You Can't Handle the Truth (Zac)

[Rhett Goddard]

There was a fire in Rhett's chest. It had a name, but he was trying his best to erase it. After that unforgettable meeting a couple of days earlier, Rhett had been doing everything he didn't do the whole semester: homeworks, papers, six hours long parkour practice everyday. He even started learning origami with a book he took from the library. But it just wasn't enough. He was stressed, he was anxious, he wasn't calmed, he wasn't himself.

One night after folding twenty-three paper cranes, he came up with an idea: if he felt he wasn't himself, maybe if it all started with with an unexpected event, he would end everything with another one. And so, after checking in the web for 'ways to release stress', he chose the one that he would never ever do: he decided to go to the gym.

Next morning he was up in the morning, and after a light breakfast, he took a towel, wore some light yellow shorts, a simple white t-shirt and his wide white sneakers he loved so much and went to that area of the school he had never put a step on: the gymnasium.

Perfect. There weren't that many people there, but even better, there was noone he could recognize. After walking around a bit, he chose to sit on one of those complex exercise machines and took a sit there, placing the towel in his shoulder. He looked how others were using it and tried the vertical bars which, apparently, would work his chest. Here goes nothing........ And indeed nothing happened, it was far too heavy. He looked behind him at the weights wondering how he could change the weight, and after quickly comparing his machine with the other ones, the one diference was a small metal bar which he managed to take out and move to another position above the original one.

And so, he took a deep breath and attempted one second time... Nope, still too heavy. What was I thinking...?

[Zachary LaRousse]

A few months ago, Zac would be caught dead should someone see him using the school’s gym facilities for his own personal workout. With money to burn, the boy still insisted on signing up and joining a private gym downtown, despite having virtually the same equipment (the school was funded by a number of private investors after all, among them his father’s company, and they definitely wouldn’t let the school have subpar equipment) and having a much hassle due to the proximity of the said room to his dorm suite.

Things started changing when his father started knowing his not-so-honorable deeds, starting with him telling Mr. Bond ‘That’s so gay’ so many times that he almost got suspended, to his recent stint with Alex MacKenzie (who he still insists should be called Dwarf) during the Valentine’s Day dance. From allowance cuts to indefinite grounding, Zac’s lifestyle changed drastically. (True, it was almost a third of the year ago, but his father, surprised at the stuff his son has been doing all along, decided to make a more thorough check of his son’s activities and was surprised at what he’s found). No more partying halfway across the globe. No more sudden shopping sprees. Even his trips to Pilot Ridge were limited. In other words, Zac had to make do with what’s inside the campus already.

Clad in a black mesh-esque tank top, loose shorts and muddy white sneakers, the boy was already grinding his way in the gym even before the sun was up. As much as he’d like to claim that a body like his was effortless (and to an extent it was, thanks to his powers’ side effects), he still can’t skip the whole sweat-everything-out part of keeping his figure.

He had just finished running on the threadmill and was halfway through his daily bench press count when his eyes saw a boy – a new one no less, at least compared to those who came to the gym at a daily basis – seemingly at odds with the plate load machine. “Dude, don’t you think you’re being a bit too ambitious?” grinned the boy as he put the barbell down and walked towards the blonde. “Move over and let me show you how it’s done.”

Promptly booting the boy out with a swift butt motion (read: he bumped the boy out of the equipment with his butt), he settled himself in for a bit then started showing the blonde how to do it properly. He did it three, four times before stopping, smirking at the boy with his eyebrows raised. “Aren’t you too young to be here? You sure you’ve hit puberty already?” At least that’s what his trainer told him. That lifting weights too early can stunt his growth and all that. “Maybe you should stick to those for the moment,” he chuckled derisively, pointing at the pile of 5-pound dumbbells at the corner.

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[Rhett Goddard]

Rhett was about to answer when he was kicked out of the machine. I wasn't that he had bad reflexes, only that he was caught off-guard (and in the middle of that 'i am not myself' phase). The korean boy was actually quite good and made Rhett feel a little bad about himself, but not too much since he didn't really intended to be good at this, even less the best one. He didn't care, and noticing this actually made him feel better, which spontaneously was expressed through a smile he, with effort, erased quickly out of his face.

