Ignore a Zac Day! (OPEEEEEEN)

[Zachary LaRousse]

Set on the 21^st of October, a Friday, as per Rhett Goddard’s email

Zac says that the first sign first showed up during that boring discussion group he had in his first period AP World History class. They were supposed to brainstorm about what Greece defaulting would do to Europe and the rest of the world. Zac being Zac, decided once more that such a topic is trivial to his existence and happily let his groupmates argue it among themselves.

After a few minutes, he decided it’s time to end their useless chatter and give his two cents. And though it was a (surprisingly) reasonable opinion, they just shrugged it off and continued going in circles for the next few minutes. Such would’ve been a common occurrence, had they gave him angry/offended looks, shook their heads and continued with their conversation. But as it was, they didn’t even stop. It’s like he wasn’t even there.

The pompous teen simply rolled his eyes and told himself that it’s just his groupmates being envious pricks and hating him for not being the one to think of his avant-garde but completely valid suggestion.

But then it happened again in his Chemistry class. And English. And all the classes that followed. Even when he called someone because the boy left his umbrella in the room, and he knew he was well within the boy’s hearing range, he didn’t even stop and turn.

It’s like he didn’t exist.

Telling himself not to freak out (his teachers doesn’t seem to show signs of being affected; but then again, they haven’t addressed him personally in any part of their lectures too), Zac locked himself in his room after class and began formulating a plan. Time to stop being passive, he told himself.

Spotlight Hogging phase one: walk around campus clad in nothing but a scarf strategically wrapped around his waist. That ought to get some heads turning.

ooc:
Apologies for being a week late. And if the opening post was a little crappy. >.<.
- Jam

[Naomi Green]

"You look even more foolish than usual," the comment held a mixture of amusement and perturbation; with not a small amount of derision slid among as well. That it was said in the posh London accent likely helped too. That the speaker was dressed in fashionable clothing and staring at Zac with a raised eyebrow certainly helped as well.

For you see, there was a slight flaw in a plan that relied solely on email: not everyone used that medium. Even in this growing age, there were people who simply refused. Naomi happened to be one of the only students in all of Hammel who outright couldn't use email, thanks to her power. Oh, she could have used a computer. For roughly five minutes. Even then, the screen would fizz and fuzz, lines appearing and the picture blurring. That was before Naomi erased the hard drive entirely.

Plus, nobody had told Naomi about it. She'd heard; but she mostly ignored such things. However...

"Why, exactly, are you parading around like this?" she demanded. "Are you attempting to get yourself expelled? I have some much more useful actions you could commit if you're accepting suggestions."

That eyebrow remained ever raised, and that tone only wavered between amused and taunting.

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Don’t blame me, blame the public. They’re getting a whole lot harder to please lately,” said the deranged mimic with a smirk, turning around to give the first person to actually acknowledge him today an equally amused grin of his own. Not that he needed to look at her to know who she is anyway; he’s been around her for a surprisingly inordinate amount of time that he claims he can set her apart despite being thrown in a sea of people with a similar accent, tone and general derision towards the world.

He crossed his arms as he talked to Naomi, briefly noticing two students whose eyes lingered on his (almost) bare behind for more than a few seconds. So would that mean he’s not really all that invisible? “I’m actually surprised you noticed. Didn’t you receive a memo or something to ignore me for today? Or did you just choose to ignore it?” Not that he knows of anything. It’s just that he’s receiving looks that suggest something along the lines of a prank in play.

He’s not all that dense you know. And he believes he might’ve seen something similar on TV. He just can’t remember where.

“Or am I really all that irresistible than you can’t help yourself but pounce at me?”

[Stella Pinyin]

Stella did not use email, nor did she use a blog, nor could she really use a computer screen because the backlighting hurt her eyes. And een if she had heard about an ignore zac day, it was doubtful Stella would have joined the bandwagon. Apart from Alice, Zac was the only person she could talk to without blushing and stammering.

And Zac still made her blush., but he did that on purpose.

And honestly, even if Stella was going to ignore Zac, seeing him walk around campus naked would have made her speak up.

He was busy talking to Naomi, someone Stella actuually knew, so she approached slowly in case they were busy. Zac had his back to her when she finally cleared her throat.

"Um, Zac?" she asked softly, her face burning already, "What happened to all of your clothes?"

