Lost Cause:
A/N: So I was inspired by this tumblr post and I wanted to write a little something for it. I hope you guys enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Some people seem to think that Ezekiel Jones is a sort of joke that doesn't serve much of a purpose to the team. Eve liked to think she wasn't like that, but sometimes she couldn't help it. His witty comebacks and childish attitude left it nearly impossible to see him as anything other than the comedic relief of the team. That's why it was so strange to see him in such a distressed state.
It had happened a few hours before…
"Jake! Where did you put it?" Ezekiel asked as he layed on the floor, looking underneath the sofa.
"I told you. I hid your phone because you would rather play on your stupid games rather than helping us do actual work." Jake grumbled from one of the tables in the Annex.
"I wasn't playing games. I was doing internet research, now give me back my phone!" Ezekiel demanded.
"Nope. If you can find it, you can continue with your "internet research" for as long as you want. Good luck finding it though. I hid it really well." Jake smiled confidently. He and Ezekiel may bicker a lot but in the end, they loved each other. The only difference was that neither of them would never, ever admit it. With that, Jake left Ezekiel to his own devices. After 20 long minutes of searching with no luck, Ezekiel had a new idea. He would cheat. That is of course, all he knew how to do right?
"Baird?" Ezekiel called out to the blonde woman who was across the room, texting someone, with a smile on her face.
"What can I help you with?" Eve asked with a bored tone. There hadn't been any new missions so they were all just sitting there waiting for the world to potentially end.
"Can I borrow your phone? I need to call mine so that I can find it. Jake hid it again." He asked.
"Yeah, here." She handed her phone over to him. As he grabbed it, it vibrated.
"Cassandra says she'll meet you for dinner later." He told her, reading the text. Then, he went into the contact list. Eve smiled when she heard about her dinner plans but it fell slightly when she saw his face. He looked incredibly hurt.
"Ezekiel…?" She asked.
"Hmmm?" He asked, still frowning at the phone.
"What's up?" She looked at his expression in concern.
"Huh? What? Oh n-nothing." He said as he hit the call button. From a distance he heard the chipper ringtone from his own phone. She watched as he glumly trudged to the top of a bookshelf and grabbed his ringing phone. Then he tossed her the phone when she glanced down she saw why he was so upset.
Outgoing calls: Lost Cause- 1 min ago
It had been 3 days. 3 days since he saw his contact name. 3 days that he was sulking. Eve was going out of her mind with guilt. He had been avoiding her since he saw his contact name in her phone.
"Jenkins have you seen Ezekiel?" She would ask.
"He's out with Jake." or "He's doing research with Cassandra." or even "He went home." Was always the answer. Eve was going to have to think like Ezekiel to catch Ezekiel.
Her plan was to make it seem like she had a mission to go on and then hide out in the Library until there was an opportunity to talk to him. She hoped it would work as she sat against a glass display, deep in the heart of the Library. She saw her moment when Ezekiel went to the kitchen for dinner, completely alone. The kitchen had only one entrance, so once he was in he was trapped.
Ezekiel was midway through making a sandwich with his back to the door when he stiffened. He was being watched. He turned around quickly, and much to his horror, found himself face to face with Colonel Eve Baird. His face twisted from shock to hurt to boredom in a matter of seconds.
"Ezekiel, I know you've been avoiding me." She began.
"If you knew, why are you here?" He asked bitterly as he turned back to his sandwich, looking to distract himself.
"Because we need to talk. Listen, about your contact name-" She tried.
"What about it?" He questioned with alacrity.
"Look I didn't mean anything by it, I was just joking around. I didn't mean for you to take it so seriously." She sighed.
"I didn't take it seriously." He set his jaw. "I'm fine, just leave it alone." With that he turned on his heel and walked out of the Annex, through the backdoor.
Ezekiel ended up going home, abandoning both Eve and his sandwich. He looked at his watch. 9:45 pm. He decided that he was suddenly tired and went to bed. As he slept, he dreamed.
"Zeeeeekeeeee. Oh Ezekiel!" A gruff voice called as Ezekiel cracked his eyes open, squinting against both the harsh light and the sharp pain in his side. He was about 12 years old at the time. "Wake up punk! We've got a new job for you."
The man that stood before him, Sal, had caught Ezekiel trying to steal from him and decided that rather than killing him, he'd use his skill.
"A-Another one…?" Ezekiel asked meekly. He was still tired from the last job that they had sent him on, only about 3 hours before.
"What do you mean another one? I should've killed you a long time ago with a mouth like that! You're lucky I spared you. No one else would be that kind, seeing as you're just a lost cause, kid." The man spat at him.
"I'm not. Someday, someone will want me." Ezekiel sat up bravely.
"Like who? A mother? Please. No one is going to want some filthy little street rat who can't even read. You're useless. Even when you steal, you're not that great at it. Good luck finding a mother that could love such a lost cause." The man sneered as he threw Ezekiel to the ground, kicking him.
Ezekiel woke with a whimper. Then he reached over and grabbed his phone. He pulled up his contact list and contemplated for a moment. He hit the call button but quickly ended it. Why would she care about his nightmare? So he did what he always did. He put on a fake smile and pretended to be fine. After all, he was the comedic relief. His only job is to make the stupid remarks that everyone laughs at. So he ignored his call list and went back to a restless night of tossing and turning.
Last outgoing call: Mom- 4 hours ago
A/N: Ezekiel honestly doesn't get enough love. He's such a great character yet so many people treat him like he's just there for comedic relief. Sorry for the super unhappy ending. I like writing those. Hope you guys enjoyed! ~FGaT xoxoxoxox