"You know, maybe I should." Rhett said without thinking twice, not feeling any shame of it. "And actually I am not that younger than you." Apparently... "But see, next time you wish to show me something, I would highly appreciate you don't use any sort of butt-butt interact...

Zachary LaRousse
a whisper echoed in his ears

"Zachary LaRousse..." Rhett let out softly, remembering the name from conversations with other people and that one Hammel chat incident. This promises to be good... "Hmm..." He turned around, sitting in the next machine and changing the weight to the second lowest weight. He tried it... And finally it moves! "Oh, Gee, thanks Zachie, evidently, now that you've shown me how to do it, I was able to." He performed his best sarcastic tone ever. "Sadly, I don't look half as good as you did while doing it." And the punchline... "I look twice as good."

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac frowned slightly when the blonde told him he’s not much younger. “Dude, don’t push it.” There’s no way in the world the boy’s his age. Not when he looks barely thirteen. “I may not look at it, but I’m already eighteen. I’m like, five-six years older than you.” Let’s all hope he won’t get a heart attack once Rhett tells him how old he is really.

A derisive laugh escaped the smug teen as the boy continued to talk. Other than the fact that he finds the boy’s retort rather ridiculous and, mainly, nonsensical, the way he said ‘butt-butt’ just made him crack up so much. “You are so not helping your whole I’m-just-a-bit-younger-than-you argument by saying butt-butt bro. Not at all.”

The boy suddenly blurting his name out loud didn’t faze him as much; he does believe he’s a school celebrity after all. What did irk him though, was that the boy called him Zachie soon after. Heaven knows how he hates being called that (much like how he hates being called Drake or any derivative of that too). He’s either Zac or Zachary, as simple as that; anything otherwise is pure junk. “Dude, we are so not close enough for you to just call me Zachie,” he said blankly as he shot a glare towards the kid, “We’re not pals and I don’t have the slightest inclination to sleep with you, so don’t get your hopes up.”

“Haha. Very funny,” added Zac as he stood up and walked towards the boy, clapping ever so slowly as he did, “Maybe if you work on removing the ugly fats here” – poking Rhett’s arms – “here,” – now his abs – “and here,” – finally his face, most notably his cheeks – “I would agree. Call me when you’ve worked on them already so I can feel so ashamed of myself, ok?” He gave the boy one last grin before going back and starting his bench press exercises over again.

[Rhett Goddard]

Zac was most definitely a sneaky one taking advantage of Rhett's concentration on lifting the oh-so-little weight he was lifting to go ahead and touch him. And in his face. Rhett was not to stay quiet about this one.

"Wait..." He dropped the weights, making a small noise that echoed the gym. Ouch... "I'm a bit lost in your words." Rhett said out loud from his seat, loud enough to make sure Zac would hear him. "See, we're not close enough for me to call you by the nickname you love the most, yet close enough to go ahead and touch each other in the face? Are you really sure you don't want to sleep with me?" He now grabbed the bars and continued pushing the weight. "But well, at least now I personally see why people love you to death around here, and emphasize the death part for me, please." A sudden string of information arrived at Rhett's mind, producing a little smile across his face. Talk about timing... "But about feeling ashamed of yourself, I bet the stuffed animals you keep under your bed might as well point out that you can go ahead do so right now."

[Zachary LaRousse]

A loud groan escaped the smug teen as he heard the blonde boy speak up, knowing instinctively that he was still referring to him and not anyone else. “Geez man, couldn’t you like, take a clue or something?” In his mind, the boy’s either developed a sudden attraction to him, or just plain stupid. Either way, this just means he has to up his jerkward-get-away-from-me vibe if he ever wants to get his workout routine done before the rest of the school wakes up. “Not that it’s a hard thing to do anyway,” he muttered darkly, bothering not to keep his mumbling to himself.

