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Zeke had always had a protective side when it came to the ones he loved.
It probably (definitely) stemmed from years of having to take care of his mother when he was young. Holly Anderson was many things, but stable was not one of them. Between helping her through episodes and fending off verbal – and sometimes physical – attacks from her douchebag loser boyfriends, he’d had to learn how to defend himself and others quickly. He displayed the talent in most aspects of his life and that was part of the reason that Coach Blevins had recruited him for the wrestling team.
(The man had originally wanted Zeke for the football team but Zeke just couldn’t get the handle of all the plays and such. Wrestling was easier for him to grasp, just pin your opponent and you won.)
Zeke’s protective nature also had a tendency to come out when it came to his friends. It was why he would just so happen to drop by the Pesto residence when Jimmy Jr. talked about his dad having a bad day. It was never said in so many words, but Zeke got the feeling that Jimmy Sr. was afraid of him even when they were that young. He’s always been strong and for all his bravado, Jimmy Sr. was actually kind of a wimp when it came to physical altercations.
It was also why he just so happened to be nearby any time he heard any of the Belcher kids talking about some shenanigans they were planning on getting themselves into. It was why he’d instantly said yes to Jimmy Jr. when he asked him if he wanted to go with them to the old taffy factory back when it was about to be demolished. Zeke wanted to make sure that the group of them didn’t get themselves killed. Granted, he hadn’t counted on getting caught up in one of the booby traps…but still. He’d tried, and that had to count for something, right?
From then on, Zeke tried to make sure to go with them when anything was going down. Sure, he liked getting to hang out with J-Ju – he was his best buddy, after all. And yeah, okay, spending time with Tina Belcher was a plus too. His little crush on her grew stronger the more he got to be around her, though of course he’d never try to make a move. She was J-Ju’s girl, after all, and friends don’t go after friends' girls. But still…he liked being around her. Especially as she started to gradually warm up to him.
So of course when the Belcher kids suddenly weren’t around that last week of eighth grade before summer vacation, Zeke worried. For once, he had no idea where they were or what they were getting up to and that made him nervous . He loved the lot like they were his kin and them not being at school had him pacing at night. Where the hell were they? What was going on??
When the truth of what had happened came out, he’d nearly thrown up all over the school bathroom.
Buried.
Alive.
In that fucking hole in front of the restaurant, by Mr. Fischoeder’s cousin. Zeke had a mind to march into the police department and demand that they let him at the bastard who’d dared to mess with his Belchers.
(And no, he didn’t spend hours afterwards thinking about how he’d thought of them as his, nope, nuh uh.)
But of course he didn’t, and for the most part life moved on after that. Jimmy Jr. was around for the first part of the summer before going on a cruise with his dad and brothers. And with his best friend being MIA, Zeke took to spending his time hanging around the restaurant and trailing after the Belcher kids when they went out to do whatever thing one of them thought of for that day. Sometimes they would drag their other friends into it, other times it was just him and them messing around on the Wharf or on the beach, often on some treasure hunt Louise thought of or looking for some cryptid Gene had heard of through the grapevine.
(After the two-butted goat, Zeke always listened when Gene heard of things. He was right then, so why wouldn’t he be right this time?)
Being around them, watching them, making sure they didn’t get hurt and they were safe helped Zeke be able to sleep at night, pushing away the images of them being buried alive from his mind. When he could see them with his own two eyes, Zeke felt like he could breathe.
It was during one of these excursions that Tina stepped in a hole that a tourist must have dug. It happened while Zeke was helping Louise dig up what she thought was buried treasure but actually just turned out to be some old box with junk in it. Zeke heard Tina’s cry and his heart dropped into his ass, and he was on his feet and sprinting over to her in two seconds flat.
“T-Bird!” He carefully pulled her out of the hole and sat her down on the sand, kneeling in front of her. “You alright?”
“I’m okay,” she said quickly, nodding. “I just fell into that hole.” Her hand trembled slightly as she pointed to it. “I didn’t even see it.” Then she tried to push herself to her feet but winced, falling back on her butt. “Okay, ow ow.”
“What is it?”
Her teeth bit her lip as she nodded at her leg. “My ankle. It really hurts.”
Making sure to be as careful as he possibly could, Zeke gingerly picked up her foot to examine her ankle. It was starting to swell and turn a dark red. He grimaced. “Looks like ya twisted it. Might be sprained.”
