A/N: Hey guys! I'm about 37 chapters into this story, and I'm really excited to keep you guys updated on what's going on! I usually upload every week, though I'm sort of worried because my views and reviews are sort of falling off Dx I hope you guys are still enjoying the story! There's lots of drama and etc. to come, still! Leave a review if you're enjoying yourself, I'm sort of becoming worried! xD Stay tuned!

*Chapter 23*

Tessa quickly strolled into the game with an eager heart, her eyes scanned the daring, blue sky, which was dot with glorious, puffy clouds. She wound through the dirt path, that was marked to the city. The massive, swaying jungle trees rained and trickled little whisks of green leaves and flutters of flower pollen. She let her mind wander a little as she could see Zane's colorful roof from across the way. She felt her heart catch in her throat as she was harshly reminded that the dance was in two days. She knew her and Zane had been strictly practicing for the past two weeks, and she had gotten the hang of everything, but she still had to wonder if she had just gotten comfortable with one dancing partner. Just as the thought of Selka popped into her mind, a gentle, yet somehow booming voice interrupted her thoughts.

"What brings you here?" Selka asked gently as he closed the front door, of his home, behind himself. He gave Tessa a kind, smoldering smile as he brushed his dark brown hair out of his green eyes.

"O-oh, just visiting Zane," Tessa said as she motioned towards his house. She felt her heart leap as Selka neared her. To her surprise, he was alone for once.

"Soggy beach bum," Selka said in a playful tone as he gazed off towards Zane's home, "You got a date with him, or something?"

"A date? No, not at all," Tessa began to worry; she didn't want Selka to think she was taken for the dance, "Just hanging out. I've been helping him craft his new surfboard."

"Can't imagine Zane dating such a pretty girl, as yourself, anyhow," Selka smoothly eased as he crossed his large arms; all muscle.

Tessa merely glanced before she nervously held her eyes to Selka. She smiled a goofy smile and gently shrugged as she looked down.

"Bull roar," Tessa waved her hand and gazed down at the ground with a massively bashful air about herself.

"So, princess of Sugar Rush," Selka started as he kept his eye contact on her, "You have any major duties to attend to after you get home tonight?"

"Duties," Tessa giggled at the funny word, though she immediately snapped into focus and straightened her back nervously. She heaved a soft cough into her fist and warily looked around as her face heat up, "Uh, not typically. I sometimes help another head of Sugar Rush look over our Northern most city, Starkrem."

"Sure it's pretty at night, eh?" Selka smiled sincerely, Tessa nodded a little.

"Yeah," Tessa smiled, "I have an awesome view of it from my side of the castle."

"You live in a castle?" Selka smiled eagerly, Tessa lightly furrowed her eyebrows and wondered if he had any other interests.

"Eh," Tessa tried to make light of her royal position, so not to egg him on, "It's home."

"Well, we should hang out sometime," Selka said with a kind smile and a gentle wave as he began to step away.

"You... Want to hang out with me?" Tessa wondered with a confused and honest smile.

"Why wouldn't I?" Selka chuckled as he shrugged and began to slowly walk backwards, "So far, you're the only girl in this whole User forsaken game that hasn't gone googly eyed whenever I'm around. Not to mention, you're related to Wreck It Ralph. Awesome stuff."

"H-how did you know that?" Tessa put her hands on her hips with a wide, almost annoyed smile.

"You're the spitting image of him!" Selka laughed, though he suddenly realized the near insulting insinuation he accidentally made. He put his hands up and opened his mouth to apologize, though he couldn't get words out fast enough.

"Am I?" Tessa beamed as she side eyed him.

"I mean that in the best way possible," Selka chuckled nervously as he put both his hands over his chest, in an endearing way. Tessa shook her head and beamed an annoyed smile.

"I'll forgive you this time," Tessa laughed, Selka pretended to wipe sweat from his forehead.

"Hey, I'll see you at the ball," Selka smiled happily, "I'm saving the last, best dance for you."

