*Chapter 88*
With slow, calm footsteps, Zed stepped into Game Central Station. He furrowed his eyebrows lightly and, for what seemed to be the thousandth time, he got a good look around. His eyes briefly scanned Sugar Rush, the morning sunlight made the station glow with nostalgic care. He inhaled a slow breath and got a good intake of the crisp, cool aura of the place, which was much different than the damp, humid and hot air of Dead Zed's morning, sticky dew. He smiled briefly and knew Tessa, Oliver, Penny and Lickity would be here soon, for Academy. Before Zed could get comfortable against his outlet wall, his usual notion of lazy leaning, he suddenly felt his heart dip as he spot Oliver, and only Oliver, making his way through the crowd. Zed suddenly felt his skin grow cold as his senses heightened in a rush of mild fear; he knew yesterday was a doozy, for everyone, though he was almost positive Oliver was now out to give him a hard time, no matter what. Zed swallowed nervously and braced himself for another verbal beating.
"Oliver," Zed chimed kindly, he tried to hide the sweet nervousness in his voice, though he felt his walls come down a tiny bit as Oliver nodded in his direction and let a friendly smile just barely grace his face.
"Hey," Oliver said deeply as he strolled up; he was wearing a usual, comfortable red shirt and tattered cargo shorts. He had a school book tucked under his arm, with a few messy papers that peaked from the edges. Zed raised his eyebrows slowly and glanced around Sugar Rush's outlet, as if to pray that the rest of Sugar Rush's brood would come and save him.
"Where's... Tessa, Penny and Lickity?" Zed wondered softly as he shoved his slightly nervous hands into his pockets and scrunched his shoulders.
"Oh, they're... Coming," Oliver chuckled as he looked over his shoulder, to Sugar Rush's outlet, though he slowly turned back and fixed his gaze to Zed's in contemplation, "I thought I'd come out here early... I-I just needed to talk to you."
"What's wrong?" Zed asked softly, though he knew exactly what this was about. He inhaled an apprehensive breath and cocked an eyebrow, as if to silently plead to avoid the death threats, over Tessa's safety.
"Nothing's wrong, I just..." Oliver trailed off, and as if it were a code that brothers lived by, he gently slapped his hand to his side and heaved a finalized sigh. He shook his head and lightly glanced at Zed, "I just wanted to apologize for yesterday... I-I really shouldn't have threatened you like that. I don't know what came over me."
Zed raised his eyebrows in plucked surprise and felt his worries quickly slip off of his shoulders. With this, he gained the confidence to finally open his mouth.
"You don't need to apologize, Oliver," Zed stated softly, as much as he wanted to accept his apology, he knew he shouldn't; he knew those threats, worries and riled apprehensions were raw and true, and wasn't something to be replaced or sorry for. Zed continued on, once Oliver's facial expression grew kindly confused, "Quite frankly, I think I needed the beat-down. I got small, verbal beat-downs from Vanellope, Taffyta, Rancis and Ralph, but... Somehow, yours was the worst to endure."
"...You're kidding," Oliver chuckled as he furrowed his eyebrows, his smile widened in growing skeptic.
"No, not at all," Zed laughed as he raised his palms lightly, to show honest surrender to his confession, "Your's was, by far, the angriest, and the scariest."
"I wasn't trying to upstage anyone," Oliver beamed as he rubbed the back of his head, though he curiously peered to Zed, "...I was scarier than my DAD?"
"Believe it or not," Zed chuckled as he cocked an eyebrow and gave Oliver a look of playful annoyance, "All were nerve-wracking, in their own way, but... Yours was the most threatening."
"You know I wouldn't have the guts to up and kill you," Oliver muttered as he looked down, "I don't know what I'd do, if I lost Tessa. I really don't... But I wouldn't have the heart to hurt you over it, cause I know it would have been an accident."
"You're not going to lose her," Zed dared after a few moments of gentle silence; Oliver looked him square in the face, his expression was riddled with all sorts of worry, "I will do everything in my power to make it so she never is gone from your life... You know that, Olly."
"Forgive me if this is way too forward, but," Oliver trailed off and scanned the ground, idly; he searched for the right words, "I was never really told what has to be done in order for an opposed-code swap to be successful. I remember Tessa telling me, yesterday, that you knew how to make it work... Do you?"
