The Worst Crime - ZeRoyalChaos

19: The Reason

Chilled's POV

I had stayed in that night, much to my disliking but to Ze's orders. I had managed to convince GaLm that I needed help that night, and he sent a doctor to my house to help me out. Luckily, no one had arrived and we were both safe, sitting up for the majority of the night as my fear kept the doctor on edge as well. It was difficult to remember that these other town members didn't know that Ze was the serial killer, or about our friendship, and especially not how he made me feel most of the time. The doctor didn't seem to be one to listen either, and the next morning he was gone without a trace.

I went to the meetings on my own, standing away from GaLm and on my own as I watched. I didn't feel like talking to GaLm and listening to his intelligence and what he knew more than I did. He was talking to Max and the doctor now anyway, discussing their next moves. Strangely, this made me feel as though I was unneeded there, and so I was off on my own a small ways, watching from afar. That was when I noticed there was a dead man on the ground. A mafioso.

I had a feeling from the beginning that this was Ze's doing, seeing as how we had talked about this man and the possibility of him being the new mafioso a couple nights prior. The death note about asking to leave me alone was what really set it off, and before I could question anything or look for Ze, the man was at my side. I looked over at him, and he smiled at me. Despite obviously being the one to murder this man, he looked brighter. He had shaved nicely, he didn't look as tired and lethargic as the rest of the town constantly did, and he looked ready to face the day with one less mafia member. Silently, I gestured to the dead man, and Ze glanced at him before leaning towards me to whisper.

"His name was Sham, Mark. He was the promoted mafioso, and after him I believe there is only a consort, a janitor, another mafioso, and then the bastard godfather himself that are left. We're close to finally getting rid of them, it seems like they've stopped recruiting." Ze's words to me were good news, and I was happy, but mildly concerned about the dead guy. I bit my lip, looking at him once more in pain as I realized that he was dead because of me. It was an odd way of looking at it, but indirectly if I hadn't announced my role then no one would be truly out to get me, and there wouldn't need to be any unnecessary bloodshed at my expense. Ze seemed to sense this in me, and he shot me a look. "Don't tell me you're getting soft on me now."

"Just-.. why did you kill him?" I asked, although I was pretty sure that I knew the answer, With a sigh, Ze glanced at his feet before raising his head and staring directly forward at the executioner as I did, still speaking to me on the side.

"Chilled, we're a team now. You're the first real friend I feel like I've had that I want to be around. You're real, and you trust me which is hard for other people to do. You're absolutely incredible, and honestly I would do anything to protect our friendship." Ze admitted, and we continued to stand there as the meetings drew to a close. I looked at my hands that were clasped in front of my torso, staring at them until the clearing had dispersed surprisingly without anyone hung today. I turned to him, looking at him and letting my gaze wander the length of his abdomen. He gave me a small smile, motioning we walk and we headed back towards his place. As we walked, I remained silent in thought until he spoke again. "You've done so much for me, even though you're technically supposed to kill me. You've saved my life, and so if I have to throw myself out there to make sure you stay safe, then I will."

"Ze, that's pointless. You can do so much on your own, you don't actually need me." I told him, turning my head to look at him. He gave me a look that read 'oh really?' and I felt sheepish. I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck and sighed. "You've gone how many years without my help, Ze? We've done a good job separate as well, you're not completely dependent on me as you might like to think."

"Maybe not, but I've gotten more progress on everything now than I have in the past years, Chilled." Ze told me matter-of-factly. I turned to him as we stood at his door. He switched his gaze between each of my eyes, and smiled warmly. "Honestly, its been crazy how much I've gotten done. The mafia is almost gone, and soon we'll get rid of everything evil in this town. You'll be free and can live normally again, isn't that what you want?"

When I thought about it, that was exactly what I wanted. I wanted life back from before the mafia. I wanted to be able to visit old friends, and mess around, have fun. I liked the warm community and the atmosphere, and the ability to breathe again. It was nice, and once the mafia showed up, it seemed like everything else seemed to spiral out of control as well. Even so, I was partly glad that it did. It landed Ze right here on my doorstep; but that was also a big problem with advancing with our plans.

"And what about you, Ze?" I asked, turning the questions on him. "When the mafia is gone and the town goes back, what will you do? The town won't be very accepting of you if they know what you did. Even if you are just killing the mafia." The words left my mouth before I wanted them to, and I wanted to hit myself. Even so, Ze only smiled at me. A smirk, a knowing one, and he stepped closer to me, softly; with caution.

"A dangerous game I'm playing it would seem," he told me, and suddenly the tension around us seemed to spike tenfold. I felt my breath catch in my chest. "Don't you worry about me. I'll figure something out. After all, you are the reason I've been making such risky bargains lately."

"Oh really?" I asked, but it was rhetorical. Ze's smile suddenly enveloped every part of my mind, and time slowed as he stepped forward, his eyes fluttering shut. My mind was warning me this was wrong, but I leaned forward to embrace his lips against my own. His lips were cold, but opening his mouth it was warm. He was warm. His hands gripped at my waist, and suddenly my senses were overloaded with feelings. I couldn't focus on anything other than his mouth pressed against my own. He stole my breath away very quickly, and I felt myself gasping for air more and more often. He pulled at my bottom lip, at the same time pulling my hips towards him. His tongue entered my mouth, and it was all so new to me. I found my own hands tugging gently on the hair on the back of his neck, unsure of what else I could do to bring him closer to me. Then, reality seemed to come crashing back. Slowly, very slowly, he pulled away from me. His eyes opened, his breath was warm as it hit my cheeks, and he rested his forehead against mine.

"I want you to go inside for me, and you'll be safe there. I'm going to go out and do a little more reconnaissance tonight. Make sure that no one comes near you again, okay?" Ze's words were but a breath against me, and I nodded as best I could, my body still tingling with what just happened. I felt a soft pair of lips against my forehead, and then I was left standing in the cold on my own. Ze had taken off towards town, and shot me a smile before turning around and throwing his hood over his head.

My muscles quivered, and suddenly I felt like I could run to Smarty's house in the woods and back. My lips were almost numb, and even after he was gone I felt this utter craving for him to be back in my arms so I could kiss him again. With shaky hands, I let myself inside his house and locked the door behind me, knowing he had his keys. I stumbled over to a chair at his counter and let myself sink into it indolently, and released a large sigh.

It would be a long night without Ze.

~~~

Well, it finally happened! Who else is happy? xD

Hope you all enjoyed! Have yourselves a frantastic week, and I'll see you all on Friday!

~Jay