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Chapter Text

Zacharie chose to don his cat mask, he wore it whenever he hoped to make at least one friend. He never did make many friends, even when he was back in France. He quickly picked anything that was out of the ordinary out of his hair, this was his first day at an American school. Mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness coursed through his body, packing his bag with a notepad and a few pencils, as well as some extra string just in case, like he always did. There was never a time when he didn't find drawing entertaining, and he never knew when the string keeping his mask secure would snap. He huffed, exiting his enclosure, and began walking to the bus.

He had repeated the directions in his head numerous times the night before, spending hours trying to remember so that he would not forget the next morning. He went over them once more as he walked, hoping that he wouldn't get lost. He breathed a sigh of relief as he turned the next corner, a cluster of other teens were waiting there as well. The most striking one was an extremely tall male with a baseball cap atop his head, a bag on one shoulder and a bat leaning against the other. He was standing alone, unlike the other students, perhaps he was a loner just like himself? He pulled up beside the much taller teen, swallowing, and opened his mouth to speak.

"Um, bonjour..." He didn't seem to hear, so the masked teen tried again, "Bonjour, monsieur."

This time he turned towards him. "What was that?"

Zacharie had no idea what the taller male had said, he had been led to believe it was a French speaking school, due to the name and the dialect of the website he had found when borrowing Pablo's computer.

He swallowed again, anxiety crawling up him like a huge, hairy tarantula, trying his best to recall the small amount of English he knew. "Um.. H-hello..."

"Hi," the other replied, his voice lacking any emotion whatsoever.

Names, names were the first step to a friendship. "M-my name is Zacharie."

"Batter," he responded in the same monotone voice as before. It unnerved him really.

"Do you speak French?"

"A little," was the reply.

"Does anyone?"

Batter just shrugged in response. Damn, it seemed he would have to be tutored by Pablo and Valerie.

"Merci... er, th-thank you, monsieur Batter," Zacharie told him, though he had been no real help.

When the bus came, Zacharie had been dismayed that he had not been able to find a seat that he could have all to himself, it seemed that this was one of the final stops on the route. So he simply sat next to the teen he had met at the stop, unacknowledged.

"What do you think you're doing, sitting next to him?"

A voice snapped him from his daydreaming, "Quoi?" he replied automatically.

"Get the fuck out of that seat, before he beats you to a bloody pulp with his bat, freak."
Zacharie had no idea what they were saying, though he wished he did, so he could come up with some sort of retort. Instead, he sat there in silence.
Luckily, Batter stood up for him, hissing out a reply. The girl simply scoffed and moved somewhere near the front of the bus.
He mumbled out a quick "Merci" before pulling his legs up to his chest, resting his chin on his knees.

The silence between them remained the rest of the bus ride, the voices of the other teens were fairly quiet as it was still morning.

Chapter Text

When Batter entered the school, he soon found the masked boy tailing behind him. He found it strange that he did not intimidate him due to his height and his build, but then again, anyone who covers their face with a mask must have been strange. He simply ignored him, walking past the schedule table, as he had already received his.

"Emploi du temps?" a voice sounded behind him.

Batter turned, once again, he had almost forgotten he was being followed. "What?"

Zacharie fumbled with his hands for a moment, then spoke again, "Er, schedule?"

He turned and pointed at the tables with signs that said "A-M" and "N-Z" on them, referring to the student's last name.

"Ah, merci," the black haired boy nodded, turning and skipping over to the "A-M" table.

Batter was partially glad to be rid of the small boy, beginning to walk to the school lockers to put his bat away. However, it was not long before the sweater-clad male pulled up beside him, huffing slightly. "Je suis de retour!" he exclaimed in a triumphant tone.

Batter just sighed, making his way over to the locker room and putting his bat in the coach's office as they had not been assigned lockers yet.
Emerging from the room, he saw the masked boy waiting for him. "Miaou!"
He sighed once again, making his way to the language hall. He found that he was still being followed, couldn't he walk on his own?

When he made it to the language hall, he finally lost his composure. "Just what the hell is your problem?"

The masked boy just tilted his head, "Quoi?"

Batter hissed, "Just leave me alone, Z-er..." Fuck, what was his name? "Za-"

"Zacharie."

This time it was the blond that was confused, "Yes, Zacha-"

"Au revior, monsieur Batter." And without another word, he was gone.

Batter stood there for a moment, going over what had happened. Then he decided it was unimportant, and went to his class.

Oddly enough, his first period happened to be French. He never really payed any attention in these classes, and now he vaguely wished he had. Ironically, all he did when the teacher handed him his paper was doodle. He was never all that good at drawing, but he tended to do a bit of doodling when bored. His drawings started out as his usual ones, depictions of him killing ghosts with his bat, three glowing onion rings floating behind him. Sometimes he was even fighting a large bird, or smiling with a beautiful eyeless woman. As the hour dragged on, however, he realized he had begun drawing images of Zacharie, a few of them of him wearing masks he had never even seen before.

He sighed, crumpling up the paper and heading over to the corner for a new one.

"Was that paper not enough for you, mister Batler?" the French teacher, Mr. von Gacy, inquired.

Batter hissed under his breath, did everyone have to get on his nerves today? He simply ignored him, grabbing the piece of paper and sitting back in his seat. This time he chose to actually listen to what the teacher was saying, all he had to do was write down his name, and all numbers from zero to thirty in french, which was simple enough, it had been bored into his brain after two years of taking the same class. He was also directed to write down something he wished to learn this year. Normally he would just write something about wanting to get out of the class, but now that he knew someone who actually spoke French, who also did not know much English, he supposed he would at least try to pay attention. Maybe he could learn how to say "Fuck off" and actually get the boy to do so. He minced his thoughts, however, to avoid a trip to the principle's office or something to that effect, instead refining it to "To help communicate with certain people." Satisfied with what he had produced, he turned it in, going back to his doodling and daydreaming.

Chapter Text

Zacharie just sat there in his chair as Ms. Porter, the instructor who would be attempting to teach him how to speak English, wrote her name on the board. Turns out he was completely wrong to think that this was a French speaking school, which dug him into a deep pit, as the only other language besides French that he was even remotely fluent in was Spanish. Really there wasn't a huge difference between French and Spanish, several of the words leeched off of each other. English, though it did still use some of the words that French did, was far more complicated than either of the languages. It had rules just like any other language, but it constantly broke those rules, making it almost impossibly difficult.

The instructor began explaining the colours and numbers, which Zacharie already knew, and he wondered how this would help him with anything, unless shouting zeros and ones or the word "blue" could scare bullies away, which he highly doubted.

A loud ringing interrupted a detailed drawing of bleeding wings, Zacharie quickly closed his sketchbook, maneuvering out of the class room. He quickly popped his head into the French classroom, "Monsieur Batter?"

Batter looked up, grimacing and joining his masked companion, ignoring the stares that bore into his back and the snickers that rang in his ears.
Once out of earshot, Batter dropped his voice to a low growl, "What?"

Zacharie pulled his schedule out, pointing at his second hour. Of course, they had the same fucking class. In fact, it seemed that almost all of their classes matched.

He sighed, leading him to the English classroom. His desk was placed between an empty one and a son of the history teacher. All of her children had the same wheezy voice and the same personality, which was bashful to no end. On the other side sat two other males with pale hair and slanted eyes who were speaking in whispers to each other. Zacharie seemed delighted to sit between him and the two twins.

"Bonjour, mes amis!" the masked boy practically shouted.

The closer male turned, "Ah, bonjour Zacharie.Ça va?"

"Très bien, et toi?"

"Comme ci comme ça, merci."

Batter had no idea what the two were saying, so he interjected with a simple "Um,"

The still nameless boy looked up, "Ah, hello my fellow classmate. I'm guessing you helped Zacharie reach this lieu?"

At least someone speaks English around here, the athlete thought to himself. He nodded, albeit hesitantly.

The boy's strikingly yellow eyes narrowed, an unsettling grin spreading across his face. "Then I suppose it would be most ideal to introduce my self. I am Pablo, though most call me Judge, and I would prefer you do so as well."

"Batter," he replied, it was what most called him, and he also preferred his nickname over his true name.

Judge pointed to the boy behind him, "And this is my dear brother Valerie." As he was addressed, the newly named Valerie ducked his head, his eyes darting between Batter, and back to the floor when he thought he wasn't looking. "Please try to be kind to him, I dread to think of what may happen to you if you choose otherwise." The threat, though it seemed like an idle one, there was no doubt that he would take drastic action if his brother were involved.

Studying the two males closer, he saw that their messy hair quirked up in two places, the shape almost resembling the ears of a cat. They seemed to even act catish, and their eyes resembled those of felines as well.

The bell rang, and the teacher walked in.

Now, when trying to define 'grotesque,' this teacher would likely come to mind. His face was anything but pretty, he had a small, flat nose, and abnormally large teeth that looked as if they hadn't been brushed in years. His eyes were sunken in, enough that it was almost hard to see them, and his ears were incredibly small in comparison to the rest of his misshapen bald head.

He wrote his named on the board, Mr. Dedan, then he roared it out to the classroom.

"Alright, my name is Mr. Dedan, and you would do well to address me as such! Welcome to my English class," he shouted, bits of spittle flying from his super-sized mouth. His voice was like nails on chalkboard, amplified enough to grate on anyone within a ten-meter radius' ears, and about as deep as the the salt water gallows that the squids of the deep spend their time in.

 "Now, I know that it is the first day, and you expect everyone to go easy on you. But your expectations are vastly incorrect!" he began, starting to pace at the front of the room, "I'm afraid that this is a no-nonsense class, you will work, work, work, until the end of the hour. I expect no giggling to your peers, or paper airplanes flying around the room, or any phones going off, or any other bullshit that you kids pull these days. I expect hard-working individuals every minute of this class. Now, read the first section of your textbook, and answer the questions at the end. You may get up to grab paper if need be, but I expect a notebook or binder to be present by the end of the week. I will pass out the syllabus when class ends. Now get to work!" he ranted, then retreated behind his desk, opening up his laptop. It seemed that though the class was no-nonsense, all the teacher cared to do was get on Facebook and talk to his peers.

Batter, of course, refused to do the work, instead he sat back and allowed his mind to wander. However, it seemed that it wanted to wander right to the desk next to him, to his slight annoyance.

Zacharie was staring at his desk, or at least it seemed like he was, it was hard to tell with the mask. Batter wondered why, as it seemed he intended to do the work, yet he was just sitting there. Then it hit him, hard enough that he had to stop himself from literally smacking himself in the face, for being so stupid. He had forgotten that the boy did not know a lick of English, and especially with the teacher speaking so fast it must have been hard even if he did understand it. He was still for a moment, before turning to Judge and asking to translate.

The cat-like boy complied and whispered the translation back to him, or at least as much as he could before Dedan noticed and called them out for it.

"Just what do you two think you're doing?"

Judge immediately motioned for Zacharie to silence himself, looking toward the teacher. "I was simply translating what you said to my friend."

"Translating? Is he so stupid that he needs it to be whittled down to simpler words and short phrases?" Dedan demanded, eliciting a few snickers from the surrounding classmates.

"Sorry, but you are sorely mistaken, he's actually quite intelligent, however, the poor boy doesn't understand much English, so I had to translate it into French for him."

It seemed Mr. Dedan could not argue with that. "Alright, fine, but if I catch you speaking to anyone else you will be sent down to the principal."

Judge nodded, these were acceptable terms. "I understand, you will not see me speaking to anyone else in this class."

The teacher's shoulders relaxed as he returned his attention back to his computer screen. But, alas, it seemed he was not finished, and he glanced over at Zacharie once more. "And take that mask off."

Zacharie, who had been looking at, or at least towards the instructor, tilted his head slightly, not sure of what he had said, though he knew it was addressed to him by following his gaze.

Dedan, seeming to remember the boy's literary issue, looked at Judge. "Tell him to take his mask off, it's damn distracting to the other students, and I can't tell if he's screwing off or not."

Judge sighed, reluctantly translating his request, eliciting a quick shake of the head.

"Non."

"What did you just say?" Dedan growled, he understood that, as 'non' and 'no' were pronounced the same way.

"Non, je ne."

Dedan turned his glare onto Judge, his eyes telling him to translate.

Judge sighed again, he would have preferred not to get into this. "I'm afraid that he refuses. It won't be an easy task getting him to remove it, as I am one of his closest friends and even I cannot force it from him."

Dedan grumbled, "Then tear it off or risk suspension!"

Judge knew this would be a terrible idea, he refused to hurt his friend, and there must be a reason for him to wear the mask. "Then it looks like suspension is my destiny. I won't injure his pride or any of his other feelings, his secrets are his alone to keep, and if he wishes to shadow his face then so be it. I will not stop him from doing what he chooses."

Dedan growled, then gave up, "Fine. Just don't fuck around in my class." Judge translated this to Zacharie, then began translating the chapter they were meant to be reading, and afterwards translating the questions. He translated Zacharie's answers and wrote them onto the paper, and then the pair went back to silence. Batter, who had been watching the whole ordeal, had new-found respect for the cat-like boy, he knew no one who could put up with that. He also felt kind of bad for Zacharie, but then again, he couldn't understand any of it, so it was probably fine. Or maybe that made it worse. He didn't really know, all he could think was Damn.

Chapter Text

Zacharie hated, no, loathed, absolutely despised his situation. When kids made fun of him, it was bad, when teachers did it, it was a thousand times worse. And to make matters even more despicable, he couldn't even understand what they were saying, though he could guess as to what it was, he'd been going through similar predicaments back in France since he was ten. And he'd been pretty sure he heard the words "idiot" or "freak" pass their lips a few times, behind the snickers that resonated throughout the room, at least that much he'd understood. He wouldn't be as bothered if he could come up with one of his witty comebacks he was so good at, but that wouldn't work here, he'd just get a bunch of stares boring through his mask, they wouldn't have understood a word he'd said.

Their laughter still burned in his ears, even as the bell rang, dismissing them all. He was grateful for this, of course, anything to be rid of the assholes seated so close to him that he could feel their breath hot on his neck, and made him want to vomit with the sickening words and claustrophobia.

He sighed, poking Pablo for directions to his next class, which was History with Ms. Elsen. Unfortunately, it seemed that he did not share this class with Batter or Judge, but Valerie would be there, so it wasn't all bad. He followed the bashful boy to the class, seating himself next to him. He paid little to no attention to Ms. Elsen's lecture, there would have been no point anyway, he wouldn't have understood a word she had said. He simply doodled as she spoke, paper angels and string puppets dancing in his mind.

It wasn't long before lunch rolled around, but he skipped out on that, there was no way he was going to remove his mask in front of other people, though the growl in his stomach was quite bothersome. Instead, he talked to Principal Ghost, setting up the plans for his shop. When they had finished, Zacharie caught a glimpse of none other than the Batter himself, in all his glory. He grinned a bit beneath his mask, heading down the stairs and to the baseball field, watching him practice his magnificent swing, so perfect that he could just imagine a game taking place, him hitting the ball into the air, getting a full home run. He could imagine cheering him on as his feet landed on home plate, walking over and congratulating him, hugging him, lifting up his mask and-

Zacharie's face turned so red that it burned beneath his mask, and nothing. Absolutely nothing.

He sighed, picking his bag, and heading back to the school before he could be noticed by the one who plagued his mind, or by anyone else.

Chapter Text

Batter began heading home, twirling his bat idly in his hands. Home was not a favorable place, with his pathetic family situation, but staying in his room and roaming around on the internet usually sated his need for actual socialization. Today, however, he was particularly parched. He swung open the door and closed it behind him. As expected, his mother was sitting on the couch covered in vodka and champagne watching the television, whilst his father was still no where to be seen. He snuck upstairs with no issue and booted up his computer, turning on Skype. A grin dancing across his lips as the notification telling him that his previous partner was online. He didn't hesitate to call her up on video, smiling when she answered.

"Hey Vader! Long time no see! How are you doing?" he asked excitedly, his crooked smile ever present on his face.

Vader smiled back, with her perfect teeth and her ever so gently cascading curls, her olive skin, her everything. "Hey Micheal! Sorry for not contacting you sooner, it's been really busy around here! How are you?"

"It's been great! Well, it's been a little lonely but other than that everything's fine. So, uh, are you planning on visiting anytime soon?"

"Well, nothing's set in stone yet, but we may be moving back by next summer!"

Batter's face lit up like a firework, "Really? I can't wait to see you again."

"Yep! Though I will admit, I'll miss living here. The view is beautiful." She tilted her screen so that he could see the golden skyscraper lighting up the night sky.

"Is that the Eiffel Tower?" he gasped, staring at it in awe.

