Revision 1.1 - May, 2018
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This story is continuing on from Joss Stirling's wonderful short story "Challenging Zed" so obviously, if you haven't already please go and read Challenging Zed. Last time I checked it's free for all and it gives you an insight into the Zed's POV which you are going to see here. So, off you pop, I'll be here when you get back.
DISCLAIMER: "Challenging Zed" is the property of Joss Stirling. This fanfiction was written entirely for fun, not for profit, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Additional Notes: I am slowly making my way through the chapters I previously have written in 2013. I have found way too many typos and errors for me to even think about continuing the story on without correcting, so bear with me, I haven't abandoned this story. (19/01/18)
CHALLENGING ZED
by: fawkes04
Chapter 1
For the remainder of the afternoon, I couldn't keep my eyes off her.
My soulfinder.
Of all places, I found her on a football pitch. I couldn't believe it, Sky Bright was my soulfinder.
"Zed, you alright?" Sean asked giving me a sideways glance next to me in the stands.
"Yeah, never better." I found her.
"You don't seem that angry that your penalty kick was saved by that English babe."
"Don't call her that." I snapped, glaring at him.
"Whoa," said Sean, putting his hands up in surrender, "I was just kidding, what's up with you man? You suddenly got a thing for her or something?"
"You could call it that." I had to make sure that Sean knew she was off limits, that she wasn't his to have. He could have any of my old ex-girlfriends, that was fine. I'd happily set him up with every single one of them if it meant he'd keep his paws of Sky.
"What happened to her being 'out of our league'?"
"Yeah, well, I changed my mind." Mom was going to freak when I tell her. I let my eyes drift back to Sky, why isn't she looking at me too? She's got to have felt the connection as well, right?
"Well, it's going to be a bit hard for you, man. You have been acting like a prat to her, what with nearly drowning her and all."
He was right; I've already fucked this up. I've been nothing but horrible to Sky, blaming her for all the added stress and guilt her future put me through, she must hate me, but we're soulfinders. Surely she could overcome all of that, right? I'll have to pull her away from her friends when this afternoon is over to apologise and explain that if I knew it was her, I would never have acted that way towards her.
"It'll work out." It had to.
"If you say so." He looked unconvinced but what did he know? He didn't know the power of what finding your soulfinder could achieve. Sure, I was a jerk but she has to realise that's not what I'm really like. Either way, I'd have to make sure she's OK with me before I tell my folks, mom will be unstoppable when she finds out…
With the afternoon finally over I scanned the students, looking for Sky. Had she gone already? No, she couldn't have, seeing as Tina was still here, slowly walking to the changing rooms with this other girl. Great, so she ran off. Was it out of fear of talking to me or out of happiness for the soccer fiasco to be over? I sincerely hoped it was the latter.
Seeing as Sky had already ran off, I wouldn't be able to talk her until tomorrow so I set off to the changing rooms and got ready to leave.
"So, Zed: How does it feel to have your strike saved by a girl no less?" Ian, another friend of mine, asked as soon as I had gotten out of the showers. If they think they can make me feel humiliated by my soulfinder saving my strike they'd have to think again, without that strike I wouldn't have found out that she was the one. No, that strike was the best thing that's ever happened to me.
"Quite good, you should try it sometime," I replied back with a grin.
"You don't seem to be taking it that hard, I thought you'd at least be a bit more pissed especially seeing how she ripped you in front of everyone in the parking lot the other day." Ian noted.
"That's because I'm not, she got lucky. And besides," I grinned, "there's nothing sexier than an angry chick with something to prove." I hated speaking about Sky like that but I knew it'd satisfy my friends as well as give them something to laugh over.
"You got that right!" Sean gave me a pat on the shoulder and picked up a towel. "Hey, isn't the Aspen game tomorrow?"
"Yep." I answered, towel-drying my hair and throwing my shirt back on. "Still want me to introduce you?"
"You know it!" Sean smirked; all thoughts of Sky had shot from his head, replaced with long-legged cheerleaders. I'd have to make sure I introduce him to Hannah if I wanted to keep those thoughts out his mind.
"Remind me after the match tomorrow." I shoved the remainder of my belongings in my bag and slung it over my shoulder. "Right, I'm off. See you tomorrow guys."
I walked out of the changing rooms in hope that Sky hadn't already gone home. Unfortunately, it seemed that she had, leaving me with no other option than to go home myself and speak to her tomorrow.
When I arrived at the house, Mom was just getting out of the jeep with the groceries. I parked my bike and went over to her to take the groceries from her.
"Here, Mom. Let me take those."
"Thanks, sweetheart, you're in a good mood." She said, kissing my cheek and following me inside the house.
