*Chapter 57*
Under the glow of her warm, calm kitchen lights, Tessa sat at the castle's sprawling kitchen island. The night was growing closer to midnight, though she knew she had a massive amount of studying to do. She gazed down at her notes and was confident she'd pass her test she had for Academy the next day, though eking thoughts of Zed kept coming back to her mind. She desperately pushed them away in a fit of trying to concentrate; even when he wasn't around, he was somehow able to distract her thoughts with pleasant ideas and mushy feelings. She finally heaved a hard sigh and pushed her thoughts away once and for all. She felt as if it was only minutes ago that she had said goodnight to her family, they left her with uncertain smiles and worried notions about her getting a proper amount of sleep for school. She knew she would be alright. She wondered if napping at Zed's, after school, could potentially be a thing on her agenda.
After a small amount of time filled with writing notes, remembering vocabulary and studying her heart out, she felt a warm, approaching presence from behind her, in the kitchen corridor. She furrowed her eyebrows and let her attention span to the whole of the room. She felt as if maybe she had picked up on Vanellope's incredible radar, she honed her skill and wondered if it could possibly work. She beamed a curious smile down to her homework and ran through her options. She wondered exactly who would be awake right now, who knew she was down in the kitchen, and who could possibly be arriving for a sneaky midnight snack. From the sounds of the sleepy, slapping footsteps, she lulled her eyes closed and breathed a small breath of knowing. As the extra presence finally budged into the kitchen, Tessa remained solid with her nose in her homework.
"Couldn't resist the leftovers in the fridge, eh Aunt Taff?" Tessa mumbled softly as Taffyta stopped dead in her tracks.
"Alright," Taffyta mumbled as she rubbed her eye, though she pointed an annoyed finger to Tessa, "You and Vanellope have GOT to stop doing that. It's really spooky."
"I learn from the best," Tessa smirked into her notes, though she finally tore her eyes away from her studies as Taffyta came around the opposite side of the island.
"Give it a rest," Taffyta uttered apologetically as she gestured to Tessa's homework and notes; Taffyta was dressed in baggy sweats and a tight, black spaghetti strap. Her choppy white hair was smooth and clean into perfection, "You may be a student now, but... Don't lose sleep over it."
"It's nothing," Tessa grumbled with a small smile as her hazel eyes quickly gripped Taffyta's, "I really wouldn't be able to sleep, anyhow."
"Is it because you're in love?" Taffyta beamed a cheesy smile in a playful tone, though she turned towards the fridge and began rummaging through it.
"Yes, that's exactly it," Tessa barked sarcastically, in defense to herself, though she knew Taffyta was practically right; she'd never admit it, though.
"What's on your mind?" Taffyta said through a gentle laugh as she finally came back to the island with a slice of cake that she had made for dessert the other night. She waved her fork around slightly before gently breaking off a bite for herself, "You've been in and out of Sugar Rush a lot, lately. You guys really like hanging with that Zane, fella."
"He's great," Tessa smiled, though she tried not to seem too eager to discuss it. She furrowed her eyebrows lightly, "Dead Zed is cool... I think Zane just feels most comfortable there. In the castle, it's rather intimidating, I think. What with all of us being royalty and whatever."
"He knows he's welcome here, though, right?" Taffyta furrowed her eyebrows, her brilliant eyes held true to Tessa's, "We trust your guys' decisions, on who you bring in the game. We know you guys are smarter than to bring just anybody in here. Tammy brings Emery around all the time, and neither of them are from Sugar Rush," Taffyta finished with a kind laugh as she took a bite of her food.
"Yeah," Tessa eased softly, though her eyes rested in an idle gaze on her notes.
Taffyta squinted her eyes lightly and wondered just what was going on through her baby niece's mind. She smiled softly; she knew the first feelings of love were hard and could potentially make you feel isolated. She tilted her head gently, and though she knew she was a bold, sarcastic character, her soft and gooey side was and easy thing to convey to Sugar Rush's younglings.
"What is it, Tess?" Taffyta eased in the softest tone, which brought Tessa's surprised eyes to her aunt's. Though they were both now the same in maturity and 'age', she still viewed Taffyta as a second, motherly figure in her life, though one in which she could share all of her secrets with.
"I just... Have a lot on my mind," Tessa breathed nervously as her eyes darted about her homework; Taffyta wrinkled her nose.
"I'd be willing to bet money just who the main focal point, of your thoughts, is," Taffyta side eyed Tessa, though Tessa exhaled a hard, silent groan and looked away in a fit of a bashful fluster.
"Can I ask you a... A weird question?" Tessa gently wondered as she side eyed her aunt in a nervous, shy sort of way.
"Fire away," Taffyta obnoxiously waved her fork, though her curious eyes peered at Tessa as she heaved a bashful, contemplation sigh.
"... What color was your code before you swapped with uncle Rancis?" Tessa eased as politely as she could, though she could already tell that she was about to eat her words; Taffyta lightly peered at Tessa through a dramatic, side eye, as if she was quickly cued in to what she was insinuating; a hidden secret that wasn't so much so anymore.
