Disclaimer: I do not own TSL

Up to Us

Chapter 2: Asking

Zack lazily opened one eye and glanced at the blaring clock, which read six-thirty. He hit the snooze to shut it up, yawned, and rolled over to his side. There was a loud rustling and he noticed Cody already dressed and was organizing his backpack. Zack groaned.

"Could you do that somewhere else?" he whined, "I'm trying to sleep."

Cody cast him glance that said clearly said, 'Shut up and get your lazy ass up.'

Zack groaned again and sat up, giving a pained cry as he bumped his head on the bottom of the second bunk. He quickly got dressed and reported to breakfast. Maddie was already there and was sipping a mug of hot chocolate.

"Hey Maddie." He muttered and poured a drizzle of syrup over his pancakes.

"It looks like someone got up at the wrong side of the bed this morning." She said and stopped Zack from completely overflowing the platter.

He tried to drain his pancakes, "Sorry, it's just that I didn't sleep very well last night."

The three ate their breakfast in silence with only the occasional clatter of silverware. Cody finally got up and set his plate in the sink. He hitched his backpack over one shoulder and walked out the door wordlessly. Zack grabbed his skateboard and also left.

"Hey Cody?" he asked.

Cody gave a small grunt signaling to him that he's listening. Zack secured his skateboard under one arm and the two started walking together.

"I've been thinking," he started, "What really did happen to you when you were kidnapped?"

He shot Zack a look. One that is both disgusted and amused.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask," He said. Zack noted his light New York accent, barely noticeable from everyday English, "I can't tell you anyhow."

Cody sensed Zack's disappointment. The two separated as Zack turned a right on a street corner since he attended a different school than Cody's.

'Jeez. Can't even get an ounce of info outta him.' He thought and tried doing a Kickflip, which landed painfully, "Ow. It's even harder than squeezing blood from a turnip."

As he arrived at his zeroth period classroom, he noticed someone that he wasn't familiar to. He tried to ignore him and sat down in his seat as the teacher called roll.

Zack's POV

"…And last but not least, we've just been notified that we got a new student transferring in from Colorado. Kyle Avasil."

I glanced at him from my desk. He was looking, glaring, at me with fierce green eyes behind shaded glasses (The kind that changes color when you're outdoors). His blonde hair was rather long, but still shorter than Cody's. The ends of them were dyed a dark red, causing him to resemble a punk. The lettering on his black and red T-shirt didn't help either. I looked at the empty seat beside me. Uh oh, I bet he's going to sit there. I had a strange feeling about him that I can't describe.

As it turned out, I was right. He did sit there. Crud. And not only that, his schedule was almost identical to mine. The only difference was that he didn't have cross-country. Whew.

---

'Curse my luck,' I thought as I jogged to the guy's locker room. My coach kept me overtime to run an extra lap just because I walked a quarter of the way. Not my fault, I was having trouble keeping myself awake. Thankfully it was last period and I didn't have a meet today. I muffled a yawn and turned a corner…only to feel someone pin me against the brick wall. It took a moment for me to gain my senses and when I did I saw that guy, the new guy, examining me.

"Uh…what are you–"

"So you're Zack, right?" Kyle asked. He didn't remove his hand from my shoulder instead he squeezed it tighter.

I nodded. This has officially got from bad to worse. Or creepy, whatever you prefer.

"You're the one who killed Ezekiel, hmm?"

I blinked. Now she finally got my full attention, "Zeke?"

"You're the other Nephilim's twin."

My jaw involuntarily clenched, "Yeah, so?"

"Then we have a grudge." He walked away, heading right. While passing by, he raked my neck with his nails. They were so damn sharp that I could've sworn a line of blood dripped down. I quickly wiped it off, changed, and headed back home.

---

"Where were you?" I asked automatically as Cody shut the door to our room behind him. He was supposed to be home hours ago.

He gave me another glare but I could clearly comprehend it, 'None of your business.'

I sighed and shut my textbook again, unable to concentrate. This was the second time I was interrupted, first by Maddie and now this.

"C'mon, tell me. What happened to you during your kidnapping?" I asked again. I could tell he was mentally groaning.

"I told you, I can't tell you," he said, "But…I can show you…"

Eh? What's that supposed to mean? I think my answer was given when the room started warping, the ground beneath me collapsed, sending me plummeting to its dark depths.

Yeah I know, bad way to end a chapter but I am so tired from school. I'll try to update more frequently but if I don't or if I have too much school stuff, I might ask Winnie to write it for me. Don't worry. She's not too bad. And what, doesn't everybody have "Zeroth Period?"

Oh, and to clarify, back on "Dark Angel," Zack sacrificed his wings to save Cody. In chapter one he didn't fly, he used magic.

Trivia: (Volley Dad) When London and Maddie make up at the end of the episode, Maddie has her bag on her shoulder. But when they walk out the door, the bag is on the bleachers.