"Yep! I've slept with that over my head for what, two years now? It's really pretty."

He nodded in response. It wasn't dark where he was currently but he was aware that she was six hours ahead, so the visage of the night didn't surprise him that much.

"Oh, sorry, but I have to go. Dad wants me in bed by 10. I guess it's only four where you are. Well, we can try to talk again on the week end, right?" Vader smiled apologetically.

He nodded, "See you on Friday!"

And with that Vader Eloha closed her laptop and gazed upon the spoils she and her lover had reaped.

Chapter Text

Three days.

Three days.

It was three days ago, that the strange masked boy arrived at the school, in his odd, fractured language.

Three days ago, that he had clung to the illustrious Batter, the exquisitely skilled baseball player.

And three days past, that his face burned with the colour of a thousand stars, being born and dying, becoming black holes and supernovas, with the mere thought of none other than the Batter himself.

And today the school was graced, was blessed with the visage of a black haired boy in a white sweater and a toad mask, who strolled right over to the aforementioned baseball player.

"Ahaha, why hello, monsieur Batter. It's been days since we last spoke, hasn't it?" Zacharie interjected into the incredibly important conversation between a fork and his knee.

"The fuck do you want, and what is up with the new mask?" Batter inquired, annoyed, enough that he didn't even recognize the abnormality of his speech.

"Well, I'm a merchant now. I couldn't exactly continue being un chat, now could I?" the toad mask bobbed as he chuckled.

"A merchant?" God, what the fuck did he think this was?

"Yes, and I believe that cup of water you just got from the drinking fountain is about twenty cents."

"What, like I'm actually going to pay for that."

And with lightening quick reflexes Zacharie snatched up the bat that was leaning against the desk.

"I don't take stealing lightly."

The tension in the room was rising quickly, then just as soon it plummeted from the top of Mount Everest as the newly-named merchant put the bat back down, "Of course, I'm not going to injure one of my favorite customers, but my revenge will be enacted soon enough. Bad things happen to thieves."

And with that, the merchant retreated to his desk, which, oh wait, was right next to Batter's. It was not a moment too soon that Dedan began his agonizing lecture, and Judge began translating little snippets. Unbeknownst to him, Zacharie was silently rejoicing that he hadn't forgotten the line and that he had managed to keep his cool.

The rest of the hour went painfully slow. Batter figured that his day would get better once he reached his PE class. It was his favorite class, as he was an athlete, staying in shape was important. However, he was greeted by non other than the masked terror himself, sitting in the bleachers. His hidden eyes were burning into his back, he knew he was watching every move, every stride, every swing of the arms he made.

If Batter had noticed him, then he wasn't showing it. His gym teacher, who also happened to be the coach of the team, was Coach Enoch, who somehow manages to clear the field in a matter of seconds despite the immense amount of weight his body carried. Since they had this correlation, when the class didn't have something else to be doing he was permitted to practice both his swing and his pitch. Oliver, who was nicknamed Ollie, was this short ginger freshman who often helped Batter practice by pitching, in fact he seemed to completely idolize him. Today, Batter seemed a little less focused as he narrowly missed hitting the boy square in the face more than once, and he even smashed one of the balls by accident. He eventually retreated to the bleachers, grabbing a cup of water to drench himself with.

"Excuse me, but you do have to pay for that."

The masked merchant's grating voice broke his short-lived sense of security as he crushed the cup. "How much do you want."

"Hm, twenty-five cents about."

Batter thrust the money at him angrily and stalked off, leaving heated footsteps in his wake.

Chapter Text

Zacharie was practically a grinning ball of sunshine and roses after his first successful transaction. During lunch he quickly went to the library to speak to Pablo about more lessons in English, knowing full well that the class he was in wouldn't get him anywhere near where he needed to be in his knowledge of the language even by the end of the semester. 

"Pablo! Pablo, mon ami, devine quoi?"  Zacharie waved to his friend as he entered the library.

'Pablo! Pablo, guess what?'

"Le nom est le juge, mon cher compagnon. Que suis-je censé deviner ou qu'est ce que je suis censé deviner"  Pablo spoke.

'The name is Judge, my dear companion. Now, what is this thing you would have me guess?'

"Oui, bien sûr. Je viens de terminer ma première vraie transaction! Et je n'ai même pas bégayer une fois!" Zacharie replied as he pulled out a seat across from his friend, his excitement billowing off of him.

' Right, of course. I completed my first proper transaction! And I didn't even stutter!'

Judge raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Avec qui, si je peux me permettre?"

'Oh? Who with, if I may ask?'

"Le Batteur," he answered, swearing that he could hear the Judge's smirk if he couldn't see it.

The Judge's ever present grin widened, "Et comment avez-vous acquérir son coin? Pour autant que je sache, tu n'as pas de troisième période avec lui, mais avec mon cher frère Valerie."

' And how did you acquire his coin? As far as I'm aware you don't have third period with him, but with my dear brother Valerie.'

The merchant sighed slightly, "J'ai peut-être sécher l'histoire pour le rencontrer... ce n'est pas comme si je pouvais comprendre le cours de toute façon" 

'I may have skipped history to meet him... It's not like I could understand the lecture anyway.'

The smirk on the Judge's face grew wider, as he was about to speak, but he was cut off by the arrival of his brother.

"Ah, Valerie, bienvenue."

 "Oh, bonjour Zacharie et mon frère,"  Valerie responded sheepishly.

'Oh, hello Zacharie and my brother.'

"J'ai acquis de bonnes nouvelles. Notre Zacharie a terminé son premier succès de l'opération,"  Judge informed his brother of the recent tidings.

'I have acquired a bit of good news. Our Zacharie has completed his first successful transaction.'

Valerie grinned, "Wow, bon travail, Zacharie!"

The merchant gave a slight chuckle, "Merci."

Valerie spoke again, "Alors, devrions-nous vous donner une autre session de tutorat?"

'So, should we give you another tutoring session?'

Zacharie smiled beneath his mask, "Yes, please!"

A bit of laughter resonated throughout the library before the trio got to work.

Chapter Text

Batter was more than a little pissed, he had a pop quiz in History that he wasn't at all prepared for, due to the nonexistent notice, and he knew full well that he did poorly on it. He was hoping to have a drink of water and a bathroom break before heading to practice, but a certain ass clad in masks and sweaters seemed to have other plans. 

"How many times must I tell you that you must pay for that, mon ami? Nothing is ever free in this world," he gave a slight chuckle, "Come on now, pay up."

Batter hissed and shoved the merchant away, abandoning the drinking fountain and heading off to the men's room, seething with anger. Upon arrival he slammed his fist into the side of a stall, groaning angrily. He slid down to the floor, trying to calm himself down. He glanced over at the graffiti on the side of the stall. Someone had actually had the time to do a legitimate work of art on the metal stall, though he wasn't really paying attention to that. His attention instead drifted to the words scrawled beneath it.

'Zacharie is a disgusting piece of shit who doesnt no the difference between write and right'

Batter smirked, "You've got that right." Going to read the responses.

'He's a freak and a slut, I mean have you ever seen him eating? I bet he uses lunch hour guzzling cocks for money.'

'probs. and what the hell is even under those creepy masks of his, dafuq does he have to hide'

'i heard his daddy roughed him up real good, all scarred up and shit. some dark knight shit up in this bitch'

'I heard that he wanted to kill himself so bad that he covered his face in these ugly ass cuts trying to lose enough blood to die. I hope the freak succeeds next time. If we're lucky the dumbass will down a bucket of antifreeze and a packet of nails along with it.'

'wow, you mean he's too dumb to even kill himself properly? here's hoping that when he dies we can rob his corpse and get all our money back'

Batter grinned, "We can only hope that masked freak leaves and never returns."

A voice sounded from behind him, "Oh? And who exactly is 'we'?"

Batter turned, expecting the masked terror himself, but instead it was just Valerie. "Oh, er, hey Valerie.."

Valerie's face adopted an irritated expression, as he quirked up an eyebrow, "Valerie? I'm afraid not, Valerie is the name of that vermin. No, I am Japhet."

Batter's face twisted in confusion, "I'm pretty sure that for the past two weeks your name has been Valerie. What's you're deal right now?"
Valerie looked angry now, "I said my name is Japhet. You'd do well to call me as such."

Batter simply shrugged, "Alright then, Japhet, what do you want? Why are you here?"

Valerie, or rather Japhet, grew a smirk, "This is a bathroom isn't it?" And without another word, Japhet entered one of the stalls.

Realizing what he himself had come here to do, he did the same. 

Once both had left the stalls, Japhet spoke up again, "Though, I do share your loathing for the merchant. My counterpart and his brother may see him as a close friend, perhaps even a sibling, I on the other hand despise him." 

"Oh trust me you're not the only one, it seems half of the people who use this bathroom hate him," Batter responded.

"Not only does he rob us of our coin, he has the audacity to shove it in our face too! He gets tutored by his friends everyday, in my library!" Japhet complained.

"So he steals your space too? He even skips History to watch me in gym class! Seriously, he's a creep and and freak!" Batter agreed, knowing full well that the merchant had stalked him and apparently other students as well.

"You know what? We'll give him a little warning and if he continues to be a nuisance, we'll strike back." A mischevious grin had spread over Japhet's face, "Thoughts?"

Batter shared his grin, "Sounds like a plan. He has until the next big game, in the next few months, to get his shit together."

"Till the next game then!" 

And the pair walked out, one to the great library, and one to the baseball field, practicing their schemes in their heads.

Chapter Text

It was noon, Tuesday, September 23rd, when the warning came.
Zacharie had been reorganizing the school store, which Mr. Ghost had given him full reign of after hearing his reasoning. As he began to sweep the floors, he found a note on the ground.
"You have until the event of the next big game to clean up your act. Your thievery of money for something as simple as a drink is inhumane. If you do not comply within the time allotted, you will be faced with severe punishment. If you do not show up, every single one of the students here will know your secrets."

Normally, little notes like this wouldn't have bothered him. But, this one, this one was different. It was written in his native tongue, meaning whoever wrote this must either know him personally or have actually taken the time to find this information out. He sat down, his mind contemplating who exactly they could be, 'Pablo? Valerie? Sucre? Or...' He wouldn't allow himself to formulate the final answer, he'd spent far too long running from that man to allow him to plague his thoughts with his tainted words and hellish mannerisms again. Instead, he forced himself to ignore it, continuing to clean the shop. 

He jolted when some students had knocked on the store's counter, turning quickly to greet them.

"Ah, buenos dias, dear friends. What can I do you for?"

Ollie and a few of his friends were chatting next to the store. A red-headed girl named Reina, who had a firey temper, a flirty demeanor, and a scantily clad musclular body was at the counter. She, along with Ollie, Batter, Vinny, Gilles, Tiburce, Magnolia, Charlie, and a few others were all on the baseball team. As always, at her side was a large teen named Daniel. He didn't talk much, or he did but it wasn't very easy to understand what he said. He was in quite a few Special Education classes, and had trouble with most subjects. Reina was always by his side when she could be, however, so he ended up getting through a lot of loops because of her.

"Hey, how much for five packs of fruit snacks? Me and my friends are wanting a lot," she asked, ruffling Daniel's pale hair. 

"That would be $2.50, mon amie," Zacharie answered, waving at the pair.

Reina leafed out the money from her wallet, and placed it on the counter, taking the snacks once they were held out. "By the way, Micheal's been talking about you an awful lot lately," she said, as she had been wanting to address this for a while.

Zacharie leaned over the counter, his interest piqued, "Oh has he now? Tell me, what has our dear Batter been saying about everyone's favorite merchant, hm?"

Reina snorted a little, "Sadly, nothing good. The whole school has pretty much been buzzing about you, but no one has really had anything good to say to you.I wouldn't take head of any of it if I were you, the school's full of assholes."

Zacharie wasn't too surprised, most people at his old school had done the same. "It's probably better if I don't ask, but if I may, what have they been saying about me?"

Reina sighed, "Most of it is just the classic shitty insults on the same par as a five year old. There's a lot of people saying far worse though. I've even heard teachers talking shit. A few kids just want you to down a bottle of bleach so they can rob your corpse," she said, her face twisting in disgust, "some have even made threats. Again, I doubt any of the fuckers are for real, but you should probably watch your back anyway. People ain't never gonna accept you if you ain't what they perceive as 'the norm.' 'S what Rudolph taught kids, and it's so real it hurts."

Zacharie listened intently to what she was saying. He knew that other students would not take all too kindly to him, but he had no idea of the severity of their hatred. The fact that people were already saying that he should kill himself, already threatening to do it themselves, bothered him immensely. Before he had a chance to reply, however, Reina spoke again.

"I wouldn't be too worried about Batter though, I think he'll come around eventually. He talks about you so much, there might even be something hidden in there," she smirked, winking.

Zacharie blushed a little under his toad mask, "Well, here's hoping, I'd hate for my favorite customer to dislike my company."

Reina laughed, before speaking again. "If you want I could talk to him for you. We usually end up hanging out before and after practice anyway, so it's not like it would bother me any."

Zacharie chuckled, "Er, no, no I don't think that will be necessary, mon amie. I'm sure I can loosen his lips on my own."

Reina grinned, quirking up her eyebrows, "Oh really? I'm sure you can loosen his lips, Zacharie." 

The merchant laughed nervously, "Not like that! You know exactly what I meant, Reina."

She waved him off, "Whatever you say, Zach. Anyway, I should probably be heading off to practice. You can come, if you'd like."

Zacharie nodded, "Of course. And I take it you'll be coming back to the shop sometime soon?"

Reina smiled, "Wouldn't miss it."

The group walked out to the playing feild, Reina and Ollie heading into the locker rooms, Daniel, Zacharie, and the rest of the group going to the bleachers. The players walked out one by one, Batter heading up to bat with his half of the team behind him, the other half taking the other side. As the coach blew on the wistle, Zacharie was watching the Batter the whole step of the way.

Chapter Text

The final home run was delivered and once again, Batter's half of the team won again. Reina wiped the sweat from her brow and waved at Daniel and Zacharie before following the rest of the team into the locker rooms. She sighed, pulling a bottle of water from her pack, gulping half of it down. After the team all changed back into their everyday clothes, they all sat down and recuperated on a set of benches outside the locker rooms. Upon seeing Batter sitting on one of the benches, she strode over to him, taking a seat next to his. 

"Hey."

Micheal turned towards her, "Oh, hey Reina."

She huffed, "Good practice huh? Not that I expected anything different with you on my half."

Batter nodded, not answering.

"Okay, I'm just gonna get to the point here. I talked to Zacharie earli-"

Batter scoffed, cutting Reina off, "What did he say this time?! Let me guess, he tried swindling money out of you too?

Reina sighed, "No, no, nothing of the sort. I wanted to ask you what your problem with him is. I get that he tries to make you pay for a bunch of stuff, but he's gotten the a-okay from the principal, and it's not like he does it to just you. Everything he does is fully within what he's allowed, and heck, his prices aren't even half bad."

Batter hissed, "He follows me around everywhere, he insists on sitting next to me in the classes we share, and the ones we don't he finds a way to weasel into anyway! He's an embarrassment and a nuisance!"

"Okay, maybe he is a bit clingy, but have you ever considered that he's not doing it to piss you off? Okay, maybe he is, but still, have you considered the possibility that he doesn't hate you, or dare I say it, considered that maybe, just maybe, that he likes you?" Reina replied, a little irritated.

"If he does he sure has a fucked up way of showing it. Why couldn't he stay in France rather than pissing off everyone here?" Batter retorted.

"Look, think about this. He wouldn't be doing this shit without reason. Most people who have had his job aren't this obsessed with running the school store and making money fast. I'm willing to bet there's a really good reason for it," Reina responded.

"Bullshit. He's just a greedy bastard hellbent on ruining our lives."

"Oh, quit your whining. Maybe you should, oh I don't know, talk to him? If you really want him to stop, how 'bout striking up a conversation. He ain't gonna change if you carry on like this."

"I don't think I could stand to speak with that asshole for more than ten minutes."

"Well, ten minutes might just be all that you need. Stop being stubborn and just fucking say something already.  Believe me, he's not as big of a dick as you think."

Batter growled under his breath, grabbing his bat and getting ready to leave, "We'll see about that."

Chapter Text

After practice ended, Zacharie said goodbye to Reina and Daniel, and headed off to the bus. The sports team had a later bus that took the same routes as the other ones, and the times he stayed to watch practice he got on that bus. He wasn't all that surprised to see Batter standing by the big yellow vehicle, what surprised him is that he wasn't moving. In fact, he seemed to be waiting for him. When he was close enough, he hissed out, "We need to talk. After the bus ride."