"Yes, I do, Tessa was telling you the truth," Zed admitted softly, "I'm really glad she didn't learn how that all works, at Academy, actually. Those textbooks only have half of the information she truly needed."
"They're teaching false information?" Oliver worried as he glanced to the massive, looming Academy at the other end of Game Central Station.
"No, not false, technically," Zed shrugged and glanced towards Academy as well, "What Academy teaches, is, in order to properly swap with a user-made gamer, you have to sort of 'upload' your core code file to each other's programming... It's all a little tricky, and is done in either host's code room."
"That's not how it's done, though?" Oliver wondered as he crossed his arms and listened on.
"That's not even the half of it," Zed chuckled as he raised his eyebrows in annoyed surprise, "People think that's the answer to your problems, and then you can swap away and have at it... Come to find, they delete their partner. That's where the myth comes from. So many gamers think just plopping their mate's coding into theirs, manually, and vice-versa, is all it takes, but it's not. That's only the first step."
"There are multiple steps?" Oliver chuckled as he lightly shifted on his feet.
"Technically, there are two steps," Zed beamed a bashful smile, though his dominance continued to shine through, "I like to include the step of actually courting a woman, if you will... That's brain surgery in of itself."
"I don't think you'll have much of an issue, when it comes to Tessa," Oliver stated dully, though in a kind notion for Zed's sake; both boys chuckled.
"You can manually place the source of your code, in theirs, via code room, as many times as you like, but you're not going to acquire their coding fully if you don't actually follow through with the act of the swap," Zed dared gently, "Or, sex... If you will."
"So, people confuse this manual 'code-source' placement with an actual swap?" Oliver wondered.
"Exactly," Zed nodded, "They 'get busy' and realize they didn't completely understand what it all entails."
"Tessa knows all of this, right?" Oliver furrowed his eyebrows ans began to feel protective, again.
"She knows the detrimental details," Zed chuckled, he felt his heart dip lightly at the mere thought, "She doesn't know about manually transferring the source of our codes, in a code room, first, but... I'm not going to let anything escalate until that step is covered."
"So then what's this mysterious, detrimental second step you're avoiding telling me?" Oliver side-eyed Zed; Zed felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
"I'm not avoiding telling you," Zed scoffed, though his bashful self shone through. He chuckled and shook his head lightly, "I just didn't think I'd ever have to explain all of this to my girlfriend's brother. Just a little embarrassing."
"I just want peace of mind," Oliver defended gently, "If I know you and Tessa have all of this under control, I'll feel at least a little bit at ease."
"No harm done," Zed smiled as he looked down to the tiles, though he finally, and bravely fixed his eyes back to Oliver's, "The last part is the make-it or break-it of the opposed-code swapping aspect. In order for the swap to actually work, both parties have to give and receiving each other's coding at the same exact time... Basically, the final showdown, for both parties, has to be perfectly timed."
"Same exact time?" Oliver raised his eyebrows and let a wide, annoyed smile sprawl his face, "How in Holy hell are you going to accomplish that?"
"Now do you see why it's taboo?" Zed and Oliver shared a good laugh, "It's extremely delicate, both physically and emotionally. You don't imagine your first, sexual experience with someone to include a whole slew of over-communication and repeated 'are we there yet?' type questions."
"Touche," Oliver laughed as he wiped his eye free of a tear, "That's really the secret? I was certain it was a lot scarier than that."
"It seems silly, just sitting here talking about it," Zed chuckled, though his gaze pierced Oliver's, as if to suggest he took this topic very seriously, "Though, put yourself in that situation. Do you know how many senses and issues you have to cater to? Not only are you trying to please someone, you're trying to do it in such a way that doesn't end the race too abruptly or prolong it to the point of confusion. Catch my drift?" Zed squinted.
"Yeah," Oliver uttered through a nervous chuckle.
"I understand just how serious this is, Oliver," Zed stated as his playful side lightly began to lull out of the picture, "With all the scales her and I have to balance, during an act where you're supposed to let loose and forget everything, you can bet all of Sugar Rush that I'm going to take extreme care."
