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 13
"Yeah." Stanley answered, sounding confused. But before he could ask anything else, they heard voices.
Pendanski arrived with a woman and two men. They heard the warden concocting some stupid story about Stanley stealing her trunk, and he saw Stanley wince. The woman was stunned when she looked in the hole, and saw Stanley and Hector lying there, covered in lizards. They argued back and forth for a minute or so.
But then the warden went too far. "Excuse me. This wouldn't have happened if he wasn't a thief."
Oh, were they pissed. Stanley jumped out of the hole, scattering lizards everywhere, and Hector grabbed the trunk, more than ready to be out of there.
When he made it out, the warden tried to grab it, but he hung on for all he was worth. She tried threatening to send Stanley back to jail, but Hector knew her power over anyone was gone.
"It has his name on it!" he yelled, shocking everyone into silence. And as he watched her face pale, he held it up so she could get a good look. "See! Stan-ley Yel-nats."
And in the background, he heard Pendanski's sputtering, stunned exclamation. "He... he can't read."
Hector smiled as he let the police officer take the trunk, and heard Stanley call him. "C'mon Zero. We're getting out of here." And for the first time in, he didn't know how long, he didn't mind being called Zero. Because he knew now that it wasn't the name, it was the feeling behind it. And he could hear the warmth in Stanley's voice.
Back at camp though, things started to go downhill. He watched as the lawyer prepared to take Stanley away, and then he stood there, in silence as they both realized that there was no way she could take Hector as well. She had no right.
As he watched, Stanley told her he wasn't leaving without Hector, and Hector sighed. "I'll be okay," he said, forcing the words out past the lump in his throat.
And then Pendanski had wrapped his arm around Hector's shivering shoulders, and sneered, "We'll take good care of Hector." And Hector had wished he was back with the lizards. At least they didn't rape you first. But at least he had confirmed that it wasn't the name. Because his name sounded a thousand times worse coming out of that mouth than Zero. And he just knew that if he had to hear it again, like that, he would kill the man somehow.
But Stanley was adamant, and Hector felt like cheering when the woman asked for his file. Stanley had told him about the warden having Pendanski destroy his file, and now it was working against them. And as Pendanski walked away he heard Squid yell, "They're alive!"
The boys came swarming out of the mess hall, and Hector felt himself being grabbed by Magnet, as Stanley was hugged by Squid, and suddenly it didn't matter anymore what they called him. Because hearing Zero from them was like a breath of fresh air. They all hugged him, and he realized that these guys were his brothers.
As Pendanski came out and announced that he had no file, He felt someone grab him, and he stared up at Zig-Zag, who was standing there with a crestfallen look on his face. "Hey, man, I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry for what happened that day. I just..."
Hector shook his head. "No, man, I know what you were thinking, and it wasn't like that. There isn't anything going on between me and Stanley..." and then he peeked up at the blonde and smirked. "Yet."
Ziggy froze for a minute, then grinned down at him. "You're alright, Zero, you know. And listen, don't let what happened with Mom get you down, all right. He's a sick fucker."
Hector looked at him for a minute. "But how did you know?"
Zig-Zag blushed. "I saw it... the day we gave Caveman his nickname. I didn't realize what had happened, at first, but then when I saw the look on your face after you clocked him, I realized it wasn't what I thought it was." Then he sighed. "And then he tried the same thing with Twitch. But Twitch apparently studied martial arts at home, and knocked the bastard out again."
Hector smiled. and then they heard Mr. Sir... or Marion Sevillo, snarl as he was forced up against a wall. And then Hector laughed as he heard, "Just like you didn't know Pendanski wasn't no doctor neither."
They watched as the police took over the camp, and Stanley's lawyer told him he was coming with them. They stepped off the porch, then froze, as they heard the boom of thunder, and saw a flash of lightning. Then suddenly, it was raining.
The boys whooped, and ran out to play in the first rain to fall on Green Lake in over a hundred years. And Hector Zeroni, in his mind's eye saw Kate Barlow, and the tall black man meet on the side of the lake, and share their first kiss in almost as long. He felt Stanley hug him, and smiled, knowing it was all he felt comfortable with in front of the other guys. And then Squid picked him up, piggy-back, and twirled him around, and he laughed out loud at the pure feeling of family.
Then he smirked, as the warden came over, begging Stanley to open the trunk. And Stanley looked her right in the eye, and sneered, "Excuse me?" and slammed the trunk.