“Noooooo,” she groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. “Darn it, I didn’t wanna ruin this trip for everyone.”
“T, ya got hurt, ya can’t control that,” he told her, then looked over at her siblings. “Hey, guys! We need to get T-Bird back to the restaurant!”
“Why?” Louise called back, frowning.
“She mighta sprained her ankle.”
“That’s our Tina for you,” Gene said, making his way over to his sister. “We can always count on you to make things interesting.”
Louise immediately jogged over then, her brow furrowed with concern. “You okay, T?”
“It hurts,” Tina admitted with a sigh. “Sorry, guys.”
“Stop sayin’ yer sorry,” Zeke scolded, then moved so that he was crouched in front of the girl with his back to her. “Here, grab on. I’ll carry ya back.”
“I’m too heavy–”
“No, yer not,” Zeke rolled his eyes. “Now either ya get on my back or I fireman carry ya.”
“Oo, do a fireman carry, it’s way more dramatic,” Gene said eagerly.
Zeke ignored him and waited until Tina gave up and scooted closer so that she could wrap her arms around his neck from behind. Making sure to not jostle her hurt leg, Zeke gripped under knees and wrapped her legs around his waist before standing up. Testing to make sure she wouldn’t fall, he made sure to keep his grip tight as he started to head back up the boardwalk to Ocean Avenue.
When they got to the restaurant, Linda went into worrying mom mode as soon as they all walked in. After explaining what happened, her and Bob quickly gathered all of them into the car to hurry Tina to the emergency room to get her ankle looked at. There wasn’t enough room in the backseat to fit all four of the kids, so Zeke offered to let Tina sit on his lap. He pretended like he didn’t see Bob glancing at him through the rear view mirror through the whole drive.
They arrived at the hospital and got Tina in to be looked at. Thankfully it was a slower weekday so they didn’t have to wait too long. She was examined and a doctor confirmed that it was just a minor sprain, something she could recover from in under a week as long as they kept her foot elevated and she rested. Tina bemoaned being bed-ridden but Zeke was just glad that it wasn’t anything serious.
When they got back to the restaurant, Zeke offered to carry Tina up to the apartment so that the rest of the family could get the restaurant closed and cleaned. Once again, he pretended to not see Bob staring as he gave Tina a piggy back ride up to the apartment. She directed Zeke to her room, which looked the same as the last time he was in there.
God, that felt like forever ago now.
He gently deposited her on the bed and helped her get comfortable before going to fetch the throw pillows from the living room to elevate her foot. After that was done, he stepped back and rubbed his hands together. “Alright. Ya need anything else?”
“I’m okay,” she reassured him with a small smile. “You’ve already done so much for me today. Thanks.”
“Aw shucks, it weren’t nothin’,” he said, feeling his face heating up in a blush. “‘m just glad I was there so I could help.”
“You always seem to be around when we need help,” she observed, tilting her head to the side.
His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “With all the shit y’all get up to, I just like knowin’ yer safe, is all. ‘Specially after what happened with the Fischoeders earlier this year.” Just thinking about it made his hands clench into fists.
She must have noticed, because she reached over to touch his arm. “We’re alright, Zeke. You don’t need to worry.”
“But you almost weren’t alright, T-Bird,” he said, reaching up to take her hand without thinking. “Knowin’ what almost happened to y’all…” His grip on her hand tightened. “Make me feel colder ‘n a chicken with no feathers on it.”
“We’re okay,” Tina said, her voice gentle as she looked at him. “We got away. And Grover got sent to prison, so he can’t ever get him again.”
“Still wish I coulda pounded his skinny lil ass,” Zeke huffed, but couldn’t resist softening as she shook her head and chuckled at him.
“Thank you again, for everything.” Her smile made his insides feel all mushy. “You’re a really good friend, Zeke.”
He suddenly couldn’t breathe as his heart soared to new heights he hadn’t known he could reach before. Yes! She thought of him as a friend now! She didn’t hate him anymore!
(Briefly the thought of her seeing him as just a friend saddened him a little, but he quickly pushed it away. He had to start somewhere, right?)
“I’ll always look after you, Tina,” he promised, smiling back at her. “You and yer family. Promise.”
And he could tell that she knew he meant it.