"I'll hold you to it," Tessa called to him as he waved and walked away.

Tessa dropped her arms and let a contemplative look chase after him; she couldn't pin point exactly what made her feel drawn to him. It was a strange mixture of annoyance and that eking, dominant vibe he gave off. She shook her head and turned heel to continue heading to Zane's house. She could feel a weird knot tighten in the pit of her stomach as she gazed off towards Zane's loft, in which she was quickly approaching, with almost guilty eyes. She slowly trekked to his house and was eager to finally finish the last of her practicing. She was hoping she could finally show Zane just how much she had been practicing, and hopefully by then the two could move onto the last few harder patterns he had been waiting to show her.

"Zane?" Tessa called after she reached the final landing on his small staircase, his door was cracked open a small amount. She pushed inside and had a curious look around.

Her eyes squinted gently as they graced his large, single roomed loft. She hesitantly widened her eyes, as if she had stumbled across a glowing haven. Sunlight flood the room with incredible warmth, she wasn't even sure if she was still in the same dimension. She furrowed her eyebrows lightly and let herself soak in her surroundings, though Zane's movement in his little nook of a kitchen drew her attention. He was stood in a large, wrinkled sleep shirt and baggy black sweats; he nonchalantly ate a bowl of cereal. He turned around at the sound of Tessa's voice and beamed a closed-mouth smile with food, and a spoon, in his mouth.

"Hey," Zane croaked slightly through his food with a small wave.

"Y'know, your door was left open," Tessa motioned to his door with an annoyed smile. She gently stepped into his home, the birch flooring was warm from the sunlight that hit it, "Anyone can come in and just rob you."

"Rob me?" Zane repeated after he swallowed. He suddenly let out a loud, amused laugh and set his bowl down.

"I'm serious!" Tessa said in a stern voice, though his contagious laugh made it impossible to keep her cold front. She let the corners of her mouth curl into an annoyed smile as she sat down at the small counter, across from Zane, on one of his two bar stools, "Someone could barge in and just steal all your stuff!"

"Nonsense," Zane hissed with a wide smile as he continued to laugh. He shook his head and put his empty dished in his sink, "I'd delete them in a single keystroke."

Tessa beamed for a moment, though her smile sunk to confusion as her eyes scanned Zane's white, marble counter. She furrowed her eyebrows and gazed at the back of Zane's head.

"Delete them?" Tessa repeated in a curious tone.

"Yes, with my awesome dance skills," Zane said in a dull way down to the dishes he began to clean.

"You'd waltz them right out of the game!" Tessa began to laugh, which caused a few hard chuckles out of Zane to arise, "I'd love to see that, happen!"

"Wouldn't we all," Zane shook his head and laughed as he dried his hands. He then crossed his arms and leaned his lower back against the counter.

"I ran into Selka on the way over here," Tessa said after a few more giggles and a long sigh. Zane held his curious attention on her.

"Oh yeah?" Zane wondered, "What did meat head have to say?"

"Nothing much," Tessa muttered as she looked down and to the side, "All that guy cares about is status. All he ever wants to know is A. if I have any duties in Sugar Rush and B. what are they?"

"Yeah, Selka... He always likes to involve himself with people that are high ranking in their games," Zane said through one long breath of a sigh, "He has many friends that are either the head of their own games, or are related to the head."

"Typical," Tessa snapped, though she stole a curious glance at Zane.

"Still wanna dance with him at the ball, after all this?" Zane asked in a dull tone, though he gave Tessa a genuine, curious smile. Tessa rolled her eyes in a reply.

"Yes," Tessa breathed a laugh and slumped her arms and hands to Zane's counter, "If it means I have a good standing when I start Academy, then, what the hell. It's one dance, right? At least I'm not his date for the night."

"Sheesh, THAT would suck," Zane's eyes bulged out of his head.

"I'm pretty sure I'd ditch him half way through," Tessa giggled, Zane wagged his finger at her in a sense of adding to the conversation.