"Oh please, mon ami, anything that needs to be said can be said during the ride, correct?" the merchant replied.

"No, after."

"Alright, whatever you say, amigo."

The ride, as usual, was fairly uneventful. There was the usual congrats from members of the team, as well as the jabs and jibes directed towards Zacharie. Remembering Reina's warning, he realized that he probably should have been worried about what Batter was planning to say, or do, but in all honesty he just... wasn't. He didn't really think that Batter would do anything to hurt him, verbally or physically.

Micheal, on the other hand, was also contemplating what Reina had told him. What reason could the merchant possibly have other than just greed? Maybe he needed it to support his family, but then again he'd never heard any mention of Zacharie even having one. As far as he knew, he lived with Pablo and Valerie, and they were very well-off. And if that were the case, he wouldn't need the money to begin with. So what the hell was his deal? No, he decided, he's simply being greedy.

Once the bus got to Zacharie and Batter's stop, they got off. Once the bus left, Zacharie spoke up.

"So, what was it that you wanted to say, mon ami?"

Batter hissed, "I'm not your damn friend, first of all. No one is."

Zacharie chuckled, "Au contraire, amigo, I have plenty of friends." Bullshit, he thought to himself, all you have is Pablo, Valerie, and Sucre. Maybe even Reina, but that's it.

"Second of all, why the hell do you keep stalking me, you little creep. I'm not interested in whatever it is that you want, so quit it," Batter snarled, getting more irritated by the second.

"Stalking you? What ever do you mean? I'm doing nothing of the sort," Zacharie replied, faking shock.

"Bullshit. You know you're doing exactly that. How about you stay off my ass for a while, huh? And lastly, why the hell do you keep forcing us to pay for stupid shit like water?! It falls from the fucking sky for Christ's sake! You don't need the damn money, so why the fuck do you keep forcing us to pay you?!" Batter shouted.

Zacharie could have told him the truth. He could have told him everything. In fact, he wanted to. He wanted to explain why he came to the US, he wanted to explain why he followed him in particular, he wanted to explain why he kept forcing people to pay for bullshit things. But instead, he simply said, "I suppose you're right. I've no reason to do it. I simply enjoy the feeling of burying myself in spare cash. Happy?" 

Batter growled, lifting the merchant up by his turtle neck. Zacharie kicked his legs, struggling against his grip. He was actually scared, he feared that he would hurt him, that he would take off his mask, that he would beat him up, or possibly even worse.

"I swear, I will destroy you next time I get the chance. Consider yourself lucky, freak," Batter hissed, before throwing him to the ground and walking home. 

Zacharie didn't move, he was still held in place by fear and shock. He watched as Micheal left, and he wasn't able to stand again until he had turned a corner and disappeared. The merchant sighed, forcing himself up and heading home.

Chapter Text

The third week of October was nearing its completion, and with it the big baseball game of that season was drawing ever closer. In fact, the game was tomorrow. Zacharie had spent the past two nights at Pablo and Valerie's house studying, there was a Chemistry test coming up that he needed to be sure he was prepared for. Mr. Seneca, the teacher, didn't care at all about Halloween or the game despite how much the school was preparing for these events. It was the O.F.F. Lions against the S.O.T.H. Sloths (the rival school being Samuel Oslow Thomas Hill High) and it was going to be one of the biggest games of the year, according to the announcements, although they said that for every game. Zacharie had completely forgotten about the little note he found in his shop, and he only heeded Batter's warning for about two weeks. Afterwards, he disregarded it entirely.

Students still whispered about Zacharie as he passed, some didn't even whisper it and said it out loud. More than a few times, he narrowly avoided being beaten up, and students now told him to kill himself to his face. He wouldn't let it bother him though, he hadn't even considered following through with their instructions for a whole month, which was an accomplishment in his book.

The whole school had busied itself with preparations, both for the game and the upcoming holiday. They always held a Halloween party in the gym, and everyone was buzzing about both the game and the party. 

"Are you staring off into space again, perhaps?" Pablo purred in amusement, interrupting Zacharie's thoughts.

"Ah, apologies amigo. I was just thinking. Shall we get back to studying?" Zacharie replied.

Valerie came back into the room, "Uh, the cookies I made are done, if you want any."

Pablo and Zacharie nodded, overjoyed at the opportunity to enjoy Valerie's cooking. The trio spent the rest of the evening studying, then they went to bed once it was late enough.

 "Hey, Zacharie, wake up."

Zacharie forced himself up, seeing Pablo shaking him awake. "Oh, er, morning."

Pablo shook his head, his ever present grin adorning his face, "How do you ever get up by yourself in the morning? Come on, let's get some breakfast."

Zacharie, Pablo, and Valerie went downstairs and into the kitchen. Pablo pulled out a box of cereal from the pantry and some bowls.

"You know, for how well off you guys are, it's still pretty surprising that you just eat cereal for breakfast," Zacharie joked.

"Just because we're rich doesn't mean we have the time for an extravagant five course meal every time we're hungry," Pablo retorted.

"Th-that said, we should probably... uh.. eat quickly. Mom's taking us in again and we woke up a bit late..." Valerie spoke up.

The other two nodded, and finished eating quickly. They all climbed into the car and headed off to school.

Many students were standing at the entrance, as school hadn't started yet and they had gotten there fairly early. The conversation fell silent as the trio walked in, then changed into the usual whispers that plagued Zach's walks through the halls. They didn't bother him any, but Pablo was none too happy. He adopted his Cheshire-like grin, the smile that threw a thousand threats in everyone's direction- without saying a word- to ward off anyone from even considering to bother any of his friends. Zacharie smirked beneath his toad mask, for he knew no one would dare to think of touching him when Pablo was around. The trio walked to the back half of the school, where all of the electives were taught.

"So, Zacharie, are you planning on going to the game?" Pablo asked once they were away from prying eyes and ears.

"Well, I don't really have anything better to do," Zacharie replied, nonchalantly. While this was true, he did have ulterior motives as to why he was going, but he wouldn't show it.

"Oh really? Is that the only reason you're going, my dear friend?" Pablo taunted, his grin growing wider.

"Yes, Pablo, it is. You and Val could come along too, if you want."

Pablo thought for a moment. "I don't see why not. We'd have to leave a bit early though, if you wouldn't mind. Valerie, how about you?"

Val was silent for a few minutes. He seemed to be distant, lost in thought. "Oh, er, yeah, sure." He didn't sound at all enthusiastic.

Pablo looked a bit worried, "Is something the matter, dear brother?"

Zacharie shared his worry, "You don't have to go."

Valerie smiled nervously, "No, I'm fine. I just remembered I said I'd meet up with a friend during the game, that's all. I can still come for a little while."

Zacharie nodded, "You two should get to Theater soon, I'll head off to my class."

The trio waved goodbye, and split apart.

Chapter Text

Japhet sighed, wandering onto the playing field. Finally, I can be away from them. It was during the lunch hour, and he could probably make up some excuse as to why he wasn't at the lunch table. Not that he cared. 

The pitter pat of feet on the grass diverted his attention. Micheal was walking towards him. So he hasn't forgotten our little agreement, he thought to himself.

"Ah, welcome, welcome. I assume you didn't just come here to practice, Batter?"

"No, although I wouldn't have a problem with it. So, what's the plan?" Batter asked.

"As much as I'd love to see that bastard's miserable face with my own eyes, me being in the room isn't ideal. So the plan is, once the game is over, the perfect opportunity for you is to grab one of the towels that shitstain makes you pay for. Of course, he'll be right behind you to force you to pay, giving you the chance to drag him into the locker room."

"And how would I do that?"

"Oh, I don't know. You could tell him that your money is in your locker, or something of the sort. Just think of something. Anyway, I'm sure you're not unaccustomed to the concept of 'swirlies.' You know, forcing someone's face into the toilet and then flushing it. What I want you to do, is take your phone camera, and record every second of this. Remove the fucker's mask, make sure you get his face in the shot, and then give him the worst swirly possible."

"That's... oddly specific. What should I do after that?"

"Send it to me. I can give you my contact information, Valerie never uses his phone anyway, except to talk to his brother. Then, after all that is done, we can use it to blackmail him. Oh, and if you like, your little buddies can watch."

"Alright. After that, I suppose he wouldn't bother me again, so I'm settled, but what do you get out of this?"

"Nothing really. Watching him squirm is enough. And I'd also like to see his face for once."

"Hmm... Sounds reasonable. I accept your terms."

Japhet grinned, "That's the spirit! Here's my info." He walked closer and pulled out his phone, Batter doing the same. They exchanged information, then Japhet walked off, Batter staying to practice. He sighed, I still can't believe that's Valerie.

Chapter Text

Friday, October 24th. The day of the big game. And the day of the Chemistry test. The test was just mixing chemicals in a certain way until you got a certain result, but more than a few students set something other than the chemicals themselves on fire. Zacharie had a bit of trouble with the instructions, due do English not being his first language, but luckily Reina shared the class with him and secretly helped him out. After Chemistry ended, he was confident that he would get full marks on the test. The Art teacher knew that most of the students' minds would be elsewhere that day, so he let the class "doodle without direction," which roughly translates to "scroll through tumblr or catch Pokémon for all I care." Despite it being his favorite class, Zacharie was a bit glad that it was over. He'd never admit it, and he'd certainly never admit the reason why, but he was quite excited for the game.

Just as he was starting to exit the building, he ran into Pablo. He looked frantic, something was troubling him deeply. His bright eyes were darting back and forth, he seemed to be looking for something, or someone.

"What's wrong, Pablo? What's the matter?" Zacharie asked, his voice tinted with concern.

"Oh, Zacharie, you startled me," Pablo began, sighing a little. "Have you seen Valerie? He's been acting strangely today, and he just disappeared after Biology ended."

"No, I haven't. Not since History class anyway," Zacharie replied, sharing his worry. "I wouldn't be too worried, everyone knows that to mess with him means they have to deal with you too. He said that he'd meet us at the game, maybe he's already there."

Pablo sighed, "Maybe you're right. We don't have anything to lose by looking there, so we might as well."

When the pair arrived on the playing field, they saw Valerie waving to them from the bleachers. The pair quickly made their way up to him after paying for the game tickets.

 "Heyo! I saved you seats!" Valerie said cheerfully.

"So this is where you were? Why did you just disappear?" Pablo questioned, still displaying his concern for his twin.

Valerie didn't answer, a look of shame crossing his face. 

"Hey, hey, there's no need to get upset. We were just worried," Zacharie intervened.

"Yeah, sorry for upsetting you, dear brother. I guess I can get a bit over zealous in times like this. Oh, when are you going to meet up with that person you mentioned?" Pablo asked.

"Oh, I met up with them during lunch, so it's okay," Valerie replied, "we can just watch without interruptions, at least until we need to leave."

"You never mentioned, but why exactly do you need to leave early? Not that I have a problem, of course, but I'm just curious." Zacharie inquired.

"Oh, just a family thing. We're going out to dinner. Our parents aren't home much but the times that they are we usually go out to dinner together. It's kind of what we do to make up for lost time," Pablo answered.

More and more students filed into the bleachers. One of the security guards pulled out a megaphone, saying "The game will be starting in thirty minutes!"

"So, I guess we have thirty minutes just to chat, then? I brought some snacks from the shop if you guys get hungry," Zacharie said, pulling some fruit snacks out of his backpack.

Zacharie and the twins spent the remaining time conversing about whatever came to mind. By the time the downtime had ended, rows and rows of teenagers and their families had filled the stadium to the brim.

The teams came out from the locker rooms, along with Coach Enoch and the coach for the opposing teams. Cheerleaders and the team mascots lined up on the side of the field. The referee and the spokesman started shouting through the loudspeakers. The S.O.T.H. mascot, a sloth, started waving at the audience, while the O.F.F. mascot, a white lion, was flexing and "roaring." The cheerleaders got ready to do their routine. The coaches met with their teams one last time.

Zacharie barely noticed any of this. His attention the entire span of the two hour game was on Micheal Batler. The way he swung his bat, the way he flung the ball into the air, the way he ran, it was all so enticing. Every time he stepped up to the plate, the ball went flying. Zacharie remembered watching scenes like this in movies, and often times it ended up with the crush catching the ball. This didn't happen, of course, but a small part of him wished it would. He watched as their team won over and over again, the opposing team only winning two of the seven innings. About half-way through, Pablo and Valerie said their goodbyes before leaving the stadium. Zacharie watched the game with bated breath, glued to the edge of his seat, silently cheering the illustrious Batter on. He watched as the final home run happened, Batter making it to the home plate with excellent speed. Finally, after two long hours of a boring yet somehow still entertaining sport and one-sided sexual tension, the game was over.

 As Batter walked up to the towel rack to prevent more sweaty grossness, Zacharie became un-glued to his seat and saw the opportunity he needed to speak to him without being obvious. He was definitely over excited, but as long as he could hide it he'd be okay with it.

Before Zacharie even was able to say a word, Batter interrupted him. "Let me guess, another two dollars for the towel?"

Zacharie just nodded, holding his hand out to accept the cash. A strong part of him just wanted to grab the Batter's hand right then and there, but he forced the urge down into the dark recesses of his mind. 

Batter dug through his pockets, but to no avail. "Ah shit, I must've left my cash in the locker room. C'mon, you can just follow me in if you want," he said, gesturing for him to follow him. Zacharie couldn't believe what he was hearing, all the sensors in his brain were going haywire, screaming red alert and mayday. He was more than glad that his mask was hiding his face, his face was already lit up like a bonfire beneath it. He tried to come up with a valid response, but failed, and sufficed for another nod of the head, following the man who brought the starlight during the dark of night, at least to him. 

The locker room was nothing short of shitty. The lockers were tiny, the walls were a sickly cream colour, the tile floors were grimy, and all but two of the bathroom stalls were broken in some way. But given the situation, Zacharie felt like he was in a beautiful, serene garden, rather than a shitty locker room. The walls were lush green hedges rather than creamy walls, soft green grass was beneath their feet rather than crumby tiles, instead of rows and rows of lockers the walls were lined with rose bushes, beautiful gazebos stood in the place of the broken stalls, and birds sang over the crappy radiator.

As Batter lead him to his locker, Zach realized that this was the perfect opportunity to tell him everything. To tell him how he felt about him, to tell him exactly why he always followed him, why his eyes stayed trained on him rather than anyone else. But how was he going to do that? He should have planned this, come up with a well-worded, ten page essay, written a poem, something. But no, he had nothing planned, all he had on his side was opportunity.

This is your one chance, Zacharie, he warned himself, speak now or you may never get this chance again.

"So, uh... Batter... I have... s-something I want to say..." he began, his voice shaking.

"I'm listening," Batter replied absentmindedly.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, you're blowing it! "S-so, um, I've been thinking... f-for a long, long time... and I... er.." 

"Over here," Batter interrupted, gesturing for him to follow him into the alcove. There were three bathrooms on one side of the alcove and a few sinks on the other. There were no lockers where the two had stopped. In any other circumstance, he would have realized something was wrong, he would have seen that something was off, but Zacharie was far too frazzled to notice. All the sensors in his mind were going haywire.

"So... uh... I've... uh.. r-realized... that I... er... I really... really... really l-"

All of a sudden, Batter had gotten incredibly close, dangerously close, and oh dear when did he get that close red alert red alert mayday mayday abort abort  but it was far too late for that. He was blocking the only way to get out of the alcove. Only then did Zacharie realize that there were no lockers here, no way to escape. Only then did he notice the phone in Batter's hand, only then did he notice the expression on his face. That expression, the expression he had seen so many times before, the expression he never wanted to see again. His breathing quickened, his heart raced, his chest hurt, he was shivering and sweating all at once. He felt sick, sick, sick, utterly sick. 

Batter shoved him against the wall, he tried to force him away, he yelled at him to stop, whatever he was doing he did not want, did not want, did not want. All of his struggling was of no use, he screamed as he felt his mask being shoved off of his face, he tried oh so desperately to stop him, to keep it on his face, but to no avail. He heard it clatter to the ground, and he tried, oh how he tried to keep his face covered, but Batter wouldn't stop. He forced his hands away and...

He hesitated.

Batter was nothing short of disgusted. The boy's dark skin was covered in old scars. Dark freckles littered his body. His eyes were an almost impossibly bright green. The worst thing, however, were the holes. Large, gaping holes, driven straight through his cheeks. He couldn't describe him as anything but a freak. No wonder he wears a mask, he thought. All of the wounds looked like they had healed over a varying amount of time, so clearly none of them were all that recent, but that didn't stop him from wondering where they came from. However, he decided it wasn't his business. He still had made a deal, and he was a man of his word.

