Thread Roulette: Zac and Levi

[Event !]

Shopping, interrupted. Or, out of everyone to annoy, Levi, you picked this one?

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac is frustrated with Ann. Frustrated, annoyed and incredibly challenged. And no, this isn’t because of what had happened to their English report (because really, she’s one heck of a partner – got the work done with around a week or so to spare, which is a good thing seeing that Zac’s so used to cramming a ton of work days, even hours, before the deadline). He’s irritated at the fact that she can easily read him. She can easily tell when he’s bluffing or when he’s simply flirting. All of the techniques he’s honed over the years are nothing on the girl. Every time he tries to hit on her, she simply shrugs it off, or worse yet, tells him that she’s really not interested. The fact that he can’t have physical contact with her (which removes nearly half of his usual maneuvers) only makes things harder. But Zac isn’t one to surrender that easily. Such challenges only make him pursue her more. He’ll make her fall for him. And fall for him deeply she will.

Which explains why he’s on the streets of the ever so lovely Pilot Ridge again. He figures since verbal flirting won’t work, he’ll try if he can get her by smoldering her with gifts. He’d be happy to give her one from his not-so-secret-anymore collection, but since Verax had seen it all due to one untoward incident, he couldn’t risk him suddenly shouting “Hey! Nice dress! Did you know Zac likes dressing in a skirt exactly like that every weekend? I know so. I saw him dress up in front of me”. He doubts the goth boy would remember all the clothes he chose from, but Verax is Verax, so you’ll never really know.
(He would’ve had stuff shipped to him, as there are no weekends long enough for him to fly away for a while, but since his dad has learned of the news about his recent flop with Mr. Bond, he’s ‘grounded’ until mid-November)

“Thanks. Have a nice day” shouted the lady from the stuffed animal’s store. A huge smile can be seen plastered on her face. Well, who wouldn’t be after Zac just bought three of the most expensive stuff they have? Zac in turn gave her a respectful nod and went out of the stuffy shop, trying to remember where he had parked his car so he can put the big stuff away for the moment and shop for more.

[Levi Xu]

He didn't really have a reason for going into town again, other than just to get away from the compound. As much as he loved Jake and respected everyone else who lived there, it had just been so tense lately. Levi assumed that was because it was so hard to work for the betterment of Metas when they were hated so much. It had to be stressful for them. So he'd become a bit more withdrawn, trying not to be a nuisance to them, and just doing what he could to be helpful.

And when he was afraid he was just being annoying to have around, Levi started heading to the town. He got some pocket money from Mr. Underwood, though it wasn't a lot, it was more than what he'd ever asked for from his father. And anyway, it payed for the large hot chocolate he was nursing, and the warm cookie in his pocket. (The nice redheaded lady at the cafe had recommended it to him to go with the cocoa. It smelled delicious, so he'd bought it as well.)

So as he'd been wandering, wondering if the town turned into a Christmas card once it was December, he saw an older teenage boy, carrying a couple of bags, which looked like they were full of stuffed animals. As cool as it looked, he would have just walked right by him, if he hadn't noticed that one of the bags was so full, a huge, floppy bunny ear had fallen out, and was dragging along on the sidewalk. "Hey, you there!"

Levi darted forward and picked up the ear, tucking it into the the bag. "You were dragging an ear, and I figured you wouldn't want it getting dirty. D'you need some help carrying all that?"

And he didn't even say anything about the boy being a pop star. He figured he probably got that enough, without him randomly running up to him on the street.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac clearly got in way over his head for this one. The smile he had when he got out of the store was quickly replaced by one of strain and frustration, coupled by his rather ungraceful wobbling around the town’s sidewalk. While the thought of buying a whole lot of stuff then sneaking into Ann’s room and placing it everywhere seemed brilliant, he didn’t account for the fact that he had to carry everything himself. True, stuffed animals, even when piled together, aren’t that heavy; even if they do become heavy, Zac has the trusty strength of a gorilla or an elephant and frequent trips to the school’s weights room to back him up. But his real problem lies in the fact that he doesn’t have enough arms to carry everything properly. While the prospect of tapping into an octopus or a spider to sprout extra hands or using the monkey’s foot dexterity may seem like probable solutions, Zac has neither the ability to tap animal powers outside the class Mammalia nor has he the intention of being a town fool by showcasing his ability to hold stuff with his feet to the town. He grumbled as he narrowly missed a running child and a rolling pencil. He should’ve parked closer to the store. Or at least dragged Eric or Jayson along with him.