"There was one time, I hung out with him on a class field trip, because he was the only one I knew," Zane's facial expression sloped to dull annoyance, "The only thing he talked about the whole time was football, and how far he could throw a hotdog."

"A hotdog!" Tessa wailed with laughter; Zane held his stomach and easily joined in. Tessa wiped a tear from her eye and continued through their loud laughter, "I-I can only imagine!"

"Can you imagine what it'd be like if he was King of Sugar Rush?" Zane beamed in heavy amusement, Tessa rubbed her forehead and chuckled, as if thinking about it made her lose brain cells.

"He'd probably wear a crown while showering," Tessa and Zane broke into another fit of laughter, "I'd game over right then and there!"

"Ohhh I believe it," Zane laughed as he unglued himself from the counter and made his way out of his small kitchen nook.

Penny quietly tidied her large, new room. She opened the last of the boxes she had, from when she moved her belongings over from her old room. Her bedroom was equally as grand as Tessa's and Oliver's; warm with high ceilings and a view of the front entrance area of the castle, as well as a nice view of Starkrem off in the distance. Her white tiled floors were clean and slick, her birch wood furniture and bed frame were crowned with warm greens, pinks and earthy colors. She had a large flower pot near her window, with beautiful white lotuses. She took after Rancis when it came to planting, though she also sported a few heavy duty knives and swords, above her dainty vanity, of which she proudly displayed. She happily remained in her calm, happy bubble, before a sudden, booming voice was apparent down the hallway.

"Penny and Oliver, front and center!" Came the loud, familiar, crackling voice.

Penny felt hard chills go through her spine as she froze, though she largely furrowed her eyebrows and began to rush towards her closed bedroom door. She flung it open, just at the same time that Oliver had approached his doorframe as well. Penny's and Oliver's eyes met in a whirl of confusion, though the two immediately pushed down the hallway, hoping that the large beast, in the Great Hall, wasn't extraordinarily grumpy today.

"What's wrong?" Penny worried as her and Oliver quickly slipped into the Great Hall; Orion stood half hanging out of the castle's massive, double doors.

"This game seems to be missing a certain, little wrecking being," Orion grumbled as his lazy eyes slowly melted to look directly at Penny and Oliver; Penny tried her hardest to be brave, but she knew deep down she was near terrified of Orion.

"Sh-she's not here?" Penny meekly wondered as her face turned red, though she flinched as Orion quickly stormed farther into the castle, his large, curl of a tail only uncurled to slam the castle doors shut.

"For the sake of my hide not being turned into a speckled rug, you will tell me, right now, where Tessa is," Orion said softly, though in a deep, stern tone. He lowered his head as he got near, though he looked more and more menacing.

"Sh-She's with Zane," Penny rushed as she gestured her hands a little. Oliver nervously looked at Penny before he looked back at Orion in genuine confusion.

"And just what, are they doing?" Orion tilted his head a little; his usual, hot orange skin, with specks of blue and cream, had faded to a dull, angry red.

"Th-they're helping Emery with her science project," Penny fibbed, though she looked at Oliver in hopes that he would continue to believe it were true. She began to feel her heart race, the worried pulse, that surged through her, begged her to keep Tessa's and Zane's secret just that.

"There are no projects, in the science department, this week," Orion said in a dull tone, though Penny could see Oliver furrow his eyebrows in confusion, in her peripheral; she harshly gulped.

"U-uh, yes there are, aren't there?" Penny worried with a sheepish smile, though she flinched once Orion took a few steps closer.

"One thing you must know about me, is, I know everything," Orion growled, "I know Academy's schedule, I know who is on the racing roster for the day, I know where each and every single last smarty, in this game, is. I know how to get into The Hull, a place only the King and Queen are allowed... I even know a lie when I smell one."

"That's all that Tessa told us," Oliver worried in a genuine way, though Orion kept his menacing gaze on Penny.

"That's not all the curled wonder was told," Orion said, he kept his eyes glued to Penny; she opened her mouth to protest, though she flinched as he continued, "You have any idea what kind of froster fox crap I'll be in if I don't know your guys' whereabouts, while you're still underaged?"