The now unmasked boy's blubbering returned to screeching as he was dragged over to the toilet and forced in, then flushed. Once this was done, he pulled him out, ending the video recording, and leaning him up against the wall, giving him back his mask.

"Get yourself cleaned up," he ordered, throwing the towel in his direction, "I haven't got all day."

Zacharie didn't answer, wiping off his face and putting his mask back on as fast as possible, grabbing his bag and running out as quickly as he could. He didn't bother trying to catch the sports bus, he didn't want to be around anyone, much less Batter. He walked home instead.

'hey, is this valerie?'

'No, this is Japhet. Am I correct in assuming that you are the Batter?'

'yeah, its me'

'Did you get the video?'

'yeah, its right here'

20161023_1423456787.mp4 sent

'Ah, good work. The perfect angle too.'

'youre welcome'

'Thank you, Batter. Let us hope that he never bothers us again.'

'...'

'yeah'

Chapter Text

It was now October 31st, Halloween, and except for the breaks, everyone's favorite day of the school year. It had been a week since the game, and Zacharie hadn't shown up to school since. Batter was, needless to say, worried.

He choked up the reasoning to be merely curiosity, as he wasn't really sure why he was worried about the merchant, and he was definitely very curious as to... well, everything. The merchant intrigued him, he piqued his interest, from his scars to his mannerisms, the way he talked, the way he walked, how he spoke, how he dressed, and the lacerations that garnished his skin. He wanted to know how he got those scars, why he acts the way he does. And, the more he thought about that afternoon, the more troubling it became.

Batter had bullied other students before, in the exact same way as he had Zacharie. Granted, none of them covered their face with a mask, but that was beside the point. Hell, to some kids he was even worse, but none of them had ever reacted so negatively. Zacharie had been trembling, sweating, even before the event even occurred. The moment he had realized he'd been cornered, he seemed to have been, so eloquently put, losing his shit. As he removed his mask, he watched his eyes go a bit glassy, as if he wasn't really there, as if he were somewhere else. Zacharie had screamed, but it definitely wasn't English. He couldn't quite tell what he was saying, but it was likely something along the lines of, "Batter, stop, please!" Nothing new there. However, he should have been able to at least pick his name out from the jumble of gibberish, but he couldn't. He wasn't even sure if he heard it even once.

The sound of Dedan's yowling broke his thoughts, and he shook Zacharie from his mind, it wasn't important until he showed up. Today was Halloween, and as per tradition, the students and teachers were allowed to wear costumes to school, as long as there were no masks, weapons, provocative clothing, etc. Batter had dressed as the grim reaper, it was his favorite costume actually, though he did have a particular fondness for the dinosaur costume he wore as a toddler. He figured the small plastic bone scythe at his hip didn't really count as a weapon, though the school system always managed to mistake a water gun for a hand grenade. 

As for everyone else, it seemed even the nastiest of teachers managed to get into the Halloween spirit, as Dedan was dressed as a pirate. He even yelled at the beginning of class, "Avast ye, scallywags!" and yelled "Arrrr!!!" occasionally during the period. Valerie was dressed as a witch, gown, hat, and all. His dress had a white, 3/4 sleeved blouse with an orange skirt, a leather corset, and a purple sash at the waist, with a black and green half-cape at the back. The skirt had a black floral pattern with black cats on it at the trim, and the black witch hat had a purple cat printed on it as well. Seemingly dressed to match, The Judge had gone as a black cat, though someone had painted an extra eye in the middle of his forehead, quite expertly as well. A nose and whiskers adorned his face as well. One of the Elsen children was dressed as Superman, though the costume's "muscles" seemed to be a bit much for the kid. It appeared Zacharie was not coming today either. Seeing the twins take their seat, he had to resist the urge to ask them, his pride was far too important to risk it asking about the freak. However, as they turned to him, it seemed as if he wouldn't need to ask anyway.

"So, Batter, I hear you and Zacharie had an... incident, shall we say?" Judge asked, wearing his unsettling, Cheshire grin, that still struck fear in the hearts of men even when he had whiskers painted on his face.

"Er... yeah, something like that," he replied, avoiding eye contact.

"He seems to be of the opinion that you shouldn't be punished for your actions, so just this once I will allow it to slide. But, if you so much as touch a hair on his head, if you make him even slightly uncomfortable, I will not hesitate to put you through hell," Judge threatened, his stare boring into Batter's skull.

However, the threat barely caught his attention, and his voice dropped to a whisper, "So he's doing alright?"

Both brothers looked dumbfounded, that certainly wasn't the answer either of them expected. The looked at each other in silence for a moment, then returned their gaze to him. 

"Well, yes," Judge answered, "Aside from being absolutely distraught for at least three days, and completely avoiding the school for another five, he's doing quite well."

Batter stopped himself from sighing in relief, "Why are you telling me this now? You could have said it the moment you found out, but instead you waited till today. Why?" he asked.

The Judge paused for a moment, "Er... No reason, really... But he does have to return eventually, may as well get the, well, cat out of the bag now, so to speak," he said, chuckling a little at his own joke.

"Alright then," he replied, the conversation ending just as class was beginning to kick off. Deciding Dedan's screaming was more important than talking to the twins was, he turned his focus to that instead.

Most of the teachers were fairly lenient on assignments that day, what with the party later and the trick or treating that followed. With Seneca, that was no such case, though that was always the case, even with his almost adorable fox costume. Reina had gone as a character from Skyrim, Aela the Huntress. Tagging along with her was a person in a werewolf fursuit, most likely Daniel. Most kids thought it was weird, but some, including Ollie, thought it was cute and pet him, his Pikachu hoodie's tail waving behind him. 

The school day went by pretty fast, partially due to how little attention he paid to the classes, and partially due to the anticipation of what the day's remainder held. Before anyone knew it, the day was over and it was only an hour before the party started. Batter sat outside the gym, doing was he usually did before practice, which was scrolling through Tumblr until they let him in.

Fortunately, Batter's phone may as well have been a time machine, as the infinite scrolling of the app seems to turn hours into mere minutes, and it didn't seem like it was very long before the doors opened and the music began. He, along with several other students, walked into the room lit only by blacklights, a discoball, and various rave lights. Even with the dim lighting, he could still see refreshment tables adorned with black and white spiderweb table cloths and chairs lining the walls. The bleachers weren't pulled out for whatever reason, probably cause kids have a history of fucking or doing drugs beneath them (he definitely did not need to see Ceta and Jane's bare asses freshman year). There was a slightly raised platform on the opposite end of the hall, someone having the poor job of dressing as the mascot, a DJ, some stereos and music equipment, and the principal all standing on it.

Slowly, students began filing in, the first ones being most of the baseball team, as they weren't unaccustomed to waiting outside before the start of an event. Reina and Daniel in their matching cosplays waltzed in first, then Gilles came in dressed in a slutty bunny costume, finding it hilarious and hooting about "getting this party started," while Magnolia, dressed as Morticia Addams, rolled her eyes as she followed behind him. Tiburce was dressed as a firefighter, Vinny as a vampire, and Charlie as Jack Skellington. The entire Elsen family strolled in next, Damien as Batman, Pentel as Superman, Sachihata as Catwoman, and Alma as Captain America. Ms. Elsen herself was dressed as Wonderwoman. A series of kids Batter didn't know or recognize filed in next, and a few minutes behind them was The Judge, Valerie, and some kid dressed as a sheet ghost. The sheet ghost kid seemed to be with them, and was carrying a bag with them, but otherwise there wasn't really anything special. Finally, as more students filed in, the music cut out and the principal stepped up to the microphone.

"Welcome, welcome, OFF Lions, friends, and family, to the Annual Halloween Bash!" Principal Ghost announced. He was dressed as the devil, and his booming voice was coated in a thick, French accent, like syrup on pancakes. "Now, the purpose of this party is to have a good time. That being said, I don't want any funny business going on. We all know what happened two years ago, yes?" Nods and murmurs resonated through the crowd. "Good. I don't plan on repeating that, nor do I want any fights. Just have a good time, and then everything should go swimmingly, got it?" The crowd all nodded again, "Good. And without further adieu, let the party begin!" He shouted, then stepped away from the microphone, handing it to the DJ. "Now, if y'all have any requests, be sure to let me know. As long as they are appropriate, of course," the DJ said, turning off the mic and queuing up a Halloween soundtrack, starting with "This is Halloween" from Nightmare Before Christmas. 

Several girls requested to dance with Batter, as was common during these dances, but he tuned all of them down. He wasn't interested in any of them, and he wasn't even persuing a relationship at the time either. Hell, he barely knew any of them, and he certainly wasn't going to dance in front of everyone. The only person who could ever convince him to do that was Vader. Instead he mostly stayed near the refreshment tables and surveyed the room. Reina and Daniel were "dancing" with the rest of the baseball team, Gilles hooting with laughter as per usual and Magnolia rolling her eyes as per usual. The Elsen family were also attempting to dance in a corner of the room, but after about five minutes each of them had to sit down. The Judge and Valerie were laughing and swaying their hips but they weren't really dancing. Sheet Ghost Kid was still with them as well, and though he wasn't quite close enough to hear he swore he'd recognized that laughter.

Eventually the party died down a little, most people's feet were tired at this point and needed a bit of a break. Batter watched as the twins and Sheet Ghost Kid walked over to the refreshments tables, all of them taking cookies and the like. Tracking them down wasn't hard, the black light illuminated the twin's pale hair and skin, as well as Sheet Ghost Kid's sheet. Most kids who used a sheet would take it off to eat, but Sheet Ghost Kid seemed to prefer sneaking the cookies under their sheet and eating it there instead. Honestly he shouldn't have cared, but for whatever reason this kid piqued his interest. Not too long after, Sheet Ghost Kid waved to The Judge and Valerie, sitting down in one of the chairs and pulling a book out of his bag. He couldn't quite make out the title from here. He decided to quell his curiosity and sit next to the kid, figure out who they were. 

Zacharie pulled out a book as he sat down, having no trouble reading in the poor lighting. It was a fairly thick book, one he had read many times and never seemed to get tired of. He was just about to get to an interesting part when someone made the brilliant choice to sit next to him.

Batter looked over the page, reading the first sentence, "Twigleg would have loved to nip her furry fingers, but he controlled himself and didn't so much as poke the tip of his nose out of his hiding place." He didn't understand the context, but the sentence sounded quite odd. Before asking Sheet Ghost Kid anything, he decided to continue reading.

Zacharie knew that they were peering over his shoulder, and it was slowly becoming more and more irritating. However, he did his best to ignore them, and the breathing on his neck. He wasn't looking for conflict, especially not after what happened last week.

He read more, leaning over Sheet Ghost Kid's shoulder heavily, more invested in the book than the kid themself at this point. He usually wasn't one to get sucked into stories so easily, but there were times where even the least scholarly man finds himself enraptured within a book's pages. 

Zacharie hissed, his irritation being pushed to the limit, he hated people breathing down his neck. He turned to the person, snarling, "Just what the hell do yo-"

Oh.

Oh no.

Upon seeing the Batter's face, Zacharie scrambled backwards away from him. Oh no oh no oh no he's back he's back for more just what is he planning to-

"What are you reading?"

Chapter Text

Zacharie had to stop himself from outright screaming.  He had hoped to avoid the Batter at all costs,  he had only come to the dance at all for free food and because Pablo asked him to. If he were entirely honest,  he had hoped to avoid him forever, despite how unrealistic that would be. But, alas, clearly he had gotten his hopes up. Seeing Batter’s lack of movement and the slight confusion on his face, Zacharie finally realized he wasn't here to hurt him. Or he was masking it. Judging from himself, who could tell.

“I-it’s D-Dragon Rider, by Cornelia Funke,” he stammered, trying desperately to regain his composure as he showed the book’s cover.

Batter nodded, leaning back in his chair. “I’m really sorry about last Friday.”

Zacharie slowly eased back into his seat, barely detecting the remorse in his monotone voice, but it was definitely there.

After a few minutes of silence, Batter spoke up again. “It must have affected you pretty bad. You’ve been gone all week.”

Zacharie once again didn’t respond, barely giving a slight nod. After several long, dragging minutes of silence, he finally found his voice.

“Why are you here?”

“It’s a party,” Batter replied.

“I meant here. Talking to me.”

“At first I was just curious as to who you were, but once I figured it out I thought I should apologize. I was kind of a dick.”

Zacharie sighed, “Bravo, you have an inkling of empathy. Good for you.”

Hardly a single flicker of emotion in Batter’s face. Did he have any emotions at all? Zacharie let out another small sigh, the party around them seeming to slow to a stop and the music was drowned out by his thoughts. He wanted him to leave, he wanted to disappear from existence. Not like that’s anything new. He felt like he was in a cemetery, himself being the only thing alive as the colour drained from his finger tips, and that Batter was the casket lowering into the grave in his own name, watching his own, empty funeral.

“You were trying to say something.” Batter’s dry voice cut into the fantasy.

“Quoi? Er-what?” Zacharie asked, confused.

“That night, you were trying to ask me something.”

Zacharie huffed, louder than before, “It doesn’t matter. It's gone now. You lost that chance when you forced blackmail material from me and tried to drown me in the shitter.” His tone was just as dry and dead as the Batter’s.

“Look, Zacharie, I’m sorry, I regret every second of it, but-”

“Regret it almost as much as you regret meeting me? Almost as much as you regret me coming to this school? This state? This country?” his voice was deathly quiet, “Then why the hell did you do it?”

Batter fell silent, not wanting to say, and realizing just how much of an ass he had been. Sure, the little runt was a greedy bastard, but he didn’t deserve what had happened to him. What he had done to him.

Zacharie started to get up, “If you can’t think of a valid reason,  then we have nothing further to discuss.”

“Wait,” Batter hissed, grabbing his wrist.

Zacharie turned, the anxiety from before rising up again, but his grip was gentle rather than the suffocating force he had felt so many times before.

“Please, let me make it up to you. Tiburce has a car, and we’re going to another neighborhood for trick-or-treating. Reina and Daniel are coming too. You can even bring Judge and Valerie along.”

The party’s slow crawl began flowing naturally again, the colour drizzling back into the scene.

“What?” Zacharie questioned,  pulling his hand away.

His voice still monotone,  his face still a blank slate, “I really am sorry, Zacharie. It may not seem like it, but I am. We even have extra bags if you need one.”

Zacharie shook his head slightly, sighing again, but this time a more tired sigh than an irritated one. “Fine. I'll ask Pablo and Val their thoughts, but I make no promises.”

Batter nodded, awaiting his return. He couldn't hear over the music, and they were probably speaking in French anyway, but he could see the glances they were making in his direction.  Confused, annoyed, angry,  worried; the rapid flashes of emotion almost too quick to make out. Judge even started yelling at one point, desperately trying to get his point across, but he seemed to give up halfway through. After another minute or so, the trio walked back over.

“Fine, we'll play your little game. But mark my words, if you lay so much as a finger on Zacharie, you'll never see the light of day again, dear Batter,” Judge snarled, his terrifying cheshire grin more prominent than ever before.

Chapter Text

Grown teenagers, going from house to house to house, toting pillowcases full of candy around for hours trying to fill them even more with free food. Honestly, we should be ashamed of ourselves, but... It's oddly comforting, Zacharie thought to himself as they began driving to the next neighbourhood.

They had traveled in a large pickup truck, so there was seemingly plenty of space for all of them. About half the baseball team was there, plus Zacharie, Pablo, Valerie, and Daniel. The candy bags they had with them practically made a few other people as well, so it wasn't the most spacious thing in the world, but it served its purpose well.

They were currently heading to the next set of houses, Zacharie sitting on one side with Pablo, Valerie, Reina, and Daniel, while Magnolia, Gilles, Ollie, Vinny, and Charlie were on the other. Tiburce was driving and Batter had called shotgun before they left the party. Magnolia was glaring at him from across the truck, sizing him up. Ollie, her brother, didn't seem bothered at all by Zacharie, but aside from him and Reina, almost the entire team disliked him, for whatever reason. Though, that said, he knew the reason. He had been charging them all money, and for small things that would have been provided for free otherwise. It wasn't his fault, not exactly, he needed the money and he'd gotten permission to sell at the school. Though, maybe he was bending the rules a bit. He sighed, wondering if that was the only reason. He had been friendly enough with all of them, he thought, but apparently either that wasn't enough for them, or they had mistaken his genuine cheer for attempting to solicit more money from them. Well, it wasn't exactly genuine. It was rare for it ever to be as such. But, still, no harm was meant to be put behind those words.

Meanwhile, Tiburce had decided to strike up a quiet conversation with Micheal. "..why'd you even bring that kid and his friends? You know first hand how much of an ass he is, Batter, so.. why?" Tiburce tended to act as the "mom friend" for the group, though sometimes Magnolia took that role as well. So he was willing to try to understand his motives, even if he still believed the masked teen was a freak of nature.

