Ever since Claire had told him about Peter Petrelli, he had to admit his interest had been piqued.
"I asked him if he was like me, and he said, "sort of," but he was totally dead!" Claire said, eyes shining with mirth.
The frequency with which Claire talked about Peter only seemed to increase with time, and Zach had completely stopped trying to pretend he didn't care.
"It's just so cool, you know?" Claire spoke in hushed tones. "I mean, he's the first person I've met that's like me." Zach nodded eagerly.
"I know what you mean."
Claire didn't think he understood, but he knew how it felt to be outcast; to be excluded. He had done plenty to earn his "freak" title, he mused. Okay, so he couldn't regenerate his bones or cut people's heads open, but he had secrets.
"So, what…" Claire trailed off, a bit taken aback. "You're gay?" She even said the word like it didn't belong, and Zach cringed.
The cheerleader claimed that no one shared her plight, but as she learned more about her past she and Zach discovered that there were thousands of people with abilities. Zach was starting to feel like the misunderstood one.
"We're going to visit manatees?" Zach asked incredulously.
"No, silly, we're going to go see my parents. My real parents." When Claire's eyes sparkled like that, he just couldn't say no.
So Peter Petrelli was Claire's uncle? Some overly suppressed and completely annoying voice in his head told him that he should go meet this Peter. He could learn more about Claire's kind, he thought, or at least that had been his justification.
He left the next day for New York, feeding his parents some lie about a school trip. He even set them up with fake contacts and bogus permission slips.
He didn't tell Claire. She would have wanted to come along and Zach knew he would have let her. He sighed, squeezing the wheel until his knuckles turned white. He clicked on the radio as a means of distraction, but the music just flowed through and over him, not registering in the slightest. He sighed again, thinking about Claire and Sylar and why the hell he was doing this.
When Peter came to the door, his mind couldn't help but supply the, That's why.
Peter was long and lean, thin in a way that spoke of sleep-deprivation and muscle-definition. He could see Claire's resemblance, confirming to him where the girl had gotten her pretty looks. Peter tucked a stray hair behind his ear, drawing Zach's attention to dark eyes.
Quite frankly, the man looks tortured and weary, and Zach doesn't know why that's so hot.
"Hello," Zach said cheerfully. "I'm Zach, and… er, there's not really a better way to say this. I know who you are, what you can do. Care to give me a moment?"
The door slammed in his face.
"I am friends with your niece, Claire!" he shouted, knocking on the door.
He sighed, deciding maybe he should just give up and turned around to leave. He heard a creak behind him. The door had swung wide open, Peter's form retreating back into the room. Zach raised his eyebrow, but followed his curiosity into Peter's apartment, door clicking shut behind him before he could reach it.
"Is she in trouble?" Peter asked, face masked in shadow.
Zach shook his head 'no' and took a step toward the older man, leaving it all up to intuition.
"Why are you here?" But Peter already knew, could see the passion etched in the youth's thoughts, feel the inadequacy that poured off of him in droves. He itched to restore some semblance of hope in Zach, but he knew it would be beyond moronic.
"Well, I…" Zach searched desperately in the dark for his thoughts. "Honestly? I don't have a clue." A bark of nervous laughter marred the silence, and Peter started.
"You… want her to accept you," Peter relayed, concentrating on Matt and his own feelings of self-doubt. "I disagree. I know Claire cares about you; thinks you're special."
Zach's eyes widened as he realized Peter was reading his thoughts.
"Wait… you have two powers??" Zach exclaimed, taking another step forward.
"Several, actually," Peter murmured cryptically, moving so that he and the teen's faces were mere inches away. "But you have talents as well, surely."
Zach felt his stomach knot, and before even Peter saw it coming, his lips had settled on the shorter man's. Peter's empathy wound around his guts, causing him to accept the invasion; welcome it. Zach snuck his tongue into Peter's mouth, gently plundering its confines; bringing his hand up to touch the man's hair.
Oh, I have talents, Zach thought, projecting for Peter's benefit.
Peter let out a small cry, but didn't reciprocate. He didn't want this as much as his body seemed to think he did. Zach pulled away with a light smacking sound, searching for something in Peter's eyes before dropping to his knees.
The empath knew this was wrong, illegal even. Zach undid his fly with mechanic proficiency, caressing Peter through his boxers. A strangled sound escaped his lips as his hips surged forward of their own accord. The adolescent smiled up at him and Peter's jeans pooled at his feet, underwear following.
"You don't—" Zach cut him off, taking Peter into his mouth with a tenderness the man has never experienced. He couldn't help but wind his fingers in the short hair as he let out small gasps of pleasure, neck arching.
Zach swallowed the older man bit by bit as he reached up to fondle his balls. Peter made obscenely erotic noises, begging for a force Zach would never give. His hips jolted, bucking so that the tip rested at the back of Zach's throat. One swallow followed by a light squeeze and Peter was screaming his release, clutching Zach's head in a painful grip.
Zach grinned, gulping down the last of Peter's spent passion and standing in one creamy motion. Peter was quivering slightly; his head slumped on the wall behind him.
"It was nice meeting you, Mr Petrelli." The grin turned positively wolfish. "I'll tell Claire you say 'hi.'"
Peter groaned, unable to move as he watched the youth flee. Why couldn't Petrellis meet normal people?