"O-Orion," Penny nervously protested.

"Ralph and Vanellope are already on edge about the potential of more virus threats," Orion continued, "I can practically see every single last pixel in your body shaking in fear, because you've been caught in a lie, now if you don't tell me what's going on right now, I will jump face first onto the nearest course to get Queen Bee's attention."

"Zane's teaching her to dance," Penny said in a loud and annoyed tone as she threw her hand down. She nervously peered at Oliver, almost in a saddened way. He largely furrowed his eyebrows and gave her the most shocked look ever.

"Curled wonder say wha?" Oliver hissed in a high pitched tone.

"Dance," Orion stated in annoyance, "That girl doesn't even know the definition!"

"Shut up," Penny barked at Orion, though she continued to shake, "It's true! Tessa snagged a dancing partner, for the ball, so Zane offered to teach her. She didn't want anyone to know because, well... She didn't want to be made fun of. She's in Dead Zed, with Zane."

"She could have just been honest," Oliver said in a confused tone, "I wouldn't have made fun of her."

"Oh, bull roar, Oliver!" Penny barked.

"Oh, what, and a teasing thought hasn't crossed your mind?" Oliver retorted loudly.

"Enough," Orion snapped, Penny crossed her arms and held a daring glare on Orion's figure, "You're telling me, Tessa is two games across the hall, learning to DANCE?"

Penny cocked an eyebrow, "Did I stutter?"

"If you go a little past those hills far off," Zane pointed gently, "People have said to see Zed over there."

"Really?" Tessa wrinkled her nose and glanced at her friend; the two were sat on his flat rooftop. The massive, white clouds overhead made Tessa feel extraordinarily alien to this very real world. The sky was becoming dim with the evening, the jungle breeze coated the air with a humid, earthy smell. Tessa furrowed her eyebrows and shifted her sitting position a little as she continued, "Have you ever personally talked to Zed?"

"Nah," Zane waved his hand a little, "I don't think he'd care about anything I had to say, anyhow. Selka swears he's seen him in our town before. Load of bull roar."

"He only sticks to the racing courses, right?" Tessa wondered.

"Well, that's the thing," Zane shrugged lightly as he caught eyes with Tessa, "Since he's the last and final boss, and he's near impossible to get to, he hardly is ever seen on the courses anyways. That guy has eternal days off."

"Not fair," Tessa grumbled, Zane beamed a smile and gazed far off in the distance. He shook his head lightly and let his eyes wander.

"Trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be," Zane said through a long breath, though he shook his head and gave Tessa a small smile, "You ready to get back to practicing?"

"I guess so," Tessa said through a small smile, though she could feel her stomach writhe with knots in which had been subconsciously forming.

"You're doing just fine," Zane said as he stood and reached his hands out to Tessa, to help her up.

The two slowly stood and approached the hatch in which they had emerged from. A ladder, from inside Zane's closet, lead directly to his roof, possibly for an emergency exit; it made for a great view of the valley far below. One by one, Tessa and Zane made themselves comfortable in his loft. As the evening approached, and the arcade closing call was nearing, his loft was left with not a lot of light. Tessa gently eased to the middle of the room and watched as Zane turned on a few warm lights around the large place. He gently closed his large, vertical blinds over his floor to ceiling windows.

Tessa let her eyes follow Zane in a nervous kind of way, as if his ever so gentle demeanor was oozing with all the kindness in Arcade. She felt her heart swell as she furrowed her eyebrows and lightly looked down to the birch flooring undertow. She had to wonder how someone could be so selfless as to give up nearly two weeks of his free time to help a friend; a task in which had no benefit to him. She had to snap herself back to reality as Zane finally stepped closer to her. She figured he must have caught on to her somber and calmed demeanor; he gave her a nervous, questioning look and tilted his head down just a tad.

