Unforgiving (Zac)

[JD Paerson]

Note: This thread takes place in the week following the Sex Ed Seminar.

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JD had sat perfectly quietly as he was scolded by the staff members. He’d received his punishment with no more than a bowed head. As he was escorted back to his dormitory, he didn’t say anything. He wrote the required apologies and delivered them—walking, not running, since he was on power suppression for the week. Then he returned to his room and slept.

He only came out of his bedroom to attend class or to get food or use the bathroom. He was consistently walking into the classroom just as the bell rang, giving no time for anyone to speak to him before class began. He refused to speak up during class, instead keeping his head down and just shrugging when the teachers asked him direct questions. At the end of class he left as quickly as possible, getting away from all those who might try to stop and talk.

On Wednesday evening he received a phone call. He listened as the person on the other end scolded him, shouted at him, and finally demanded to know what he had to say for himself. “Nothing,” JD said, the first word he’d spoken in days. And the line went dead. He turned off his phone and fell asleep.

Thursday he didn’t even bother to get out of bed or get dressed. While ordinarily he might have gone for a run and tried to get away from his problems, he couldn’t do that now. He just didn’t want to see anyone or talk to anyone. So when there was a knock at the door, he completely ignored it.

Five minutes later when the person was still knocking and shouting at him, JD finally made the gesture to put the pillow over his head to muffle the sound. He was in no mood to talk, especially not to the only person who could be standing there, pounding away at the door. So instead he just sat in the dark and hoped the pounding would stop, and that Zac would just give up.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Unfortunately for JD, giving up has never been part of Zac’s vocabulary. Especially when it comes to his beloved speedster.

To say that Zac’s reaction to being found out was undesirable would be quite the understatement. He was extremely proud, highly unremorseful and just damn loud. He talked and talked and talked throughout Dr. Neville’s lecture to them that his detention has been decided to be an hour of non-talking for the next four weeks. No talking, no reading, no writing. Just sitting there for an hour, staring into blank space. Naturally he was opposed to this, blabbering stuff about compromise and fairness (and inserting a few ‘compliments’ in the middle, like how Dr. Neville’s tie choices were exquisite and how Ms. Vasiliev’s complexion was superb that she should tell him what skin products she uses).

It did nothing to him but extend his first week of detention to one and a half hour instead of the initial hour. Ouch.

Zac tried to keep things normal for the days that followed. Drowning out the angry stares and the hush-hush whispers, even laughing at the numerous death treats he’s been receiving all day. It worked, at least until he noticed how sulky and brooding his two best friends have become. Robbie made quite the 180-degree turn, but even JD’s a little too quiet for his own good.

He stopped correcting Ms. Rivera whenever she makes a mistake in her antiderivatives (she missed an x² on the second line that threw the entire thing altogether). He didn’t argue with Mr. McQueen’s explanation of the time dilation principle in Einstein’s special relativity (he made it a bit more complicated than Zac would’ve wanted). He stayed mum when Mr. Tonaya asked about the Napoleonic Wars (something he’s sure JD has read ahead of time).

JD’s just not JD anymore.

And while he would’ve wanted to check up on him that same day, he was just a little too exhausted after finishing his letters of apologies that he fell asleep almost immediately. But he promised to himself that he’d visit his best friend the day after.

JD no opening his door for him is totally not a new occurrence. He’s been doing it for as long as he can remember anyway. So much that Zac had been destroying his door knobs (and replacing them) on a daily basis. But without his powers, he could only do so much.

This time, he borrowed a pin from Gabe and tried to make a lock pick out of it. And hoozah, it worked. And no, it's not because the twins finally pitied him and crushed the said knob with their combined strength.

“DeeDee!” shouted Zac, pouncing on JD and wrapping his arms around his favorite teddy bear, “Thought you could hide from me forever, don’t ya? Miss me?”

Oh Zac.

