Beautiful Loser

Zane x Gene Ch.11

"You coming kid?"
"Y-Yea..! J-Just..gimme a sec.." Zane panted, taking a big breath from his inhaler and pausing. He stood there in the center of the sidewalk, right in front of Sasha and Gene. Gene looked over his Rose's shoulder had gave a light chuckle..Zane's cheeks were a deep red, and he was attempting to catch his breath.
"It may be wise to take a small break from running...plus, we've got all night! Why rush?" The Shadow Knight leader chuckled softly and set a hand on Zane's shoulder.
"Calm down Rose..here, sit down." Gene laughed a bit and sat the short goth onto one of the benches nearby. By now, the Shadow Knights were almost to the plaza, where the movie theater was, so thankfully..they wouldn't have much more running to do. Zane gave a relieved sigh and sat down onto the white wood bench, resting his head back. Zenix sat down on his right, the spikes on the back of his head folded back and calm. He didn't seem too out of breath, despite the fact that he had been at the front of the group, running the fastest. Gene and Sasha sat on the goth's right, he silver haired beauty holding the potted rose close, and Gene watching her like a hawk. He had begun to trust the potted rose to her, since she was kinda always the one carrying it around all of the time. Zane looked down to the small black flower..and smiled softly.
"Hey, it's starting to bloom." Indeed he was...The black rose had opened up a bit, the leaves perking up a bit and the thorns dulled. The petals were soft looking and pursed, opening just a bit.
"Does it need water?" Zane asked, tilting his head and smiling. Gene looked to the potted plant and then back to him.
"Nah..you don't." He mumbled with a chuckle, thankful that Zane didn't quite catch on to what he had said. The goth sighed softly and relaxed, yawning a bit and catching Zenix's attention.
"Eh? You tired runt?" The spike haired sophomore asked, cocking an eyebrow. Zane blinked and gasped, shaking his head and faking a smile.
"O-Of course not! I stay up later than this every night!" He stated defiantly with that stuffy voice of his. Zenix and Gene looked to each other, before smirking and looking back down.
"That so?" Gene asked, earning a nervous nod from the freshman. The black haired junior chuckled and reach over, playfully ruffling up Zane's already messy charcoal hair.
"A-Ack! Hey!"
"Here's another rule of the Shadow Knight code. Never lie to each other." He smirked, wrapping an arm over Zane's shoulder.
"ESPECIALLY your leader." Zane felt his cheeks grow hot, but...he didn't pull away. He rested against the Shadow Knight leader's chest, his one working eye widening as Zenix too leaned in. Zenix rested his side against Zane's, closing his Crimson eyes and crossing his legs. Gene smirked as Zane attempted to prove himself innocent.
"R-Really! I do stay up this..late.." Zane shrunk back a bit as Gene narrowed his eyes, still having that sly smirk. Soon, the freshman couldn't help but give in to THAT look.
"N-Nghhh...ok I don't...my mother always has me on a bedtime. Sometimes I will stay up late on my laptop though!"
"But normally?"
"Normally I...fall asleep before I get to it..." Zane giggled nervously and reached back, his had slipping under his turtle neck and scratching the back of his neck. Gene soon chuckled and shook his head.
"Good Rose.." He closed his hypnotic teal eyes with a happy purr..Sasha as well joining in on the cuddle pile by having her back against Gene's side and the pot snuggled comfortably in her arms. For a few minutes...Zane could of swore that they all fell asleep and took a short nap...though suddenly, he was shaken awake.
"Wake up kid we gotta go!" Zane gave a low groan, usually being a bit of a grump when woken up. The charcoal haired teenager gave a low grumble and rolled onto his other side, yet he was indeed awake, his eye was just closed. He noticed that he was laying down on the bench with his head in someone's lap. Judging from the texture of their pants and by the thickness, it was definitely Sasha.
"Hm..he doesn't seem to want to get up.." Zenix grumbled lowly and sat near where Zane's legs were, moving them inwards so he could see her.
"He can sleep in one of the movie theater rooms. But we need to get there first!" Zane growled. Though, another voice chipped in, a much deeper sleeker voice.
"I'll just carry him like I did last night. He's light as a feather..well, kinda. When he's not choking me when he's holding on at least." Gene chuckled deeply, leaning down to the other. Zane felt himself picked up into his strong arms, a bit in a bridal style. He remembered being held like this earlier that day...when Gene had first helped him after being beat up by Balto. Once Zane was picked up, he heard Zenix and Sasha stand up.
"Let's walk from here. I don't wanna split up and I don't wanna wake him by running." Zane heard the junior give a low chuckle as he heard Zenix whine.
