying. I just fling my shoes off and run upstairs. I had to find Mia anyway.

I find her in her room, on her bed. She's drawing a photo, but it keeps getting ruined because of her tears falling onto it. I frown, walking over to her. The other two little cousins are most likely in my room with their siblings, who I didn't want to face.

When Mia notices me in front of her, she jumps up, her tears coming down faster. "Zak! Where have you been?! Do you know how bad it's been?" That's when I notice her face. She had a huge bruise on her cheek.

Anger floods through me. I lean down, letting her hug me. She cries into my shoulder.

This was gonna be a long night.

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Uhhh I made a chapter. It's not very long, but it's a chapter! Hope you liked it!

Thoughts?- comment them here!

Constructive criticism?- comment it here!

Ideas?- comment them here!

Word Count: 976