He was almost to his car when he heard someone shout, causing him to stop abruptly and turn. He wasn’t sure if he was the one being called, but he had this weird feeling that he was, and when he did turn, he was surprised to see a kid, probably around Eric’s age, tucking something into one of his bags. “Thanks kid,” he smiled. He could care less if the bunny ear got dirty really; he didn’t put much thought into what he’s buying anyway and if he finds it dirty, he’d simply throw it out (or give it to that nosy blonde, after he mutilates it a bit first, depending on his mood).

Zac isn’t really one to get help from strangers, even if they’re as cute and adorable as this one, so he politely shook his head and said, “No problem kid. I think I can handle this. My car’s just around–” boom! Apparently standing still isn’t really the best course of action when you’re holding quite the number of stuff as Zac soon found his pile of stuffed animals suddenly falling on the strange boy’s head. “Oops. I’m sorry,” he chuckled as he bent down and checked on the boy. “Seems I’m going to need your help anyways. Are you hurt?”

While normally Zac would blame the kid for stopping him and making his stuff fall (‘cause he’s just so weird like that), there’s something about this kid that just makes him not angry. He knows admiration when he sees one (why the kid’s a fan of him, he has no idea – not that he cares anyway).

[Levi Xu]

"You're welcome." Levi said, smiling up at him. Wherever this guy was going to, it was probably somewhere cool. After all, he was carrying about a bajillion stuffed animals. Instantly, his imagination went into overdrive as he concocted a situation where so many toys were necessary. Perhaps--just perhaps--the older boy was active in a charity group that distributed toys to underprivileged kids and he was picking up a massive donation. That certainly seemed to fit in with the pop-star image too, if he was trying to get some good publicity.

And it was nice thing to do, anyway. Even if it was a publicity stunt.

But since the older teenager said he didn't need any help, he was going to head off to wander some more. "Oh, okay then..." Levi started to say, but then one of the bags of toys gave way, and the rest, alarmingly, followed. He tried to reach for the first teddy bear to fall, but ended up lying on the sidewalk with a pile of stuffed animals on top of him. Who knew they could be that heavy? "Nah, I'm fine. They're heavy all together, but they aren't hard or pointy or anything." Except for some plastic eye that had given him a solid thwack between the eyes.

After shaking his head, Levi sat up, accidentally scattering the smaller stuffed animals more. There were a lot more toys than he'd expected could fit into the bags. "But they're probably dirty now!" And no kid wants dirty teddy bears. "I'm sorry about that. What are all these for? If you don't mind my asking." He got onto his knees and started gathering up the toys. "I'll help you pick 'em up. Just give me one of the bags."

And really, how could he help grinning up at the guy who had a bunch of stuffed animals with him? It was just funny, and a little weird in the good way. "I'm Levi, by the way."

[Zachary LaRousse]

Levi’s a rather decent judge of character as it seems. While Zac would definitely not give the huge pile to charity, he pretty much nailed it at his reasoning if Zac would involve himself with the poor: that it’s all a publicity stunt. Zac knows how important it is to keep a decent image in front of everyone, so that even though he’s all asshole on a certain people, the rest of the populace would be reminded that he’s not all bad. It adds another facet to him, makes him more three-dimensional, he says. He could brag about all his riches and still be seen as a philanthropic guy, like most wealthy bachelors are in comic books. He’s no geek but he does dream on becoming like Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark one day – rich and loved by the masses despite their playboy reputation.

