Chapter Text
All of a sudden, the world around him didn't seem so big anymore. He was trapped after all, tied up to a metal chair in the middle of a group of five, all just as old as him, all wearing the same uniform as him, just standing around him.
His shirt was pulled off and forgotten on the floor, for what they decided to burn was the pale skin underneath the clothing. He didn't fight back, there was no use.
"Help me see if my straightener is hot enough, would you?" She said before pressing the burning hot surface of the straightener against his arm.
He cried out. They laughed.
There was nothing he could do.
By the time they left through the rusty doors of the abandoned house, he was covered in bruises and his own blood in addition to the water he was soaked in. He trembled, sobbing into his now free arms. Plus, he could barely make of his surroundings, as the only light source was the faint moonlight coming through the window.
He managed to locate his clothes, and wore them immediately. When he stepped through the same rusty doors they went through, the cold air assaulted his receptors, causing him to shiver at the feeling.
By the time he reached the comfort of his own room, he's sure he's gotten a cold. And after a nice hot shower, he pounced onto the bed, where sleep consumed him the very next second.
The next morning, he's woken up by a loud ring, the cause being his alarm clock that he hates every morning. His sleepy state was still evident when he made his way downstairs for breakfast.
"Mornin', Zanka." Enjin, his guardian, greeted him.
"Mornin'." He responded as he sat between a red-head and an albino with red eyes.
"Didn't get enough sleep?" The red-head, Riyo, asked him. To which he hummed a 'yes' in response.
"You shouldn't push yourself, Zanka…" Enjin sighed. "We get you wanna be at the top of your classes, but studying all night with no breaks will only kill you."
Right. That was always his excuse.
"Yeah, wouldn't happen again…" Both of them know that's a lie.
His morning at school is much better than the night before, it's filled with the subjects he actually likes! However, he was called to the supervisor's office. He wondered why; after all, he hadn't done anything wrong.
When he walked in, the blonde was met with the supervisor: Semiu, and another student he found familiar (though he couldn't put a finger on it).
The guy looked tall, had tanned skin, and long dreads cascading down his shoulders. The two greeted eachother with a simple wave before Zanka sat on the free space beside him.
Semiu sat in front of the two. "Well, I'm sure you two are wondering why I've called ya here… long story short; Jabber, this boy's father has requested you tutor him in math and chemistry."
The guy sitting beside Zanka wore an unamused expression. "And if I refuse?"
She sighed. "He's willing to pay you money."
His expression shifted to one of awe. "The big Mr. Nijiku wants me to tutor his son for money? Consider it done!"
Semiu turned to face Zanka. "Any objections?"
Does he even have a say in this?
"No ma'am…" His voice was hoarse, probably due to all the screaming last night.
When they got out of the office, the tanned man faced him. "Name's Jabber Wonger! Don't worry 'bout introducing herself, I already know!"
Zanka sighed with a slight smile on his face. "Nice to meet ya, Mr. Wonger."
Jabber's face lit up. "Oh just look at you! Being all proper 'n shit! Haha! Just call me Jabber!"
The blonde scoffed. "My bad for tryna be polite, Jabber!" He liked the deadhead's friendly vibe. "So, where do ya wanna meet up?"
The tanned man made a dramatic thinking face.
"What about at your place? I heard you lived in a huge mansion!" He said excitedly.
Zanka chuckled. "Where did you hear that from? And no, let's not meet there…"
"Awh… I wanted to see the mansion…" Was this guy pouting? Seriously…
"The only people allowed to enter are my inner circle! So try your worst, dreads!" He chuckled.
"Huh?! You've got such a bad attitude! Should call ya Mr. Bad Attitude! Anyway, let's meet up at the library! After school! I'll bring snacks!" Jabber smiled.
The two went to their respective classes after that, passing witnesses would say that an obvious friendship had bloomed between the two.
However, that was just the surface.
Jabber let out a huge laugh when he entered his class, a group of five waited for him expectantly near an empty seat. He sat down and faced the group.
