Song Listened To : My Kind by Hilary Duff
*Chapter 108*
"Why do they bicker so much?" Emery wondered softly to Tessa.
The two girls were sat across from each other, their gazes were thrown to across the parlor, to Zed and Oliver, who clearly were playfully arguing about something. They nudged each other and loudly laughed, in a brotherly fashion, though Tessa and Emery softly giggled in annoyance at their boyish, though endearingly immature notions, something the two boys were only comfortable being just around each other. Lickity hung near them and was excited over their energetic aura, as well. Tessa's eyes softly scanned the glorious, golden parlor for the hundredth time; high, arched ceilings were crowned with futuristic, soft light fixtures. The air was cool and crisp, though the smell of warm, chocolate covered waffle cones and the sharp scent of strong vanilla, alongside other delirious scents, were very abundant. Tessa softly fingered the rim of her small, porcelain bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. The delicate golden spoon sagged into her delicious looking treat, though she finally drew her attention back to Emery, who seemed to cue Tessa's line of eyesight at the same time.
"They're close," Tessa smiled as she glanced at the two boys again, "I'm glad Oliver has sort of a brother figure to hang out with... User knows he probably would have loved to have an older brother, aside from an older sister."
"I know Oliver loves you," Emery kindly side eyed Tessa and smiled, "He talks about you a lot, y'know."
"He does?" Tessa wrinkled her nose, as if she didn't believe it.
"Yeah," Emery chirped as she scooped up some of her ice cream, in the small spoon she had; double fudge chocolate ice cream, drizzled with specks of peanuts. Emery smiled at Tessa and continued on, "He really looks up to you."
"That's... weird," Tessa wrinkled her nose, "But, sweet... He's really grown to be an awesome individual. I'm thankful he's my little brother."
"He's very protective," Emery eyed her, "He's always worried about you and Zed... y'know."
"I don't think there's one person in this whole Arcade that's not worried about me and Zed," Tessa rolled her eyes, though not directed towards her friend, though Tessa suddenly saw an opportunity she could likely pry at, albeit gently, "So... Did you dance, at all, at prom?"
"No," Emery meeped with a bashful smirk, as if to secretly be disappointed in herself, "I-I don't think dancing is my thing."
"I didn't think so either," Tessa shook her head and laughed, "But, Zed was my teacher, so that helped... And besides... All slow dancing is, is just swaying. Even Oliver knows how to do that."
"Y-Yeah, that doesn't... Seem so bad," Emery's face turned bright pink as she bashfully looked down, though Tessa largely rolled her eyes and nudged her friend's arm.
"Alright, what's the deal," Tessa urged quietly, though Emery's surprised eyes locked onto hers, "You and Oliver look as if you're both about to explode. It's prom night! Flirt a little! It's clear you guys are just like... tip toeing around each other."
"I know, it's so painfully obvious, I'm sure even strangers can tell," Emery said in a dull tone as she looked on, towards where Zed and Oliver hung, across the ice cream parlor; they gawked at the menu and acted as if they couldn't decide what they wanted, "I just worry that it might seem a bit weird."
"Why would it be weird?" Tessa wondered, her heart raced at the fact that she was getting somewhere.
"Think about it, Tess," Emery started dully as her eyes finally locked onto Tessa's, "He's almost two arcade years younger than me."
"Oh my User, age doesn't matter once you're a fully grown gamer," Tessa gestured towards Oliver, "He's fully matured, he's not going to grow anymore than this. You're going to sit and worry about the age difference that USED to be an issue?"
"I know," Emery mumbled as she slumped her shoulders.
"Besides, imagine how I feel," Tessa giggled in an annoyed way and gestured her hand, "Zed is an infinite amount of years older than me, practically... Well, his game is four years older than I am. My mom and dad are nearly fifteen arcade years apart!"
"I keep trying to put myself in your shoes," Emery wrinkled her nose as the two girls caught eyes, "I know it doesn't matter anymore... I just hope he's not weirded out about it."
"Trust me when I say, he's not," Tessa's eyes bulged, "I thought Zed was shy... You two seem to take the cake, here."
"Tonight's definitely helped," Emery beamed and looked down, "I haven't spent much time alone, with him. Whenever we all hang out, it's in the group."
"You always seem to gravitate to him, though," Tessa side-eyed her kindly, "Always have."
"H-He just gets me," Emery shrugged softly, "Tammy and Otto are always complaining that I'm being too shy or timid, but... Oliver is always one to pull me aside and kindly reminds me not to worry, and to just be myself."
