A/N: I tried my best to make the romance work ;_; I tried
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter :D
"No, your vest is still ugly to me."
Francis frowned as Rochelle repeated her statement. At that moment, Coach emerged from the lower floor's right hallway, with Nick by his side. The conman had a smug smirk on his face as Rochelle proceeded to tease Francis about his unappealing vest.
The biker grunted after his crush's last remark and quickly ascended the stairs, turning for the right hallway where his room was situated. On his way, he found Zoey lingering in the said hallway, staring at the painting hung between her door and his door.
Her damp hair was no longer constrained into a ponytail, instead was released and reached below her shoulders. She was clumsily draped in a white dress, whereas her usual attire was in a ball in her hands.
"Hey, Zoey," Francis muttered, still a bit dejected from the earlier event, and joined Zoey as she admired the painting.
"Hey," Zoey nodded, paying little attention to him.
The painting was that of a married couple. The husband was tan and dark-haired, grinning boyishly as he embraced his wife from behind, posing for the photo. The wife, on the other hand, was orange-haired and fair, a beaming smile on her face and her hands on her husband's. The wedding rings on their fingers were proof of their marriage.
Zoey was lost in the picture. Her mother and father were once as happy as the couple in the painting…
"The wife's portrait is in my room," She said. "Kameira Kolten...maiden name was Kameira Slate. Mrs Kolten's nickname must have been 'Mei' according to her sister's letter."
Francis, however, misunderstood her lost expression. He cleared his throat and said mischieviously, "You imagining you and Louis in their place?"
Red tinted the delicate pallor of her face. She turned angrily to Francis and sputtered, "C-Cut it out, Francis! What you're suggesting isn't funny!"
"I'm not suggesting anythin', Sweetie," Francis winked, only to make her blush deeper.
"I've noticed you've started assuming things between Louis and I," Zoey said bitterly. "Just because we talk a lot doesn't mean our relationship is beyond friends."
Francis chuckled, and the dark-haired girl jabbed an accusing finger in his chest. "Admit it, Francis! You're just jealous Louis isn't paying any attention to you!"
Upon hearing this remark, his chuffed expression changed into that of disbelief.
"Did you just—?!" He was at a loss for words, offended and startled.
Zoey folded her arms, a smug smirk on her face. "I swear, if Rochelle hadn't come along, you'd be—"
"I'm not gay," Francis growled, rolling his eyes. "And Rochelle is slowly realizing my awesomeness."
Zoey laughed. "Don't you mean she's realized how attached you are to that hideous vest?"
"It's not hideous," He defended. "Seriously, before this goddamn apocalypse every lady wanted a piece of me."
She looked disgusted for a few moments, before smiling. "Go change out of those clothes and let me wash them, at least. Your vest is covered in zombie blood, brains and puke."
He frowned hesitatingly, and she offered, "I'm going downstairs to do my laundry. I guess I could take your clothes along. Besides, there should be some clothes for you in the wardrobe in your room."
There was some argument and reasoning, which ended quickly with victory on Zoey's side. He grunted and trudged into his room, finding it difficult to part with his beloved vest. After changing out, he wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the door, where his teammate waited patiently.
"Thanks," He mumbled, tossing his clothes to her.
"No problem," She grinned, cradling the laundry in her hands.
Francis closed the door and headed for the bathroom. He took a five-minute shower and searched the closet. He doubted there would be any clothes fitting him, considering his great height. However, he found a pair of jeans and a polo shirt which fit him perfectly.
"It's not everyday I meet somebody as tall as me," Francis grinned at the portrait. 'The Husband' from the marriage painting outside was the previous owner of his room. The biker learned from the portrait that his name was Gerard Kolten.
"Gerard and Kameira," He smiled to himself.
He glanced up at the clock to learn it was seven-thirty. Unwilling to go downstairs and risk stumbling into Nick, the biker decided to go out to his balcony.