Oliver fell silent and raised his eyebrows in nervous concern as his bantering attitude slowly sloped away, as well. Zed dared to take a gentle step closer to Oliver, his voice grew quieter, though the sincerity in his stern voice grew darker and more dominant.
"Put this idea in your head," Zed started, he began to notice the switch between which powerful being held higher ground; Oliver began to figuratively shrink, "You're about to make love to the woman of your dreams... How can you cater to her with the looming thought of death on the forefront of your mind? How do you keep the mood? Knowing that with that one, infamous swap, that numbing moment... You could so easily murder the Queen of your world..."
Oliver fixed his scared gaze to Zed and froze. Zed gave Oliver a kind glare, as if to express he was giving him friendly aggression, an act of dominance he knew only brothers understood. He tried his hardest to convey his neutral side, to Oliver, though Zed furrowed his eyebrows and inhaled a readied breath, to continue on.
"How many guys can you name that can tell you they've been brave enough to follow through with an act like this? You've heard the nasty comments, the nay-sayers... 'It's suicide! You have a death wish'," Zed kept his eyes forever glued to Oliver's in a quiet, burning fervor, "I know you think it's just me chalking up to you, but, I want you to hear me when I say that your sister is in good hands."
"What if she decides she doesn't want to swap with you?" Oliver dared Zed's dominance, though only lightly.
"Then so be it," Zed snapped quietly as he reigned over Oliver, yet again, "There's no way in hell I'd force her to do something she was uncomfortable with."
"What if it meant her leaving you?" Oliver braved, yet again, though he knew there was no winning.
"I'd be devastated," Zed urged, his deep voice was laced with impending hurt, "I probably really WOULD turn into the blue haired jerk no one ever sees... But I would respect her decision. She knows her opinion is valid with me... But if she wants my interior coding, I'm confident in my knowledge to give it to her without destroying Sugar Rush's line of rule."
"Sounds like you've thought this through," Oliver stated, though his voice was soft and earnest; Zed cocked an eyebrow.
"Sort of what happens when you're committed to someone," Zed dared, though he kept his firm stance before Oliver, "Just pray to User you don't fall in love with a user-made gamer... The mixed, nauseatingly horrid and amazing feelings, that go with it, aren't for weary souls."
"So, are you boys gunna make out now orrr, should I come back?" Tessa suddenly droned as she strolled up, which cued both boys to jolt nearly out of their skin; Tessa largely flinched and gave Zed and Oliver a wide, beaming, incredulous smile, "User, almighty! Did I interrupt show and tell, or something?"
"Yeah, we're busy trading Pokemon cards, do you mind?" Zed playfully snapped to her, though he held his hand to his chest to express trying to calm down his racing heart.
"We're just talking," Oliver said casually, though both boys caught eyes and conveyed a silent string of conversation, as if to conclude their notions on the same page.
"Dare I ask what, exactly?" Tessa gawked with a small laugh as she crossed her arms; Zed lightly looked her over and felt his face get hot.
She was strapped in a tight tank top, a comfortable pair of skinny jeans, and his lazy brown hoodie. He felt heightened in this moment, as if talking about their rare, forbidden act of selfless love had his brain firing on added cylinders.
"Concluding yesterday's events," Oliver stated softly, though he gave Tessa a small look as if to kindly ask not to pry. Tessa's playful demeanor easily dropped like a two ton weight.
"Oh," Tessa chirped softly as she idly scanned the ground, both Oliver's large feet and Zed's lazy sandals. She inhaled a nervous breath and gave both boys an unsure smile, "M-Mom's volleyball tournament is today, don't forget."
"Oh yeah," Oliver softened, though Zed held onto an antsy aura, in which Tessa cued to, a spread of emotions that sprawled like wildfire in her circuits. Oliver lightly lulled a finger in Tessa's direction and was better at forcing a smile than Zed was, in this moment, "Aunt Taffyta and mom are heading over there, soon, right?"
"Yeah," Tessa smiled, though she only briefly glanced at Zed, "Too bad Litwak's summer vacation, when the Arcade closes, doesn't apply to Academy."