"Ugh...fiiiinee.." It was obvious however, that there was a smile on Zenix's face. Gene seemed to return the smile, but began to walk forwards. For the lack of wanting to walk, Zane rested in Gene's arms, a soft smile hiding under that black and white mask he wore. Gene meanwhile looked down at his little rose..Zane looked so peaceful and elegant. To be honest, Gene thought Zane looked really nice in white...not to mention he admired the new mask. To be honest, he really wanted to rip it off of his face and tear it to shreds...just so he'd be able to see that beautiful smile. Not only that but he wanted to move his hair to expose that gorgeous snow white eye of his. However, he respected the goth's want to keep both his face and his eye hidden...so he did not touch either. However, Zane began to get a bit of a cramp in his leg, so he started to squirm.
"G-Gene..you can put me down now." He giggled stuffily. Gene smiled and gently set the goth onto his feet, patting his head softly.
"Nice new turtle neck by the way...I forgot to tell you. Anyways, all we gotta do is get up this hill and we'll be in the plaza." Zane looked up. They were currently walking along the side of a highway. Right now, it was quiet, a car only zooming past every ten minutes, however, Gene turned to the thick woods on their left. On either side of the highway, there were thick hills and drops of wilderness. Once you get to the top of the hill, it opened up to all the shops and restaurants, including a Walmart, movie theater, countless restaurants and a big Mall. However...the dark highway was actually pretty scary from Zane's point of view. He stayed close between Gene and Zenix, with Sasha walking right behind him. The only thing separating Zane from the huge layer of woods, was Gene.
"Stay close Rose..." Gene said softly, one of his large hands gently on Zane's shoulder. Zane nodded nervously and kept between him and the spike haired sophomore. However...they all paused. A deep dark sound resonated from their right..on the highway.
It was the deep angry growl of a territorial wolf.
"Z-Zane.." Gene stuttered a bit, his grip tightening on Zane's shoulder.
"I want you to run..take your inhaler AS you run, don't stop...go to the movie theater and hide in the bathroom..." Zane nodded nervously. He slowly turned towards where the deep growls were coming from. However...it wasn't just a normal old wolf. It was a huge bulky werewolf, standing in the middle of the empty dark highway. Zane stiffened and froze...he just couldn't run, not now. After his encounter with Balto, he knew he wouldn't be able to face another werewolf, never less a bigger more muscular snarling one...
"Zane...go.."
"I......can't...." Zenix had attempted to nudge him, but Zane's blood ran cold. That's when Gene and Zenix both realized something...if Zane had ran, the werewolf would of caught him. Over time, the werewolf had slowly begun to walk in front of the group, it's fluffy tail straight as a pole behind it. Zane stepped back, his back just barely brushing against the flower pot in Sasha's arms. The sudden touch had spooked the poor goth, sending him to the ground with a soft yelp. This set the werewolf off, who now started to sprint towards them. Keep in mind, it was not very far away, maybe a single yard. So the moment it ran, they stepped back, however...Gene and Zane faltered. The two had been on the edge of the railing where the hill was, and well..there was a small section broken off. Zane, not quite being the most balanced person, tripped over his feet and fell down the steep hill, rolling a few times and landing with a big loud thump. Gene and Zenix immediately ran after him, Sasha on the other hand was no where to be found. Zenix gently lifted the goth to his feet, looking up to the top of the hill. Oddly enough, the werewolf didn't stop, and ran down the hill with amazing balance. With a terrified shriek, Zane bolted, with Gene and Zenix behind him. Normally, Zane was able to run pretty fast, but now..he was scared. So you could say he was running double his speed, enough to keep up with the sophomore and junior. The three Shadow Knights had ran for a while, occasionally attempting to split and and confuse the werewolf...but unfortunately, it'd only focus on Zane and force the other two to run with him in attempt to protect the youngest. Zane felt himself starting to struggle for his hair, and began to claw at his turtle neck pocket for that blessed inhaler he always carried around, before giving a terrified shriek. He once again, tripped down a huge hill. However this...was a very different hill. On his way down, he could we pieces of car parts and metal. He could hear pain filled grunts and yells behind him as a Gene and Zenix fell down as well, however, he heard a sickening bang...the sound of a head smacking against metal.
Zane had laid there on the dirty ground for a while..cringing whenever he'd try to move. He heard the soft mumble of words buzzing around him...the sound of a crowd. As if he had just ran into a confused classroom. Suddenly, a smooth male calm voice echoed through the air and met his ears.
"Well well well...what do we have here?" There was a sneer in the voice, and a teasing tone.
First, it was the stench. Zane cringed and wrinkled his nose...cherry. He could smell the thick cherry pie sort of smell you'd have after walking into a sweet shop. However, there were more smells. Everything smelled so sweet and candy-like...you'd think he'd love the smell, due to loving sweet and sugary foods. But this was just overwhelming..the normally tangy sweet cherry stench, slowly began to change to that disgusting cherry medicine smell you'd have when you were sick and needed to drink that disgusting medicine from a teaspoon. Zane soon managed to open his one working icy eye, looking upwards. His heart stopped...for he could see bright light wine colored eyes staring back at him, and a white toothy smirk.