“Gosh. I’m usually not this clumsy,” he said as he pulled the boy closer and rubbed his head, searching for any bumps. Not that he knows who’ll get back at him for a bruise on the kid, but he’ll feel really bad if the kid got hurt because of him. He does have a weakness for cute kids (even if they’re guys) after all.

“Five second rule,” he chuckled as he started gathering the toys as well, “And it’s not like the sidewalk’s that dirty.” He gave a plastic bag to the kid and couldn’t help but laugh as he saw real concern for the toys in the kid. In fact, it seems like he’s more invested in the toys than Zac himself. Which only made the lad more adorable in Zac’s eyes. “You’re funny,” he said, unconsciously ruffling the boy’s hair as he picked up a fluffy anteater and put it inside the plastic with the bunny. “I was planning to give a gift to a certain girl in school. But since I forgot to ask what she would like, I figured I just give her everything.” He dusted the half-peeled banana toy before giving it to Levi as his own the plastic bags beside him are already full. “If you were the girl, do you think you’ll like these?” He found it funny that he’s practically asking for gifting advice from a total stranger, but since the kid didn’t run off with one of his plastic bags, he figured he can be trusted anyway.

“I’m Zac. Nice to meet you Levi,” he said, grabbing the boy’s hand for a handshake (so much for waiting for the other party to reciprocate). He stretched for a bit when he finally stood up, then dusted his black skinny jeans before holding his arm out to help Levi stand. “Would you mind helping me load these inside my car?”

[Levi Xu]

Maybe in this case, Levi struck gold, but he was not actually a very good judge of character at all. Unless you count judging all characters as good until ample proof in the other direction. This is the boy who is happily living with Jahel, Lala, and Reese, and whose mento is Gabriel Underwood. No, Levi was not good at this.

He just thought Zac was a pop star, and publicity stunts were a pretty typical pop star-ish thing to do, right?

"Really, it's okay." But Levi grinned as the older boy looked his head over. It had obviously been an accident, and he wasn't actually hurt, so it didn't matter too much. But it was nice that he was making the effort to check anyway. "The bag broke. It wasn't your fault." For someone famous, this boy was actually really nice.

"Oh, yeah, it could have been much worse. It could have been raining or something." He took the bag from the older boy and started filling it with the scattered toys, pausing only to look at the more interesting ones. While there was the typical rabbits and elephants and teddy bears, some of the stuffed animals were more unique, like a fish-person and a robot. He tucked them into the bags with the others, grinning as he listened to the other's idea.

That. Was. Adorable.

"I think that sounds like something straight out of a music video. Do you like her?" Levi's eyes were shining. So maybe it wasn't philanthropy, but buying a girl a bazillion stuffed animals to show that you liked her was one of those things that guys did in the movies Nomi liked to make him watch sometimes. It was just so sweet. "I'm sorry, that's nosy. It's none of my business." He blushed slightly anyway. This girl had to be lucky if she had a friend like him.

"Hi Zac," Levi shook the hand that grabbed his, pleased that he hadn't been too nosy. "Nice to meet you too." As Zac helped him up, he dusted himself off, not noticing that his grubby jeans old jacket weren't nearly as nice as the older boy's. But then again, famous people usually were rich, right? With a shrug, he picked up the rest of the bags and smiled. "Lead the way! It's not a problem."

[Zachary LaRousse]

“I know I should’ve asked for an extra bag when they suggested it. You carry the non-broken one. I’ll handle the problematic one,”[/b][/color] he smiled, taking around three of the bags, putting the torn one in the center, leaving Levi with one small bag to carry. Sure he said he’ll help and Zac would be more than happy to enslave the boy, but he figures he’s just met the boy and demanding strenuous labor within five minutes of their encounter would most likely spook him. He sees Levi like a shy yet curious wild colt, so majestic and amazing that you just want to pet it and possibly ride it, that he must slowly approach or else it’ll swiftly run away. “Thanks Levi.”

