for him | skephalo, fluff

february

EDIT: If you got the notification twice or read it before it got unpublished, it was because I wrote half of this on my laptop and it didn't save so I unpublished and rewrote some things!! For some reason some people got to see the full chapter while others only saw half. Rechecking on the story I can only see half of the story too so I'm rewriting some of it since I don't remember what I wrote word for word. (You don't have to reread this if you got to see the full thing!! Just a small announcement about my upcoming book at the end)

~Zak's POV~

February!

February was a very eventful month for me and Darryl. Prom was this week, Darryl was getting adopted next week, Valentines was always next week, and I plan on going on lots of dates with Darryl this month.

Prom was on a Saturday. Today was Friday. It was tomorrow. I've never had the experience to go to prom with a partner or spend Valentines with. I wanted to make this month special for the both of us. We've been dating for four months now - almost five.

After everything, the best thing I could do was try to be the best boyfriend I could be. I was still unsure if Darryl was aloud back at my house, so playing it safe, I decided to drive with Clay after school to our destination. It was less of a date and more of a favor, but together we were planning on moving some things from the orphanage to the mansion. Still though, it would be fun helping out my boyfriend.

After school, Clay dropped Sam home and drove Darryl, George, Ant and I to the orphanage. There we loaded a few boxes of valuables into the trunk. The rest would be moved by a U-Haul. Packing the stuff, I was finally able to see the living conditions Darryl and Ant have lived under. All the kids had shared a room, some mattresses worn out, some in mediocre condition.

Three bathrooms, one with a shower and two others. One with toilets and toilets only and one with a mix of toilets of urinals. There was a playground at the back of the building. Hopscotch, hula hoops, jump ropes, chunks of chalk, and a centered basketball court seemed to be the activities of entertainment.

A nursery and a dining room were the last two rooms Clay, George and I were introduced to. We barely visited the nursery. It was a boring room anyways. Just a couple babies in cribs and a changing station. Not much to do. The dining room seemed to be under renovation. I assumed they were just tidying the room up. Scraps of paint started to peel from unfixed walls. The tables needed to be upgraded to.

"You should donate," I joke, nudging George with my elbow as we wait for Ant and Darryl to come back with their boxes.

"Mm," his mouth hums out. "I know you'll only think of me as a heartless creature, evil enough to not help these poor kids and you'll guilt trip me until the day I die if I don't."

I laugh, his answer not confirming anything. Clay seemed to be amused too. "What does that mean?" Clay laughs.

"Ehh. I'll think about it," his response fuels our laughs. A few minutes after waiting in the misty winds, Darryl and Ant return with a few cardboard boxes. In hand, Ant even had a duffel bag. As we watch them approach, a small girl with her hair in two pretty bows that wrapped her hair into pigtails, ran up to Daryl and hugged her arms around his torso. Startled, Darryl yelps and almost drops a box.

He turns his head and faces his head downwards to face the child. Her head is buried, her expression unknown. She seemed to be young, no older than 9. Ant watched next to me, laughing awkwardly at his struggling brother. "What's wrong?" he asked softly, his gentle tone causing my heart to tingle a familiar feeling.

"I don't want you to leave," the small girl cries.

Darryl lets out a small, baffled laugh. "I'm not going anywhere. Not right now at least," he says, mumbling the last parts. "I'm still going to be here for a little over a week. That's a long time, y'know! I'm just going to be out for a bit and after I come back, we can talk, 'kay?"