He must be freezing

[Naomi Green]

"if there was such a memo, I certainly didn't receive it. I have heard something to that effect," admitted Naomi. She'd figured it to be something of a rumor, or perhaps a bout of foolishness. The students here weren't exactly known for always being level-headed and logical. Even Naomi herself had to admit that.

"As for your being irresistible, I believe we discussed that already," said Naomi. In that she'd dismissed every variation of his flirtations that he'd ever come up with. To put it quite succinctly: Naomi was about as likely to enter a relationship with Zac LaRousse as she was Sean Neville.

At around this time, someone else, someone new arrived. To Naomi's surprise, said person happened to be Stella, who also had little reservation about talking to Zac directly. Naomi simply raised her brows, looking over at Zac. What was he planning on doing now, that his little glowworm had come out of her hidey-hole and noticed him? This should be entertaining in and of itself.

"Rumor seems to have stolen them,' teased Naomi. She took a step back, to give the couple more room for the upcoming "fireworks."

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac claims that despite how flirty he might act around Naomi, the Brit’s pretty much on the same boat Fifi is on his book – that he’d rather have them as a close friend than anything else. Sure he’d still tease and all that, but he insists that such actions are just out of habit and doesn’t have a shred of real intent in them (though he certainly won’t say no should they give in, just saying). The mimic says that he’s finally realized that the optimum relationship/partnership between him and Naomi (or Fifi, for that matter) exists outside the bedroom, not within it.

And no, the prince insists that such a decision did not come about due to the extremely strong rejection the two had passed onto him. He’s fairly sure Naomi’s vagina has some teeth in it anyway.

“Heard something? What do you mean?” So someone dares to challenge him? And actually got the whole school to go along with him? Zac didn’t bother hiding the disbelief in his face. While people daring to go against him was nothing new, people actually succeeding was. “You wouldn’t be too kind to tell me where – or who – you heard it from, would you?” asked the mimic, moving closer to Naomi, elbow on her shoulder as he sent her a wink.

But before Naomi could even tell him anything, Stella suddenly spoke up from behind, completely catching the mimic off guard. “Glowworm? What’re you-“ He barely got the chance to finish his question when he saw the blush on the pale girl’s cheeks, embarrassment suddenly creeping in and making him jump to the nearest bush almost immediately.

“Err…ahh…you see…” God why must Stella come and make things complicated?

[Stella Pinyin]

"The blogger stole his clothes?" Stella reiterated, pale eyebrows rising in shock. "That seems... that seems rude." Still, even if it was true, and Stella thought it might be, since Naomi had told her Rumor had a bit to say about Zac, it did seem strange that the animal mimic had chosen to continue walking around outside, rather than go to his room and find more clothes. He had a lot, he was always telling her so. "Did they steal all of his clothes?" she asked, sounding shocked, even as Zac sprang like a jackrabbit into a bush.

Clutching her white cane in one hand, the pale girl frowed slightly in thought. "I was, I was trying to remember my way around," she said carefully, which was true. It was just that she had to relearn, relying on her cane rather then her eyes now. Still, it was not exactly beyond her to tell when someone was either naked or wearing a very realistic body suit.

Zac seemed to be a bit stumped himself, so Stella averted her eyes in case she was making him uncomfortable. "It's alright," she tried to sound reasuring. "You can report the theft, I am sure you can get them back."

Why Naomi was laughing was beyond her, though. "Do you need a coat?"

[Naomi Green]

What did Naomi mean? Apparently no one had broken the silence and told Zac yet that people conspired against him. Naomi had only heard rumors that something like this might be occurring, since people were apt to share. However, she'd never really investigated, and for some reason, nobody had thought to tell her directly. So no matter how Zac cajoled, he wasn't going to get anything from his British friend.

Except giggles and more sly remarks.

"I'm sure he'll get them back eventually. Zac is quite resourceful," said Naomi. Joy thoroughly infected her voice, especially those last few words. She looked sideways at Zac, and very nearly broke into a complete smile. That she was giggling was already unnerving enough; if she smiled, someone might have to acknowledge that she was actually human.

This was going to become De. Light. Ful. Delightful.

So long as Naomi didn't stop to think about Stella needing to remember her way around. At least the girl had two people here more than willing to guide her, even if one was likely to start growing a sense of decency in the next few moments.

"Yes, Zac," said Naomi. She looked at him, her face full of concern. "Do you need a coat?"