"Everything alright?" Zane wondered softly, the contrast between his jet black hair and electric blue eyes made Tessa suddenly feel nervous; she felt a breath catch in her throat, though many different emotions began to swell through her nauseous stomach.

"O-Oh, I'm fine," Tessa stammered nervously as she tucked some of her thick, auburn hair behind her ear. She finally pushed a smile to the surface of her steady front and avoided eye contact with Zane. He tenderly reached out for her and nodded once.

"Alright, let's just start with the basic steps I've taught you then, and we'll roll into the more complicated patterns as we go," Zane said softly to her, his hand reached for her waist like usual; Tessa nodded a little as he gently prepped them with a smile.

On Zane's cue and with his gentle lead, they slowly ran through the motions; his birch flooring willingly creaked over the hundreds of times their feet have circled the room. Tessa learned to follow Zane's lead, though they found a happy medium to where Zane's lead didn't have to be so strong anymore. They melted around the room, as if they were merely clockwork dolls on coils and springs; their harmony was unmatched, though Tessa found herself lost in a comfortable, yet nervous, stare on the collar of Zane's comfortable tank top. She furrowed her eyebrows and forced her mind not to wander down the path it so desperately wanted to wander down. She avoided it at all costs; she knew it was bubbling near the surface, but she felt as if she had to keep it from shining through for as long as she possibly could.

Tessa moved with Zane's rhythm and ever so soft, steady counting. She felt her face slowly heat up as she suddenly felt very aware of her surroundings. The warmth of Zane's skin on her hands and waist, the tender air he kept about himself and the respectful distance he allowed between the two. She let her eyebrows scrunch downwards more as she finally felt a strange, lurking feeling hang above her. She knew dancing with Selka was the last thing she wanted to do, but she knew it'd get her some sort of status as she braved Academy. Horrible thoughts about tripping on the dance floor suddenly filled her system. It were as if all the bad thoughts had been harbored and saved until this very moment, her's and Zane's last practice. She could feel herself becoming short of breath, due to being suddenly struck with a large bout of nervousness and regret.

"Whoa, you alright?" Zane quickly uttered as Tessa gently fumbled with her feet. Zane's sharp reflexes caught Tessa's stumble in a second flat, his eyes held trained to her, as if to say she was the only reason he continued on.

"I-I'm alright," Tessa lightly argued as she shook her head and positioned herself with Zane yet again.

Zane nodded gently, though he kept a wary eye on his dancing partner. She suddenly became very sloppy and off Zane's steady timing. He largely furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, though he let out a loud gasp as she full on stumbled over hers and Zane's feet. He largely reacted and scooped Tessa into his arms tightly, he lunged to keep her from falling to the ground. He quickly pulled Tessa back up to her feet as the two jolted in a flurry of confusion and dizziness. Zane remained solid, though he gazed at Tessa in pure, delightful confusion. His playful smile immediately sank as Tessa exhaled a loud, complaint of a groan and whirled around. She threw her large hands down to her sides and scrunched her shoulders as she distanced herself from Zane. She began to fume quietly, though she heaved a hard, annoyed sigh.

"Whatsamatter?" Zane asked quietly as he took a step forward to assess the problem, though he suddenly felt as if he was in foreign territory.

He glanced at Tessa's clenched hands and felt a pang of worry hit his skin; light, delicate purple circuits began to make themselves present on the undersides of Tessa's skin, as if to express rising anger. Zane nervously glanced at the back of Tessa's head and stopped dead in his tracks. He knew one wrong word, move or even one wrong breath would send this wrecker on a havoc wreaking mess. He lightly held his hands up and dared to open his mouth, yet again.

"Tess," He said ever so softly, though he flinched once Tessa whirled around and largely gestured her arm.

"Why is this suddenly so hard for me?" Tessa bellowed, Zane froze and lightly widened his eyes; he kept his gaze trained to her, not out of fear, but purely out of learning. He knew he was bound to see the dangerous, wrecking side to Tessa sooner or later, and he always swore he'd take notes when it came around, though somehow he felt lost in the moment of having the honor to learn more about her, no matter what state she may be in. Zane just barely shook his head as if to not know the answer to her rhetorical question, though she carried on, "I was doing just fine for the past two weeks! Why is it, that two days before the ball, I start to doubt myself!?"