"Aww, he does that?" Tessa cooed as she looked over to her brother, yet again, "That's so sweet, I didn't know he does things like that."
"Yeah," Emery scrunched her shoulders; her cheeks remained a bashful pink, "He's sort of been my guard dog. Tammy is very good at trying to toughen me up, but... Somehow Oliver is always there to shake his head in the background and remind me to keep just being, well... Me."
"Wow," Tessa eased as she slumped her shoulders, soft knowing hit her skin, "I always knew Oliver was extremely soft-hearted, but I didn't realize any of that ever happened."
"Yeah, it's always when everyone is loud and hanging out somewhere exciting, like EZ Living," Emery daintily swirled her spoon in her hard ice cream, "I've grown quite fond of Oliver, over the past few months. He always seems to be silently making sure I'm alright. You know me, I'm not one to speak out, too loud, about my feelings."
"That's really sweet, Ems," Tessa assured, "You should talk to Oliver... Tell him how you feel. I promise you won't be disappointed."
"Trust me, I've been trying to muster the courage all night," Emery rolled her eyes, "I don't know if he feels the tension, like I am."
"It's palpable," Tessa reminded with a kind smile, "Is this how you guys felt when Zed still had his alias as Zane?"
"Yes," Emery choked with a wide smile, "It was so painful! All of us were so antsy!"
"Oliver, your ice cream could not be more annoying," Zed barked as their voices grew closer to the high table top the two girls were sat at.
"And yours could not be more boring," Oliver urged as he finally softened, when he reached the table. He glanced at Zed and noticed his body language head towards the empty seat next to Tessa. Oliver nervously glanced at the empty seat next to Emery, though he swallowed his worries and softly sat down next to her.
"You want some ice cream with those gummy worms, Ol?" Tessa urged in a dull tone.
"No," Oliver chuckled as he picked up a gummy worm and dangled it a little, "I got some for Lickity. I'm taking care of your pet. Good job."
"Lickity does not need any more sweets," Zed grumbled as he softly scoot closer to Tessa. Lickity exhaled a soft grumble and was just the perfect height, to sit at the table. She slumped to her hind quarters and eagerly peered at everyone's deliciousness before them. Zed cupped his ice cream closer to himself, and away from Lickity's wandering eyes, "You live here! You could eat one of the bushes here and it'd suit you just fine!"
"Don't think she hasn't done that," Tessa rolled her eyes, "Cause she has. It was so embarrassing."
"Did you guys enjoy the dance?" Zed wondered kindly to Emery and Oliver, though Tessa knew he was slyly about to pry at the two clam shells before them. Lickity opened her fang filled mouth and begged Oliver for a gummy worm.
"Yeah," Emery answered, with surprisingly a bit more excitement than what anyone thought, "I-I mean... I didn't do any dancing, but it was still fun."
"Yeah," Oliver agreed kindly as he glanced down to her, though he averted his attention back to Lickity, "It was fun to just hang out. The dance floor doesn't need two wreckers, anyhow."
"You guys looked so awesome, by the way," Emery urged kindly to Zed and Tessa, "I always love when you two dance."
"Thank you," Zed eased softly, though he averted his attention to Tessa and took a bite of his ice cream; he slid the spoon out of his mouth, though him and Tessa held curious, baited eye contact. Tessa softly squinted her eyes at him, as if to wonder just why he was teasing her.
"So, what are you guys going to do, tonight?" Oliver innocently wondered, though Zed largely furrowed his eyebrows and gave Oliver an incredulous look; Oliver flinched in confusion before he rolled his eyes, "Innocent question, dude, stay with me."
"After the conversation we just had?" Zed muttered as he cocked an eyebrow.
"Zed and I are going to go to the code room, held here at Stonecrest," Tessa heaved a confused giggle and shook her head, "Mom's brought us there a few times. Remember the view, in the loft there?"
"Yes," Oliver urged in hard annoyance, at the fact that he would be missing out, "You can't even see the ground, through the clouds."
"Pretty heavenly," Tessa reminded with a smile, though she bashfully glanced at Zed, who grew more and more curious.
"What are you guys going to do?" Zed wondered, as if to finally stab back at Oliver; Zed was more than pleased to see his face turn beet red.
"You should show Emery around the castle," Tessa kindly suggested, though she hoped their little plan to get them alone would work in everyone's favor, "No one will be home, I don't think."
"Except maybe Penny," Zed shrugged and curiously glanced at Tessa.