Batter was quiet for a moment, trying to think of an adequate reply. "...I saw his face," he finally said.

Tiburce turned and stared at him, "Holy shit, really?! What does he look like?!" He then turned his attention back to the road just in time to slam on the breaks to avoid hitting a small black cat. The cat scrambled out of the way, and Magnolia shouted, "Dude, what the fuck?!" eliciting a quick string of apologies from Tiburce as he kept the truck stationary for now.

Zacharie peered over the side of the truck, seeing the cat. "..Charlotte?" he asked, seeming the recognize the feline. Upon hearing his voice, the feline hesitantly padded over to the truck, meowing indignantly. He laughed a little and reached out to pet her, and she rubbed up against his hand, a slight purr starting to form. 

The Judge looked confused, "Are you familiar with this feline?"

Zacharie nodded, "She's my cat. Well, with how many times she manages to escape and wander around you would think she owns herself, but she lives with me." The twins shared a look of confusion, apparently this was news to them.

Gilles groaned, "No wonder my allergies have been acting up. You're probably covered in cat hair."

Zacharie chuckled a bit, "Guilty as charged, mon ami. Though, I'm not the only culprit."

The Judge nodded sagely, "We do have an awful lot of cats."

Valerie, however, was more focused on Charlotte herself, "..she's rather thin.."

Zacharie froze for a moment, then kept petting the cat, "Yeah.. She doesn't eat as much as she should. I haven't figured out a way to get her to eat more." While that wasn't entirely true, he wasn't too keen on explaining exactly why she wasn't eating.

Valerie had a feeling he was skipping out on a couple details, but he decided not to question it further.

Meanwhile, Tiburce started the car again, and drove at a steady pace, continuing his conversation with Batter.

"You said you saw the runt's face? What did it look like?"

"It was real messed up, it's no wonder he wears a mask."

"Shit dude, how'd he get 'em?"

"I don't know, I couldn't pick that part out from him blathering on in french."

"Well, what did it look like then? Was it a Heath Ledger Joker situation? Or more of a burn victim? Or is he just plain ugly?"

Just as Batter was about to answer, Zacharie himself stood up, knocking the back of the passenger part of the truck, "Ah-ah-ah, you would do quite well not to reveal a man's secrets. A breach of confidentiality, if you will, Mr. Batler." He didn't sound pleased at all.

"Right..."

Chapter Text

"Oh my god, is he asleep?!"

"Looks like it."

"Oh man, we could prank him so hard. Let's draw a dick on his face, I've got sharpies!"

"Tiburce, that requires you to actually be able to see his face."

Tiburce huffed, "Well that shouldn't be a problem, now that he's asleep and there's no one here to stop us. Besides, I think we all want to know what's under that stupid mask of his."

This was true, everyone other than Tiburce, Batter, Magnolia, and Oliver had left already. Mostly because they were the closest to Tiburce's own house, and this meant they were the last stops. It was harder to convince the twins to leave Zacharie with all of them, but they managed to do it anyway.

"C'mon Batter, one look can't hurt," Maggie said boredly, running her hands through her hair. 

"Okay, fine. Just for a few seconds. But no telling anyone, no pictures, and no sharpies."

"Why do you care so much? I thought you hated this guy," Maggie replied.

"You'll know when you see it," Batter said, sitting next to Zacharie and carefully lifting the sheet. As expected, a gasp came out of everyone's mouth.

"Now do you get it?" Batter asked, covering him back up.

"Definitely," Tiburce replied, pulling out of Reina's driveway and heading towards Micheal's house.

"When we get there, just drop me and Zacharie off at the bus stop. Our houses are both close enough," Micheal suggested.

"Whaat, why? I can just drop you off at your house, and drive him to his, you know," Tiburce retorted.

"I know, but Magnolia and Oliver--and you, all need to get home soon. It's more convenient for all of you."

"I do like convenience... Alright, you got me. Go ahead and do whatever then, soon you will be free from mother's grasp," Tiburce joked. Batter just rolled his eyes.

Once they got to the bus stop, Batter carefully lifted Zacharie into his arms, managed to wave goodbye to Tiburce while holding him and two bags of candy, then make an attempt to wake him up. After a few more attempts, the boy quickly bolted out of the other's arms, before sighing and brushing himself off.

"What, are you going to beat me up now that it's just the two of us? You've pretty much got two weapons right there from all the candy in there," Zacharie hissed. Clearly he still didn't trust him.

Micheal rolled his eyes again and handed him his bag of candy. Zacharie seemed surprised by this, to which Batter responded, "Look, I'm not gonna eat this all by myself. Take it." Zacharie nodded and took the bag, somehow looking very pleased with this new development without even being to see his face.

"Merc-" he started, before Batter cut him off, "Don't mention it."

Zacharie nodded, and after a bit of hesitation, said goodbye and started walking home. Batter sighed, starting to do the same to his own house, but then he hesitated. He really was curious about Zacharie's house, so after a few minutes he started following him. He made sure to stay far enough behind that he wouldn't notice, but close enough he could listen to what he was saying to an extent. At one point, the same black cat from earlier came out from an alleyway and started meowing at Zacharie.

"Charlotte, how many times do I have to tell you? You've gotta stay in the box! You could have died earlier!" Zacharie scolded, leaning down to pet and then pick up the cat.

Batter was definitely confused, why did she have to stay in a box? Well, for now he shrugged it off, and continued following him home. Soon, they reached a pair of houses with an alley in between. Micheal thought he must live in one of these... Except he kept walking. The alley was a dead end, with nothing but a few trash cans and a large cardboard box. To his shock, Zacharie crawled into the box, as if... He lived in it.

That's why he's always asking for money... Micheal thought to himself, before turning tail and running before he could be seen.

Chapter Text

It was now Monday of the next week. Halloween had passed, and stores were already putting up Christmas decorations. Over the weekend, a lot of sleep had been lost. Pablo and Valerie had lost sleep staying up late watching horror movies, Zacharie had lost sleep due to gorging himself on candy, as he never had such an abundance before. He'd eaten enough to make himself sick. Batter, on the other hand, took his candy eating much slower, keeping himself to only a handful a day. No, the reason he had lost so much sleep was due to what he'd discovered about the enigmatic boy in masks. He honestly couldn't believe that a student of his own high school, who sat next to him every day, had to eat and sleep in a cardboard box, among the trash.

He assumed the twins had no knowledge of this, as he was sure there was no way in hell they'd let him stay living like that if they knew. They could easily afford to house a thousand Zacharies, so there was definitely no chance they knew. He probably made up excuse after excuse as to why they couldn't visit, or why he didn't own a computer or cell phone. In this day and age, it was rare to find a teen who didn't own at least some type of device. He probably told them he was giving up technology for lent or some other bullshit. As evidenced by what happened in English on the first day of school, the Judge and Valerie didn't know what was beneath Zacharie's mask, so he doubted they knew of this either. What he couldn't figure out is why he never asked for their help. 

Whatever the case may be, he knew he couldn't let this carry on like this. He rose from beneath his white sheets, onto the carpet, and made his way to the shower. It wasn't in the begrudging way it had been most days, however, this time he was determined. His heart was set on helping this kid out, no matter how big an asshole he was. After all, he had plenty of reason to be. Batter continued his morning routine, getting himself breakfast, getting changed, and making himself lunch. And though it never helped much, he tried hiding his mother's alcohol, if only to keep her off it for a day. Her addiction really was out of hand. He quickly looked around to see if he had forgotten anything, then grabbed his backpack, his bat, and his keys, and made off for the bus.

As per usual, Zacharie was there, along with several other students. He had no interest them, however, he was only interested in Zacharie. He usually stood at the stop, but this time he was sitting on the ground, curled up away from everyone. He walked over to him, and stood next to him. The merchant started scooting away from him, unsure of his intentions, but stopped himself when Batter let out a simple "Yo," of greeting.

"...hi," was his reply. He still didn't know if he could trust him. After all, he did have everything he needed at his disposal to ruin his life, or at least, ruin it even more than the despicable position it was already in. His change of heart was far too sudden, in his opinion. And he was sure no one at this bus stop would stop their lovely Batter from beating him to a pulp either.

"You okay?" Micheal asked quietly, and to Zacharie's surprise, concern was obviously present in his voice. Either he was an excellent actor, or he actually cared.

"Fine. Why do you care anyway?" was his scathing reply. 

He honestly didn't know how to explain his sudden interest. He couldn't say he had stalked him home, nor could he detail what happened in the locker room in front of all these people, so he settled for silence instead. Zacharie seemed just peachy with that answer, so they both decided to drop the conversation for now.

On the bus, Batter sat right behind Zacharie. He didn't seem to notice or care, opting to keep his attention on his books instead. Batter, on the other hand, took an interest in what he was doing. Reading off people's shoulders was usually something even he himself hated, both from himself and other people, but with Zacharie, somehow it was different. Everything this kid did was interesting, due to just how strange he was. His focus was broken by a random girl sitting next to him and vying for his attention. He ignored her as much as he could, though she was so persistent he couldn't keep his focus steady. He finally talked to her, if only to keep her from pestering him any longer. 

He figured Zacharie really didn't want to talk to him, so he didn't bother him till 2nd period. As he walked in, he heard Zacharie talking to the twins.

"God, I feel like shit."

"Zacharie, if you're not feeling well, you should stay home and get some rest. You don't have to worry about missing assignments, my brother and I can bring your work to you."

"Please, amigos, I'm fine. It's not contagious or anything."

"We're not worried about catching anything, we're worried about you."

"Don't be. I'll be fine, probably just a stomach ache. I had a lot of candy over the weekend."

"If you say so..."

Batter walked in at the tail end of this conversation, and knew he definitely had to take action. Being in a gross alley was a really bad plan for someone who was sick. During one of Dedan's agonizing and screeching lectures--which had gotten so bad that neighboring teachers had to come in and ask him to quiet down, and of course he blamed the noise on his students--Batter passed Zacharie a note, which simply read "meet me after class". Upon receiving it, he scoffed and crumpled it up, not even reading it. He tried again, being very careful to avoid Dedan's passing glance as he did so. Thankfully, he wasn't caught either time. Zacharie was almost tempted to tattle on him for note passing, but decided against it. What would it accomplish other than once again making an enemy out of someone who had all the means to destroy him with a couple clicks? Fine, he'd see what the fuss was all about. He was curious, might as well explore it.

The bell ringing couldn't come early enough for either of them. Zacharie left first, Batter following him out.

"What do you want?" Zacharie hissed.

"Could you come over?" Batter replied.

"...what?" Zacharie began, surprised, "Did I hear you right? The infamous and illustrious Batter, you, wants the equally infamous shitstain plunderer, me, to go to his house? Surely one of us has lost a few marbles." 

"Your English has improved a lot," he noted. "Anyway, no, neither of us have gone crazy. I want you to come over after school." His tone was even and level, showing no hints of an ulterior motive.

"Why on earth would you want that? You hate me!" Zacharie snapped.

"No, I don't. At least not any more. Look, do you want to or not?"

"Why would I trust you enough to hang out in your home? Especially if it's alone." He brought up some valid points.

"...because I'll pay you?" Batter didn't really know what else to say to get him to agree. "And I heard you're not feeling too great. You'd be better off with someone helping you out."

Zacharie considered his proposition for a moment, clearly unsure on what to do in this situation. In the event he really was sick, being home probably wasn't a good idea. It wasn't exactly clean. And, he did need money. 

"...how much are you paying?" he asked finally, his voice quiet.

"How about... $20?"

He smirked under his mask, "$40."

"$25?"

"$35."

"Man, you really are trying to mooch me of all my cash. How's $30 sound?"

"Deal."

Batter grinned slightly, then grabbed a cup and some water. Before Zacharie could even remind him that payment was required, he tossed him a dollar bill.

"Uhm, Batter, you--"

Micheal interrupted him, "Keep the change," then walked off, leaving the merchant a bit shell shocked.

Chapter Text

As both of them boarded the bus to head home, the two of them both realized how little they had thought this through. Batter realized he had no idea what they could do once they arrived at his house, and Zacharie was going into hardcore anxiety mode at the mere thought of all this. After all, why would Batter want him at his house? They didn't have any projects to work on, there was hardly anything they had in common, they knew next to nothing about each other. Unless he wanted even more to blackmail him with, which he wasn't sure if there was anything else he could need, there wasn't any reason to invite him over. 

Well, there was one reason, but he pushed the thought out of his brain as soon as it came up. There's just no way, he thought to himself, no way he could actually like me. Especially after seeing my horrible, ugly face. 

Eventually he gave up trying to figure it out, and settled for sulking silently on the bus seat.

"Hey, this is our stop." Batter's voice interrupted his daydreaming. He simply nodded, and followed him off the bus. He hesitated for a moment, this was his chance. If he wanted out he could just leave right now. But that would also mean losing $30. The school store didn't make him a lot of money, and charging 25 cents for a cup of water didn't do much if the students just drank directly from the tap instead. It was a big opportunity for him, that was for sure. So, despite every nagging force in his head, he continued walking, falling in beside the taller male.

They walked silently for a bit, before reaching a plain, white, two-story house. Batter unlocked the door, and after taking off his boots at the door, started heading upstairs. Zacharie stilled for a moment, unsure of what to do. He could just run if he wanted to, but besides the money aspect, some part of him wanted to stay. He was honestly terrified of whatever reason he was invited here for. His breath quickened as he started going over everything that could happen once again, fears holding his body in place.

"Well come on in, you're letting all the heat out," Batter said, interrupting his thoughts again, a small, friendly smile playing across his lips.

"R-Right," he replied, unfrozen. He shut the door behind him and also removed his shoes. God, it's so weird to see him smile, he thought, as he followed him up the stairs. Almost every time he'd seen him, he'd had the most impressive poker face he'd ever seen. That, or his mouth was turned in an angry, irritated scowl. Seeing him smile was so unusual, it was honestly unsettling. 

As he made his way up the stairs, before heading into the room Micheal had walked into, he noticed another room next to it. He heard snoring coming from it, and quickly dashed into Batter's room.

"Are we alone here?" he asked, a bit nervously.

"We might as well be. Ninety-eight percent of the time my mom's unconscious. The other two percent she spends doing her damnedest to get that way," Batter replied nonchalantly, sitting in a desk chair.

"I see..." was the response. He didn't really know how to reply to that. With the silence, he now realized they were in Micheal's bedroom, a fact that seemed to make his heart skip a beat. He once again felt very nervous, not knowing what the plans for the day were.

"You can sit down, you know," Batter spoke, gesturing to the bed.

Zacharie simply nodded, doing as asked. With the nerves dying down a bit, he now had the time to study the room. The bed was in the middle, against the right wall. The desk was on its left side, against another wall, with a computer on it and the desk chair Batter was sitting in next to it. On the left wall, Batter's closet doors were ajar, and it seemed one of them had come off its track. A dresser stood within the closet, the top drawer half open. Behind Zacharie was laundry, a small book shelf, and a couple storage stuff. Clothes were strewn across the white carpet and papers adorned the white walls. Even the bed sheets were white, though there were a couple black pillows on it. Feeling the sheets with his marred hands, they were quite soft. Not to the grade of Pablo and Valerie's sheets, but still. They were comfortable.

Finally, he decided to get to the meat of the conversation, "So why did you invite me here? We don't have any projects, and there's not much more you could get out of me for information to torment me with. I'm sure as hell not talking."

Batter shrugged, "I guess I still want to make up for what I did to you. It was really shitty, and you didn't deserve it." He wasn't going to tell him he stalked him home, at least not right off the bat.

"So now I didn't deserve it, huh? Seemed to disagree with that when you did it," he hissed, then sighed and settled back down. "Fine, whatever. I don't have the energy to keep being pissed at you, you clearly regret it. You did delete the video, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Honestly, he couldn't remember if he did, but he assumed he must have.

"And judging by the fact there's no new gossip about me, you didn't send it to anyone, so we're good there. Fine, you passed. Congrats," Zacharie said sarcastically. He was still salty that it happened in the first place, but if he was going to keep receiving a nice thirty bucks from this guy, then he was willing to let bygones be bygones.

"Speaking of which, you can take that off, if you want. I've already seen it, so it's not like you've got anything to hide."

Zacharie was silent for a moment, then laughed nervously, "Why, whatever do you mean, dear Batteur? This isn't strip poker."

Batter rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean, Zacharie."

Zacharie's eyes darted around the room, "There aren't any hidden cameras around here, right?"

"No, Zacharie. Even I don't have that kind of dedication."

"Your phone?"

