"My Scientific Best" | The Trio

.5

• "I need you pure, I need you clean,
Don't try to enlighten me.
Power to misconstrue,
What have they done to you."

*   *   *

 
   He was silent. Completely silent. They all were.
"...It's okay, really."
"Skeppy, please listen, Vincent fixed the-"
"Bad."
"Really Skeppy, you're going to be fine, I promise."
"DARRYL."
Darryl hesitated, choosing not to talk. Zak wasn't okay, he knew that for sure. Well, mentally.
"I'm fine."
"Okay." No you are not, you are most definitely not okay.
The tension in the room was horrible. Darryl could almost feel the fear radiating off of Zak, and the cold glare of Vincent next to him. Vincent. He messed up, Darryl messed up. They both messed this up pretty bad.
"I'm sorry-"
"It's fine." Zak interrupted him. He- He interrupted him? Now Darryl wasn't upset, well, he was, but more so at Vincent. Why was he being so... So angry all of a sudden? Now Zak is pissed at him, and... Is this even his fault?
Darryl took a step back.
   "Well- since- since the toxins are not gonna hurt me- since I'm alive and all- I'm just- I'm gonna go take a walk."
   "Okay.
   Vincent wasn't speaking to him.
   "Okay- uh. I'll be back later."

*   *   *

 
   As soon as the apartment door shut behind him, Darryl let out a long sigh. It was true, he was lying. He didn't know if Zak was gonna be fine at all. God, he's such a terrible friend. Vincent probably hates him. No, they both just need some time to cool off. Yeah. Who was right in this situation?
   Darryl stared down at the sidewalk as he walked alone with his thoughts. An actual zombie apocalypse? Heheh. Heh.
   He didn't realize he was shaking up until now.
   Darryl glanced around. Nobody was here. He was alone. This entire problem was very much real, and he needed to adapt to it. Darryl clenched his fists together. He was a leader, why was he acting like this? Why did he have to start that stupid argument. Zak and Vincent were his best friends. No, they were even more than that. They were... more. He cared about them so much, how could he just stomp out of a fight like that?
Darryl stopped in his tracks. The sun had just set, and he had to get home to clear some issues up. To see them. Zak and Vincent.
Just as Darryl turned sound however, something grabbed him.
"What the— hey- let go of me- LET GO OF M-" Before he could continue his sentence, Darryl noticed the decaying smell, the dry hands. He looked at the creature—
"Oh my GOODNESS—"
Suddenly, the grip that the corpse had on Darryl was ripped away, causing him to fall back in surprise. He hit the pavement, bruising slightly.

"STAY. THE HELL AWAY. FROM. MY. FRIEND."

A knife was plunged several times into the chest of the zombie, from what Darryl could see. Zak rushed over, helping Darryl up. As he glanced once more over at the now, double-dead stranger, he saw...

"Vincent...?"

Vincent ripped the knife out of the body once again, before getting up. He had tackled the zombie to the ground after he had ripped it away from Darryl. Vincent... Vincent saved his life. He turned around, facing the two, breathing heavily.
"What are you doing here?"
Vincent adverted his gaze. "I- I... I mean we got nervous when you didn't come home, so we went out looking for y-"
Suddenly, Vincent felt somebody embrace him in a tight hug.
"Thank you." Darryl mumbled quietly. Vincent paused, processing what was happening. Darryl was... Hugging him? He then wrapped his arms back around Darryl, hugging him back. This felt... Nice. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have fought with you like that, I shouldn't have just left..." He squeezed Vincent tighter. Darryl felt incredibly guilty, trying not to give too much away however.
"It's also my fault, I shouldn't have yelled, I shouldn't have called you a liar. You almost- you almost got really hurt because of me, you almost- you could've-" Darryl pulled away, looking directly into Vincent's eyes.
"I'm okay though Vincent. You saved— me. We both made some pretty dumb mistakes, but I forgive you, Vincent. And I'm sorry too."
Vincent nodded. "I forgive you. You guys mean- a lot. To me." Before Vincent could then return to Zak, Darryl leaned in quickly, pecking Vincent on the cheek, then walking back to Zak.
"Me too. I love you guys." Zak added.
"Now let's head back home to rest! We will probably— have a... have a very strange week ahead of us, so best to get some sleep!" Darryl stuttered. Zak smiled, nodding, as Darryl grabbed his hand.
"Y-Yeah—" Vincent mumbled, following close behind. He lifted his hand to feel his own cheek, a bit flustered. This was going to be a long week indeed, and tomorrow was already Wednesday...