"I am. Sorry that I've been a jerk the past couple of months."
"Don't worry about that darling, you've been put under a lot of pressure. Nobody blames you. I'm just happy to see you happy again."
We walked into the kitchen where we found Dad, Yves and Xav; they looked up as we entered.
"Whoa, what's this? Younger brother is carrying the groceries? Mom, what did you do to him?" Xav said in mock outrage.
"Oh shh, you cheeky boy. Zed is being a gentleman, which is more than I can say for the rest of his brothers. Now take the groceries off of him and put them away." She walks towards my father and kisses him on the cheek, "Hello dear."
"Hello dear, back so soon? You were quicker than I expected."
"Well, that's because you take forever when it comes to the food shop."
I looked at the relationship my Mom and Dad had together. They were both soulfinders, a man my Father knew when he was young brought them together. I had always envied them both for that, Dad never really had to go through what the rest of my brothers go through, what I had to go through, the waiting, the wondering about whether or not you'd find her; he just had someone do all the finding for him. Which is all well and good now that I understood it; if I was given the opportunity to find Sky the same way Dad had found Mom, I'd jump at the chance, running off in the direction the man sent me without question.
"What's got you all chipper?" Yves muttered to me taking the bags off of me and handing them to Xav.
"Nothing. Can't a guy just be in a good mood?"
"A normal guy can, you can't." Xav replied putting the groceries in the appropriate cupboards, "Seriously, what gives?"
"Oh boys, leave your brother alone." Dad told them sternly, even though his eyes were twinkling with amusement.
"I'm going upstairs."
"OK," said Mom, giving me a kiss on the cheek, "thank you for carrying in the groceries for your dear old mother."
"Anytime, Mom."
I walked into my room, deciding on the best way to talk to Sky without hurting my chances with her any further. I had to make sure she saw me for me, not the angry, violent, biker-dude that the rest of the school thought me to be.
The next day came around and I had a plan. I was to find her before the game and sort all this drama between us out, an easy plan at the time but once the time came to put the plan into action I realised one major flaw: she sure knew how to freaking hide. I don't know whether or not she did this on purpose or she just had this way to blend into the background but I couldn't find her anywhere. I patrolled the halls at break-times, went to places I thought she'd probably go to in her spare time during the school hours but she was nowhere to be found, then miraculously, when the afternoon lessons came and I had decided to stop looking for her, she appears.
I was walking with Sean to our Science lesson, talking about the Aspen game when someone says my name.
"Hi, Zed."
"Oh, hi." I replied, skimming the group until my eyes landed on Sky, who was just between Tina and the wall. Why was she still hiding from me? I had to fix this. I had to show her I wasn't the angry boy she thought I was.
I told Sean that I'd catch up later and turned to Sky again.
"I didn't get a chance to congratulate you, Sky. You made an awesome save."
"Yeah, I thought it was pretty unbelievable." She replied sarcastically, giving me a stare. I could've laughed. She was great.
"I'm telling everyone you got lucky." I teased, lifting her bag strap back onto her shoulder, almost tenderly, before dropping my hand.
"And I say I had a little help." Sky was looking at me oddly as if she didn't understand what I was doing. Have I really messed up that badly that she didn't even trust me? I guess I haven't really given her the opportunity to trust me but surely she's got to understands how remarkable this is?
"You're rumbled Zed, we all know you didn't bend the ball like you usually do."
I held my hands up in surrender. "I was just lulling Sky into a false sense of security. Next time I won't be so easy on her."
"No way Zed Benedict, you built up this image of the meanest guy in our year and now we know you're a sucker for little blonde girls looking all too dewy-eyed and defenceless."
"Zoe! Don't make out to be dumb!" I couldn't help but grin, I loved it when she got angry.
"Miss Congeniality shows her temper! I knew you had to have had one somewhere."
I watched as Sky's temper rose and prepared myself to put on the strongest poker face I had. "You'd be like that too if you had to live with looking like I do."
Not even with the strongest poker face I had could prepare me for the fierce expression that flashed across her face; I burst into laughter followed by her two friends.
"Oh so I'm a joke, am I?"
Tina, saving the day, holds up her hands to prevent Sky from leaving and says apologetically, "Sorry, Sky. It's just that you looked so fierce when you said that..."
"Yeah like Bambi with an Uzi." Zoe chimed in.
"And, just so we're clear, none of us think you're dumb. Do we?"
"Definitely not."
"But I have to agree with Zoe." I chimed in, unsuccessfully suppressing an amused grin. "You don't do mean as well as me. Maybe I should give you lessons. Be careful, won't you?" I brushed my hand lightly down her arm and walked off to where Sean was waiting for me, my hand still tingling from the touch of her skin.