"My phone's in a bag all the way over there, and my computer isn't even on. There's no cameras."

"What about your mother?"

"Like I said, she's gonna be asleep for at least the next fourty-eight hours. Maybe even fourty-eight years."

"Why do you even want to see it? Once is probably enough to burn your retinas for a life time."

"Look, you don't have to if you don't want to. I'm not forcing you, I'm just saying that it's probably not any fun wearing that all the time."

 "You do have a point... It can be a bit suffocating, if I'm honest." Zacharie sighed, putting his hands to his mask. Still, he was nervous. "You sure you don't mind seeing it again? You sure you want to see it again? It's... It's pretty disgusting, I know."

"Yes, Zacharie, I'm fine with it," Batter assured, "If you'd be more comfortable with it off, then by all means, go ahead."

"Alright, if you're sure..." He closed his eyes and held his breath, and pulled the mask from his face. For a full five, agonizing minutes, he sat there, still, terrified of the other's reaction. When he finally built up the courage to open even one of his eyes, the expression on Batter's face shocked him so much, the rest of the air in his lungs seemed to completely disappear. He expected... Anger, disgust, something, but concern was the last thing he expected from him.

Batter studied his face carefully, in silence. Before, he was wriggling so much he couldn't get a proper look, but now... Now everything was very clear, in vivid, horrific detail. He had a plump, melanin-rich face, with freckles so dark they were almost pitch black. Scars broke up the pattern that was almost akin to a night sky, like a damaged Monet painting. His bright green eyes looked towards the floor, as if an anchor was holding them down. But of course, the worst part was the holes. Circular, jagged holes bored into his cheeks, making his molars clearly visible. Batter had no idea what object could have done this, or what horrible person could do this to someone who wasn't even of age to do just about anything. The scars all looked at least a year old, so at least he was out of that situation, but still. Looking all of it over, yes, he'd admit that it was gross, but it wasn't his fault. Despite--or perhaps, because of--all the scars, somehow, he even found it a little endearing.

All the silence and staring was killing Zacharie, and he hastily started putting his mask back on, "S-Sorry, I'll just--"

"No, no, it's okay," Batter interrupted, "Sorry, I shouldn't have stared."

Zacharie hesitated for a moment, then took it back off. "N...no, you're right, it's to be expected. It's not every day you get to see something this grotesque..."

"It's really not that bad. It doesn't matter what anyone else says, just cause someone talks shit it doesn't make it true."

"No one else has seen it though. No one has actually said anything with any way to back it up. I'm the one talking shit. I know it's ugly. I know I'm ugly. You don't have to pretend I'm not."

Batter was about to respond, but Zacharie spoke first, "Look, let's just... Discuss something other than my disfigurements, okay?"

Batter nodded, grateful for the chance for a subject change. He wasn't the best person for consoling people anyway. He kind of was a bully for a good portion of his life. "So, uh... You want snacks? There's food in the kitchen, just don't touch the vodka or mom's expensive cheeses."

Zacharie breathed a sigh of relieve, then let out a bit of chuckle, "No way, I'm not eating in front of anyone. You ever seen a cat try to eat? It's like that but worse, and I don't think you want me ruining your sheets this early on. Trust me amigo, you'll be glad I spared you from it."

Batter couldn't help not to smile, even if it was small. "Alright, well what do you wanna do?"

"Hmm... What kind of games do you have?"

Batter smiled even wider, "Let me show you the glory of Smash."

By the time either of them had bothered to look up from the screen, it was much darker now. Judging by the analog clock on the wall, about 8:43, though one could never be sure if an analogue clock was accurate without a digital one to back it up. Regardless, Zacharie jumped up from his seat, frantically gathering his things. 

"Uhm, uh, I've got to go, I have, uh, stuff to do, and you know, beauty sleep, not that it would help, haha, uh..." Zacharie stammered out, as he headed to the door.

"You can stay, if you want," Batter said, turning to face him but still not rising from the couch. 

"N-no, I couldn't possibly bother you any further, I'll just... go back home... to my nice warm bed, and uh..." 

Batter took a serious tone, "I know."

Zacharie looked up from his shabby knot work on his left shoe, stopping everything. "...know what?"

"I know what happened to you. You don't have to make up excuses."

Zacharie dipped back into his nervous, habitual laughter, "W-whatever do you mean?"

"You do realize the bus stop is only a block away from every kid who uses it right? It's not that hard to find."

Internally, Zacharie was a little relieved. He didn't know everything. What he did know, however, was still very personal information, and that was still terrifying. "What, so you're stalking me now?!"

"What?! N-no!" he lied, "I was just walking somewhere else and accidentally found it."

Zacharie was silent for a moment. When he did speak, it was deathly quiet, almost threatening. An empty threat, as his voice was quivering with fear. "You haven't told anyone, right?"

"No, and I don't plan to. Secrets are secret for a reason. Besides, I can't imagine the shit storm you'd get if the rest of the school found out."

He stayed quiet for a moment, then sighed, "Still, I can't ask you to let me stay here. You've been hospitable enough as it is."

"You don't have to, I'm asking you. Take the bed, even. I can sleep just about anywhere."

Zacharie was further surprised, "W-what? No, amigo, I can't ask you to do that, it's your bed, you sleep in it!"

"Again, you don't have to ask, I'm asking you," Batter reiterated, "besides, considering you probably haven't told your friends about this, I'm guessing you rarely if ever get to sleep somewhere comfortable."

"But... But what about Charlotte? I still have to feed her," Zacharie whispered, seeming to run out of reasons to say no at this point.

"I can take her. Mom loves cats. Dad's allergic, but the bastard's never here so what do I care," Batter replied. He could tell he was winning.

"You... You'd really do that?" Zacharie asked after a moment of quiet. He was in total disbelief at this point.

"Yeah, of course. You can't exactly afford to feed her well anyway. Do you wanna go get her tonight? She's probably due for a bath anyway."

Zacharie smiled and nodded, finishing getting his shoes on and slipping his mask back on his face. Batter turned off the TV and game system, and followed suit.

"Lead the way."

Chapter Text

Zacharie awoke to the sound of knocking on a door. He sat up in bed, yawning and stretching. He blinked a bit, looking around his surroundings. He didn't recognize them at all. In his tired state, the white walls and sheets made him think he was in the hospital again. It wasn't an unreasonable assumption, he'd been there many times before. But upon closer inspection, he realized this wasn't the case at all. The walls had too many pictures, there was a carpet, a desk with a desktop computer. Charlotte was sleeping between his legs, and cats weren't typically allowed in hospitals. Memories from the previous night came flooding in, and he realized where he was. The revelation caused his face to flush, as being in the bed of anyone could be considered romantic.

The knocking came again, "Hey Zacharie, it's time for school. Seriously how do you wake yourself up in the morning? Are you decent?"

"Um, y-yes, I'm fine!" he replied, a bit flustered.

Batter opened the door, "Oh, good, you are up. Get yourself fed and showered, so we can catch the bus." He then left the room.

Zacharie sunk back down into the covers for a moment, contemplating all this. Thinking about it, the situation was pretty odd. He was in the bed of someone who had tormented him, and previously had hated him. Someone who, at one point, he thought he had a bit of a crush on. He wouldn't admit this fact to anyone but himself, but he couldn't deny that it happened. He didn't mind being here though. He felt... safe here, which was strange enough in its own right. Nowhere felt safe, but somehow this did. Though, definitely not safe enough to eat here, and definitely definitely not safe enough to shower here. He was too embarrassed by the way he had to eat, and too ashamed of his body to risk accidentally putting either on display. It had been far too long since he'd last showered, and he hadn't eaten dinner last night either. He'd have to eat as much as he could during the lunch period in the privacy of his shop. He was grateful there was a back room for food, storage, and bathroom breaks.

 He sighed, slowly moving out from under the covers so as not to disturb Charlotte. She, of course, woke up anyway, mrrowing a hello. 

"Haha, good morning Charlotte. Sorry, I have to go now, just go back to sleep. I'll be back later today," Zacharie soothed, speaking in French. He usually talked to her in French. Cats couldn't understand either language anyway. He pet her gently, before grabbing his things and inching out of the room. He secured his mask on his face, then headed downstairs. 

Batter was sitting on the couch, quietly watching morning television and eating cereal. Noticing Zacharie on the stairs, he briefly said hello, then continued eating.

Zacharie returned this greeting, then continued on to say something else, "Hey, so uh, would it be okay if I took a couple snacks?"

"Take a whole five course meal for all I care. Whatever you need," Batter replied, barely paying him any attention.

As much as he hated accepting what he considered charity, he eventually justified it with the fact that he'd be making the food himself  Satisfied with his resolution, he went into the kitchen, making several easy to keep meals for the next few days. Considering he'd have to go back home later, he'd rather have enough to keep him going for at least the rest of the week. 

He walked back to the front door, stuffing his bag with food and putting on his shoes.

"You're wearing that to school?"

Zacharie was surprised, to say the least. Batter was the last person he'd consider asking for fashion advice. Well, not the last anymore, but definitely not even in the top five. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've been wearing the same three things for the past, I don't know, three months?! You need some new clothes, dude."

"Well, I don't have much choice, now do I?" Zacharie retorted, continuing with his shoes.

"You are not gonna keep wearing the same dirty shit the rest of the year. Come on, I've got some old clothes in the closet," Batter insisted.

"But, I--" Zacharie's protests were futile as he was dragged back into the bedroom to look through a large cardboard box in Batter's closet.

"We've been meaning to give these all away for a while, but haven't gotten around to it. I don't know if any of it'll fit you since you're pretty much half my size, but you can take anything you want," Batter explained, as Zacharie started piecing through the box.

"Um..." Zacharie whispered, unsure of how to communicate what he wanted to say.

"What is it?"

"Th...thank you for all this, but really, I... I can't accept all this... I don't deserve--"

Batter snorted, cutting him off, "Oh, cut the crap already. Everyone deserves at least enough to be comfortable, no matter how fucked up this economy gets. I don't want or need any of this, so you can take what ever you want."

"But, I can't pay you back!" Zacharie insisted, not wanting to be in debt to anyone, as he knew how much trouble debt could get him into.

"I don't care. Like I said, I don't want or need any of this. All I care about is that it goes to someone who does need it. You need it, so you're getting it. And I'm not backing down on this."

Zacharie was silent for a moment, thinking all of this over. After failing to come up with a legitimate excuse for why he couldn't take it, he finally sighed, and spoke back up. "Um..."

"What?"

"Can... can you leave the room for a bit then? So... so I can change?"

Batter blinked for a moment, then went a bit red in the face. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'll leave you to it," he said, then left the room. As soon as he was out, Zacharie got back up and locked the bedroom door and shut the window curtains, just to be safe. After that, he pulled out a sweatshirt and some pants and slipped them on. They were both a bit big for his size, but he made do with what he had. The sweatshirt was grey, and was extremely soft inside. It felt like he was being hugged by a million tiny angels at once. He had no idea Batter's clothes were this comfy and soft. He wondered if hugging himself while wearing it came even close to what a hug from him would feel like. Probably not, but it was as close as he could get.

His face burned again as he realized what was going on in his head. He put his hands to his face, feeling like he was dying internally, though he couldn't stop smiling. He forced himself to calm down, got his shoes back on, and headed back downstairs to join Batter at the door, and the two of them walked to the bus stop. Zacharie really was glad he wore masks all the time. It made hiding his emotions so much easier.

Chapter Text

"You're awfully chipper today," Pablo said slyly.

"Whatever do you mean, my dear friend?" Zacharie replied, knowing full well his friend's game by now.

"Where'd you get that sweatshirt from, hmmm?"

"Do you memorize where you get all your clothes from? Because I sure don't."

"Sorry I'm late!" Valerie exclaimed, interrupting their banter.

"Ah, it's no trouble, my dear brother," Pablo replied, "We hadn't really started anyway."

"Where'd you get your sweatshirt from, Zacharie?" Valerie dropped a stack of books on the table and plopped into the seat next to his brother. 

"Is everyone gonna ask me that today? I probably got it from Target or something. Maybe the soup store."

Valerie laughed a bit, "Why are you buying clothes at the soup store?"

Silence filled the library for a moment, aside from a couple quiet snickers. Zacharie and Valerie were probably the only people in the whole school who didn't understand why that was so funny. Pablo's lips curled into a smile. It was rare to ever hear him laugh, unless it was his own joke.

Zacharie broke the silence to continue the conversation, "It is really soft though, feel it."

The twins both took their turns feeling the arms of the sweatshirt. "Oh wow, you're right, it really is soft!"

A part of him knew it'd be softer if... someone else was wearing it, but he dismissed the thought. "So, now that we've beat the dead horse that is the sweatshirt to the point that there's nothing left but blood and goo, shall we get back to the tutoring that this time was meant for?"

Pablo smirked, "Are you sure you even need it, dear friend? Judging by that sentence, your English has improved to the point that I believe our tutoring may be obsolete."

"No, no, there's no way you've taught me every word in the English language, much less how to use it. There's probably at least a hundred thousand, right?"

"About a hundred and fifty thousand, actually. At least, those are the words that aren't considered obsolete at this point in time. Not to mention more are always being added as time goes on," Pablo corrected. 

"You really do seem to know everything, brother," Valerie said, a bit of pride and admiration in his voice.

"No, not everything. I don't know all the secrets of the world," Pablo replied, glancing pointedly in Zacharie's direction. Somehow he seemed to always know more than he possibly could.

Zacharie chuckled nervously, "Well, no one can know everything, no matter how much we want to."

"True..."

The bell rang, signifying the closeness of 4th period. Zacharie stood up, "Well, I should head to Trig. See you guys later!"

"See you soon, Zacharie," Pablo said, giving him a brief wave.

And with that, he headed off to class.

"Hey, Zacharie, new sweatshirt, huh?" Reina asked quietly, while Seneca wasn't looking.

"Mhm. And before you ask, I fought a teacher for it." Only a couple people had asked him about it, but he'd decided he'd make up increasingly wild stories to explain where he got it. It made it less tedious and boring.

"Oh? Which one?"

He pointed at the Chemistry teacher. He knew people were talking, but whenever he turned around, they instantly went silent and continued their work, so he couldn't put the blame on anyone specific, which made him even more irritated.

"Well that explains why he's so pissy today," she giggled a little, then spoke again, "So, you going to watch the practice again today? Your attendance has been a bit sporadic lately, not that it really matters. Though I do enjoy the look on the others' faces when you interact with them."

"I plan to, yeah. Considering I was gone all last week, I haven't had much income, so I have to make it all up somehow."

"Speaking of which, how's Micheal been treating you? He still as big of a jerk as before?"

Zacharie hesitated, then chuckled a bit, "No, no, he's been better lately. I almost even trust him."

Reina mocked a gasp, "No way, that's crazy! Who is he and what has he done with the real Micheal!"

Zacharie had to stop himself from laughing so as not to invoke the teacher's ire, "Clearly aliens have invaded."

Seneca's high-pitched voice interrupted them, as he whipped around to growl at his students, "If aliens had invaded, they probably would have the sense to be quiet, unlike you ungrateful whelps." After a moment of silence, he went back to his lecturing, "Now, back to the topic at hand, 6.02 x 10^23 mols are equal to...."

Zacharie followed Reina out of the class room after collecting his things, and both of them headed out to the baseball field. Zacharie made himself comfortable in the bleachers, while Reina headed into the changing rooms to switch outfits and to greet her team. At the moment, Zacharie and Daniel were the only people in the terraces, along with a gentle sprinkling of a couple other kids he didn't recognize. It wasn't long before a handful of the team came out of the two locker rooms, Batter at the head of the men's side of things. Zacharie sat up straight as soon as he saw him, waving a little to him. Batter saw him, and while he didn't wave back, he did give him a small smile. Zacharie was getting more and more used to seeing him smile now, but it was still a bit unnerving. Though, being used to Pablo's Cheshire grin, he wasn't sure how he could find any smile unsettling anymore.

He paid loose attention to the practice games that were happening, and spent some of the time sketching. Batter was the perfect player as always, but that was par for the course at this point. Things hadn't changed much, from an outside perspective. Thinking about it, he kind of liked having a secret to share. He always preferred to carry his burdens alone, but now... maybe he had just been too scared to ask for help. He really enjoyed not having to do this all alone anymore. He knew he'd have to go back home, he was sure Batter's hospitality had run dry at this point, but still, it was nice. 

During breaks, the players still came to get towels and water bottles despite the fact that Zacharie was present to monetize it all. Things really hadn't changed since the last time he'd been here. Somehow they always managed to forget they'd need to pay for all these things. Probably because last year they'd all come for free. He knew they really hated him for it, but he had permission to do it, and they were simply paying to use towels and drink water. A good portion of the world had to do this anyway, what made this any different?