“Dude, you are so not getting it,” said Zac with such nonchalance, opting to continue with his bench presses instead of facing the boy while he spoke, “We’re not close enough for you to call me Zachie, true, but it doesn’t mean I can’t touch you. Because no matter what happens, I can do whatever I want. I am Hammel’s prince after all. Double standard please.” Only when he said the last sentence did he turn his head to the side to face the boy, briefly rolling his eyes before going back into looking at the ceiling once more. “We didn’t touch each other. I only touched you; you didn’t touch me. And puh-lease. Even if you went down on your knees and pleaded, I won’t sleep with you. I have standards after all.” Though the main reason right now is because he’s with L.C. Or at least he thinks they’re sort of together. It’s a bit shaky at the moment, and he knows that a little slip here might cost him the Maiden.

He was just about to continue with his bench presses, barely paying attention to what the blonde said soon after, when he suddenly said something about his stuffed animal collection. Without a moment to spare, Zac jumped up and grabbed the boy by his collar, effectively pinning the boy to the nearest wall. (And if you’re wondering, yes, he did use cheetah speed and gorilla strength to help him be a bit more intimidating). “How did you know that?” he growled (yes, growled, like an animal), his lips barely a millimeter off the blonde’s ear, “Did someone tell you about it? Huh? Tell me.”

Though if you ask me, by being all gun-ho with Rhett only proves that what he heard is indeed true. If you ask me, Zac would’ve been better off pretending like he doesn’t know what the blonde’s talking about.

[Rhett Goddard]

It had worked. It felt like it was a long time since Rhett had made someone crazy mad like this, but it was more likely just a month or so. As Zac pinned him to the nearest wall, Rhett couldn't resist the desire to a pop a, rather sinister, smile in his face. It was an interesting reflex he didn't know why it happened, just like that urge to smile you get when someone yells at you. In the wall, a couple of words away from getting punched, he did not feel any fear at all, Rhett was as calmed and cold as he could get. He finally felt like himself.

"You know," He started speaking calmly while detailing Zac's pose. "To not really want to sleep with me, you do talk a lot about it." Rhett sighed and licked his lips, directing the other boy's total attention at his face while swiftly, and stealthily, positioning his hands and twisting his feet a bit, ready to take a shot at Zachary's jewels case it all gets dirty. You can never be too ready. "And well, I didn't really know, Zachie. You just told me by firing up in anger." He was ready now: right knee could quickly rise and hit and the plan b, left hand could quickly grab and tighten. Now let's let him know. "You're gonna get wrinkles in my shirt, so I would appreciate that you either release me or punch me and get on with it. You should choose the first one, though." He looked down at his knee, showing Zac the proximity and danger of his manliness. "I can't be sure you'll be able to reproduce if you choose the second, and I am way faster than you. Though I don't really know how more Zachies are good for anybody, so maybe I should go ahead and avoid the world such tragedy." Rhett raised his right eyebrow. "What do you say?"

[Zachary LaRousse]

[The narcissistic teen unleashed another flurry of snarls and growls, grinding his teeth loudly as he tried his hardest not to punch the blonde boy right there and then. While his scuffle with Alex MacKenzie has been, for the most part, erased in the memory of the student body, Zac knows better than to assume that his father’s attention span is just as short as the average hormonal teen.

But self-control was slipping away rather rapidly, most certainly due to that dark grin plastered upon his aggressor’s face. How the hell can he still smile considering his current predicament? And since he himself is a master bluffer, he knows for certain that the smirk was anything but. What ace could he have been hiding under his sleeve still? For a moment he was scared. Especially when he realized he has no idea about what the boy could do. He could just hope that his power wasn’t anything that could mess up with his brain.

“Don’t fuck with me dude. You knew it even before I flared up.” Like most mistakes, he only realized his after he’s grabbed the boy by his shirt and had him pinned to the wall already, which meant he was already frustrated for letting himself be overcome with anger and being so impulsive. He definitely doesn’t need the boy rubbing it on his face even more.