"No, her, Tammy and Otto went to EZ Living for a bon fire," Emery eased as everyone continued to idly dig at their ice cream, "At least, that's what I heard last... I-I've been to the castle, numerous times, though I've only really been in the Great Hall, the kitchen, and the back yard."
"You should show Emery uncle Rancis's garden," Tessa chimed kindly, "It's so pretty, at night."
"Yeah, I could," Oliver eased softly, though him and Emery caught eyes with bashful smiles. Oliver looked away, to give Lickity more gummy worms, in which she pleadingly begged for, though Emery looked down to her ice cream with a girly smile she was failing to hide.
The four continued to chatter, the lively parlor was full of energetic youth, the nightlife of Stonecrest was always full of fast paced, edgy life. Soon, spoons clanked against the bottoms of their bowls and Lickity was eager to sniff out any dregs. Before too long, the four slowly began to stand, though they all hung near their table in baited wait, as if splitting from each other was the start of embarking into the unknown, as if Oliver and Zed were now uncertain of the dare they had brought upon themselves. They stood near each other, as if they were their own life line back to sanity, though Zed nervously eyed Tessa from time to time; her antics, as she talked, grew more and more antsy and energetic, as if she were heightened on his palpable wavelength. Zed would curiously peer to Oliver, and wondered if he was getting the same vibe from Emery, though with how calm and reserved the two usually were, he knew reading past them was likely impossible.
Zed heaved a hard, silent sigh and shook his head softly; he wondered where this sudden, billowing urge came from, or if it had maybe been there all along, and this slow and painful death was easily hunting him down. He couldn't help but gloss his eyes over Tessa; he inwardly scolded himself for suddenly feeling so needy, so urgent to split away and steal his Queen from the world. He squinted his eyes lightly and tried his ultimate hardest to find another topic, in his mind, to hone in on, though the words falling from each of their mouths seemingly dripped away from his existence. They were lost in amused laughter; the three easily found distraction from the eventful night that would continue on and on, well beyond their little group. Zed continued to scold himself; he knew nothing was going to come of his and Tessa's night together, with the additive still hooked in his brain coding. He finally inhaled a reviving breath and was somewhat successful in shaking his brooding, boiling thoughts.
"I don't know, you'd have to ask Zed," Tessa eased; suddenly Zed felt all his hard work slip down the drain as her alluring eyes gripped his, as if she had upped her game.
"Uh," Zed choked nervously as his face grew an embarrassed shade of red. His heart jumped as Tessa tucked some of her silky hair behind her ear and cocked an eyebrow.
"We're talking about code swapping," Emery blurted, though Oliver and Tessa largely furrowed their eyebrows and peered to Zed expectantly, as if to wonder just what he'd do next.
"O-Oh... Wait, what?" Zed worried as he darted his eyes between the three before him; they easily burst out in kind laughter.
"Someone's not paying attention," Tessa muttered as she glanced about his strong chest. His bold, handsome blue tie was still tucked neat and tidy into his coat, "Emery was asking if you've seen other dragons, of Lickity's breed, around your old town?"
"Oh, uh... No, I haven't," Zed eased a bashful smile and nervously tucked his hands into his pockets; they began to lightly tremble.
"You gunna be good?" Oliver muttered under his breath after a few moments. Emery, Tessa and Lickity continued to chatter about Dead Zed as they head for the door. The two boys followed behind.
"Leave me be," Zed rolled his eyes and beamed Oliver an annoyed smile.
"Why are you acting all nervous?" Oliver wondered slyly, "You worried you'll, oh I don't know... Lose?"
"Let me make this clear, really fast," Zed held out his hands, "I'm not worried to lose. I'm a big boy. I know how to lose and be a man about it."
"So what is it then," Oliver gestured his hand in growing annoyance, "You're over here in la-la land. What's your deal?"
"My deal is, Tessa is literally one inch away from ridding me of this stupid additive, in my coding," Zed smirked Oliver a look as if to suggest he didn't realize just how close the two were approaching being able to properly code swap, without the added issues, "This whole time, I thought I was going to be ready for this moment, but now that I'm practically on the brink of it, I'm genuinely terrified."
"Terrified!" Oliver blurted, though quietly so the two girls wouldn't hear their conversation. The five stepped out into Stonecrest's cooler, though still humid, nighttime summer air, "It can't be that difficult! You worried you'll uh... Fall short?"