About halfway through the practice, Batter walked up through the terraces to quench his thirst and dry off his sweat. Even in the brisk November air, the team wasn't spared from their glistening hides. Before Zacharie could open his mouth to speak, Batter raised his hands in surrender, sitting next to him and forking over the cash, "I know, I know."

Zacharie graciously accepted the money, stuffing it into his bag. "So, you're doing well with this game, as always."

"Yeah, at this point it's almost more about living up to expectations," Batter replied, sipping from his drink.

"Are you not enjoying it, amigo?"

"No, I am, just I've been on the team so long, everyone expects me to be perfect."

"Well, to be fair, you kind of are."

"I mean, you're not wrong. I can't imagine the teams reaction if I ever struck out."

"Jeez, yeah. Sports junkies can be a nightmare."

Batter turned to look at Zacharie now, "Speaking of the team, I've heard quite a few rumors from them."

"Oh? What have they been saying?" Zacharie questioned, his interest piqued.

"Most of them are about where you got my sweatshirt from. Do you really have a girlfriend overseas?"

Zacharie couldn't tell if he was just hearing things, or if he was actually worried about the existence of this supposed girlfriend. Either way, he laughed as he replied, "Well, you'd have to ask her that, now wouldn't you?"

"I guess so." Batter was quiet for a moment, before he spoke again, "It looks good on you though."

Zacharie's face flushed a little beneath his mask, "Why thank you. It's really comfortable by the way."

"Good, I'm glad. It's good that it's finally going to good use again too."

"Thanks for letting me borrow it, by the way."

Batter looked at him increduously. "Borrow? What do you mean borrow? You're not planning on keeping it?"

"Do...do you want me to keep it?" Zacharie was still surprised by the amount Batter was willing to do for him, after how poorly he had treated him. He felt like at some point, he was going to ask to be payed in full for all the debt he now owed. Part of him still really didn't trust him. He wasn't sure he ever would. 

"Yes, Zach, I do. Seriously, just take it."

"Alright, if you're sure..." Zacharie looked back at the players, and noticed someone waving to him. Thinking about it, though, they were probably waving to Batter. "I think your team wants you."

"Shoot, you're probably right. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Batter stood up, but waited for a response.

Zacharie just nodded, and gestured for him to go to his people. He did as told, and after talking to the team for a few more minutes, the normal practice activities resumed.

The practice continued as usual for the next few hours. Zacharie made a few more transactions, much to the dismay of the other players; Batter hit several more home runs; and so on. Coach Enoch called time, and the teams filed into the locker rooms. A group came back out, and said something to the coach, which sent him running into the locker rooms. The group headed up to the bleachers, marching in Zacharie's direction. 

"Hey assfucker, let's go," one of them said. He recognized him as Gilles, he was probably the one he made the most money off of.

"What?" Zacharie asked, unsure as to what was going on.

"I said. Let's. Go," Gilles growled, and before he could protest, two of the group's members grabbed him by his arms and started dragging him up into the skybox at the top of the terraces. He kicked and screamed, but before he could get much of a sound out, Gilles slipped his hand under his mask to cover his mouth and keep him quiet.

Everything happened so fast. Before he knew it, the door to the skybox was locked behind them, and already everyone was touching him far too much. Gilles yanked off his mask, revealing eyes that glittered with fear. He felt like he couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, it was all he could do not to cry. Gilles delivered a swift kick to his ribs, which knocked all the air out of his lungs. The rest of the group threw punch after punch, kick after kick. Someone punched his face, another hit his spine, one of them kicked his groin, It got to the point where he couldn't even recognize all the injuries. He tried screaming, but no sound came out. He tried escaping, but every time he did, they held him back down. He tried looking anywhere but at his assailants, but they were everywhere. It felt like there wasn't just a mere five of them, it felt like there were sixty monsters surrounding him. Glancing in one corner, he could swear one of them was recording. He couldn't tell how long this had dragged on, maybe it was only a couple seconds, maybe it was two hours, his head was swimming, all he could think and see was the colour red. At one point, though, he knew they had stopped. They were still holding him down, he didn't know why they had stopped, but they did. That look on Gilles' face, though... that horrible, ugly look, told him everything. He didn't even need to hear his brief spiel about "seeing that plump ass of his", he already knew where this was going. 

Oh God, not again, please, please I can't handle this again I can't do this someone stop him don't let him touch me I need to get away get away get away make stop, his thoughts ran wild, to a time and place he never wanted to revisit. He could feel his shirt being removed, he could hear the sound of someone undoing his belt, he could feel the hands, cold, cold hands on his now mostly bare chest. He didn't bother struggling. He'd learned from a very young age that there was no point. All it did was cause you more pain in the end. He felt the hands going lower, lower, Please no lower than that please just stop don't want don't want don't--

Suddenly, after several knocks on the door, his prayers were answered, and the hands stopped. The door slammed open, and then everything stopped. There was a lot of yelling and screaming, but Zacharie wasn't paying any attention to any of it. He knew he had to get out of here. As soon as he was released, he grabbed his mask from the floor next to him and ran out as fast as he could. He grabbed his bag on his way out, but didn't stop for anything. He heard Batter's voice calling out to him, but he didn't care, all he knew was that he had to get out of here.

Chapter Text

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Batter barked, holding Gilles by his shirt collar. He held him in his right hand. In his left, the camera that had been recording was being held hostage as well.

"Jeez, Bats, why do you care? I was just teachin' the little twerp a lesson. Bastard damn well deserved it and you know it," Gilles replied. The others in the room, or at least, those who hadn't ran already, nodded in agreement.

"In what world does getting paid for a service warrant a beating, groping, and blackmail?! Just cause you don't like a new rule, doesn't mean you have to attack the guy enforcing it! And whose dumb idea was it to record this? Yours? You damn well know this is illegal, if this gets out you'll be lucky if you're not sent to juvie, not even mentioning getting expelled or kicked off the team!"

"Oh come on, Bats, he was asking for it. He was beggin' for me, honest. I'm innocent," Gilles replied, his smirk still ever present upon his lips. A few crooked teeth stuck out from beneath them.

"Does 'no' and 'stop' sound like 'asking for it' to you?" Batter snarled. "Look, I'm gonna show this to the Coach. Either you and all your friends come clean, and face it yourselves, or run like cowards. Whatever you choose, you will face consequences for your actions." He let go of his shirt, and started walking out. 

"Hey, buddy, pal, ya don't have to do this, we can talk this out," Gilles pleaded, realizing the gravity of the situation.

"I think we just did," Batter replied, and without another word, he left.

It was a long and arduous conversation with the Coach over how to handle the situation, but eventually it was decided that Gilles and everyone else in the video would be removed from the team. The video would be deleted, and no one would speak of this again. It would ruin too many reputations. Were he more educated on the topic, Batter probably would have argued that a few ruined reputations was nothing compared to a life ruined by the trauma of this event, but he didn't learn that lesson till much, much later. Since all this was settled, he figured he'd better pay Zacharie a visit. He grabbed the pencils and sketchbook he had left behind in his rush to escape, and left the field. At first, he thought maybe he had gone home, either to his own home, or back to the box. But the walk there was much too far. Maybe he'd opted to hide out in the school store instead? He had the keys, so it seemed like a likely option. He figured that would be the best place to check. 

He wandered back into the school, up to the shop. Of course, the door and the gate were both shut and locked. He knocked anyway.

"Zach? Are you in there?" he called out. No reply.

He knocked again, "Zacharie? It's me, Batter. You left some of your stuff back there, I grabbed it for you." Still no response.

One more time, "Ok, I'm heading back home. I'll have it there." Honestly, at this point, he didn't know why he was still trying. Though, as he started walking away, he heard a lock click behind him. For a second, he questioned whether he was just hearing things, but when he checked the door, sure enough, it opened. He walked through, and found...

Nothing.

There was no one there. Nothing in sight. Besides the small amount of litter and the boxes of snacks, there wasn't anything to suggest anyone had even been in here. Though, once his eyes adjusted to the lack of light in the room, he noticed another door at the back. So, of course, he tried that door. And behind that door...

Was Zacharie. He was sitting in a desk chair, surrounded by boxes upon boxes of snacks. A half empty, spilled Gatorade lay on the floor next to him, which seemed to be the cause of the faint, dark red stains on the arms of the sweatshirt. Behind him was a partially opened door that appeared to lead into a bathroom, and on the other side of the room was a fridge, likely for storing perishable snacks. Zacharie's bag lay open on the floor. Zacharie himself was curled up on the chair, his mask hiding his expression. From the pose, and the fact that he was visibly shaking a little, he didn't look happy.

Not knowing what to say, they both waited in silence for the other to speak. After what felt like a long, long time, Micheal finally spoke, "I uh... I brought your things. And, I took care of things with Gilles. He's off the team, along with everyone else who hurt you. The video's been deleted. Coach figured it would be better not to ruin any reputations. So uh, you don't have to worry about leaked footage. Everyone's probably learned their lesson, so I don't think they'll be a problem anymore. So, everything's gonna be okay, right?" 

It was a long time before Zacharie could even bare to lift his head and look at him. His whole body was till trembling, yet he seemed frozen in place. Finally, after many, many more minutes, he was able to reply, with a shake of the head. When asked to elaborate, it was longer still before he could reply. 

"H-He... he hit me, and, and touched me, and he... he looked at me with that... that awful, awful expression. Even... even ignoring how, how long it'll take for all those bruises to heal, I... I don't know if I can ever recover, mentally. I mean, I never really recovered the first time, why would I think I could ever even attempt a second, or a third, or... I... I'm going to be broken the rest of my life. Nothing can fix this, not you, not Pablo, not Val, not anyone! I'll be tainted for ever. I'm never going to feel happy again, not that I deserve to. I..." His voice was strained, as if it was hard to talk without bursting into tears or throwing up. There was so much emotion in his throat it was hard to stomach. And after a moment of probably trying to keep himself together, he pushed up his mask and looked directly into Batter's eyes, his tired, bright green eyes boring into his blue ones, "I deserve it, I deserve all of it, I deserve to be hurt, I deserve to be punished, I deserve to be tortured and beaten and starved and raped and I deserve every single thing that man has done to me. The fires, the drowning, they were all my fault, I could have stopped them if I had just left it well alone but no, and now I'm here, away from it all, and it's so overwhelming, and now it's back, and I can't understand anything! Why isn't anyone hurting m-me, I deserve it, I don't deserve to live or be helped and I can't understand, why are you helping me?!" Tears were pouring down his face at this point, "You should be hurting me, forcing me into it, berating me, something, a-and, I don't know why, I c-can't, I don't deserve you, and it's my fault, I-I did it, you're only going to get h-hurt, and it'll be all my fault, everyone I love dies, and you're going to die and it'll be all my f-"

Micheal walked closer to him, but it only seemed to scare him. "Look, Zach, I don't understand half of what you just said, but I do know this. This isn't your fault and you don't deserve what happened to you, and you do deserve help. Now, just tell me what you need so I can help you."

At this point, Zach had shut down completely, nothing but sobs echoing in the room. Micheal tried getting closer again, but was once again met with a flinch, so he just sat down and waited. Eventually, after about an hour, he finally calmed down, enough to be somewhat functional. Zacharie got out of his chair, standing up and collecting his things. "I'm... really sorry that you saw me like that. It's not a side I like showing to... anyone, really."

"Seriously, Zach, there's nothing to apologize for. It's not your fault," Micheal replied.

"We can agree to disagree, I guess."

"If that's really the hill you want to die on, be my guest. I'm just peachy here on mine."

"Thanks for grabbing my stuff... and dealing with those people... and suffering through my ramblings... I really owe you uh... several," Zacharie sighed, putting his mask back over his face.

"Seriously, don't mention it. As an added bonus, I can walk you home."

Zacharie was about to protest, but he just sighed in defeat, "I...Thanks... I don't know if I could handle walking home alone right now."

"And you're still staying with me tonight. Especially after what happened, being alone probably isn't in your best interest. And don't argue, I've made up my mind." He was met with a nod, and they walked home. 

When they got back, Batter was preparing to take the couch and send Zacharie up to the bedroom, but once again, he took issue with that.

"You're still trying to fight me on this? Come on, man, just take the bed," Batter huffed.

"No, it's not that, I just..." Zacharie hesitated, very unsure of himself. His voice got very quiet, "...I don't know if I can be alone right now..."

It took Batter a minute to process that. "...Do you really trust me enough for that?"

"I don't know... not like I have many options... but, every shadow morphs until it looks like... him. I can't handle seeing that all night, not again. Please, just this once..."

"I mean, yeah, of course. As long as you're fine with it, right?" 

Zacharie nodded. And with that, the two of them headed upstairs, their footsteps in sync.

Chapter Text

Zacharie woke up to a face staring back at him.

He immediately jumped out of bed, fearing the worst, but he calmed down slightly when he realized who it was. Though his heart got pumping once again, as he realized the situation. Sharing a bed with someone? Especially someone who put a smile to his face so painfully often, it was almost too much to bear. Even though it had only been two weeks since the toilet incident, it felt years away now. 

He questioned if he should shake his friend awake, but an alarm going off prevented any need to do so. Batter yawned, blinking the sleep from his eyes. He also seemed surprised by Zacharie's presence. "Oh, uhm, good morning."

Zacharie nodded, "Bien matin, Batter."

The two decided not to mention their sleeping arrangements, or any of what had happened last night. Even though it would take far longer than a mere twelve hours for him to forget it, Zacharie was trying his best not to remember the events that had unfolded. It would be far too soon if he never had to think of Gilles again. 

Both boys finished getting ready for the day, Zacharie once again refusing to eat in the presence of others, and Batter just sighing as he couldn't convince him otherwise. Batter couldn't dedicate all his brain power to him, he had midterms to worry about, and he assumed Zacharie did as well. 

Zacharie aced his ESL test with flying colours, as per usual. With all the tutoring he was getting, getting anything less than an A- would be quite the shock. Batter, surprising the teacher, had actually done fairly well on his French testing, considering all the other times he'd gotten just above a failing grade. A little hard work and dedication must have done the trick.

As Dedan was passing out the tests to his class, Zacharie whispered under his breath, "Two tests in a row? I must have gotten the short end of the stick."

Valerie leaned over, "You do know today is the midterm test day right? Every class is testing today."

Zacharie seemed surprised, "Wait, what? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Pablo spoke up, "Everyone's been talking about it for the past wee- Oh. Right." 

Zacharie was about to reply, but Dedan's voice cut through the air, and he began instructing them on how they were supposed to take the test.

"God I really shouldn't have skipped so much of this dumb class," Zacharie groaned, laying his head on his desk. The History teacher had just finished collecting everyone's tests, and was now allowing everyone to talk.

"You know I could have helped you study, Zach," Valerie replied, resting his head as well, "Just because you missed classes doesn't mean you can't learn." He was trying to sound optimistic.

"Yeah, but that doesn't help me now! Why didn't you tell me we would be testing soon, you-" Zacharie sighed and cut himself off, "I'm sorry, it's not your fault. I just... There's so much going on right now, a-and yesterday-" The bell ringing interrupted him. He stood up and waved to Valerie, "Nevermind, I'll see you after school, okay?"

Valerie seemed confused, "But what about..." But he was already gone.

 By the time lunch had rolled around, Batter had decided, before meeting up with his own friends, he wanted to see Zacharie. He had grown quite fond of him over the past couple days, and some of the team was pretty ticked at him for getting a good handful of their players kicked off the team. Whatever, they deserved it for what they did, he thought, with a bit of a scowl to his face.

As he approached Zacharie's shop, however, he noticed it was closed, which was very unusual for him. He knocked on the metal door, with no response. He knocked again, this time on the wooden door that granted access to behind the counter, "Hey, Zach, it's me, Batter. Are you there?"

He felt a slight sense of deja vu, as once again, right as he was about to leave, he heard the lock click behind him. He sighed, and turned the knob.

Just like the night before, Zacharie was sitting in the backroom, though this time he had already taken off his mask. It was obvious he had been crying, even in the dim lighting Micheal could see the tear streaks and the redness of his eyes. "H-hey..." he finally said, avoiding Batter's gaze.

Micheal sighed, "What's going on, what's wrong?" He stayed on his side of the room for now, he didn't want to spook him like he did last night.

"I-I'm fine, you don't have to stay over there." He started getting up, "I should get back to work, I-"

Batter did get closer, blocking his path, "Clearly you're not fine. Sit back down, and tell me what's going on."