[JD Paerson]

When he got the invite to the Ignore Zac Day, JD had been initially vaguely interested. Had it happened a month earlier, he would have been all in. He was already ignoring Zac at that point, anyway. But the beginning of October had marked the reinstatement of the two boys' friendship, so it wasn't like he was on that bad of terms with the spoiled brat these days.

That being said, it would be fun to watch it happen.

So JD didn't interfere, though he silently felt that the whole attempt was a bit petty and probably under-thought. He could have come up with a much better school-wide attack on Hammel's self-appointed prince, had he felt it worth his effort. But still, as he slowly watched (from a distance, no need to get too close) Zac's bubble deflate throughout the day, he got some small enjoyment.

After the last class, though, JD had a training session. When he got out, well, things had already escalated a little too far.

Glancing around as he passed through the courtyard on the way back to the dorms, he spied Zac's attempts to gain attention. He was torn between a desire to laugh and a desire to slap the idiot over the head. Why was he friends with that moron again? He was content to watch from a distance...until Stella showed up. Despite Zac's attempts to hide it, JD knew that the heir actually liked the glowworm and wouldn't want to make a bad impression.

Grumbling to himself about how he always had to come to the rescue in these situations, he ran off toward the dormitories. He headed into his bedroom and pulled out some clothes. They would probably be a bit big, but there was no way he was breaking into Zac's room for any reason. Running back out to the courtyard, he ducked over back to where Zac was hiding behind some bushes.

"I think he needs more than a coat," he said, walking up. He was careful to keep a certain distance from everyone around. "Here." He threw a bundle of clothes at Zac. "And don't say I never did anything for you. Remember to put the pants on one leg at a time--you're only human, just like the rest of us."

He walked away over toward the girls. He knew Stella, but the other one...he couldn't exactly remember her name. He thought it started with an M, or maybe an N. One of these days he might actually start to remember the names of his classmates.

"I take it you two were unimpressed with some of the pranks pulled today?" he asked them. He referred to both ignoring Zac and Zac's ensuing lewd display. "I guess it's just a good thing we found him--" he jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward the mimic "--before anyone else. Who knows what sort of horrible things could have happened. Someone could have gotten into trouble." Indecent exposure much? Was he really expecting none of the teachers to kick him out of school after something like this? Because the earlier prank clearly wasn't enough.

[Zachary LaRousse]

One doesn’t need to be a telepath to know how embarrassed the normally fearshameless prince was; with his face as red as a tomato, there’s not much use denying it even further. Stella’s appearance was something he didn’t account for, and the shock factor was enough to break all those thick layers of hot air the boy had, going as far as to render the loudmouth mute. He wanted to say something – anything – just so Naomi won’t make fun of him but the words just aren’t forming.

Great. Just great.

The awkward silence would’ve gone on for long had JD not arrived with that bundle of clothes. “Thanks so much Dee,” grinned the boy, catching the shirt and pants and quickly putting them in. They’re a little big, but beggars can’t be choosers after all. “And you say you’re no Superman.” With the shirt properly buttoned and the pants zipped up, he threw himself at the larger boy and gave him a quick hug. He would’ve climbed on the boy’s back even had the two females (or at least had Stella) not been around.

He still needs to explain to her what happened. Or at least make sure Naomi doesn’t ‘twist’ the story.

“No, no one stole my clothes Stella,” he explained, weakly smiling at the pale girl, “It’s…complicated.” He knows it’s rather unfair not telling her the whole story, but in his mind, he’d rather keep it vague than to have his little glowworm change her opinion of him. He gave Naomi a little glare, hoping it’d tell her to shut it.

Instinctively rubbing the back of his neck, he gave the little group that’s bothered to approach him a weak smile and spoke, “Why don’t we just forget what happened and grab a bite downtown? My treat.” Food makes everything better, right? “JD’ll drive. He has a new car after all.”

He can always ask Naomi who thought of the whole thing later; damage control to Stella’s the top priority as it were.

ooc:
Jam apologizes for said crappiness and for the abrupt request to wrap. Please feel free to tell me to edit it should you feel it needs more. >.<. Sowee.
- Jam

[Stella Pinyin]

When Zac didn't make so much of a sound in reply, Stella frowned and tried to peer a little more closely to see what his face was saying. It just hurt her eyes. "Are you alright?" she started to ask, because Zac always talked, in fact, he never really stopped... having him be so quiet was strange and a little unsettling.

