Meant to Be (Richard x Zee)

#11 Empathy

Zee finally arrived home. She knocked on the door to let Zizzy- or anyone who's in the house- know she wants to enter. 

The door was opened by Zuzy. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw her twin standing in the doorway, looking miserable. "Zee! What happened to you?! Why are you home so late?!" She exclaimed.

"Oh...didn't you hear? Well, I suppose you weren't paying attention to the intercom." Zee said. "What? What do you-" Zuzy started.

"I was in detention, alright?! Because of that brat Rowen." Zee snapped. "Just leave me alone!"

Zee walked away, feeling upset, angry and exasperated all at the same time. She was completely helpless, she had no idea how to fix things now. Her reputation at school was now ruined. She isn't a 'good girl' anymore. Even worse, her relationship with Richard was ruined. Now he thought she was an attention-seeking bully. There's no way she can mend their relationship anymore.

*
Hours later, the door to the room she and Zuzy shared creaked open. Zee was too busy contemplating her issues to even notice who had crept in. Maybe it was Zuzy, trying to confront her. Or even Zizzy, going to scold her for getting in detention.

But no, it wasn't either of her sisters. It was Pony.

Pony entered and shut the door silently. He made his way towards her and took a seat next to her. Zee didn't say or do anything. She couldn't care less.

"What do you want..." she muttered. "Zee...Zuzy told me you were feeling very down ever since a few days ago, and it seemed to worsen today. What happened?" Pony asked her gently.

Zee sighed. She had a strange urge to scream at Pony to leave.

"EVERY. HORRIBLE. THING. HAPPENED. TO. ME. FOR. THE. PAST. FEW. DAYS!" Zee shouted. Pony raised an eyebrow, unfazed by her outburst. "What are they?" He asked.

"Oh, you wanna know?! Fine! Let's see; a bratty new student came to our school, she forced me to not talk to Richard under any circumstances, and then she framed me for bullying her when I was literally trying to defend myself. And there's more! She made sure Richard didn't believe me, and now I'm no longer a friend of his! Haha, now look how much she just screwed up my life!" Zee replied sarcastically. "Can't believe no one found out...such a shame, it is really!"

Pony sat there, completely dumbfounded. "Who is this person...?" He asked.

"Rowen. This new girl that came recently. She's treating me like crap ever since she noticed I hang out with Richard!" Zee exclaimed. At that, she completely broke down sobbing.

Pony looked concerned. The poor girl, she had been bullied all this time and she didn't utter a word! He placed an arm around Zee.

"Hey...I'm sorry all this is happening to you, Zee." Pony said. "It isn't your fault, Pony. The damage is done. I can't fix it anymore..." sobbed Zee.

"You could. It's not impossible." said Pony.

"It is, Pony. It is. There's no way I can magically convince Richard that I'm not lying," Zee protested.

"There's always a way, Zee. You just have to find it. When the time comes, I'm sure you would find a way." Pony advised.

Zee was silent, still unconvinced. Pony thought for a moment.

"Hey, what if you monitor what Richard and Rowen do these days? Maybe from there, you can think of how you can devise your plan to mend things up. And don't forget about how both of them think, as well. You might need a plan to...outwit your target." Pony suggested.

Zee let the words sink in. Slowly, she managed to formulate a plan in her mind. She grinned, she now knew what to do.

"Thanks, Pony!" She said, giving him a hug. "I know what to do!"

Pony smiled. "That's great, Zee. Now come on, let's go for dinner." He said.