A derisive snort escaped the teen at the other boy’s threat, that is until he saw how the boy had maneuvered himself beneath him and turned the tides without even tingling Zac’s senses. Damn this boy is good. Though Zac is quite the epitome of stubbornness, he does know when he’s got only the slightest chance of winning. He promptly released the boy and backed down a bit, never once letting him out of his sight. “You haven’t won yet, so don’t celebrate. Stay there. I mean it. And you’re not faster than me. Not when I have speed by my side.” He’s not letting the boy go that easily. He’s going to settle this scuffle today, even if it means skipping a whole day of classes.

He made a quick dash towards the closet at the back of the weights room, grabbing two pairs of boxing gloves and matching helmets. “Here. Wear this,” he said, throwing Rhett the said equipments as he walked into the ring. “We’ll settle this here. Hope you know how to play fair.”

Time to see if he still remembers Mr. Romanov’s pointers (and moves).

[Rhett Goddard]

Rhett felt tempted to run in a very parkour-like way and disappear from Zac's sight as he turned away, but where was his pride and, well, his manners? No. Thieves run, but men stay. He told himself as he arranged his shirt while waiting for Zac. And I can always run later, I'm still a thief anyway.

Zac arrived with boxing gear which made Rhett raise his right eyebrow with a slight shock expression. Boxing? Really? What's this guy thinking?

"Well, that is, indeed, very gentleman-like of you. What? You couldn't find the white gloves and the fencing gear?" Rhett took the gloves and helmet while imagining the scene in his head. He never in his life had ever fought with someone else, even less boxing. He had, however, avoided a couple of punches, kicks and whatnot. It can't be that hard, right? Improvisation, just like parkour. If I could see him as an obstacle in the path...

He was breathing deeply. In some other circumstance Rhett would just laugh off at this possibility, he was not the physical altercation guy, but truth was, there was a lot of things still inside him that were begging to be steamed away and violence might just be the key. Yes... No. He threw the gloves and helmet aside. "I don't need them." He smirked as the plan came into mind. "Believe me, I don't have the strength to hurt you in anyway, and my knuckles will hurt if I do so no matter what, and I barely know of boxing. I have a better proposition." Rhett started walking towards the other side of the gym were a small open place with a big mirror, probably designated for yoga or something else, was. "Whoever connects three hits of whatever type, to the other person wins. Or you know, the one that's not lying in the floor in pain and tapping out too."

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Harhar. Save the jokes for later, will you?” Such a snarky attitude, at least when goading someone into a fight, is definitely something new for Zac. Usually he’s the one with a dirty smirk on his face, constantly blabbering and rambling about stuff, possibly inserting a complaint about something as trivial as the shade of his shirt not matching his eye somewhere along his rant even. But now, the conceited teen apparently decided to take on a more serious approach to his current challenge, choosing to silently put his gloves and helmet on, planning his moves and strategy, as he waited for the boy to come.

He perked up when the boy suddenly said he won’t need such tools, for a moment thinking that the blonde’s just out to insult him really. Then came the sudden confession, which earned quite the snort from the egotistic lad. “Is this your way of buying time for you to plot something up? Because I tell you, even if you plan for an eternity, you definitely won’t defeat me in a fair battle. Not a chance.” ‘Fair’ being quite the loose term in this case.

While he was wholly opposed to any fight other than his suggested boxing, he still listened intently to what the boy (whose name still escapes him, apparently) had to say. It took a good second or two for him to fully understand what the other boy was suggesting, trying to decipher the said offer properly. He can’t afford to be ignorant now; considering how quick the boy moved earlier, this may all have been a trap for him.

“I accept. Only if we tweak, or at least clarify, your rules,” he said, taking the gloves and helmet off as he went out the ring, “By ‘hit’ you mean something that wasn’t blocked right? Or do you want to limit it to certain parts of the body only, say the core and the face?” Either way, this’ll be the first time he’d be fighting like this, which means he has to be extra careful. Seems he has to go cheetah reflexes and speed all the way.

