Staying Silent
Whyteroze28
Why is Hector Zeroni so quiet, and why does Pendanski seem to hate him so much? Zero/Stanley I hope you like the story, please R/R
I obviously don't own these guys, but I think they're so cute together
Chapter 6
Hector heard the thunder rumbling that morning, but ignored it. It didn't rain at Camp Green Lake. He almost felt sorry for the other guys though. They sounded so hopeful. He turned back to his hole, ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach.
But then he looked up as he heard Magnet yell. He realized that the sticky fingered thief had stolen Mr. Sir's sunflower seeds, and his heart sank even lower as Zigzag threw the bag to Stanley. He watched Stanley try to cover it up, but it was no use. He watched with a sigh as Mr. Sir took Stanley back towards camp. Then he knew suddenly what had to be done. He dragged himself out of his hole, and grabbed Stanley's shovel.
Zig-Zag stared at him, then asked what he was doing.
Hector just looked at him, willing the boy to think it through. He knew that Stanley wouldn't get back here soon, probably not until almost lunchtime or later. Why should he have spend all that time digging, on top of whatever punishment he was getting from Mr. Sir and the warden? He'd be out here until midnight at that rate.
Ziggy nodded, almost shamefully, and went back to his own hole.
By the time Stanley came back, his hole was done, and Hector was back in his. He watched Stanley telling the guys that nothing had happened, and then felt a small rush of pride at the joy in the older boy's voice when he saw that his hole was done. He watched, as the guys told Stanley that he'd done it, and couldn't help feeling flustered when Stanley came over and sat down on the edge of his hole.
"Hey, Zero. Why'd you dig my hole, man?" Hector sigh softly, as he heard the now hated nickname, but looked up at Stanley.
"You didn't steal the sunflower seeds." He shook his head slightly, feeling the familiar warmth spread throughout his body as Stanley stared at him.
"Yeah, but neither did you." Hector watched as he turned away, absent-mindedly tossing a small pebble off to the side.
Hector took a chance, hoping that he wasn't going to regret what he said, as he stared up at the bigger boy. He swallowed, and said, "You didn't steal the shoes."
He saw Stanley's eyes widen for a second, and he knew he had been right. He knew it was the shoes that connected them... but now it was more. He watched Stanley glance down, and an unreadable expression crossed his face.
"Still want to learn how to read?" Hector nodded slowly, unable to believe that he was finally getting his chance to be close to the other boy.
Stanley smiled softly, and held out his hand. "Alright, man." Hector couldn't help it. He felt his face break into the first real smile he'd felt in a long time. He tried not to hold the handshake for longer than he should, but wasn't sure if he'd broken it soon enough, because he thought he saw a flush of embarrassment on Stanley's face when they let go.
That night at dinner, he got a good look at Mr. Sir's punishment. He watched as Squid asked what happened, and felt Stanley get tense. He knew, somehow, that Stanley thought this was his fault. But Hector knew better. It was Magnet's, and the other guys. They let Stanley take the blame, because he was willing. Although one good thing seemed to come out of this mess. Stanley didn't seem so keen on the warden anymore.
Hector could have cried the next morning when Mr. Sir filled their canteens. He watched as the sadistic man poured what should have been Stanley's water on the ground. He stepped up to get his own, but noticed that Stanley seemed to be lost in thought. Especially since he sat down on the edge of Hector's hole again, instead of his own.
Hector offered him a drink, but even as he took the bottle, he was gazing out into the lakebed. He didn't even take a drink before he turned to look at Hector, and asked about that damn gold tube. Of course he remembered it. It had led to that shower incident. He'd never forget that.
Then Stanley said something that made Hector pause. He thought it might have been a tube of lipstick that belonged to Kate Barlow.
Hector gulped slightly before asking, "Kissin' Kate Barlow?"
If Stanley noticed that Hector had flushed slightly at the word 'kissin', he didn't show it. He just smiled, and repeated the name softly. Hector felt his skin get darker. Hearing Stanley say it in that husky whisper made him feel even warmer.
And they were due for their first reading lesson that afternoon.