Young Love and Chicken Parmesan (Zac)

[Stephen Gage]

((Though this starts out at Zac's residence, the majority of the thread will take place at Stephen's, hence it being placed there.)

"Antonio, I'm sure he's fine. It's probably just some teenager thing."

Stephen spoke into the mouthpiece of his mobile as he pinched it between his shoulder and ear, one hand removing the keys from the ignition of his car, the other opening the door into the cool February evening. A light dusting of snow covered the ground, the rooftops, everything Stephen could see on the road, and he grimaced slightly at the sight as Antonio LaRousse, father of young Zachary LaRousse, voice his concerns over the phone. Loudly. Continuously. "No, I don't think it's drugs. He's a good kid. He's not that rebellious. Cedric and I taught him well."

The astounding lack of real knowledge Antonio had of his own son occasionally sent even Stephen for a whirl, and the recruiter had been acquainted with the family for ages. Antonio was a busy, busy business man, and when Stephen had been in a strong relationship with one of the LaRousse family friends, he'd formed an almost surrogate-brotherhood with the young heir. While the relationship sometimes took on a more paternal role, Stephen kept Zac's well-being on the forefront of his mind, partly out of affection for the kid, and partly out of a lingering sense of duty and responsibility to the family, and to Cedric.

"I've just pulled up now. Yes, he'll be fine. Antonio, you don't have to wo-, yes, I know. I have to go now. I'll try to get him to go to the dance, yeah, sure. I have to g- Bye." Stephen offered his farewell so abruptly and quickly that it didn't leave any time for the concerned father to argue. The recruiter snapped his phone shut, sighing and huddling against the cold as he drew up to the house. Zac had a rather palatial estate back at his true home, but while at Hammel, he resided in a less extravagant house. His caretaker's, Petel's. And, speak of the devil, there the guy was on the other side of the front door, looking at Stephen and waiting rather impatiently for the recruiter to make his way to the door. Stephen offered a smile and a wave, and Pete returned it, cracking the door and letting him in. "Hey Pete, Antonio called me. Said Zac's been acting a bit... weird."

Pete nodded, looking preoccupied. "Yeah, he's upstairs. You got a minute?" Though Stephen nodded in response, Pete hardly looked at him for an answer and instead lead the recruiter out of the foyer, and into the sitting room. Stephen cocked an eyebrow as Pete stopped and turned to face him, an expression of uncertainty and concern on his face. "So, he doesn't know I know, but Zac and a friend of his, some kid named Luke I think, came home a few nights ago."

"...okay?"

"Drunk."

"Oh."

Pete stuffed his hands in his pockets, teetering back and forth shyly on his feet. "And I heard a banging against the wall. I was pretty confused, tired, just wanted to know what it was. So I got out of be, and took a look."

"Oh?"

There was silence for a moment, with both the caretaker and the recruiter looking at the other expectantly. Stephen, as always, was the first to break the quiet. "Well what as it?"

Pete frowned. "A banging. Against the wall."

Realization struck. "Oh Well, uh, I'll be sure to... keep that in mind?."

Pete nodded, muttering quietly "just thought you should know." Stephen patted him on the shoulder, unsure of precisely what to tell the man that had found himself the unwitting voyeur. He turned, stuffing his keys into one of the pockets of his coat and giving his stubbly chin a scratch out of nerves. So Zac was no longer a... yeah.

"Zac!" Stephen called out, his voice easily carrying up the stairs. "[/b]Zac, it's Stephen! You up there?[/b]" Stephen began his trek of the stairs, casting Pete a reassuring look before he went off in search of the young heir. "Your dad called. Said something was up?"

[Zachary LaRousse]

And Zac thought he hid things well.

It’s not that much of an unknown fact that the ever-so-vain, rich boy had taken a liking to the quiet and (once) recluse empath (heck, even the new Rumor blog had picked that up, not that he was complaining). This may sound new to Stephen, who had been in quite the number of recruitment jobs lately, Pete can easily assure him of the validity of such claims, and can even tell him that this has been going on for quite some time already (after all, whenever Zac asks something to be shipped to Pilot Ridge, the boy gives Pete’s address not Ann’s dorm room). Rumors abound as to why the egotistic and flamboyant Prince had set his head to woo the timid and often overlooked teenager, and while he’d normally correct such idle gossip, Zac has, surprisingly, opted not to. Why, he would not say. To most, this simple act of his proves that his current admiration of the girl is more than just shallow infatuation. And his not-too-deep downward spiral (mostly due to her rejection of his calls and date invitations, not to mention the talks of the Annex blooming), which has turned off and on during the past several weeks, just proves their theory even more.

While the boy isn’t really that giddy about school dances and all that since he turned fifteen (according to him, he isn’t some loser who relies on the dance for some excuse to take a girl out after all), Zac has surprisingly purchased tickets for the upcoming Valentine’s Day dance early on. And unlike the Autumn Dance, he made sure nobody signed him up for the regular matchmaking service hosted by the administration. While L.C. isn’t such a bad date (despite ripping hundreds and thousands worth of clothes without so much as a blink), unlike before, he had his sights set on someone now. Cheesy as it may, he dressed up nicely for that day, cleaning up with a proper shirt and slacks, going as far as to arm himself with a nice bouquet of roses, a box of chocolates and a nice little teddy bear. Indeed, he looked like, in his words, a loser with no life, or at least who hasn’t heard that such things were so last decade, but then again, his methods haven’t worked with Ann before, so maybe this one will.

He briefly walked to her dorm room, knocked politely this time (he usually sneaks in to bring in her gifts after all) and to his delight, was welcomed by Ann (complete with the look of utter confusion that is like a staple to her every time she sees Zac). He handed her the gifts and then flashed the tickets without so much a bat. After all, he isn’t some shy kid who’ll nervously stutter or scratch his head or bow before asking the question. Pure smile flashed as he waited for an answer, it took a while for her reply to register in his brain.

He’s heard rumors. Heck, he’s seen them together. Laughing idly and almost canoodling. But his stubborn head just won’t let him believe. That is, until now.

Annex is real.

Fortunately the kid had some decency not to break down right there and then, or throw some hissy fit like he usually does, and politely excused himself from Ann. He insisted she take the gifts though, keep them or throw them out, he could care less. It’s actually quite surprising how he managed to get down the flight of stairs, get out of Hammel grounds and drive to Pete’s house without causing quite the ruckus. He’s been in the room since then, complete with his rather formal get-up and all, sitting on the side of his bed, absentmindedly catching and throwing a ball to the wall. He didn’t even notice that Pete has called his father up, nor the fact that some other car just drove into his house.

“Dad called? When?” Zac was startled, yes, but he was too much into a slump to react properly. “When did you get here? Guess this is the part where I should give you a hug and welcome you back, right?”

Yet Zac just sat there, looking at Stephen with a blank stare.