A blonde girl with blue eyes; Yuki, faced him along with the other four. Which consisted of Max, a red-head who's eyes were the same colour. Andrew, a brunet with blue eyes. Alex, another blonde but with brown eyes. And Elijah, a raven with blue eyes.
"So," Yuki started. "How was Zanka?"
"Y'all were right about him being cute," Jabber responds. "I just might hook up with him, who knows?"
Andrew chuckled. "Why don't you date him? He's got daddy's money after all…"
Jabber hummed. "I'll think about it."
"You can drain all his money when y'all break up…" Max's low voice chimed in. "…Leave him dry with nothing…"
The five chuckled.
"Yeah…" Elijah started.
"I'm sure he can handle the burn…"
.
.
.
When the main school session was over, Jabber excused himself and made his way to the library, where Zanka was waiting for him.
"Yo!" Jabber called out before Zanka acknowledged his presence with a soft smile.
They sat at the far corner, where they cannot be bombarded with sudden noises from outside. The corner was cold, the smell of books was highly concentrated as well.
"So," Jabber began. "Whatcha struggling with?"
Zanka blushed, embarrassed. "Calculations… I don't what it is about it, but I just can't grasp it at all…"
Jabber hummed, accepting the other's response and taking in the information. "We can start with chemistry, can do math next time." Zanka nodded before Jabber continued. "Can I see yer book? I'll have a better idea of what I'm working with."
"It's a bit embarrassing…" Zanka mumbled before taking out his book and handing it over to Jabber.
Jabber took one look at it.
…
"Yeah, you lost man you don't know what the fuck to do…"
Zanka's blush deepened. "I told ya… now stop being such an asshole…"
Jabber chuckled at the other's expression. "Don't worry about it Mr. Bad Attitude~ I'll teach ya everything I know…"
.
.
.
Sometimes later, Zanka found to be able to grasp at the basic chemistry calculations. Turns out, there were some equations he wasn't aware of, and some important notes he was missing.
Nonetheless, the tutoring session was a huge success! Zanka learnt a lot from Jabber, and his ability to do calculations improved! The two ended up exchanging numbers, and even adding eachother to their social media accounts.
"I'm not really active on my accounts, but I do respond to DMs! Uhm…" He scratched the back of his neck as his mind scrambled to find more words. It was the first time in a year or two that he's added anyone to his social media, especially after going private.
Jabber chuckled, finding the display of flushed embarrassment both adorable and endearing. They fell into a comfortable silence, both looking at eachother with soft eyes, so soft it could cushion a fall.
"BRR—" The sound of Jabber's ringtone made the two jump from their chairs in a panic before Jabber hurried to pick up the call.
"Why'd you call? I told you I had tutoring— what do you mean it's been two hours?! Fine, fine! I'm coming! Just give me a sec, okay?"
When the call cut, the two boys knew it was their cue to leave. So after saying their goodbyes, they went their separate ways, both of the reaching their homes when the afternoon light turned blue.
"You look happy." A girl with blonde hair commented as Jabber sat beside her.
"Maybe I am, who knows?" Jabber replied before starting to go through Zanka's posts on his social media, a light yet noticeable blush spreading across his face as he continued the activity.
If the blonde noticed, she doesn't comment on it. Rather, she went back to combing her hair like it was a vital instrument.
Back in Zanka's house, a peaceful silence was present. He was in his room, going through the pages where he and Jabber practiced the chemistry calculations. He was to apply what he learnt onto similar questions, yet his mind wasn't present in the task. Rather, it has drifted off into another thought. Something didn't feel right. It was out of place, like an anomaly in an experiment.
Why would father do that?
Who is he kidding. Of course father would do that. He probably saw the 80 precent on his records and thought 'hey, not enough to keep a good reputation for the family name' and made the choice.
Another thought plaguing his mind involved the light skinned man he just spent time with. He shouldn't expect too much from Jabber's friendliness, he knew what the latter was infamous for after all.
Hooking up, drugs, and causing fights.