He stepped out and took a deep breath of fresh air. As he expected, the balcony provided a breathtaking view of the sunset. Since the height of the trees was just below the height of the balcony, they did not obstruct the scenery.
Easing himself onto a small chair, he leaned back and closed his eyes.
It was then he heard Zoey's and Rochelle's voices from the floor below him.
"Why is the washing machine near the pool?" This was easily identified as Zoey's voice.
"It's easier to hang the clothes," Rochelle replied. "See this line near the pool? It's meant for the laundry."
There was some frivolous chatting between the girls, and he listened as they stuffed their laundry into the machine.
Rochelle was giggling. "Oh my God, is that Francis' vest?"
He grimaced as Zoey chuckled. "Yes, yes it is. I offered to do his laundry tonight and managed to get him out of this hideous thing."
"It should look better on him after all that Boomer puke is out," Rochelle said. "I wonder when Nick will get rid of that used-to-be white suit. Though I doubt that thing could be saved anymore."
There was some silence, until the tan-skinned woman said abruptly, "Louis and Ellis are cooking dinner, Coach told me."
"Ellis can cook?"
There was some mischief in Rochelle's voice. "Yes, but I'm not focusing on him, dear."
At this point, Francis felt a tinge of discomfort. He wasn't actually eavesdropping, was he? There was a difference between eavesdropping and overhearing. The biker hoped he wasn't visible from their angle.
"Louis was always a really good cook," Zoey commented, her voice slowly turning suspicious. "He always cooked for us back in the saferooms…Ro, what are you trying to say?"
"Well, there's been hints, Zoey," Rochelle chuckled. "You two seem very close."
A sigh. "Rochelle, I know it looks that way, but there's nothing special going on between us. Louis just likes talking to me a lot because Francis is always an ass to him."
The biker frowned. He didn't appreciate being called an 'ass'.
"If he keeps on spending time with you like that, something's bound to happen."
"I know," Zoey sighed again. "The truth is, I'm starting to have a teeny crush on him."
A gasp of happiness came from the other woman, but the dark-haired girl hastily stammered, "I said teeny! It should wear off soon."
"I doubt that," Rochelle giggled. "I'm just going to say this right now—you and Louis are perfect together, alright? He's everything a woman wants in a man."
Francis would have sneered if he weren't eavesdropping—wait, overhearing. Louis, 'everything a woman wants in a man'? Ridiculous!
He thought Zoey would burst with laughter, but she startled him with saying contentedly, "Yes, he really is."
"By the way, Ellis doesn't still have feelings for me, does he?"
Rochelle chuckled. "Luckily for you, he doesn't. He noticed you with Louis and 'didn't want to get involved'."
After some silence, she added, "Besides, I think Ellis will be falling for somebody else pretty soon."
Curiosity took root in Francis' mind.
"Really?" Zoey sounded surprised. "He might get attracted to somebody else? But…who…?"
There was some silence, as though Rochelle wanted Zoey to guess. Francis waited in the intense quiet, until Zoey exclaimed disbelievingly, "Wait, if that's true, then it should be—"
Rochelle giggled, but Francis was still in the dark.
Then Zoey spoke again. "Are you saying Ellis will fall for a guy?"
He froze.
Rochelle finally laughed and divulged, "To be precise—Nick."
It took a few seconds for him to process the information, but when he did, it took him everything to stop the startled yelp from escaping his mouth. He contained his excitement and laughter as Rochelle described to Zoey the incident in detail between Nick and Ellis two nights ago.
Francis could no longer hold out. Soundlessly, he entered his room and slid the door shut, before laughing out loud. He laughed for about two minutes or so.
After wiping some tears from his eyes, Francis recovered and decided to go downstairs. Inside the dining room were Nick, Coach and Louis. Dinner was set out on the table, and the three men were engaged in a conversation.
"—and then Bill distracted the Tank," Louis was telling Coach when Francis opened the door.
The three men nodded at his presence and Louis resumed his story. Nick sat opposite Coach, whereas Louis sat at the far left end. There were three empty seats between he and Coach, and the gap between he and Nick was only one seat. Francis took the seat on Coach's left.
