Warning: This chapter has so much dorky romance in it. Zellina fans unite!

Zel VS Teenage Hormones

Lina shook her head, studying Zel out of the corner of her eye. It was infuriating thatit was the only way she could look at him without him reacting badly. He was being just as cool as when they first met, and she couldn't make it worse by allowing him to feel like a freak show.

She hadn't known until now that he was trying to get his humanity back. Well, she'd known, of course, but Zel hadn't actually admitted it yet. Even flying,she knewthat there probably wasn't going to be enough time. Rezo guarded his castle against uppity flying spellcasters too, after all.

It was true that Zel was enjoying himself. Despite his insistance to stay mad at Lina and give her the cold shoulder, she would catch him dipping or rolling when he thought she wasn't looking, obviously exhilirated that he could now fly. But would he still be smiling when he found out that he'd have to stay that way forever?

Even if they did make it to the castle in time, Rezo would have set up challenges for Zelgadiss to complete. The Red Priest did not easily give up what he had taken away. She would still help him get to the castle, but she knew that Zel would probably be coming out of it looking exactly the same way he did flying before her.

There are a few types of people in the world. There are people who are happy and don't deserve it, and there are people who are unhappy and don't deserve it. Forget what you hear about happy people who deserve it. It just doesn't happen. Lina knew this and knew there wasn't much you could do about it, it was just the way of the world. As a sorceress, she was more than familiar with the concept of abusing power to get happiness. It was a tricky path, the life of a spellcaster. Do what's right, or do what will get you power?

With Zel, she'd chosen to do what's right, and that was helping him. Despite all she'd told herself about happiness, she felt he deserved it, and she wanted to help him get it.

He continued to ignore her, and Lina said nothing to provoke him. She'd let him stew. She didn't know him well enough to do anything else. They flew over the Labyrinth walls easily, but Lina knew the Goblin City was farther than it looked, and it would still take a little while longer. She was setting herself in for a boring trip when she saw Zel tumble a bit. He lost speed and she shot past him, turning just in time to see him shakily regain his altitude. He gave her a wary look, but after a while without any more disturbances, he was back to his icy exterior. Lina slowed her pace to fly just behind him, her eyes watching his every movement. Still he ignored her.

Until he fell.

"Zel," Lina whispered, shooting towards him. Despite her earlier positioning, she couldn't catch him in time. The wind stung her eyes but as she neared the ground, she saw him hit it with a….

A crunch. Poor bush.

She landed lightly next to him, knowing that he'd be cross and nursing a bruised ego. She offered him her hand but he refused and rubbed instead at his new bruises.

"What happened?" He asked, grumbling. Lina shrugged.

"You're probably just tired. It does take a bit of energy and that was your first time, right?" It really was no big deal. No spell was easy to cast, and for a rookie, Zel was doing amazingly well. Zel grumbled, jumping experimentally a few times. Lina laughed at the sight, quickly stiffling the sound when he shot her a glare.

"Sorry," she mumbled, and she meant it. Zel met her gaze and sighed, pulling his cloak back up around his face. Lina cringed. She'd done it again.

"Can you drop me?" Zel asked, his voice low. Lina looked at him and smiled, but shook her head.

"No, I won't."

Angry again. He sure took a while to cool down once something set him off.

"Why not?" He demanded.

"Because, Zelgadiss," her voice was stern and she emphasized every syllable, "I'm not going to abuse your trust. I honestly don't think you'd be able to catch yourself again. Now let's get moving." The forested area they had been in for the past few hours was dying out and returning to the original stone of the Labyrinth. When they'd first started, there had been goblins and odd creatures poking their heads out periodically to watch them, but there was nothing now. It was almost eerie.

Zel felt a lump rise in his throat at the revelation that he'd accepted her help, put her in harm's way, pushed her to the limit, and then abused her kindness. True, he hadn't asked for it in the first place, but she'd granted it anyway. And, remembering the way she'd treated those bandits, she certainly had the power to do otherwise.

"Thanks," he mumbled, looking away. Lina smiled over her shoulder.

"No worries, Zel! Now pick up the pace a little."

