Double M is My Man

~ 25 II ~

Long enough to see the commotion playing out before me; the girls throw a bunch of worthless compliments, reaching out to touch him. He can't swat their hands away since their preoccupied with trapping me. 

I stay conscious long enough to find myself smirking in amusement, no longer caring what happens. As long as Mr. Caraveo is annoyed, that's all that matters. 

And with one last glance at the girls who have managed to give me peace, I close my eyes and embrace the darkness, letting it wrap around me and ease away the fear. It's okay. I don't have to be afraid anymore. The darkness will protect me. 

The black void does so by grabbing onto my back and, with a force I never knew the darkness possessed, it rips me off of Mr. Caraveo's back, setting me free. Safety surrounds me as the darkness wraps its arms around me, bringing me close. 

...am I high? Did I get drunk off of serenity? Since when does darkness have arms? 

"Zada? Zada!" Since when does darkness talk, let alone know my name? What is going on? 

The arms securing me begin to shake, jolting me from my jumbled up and confused mind. Yet, my eyes won't open. They stay shut, forcing me to face the darkness that refuses to let me sleep in peace. 

"Zada, wake up!" Maybe if I ignore the darkness, it'll give up and leave me be. Can't it see that I want to be left alone? I don't need it's constant nagging. 

If only life were easy. The arms around me refused to surrender, shaking me nonstop with a fierce determination that was starting to throw off my balance. If only I had some feeling left in my arms or legs so I could swat the darkness away... if that makes any sense. Yah, I'm really starting to believe my mind drifted off into insaneville. There's no other way to explain what's happening. 

"Dammit, Z-lee, open your eyes!" It wasn't the shaking that started me, fueling me with the lost energy, causing my eyes to awaken.  It was the peculiar nickname that made them snap open wide, allowing me to catch every detail of the sight in front of me. I definitely wasn't high; my mind was analyzing the situation wrong because it wasn't the darkness that had annoyed me.

It was a certain hero that became relieved instantaneously the moment I greeted him with my brown eyes, staring up into his very own brown ones.  "Finally," he whispers, wiping a strand of hair off of my face though as he gently swipes across my forehead, I can feel his fingers shaking. "Could you stop scaring the life out of me?" 

"I thought I told you to not call me Z-lee," I counter automatically, ruining the moment and making Reece roll his eyes. 

Gradually, I register where I am, feeling the sturdy wood of the bench underneath me. With the help of Reece, I manage to sit up and wait patiently for the feeling to return back to my legs. In the meantime I look to see where we are, noticing that we're still in Central Park and that Mr. Caraveo is standing nearby, trapped in a circle of high school girls. I'm still not understanding what I'm seeing. 

"You like my genius plan?" Reece asks after noting my confusion. 

I'm taken back by his question. "They...this is your doing?" Reece simply nods his head. I glance back at the circle, back to Mr. Caraveo who is kindly asking the girls to leave him be but they refuse to back down. 

Reece chuckles, clearly pleased with himself. "They were the perfect distraction." 

I scan the faces of Reece's side kicks, finding all of them familiar but not being able to connect why. Then, one of the girl's spots me looking and perks up, leaving the circle to come join me while the rest of the girl's form a tighter circle, compacting Mr. Caraveo even more. I recognize her immediately and how could I not? She's almost just as famous around school as Chasity.