He slowly walked towards the area pointed to by the boy and took his shirt, socks and shoes off, discarding them in a nearby corner. “I’m not sure I caught your name yet by the way. Tell me the truth or else I’d call you Wimp for the rest of your life.”

[Rhett Goddard]

"Wimp is ok." Rhett said while observing Zac discard his shirt and shoes and, most likely by reflex, show off his body off here and there. "And yes! You know the definition of being hit in a fight, I congratulate you, LaRousse." Interestingly, it was at that moment that Rhett noticed that the last name was French, wondering how a korean boy ended up with it. Nevertheless, even if Zac were French, Rhett did not care sharing nationality with someone, even less someone as bothersome like him. Or as bothersome as me, rather.

It was about to be showtime and Rhett had no idea what to do. Making a pose sounded like a very good idea, but what pose. He checked his memories for some advice, but he had never watched too much tv and even less movies, and since thieves don't fight, there were almost no help in there that might be of use, and so, the only thing he could come up was doing a couple of quick stretching movements and then place his left feet less than a meter behind the right one while flexing his knees just a bit. It was nothing but a basic stance as if he were to start running at any moment, but it was also a stance than by taking a step forward, and actually start running, would let him perform a handful of parkour tricks to avoid whatever Zac attempts. So, it was now up for the Korean to start.

"Whenever you want, Zachie." He breathed calmly, letting his spatial awareness and good reflexes guide him. It was all he could trust anyway. Well, Rhett, you are officially someone I don't know anymore.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Can’t this kid boy get any more annoying? (He still doesn’t believe that his aggressor’s as old as him; he still looks prepubescent to him, which does make him at least a bit bad about fighting him). “Fine, Wimp it is.” In the mean time anyway. He’s sure he’ll figure out more derogatory and irritating names afterwards. He is Zac after all. The boy’s rather sarcastic comment prompted another snarl out from the teen’s system, sounding a bit more feral than human compared to those he’s unleashed over the past hour or so. Guess he should be more careful then, lest anger be the way his powers use to overcome him. And heaven knows how things are never pretty when he lets loose.

The topic of his origins is something rather complicated that, well, Zac tries his hardest to stay away from such a discussion. For someone as elitist as him, his ethnic make-up is quite the hodgepodge of races. The only reason why he has such a predominantly Asian appearance is most probably due to his mom being half-Korean and his dad being half-Japanese. His mom’s other half involves being American, while his dad’s other half split into Scottish and Canadian roots. LaRousse comes from his great-grandfather, a Canadian with a British mother and a Francophone father. (Too complicated, he says.)

“Dude, I’m very merciful and I’d say that it still isn’t too late for you to surrender. And vow to keep that mouth of yours shut ‘till the end of time,” grinned the boy as he finished his brief stretching, cocking his head from side to side as he tried to loosen himself up. Being tense will only make him lose, or at least that’s what he can remember from those brief times he’s trained with Mr. Romanov. Opting for a generic stance (like Rhett, he isn’t too much of a fighter too, relying on initial intimidation to defer would be opponents), he took a deep breath before charging in.

“Here goes nothing.”

He went straight towards Rhett, aiming to grab the boy by his shirt and pin him down, similar to the judo throw he’s seen done time and time again. He knows he could’ve gotten away with a punch or two, but he figures that pinning the boy down to submission would end the scuffle much quicker. He just hopes he can successfully grab the boy and do the technique, else he’d be extremely open himself.

[Rhett Goddard]

Rhett thought the possibility of just surrendering and going away, not like he cared what Zac would think nor say of him. What was he to say? Yeah that blonde kid is a pussy? He doesn't even know Rhett's name, and even if he learned, Rhett barely knows people around, all Zac would do is talk about is talk about one of the less known kids around, which would be weird and actually strengthen the fact that Zac is the want that wants to sleep with the other. Although, in pure honesty, Rhett did think that the most probable thing to happen was just nothing, maybe Zac did not care at all about him and it would all be for nothing.

But well, there it was, Zac charging towards him. It was rather late to surrender, perhaps.

