Hey Jealousy (Kai, Caelum?)

[Deleted]

Backdated to July 18

Zach gave a nod to Vanessa as he left the room they were sharing, closing the door behind him. He sighed as soon as he was out on the trail that led to the other cabins. This "camping" trip wasn't turning into the thing he'd hoped it'd be, not with Kai's sister and her friends. One of them seemed pretty nice, but the other two... He heard a vague echo of giggling in the distance. Sera had proposed them spending time in the hot-tub this evening. Zach somehow had the feeling he wasn't invited. Vanessa wouldn't be able to go, not with the baby. Zach wondered if Kai was going to go?

If not, then maybe the three of them could just enjoy a movie together or something. The drive up may have been awkward, but that awkwardness was much more preferable to the blatant hostility he felt from Sera and her friend.

Zach slowly made his way from his cabin to where Kai's cabin was located, enjoying the scene of the forest around him in the quickly dimming light. If he had one thing to say, it would be that the Roen siblings had a great taste in camping locations. This really was a nice place. He briefly wondered how much it had cost them....then quickly purged that question from his mind. He didn't need to think about that, it'd drive him crazy.

After what was probably a more delightful walk than it should have been, Zach stepped up onto the porch area of Kai's cabin and raised hi hand to give the door a knock. He stopped when he heard voices. Kai....and was that his sister? Zach thought she was at the hot tub. Against his better judgement, Zach pressed his ear up next to the window to get a better listen.

"Malachai, are you coming?" Sera asked of her brother, the skinny girl fully decked out in her bikini and nothing to cover, though she did have a towel draped over her arm. "Hurry up and get dressed, the others are already out there. Or do I have to strip you myself?" Her voice was cold, and her words...confusing. What kind of sister spoke to their brother like that? Zach couldn't imagine any of his younger sisters saying something like that even in jest. He continued to listen.

[Malachai Roen]

Kai was... To be honest... Starting to regret this camping trip.

At least, he was regretting dragging Zach and Vanessa along. After Alice's first cruel comment at the mother, Kai had done his best to keep tensions down, which mostly involved keeping his.... Friends... Away from Sera's. Carleigh seemed nice, which was unfortunate - Kai had to wonder how she'd gotten involved. Alice was.... Well, Alice. Kai had to get along with her for Sera's sake, and for... Past relations that no one but the two of them knew about. If Sera found out, she'd have a fit.

He wasn't certain about this... Hot tubbing with the girls. For one - Alice, and the slight awkward of that situation. Two, Carleigh was young, and he felt doubly awkward being in a potentially sexually tense situation with her. And finally, Sera herself, who just... Well, look what she was saying already.

"I don't know, Ser, I'm feeling pretty tired," he told her, sitting on the edge of one of the beds in their cabin. "I think I'd rather just stay in and relax." Or rather, once she was distracted with her friends, he would sneak over to Zach and Vanessa's and spend some time with them, like he should be doing. He didn't know if his excuse would work though - after all, hot tubbing was supposed to be relaxing, but he knew it wouldn't be with that group.

"And, ah... I have a call or two to make too," he added as he stood, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. "How about I just see you later tonight?" Kai started making his way towards the door, flipping through his contacts and hoping Sera wouldn't, well... Have a tantrum. When he opened the door, however - "Zach?" he asked, blinking in surprise. "Hey, uh.... I didn't expect to see you here." He glanced over his shoulder at Sera before looking back at the other man. "Did you need something?"

[Deleted]

Zach felt himself release a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding once Kai asserted he wasn’t going to join the girls in the hot tub. Aside from the fact that it would have been rude to his guests(which was the least of Zach’s worries), Zach just….he didn’t want Kai to be hanging around those girls, specifically that blonde woman, Alice, he thought her name was. There was just something specific that he didn’t like about her that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Sera sighed harshly. “Fine,” she relented with much reluctance. “Go have fun with your little harem. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the attention.” She didn’t believe for a second that he was just going outside to make a phone call. He was obviously trying to get away from her. She’d get him for that later, Sera decided.

Zach scowled at the manner in which she was referring to himself and Vanessa. While he didn’t disagree that Kai was that kind of person, he resented the two of them being lumped into that kind of role, especially for Vanessa! She was the mother of Kai’s child, for goodness sake! How could that…that bitch talk about her nephew’s mother that way!?

He’d been standing in a bit of a stew when the door opened, and he jumped slightly at the sudden appearance of that tall, dark, and asian man. “Uh….hi,” he said meekly.