He laughed when Levi talked about the possibility of raining. “It would be a waste then. I would have to throw almost everything,” he said in mock disappointment as he led the boy to his car. Not that throwing everything away would be that depressing anyway. He could simply buy another horde if he wants to. “Then again, you wouldn’t even see me here. I never liked the rain.” Zac has an extreme aversion to rain. Not only does it make him wet, the mud and dirty pebbles also make him (and his clothes) dirty. Not to mention to incredibly uneasy feeling when your clothes are soaked, especially with your socks.

His eyes suddenly widened with Levi’s question. Does he really like Ann? “I-I..” he stuttered, not really sure what to tell the kid. He tells himself that he’s just flirting with Ann, pretty much like how he deals with the other girls (and the occasional guys) he meets. Only he can’t use his usual touchy tricks on her. And he can’t lie since she knows how he truly feels when he’s saying something. Which only drives him even more to make her fall for him. Which meant that lately, she’s been the only one in Zac’s mind (mostly anyway). So does that mean he likes Ann now? “…it’s complicated,” he added, his cheeks suddenly turning a very obvious shade of red. He tried to will it down but it just won’t work. He can usually control his blush, why can’t he do it now? “No Levi, it’s nothing. You’re not nosy, I think.” Nope. Not really. He actually helped Zac ask himself about where he stands with Ann. If anything, he’s actually doing something good.

Stopping in front of a yellow Porsche Carrera S Cabriolet (had a new one shipped apparently, since he claims he’s tired of the red one), he sighed as he apparently forgot to put the roof down, which meant he’s got to open the door with the keys. “Levi, can you grab the keys in my left pocket? My hands are a bit full at the moment,” he smiled, hoping the kid wouldn’t find his request too weird. He let out a small grumble as he remembered he’s in his skinnies right now. Hopefully Levi won’t mind.[/font]

[Levi Xu]

"Okay, sure!" Levi chirped, putting the last of the stray stuffed toys into the the bag left on the sidewalk, before picking it up. No, even at a great volume, stuffed animals weren't particularly heavy, so it wasn't much of a burden to carry the bag wherever Zac needed it. "If you want, I could take another one of the bags too, make it even." He liked being helpful. Levi didn't feel useful often enough anymore.

"Would you really?" Levi looked over the bags again, astonished. There was well over a hundred dollars worth of toys here, and the older boy was talking as if it were just no big deal. "Throw everything away, I mean. There's a lot of stuff." His father was a doctor, and they'd never had to struggle to make ends meet, but his stuffed animals had been run through the wash several times over the course of their lifetimes. "I've always liked the rain. It makes everything refreshed, and it sounds nice on the window." So it wasn't really the rain he liked, it was the time after when the weather was nice, and the points during where he was dry, protected from the foul weather.

"Complicated?" Levi's eyes lit up and his mouth quirked up into a grin. It's complicated was exactly what Nomi had said when he'd asked her about her not-yet-but-probably-eventual-boyfriend. It meant that she liked him a lot, but wasn't sure how much he returned her affections. And Zac was blushing. Yup, the older boy had to have a crush. Levi didn't say anything else though, and just let Zac guess what he was thinking.

It wasn't hard. It was all over the younger boy's highly-amused face. But even if he had been teasing him, it would have been because he really thought what Zac was doing was sweet.

Levi almost walked past the bright yellow car, never expecting it to be the one Zac was referring to, even if he was some pop star. That was the kind of car that no one ever actually owned, they just existed for people to want. "That's your car? It's really..." to be honest, he knew nothing about cars. "It's really bright." The request, however, didn't phase him in the slightest, and he attempted to comply. Unfortunately, he didn't switch the bag from his right hand to his left, and attempted to retrieve the keys with his off-hand, making the process take a few seconds more and earning them more than one askance look from passers-by.