"What was that about?" Sean asked as soon as I was outside my Science lab.
"Nothing. Let's just get to class."
Later on, I found myself back in the changing rooms after the game. We had won—I had made sure of that before I stopped using my gift as an advantage. I could feel Sky's presence in the stands, I didn't even know she had decided to come until I had felt the warmth radiating from the general direction of the Home Team's crowd. It was comforting to know she was watching, but distracting all the same. I had felt my eyes unintentionally drift towards her section of the stands once or twice during the game.
Once I had finished up in the changing rooms and left to go find her I realised she had disappeared once again, what was up with that girl? Why did she keep running from me?
I dipped into my gift slightly and saw her walking alone in the dark with grocery bags. Walking alone in the dark! What was she doing? Didn't I tell her specifically not to go out in the dark by herself? I thought back to my premonition and scowled, I couldn't allow that to happen. Not to my soulfinder.
I started to jog towards the direction of her house, not stopping when I see a silhouette of her height. I started to jog faster to close the distance between us.
"Sky!" I placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her walking and she jerked, quickly turning around, nearly hitting me with her grocery bag in the process.
"You almost gave me a heart attack!" She yelled, clutching her chest and giving me a glare.
"Sorry. I thought I told you that you should take care walking home after dark."
"You mean in case some boy might jump out and give me the scare of my life?"
I almost smiled. "You never know. All kinds of people out in the mountains."
"Well, you've certainly proved your point."
I grinned, prying the bag out of her fingers, "Here, let me take that. I'll walk you home."
"No need." She stares at me like I've lost my mind. Clearly she hasn't gotten used to me being nice to her yet.
"I want to."
"And you always get your way?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
I laughed. "Nearly always."
She didn't object so I took it as a sign to start walking towards her house. I broke the silence first by asking the question that nagged at me ever since I found out she was my soulfinder.
"So, when were you going to tell me you were a Savant?"
She slowed slightly and stared at me in confusion. "A what?"
I halted her under the street lamp in front of her house and turned up the collar of her jacket, just to give me a reason to touch her. "You must realise how amazing this is."
"How amazing what is?"
"I see, you're punishing me for being a jackass. But you have to understand that I didn't know it was you. I thought I was warning some ditzy stranger to prevent her from being knifed."
Sky pushed my hands away. "What are you talking about?"
"I had this premonition a few nights before we met at the ghost town – you get them too?" She shook her head. "You running down the street in the dark – a knife – screams – blood. I had to warn you—just in case it would do any good."
"Um, Zed…thanks for worrying about me but I'd better get back now."
"Yeah, as if that's going to happen. Sky, you're my soulfinder, my partner–you can't just walk away from me."
"I can't?" Those words cut me, how could she say that? I know I've been cruel to her but surely she didn't want to throw all of this away because of it.
"You must've felt it too." I was starting to get desperate, "I knew as soon as you answered me–it was like, I don't know how to say this, like a fog lifting. I could really see you." I stroked her cheek with my fingertips, trying to show her my tender side. "Do you know what the odds of us finding each other are?"
"Whoa. Go back a little bit. Soulfinder?"
I smiled softly at her. "Yeah," I said, pulling her closer to me, "no half-life existence for us. It's taken me a few days to get over the shock and I've been waiting to speak to you so I can break the news to my folks."
"Zed," she placed her hands on my chest and pushed me back, "I've not got a clue what you're talking about, but if you expect me to…to… I don't know what you expect, but it's not happening. You don't like me, I don't like you. Get over it."
"Get over it?" This wasn't supposed to be how this happened. She was supposed to accept me with open arms and forgive me for what a jerk I've been, not reject me. "Savants wait all their lives to find the one and you think I can get over it?"
"Why not? I don't even know what a savant is!"
I thumped my chest, hard. "I'm one." I prodded her, softly. "You're one. Your gifts, Sky—they make you a savant. You must get that at least?"
Recognition flashed across her face before it disappears and she took a step back. "Can I have my shopping bag, please?"
I stared at her, shocked. "What? That's it? We make the most astounding discovery of our lives and you're just going to go home?" This had to be a joke, Sky's way of getting back at me for being a jackass when we first met but taking a look at her face as she looked around for an escape I knew it wasn't. She was rejecting me.
"Um… yes. Looks like it."
"You can't!" Sky. Don't do this, please.
"Just watch me." She tugged the shopping bag out of my numb fingers before quickly walking the last few yards to her house.
"Sky," I shouted after her, "you can't ignore this! You're mine—you have to be."
"No. I. Don't."