Sera scoffed and shot the writer a killing glare. “Right, a phone call,” she said, unamused. She walked past the tall man, purposefully brushing their shoulders as she did. “I’m going to go meet the other. You enjoy your “phone call”.” At that, Sera stepped off the deck and down the wooden walkway towards the hot tub where her friends were at.

Meanwhile, Zach was just a little bit speechless at….well, what the fuck was that anyway!!??!!?? “Kai, I think….I gonna…I might…murder your sister before the weekend is over,” he stammered out. She was just so…. Zach took a breath and attempted to calm down. “Sorry…”

[Malachai Roen]

Kai's brow furrowed and he shot his sister a glare. "They're not my 'harem', they're my friends," he told her, trying not to be too sharp (although she deserved it). "I know you don't like them, but it would be rude for me to leave them to themselves when I was the one who invited them to come." He knew he was going to pay for this later, but right now, he didn't care. What could Sera do?

He wasn't sure he wanted to think about that...

He held in a sigh as he opened the door, and was actually rather relieved at the fact that he had a reason to be distracted from Sera's anger. However, there was little he could say before his sister brushed by him and snapped her little snappy words. "Have fun," he called after her, trying to keep his voice light. "I'll see you later..."

Kai trailed off and finally released his sigh, giving Zach a tired smile. "I... I'm sorry for her..." he mumbled, running a hand through his hair. For probably one of the first times in a long while, the normally incredibly groomed man was letting himself relax a little, with his stubble slightly thicker than usual and dressed in a simple tanktop and khaki shorts. "Believe me, you aren't the first one to tell me that," he responded sourly. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't though. She is my sister, and I wouldn't want you to end up in jail." He smiled wryly as he stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

"So, ah, is there a reason you dared to venture all the way over here, or...?" Kai toyed with his phone in his hand; despite what Sera thought, Kai actually did want to call someone, and the fact that Zach was here didn't necessarily change that. In fact... It almost made him want to do it more, in a cruel way.

[Deleted]

Zach stared at the bony back of the skinny witch, wondering how she managed to contain such a monstrous amount of hostility and intimidation in that anorexic little body of hers. “When you said to watch out for her…..I thought you were, uh…just being a big brother…teasing his little sister.” Because Zach did that sometimes. Not often, but sometimes. Gordon and Gaige and JJ did most of the teasing. But…Sera was a whole other level of….crap, she made Kai look like a saint, and that was saying something!

He took another breath. After coming face to face with her, he felt like his nerves were on fire. “I’ll try not to,” he breathed. “No promises, though.” Zach managed a smirk up at the younger man. At least he was able to talk like a normal person to Kai, concentrating on his sister’s intensity instead of the awkwardness between the two of them.

“Uhm…Y-yeah! Actually,” he stammered out, remembering why he’d come in the first place. “Vanessa, she, uh…wanted to know if you wanted to watch a movie with us. I guess we can order them….or something.” Good job, yep, blame Vanessa, it wasn’t like Zach wanted him to come too or anything. Not like he wanted to sit next to him and cuddle…nope. Besides, he wouldn’t be able to get away with that with Vanessa around, right? And he and Kai weren’t even together anymore(if they’d ever been in the first place), so…Zach should stop developing unrealistic expectations already. They were just friends now…

[Malachai Roen]

Kai chuckled uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at Sera's retreating figure. "Yeah, uh... She can be quite a pill," he mumbled. That was definitely an understatement. "I think it's her number one goal in life to be better than me at everything. Every time I do something better, she throws a fit." There were... Other things involved, especially when it came to his relationships with people like Vanessa and Zach, but Kai wouldn't get into that. "So... I'm really sorry. I... Maybe I shouldn't have asked you guys to come..." His expression was one of genuine guilt.

At least... At least they were sort of conversing like they used to. With less flirting from Kai's end, but, well... What could he do? "Well, I guess if that's all you can assure me with," he replied with a faint smile. "She can be nice sometimes. Just... Probably never to you two." Sigh. And it was Kai's fault for putting them in that position, really.

He shook his thoughts away and focused back on Zach, peering curiously as the older man explained why he'd come over. "Ooh," he breathed. "That um... That sounds really nice, actually. My excuses trying to get away from the girls were... Not as good as that. I wish you'd have knocked two minutes sooner." Kai chuckled again. "Any movie is fine with me, I'm not picky. Um..." He held up his phone with a slightly awkward smile. "I was just about to make a call, actually... Mind if I do it on the way to your place?" Kai knew already that he was being a complete ass for doing this, but... Hopefully it would help him find out of there were any feelings left for him from Zach.