"Why are you doubting yourself?" Zane braved as he gently let his hands fall to his sides, "You're doing just great."

"I'm doing just great because I'm with you, by ourselves, with no one watching," Tessa barked as she gestured her hand towards Zane, "When it actually counts, I'll be with an entirely new dancing partner and ALL eyes will be on us!"

"You'll be just fine, dancing with Selka," Zane waved her off as if to express that it was nothing, "He knows literally like three routines. It's no biggie!"

"And what of it!" Tessa exclaimed with wild hand gestures, "I-I'm so used to this-this... this extravagant knowledge, I have so many different patterns and routines I know! What if I'm just so ahead of him that I end up tripping over my feet!"

"Thats nonsense," Zane hissed as he squinted his eyes in a loving way, though he flinched.

"It'll be nonsense if I make a fool of myself!" Tessa hollered lightly as tears formed in her eyes, she tried her very hardest to force them back, "Here I thought I had a GRAND idea, saying that'd I'd dance with the most popular guy in all of Litwak's."

"You're not giving yourself enough credit," Zane said tenderly.

"I bought into it!" Tessa pleaded as she continued to desperately hide the tears that wanted to spill down her cheeks, "I-I thought that maybe if I rock that dance and pass everything with flying colors, I'll start Academy with a bang! Everyone would know my name."

"It's not going to earn you friends, Tess," Zane said as kindly as he could as he gave her a saddened, yet understanding look.

"Well, NOW it's certainly not," Tessa largely gestured her arm towards Zane's door, "I'll always and forever be the girl that is just way too WRECK IT to do anything!"

Zane furrowed his eyebrows in pure grief as he gazed longingly towards his friend. He slumped his shoulders and felt his heart immediately pang with sorrow as those dreaded tears slipped down her cheeks; she angrily swiped them away and continued through a few nervous, uneven breaths.

"Don't let Tessa hold that, she'll break it. Don't let Tessa decorate the cookies, she doesn't have steady hands. Maybe let your cousin plant those flowers, Tessa, the petals are supposed to stay ON the tulips. Don't tell Tessa, she'll get really mad and wreck something!" Tessa bellowed as more tears streamed her cheeks. She finally exhaled a small breath of a noise, which was laced with all the sadness she could quite possibly muster. She clenched her fists and threw them down to her side; she knew she had the self control not to wreck things that weren't her domain, though every single fragile thing in Zane's loft practically begged her to swing away.

Zane kept his curious gaze on his best friend, he was trained to her every move; he knew she had probably had a hard upbringing, with being so different, though he let his lips curl into a small smile; he couldn't imagine her any other way. After a few moments of delicate silence, and Tessa's few sighs of frustration that coated the quiet, Zane ever so tenderly stepped out from the safety of his bubble and approached his misunderstood, favorite person. He gently stood in front of her and made sure his feet were aligned properly for their dancing form. With his hands by his sides, he tenderly reached his fingers out towards Tessa's clenched fists, which were squeezed by her own sides. With much convincing, he finally felt her clenched fists unravel with his gentle touch. He smiled an accomplished smile and let his hands sink into hers.

"There's one dance I forgot to teach you," Zane said, above a whisper.

Tessa finally let her shoulders gently slump as her curious eyes held on his lower shoulder; she felt her heart jump in a confused, bashful way as she realized just how close he was to her. She felt her mouth want to curl into a dainty smile at the fact that he was so close, she couldn't even properly look him in the face. She wrinkled her nose lightly, and almost opened her mouth to wonder why he had changed things up, though she felt a gentle pang of knowing hit her skin. She felt an almost cold, reverberating chill roll over her skin. It had a hot aftershock that stunned her cheeks a bashful pink. She let her eyebrows finally raise from confusion as she exhaled a breath she felt as if she was holding for an eternity. As if her brain had turned to goo, and needed to reform itself, she finally came back down to the planet and blinked a few times, in a light, flustered way.