They continued along through the Labyrinth, Zel inspecting the many bruises that had been inflicted upon his body in the fall. It was fascinating, almost, seeing the way his rock body could change colour just like regular flesh, but even moreso knowing that on his regular body, there would have been deep cuts and serious damage. His body had protected him amazingly well thusfar, and he had to give it some credit. He was inspecting the intensity of a bruise on his sword hand when Lina noticed and smirked.

"Poor Zelly. Want Lina-Wina to kiss it better?" She teased, taking his hand. For a second she looked like she was hesitating, a million thoughts rushing through her mind. After all, Lina Inverse did not hand out kisses freely, even if Zel was an injured friend.

Friend? When had Zel gained that title? She smiled, mentally shrugging off her doubts and pulling Zel's hand towards her.

He ripped it away, cradling it to his chest.

"Don't." He said, sternly. Lina faltered for a moment, stung. Did he hate her so much that he wouldn't even give her his hand?

"Ouch," she mumbled. Zel looked towards her.

"What?" He glanced up and down before realization dawned over him and he felt heat rise to his cheeks. "Er, no…" He didn't quite know how to explain the situation he was in.

"It's just something Rezo said. He might not have been serious, but I can't risk it." Zel offered, apologetically, and he frowned. He wasn't quite sure he liked this conversation. He wasn't quite sure he liked anything, actually, but he did know that he was disappointed. At what? Not being able to receive a kiss from Lina? He suddenly gave her a paranoid look, wondering if she could read minds, and distracted himself, all the while feeling grateful that he'd developped a constant expression of indifference to any situation.

Okay, so maybe a kiss from Lina wouldn't be so bad. But she was a teenage girl, right? Maybe a bit on the flat-chested side, but really pretty in that cute and petite sort of way. And he was a teenage boy. A sexually repressed teenage boy, for that matter. A kiss from any girl would be appealing, wouldn't it? Not just Lina in particular. The fact that she was the only girl to actually show an interest in him for more than five minutes was a bonus, sure, but it wasn't Lina he was interested in. Right? It would be natural for him to be attracted to her!

But he'd never been attracted to anyone before. Not really. And, wait, when had he started finding Lina attractive? He reached up to pull the cloak away from his face again, touching his stone skin.

And then he felt her hand on his arm. He jumped, torn between wanting to slap her hand away and … and, well …

"Shit," he whispered, quickly looking away before she saw the look in his eyes.

"I pride myself on my hearing, you know." She smirked, "anyway, are you okay? You look like you're going to be sick." He gave her a weak nod and stepped away, picking up his pace.

This emotional roller coaster was too much. First he was furious with her, now all he could think about was kissing her? Wait – he stopped – kiss her? Rezo had only said she couldn't kiss him, right?

"Stop it, Zelgadiss." He told himself, suddenly. He was sure Lina heard again.

"What did Rezo tell you?" She asked, trotting up to walk beside him.

"Nothing!" He said almost a bit too sharply. Lina took his hand again, pulling it towards her abruptly.

"Don't lie to me!" She threatened, "Or I'll kiss it! I really will! Ew, Lina cooties!" He knew she meant it as a joke. He could tell. But he tore his hand away once more.

A brief flash of pain went through her eyes before it was gone, her smile never faltering.

"Sorry," Zel mumbled, "Did I hurt you?" His voice was dry. He was really not enjoying this conversation. At all.

"In more ways than one." Lina muttered, shrugging her shoulders. Zel shut his eyes, almost irritated. Why did she have to say that? Now he had to admit that he'd hurt her feelings, he couldn't pretend anymore. He turned to look at her and she felt like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Rezo said that if you kissed me, he'd take away my humanity." He said, coldly. He didn't want her having insight on how he felt about it. "I mean, what's left of it. He said he'd replace it with demon." He sighed, relieved he'd gotten that off his chest. Now Lina's feelings wouldn't be hurt anymore. It was really frustrating that he actually cared about that.

"What about if you kissed me?" She asked, her brow furrowed. He stared at her incredulously.

"What?" She raised her hands in defence, blushing, "I was just curious to see if he'd thought of both ways! It's interesting, that's all. It seems like a stupid think to make a threat of, anyway." She admitted.