[JD Paerson]

It was not altogether unexpected that Zac had made it into the room again. JD had simply been hoping that the mimic would've gotten the hint that he didn't want to be bothered. So when Zac eventually burst in again and tried his usual tactics of over-affection, JD simply froze. If he held still long enough, played dead, then surely his erstwhile friend would realize that he wasn't in the mood.

Yeah right.

So after a few minutes, JD simply sat up in bed, keeping his hands firmly at his sides. He stood, walked into the middle of the room, and took two deep breaths.

"You have," he said in a low voice, "exactly thirty seconds to leave."

He closed his eyes and began counting. "One...Two...Three..."

Couldn't Zac see that this was not the right time? That everything had just fallen apart, and he needed to be left alone?

"Four. Five. Six." He was determined to ignore anything that Zac said. And were he still there after 30 seconds, well, JD was prepared to forcibly remove him. And then blockade the door.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Had the status quo not been shaken so hard that everything that is everything is threatening to fall apart, Zac would’ve still been clinging to JD’s back when he stood up and commanded him to leave the room. It’s second nature after all, to cling to the bigger boy’s body and demand a piggyback ride whenever possible. He forgot how or when that awkward show of closeness started, but it just did.

So you really can’t say that Zac is all that dense. Because instead of latching himself around the speedster’s neck, he promptly let go and sat on the edge of his bed, looking at JD with a mixture of confusion, guilt, sadness and a bit of denial. That JD isn’t really angry with him. He’s never been anyway, at least not this angry.

In an effort to ease the tension building up the room, he chuckled, grabbing a pillow and throwing it towards the boy. “Dude, is that what happens when you work with Dylan for so long?” But even then he could see that it’s not working, his smile quickly fading.

“I’m not leaving,” he said in an equally firm voice. His unimpressed pout was suddenly accompanied by crossed arms in front of his chest. “Count all you want, but I’m not leaving.”

It’s too early to say that they’ve reached an impasse, right?

[JD Paerson]

[Note: Language warning.]

The pillow bounced off JD's back, but he ignored it. He also ignored the comment about Dylan. But he knew how stubborn Zac could be when he got it into his head, so when he said that he wasn't leaving it was obvious that more drastic steps were necessary.

JD took another deep breath, then walked over to the bed where Zac was sitting. He grabbed the spoiled rich kid by the shoulders and tried to lift him into a standing position.

"I'm not in the mood for this, Zac," he growled. "Get out of my room. Right now." He worked to try to push the mimic out of the room. If he could just get him past the door...

"You don't even realize, do you? You think this whole thing is some big joke or something. Well guess what, it's not a joke. This is my life, and I'm not going to let you fuck with it anymore."

Because that was the ultimate plan here. For the moment, it was an attempt to shove Zac out of his room. But long-term? Shut him out of his life. This is what came of having friends--it all just backfired.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac tried his hardest to resist the bigger teen but it just wasn’t working. His natural bulk, combined with the sudden weakness the pompous teen felt when he heard how serious JD sounded, just drained every last bit of his energy. He didn’t inherit his father’s precognition, but he had to be as dumb as a rock to not see how this will turn out.

“I’m not in the mood for this either,” he protested, trying to wiggle out of the boy’s grasp as he found himself being shoved out the room that, oddly, seems like his own too. Must’ve been due to the number of times he’s barged in without really thinking about it. (He’s certain that he did ask for a duplicate key from JD before. Wonder what happened to that proposition).

“Stop it Dee! What the heck is wrong with you?” he growled, curling his toes as if to hold on to something. The carpet isn’t cooperating with him though.

His next words proved to be Zac’s undoing though.

Sure he expected some sort of an outburst, but still it stung. Stung hard and deep. Especially since it came from one of the few people whose opinion of him really matters.

“Is this because people suddenly hated you? Are you letting them in that measly brain of yours? I thought you’re better than this,” he growled, craning his neck to look at the boy straight in the eye, “It was supposed to be a joke. It’s them. They can’t take a joke.”