"Yeah?" Tessa asked softly, she felt her angry circuits wiggle into something tender and gooey she was extremely unfamiliar with.

"Yeah," Zane chimed in the kindest, quietest tone he could muster. He swallowed his insecurities and eased his right arm and hand around Tessa's waist. He felt a subtle surge of relief fill his being as she warmly received and reciprocated the embrace, albeit in a slow and almost confused manner.

"What's that?" Tessa wondered as her muscles tensed, to back her head and neck away from Zane's bubble; she immediately stopped herself from making any sort of sudden movement, though she had a hard time resisting the reflex to look Zane in the eye whenever they talked. She furrowed her eyebrows at this foreign opportunity they had been plopped into.

"S-some people call it, a slow dance," Zane said in a 'matter of fact' tone, with a sheepish smile.

Tessa finally let her face un-scrunch from confusion as Zane just barely began to lead the two. She exhaled a small breath of a giggle and bit her bottom lip, as if the pain would remind her that she was definitely sat right in the heart of reality. They just barely swayed from side to side in the slowest movement Zane could muster. He kept a steady, yet tender grip on the middle of Tessa's back. He raised his eyebrows lightly and tried his hardest to gauge Tessa's mood from his peripheral. He felt his heart swirl in a dizzy fit of disbelief as his strong hand gently melted into her soft, long, crazy auburn hair; it sprawled down her back, all the way to her hips. He tried his hardest to remain stoic and brave, though he felt as if his inner code were about to go flying around the room in a frenzy of excitement.

Tessa gently gazed down at Zane's lower shoulder in a dizzy spell of thought. Before she could attempt to stop herself, she found herself being pushed over the edge and into that sticky topic she had been avoiding for the past week. She held her breath and dove in head first; she felt a sensation come over her code, as if her code had acquired new knowledge. Suddenly, the warmth of Zane's skin was the only thing she wanted. The safety of his loft's high walls were all she needed to feel perfectly sound. Slowly, the very scent of his being, of which she had known for months now, was a new, bold yet tender thing that quickly flood her mind with all things good in her life; every last memory the two had shared. She felt her heart skip a beat as realization hit her over and over again. She relished in each wave, for each time was as if she were graced with the best gift ever.

Zane kept his arm lightly around her, he knew he needed to give her the freedom to take in his presence or to ease away from it. He nervously let out a silent, shaky breath and prayed to User he wasn't making her feel uncomfortable. Just as he was about to kick himself into oblivion, he felt his heart dip as Tessa ever so lightly leaned farther into his warm touch. As if he had just earned the massive honor of the trust of a rare, wild creature, he felt a huge sweep of relief course his whole system. He long blinked a few times as he kept his steady, swaying rhythm, though he raised his eyebrows in surprise as Tessa warmly returned his tightening, one armed embrace. He felt his whole upper body freeze in an alert manner as he could feel Tessa gently rest her head on Zane's shoulder. With an accomplished smile, Zane gently let his eyes lull closed. He warmly let the side of his head rest on hers. He kept their free hands close to their bodies, though his warm grip on her hand never ceased.

He let out a chuckle that was barely audible and let a smile of a thousand words sprawl his face. As if he had practically struck gold, he held Tessa close to him and remained silent. The two lightly swayed in his warm, dim home. The gentle, humming ambience of his single, revolving fan coated the room's silence with a tender, thick lining of a humble beginning. As if everything in Dead Zed was attuned to the two and them only, Zane gave her another, gentle and loving squeeze. He knew he still had eons of work ahead of him, though somehow he knew he had made his mark on this brave endeavor he felt slowly swept into.

Side A/N: - I have this end scene drawn on my deviantART, if you guys are interested - it's titled 'Pixel's Edge', my username is Vyntresser :) Enjoy guys!