Her eyes widened as the rather tall JD shaped blur made his way over to Zac and got him dressed. He moved so fast it was more than she could see, that was for sure. Still, she glanced towards Naomi as JD (she had history with him, she thought. And Zac had mentioned him more than once, plus it was hard to forget someone so tall) mentioned a prank. Multible pranks. "What pranks?" she asked quietly, looking up towards JD. "Stealing his clothes was a prank?"

But no, no one had stolen his clothes, it was complicated. A small, almost petulant frown creased the white girl's face and she pursed her lips. She wasn't stupid, she could follow something a bit complicated, and Zac had a habit of using that reason to not tell her things a lot. "Well, as long as you won't get a cold," she said slowly, then smiled up at JD. "You're a good friend."

Glancing back at Naomi, Stella found herself taking a small step towards the british girl, in a sort of "are you going?" sort of way. Not that she didn't like JD, even if his name was strange, it was more that, again, she didn't know him, and he was very very very tall. "Um, maybe?" she started, but it was going against her curiosity to find out what had happened, and the fact she hadn't had dinner with Zac in weeks. She sighed and nodded. "Yes, ok. But not the same chinese place, Zac. It's not good."

Realising they were not alone, and she had just been a little, well, more abrupt then she was usually in company, Stella put a hand over her mouth and shrunk down a little, waiting for someone else to comment.

[Naomi Green]

Just when Naomi was really starting to have fun, this new boy showed up, grinning and nearly acting the hero. What made matters worse was that Naomi wasn't sure how exactly she should be reacting to him. On the one hand, he'd destroyed Naomi's hopes of teasing Zac and milking this for at least a little while longer. On the other, he cut quite a dashing figure and seemed to be making almost as much fun of Zac as he was providing help. Probably best to reserve judgment, for now.

"I don't know; I found certain aspects to be quite enjoyable,' said Naomi. The smile remained, though it quivered slightly as she looked over at poor Stella again. The poor girl looked wholly out of her element, and the last thing Naomi wanted was to cause more discomfort for her. It was a wholly instinctual reaction, but Naomi edged slightly closer to Stella even before Stella did the same.

Zac, of course, had to keep talking. He clearly couldn't stop. "Quite complicated," agreed Naomi. "I'm sure Zac will be more than willing to explain it to you, Stella, in due time."

Next would come the offer. A dinner, with this group. Downtown, with JD, who must be the strapping young lad, driving. Naomi certainly didn't see why not, and judging by the fact that Stella was edging closer, someone else was in agreement.

"I certainly have no objections, especially if 'Ru-ru' is footing the bill," another sly smile. Then Naomi extended her hand toward the new arrival. "Naomi Green, by the by. I don't believe our mutual friend here bothered to actually introduce us."

Naomi would, if called for, introduce Stella in turn, but it did seem as though she was the only one who didn't know the new arrival. Once that was out of the way, Naomi would move closer to Stella, in a very much "I'll make sure you're not alone with these two" sort of way.

[JD Paerson]

JD rolled his eyes. "Don't let him hear that. It'll go to his head. God knows I have enough trouble keeping it from swelling as is," he said to Naomi.

Zac gave him a hug and JD had to take a moment to pry the mimic off. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much. Zac's good at dealing with complicated events. He gets into them often enough." Once firmly establishing boundaries again--no touching me, stand about a yard away, don't bother anyone else and respect personal space--he turned back to the group.

"Wait," he said after Zac offered dinner to everyone. And he was transport. And everyone was agreeing. "When did I say--?" he started, then realized that, once again, it was a lost cause. What was he supposed to say? No?

"JD," he said, shaking Naomi's hand. "Paerson. Zac's always been a little poor at introductions. It's because he thinks the only person worth knowing is himself. One of these days I'm hoping that someone will knock some sense into him."

Sighing, he checked to make sure he had his keys, wallet, and phone. They were good to go.

"All right, fine. Car's parked out this way. Ladies first." He gestured for the two girls to go first, then grabbed Zac by the shoulder. "And no, you don't count. No matter how much glitter or eyeliner you wear. That only makes you a vampiric leech." They would go behind, and he would do his best to make sure that Zac didn't do anything obscene, though with Stella there it looked like that would be easier than it had ever been.