[Deleted]

“That’s, uh…putting it kindly….” Well, of course Kai had to be kind about it, she was his sister, after all. Though somehow Zach had the feeling that even with the descriptions he was getting from Kai(which were kind of eye opening in themselves), that things were in reality a lot worse than depicted. He didn’t know how right he was. “It’s okay!” he insisted. “We’re the ones who decided to come, because….well, we couldn’t have anticipated things…they really aren’t that bad.” Now Zach was the one being kind.

“So who is she nice to?” Zach asked with a small smirk. It was great that they could at least talk like this. It was one of the things that Zach missed the most in their time apart. Kai was one of the few people that Zach could actually speak to with some degree of confidence. Not complete, but he didn’t stammer over his words as much when trading words with Kai, especially in their…well, mostly when Zach was berating Kai for something stupid he did…

That was really horrible of him to think, wasn’t it? If only he could channel that ease into normal conversation…well, he was trying to anyway.

“Sorry,” he said with a slight roll of his eyes. “I was busy enjoying the, uh…becoming one with nature…on my way over…or something, you know what? Never mind.” Failed attempt at wit, check 1 for today. Zach shook his head, smiling over his natural awkwardness. “I don’t know what they have either so…I guess we could just figure it out later, when we get there.” Zach looked at the phone, wondering who Kai felt the need to call while out in the wilderness like this. “Uh…yeah, sure. I don’t mind. Are you sure you don’t want some privacy, though?” Zach knew he himself didn’t do very well talking on the phone in front of other people. That and he always felt awkward listening in on other people’s conversations.

[Malachai Roen]

Kai just smiled wryly. He didn't want to talk to badly about his sister because, yes, they were siblings, and he did love her, it was just... Difficult at times. Still, he chuckled and lifted his arm to wrap around Zach's shoulders at what he said... And ended up realizing he shouldn't at the last minute and just ended up awkwardly scratching his own head. "I feel... Really bad about what Alice said to Vanessa," he mumbled. "I'll make sure that, at least, doesn't happen again."

He rubbed his arm, pondering the question. "Uh... Well. Rich kids, like the two she brought along," Kai admitted sheepishly. "She, um... She tends to think people from... Lower class families.... Aren't worth her time. I don't feel that way, obviously," he quickly added, looking at Zach worriedly. "She just... Thinks she's better than most people. And, honestly, is obsessed with m- uh, with my achievements, and the people I spend time with. Like I shouldn't interact with... People that she wouldn't." See, Kai wasn't a bad guy! At least in comparison...

His smile slowly returned as Zach awkwardly rambled, until he had a wide grin on his face and could hardly contain his chuckles. "You haven't changed a bit," he murmured under his breath with a hint of longing. He cleared his throat and nodded, fingering the phone in his hand. "Um.... No. No, it's fine. It will probably only take a minute or two, just... Someone I want to check up on." He cleared his throat again as he thumbed through his contacts until he located Caelum's number. He hit the call button and lifted the phone to his ear. "Cael?" he greeted when the man picked up. His smile grew. "I'm not catching you at a bad time, am I?" Kai kept slowly walking.

[Deleted]

Zach could understand not wanting to talk too badly about your siblings…which was exactly why Zach had underestimated the terror that Sera really was. And honestly, if any of Zach’s younger siblings had acted in that manner towards one of his friends, Zach wouldn’t hesitate to give them a good public scolding(he’d done it enough times to JJ before), because there were just some things that weren’t okay, no matter how close you are as family. “Thank…just make sure that you do.”

Zach was starting to get the impression that discipline was not something that happened in this family. Drive to do better than the other academically was one thing. But from his experience, neither Kai nor Sera had a whole lot of self-discipline when it came to getting what they wanted, though admittedly, Kai was a lot better than Sera.

‘Rich kids’. Great, so the girl who didn’t seem so bad was also one of that lot. “‘Lower class families,” he breathed, rolling his eyes. You know…” Zach started slowly. “I’m not…actually from a ‘low class’ family.” Zach wondered how this subject had never come up before…probably because they never talked about this sort of stuff. “It’s just…you know, twelve kids kind of eats up a lot of that, so we grew up learning a little something called moderation. And budgeting.” And since Zach refused to accept more help than he actually needed from his parents, he ended up living like…well, like your standard college student. “Sorry…I just…get irked sometimes when you go all, uh…spoiled rich boy on me.” Was that too offensive? Well, it wasn’t anything new, Kai already knew about Zach’s issues with that, right?

