The One That Understands Me | A Zanvis FF [COMPLETE]

Chapter XXII - The Revisit (Pt.1)

~Zane's PoV~

I sat at my desk, headphones on full blast while I thought of new things to do or add to the maid cafe. Although Aphmau still owned the business itself, Kawaii~Chan and I were the ones who would really kept updating it and improving the cafe whenever we could. KC doesn't really look like it, but when she puts her mind to it, she can be a pretty innovative business partner. She comes up with some rather strange ideas, but good nonetheless. She is there most of the meetings we have, and is really determined to prove that she's not just some stereotypical stupid meif'wa. And she's also very generous, making sure everyone is included and has enough. Like she always tells me, "have to make a lot of sweets to make sure everyone gets one and no one feels left out!". Of course we do, it's a restaurant. Overall, though, she's always been the person to want to include everyone and be able to prove herself. Sometimes it's weird, seeing this side of her. I'd ask her some night after work, and her face would fill with this sort of mystified look. Then she would just brush it off.
Another strange thing about that pink fluff ball with cat ears.
I take the end of my pencil and chew on it subconsciously. I do this, time to time when I want to think. It helps me, I suppose, in a way. I don't know why I have the pencil, though. I'm typing out all my notes on my laptop.
Then, as if on cue, the music blasting into my ears seems to be more noticeable, not just some string of notes in the background. There comes a part where I love and know by heart, so I can't help but flail my arms in an idiotic manner while whirring in place on my spinning chair. I bring my pencil to the edge of the desk and hit the desk, causing a small tap to sound. I continue tip-tappity-tapping to the beat of the song, feeling the energy flow smoothly inside me.
Maybe that's why I had the pencil.
The song starts to fade out, and my moment of excitement is over.
This is why I love music so much.
I push my chair back in place so that I'm facing the screen of my laptop. I stare at it, as if challenging someone to a game of 'intense staring'. I give up, obviously, as I am not going anywhere with that. Out of boredom I prop myself up on one elbow, lazily glancing outside at the smudged gray gloominess. It's been raining since I woke up.
Somehow, it apparently wasn't cold enough for those stinging raindrops to become frail shards of glittering snow, but I'm not complaining. It's difficult if you're not enough.
A faint knock at my door snaps me out of my content staring.
"Baby brother?" I hear Garroth peer in through the crevice in the door, as he was pushing the it open slowly.
"You can come in," I say in a gruff tone due to him basically already letting himself in.
"I just got off the phone with mummy, and she wanted to tell us to meet her at the old house we used to live in. She said it wasn't being used anymore and we could go see it." He leaned up against the doorframe, informing me about what my mother wants to do.
"And I have to go why, exactly?" I don't see why I'd want to take time out of my day - and take on the hassle of getting dressed - just to visit some old home.
"Zane, c'mon. Mummy thinks it'll be fun! She wants us to go down memory lane, apparently. We spent all of our childhood there, and some parts of our adolescence."
"Yes, I know, but what good will it do us to go?" Honestly, I was just trying to make a way out of having to change out of my comfortable pajamas.
"Good for us to see where we grew up, remember, memories, you know, all that. Mummy will also be happy that we're all there!" He jumped up and down a bit, most likely already creating a scene in his head how it'll go. "Let's go, Zane, I'll give you a bit."
He leaves, going back to watch whatever he had on the TV downstairs, leaving me to get ready. I groan and bring my head down to my desk. I was tempted to lightly bang my head against the painted wood out of agitation, but I restrained myself. Causing some damage to my forehead isn't going to drag me out of this situation. Or maybe, knowing Garroth, it could.
I put minimal effort into the outfit I wear - a boring, plain black long-sleeved shirt, dark blue pants, some dark shoes, and one of my black-and-different-shades-of-gray hoodies. Today's lucky hoodie was a simple dull gray one with three thin lines going horizontal across the middle. I pick a mask at random; it'll probably match anyways, due to the fact most of my clothes are black or dark colors. Then, I equip two brushes: one for my hair and one for my teeth. My hair was now no longer a scraggly mess of untamed cowlicks and random hairs, but rather in a neat style.
I find my way down the stairs to meet Garroth. I only got ready because I knew he wasn't going to let up, only keep annoying me.
"Hello, dear brother." I say flatly. You can practically feel how unexcited I was. We were going to a home that's most likely breaking down at this very moment. It's a miracle how another family survived after we moved out.
"Okay, let's go you grouch. See ya Laurance!" He waved to the caramel-haired freak and we walked into the cold. Sharp air hit my face and hands, which were exposed. It was still cold enough to see your own breath puff out in front of you, although the breath itself was only mildly warm. The cold seeped in through my hoodie, threatening to shake my insides slightly. While we walked to the car, snow crunching beneath us, I could feel my teeth chattering a bit. My mid section had small shivers flowing about it, and I tried drawing in smaller breaths to avoid the cold air hitting my throat so harshly.
We got into the car, escaping the bitter coldness of the outside world. As an instinct, I brought my hands together and rubbed them, trying to create warmth. Garroth was also pretty chilled, as far as I could see. His hands were doing the same motion as me, and he was trying to nestle his head in between his shoulders. He soon grabbed the keys and started the car, letting it warm up a bit. Then, we were off, mostly in silence.
Vylad was going to meet us there. Mother wanted all of us present. I assumed our father wouldn't be there, he could be busy. And, for once, I was glad that there was work that needed to be done. And I was glad he had to do it.
The old home was a house all of us lived in at the time. We later moved to one of the houses our parents owned. Of course, this didn't change the high school we would attend. Phoenix Drop High would still be our destination at seven o'clock in the morning. The old home was, well, old. It's old boards would sometimes creak at night, and I'd get scared, so I'd have a reason to go to mom's room and be comforted. I liked sleeping with her because I felt safe by her side, obviously. Soon, I grew out of the habit of venturing to the safety of the master bedroom. I won't lie, I've had pretty accomplishing moment at that house, but I've definitely had some horrible ones. I was a teenager, after all.
I'm going back to the old, creaky house. Maybe I'll remember some great memories. But then again, there's always the possibility of the bad ones coming back to haunt me. And that's what I'm most afraid about.

Word count: 1387
I know this is basically a filler, but I think a good book sometimes needs them (emphasis on sometimes).
Next chapter is going to contribute more to character development (or back story) more than plot.
Live, Love, Lapis, how's your day been? I hope lovely. Bye my cute little Gems~!