"Oh I see what this is about," Taffyta exhaled a laugh and shook her head, though she furrowed her eyebrows in a motherly sort of way.
"I knew I shouldn't have said anything," Tessa muttered down to her notes as her cheeks grew a very painful, embarrassed red. Taffyta raised her eyebrows in poised worry, towards her fragile niece.
"I'm sorry, Tess," Taffyta breathed an apologetic giggle, "I'd be happy to tell you everything you need to know... My code was hot pink before I swapped with Rancis. His was yellow. Somehow, in arcade world, that makes orange, for Penny."
"Moms' was blue and dads' was red, right?" Tessa bashfully inquired, Taffyta nodded.
"Yep, that's why you and Oliver have purple," Taffyta assured, though she so desperately wanted to know what was up Tessa's sleeve. She furrowed her eyebrows lightly and smiled, "You interested in maybe eventually swapping with your new Zaney boyfriend, or something?"
"No," Tessa scoffed loudly and confidently with a wide, incredulous smile, though it quickly dipped away with a lull of an eye roll and slumped shoulders as her aunt's dull, annoyed glare pierced hers. She looked away and huffed a sigh through her nose, "Yes..."
"Aww Tess, that's sweet," Taffyta beamed gently, "I'm assuming you know you'd be making a permanent choice, in that venture."
"I know," Tessa eased gently as she peered down at her notes, "I-I don't think we're at that point, yet... He only did ask me to be his girlfriend, last Friday. I just, I know it'll eventually pop up, right? I guess I'm just nervous."
"Well, if you're nervous, in a bad way, then you're not ready," Taffyta eased seriously, though Tessa's gentle gaze latched onto hers.
"I guess I'm not really nervous in the conventional 'first time' jitters... I guess it's more, would our codes even be compatible?" Tessa worried, though she suddenly realized what she was walking into, what with Taffyta still thinking that Zane was your average, self-programmed gamer and not Zed, the core of his own game.
"Compatible?" Taffyta wondered genuinely.
"Yeah," Tessa sighed softly and looked away, "It's... Sort of complicated. He sort of asked me to keep it private, so... I really shouldn't explain anymore."
"Well then let me just beat you to the punch," Taffyta chuckled as she shook her head and held her sharp eyes to Tessa, "He's not a faux-code, is he."
"No," Tessa meeped with a nervous twinkle in her eye, though she raised her eyebrows once Taffyta beamed a wide smile and looked down to her plate of delicious cake.
"I sort of figured," Taffyta smiled, "After hanging out with you and him, when we hung out in Dead Zed a month or so ago, he just had this air about himself... I don't think keeping secrets is his thing. Which I guess works out for you, because that makes dating him easier!"
"Makes sense," Tessa huffed gently as she nervously looked down to her notes, though Taffyta crossed her arms and lightly peered at her niece.
"So are you going to make me guess which of the six racers he actually is, or can I just come right out and say that Zed is welcome here, whenever he wants?" Taffyta said through a kind, though knowing huffs of a laugh. Tessa felt her face get hot as she pierced her eyes on her aunt's.
"Is it that obvious?" Tessa beamed an embarrassed smile.
"We all sort of had an inkling," Taffyta smiled lovingly as she shifted on her feet, "Us four were discussing it, because we know Dead Zed went through a virus scare, not too long ago... The first time he met Rancis, he mentioned that Rancis, uh, well... Looked similar to someone he used to know. It's, sort of a long story..."
"Radex... Uncle Rancis told me everything," Tessa braved tenderly as her mature eyes caught with Taffyta's, "What he did, for Sugar Rush, was extremely noble, and... Quite frankly, I owe him my life."
"He'd do anything for any of you guys," Taffyta said seriously, Tessa nodded in agreement, "Do you know how Zed knew Radex?"
"I don't," Tessa furrowed her eyebrows in gentle inquisition, "It's never come up... He's never really says anything about Radex or the virus scares."
"You should ask him," Taffyta prod quietly with a gentle nod, as did Tessa, "I'm sure Zed had nothing to do with Radex, maybe just briefly met him. When Zed mentioned him to Rancis, that one time, it didn't seem like Radex had left any sort of bad memories or anything on him. Though, Dead Zed DID go through the same virus scare, so... Zed may very well be able to sympathize with Sugar Rush."
"I'll be sure to ask," Tessa said softly with a mildly nervous frown.
"Good," Taffyta scoffed with a wide smile, "Because if you don't, all four of us will... Believe me."
"Have you guys been bursting at the seams?" Tessa and Taffyta shared a gentle, few laughs.
"Only a lot," Taffyta's kind eyes held true to Tessa's, "We care about you... And obviously, we care about Sugar Rush. We just want to make sure you're in good hands. You've been in and out of Dead Zed a hundred times now, so I'm sure everything is fine. You can just never be too sure, when it comes to viruses... A virus has the power to cause game-wide mayhem, which would eventually lead to being unplugged... For good."
"We'd be homeless?" Tessa worried gently.