No. Not really.

"Right, but that's why I took my hand away. Not because I didn't want you to or anything." There. He'd explained it. Now they could go back to talking about other things, or not talking at all. Just walking. Walking was good. No talking.

"You mean you wanted me to kiss you?"

Zel stopped. What had he said? He hadn't said that! Had he? His eyes widened in horror.

"No, that's not-" He attempted to explain, but Lina was too busy pointing at his face.

"You're blushing," she gasped, "you so wanted me to kiss you!" Her eyes were bright and she laughed. She began to say something about not blaming him, what with her being gorgeous and all, but he wasn't exactly listening. A million cursewords were rushing htrough his head at once, but they all went by in a blur and instead he pointed at Lina.

"You are, too!" He blurted. Ah yes. Diversionary tactics. Her hands shot up to her cheeks and she attempted what probably should've been a growl, but came out as more of a squeak. Zel nodded, his face serious. So, he'd been found out. The least he could do was drag her down with him. His eyes narrowed.

"You so wanted to." He said, a mocking smirk on his face. All this did was make Lina's face turn an even brighter hue of scarlet, with embarrassement or rage, Zel wasn't quite sure. Either way, her reaction was—

"FIREBALL!"

"You okay?" Lina asked, offering him her hand. She still wore a frown, but her face had finally managed to return to its normal colouring. Zel grunted, trying to hide a smirk. He was actually hardly hurt at all - he could thank the golem body and demon strength for that. He was trying to think up something dastardly and witty to say, but Lina interrupted his thoughts.

"Zel, we have an hour left. I don't think we're going to make it."

Zel froze, his smirk catching on his lips. He tried to digest what she'd just said.

"Don't react the way I think you're going to. Listen!" Lina struggled to explain, "You couldn't cast magic before, right? You can now! You're stronger, faster, and you still have your human heart! That's all that counts, right?"

He felt a growl rise in his throat and he stuggled to get to his feet.

"Lina," he started, but Lina cut him off.

"And don't complain about how it looks, because I like it." She was blushing again, and Zel fell back to the earth, looking up at her. She wasn't looking at him, though.

"So, just give up on Rezo. I know its tough, but you've lost this one." She said, turning her face towards him. Zel sighed.

"And here I thought you were the type who doesn't give up." He said. Lina flinched, and he went on, "You didn't give up on me, at least, and I'm a lost cause. I'm not stopping until the clock runs out, Lina." He said, a smile creeping onto his lips. When did he get so optimistic?

"You don't have to keep helping me if you don't want to." He offered, finally. Lina's eyes were stern and she nodded, slowly, offering him her hand once more. This time he took it, rising to his feet.

"Don't be stupid, of course I'll help you." She muttered. Zel gave her a small smile that he hoped she didn't actually see.

"And besides," he said, almost too shocked to stop himself, "how will I ever kiss you if I don't face Rezo?"

A blush, beet red. Lina stumbled, losing her balance. Zel's weight pulled him back to the ground and Lina tumbled with him, her body crashing against his and, for one horrifying moment, their lips meeting.

She was soft and warm. Her hair fell against his face and tickled his cheeks, her tiny frame pressed against him. For a moment – a brief, tantalizing moment – he considered wrapping his arms around her and letting it go on. But then reality had to rear its ugly head.

Lina shot up like a rocket and backed away, hastily. Zel scuttled back several feet, a look of horror on his face.

"Zel?" Lina asked. He stared at his hands, swallowing hard. If he licked his lips, he could still taste her on his mouth, but his mind reeled with the consequences. Had Rezo been bluffing? Did that even count? He prayed that the first answer was yes and the second was no. Please please please please please …

And for a moment, he thought he was safe.

Then he felt it, a rage he had never known existed. He felt it boil through his veins like an epidemic, and if he licked his lips, he could no longer taste Lina, but her fear. It was in the air, sweet and potent, mixed in with the bitter sense of her concern, and something else altogether disgusting. Zel blinked, seeing red.

"Lina, run." He told her, before he looked up into her eyes and lost control.