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Probably. I can’t give it to her in such a dirty condition right? And if I wash it, it wouldn’t smell new, wouldn’t it? I mean, she might think I just reused the gifts, hence being a big turn off, I guess.” Zac just shrugged. He never really put that much thought to the question really. Throw or keep, what’s the difference. And while he does have space for a few more in his stuffed animal collection (which is a deep, deep secret by the way), no way will he put mud-drenched and rain-soaked stuffed toys in there, even though they’re cleaned. “Or I can just give it to charity. I don’t know. It’s not like I can play with it or anything.” He would want to snuggle and sleep beside some of the stuffed animals he’d bought, but he won’t tell that to Levi. Nor to everyone else for that matter.

“If I want to be outdoors and feel refreshed, I’d go for a swim. In a beach or in a lake. Heck if it wasn’t this cold in Pilot Ridge right now, I’d be down by the lake swimming my butt off.” Zac isn’t really an athletic person, but swimming does have a special place in his heart. He claims it’s the only sport that doesn’t make him sweat and feel icky even if he goes on for hours and hours on end. And it also allows him to show off his body every single time.

“Stop it,” he giggled, seeing the ominous grin Levi has on his face right now. It’s creepy yet adorable and cuddly all at the same time. “We’ve only just met and you’re making fun of my personal life now. That’s mean.” He gave him a face of mock hurt then laughed. Not that he minded it so much. It’s not like the kid knows who he’s talking about and would blurt out all sorts of things to her. “That reminds me, do you live around here or are you just part of the tourist crowd that gathers here every winter?” Not that he wants to pry or anything, but knowing how (relatively) small Pilot Ridge is, if the boy lived within town, he would’ve at least caught sight of him. As far as he knows, Pilot Ridge isn’t filled with that much primary and secondary schools anyway.

There’s this unexplainable joy that suddenly spreads through Zac’s entire body whenever he sees people surprised with his belongings. His pride just jumps for joy whenever he sees that expression that he’d like to call as ‘awe’. “I know right. Had it changed from my old red one two weeks ago. If only they had something in pink, purple or neon green, I would’ve ordered that color.” Standing out is definitely Zac’s life.

It didn’t occur to him that he has placed himself and Levi in an awkward position. Nope, even with a few uncomfortable stares he’s received from a few bystanders, it didn’t occur to him one bit. “Have you got it yet Levi?” he asked, shaking his leg to help Levi grab the keys faster, “Not that I’m rushing or anything. When you do get it, would you mind opening the door too? Thanks dear.”

[Levi Xu]

"Oh...I didn't even think of that." Levi crinkled his nose as he realized that no, most girls wouldn't want a dirty gift from the guy that liked them. (Sorry, Zac, Levi has your crush imprinted into his head now. You're not going to be changing his mind about your feelings towards Ann anytime soon. Sucks to be you.) "Yeah, I guess girls don't like that." Not that he knew too much about dealing with teenage girls aside from his sister and her friends. And Fifi. But she so doesn't count.

"That's what I thought you were doing at first when I saw you with all of these. I didn't think Christmas toy drives started up this early, but I didn't know why else someone would have so many toys with them." He grinned up at the older boy, because he completely supported Zac's endeavor, even if it wasn't as charitable as he'd originally assumed.

If it wasn't for Zac's giggling, Levi might have actually felt bad for teasing him. He really didn't know this guy, and he probably had a lot of people judging him without knowing him already, being famous and all. "You're the one who's laughing! What's her name?" His smile only grew wider and more mischievous. "C'mon, tell me?" Let's see Zac withstand the power of Levi's puppy-eyes, the ones that could even get Jake out of bed early in the morning to go out and run around with the dogs.

"I live around here." His grin faltered as he tried to remember exactly what he'd said when he'd lied to Van weeks earlier. Though it was tempting to say "boarding school" instead this time, Mr. Underwood had been drilling him on keeping consistent when he was working with a cover. The lies that got people caught weren't the implausible ones, they were the ones that didn't match up. "We moved here during the summer, but I'm homeschooled, so I don't come into town as much as I want." There, just in case Van and Zac knew each other, the story would match up. "What about you? Vacationing?"