"If you made it out, quick enough," Taffyta said darkly, which caused Tessa's heart to dip into further confusion. Taffyta shook her head, as if to insinuate not to worry, "Just... Ask him, sometime. If it has never come up, or has never been revealed as a worry, I'm sure it's nothing. But it'd definitely put us four heads, over here, at ease."
"Aye aye, Captain," Tessa playfully saluted, though she took the chore to heart and dutifully noted it for the next time she saw Zed.
"So, how long have you two been together?" Taffyta wondered as she finally eased back into the girly gossip she enjoyed; Tessa beamed a bashful smile and looked away.
"A-About a week," Tessa blissfully sighed, "Well, we kissed the night before I started Academy, a month ago, but after that we sort of didn't know how to carry on. I think he was just worried about revealing himself as Zed, to me. He feared I'd become uninterested in him, which was really bizarre."
"If anything, it probably made you MORE interested," Taffyta laughed, as did Tessa in an agreeable notion.
"I knew him as Zane until last week... But he's sort of sensitive about it, and doesn't really want anyone to know. He said he'd tell everyone else on his own time," Tessa gentle explained.
"I can see why," Taffyta eased gently, though she curiously eyed Tessa and now realized why she was so nervous, "Have you read up on swapping codes with a user-made gamer? I-I... Quite frankly, I didn't think it was even possible for the codes to cooperate."
"I sort of got that feeling, too," Tessa muttered bashfully, "We're not really at that point yet, but... What if it comes up? I just am nervous."
"Well, Tess, he's the boss of his game, surely he knows that it's tricky... I really don't know if it's been tried before. And if it has, the two didn't live to tell the tale," Taffyta warned.
"It's fatal?" Tessa suddenly worried harder.
"I don't know for certain," Taffyta raised her hands, to quell her nieces worries, "I've just gone through life knowing that user-made and self-coded gamers don't ever really run in the same circles... Let alone fall in love and get to the point of a code swap. I'd do some research, love. You have Academy's library at your reach."
"Yeah," Tessa eased softly, thought she grew nervous once her aunt began to eye her again.
"Lookit my little Tessy, growing up and... User, I can't believe you were able to snag a guy at the head of his game," Taffyta laughed softly as she shook her head and crossed her arms, "What a catch! I wonder why he doesn't want anyone to know he is who he is."
"I guess he's treated like crap, in his game," Tessa explained gently as she idly ran her finger along the spine of her notebook, "Only me, Penny and Oliver know he's Zed. He's sort of telling all of us one at a time. Easing into it I guess. I think he was worried we would suddenly not like him."
"Yeah, I have been told that Zed has a reputation for being a jerk... Was it just a front he puts up? Obviously you all really like him, and from what I can tell, he's really sweet," Taffyta said kindly with a gentle shrug.
"He says people treat him poorly because he is literally programmed to be unbeatable," Tessa frowned with a gentle sigh.
"Don't code swap with that guy, then we're all going to be screwed! You'd get his unbeatable powers!" Taffyta laughed softly, which caused a wide, bashful smile to sprawl her face.
"I'm not going to swap with him," Tessa said through an almost sorrowful giggle, though she furrowed her eyebrows in mild confusion, "...but if I did, would I still be able to control the code room of Sugar Rush?"
"Yeah," Taffyta lightly shrugged, "Code swapping changes the color and adds someone else's powers to your code stream, but the coding is still written for you. I really don't know what it means, if a faux-code swaps with a user-made gamer, though..."
"Yeah," Tessa hissed a gentle sigh and looked down in growing contemplation and bashfulness.
"Do me a favor," Taffyta gently urged, "Before you do anything... Please do some research, on this... And, make sure you're prepared to spend the rest of your life, with his code a part of yours. It's a huge step... If you make that decision out of a weak, heightened moment, you might regret it."
"I'll be careful, I promise," Tessa eased; she knew she wouldn't just let anyone into her code.
"And bring this guy around, more often," Taffyta barked gently as she playfully stabbed her fork towards her bashfully smiling niece, "I want to make sure he's treating you right."
"I'll bring him over tomorrow," Tessa smiled gently, "He's going to help Penny and I study. Midterms are in a month, and we've been given the study guides."
"Well, then, forgive me in advanced for moseying in on your guys' study party," Taffyta chimed as she took another bite of her vanishing cake, "Maybe he'll reveal his blue haired mean side, to us."
"Blue hair, yes," Tessa gently pointed, "Mean side, not so much."
"Get some sleep, Tess," Taffyta urged as she put her plate in the sink and began to slink out of the kitchen, "Gotta be awake for your classes, y'know."
"Thanks, Auntie Taff," Tessa eased softly, Taffyta shot her a kind wink and slipped out of the kitchen for the night.
Tessa finally exhaled a gentle breath and peered back down to her notes, in which begged her to study and be worked on. She furrowed her eyebrows and picked at the trimmings of her notebook. She felt a billion different questions buzz through her mind, though she put her code-swapping worries at the back. She knew she had to somehow get to the bottom of this whole mess with Radex; she hoped Zed had some clarity for her, tomorrow.