There were rumors calling him a masochistic freak aswell; however, Zanka would rather die than treat the dread head any differently based on those rumors. It's not that he couldn't, he just wouldn't.
It'd make him a hypocrite.
"Uhm, Zanka?" A boy's voice brought the blonde back into reality. He turned to his door, and was met with the albino with red eyes.
He sighed. "What is it, Rudo?"
"Can you help me with my homework? I tried to get it but…" He trailed off.
"Bring your books, and a chair. I'll help ya." Zanka said before starting to clear up space on his table for the other.
Rudo came back with a light plastic chair (probably from their kitchen) and a thick biology pastpaper. He sat next to Zanka, before opening up a marked page, which he then explained that he couldn't understand most of the questions present in the paper itself.
Zanka was patient when explaining, they completed the paper, one question at a time. The blonde would explain a question, then the albino would try and answer it himself before Zanka would either tell him if he was correct or correct him.
The homework itself was to complete 3 papers for the next day, so the two had to sit near the table for a long period of time. So much so, that the two had dinner in Zanka's room.
When they completed the work, Rudo was slowly falling asleep, which he ended up doing, on Zanka's table itself. The blonde ended up having to carry the other in his arms, for everyone else was already fast asleep.
He tucked the younger one into his bed before checking the boy's temperature. No fever, that was good. Rudo had a somewhat weak immune system, so Zanka was worried whenever the boy would stay out of his room even for a short period of time.
That was before he snuck out through his window, he checked his phone before making his way to another one storey home. He climbed to the backyard before knocking on a window, which opened to reveal a girl with short blonde hair and pink eyes. She seemed to recognise Zanka, before hurriedly letting the boy into her room, closing the window when he let himself in.
"Sorry for making you do this, Eishia…" Zanka whispered as he took his shirt off, revealing his wounds from the night before.
The girl reached for a first aid kit along with an ointment. "It's alright… I'm just wondering when you'll tell anyone else about this…"
Zanka felt a pang of guilt as her words echoed through his mind. "I'm sorry…" He whispered, though no response was provided after that.
When his wounded were patched up, Zanka slipped out of the window and back into the night. It was cold, as autumn was approaching. Zanka is reminded of how this would be his second year in this city, his second year in the school.
His second year since all of this started.
He climbed back into his room, warmth consuming him immediately. His navy blue eyes darted across the area, making sure no one witnessed his little journey before going to bed.
The clock on the wall ticked endlessly, yet Zanka could not fall asleep. His mind wandered off into memories he would rather forget.
…
"You ruined this family!" His father screamed into his ear before kicking him out for reasons that a 15 year old Zanka couldn't comprehend. All he did was point out his step-mother's odd behaviour that made him uncomfortable, what was so wrong about that?
Was he was the problem? Maybe that's why he's being bullied at school. Maybe that's why the only friends he has are the ones that he hasn't opened up to. Because everyone that knows about it, either looks at him with disgust or pity.
Maybe Jabber would do the same someday.
"Yer pathetic." His brother told him.
"You shouldn't lie about things like that." His sister whispered when no one was around.
He wasn't lying!
So, was he being dramatic?
"I told you to not tell anyone… now look where it's got you…" That woman told him.
He should've just listened.
He should just take everything people give to him, whether it be assault or compliments.
That's the lesson he learnt before he inevitably had to move away from the city he once called his. Nothing belonged to him anymore.
Enjin had found him one rainy night, while he was crouched in an alleyway for shelter. He brought him in, gave him warmth, love, and everything else he could've asked for.
The man contacted his father, who informed the yellow-haired man that Zanka wasn't disowned, just kicked out until he learnt his lesson and apologised to his step-mother.
Zanka refused.
…
His eyes closed as tears flowed out of them, he shouldn't be crying. He deserved it.
He wants to go back, that's his family for fuck's sake!
But, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to apologize. As if a part of him knew that he was in the right.
But who was he to know right from wrong? He was Zanka, the disappointment.