He's not that tall. Rhett said to himself while watching the korean boy run towards him and such, decided to do the same, hoping he would get enough horizontal momentum to do as he needed. Just when he was centimeters away from Zac, who attempted to grab Rhett in some way, he rose his arms towards the ceiling and jumped as high as he could, letting his momentum push him forwards and succesfully performing a high jumping roll over Zachary, who, Rhett thought, was most likely making a 'what the fuck' expression, and taking the chance to slap the back of Zac's head while above him.

The slap, however, didn't let Rhett accommodate his arms correctly enough to make the landing part safe, and so, when doing so, he hit his head before rolling, and as soon as he was up, the world spun around him a couple of times, which he shook off by shaking his head. A headache, however, appeared right after the dizziness was gone. Great. He turned to face Zac and performed the same stance he took before, beckoning Zac to continue.

[Zachary LaRousse]

His ego’s the only thing that’s keeping the smug teen charging towards the blonde boy really. While he does know nothing about the boy’s reputation around the school, he still has no knowledge of his name, so if he does own the boy in this said battle, it’s not like he can spread rumors and talk thrash about him. Unlike Rhett, he doesn’t have the luxury of being able to destroy whatever image his opponent has around school grounds.

Basically, the mimic’s fighting now in an effort to keep the boy’s mouth shut. He simply can’t the boy go without assurance that he won’t mention it to people. As far as he knows, only JD knows his secret; his only consolation was that the boy considers him a friend, only using the said knowledge to tease him in private. Rhett was definitely not a friend of his, and the way he smirked at him when he pinned him to the wall (or even when he first mentioned him knowing about such an issue) told Zac that unless he proves to the boy that he’s better, he won’t get the security he wants. And he couldn’t think of a better way than to beat the boy in such a fight.


The sudden overhead roll/flip was definitely not something he had prepared for. (If anything, he was expecting him to dodge to his side or charge then suddenly duck to give him an uppercut). He could’ve easily recovered however, had the boy not slapped his head and pushed him forward even more. Though since the tap was on his head and not on his back, the extra push (plus the confusion it brought) made him trip and fall. Thank goodness he had the presence of mind to put his hands out in front of him and make a quick roll, else he’d still be on the ground, probably groaning about his face falling flat on the floor.

“That would count as a first hit on your side then?” he asked as he turned to face the boy once more, smirking briefly before snarling once again. “Didn’t expect you to be that slippery. Won’t happen again, I assure you.” Guess he has to tap onto his powers for his fight then. Not a problem.

Once again he charged, tapping into a gazelle for that extra speed and agility, hoping he’d land a flying kick this time around. If he can’t hit the boy low, maybe he can do it above.

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[Rhett Goddard]

Rhett decided not to answer Zac's question whether it counted or no as a hit, since it clearly counted as one and he had to stay focused on the fight, specially since a headache had just kicked in in his head. Oh it has to happen again, otherwise I'm screwed.

Zac, once again, started charging towards Rhett, thing was, it was extremely fast. Back when Zac pinned him to the wall, he did thought the guy was rather fast, but he wasn't paying much attention then, and now, watching the korean boy run towards him, like this, Rhett noticed the boy was just way faster than normal. Even faster than a human being should be, whatever his power was, it gave him superhuman speed. This is bad.

With little time to react, and with a headache keeping his concentration off, Rhett's initial reaction when seeing Zac jump into a flyin kick in front of him was to perform a corkscrew, having it planned in his mind that by doing it with the exact angle and height, Rhett would dodge the kick while turning in the air next to Zac, and give him enough time to slap shim in the back before landing if Zac's speed wasn't too high. However, things didn't go as planned, Zac's speed didn't let Rhett have enough time and got caught in the middle of it, being hit by Zac's feet somewhere around his stomach and then being crashed by all of Zac's upper body due to his speed.

Funny thing was that because of the nature of the corkscrew, it's unavoidable to flip in the air once you've started it, and such, both the boys spun in the air while being launched in the direction Zac's momentum had threw them and landed a couple of meters back, face to face, bellybutton on belly bellybutton, Rhett on top of Zac. Awkward.