Then, Ellis walked in, followed by Rochelle and Zoey. The biker assumed he was tasked to call the girls to the table.
Ellis sat next to Nick, whereas Rochelle and Zoey sat at the remaining two places near Louis. This caused Rochelle to end up directly next to Francis (much to her annoyance) because the tan-skinned woman insisted Zoey sat next to Louis. The seven thanked God and the cooks (Louis and Ellis) before tucking into their meals.
"Remember, y'all, we better eat accordin'ly," Coach admonished, after a few healthy, scrumptious bites. "If the food here runs out or expires, I'd hate ta risk goin' back ta main land lookin' for more."
The others agreed to his wise advice.
The meal was not a chatty one, for everybody was enjoying and savoring the taste. About half an hour later, everybody was finished and Louis stood up to clean the mess.
"Louis, don't torture yourself," Zoey put a hand on his arm as he stood up. She had a small smile on her face. "Let me clean this up."
The dark-skinned man was about to protest until Rochelle insisted, "Just take her advice, Louis. I'll help her."
With much reluctance, Louis followed the other men out of the dining room. The five were making their way through the hallway when Nick noticed Francis was smirking at him like a maniac.
"What the hell are you smiling about?" Nick raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Nothin'," Francis said, snickering. He had just remembered what he overheard between Rochelle and Zoey concerning Nick and Ellis.
The conman changed his suspicious look to a glare, and this caused Ellis to quickly change the topic. "Hey, Francis, where'd your vest go? Where did ya get those new clothes?"
The biker, relieved by the diversion, explained to the hick how Zoey insisted he change out of the vest to get it cleaned, and how he found new clothes in his closet.
"Cool," Ellis muttered once he was done. "There must be some clothes in my wardrobe, too, righ'?"
"You have the master bedroom, boy," Coach reminded him. "Remember that. All that luxury just for you…geez, you're a lucky young man."
They reached the main hall at this point, and they parted ways. Francis and Ellis headed up the stairs whereas the remaining three continued straight into the left hallway.
The three guest bedrooms were right next to each other near the end of the hallway. Each room consisted of a single-bed, make-up table and wardrobe. There was no bathroom conjoining the rooms.
The two bathrooms were in separate rooms, opposite the bedroom doors. The library and entertainment room were near the starting of the hallway.
Nick probed through the small closet in his room and found some decent clothing to wear. Grabbing a towel, he removed his suit and covered his lower-half with the cloth, before dumping the dirty clothes to the side so he could do the laundry later.
He opened the door and peeked out. Satisfied the hallway was empty, he exited and hurried to the door opposite him, which was the bathroom.
After a refreshing shower and changing into comfortable clothes, Nick slipped into bed, and immediately fell fast asleep.
"Hey, Louis, do ya wanna go explore the island with me?" Ellis asked eagerly.
Louis looked up from the book he was reading. He gave the hopeful young man an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Ellis, but I don't really feel like being active anytime soon."
"Why not?"
There were a few minutes of contemplation. "Well, mainly because it's our second day here. Our second day away from all the chaos and frenzy we're already used to. I guess I just want to make it real to me, that this is actually happening, so relaxing for a few more days is ideal."
Ellis nodded, trying hard to sound understanding. "Oh, okay."
He turned to exit the library, but Louis caught the disappointment in his eyes. Before the auburn-haired man could leave, Louis called out to him. He said, "Go ahead and ask Nick. He's still in his room, though. He didn't come out for breakfast this morning."
"Thanks," Ellis smiled, leaving the library.
Once he was outside, he stared at Nick's bedroom door, which was visible from the library's entrance. The mechanic knew Nick would simply be annoyed by him if he asked, but a part of him felt happy Louis suggested to ask Nick. For some reason, Ellis felt he really wanted to explore the rest of the island with Nick, and Nick only.
He approached the door and knocked lightly.