Though deep inside he does know it’s his fault. And maybe, just maybe, regret for what he did is starting to form.

ooc:
URGH. Crappy. I dunno what's up with my muse lately. D;.
- Jam

[JD Paerson]

JD stepped back, suddenly releasing his hold on Zac.

"It is a joke to you. That's all you think this is." He had said it, but some part of him didn't actually believe that Zac could be that shallow.

"It's not the students, I don't care what they think. They're only going to know me for another year and then I'm leaving, so what does that even matter? It's not even the punishment..." He put his hand on his forehead and scrunched his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes again, he pulled back his fist and punched his old friend.

"It's not about the prank, Zac. I'd just appreciate it if you wouldn't treat my life as if nothing mattered! And no, I don't care about anyone here and that they hate me. But I didn't need my dad calling me and chewing me out, either."

He was in full rant mode by this point. And he wasn't ready to just stop, not now that he'd actually started talking again.

"Do you know what he said? You know what he told me? He reminded me that this stunt is going on my permanent record. Which means that it'll be there when I try to apply for college. What place is going to want me like this? Pulling dumb pranks my senior year? You think I'm going to make it into Harvard? Or did that fact not even cross your tiny, self-centered mind?

"He told me I should try to go to West Point. At least there I'll get a good education, and he thinks I can get in because that's where he was at. But I'm not going to West Point, never in a million years, but he still doesn't get it, because he just wants me to follow in his footsteps like a good son. And I'm sick of it all! I'm sick of everyone only thinking about what they want and what they think is best for me, but never really thinking about me or what I actually want to do."

He took another deep breath and looked at Zac.

"You know what your big problem is? You really wanna know? It's that you don't think. Because you're smart, and I know it--you're one of the few other people at this school who's actually able to keep up with all the courses. But you never bother to even use your head. And when you do think, it's only about you and what you want, and you seem to think that just because you're rich you can get away with anything and pay people to like you or something. Well guess what, LaDouche? You can't buy everyone. Money doesn't solve every problem, and one of these days you're just going to have to get over yourself and realize that there's more in this world than just you."

And after shouting at the person who used to be his best friend, JD proceeded to go back to shoving him out the door. The friendship was already destroyed, and there wasn't really any way to change that now. Better to just cut the losses and move on.

[Zachary LaRousse]

For probably the first time in the pompous teen’s life, he was rendered mute. For someone who can talk people’s ears off – spewing trivial stuff, unrequited advice or just off-topic snide remarks – he suddenly found himself dumbfounded and unable to form even the crudest of sounds. He just stood there, eyes wide and mouth gaping as he tried to process every little bit of what JD said.

Which is a hard thing to do. Considering how sharp his words suddenly became. How they effortlessly strike him blow after blow and he’s incapable of dodging any and all of them.

Well, at least he know his peers’ reaction isn’t getting to his (ex)best friend, unlike what’s happening to Robbie. JD has always been above them anyway. But still, what little comfort he got from that is made almost insignificant by the fact that he simply can’t fix the source of JD’s troubles. His dad.

“I-I-“ He tried to say something, but the words just aren’t forming. Instead he found himself finally being shoved outside, unable to even look at JD straight in the eye.

“S-sor-ry?”

Not that it’d make a whole lot of difference at this point anyway.

[JD Paerson]

"A little late, Zac," JD said as he shoved the guy through the door. "If you really want to show you're sorry, why don't you actually start acing like an adult for once? Now get out of here. And don't bother coming back."

He slammed the door shut behind the guy's back and shoved a chair up under the broken door handle. Then he went and collapsed onto his bed, sitting with his hands in his hair and his entire form bent with the weight of all that was happening to him. He was tempted to scream into a pillow...but he didn't. Instead he simply laid down and stared at the wall, trying to fall asleep.