"We'll head over to EZ Living after school," Penny chimed as she finally lulled into the conversation, after playing with Lickity a little bit, in the background, "The tournament is later this afternoon."
"That'll be fun," Zed eased, though his posture remained nervously tense, with his hands in his pockets; Tessa wrinkled her nose and gave him a kind, inquisitive smile, though just as she were to open her mouth to question his quirky notions, the Academy bell rang. She slumped her shoulders as everyone gently cued in to the routine they had fallen into.
"That's us," Penny droned in an annoyed tone, "I hope this day goes by fast, I'm so excited to go to EZ Living."
"Finally a volleyball tournament we can watch and enjoy," Tessa chuckled as Oliver nudged her arm, in a kind notion. The three slowly began to peel away from Zed, though Tessa quickly stopped and peered back at him, "See you two after Academy, babe."
"See you," Zed said kindly with a gentle wave, though he wrinkled his fingers into a crumpled fist as the three turned heel. He heaved a hard, delightfully distressed sigh as Lickity bumbled up to him in an excited way, as if to express these endless days of spending quality time with her favorite bad guy would never get old. He lovingly rubbed her snout and peered down at her through kind, exhausted eyes, "C'mon, girly. Guess we should prep for the beach, huh."
"You think Selka even knows you exist anymore?" Oliver grumbled as him, Tessa and Penny all moseyed into their third hour class; Game Science.
"Why?" Tessa inquired with an annoyed smile as they wormed their way to their seats, which were closely tucked near each other.
"I don't know, he hasn't bothered you lately, has he?" Oliver wondered as they lazily plopped down to their respective seats.
"No, not at all," Tessa chuckled as she crossed her arms and zipped up Zed's hoodie all the way; she lightly shivered.
"That's one guy I would have no problem ending," Oliver muttered as he positioned himself so he could talk to the two girls; Tessa was sat directly behind him, while Penny was sat to Tessa's left.
"Believe you me," Penny muttered darkly under her breath as she sunk into her chair a little. She cocked an eyebrow and gave Oliver a knowing look she was almost thankful he didn't catch onto.
"Alright, class," their Game Science teacher, Mr. Tip, chimed, "We're starting off today's lesson with a bit of some exciting news!"
"Movie day?" Oliver mumbled only to Tessa and Penny; the two girls stifled small laughs and knowing notions towards him.
"Game Central Academy is excited to finally announce the location of this year's prom!" Mr. Tip smiled, his lanky figure was easily supported with an adorable, pinstriped bowtie.
Tessa raised her eyebrows in light surprise and felt a smile sprawl her face. She eagerly peered to Penny, in a questioning kind of way.
"I didn't know Academy held a prom," Tessa whispered, Penny cocked an eyebrow and lightly shrugged, as if to pretend she knew nothing about it.
"I-It's rather unfortunate to say that our original location's game actually got unplugged, but, I think you guys will enjoy the location the school has decided on," Mr. Tip continued as the class fell excitedly quiet, "We will be vacationing to scenic Dead Zed for one, special night!"
Tessa smiled a naive smile and long blinked once, though as if the words had left Mr. Tip's mouth in slow motion, she suddenly furrowed her eyebrows and felt her skin grow cold. She lightly dropped her hand to her desk and slowly slid her eyes to her cousin. Penny did everything in her power to act surprised by this information.
"No way!" Penny smiled to Tessa, she knew she was a horrible fibber, though she put on her best act for Zed's sake, "Did you know about this, Tess?"
"... Does it LOOK like I knew about this?" Tessa laughed as the class began to excitedly chatter amongst themselves, "Did Zed know about this? I-I feel like he definitely would have said something about it, to me, right?"
"I don't know, you should ask him!" Penny inquired with a smile as Oliver turned to face the two again.
"Maybe that's why he was acting so squirrelly this morning, in the station," Tessa muttered to herself as she looked down at her desk, "Surely he would've said something to me... He loves dances, right?"
"I mean, considering how you guys stole the dance floor at the Academy Ball," Penny daintily shrugged and felt as if she was already bursting at the seams.
"Something smells," Tessa furrowed her eyebrows, her figurative notion made her gaze idly peer forward in a wash of confusion, "I wonder why he kept this from me..."