After a few moments without answer, Ellis rapped on the door again. With a bit more force, this time.
An exasperated sigh came from within, followed with a vexed, "Who is it?"
He waited a few moments before answering with hesitance. "It's—me, Ellis."
The door opened. Nick stared at him with an eyebrow raised, not looking irritated like he sounded, instead looking bored.
"What?" He asked simply.
Ellis, feeling a bit more confident to know Nick wasn't riled, grinned. "Ya wanna explore the island with me?"
Nick now looked amused. "Why ask me, of all people?"
"What's wrong with askin' you?" Ellis frowned.
Nick subconsciously noted how adorable Ellis looked when he frowned like that. He was almost like a child.
With a smirk, Nick shrugged. "I just thought you would ask Louis or Rochelle for these kinds of activities."
"At first, I was gonna ask you, but then I figured you'd be pissed with me fer askin' you, so I invited Louis. But then Louis didn't wanna, so I came back to you."
He and Nick had a staring competition for a few minutes, before the conman released a defeated sigh and shook his head with a chuckle. "Alright, kid. Let me get my Magnum and we'll go."
"What's the Magnum for?" Ellis asked, curiously peeking in as Nick retreated to retrieve the said weapon.
"You never know what's out there," Nick said simply, loading his gun. After that was done, he proceeded out the door, with Ellis following behind him.
The duo went out the back to the pool. After a few remarks concerning the dry, dirty pool, they headed off into the forest behind the mansion.
The morning's sunshine peeked through the branches and leaves, making the forest trail a jigsaw puzzle of shades and sun. Birds, hidden somewhere in the tall trees, chirped and tweeted a refreshing song which guided them as they slowly and cautiously made their way. The wind which blew was mild and gently brushed against their skins, rustling the bushes in the process.
The flora was magnificent. The trees, flowers, grass and plants were healthy, alive and full of colour. Often they stumbled upon marvellous flowers with glaring colours, and often they would come across exotic plants (like pitcher plants), in which Ellis would try to touch, only to be refrained by Nick.
"Don't touch that," Nick snapped as the hick once again reached a hand out towards green, prickly-looking bushes. "Geez, you're like a child."
"Why can't I touch it?" Ellis asked, bewildered.
"If you do, you'll start getting rashes," Nick shook his head. He walked past the mechanic and grabbed his arm, dragging him along as he continued down the trail. "Why can't you just stop being so goddamn curious?"
Ellis chuckled, his lips curving into a sheepish smile. He increased his pace to keep up with Nick, who continued pulling him by the arm.
With each passing minute, the mechanic entertained himself with the thought that Nick didn't realize he was still holding him, and how the conman was oblivious as his hand slid from Ellis' forearm to his wrist.
The peaceful sound of trickling water came into hearing. Ahead of them was a shallow stream—it's water was crystal clear and dazzled in the morning sunshine. The water moved at a moderate speed, and the white sand and rocks rested lazily at the bottom. The two men stopped and stared into the stream, since it was in the middle of the trail.
As Nick was distracted by the stream, Ellis furtively looked down. Nick's hand was still coiled around his wrist…
"I ain't ever seen such clear water before," The hick commented. His lips curved into a cheeky smile as he proceeded with saying, "Hey, Nick? Aren't ya gonna let go'a my hand?"
He received the reaction he was looking for. The brown-haired man almost immediately relinquished his grip, and a faint red tinted his face. Ellis was amused, but pretended to be oblivious. He kneeled by the bank and plunged his hands into the stream.
"It's warm," He murmured, cupping the water before gently splashing it onto his face.
A warm smile adorned his face as a bird flew over their heads. "Geez. This is for real, Nick. We're really free from all that shit that's been happenin' ta us."
His green eyes met Nick's grey orbs, and Ellis said meaningfully, "I ain't ever felt so happy before. Not even when we went on tha' whirlybird after the bridge."
Nick broke the contact and looked up at the sky. It was so blue, and the sun was warm and gentle against his skin.