"Oliver," Zed complained through a hard, long sigh as he looked up to the sky. Oliver exhaled a hard few laughs as Zed remained silent for dramatic effect. Finally Zed gave Oliver his wildly annoyed eye contact, though his adorable smile never faltered, "I'm not worried about myself being inadequate, if you must bring that up, you immature piece of-"
"I didn't bring it up, you did," Oliver laughed harder; Zed cued to his contagious laughter and smiled a wide grin down to his feet, as if he wanted so badly to remain annoyed, though he couldn't.
"C'mon, Ol, in all serious," Zed snapped his fingers a few times by Oliver's ear, to get his attention in an obnoxious way. Oliver laughed and shooed his hand away, though he kept his sharp attention to his brotherly figure, "This is your sister we're talking about. I'm not worried about my performance, here... I-I'm worried about something a liiiittle bit more life threatening, if I must remind you."
"You'll be fine," Oliver waved his hand, though his demeanor softened with Zed's, "Trust me... I'm worried too, but... I trust you guys. I'm sure it'll work out."
"It's not going to happen tonight, anyhow," Zed scoffed as they slowly began to near the three girls; they hung near the edge of the sidewalk outside the parlor.
"You sure?" Oliver side-eyed Zed in hard annoyance, "Y'looked as if you were 'bout ready to pounce on her, a second ago."
"I have so much on my mind," Zed hissed through a hard, raspy sigh as he shook his head and shoved his hands into his pants pockets.
"I hear yah... I probably don't have as many worries as you, but," Oliver nodded in agreement, "Guess tomorrow will say a lot, about where we all stand."
"I minus well just give you my light-bike now, huh," Zed muttered in dismay, though Oliver rolled his eyes.
"I have my own obstacles to hurdle over, too, y'know. Maybe not as detrimental, but, you know me," Oliver chuckled.
"Too painfully shy to operate?" Zed cocked an eyebrow, though Oliver rolled his eyes as the two boys finally eased into Tessa's and Emery's quiet conversation.
"I was thinking maybe Emery and Oliver can take Lickity back to the castle, and Lickity can just find her way back to us afterwards?" Tessa wondered, though she slyly glanced at Oliver, "Give Ems the grand tour of the sky."
"I don't know how to fly Lickity," Oliver worried, his spine stiffened, though Tessa largely furrowed her eyebrows and ran her larger hand over Lickity's snout.
"You don't need to know how to 'fly' her, she's not inanimate. She'll take you to the castle and drop you guys off," Tessa assured, "I don't think Zed is willing to give up his light-bike."
"Yet," Oliver choked into his fist, though Zed shot him a subtle glare of a side-eye, "I-I guess we could... Are you okay with that, Ems?"
"I'm sure it'd be fine," Emery smiled to Lickity, though she averted her attention back to Oliver with eager eyes. He nodded with a small shrug and exhaled a nervous breath.
"Yeah, I-I don't think Lickity would do anything to harm us," Oliver assured, though Zed elbowed him lightly and gave Lickity a knowing smirk.
"Now whose nervous," Zed whispered barely, though Oliver grit his teeth and hissed a silent, annoyed notion to him.
"Well," Tessa finally eased as she slid her curious eye contact to Zed, "We should probably go find the code room... The game has been on auto-pilot for almost five hours, now."
"Mom has a three hour rule," Oliver worried, though he beamed Tessa an obnoxious smile, "Already breaking your own rules, eh?"
"The three hour rule isn't my rule," Tessa wagged her finger lightly as everyone gently laughed, "Besides, everything is fine. But, we should probably go..."
"Sounds good," Oliver shrugged his hands into his pockets and peered down at Emery, who gave him a curious smile in return, "You nervous?"
"Sort of," Emery giggled as Lickity approached them softly. She lightly bent down so to prepare to board her two passengers.
"Don't be, it's gorgeous up there," Oliver assured, "If Lickity randomly does a barrel roll, though, I will personally tab into the code room and teleport you to the outlands."
"She's not going to pull any stunts on you, I promise," Tessa said through a hard laugh, though she leaned into Zed's warm presence as he came beside her.
"Hold on tight!" Zed assured as the two finally climbed aboard Lickity, with Oliver in the front. Emery tightly clung her arms around Oliver's center as Lickity sprawled her wings, to prepare to leave the city.
"See you guys tomorrow, have fun!" Tessa assured as Lickity exhaled an excited noise and perked her ears.
"Don't get into too much trouble," Oliver pointed to the two, though he eyed Zed.
