Zachariah jumped and whipped around, startledly looking at me with his black eyes. Previously, he was sitting on the floor and peacefully examining the fake tree. Now, he was on his side. His robes slightly parted to reveal red and grey clothing underneath. He covered it up, as if I'd get him in trouble. I ignored the action, not thinking anything of it. I walked closer to him, pulling the doors shut and using magic to quiet it.
"Uh," Zachariah so smartly said, flushing red with humiliation. "What... what are you doing here?" I shrugged, sitting down on the floor in one graceful movement.
"I could ask you the same thing." I say, narrowing my eyes at him. Zach subtly flinched, looking to the side. He hid his hands in the sleeves, which were longer than they should be.
"You're not going to tell on me, right?" His voice jumped an octave.
"What? No." Rolling my eyes, I crossed my arms. "I'd be in trouble too." Zachariah's eyes widened, but stayed glued to the floor. We sat in silence for a few minutes. In those minutes, I closely examined Zachariah. We never paid much attention to each other in the past two years. Yes, we were roommates, but one was usually sleeping or not there to talk.
Zachariah's hair fell just below his jaw by now, where when we met, the length was right above his eyes. The roots of his hair were white, which faded into black at the bottom. More scars littered his face, a result from endless training. His coal-black eyes haven't changed, but over the two years, they have become more exhausted and tired, as if he were done with life.
It was like he was a whole new person. He might not even recognize himself in the mirror, if there are mirrors around here. Not even bathrooms have one. It's like they want us to forget ourselves.
"Funny, isn't it? We're roommates, and yet we barely know anything about each other." Zachariah said, chuckling at the ground. I exhaled, looking away. Partly my fault. I purposely stayed away, as I didn't want to deal with the others.
"Yes. I guess so." I state. Zach turned his whole body to me, looking me dead in the eye. At that moment, I didn't see a Watcher-in-Training, like what I see every day in class. Instead, I saw a broken eighteen/nineteen year old, lonely and longing to go home.
I'm a bad classmate/roommate. I don't even know his age-
"How do you do it?" Zach interrupted my thinking. I blinked at him and shook my head.
"Do what?"
"Everything. Magic skill, shown as earlier, speak Galactic like it's your first language... you know. How can you do everything so perfect? Every teacher favors you, it's so obvious." He ranted. "There here the rest of us are, struggling to conjure a shield, summon an object from the other side of the room, speak a single sentence in another language... it's not fair."
"Tell me Zachariah, what did you do before you were brought here?" I start, trying to not make the situation worse. There is a possibility magic could start being used.
"I was with my family. Well, part of it, anyway." He answered, not seeing where this was going.
"Did you ever go to school?"
"No, my parents didn't let me. My brother did, but not me." I hid my obvious surprise by looking away.
"Why isn't your brother here? Or is he and I just never paid attention." I added.
"No. If there are siblings with Watcher blood, one is chosen. They chose me." Zachariah said.
"Oh, that makes sense then. Anyway, my point is that I went to school before this. I have study habits from before. In that school, I also picked up on the topic easily, so..." I trailed off. Zach shrugged. He pulled his knees to his chest. After a few moments of sitting in silence, Zachariah sniffed quietly.
"I miss home, Xelqua. I've missed it for two years." He whimpered, lowering his head. After a moment's pause, I replied.
"Me too." I said. Zach's head snapped up to me.
"You do?"
"You really didn't think I was all for learning six consecutive years, did you? Hope not, because I did have friends at home." I snorted, absentmindedly playing with my hair.
"Oh." He quietly said. His eyes brightened. "Tell me about your time before this. We can learn about each other this way."
"I'm pretty sure we aren't supposed to talk about our pasts-"
"Is anyone here to listen?" Zach interrupted me.
"No." I replied, seeing where this is going.
"Then, go right ahead." He smiled. I huffed, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms.
"... Fine." I hesitantly said. Can I really trust him?
A voice in the back of my head suddenly said I could. A gut feeling supported it. You know what they say. Always trust your gut.
"First of all, I used to be a builder. Built these huge structures." I said, looking out the window. "Taller than the facility." Zachariah's eyes widened. The Facility was easily over a hundred blocks tall. "I had many friends, but I had one best friend. He... he left for his server a few days before I came here." I frowned, for some reason remembering that memory as if it were yesterday. Zachariah gave me an apologetic look.
"Did he... like, leave because of an argument or something?" I shook my head.
"No. He was offered a position on a server and I supported him. I miss him, for sure, but people move on eventually." I brushed the prickly fake grass, trying to remember what real grass felt like.
"Your story is much more interesting than mine." Zachariah said, laying on his back. I raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to continue. "I just lived with my family in the End. A little before I came here, my brother started a server with other people. Well, he didn't start it, but he was there from the beginning." He finished with a content smile on his face. He moved his hands under his head to cushion his head.
"Ah. Why didn't you join them?" I asked.
"I wasn't really liked, they didn't invite me. The way I dressed, sounded, looked... you can imagine why everyone liked my brother better than they liked me. Even my brother disliked me." Zachariah said, a sad smile forming on his face. He crossed his legs in his lying position.
"That's-" I started, but Zach held a hand up.
"It's my fault. I acted like a jealous twat, so they have a right to dislike me." He explained.
"Oh."
"You know, I've actually visited him a few times recently." He said. I sat there, stunned with obvious surprise.
"You what?" I exclaimed. Zach chuckled, nodding.
"I picked up a few tricks here and there from my time before this. Hacking through code is one of them." I took a few moments to digest that information. Was there really a way to get out of this place and go wherever? Could someone escape? Is it possible?
"So... you visited your brother who sounds like he hates you?" Zachariah finally sat up, clasping his hands in his lap.
"Yeah. We're still related, and occasionally do care about each other. Only occasionally, though." He answered. He started picking at a blade of grass that was near him.
"Are you still going to visit?"
"Not as much. They're starting to get suspicious. Quinn found me once falling into the hall from nowhere. He just thought I was teleporting or some weird magic like that. However, he did say to not do that anymore." Teleportation? That's a thing?
We sat in silence once more, not knowing what to say. It was getting late, about the time we should go to bed. The only sound in the room was the tick of the redstone clock. The tree and flowers were as still as ever, never moving.
I was about to get up when Zachariah asked a question that made me stop in my tracks.
"Before this mess, what was your name?" My hand subconsciously went to the ring that has been on my finger for the past two years.
"You can't say anything to anyone." I said, narrowing my eyes.
"I won't. You can trust me." He promised. I started to stand up, Zach following me. I turned to him, holding my hand out like it was the first time we were meeting. With a hesitant smile and a slight bow, I finally introduced myself.
"Hello, my name is Grian." I say. Warmth filled me, and for once in a long time, I finally felt something from home. A large grin stretched across my face as the name felt familiar to me. It wasn't a fake name that I had grown to dislike. It was me, my real personality. My real name.
"How about you?" I continue. Zachariah chuckled nervously.
"I went by a few names." He stated. I raised an amused eyebrow.
"Then the one you're comfortable with." I smiled encouragingly. He nodded. Reaching out, he clasped my hand with a firm grip, looking me straight in the eyes.
"The name's just EX for now, then." He said. "You'll probably know my full name by the end of these six years." He smiled, seeming happy. I can't blame him, I was also happy. He retracted his hand, starting for the door.
For the first time since I was ten years old, I think a new and tight friendship was created.