Then again, Mr. Underwood was really rich, and he lived in Pilot Ridge. (And he had a bunch of cars in ostentatious colors too.) "Neon green? That'd be pretty cool. Mr...Someone I know has an orange car. It's ridiculous." And even Levi wasn't sure if that was a complement. That one was up for Zac to interpret.

The older boy's moving only made it harder for Levi to grab the keys, but it made him grin anyway. "Hey, stop moving, dear," he quipped back, gently elbowing Zac's side before catching hold of the keyring and pulling it out of the pocket. "There." He quickly unlocked the car and held the door open, mock-bowing, as if he was a butler.

[Zachary LaRousse]

“Hey, don’t dear me,” he chuckled as he tried to tell himself that the nudge wasn’t all that ticklish (not that Zac’s extremely ticklish, but certain parts of his body make him really giggle with glee), “We’re not ‘friends’ yet. Give me a ten more minutes with you and then you can call me ‘dear’.” He stuck his tongue out to Levi to show him that he’s just kidding about the whole upset-with-being-called-dear thing as he put the bags into the back of the car. Zac isn’t really the friendliest of all people, but there’s something about these cute and innocent boys that draws him to them (no matter how creepy and inappropriate that sounds). First with Eric (though their first meeting was not that peaceful), not Levi. He can’t say for certain if it’s because the two boys have quite a resemblance to some of his stuffed animals, hence having such a fondness for them, or they remind him of the times when he was still cute and cuddly (in his opinion anyway). Nonetheless, it’s safe to say that Zac already likes his new ‘sidekick’ enough to wish he could pinch those cheeks all day. (Yes, creepy, creepy Zac).

“Thanks Levi-dear,” he said with a smile, stretching his back as he finished arranging all the bags. “So, do you have any plans for the immediate future? I’d like to treat you to at least an ice cream cone or something for helping me out.” While an ice cream cone in a rather chilly and windy weather isn’t exactly the wisest choice, it’s not like he has any other choice, seeing that the kid already has a cup of hot chocolate in hand. And no, Zac wouldn’t let the boy leave without taking something in return. While Zac may be all narcissistic and vain, he’s also very ‘generous’, as it allows him to show off while looking nice and charitable all the same.

Zac simply chuckled when Levi told him (albeit a bit subtly) that he knows nothing about girls. He figured that as much though, seeing how clueless the kid looks like in about anything else in life. “Don’t worry kiddo, you’ll know what girls like soon enough,” he smirked, ruffling the kid’s hair as he looked for a nearby ice cream shop, “Isn’t that what fathers and big brothers are all about?” Not that Zac had a brother to tell him about what girls like. He had Stephen. Fortunately he learned how to translate his pointers from men to girls.

He only giggled louder when Levi prodded him. He’s like a cuddly little puppy, happily wagging his tail while barking and circling his legs as he walked. If Levi-puppies would be available, Zac would be sure to order a dozen. “Whoever told you that I was laughing because of that anyway?” he answered, pinching the boy’s nose bridge. “Fine. I’ll tell you. Her name’s Levi. L. E. V. I. Levi,” he added, teasing the kid.

“I was homeschooled before. Until third grade I think. Then I went to an all-boys boarding school. It wasn’t that fun, but it was enough.” He shrugged, finding his childhood schooling incredibly boring. Nothing compared to his experience in Hammel in his opinion. “Doesn’t it get a bit stuffy though? You know, being cooped up for so long.” For Zac, it sure was. Which is why he probably developed a hidden desire to be an escape artist when he was young (but he had no chance to act upon on seeing that his ‘nanny’ is a telepath. “Me? I study in Hammel. You know, the boarding school down the road.” As far as he knows, nothing’s wrong about revealing that one’s studying in Hammel anyway. Most people, even the locals, think it’s just a snobby boarding school. Not that being known as a meta matters much to Zac anyway.

“Seriously? That’s awesome. Wonder where he got it.” So yes, that translates to Zac taking ‘ridiculous’ as a compliment, right?

[Event !]

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