Zed grumbled a loud noise and waved his hand downward, as if to shoo away his words, though before too much time had passed, Lickity gently flapped her wings and, as quick as she was, she took to the glorious, cloudy, nighttime sky. The undersides of the clouds were illuminated by the busy city life. Zed and Tessa laughed softly as Lickity quickly soared above the sky scrapers and floated out of sight, in the direction of Sugar Rush's main castle; their home. Tessa crossed her arms and bit her bottom lip in girly glee, for Emery's sake, though she finally let the realization hit her. Her and Zed were now completely alone. She softly drew her attention to him, as if this moment was slowly becoming sticky. She gave him a kind, though almost nervous smile, and tucked her long hair behind her right ear.
"I'm excited to see this 'house on the clouds' you keep talking about," Zed assured kindly, though the look of naive coy hung in his brimming demeanor. He tucked his hand into his coat and pulled out the baton, in which was his light-cycle.
"It's gorgeous," Tessa assured as Zed softly took a step off of the side walk and onto the shoulder of the street, so to avoid traffic, "Especially in the morning... The sunrise, from the loft, is to die for."
"I can't wait," Zed said, though in such a tone as if to almost sound pleading; it hit Tessa's skin like a sudden realization, as if she had just came out of a cloud she was flying blind through.
She raised her eyebrows in poised surprise as Zed gave her a knowing look, out of the corner of his eye. Before she could rush to agree, she was glad he interrupted her and opened his light-cycle. With a whir of a sound, and the hot blue, glitching wires that all clanked and melted together, to form his flawless bike, she flinched as he largely stepped aside and let his light-bike do all the work. It finally all came together, in it's proper, seamless fashion, and hung in the ready for the two. Zed gently motioned to it, though, much to Tessa's dismay, he was the first to mount it. Tessa furrowed her eyebrows, as if he had suddenly, though unknowingly, challenged her. She cocked an eyebrow and slowly slunk to the side of his bike. Zed gave her his eye contact, though he scrunched his face in kind confusion as she stepped ahead of him, besides the bike. As easily as she could, she softly half-sat in the seat, before Zed, and relaxed her position. Zed sat up in a whirl of delightful worry, though he kept his nervous eyes trained to hers. He opened his mouth to speak out, purely out of kind wonder, though he softly jolted as she gripped his hot blue tie and just barely tugged on it, as if to get a point across.
"This time, I'm driving," Tessa ordered, though she gave him a kind, daring smirk. She could tell he was suddenly having to feel his way through the dark, now.
"Th-the bike?" Was all Zed could manage; he largely swallowed and kept his heightened gaze to Tessa, though he flinched once she slumped her shoulders and let out a soft laugh.
"No, you," Tessa uttered in annoyance, "Yes, the bike! C'mon, if I can fly a dragon, how hard is driving a light-cycle going to be."
"I-I wasn't going to say no... You can take over, from here," Zed eased in a dark tone as he tilted his head down slightly and gave her a knowing look; she lightly, and just barely cocked an eyebrow as she bit down on the tip of her tongue, as if she wanted so badly to reply in their string of insinuations that would likely drive them more mad, though she gave him a thankful smile and released his tie.
"Thank you," Tessa chirped with a kind, albeit teasing smile. She softly scoot off the bike before she re-mounted it and got comfortable. Zed largely rolled his eyes and peered up to the sky, as if to ask User to have mercy on his little soul as he softly slid his hands to the dip of Tessa's small waist. His fingers itched to hold her hips, though he drew his arms tighter around her center and hoped this wouldn't be too rocky of a ride.
"It's similar to flying, to be honest," Zed eased into her ear, over her shoulder. She softly tilted her head into the side of his and was eager to feel his warm breath on her skin. She smiled slyly and peered down to the gauges. She could practically hear the beaming smile in Zed's voice, as he continued, "Y'lean in to keep it going. Pull the handles for the brakes. Otherwise, you'll get the feel for it."
"Hold on tight," Tessa uttered to him, over her shoulder as she finally cranked the engine of the light-cycle.
She remained solid as it roared to life, and brought on more curious onlookers, though before she could second-guess just where this bike would lead, she eased it's futuristic body forward, with it's smooth, lulling hum. She bit her bottom lip into her mouth, excitedly, and finally merged into traffic, and just as she got her bearings, and began to head in the right direction of their next destination, she felt her stomach continue to line with those hyper, silver-coded butterflies, like prior. She wondered just what kind of trouble all of this freedom would get her into.