Zacharie just sighed and did as he was told. "I just... Yesterday was... a lot... I thought, now that I was here, I'd never have to feel that way again, and now, woop-dee-doo, here we are. I can't stop thinking about it, a-and I thought I could push through it, I've done it before, I've had to do it before, but, I couldn't. I couldn't take it anymore, every where I look I still see his face, every time I try to think of a fucking test answer I instead have to remember what happened, enduring it over and over, a-and it's too much, and now with this whole testing thing I-"

"Hold on," Micheal interrupted, "What do you mean, 'again'?"

Zacharie was quiet for a good while. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Batter."

"Then tell me. Tell me what's going on with you."

"I really, really don't want to talk about it."

"Well, you're gonna have to if this is going to go anywhere."

Zacharie finally looked him in the eyes, "Please. Don't make me remember it. Don't make me relive those painful memories just so you have a little more information."

Micheal sighed, ultimately giving up. "Fine." Looking to change the subject, he spotted an empty bag of chips. "So, um, how was lunch?"

Zacharie let out a dry laugh, "I haven't even eaten yet. Gotta love when the panic attack hits right before you're about to chow down."

"Zacharie, when was the last time you ate? I know you didn't eat last night or this morning."

"...Lunch time, yesterday. Why?"

"Jesus, dude, you need food. What did you even bring for lunch?"

"I...I'll be honest, I kind of forgot to pack a lunch... I'm so used to not really having anything to pack in the first place."

Micheal stood up, "Alright, that's it, you're eating, right here, right now." He pulled a sandwich out of his bag, "Eat. Now."

Zacharie shook his head, "N-no, I can just eat, uhm, chips? A-and oranges? You should eat your own lunch."

"Nuh-uh, not after you've been starving yourself everyday. I can get one of the school lunches. Besides, if you're gonna be living with me, you're gonna have to get over this whole 'not eating in front of me' thing."

Zach whined a bit, "But-"

"No buts. I'm not taking no for an answer here."

Zacharie finally gave in. He wasn't lying when he said it was like a cat trying to eat but worse. He had to keep tilting his head to prevent food from falling out of the holes in his cheeks. Of course, Batter wouldn't say this out loud, but it was kind of gross seeing all the chewed up food in his mouth.

Once he was satisfied that Zacharie was actually going to eat, he spoke back up, "I'm going to get myself lunch, I'll see if I can grab you something extra. Do you want me to come back when I'm done?"

Zacharie hesitated, but eventually nodded. Having a friend was in his best interest.

"Alright, I'll be right back." 

Once he returned, carrying a plate of pizza and a couple extra snacks, he sat down next to Zacharie, the two of them eating and chatting together. Once they had both finished, Zacharie sighed contently, leaning against Batter. "Thank you... for putting up with my bullshit, and staying with me. It means a lot."

"Don't mention it. I'd do it all again if I had to." 

"Well, still. Thank you anyway."

And they sat together like that until the bell rang.

Chapter Text

"Hey, kid."

Zacharie woke up to an unknown voice, startling him to his core. "W-Who's there?" He asked, bolting upright.

Ashley snorted, "Chill out, it's just me. Er, I guess we haven't actually met, name's Ashley. I'm Micheal's mom. Though I guess he prefers to go by Batter. Anyway, it's almost two o'clock, so I figured you should probably wake up so you don't ruin your sleep schedule."

Zacharie ran his hand through his sticky hair. He really needed a shower. "Oh, er, good morning, Mrs. Batler."

Ashley laughed, "Oh, no need to be so formal. I appreciate the gesture, but you can just call me Ashley, everyone does. Anyway, I realized you've been here for what, almost a month? I think? And I still don't actually know your name."

"Oh, er, sorry, i-if you don't want me here, I can leave, I-" 

Ashley cut him off, "Don't worry, you can stay. It's good that Micheal has actual friends who want to come over. I'm sure there's a good reason you're staying here, so kicking you out proooobably isn't in your best interest. But seriously, if you're staying I should probably know who you are."

Zacharie paused for a moment, considering everything she had said, before replying, "Oh, my name is Zacharie. It's um, nice to meet you."

Ashley stood up, "Great to meet you too! I've gotta head out, so if you would wake Micheal for me that would be great. I'm sure he's less shouty with you than me." She winked, then continued, "Tomorrow's Thanksgiving, so I've gotta go get a turkey, and stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Anything you really want on the table?"

Zacharie was still processing everything she had said, "Thanks..giving? Turkey? What?"

She gasped, "Oh you poor thing! Have you never had Thanksgiving before?"

Zacharie's voice got quieter, all of this was making him a bit nervous, "N...no?"

"Well, we're fixing that. I should go before stores close, so you'll have to ask Micheal to explain. Is there anything you want for dinner tomorrow, then?"

Zacharie was quiet for a moment, trying to remember the right word. "Macaroni?"

"Great idea! I'll add it to the list. See you soon!" And as quick as she could, she threw on her coat, and headed out the door. Zacharie was still for a few minutes, questioning what the hell she was talking about. Finally he resolved to go wake up Batter and ask.

"Mm, morning Zacharie."

"Afternoon, actually. So um, I just met your mom..."

Batter sat up in bed and groaned, "What did she say this time?"

"Uh. A lot of things. She was talking about something called 'Thanksgiving'?"

Batter looked dumbfounded, "Wait. You're telling me you've never heard of Thanksgiving before? Have you been living under a rock?!"

"If France counts as under a rock, then sure. I mean, I think I've heard of it before, but never actually what it was. It's an American thing, I presume?"

"Uhh.. Yeah, I guess other places don't celebrate it? I guess I never realized it wasn't a universal thing. There's like, a lot of history behind it, most of which is probably lies, but nowadays it's sort of like, a holiday where families get together and eat a lot of food. Most people go and see relatives and stuff, but this year we're staying home. The person who usually runs it is sick this year so we can't go."

"Honestly that's a bit of a relief. Being expected to eat in front of your family, especially considering I've never even met them, sounds like hell."

Batter looked at him quizzically, "You wouldn't have to go, you know that right? I mean, you could just stay home. Ashley doesn't make me go if I don't want to, and Harold probably won't even be home to force us."

Zacharie nodded, "I'm guessing turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce are all foods then?"

Batter nodded, "Turkey's basically a giant chicken with big feathers, stuffing is like, a thing you make and stuff inside the turkey, aaand cranberry sauce is canned cranberry jello pretty much."

"That sounds... less than appetizing."

"Yeah, I know it sounds gross, but it's pretty great."

"If you say so."

It had been nearly a month since Zacharie had first come to this house, and he and Batter had become much more comfortable around each other. He had gotten used to eating around him now, so he wasn't starving all the time anymore, and even if he really wasn't all that comfortable with changing while people were in the house, he always had fresh clothes available to him. Zacharie had finally convinced him to let him take the couch, which was fine by Batter as he wanted his bedroom back anyway. Pablo and Valerie were still questioning why he was so comfortable around him, but they could see he was happy even with the mask, so they didn't pry that much. Things are finally looking up after all these years, he thought. 

 Batter interrupted his thoughts, "The whole point of the holiday is to be thankful and shit, but a lot of people just use it as an excuse to binge eat and criticize their grandkids."

"I wish I had something to be thankful for..." Zacharie grumbled under his breath. No matter how hard he combed through his past, there was very little he could think of to be grateful for. All the good was washed away and drowned out by the bad, like a sick mother being swept out to sea. He gritted his teeth, so many painful memories, what was the point of it all? 

Apparently Batter had heard him, "Really? There's nothing? I mean, even if i think the whole premise is bullshit, that's a little depressing..."

Zacharie felt like he was put on the spot suddenly. Looking at the more recent things, he realized there was a lot to be thankful for. "Well, I guess I have you..." And Pablo, and Valerie, the fact that I have a roof overhead, an education, the fact that I even escaped that miserable place. He looked up to meet Batter's eyes, and was shocked by the amount of red on his pale face.

"M...Me?"

"Er, uh, y-yeah, I mean, you've done a lot for me, and, and... Was that weird?" He felt just as flustered as Micheal looked. He hadn't even realized how that sounded until he said it.

"Uh, no, no, it's not weird, uh... I guess... I guess I'm thankful for you too?"

"Yeah, yeah.... If nothing else, at least we have each other..."

The next morning,--or well, afternoon,-- Ashley woke Micheal up, and got Zacharie off the couch to get their help in the kitchen. "Get yourself some breakfast, then get moving. The turkey is gonna take a while to cook, so we gotta work fast if we wanna eat before midnight."

 Zacharie looked at Batter quizzically, whispering "How long does it take to cook a turkey?!"

Batter just shrugged in response.

They both grabbed some bagels and retreated to the bedroom. No way was he eating in front of Ashley. Once they arrived, they both sat on the bed next to each other. Without really even thinking about it, Zacharie leaned against Batter's side. He did it all the time with the twins and was pretty much used to it.

Batter wasn't. He looked around the room to try and keep his eyes off of Zacharie, red on his cheeks, before noticing the smell. He smelled exactly like his own shampoo. "You actually showered? Good job."

Zacharie nodded, "Yeah, I figured I should since this seemed like a fairly important event. And well, you bought those extra locks, might as well use them."

Batter couldn't stop himself from ruffling the other's hair, if he was going to embarrass himself he was going to share his misery, "Mm. Soft."

Well, it definitely worked, Zacharie pretty much died right on the spot. Honestly he felt like he might cry, which was his gut reaction to being touched in general, but also he was very happy about the gesture, and confused as well.

Seeing the look on his face, Batter withdrew his hand, "Oh, uh, sorry..."

Zacharie snatched his hand back, "N-no, it's okay, really! Just... just maybe warn me next time... okay?"

"Mhm, I will. But uh... I kinda need my hand back."

Zacharie immediately jumped back, both of their faces red as tomatoes. They finished eating in silence.

Once they were done, they went back downstairs to help Ashley cook. This was tiring work, as lifting a several pound bird corpse was difficult enough, but trying to do it without cross-contaminating anything was even harder. Not like it mattered that much, as far as they knew none of them were allergic to anything, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Eventually, they had everything done.

"Whew," Zacharie breathed, "I wonder if this is what the chefs went through every day."

Batter just stared at him, "The what?!"

Zacharie scrambled to cover his tracks, "Like, in all the cooking shows? The amount of work they put in."

Batter squinted in suspicion, but decided to let it go. "Probably. Anyway, lets go eat. Everything's ready."

Zacharie shook his head, pointing to his mask. "Um. Just because I'm okay eating around you doesn't mean I'm okay with it around your mom."

Batter nodded, "Yeah, I get it. She'll be chill about it though. If she says anything about it I'll tear her a new one. Don't worry about it."

Zacharie was about to protest, then sighed. "I guess if I'm gonna keep living with you guys I might as well try it."

"You don't have to unless you want to. It's up to you."

"I know, but... I think... I think I'd like to give it a shot."

The two of them grabbed some plates and silverware out of the cupboards and drawers, then went to the dining table. Zacharie sat next to Batter, who sat opposite to Ashley. They all put some food on their plates, and sat in silence for a bit. Zacharie was frozen in place, he had wanted to try and eat with everyone else, but now that he was actually here it seemed impossible. Fear of being ridiculed overwhelmed him, his hands were shaking, and he couldn't move a muscle. Ashley glanced awkwardly around the table, and the silence was too much for Batter to bear. 

Finally, Batter reached his hand under the table to grab Zacharie's, hoping to quietly calm him down. Luckily, this managed to snap him out of his trance, and he glanced down at the hands. Zacharie gave his friend's hand a gentle squeeze, as if to say a silent "thank you", then slowly lifted his free hand up to his mask. He hesitated, then squeezed his eyes shut as he removed it, not wanting to see the look on Ashley's face. He heard a gasp, and despite his better judgement, he turned to look at the source. 

"Oh you poor thing," Ashley breathed, her face full of concern. She was about to ask something, but Batter silenced her with a look. 

Zacharie was beginning to regret ever revealing himself, but he was in it now and he was going to see it through. He grabbed a forkful of macaroni, eating slowly at first, then much more quickly. He couldn't remember if he had ever had access to this much food in his life. All his fears melted away. He was safe and cared for here, and didn't have to worry. He knew he'd be okay.

After a while, Ashley cleared her throat, "How is the food?"

Zacharie nearly forgot to swallow before answering, "Mm, amazing!"

Batter seemed more comfortable as well, seeing Zacharie so happy. "It's great, Ashley."

They continued eating and chatting till everyone was full. After so much conversation, everyone wanted to retreat to their own spaces and chill out for a while. Batter and Zacharie were in the bedroom, Batter catching up on a bit of late work and Zacharie petting Charlotte while laying on his stomach.

"Ugh, I hate math," Batter groaned.

"Stuck again?" Zacharie asked, moving to look over Batter's shoulder.

"Yeah. I fucking hate this sine, cosine and tangent bullshit."

"Here, let me help," Zacharie leaned into Batter, looking over the problem. "Ah, I got it!" He explained how to solve the question, but it all went over his head. What he did notice, was how close they were, how much they were touching, and the smell of the hair under his nose, still carrying a hint of strawberry shampoo from yesterday. 

"Hello? Are you listening?"

Zacharie's voice snapped Batter out of his trance, "Huh? What? Yeah, I'm listening."

Zacharie snickered a bit, "Maybe we should put the math down."

Now feeling sheepish, Batter simply replied with, "Yeah..."

Zacharie wasted no time cozying up with Batter, as well as pulling Charlotte into his lap. After a little while, Batter spoke again. "Did you have a good time?"

"Mm, yeah, it was great! I ate so much I felt like I might burst!"

Batter nodded, feeling a little less self-conscious now. "I'm glad. After what happened with Ashley, I was kind of worried that would ruin the night for you."

"Yeah... She meant well, I'm sure. I guess having someone fuss over me is a nice change of pace, but I wish she wouldn't have made such a big deal of it. Though, I can't really blame her. Not everyday you see someone this ugly."

Batter's voice took on a more serious tone, "You're not ugly. I wish you would stop beating yourself up, it'll only make you feel worse."

Zacharie let out a hollow laugh, "I appreciate the sentiment, but it doesn't change the facts, dear Batteur."

"It's not facts, Zacharie, it's just your shitty opinion. Just because you think that about yourself, it doesn't make it true."

"And it's your testimony against countless others. I'm sorry to say that jury has you outvoted."

"You can't know what other people will think if you don't show them! As far as I know, I'm the only person who's seen you, the real you. I'm not just saying this because I care about you, but because I believe it. If you keep hiding behind your insecurities and that mask, no one else will. I-"

"I'm not going to fucking reveal myself to the class, you know exactly what will happen then! I know I have to hide it, because I've lived through the torment this brings! This, and so much more. I won't relive that just because you asked me to! I'm sorry that this isn't good enough for you, that I'm not good enough for you, but I can't go through that. Not again." At this point Zacharie was trying not to cry. Batter could clearly see he pushed too hard and too fast, and he felt absolutely horrible for it.

"Hey, I'm sorry, that's not what I meant." He held his arms out, beckoning for Zacharie to come in for a hug. He felt that both of them could use one. After a moments hesitation. Zacharie obliged, wrapping his arms around his torso. "I'm just worried about you, is all. I care about you a lot, and I don't want to see you hurt yourself like this. I guess... I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry for being such a jerk."

Zacharie looked up at him, clearly confused, "But you're not a jerk..." He trailed off as realization dawned on him. "I think I see your point. I think... I think everyone probably sees the worst in themselves and the best of other people," he sighed. "I'm sorry for worrying you, but I'm fine, really." He knew he was lying through his teeth at this point, but he didn't want him to worry.

"Are you sure? I-" Batter cut himself off, "I won't push you any further. Just... If you do need to talk about something, I'm here, even if I'm not very good at it."

Zacharie couldn't help but chuckle a little, "I think you're plenty good enough. And, um, just so you know, I... I care a lot about you too."

Chapter Text

Pablo and Valerie had watched Zacharie with bated breath as he grew closer and closer to his former assailant. The twins were very worried about how healthy their relationship could be, what with how Batter had treated him in the past, and Zacharie's habit of letting people walk over him. Which is why, when Zacharie offered up the idea of Batter and the twins exchanging numbers, they were more than happy to oblige. Zacharie didn't have a phone, of course, but they could at least keep tabs on the other half of the equation. Maybe even eventually see what their friend saw in Batter.

So when Batter asked the twins if they wanted to go with him and Zacharie to the mall for some holiday shopping, they leaped at the opportunity.

While Micheal's family was Christian, none of the rest of the group held to any religion. Regardless, the idea of giving gifts to the people you care about was something the whole group was interested in, so they didn't mind celebrating at least that part. So, the whole group bundled up, boarded the city bus, and went to the mall.