Finally, he closed his eyes, smiled, and said softly. "Yeah, me too, kid—me, too."
Francis was probing the switches to turn on the fountain at the entrance, but his efforts were futile.
"Hey, Francis," Rochelle's voice startled him. He turned around to find his crush smirking with a hand on her hip.
"Hello, beautiful," He said flirtatiously.
She rolled her dark eyes and proceeded with her objective. "Why not you and Louis head out back to the boat? Just walk along the beach or so at the front of the island."
Francis raised an eyebrow. "Why should I do that? It sounds gay."
A hearty, melodious giggle came from the bronze-skinned woman. "No, no, I'm not saying that. Just suggesting you should hang out with your best friend, is all."
"Well, Louis has his ass stuck in the library," The biker retorted, furtively retreating. "He ain't in the mood for a romantic stroll on the beach, darlin'."
Rochelle was about to open her mouth to say something, but he had already escaped. Francis slipped inside and exited through the back door, entering the woodlands behind the house.
He occupied himself with the woods, constantly murmuring "I hate" to almost everything he saw. However, he was caught off-guard by a few voices, and dived into the grass.
Immediately, he recognized the voices to belong to Nick and Ellis. He continued cautiously, until he found them sitting by the bank of a shallow, pristine river. They were next to each other, their pants rolled up and their feet in the stream. The duo was chatting casually.
Remembering the incident between them mentioned by Rochelle, Francis couldn't help but smirk. He sat down in the thick grass, his head low, and observed the two men.
"Of all the Special Infected," Nick was saying, lazily glancing at Ellis, who was staring into the water. "I hate Smokers most. Those dipshits are almost always somewhere hard for you to shoot them."
Ellis chuckled. "Smokers? They ain't nothin' ta me. But a real pain in the ass is the freakin' Jockey. It's just offensive what they do."
"Well, Jockeys seem to really like you," Nick smirked. "I'm pretty sure you were the person humped most by those creepy assholes. In fact, you're like a Special Infected magnet. Yep, kid, you're just that attractive to mutated zombies."
"Not ta Witches, I ain't," Ellis retorted. "You were the jackass among us who couldn't help but startle one'a them cryin' girls every time we came across one."
"Hey, I've always been a women magnet." Nick waggled his eyebrows.
The hick rolled his eyes, then teased, "I guess that was why there were so many Spitters around, huh? Any'a the Spitters we met so far interested ya, Nick?"
Nick's amusement changed into that of irritation. He lifted a hand and pushed Ellis' head lightly.
Ellis frowned and pushed Nick with slightly more force. The conman raised an eyebrow, and repeated Ellis' action to him. Francis watched, smirking, as the two men began to aggresively nudge each other. They were like two quarelling children.
It was then Nick pushed Ellis so hard he slipped from the bank and fell into the water.
The conman took a few moments to realize what he had done, but when he did, he burst out laughing. Ellis sat up (since the water was shallow, it only reached his stomach when he sat in the river) and looked disbelievingly at Nick.
"Hey!" He shouted childishly. The grey polo shirt and pants he found in the wardrobe were no soaked and sticking to his skin. His cap, too, was wet.
Ellis removed his cap and squeezed the excess water out. Nick continued to laugh as the hick set his cap on the bank, next to Nick's Magnum, and studied him carefully.
"Well, if I'm goin' in, might as well 'ave you in, too," Ellis snapped, grabbing Nick's wrist antagonistically.
Since Nick's feet were in the water, it made it easy for the mechanic to pull him inside. Before long, the grey-eyed man was wiping his face and eyes, spitting out the water which entered his mouth and cursing underneath his breath.
He stared irritably at Ellis, who grinned in response.
"Great," Nick grunted, looking down at his soaked white shirt which stuck to his chest. "Game's over. Let's get back and change."
"Aw," was all Ellis said. He sounded disappointed.
"Well, what do you want to do?" Nick inquired, looking at him.
He was silent for a few minutes, before his lips broke into a handsome smirk. "You ever wonder which one'a us is stronger? Let's wrestle."