Sigh…

Zach waved his hand, to give Kai permission to make his phone call. It was a little bit uncomfortable, but it was Kai’s choice if he didn’t want the privacy… Cael? Who? Who was he talking to? And why did that name sound suspiciously like someone he knew? Zach continued to walk, listening to the conversation that he could only hear half of.

[Caelum Mitchellson]

Caelum had just popped out the shower and was lounging on his bed. A lot of things ran through his brain while he laid there. Most of the thoughts were about Kai, and all those silly little feelings he got in his stomach when he thought about the man. For a moment, he considered grabbing his phone and calling him, but he felt it had been too soon. Then he did reach for his phone, he wanted to talk to a dear friend he hadn't spoken to in awhile. He had just turned his phone on and was about to hit Zach's number, when another call came through. It was Kai. The moth winged man's eyes lit up and he smiled, answering the call quickly. "Hey Kai."

He chuckled softly as the other spoke. "No no, just laying around doing nothing. What's up stud?" Caelum didn't want to filter his flirting with Kai like he did with others and considering things, he didn't really need to. "And why the heck do you sound like your in the middle of nature?"

[Malachai Roen]

Kai wanted a lot of things in life, and he'd been taught from a young age that it was up to himself to get those things that he wanted. Friends, relationships, material wealth... It was all important to him, and he needed them to feel successful in life. He was fairly certain Sera was pretty much the same. Just.... Definitely not as much of a people-person.

He glanced over at Zach as the older man spoke, raising a curious brow at what he was talking about. "... I think I sort of realized that and never really thought about it...." Kai slowly replied, musing. "I mean.... Your house is huge. And twelve kids is... Yeah, a ton. My parents never would have had that many because..." Well, they didn't have a reason to, and there would be paranoia that at least one of those kids wouldn't end up being rich and successful and then what would they do? He felt his face get a little hot when Zach spoke of him being a rich spoiled brat, and Kai looked down, scuffing a shoe like a guilty kid. "... Sorry..." he mumbled, risking a peek up. "Maybe... Sometime... You could teach me about this... Budgeting and stuff."

Because he would totally use that as an excuse to hang out with Zach more...

His mind, however, focused on someone else as he heard Caelum's voice on the other line. His eyes sparked at the tone of the other man's voice. "Nothing?" he repeated with a cluck of his tongue. "You wouldn't be doing nothing if I was there... Stud." Kai grinned at the repeated nickname. "Heh, you're right, actually. I'm out here in the woods with my sister and some friends on a trip that she dragged me along on. I just thought I'd give you a ring and see how you're doing." Kai kept his attention purposefully turned away from Zach. "I saw a butterfly earlier and thought of you. I mean, your wings are a hundred times more magnificent, but..." He chuckled and rubbed his hair. "Played any pranks on anyone lately?" Kai was still getting specks of glitter out of his hair.

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“Yeah…It’s the twelve kids I think that did it,” Zach said with a laugh. See? He was relaxing! Somehow. “After Claudia came around, I think I just kinda drifted off and started doing my own thing.” Why was he sharing this with Kai? It wasn’t like he asked. Maybe Zach was testing him, in his own way. Maybe if they could connect, simply over conversation, like this, maybe that’d make it easier for them to…to maybe….

Maybe…

He chuckled lightly. “Yeah, so…all that is more a result of me just trying to stay out of the way.” Zach paused, looking up into the trees. He couldn’t even see the dark sky, they were so thick. “I guess I thought that if I just stayed out of the way and took care of myself then that would…I don’t know, be one less thing for my parents to have to worry about. Then they could…give everyone else the attention they needed.” Like Katy, Kailin, JJ, Savvy. They were always such attention grabbers, he thought with a smile. Zach shook his head. “…or something, I don’t know. Actually, you know what? Ignore everything I just said just now.” Great, and now he was repeating himself. Zach sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Zach should really just be quiet and let Kai do all the talking from now on.

Zach kept quiet as Kai conducted his phone call. To…someone….”stud”?

Zach was quickly becoming uncomfortable listening in on this conversation. “Saw a butterfly and thought of you”? Who says that!? Kai, apparently, to this “stud” of his. His “stud” with wings, apparently.

Well, so much for that plan…really, what did Zach expect? Of course Kai found someone else already. What was Zach thinking, getting his hopes up like that? “I’m going on ahead,” he announced with his head down, unsure if Kai was even paying attention to what the writer was doing anymore. He increased his pace and rounded the turn towards his and Vanessa’s cabin…then walked past it.

Stupid Kai.