"Obviously, I am." The conman rolled his eyes, speaking from the criminal experience he had.
"Let's see about that."
Suddenly, Nick found himself being pushed into the water. He fought the force holding him down, wrapping his hands around the arms pushing against his shoulders. Swiftly, he managed to make the weight above him collapse, and Nick held victory as he pushed Ellis down into the water.
The auburn-haired man struggled, but then patted Nick's arms as a sign of defeat. Nick let go and Ellis sat up, gasping for air and wiping the liquid from his face.
"I told you so," Nick flashed a winsome grin.
Ellis said nothing. He laughed and stared into Nick's grey eyes. "Alright, alright. You win, Mr. Gamblin' Man."
Francis watched with growing excitement as silence fell between them. Ellis still had the faint smile on his face, but Nick's grin faltered with each passing second. It looked as though they were lost in each other's eyes.
Then, the biker realized their position and stifled a laugh. Nick was basically on top of Ellis, since earlier he had kept the hick down in the water, and had not gotten off of him yet. They were at such close proximity…
Ellis' eyes wandered down to Nick's shirt. It stuck to him, showing off his chiseled chest and well-built body. His pants, too, were wrapped tightly around his legs, showing off their slender and fit shape. A small flicker of desire and unrecognizable feeling sparked in Ellis.
He blushed and looked down, his lips tugging into a half-frown, half-smile.
Nick noticed the awkward situation, and realized their position. As he got off of the hick, Nick now knew how his body felt such heat. The distance between their thighs was almost zero…
Without him realizing, his face flushed as well.
As though on time, Zoey popped out of nowhere, startling the three men and saving the first two from an awkward silence.
She giggled, stood by the bank and smiled at them with both hands on her hips. "You two couldn't actually be left alone, can you?"
The two men stared at her blankly, the embarrassed frowns and dark blushes still on their faces.
Zoey shook her head with a chuckle. "Well, Coach is calling you two. He wants you to help Louis clean up the pool. Poor guy can't clean it all by himself, you know."
"What happened to that greaseball?" Nick frowned, annoyed. If Ellis didn't know any better he would have said Nick was irritated their moment was interrupted.
The dark-haired girl shrugged. "Beats me. He disappeared somehow."
With a sigh, the conman got to his feet, the excess water dripping back into the river. He held a hand out to Ellis and the hick accepted it, before getting up.
Francis remained quiet as the two men followed Zoey back up the trail to the mansion. Once they were surely out of sight, he removed himself from his hiding spot and smiled madly at the shallow stream.
"Nick, Nick, Nick," Francis mumbled, wagging his head. He ran a hand over his head and whistled. "What a heaty moment, huh, buddy? Geez, those two might end up having it bad for each other…"
There were some minutes of silence, until a familiar voice startled him.
"Francis, I hate people who walk away when I'm talking to them," Rochelle warned, seriousness darkening her usually cheerful tone. The biker grinned impertinently at her and she sighed. "What are you doing here all alone?"
"Nothin'," He lied, shrugging his shoulders casually.
Rochelle looked up at the sky. "Perhaps you don't want to go out to the beach because it's still early in the day. You should try going out later, in the evening. How does that sound?"
"Well, sure, but I don't want to go out with Louis," Francis shuddered. Then, he looked at Rochelle and raised a suggestive eyebrow. "Do you like long, romantic walks on the beach?"
The dark-skinned woman saw his trick. She smiled and took it lightly. "As a matter of fact, as cliché as it sounds—I do. What are you trying to say?"
"I'd agree to going out to the beach if it means walking with you," Francis shrugged, looking down at his feet. "We could get to know each other better that way."
The aura she emitted gave Francis the hint she was entertained by his invitation. Rochelle was quiet for a while, before saying, "Alright, then. I'll give you a chance." Without giving him a chance to reply, she walked past him and up the trail towards the mansion.
Francis just watched in admiration as his crush disappeared past beautiful flora.