"Hey there little guy..." That same smooth teasing voice purred to him, scaring the freshman to death. God that breath...
Zane gave a terrified shriek and jumped backwards, landing on his backside and hands as he began to crawl backwards from the figure. Even if it were nighttime, he could clearly see the figure due to the big bonfire in the clearing. He and the other two Shadow Knights seemed to have fallen into a junkyard...a rather big and populated junk yard at that. The figure seemed his exact height, being a bit short and chubby it seemed. He had deep flowing burgundy hair that kinda flowed in the same way Dante's did, with a small pointing up ahoge in the back. However...Zane was a little bit more confused with his skin tone. It was a deep dark maroon...The freshman froze. He looked like one of the students from Modmo High! Not only was it an expensive school...but more than seventy percent of the population there were Candy People. They weren't rare...like werewolves and meifwas, they were just another race among humans in their area. However, Candy people were more exotic, due to being from a whole other country, of which was very rich and royal-like. Guess that explained the overwhelming cherry stench. The figure smirked again, leaning down a bit.
"You're a new face...don't think I've seen you hangin around with the Shadow Knights before." Zane stumbled a bit as he attempted to stand, only ending up backing up against a broken down car.
"I-I'm...u-um..." The figure laughed a bit at his pitiful attempt to speak.
"He is one of my new recruits..." A deep smooth voice came from Zane's right. It was Gene. He had stood up and was slowly walking towards the freshman, a calm cool look on his pale face. However, Zane felt his heart stop in shock. On his left, Zenix lay face down on the ground, his brown spiked hair stained with blood. Apparently on his way down...Zenix had hit his head off of one of the numerous broken down car and metal pieces. Zane gulped and looked up to the Shadow Knight leader once he stood next to him..shaking a bit and starting to scan the area. There were numerous figures hidden in the darkness that the fire failed to expel...one of which began to walk closer, a bright white toothy grin on it. Gene gave a clearly fake smile, slowly beginning to walk towards it as well.
"Patches."
"Genieeee...you're lookin good.." A teasing raspy voice purred out to the junior. The figure walked out into the hot light of the fire, exposing itself to the gaze of the freshman goth. The figure was taller than the first...and looked a bit older. However, he didn't seem older than a senior. Judging from his size and look...he seemed to also be a junior. The figure had apple green skin and forest green hair, as well as lime yellowish eyes. He seemed to as well have darker green shades...spots. There was a large spot over his left eye, right cheek, and they splotched all over his hands and arms. Then...came the smell. The scent hit Zane like a train, making him wrinkle his nose a bit in disgust. The figure smelled so sour and tangy...like those sour patch kid gummies you'd dare someone to hold on their tongue as long as they could. The figure seemed to have a dark green blush, that just looked like a normal tan from far away.
The two stopped a few feet away from each other, Patches having a sneer while Gene had a fake smile.
"How has your little group been?"
"It's a gang Patches...and it's been well. We have a new recruit, as you can tell."
"Oh?" The green figure cocked his head to see behind the black haired junior, those piercing eyes staring directly into Zane's once icy terrified eye. Patches grinned creepily, moving his hand out of his fancy sweater pocket and making a 'come here' motion with his pointer finger.
"Come here little one..let me see you." Zane froze and looked to Gene, who of which nodded with a worried expression. Not wanting to embarrass Gene, Zane nervously got to his feet and began to walk to the two. He kept his hands in his pockets...gripping that pocket knife he had brought with him tightly, his finger on the trigger just in case. Zane stepped next to Gene, wanting so bad just to cuddle up and hide in those big strong arms of his..yet he kept a calm composure. Patches smirked and looked the freshman up and down, giving a low purr and circling the charcoal haired freshman.
"Hmm..~ Quite a good figure. A little short and..-" Zane felt a scream forming in his throat as he suddenly felt hands on his chest and stomach, that raspy voice echoing softly from behind his head.
"Chubby, as I figured." Zane heard a deep raspy chuckle...sending him into utter blush and goosebumps...However his blush was hidden by his mask. The hands removed themselves as Patches stepped back to his spot, suddenly reaching forwards and stroking through a lock of Zane's charcoal black hair. A disgusted expression formed on Zane's face...not only did he absolutely despise being touched like this by a total stranger, but Patches' breath was absolutely...terrible. The stench was a bitter sour apple, so pungent that it stung Zane's nose and eyes a bit, leaving a bad taste in his mouth.
"Ooh...soft hair, and nice pale skin.." He mumbled with that creepy smile...his lime eyes examining the disgusted look on the freshman's face...and grinning. He chuckled and suddenly..put a hand to his mask.
"Sorry about that darling, I attempt to eat mints..but unfortunately they only make my breath worse.." He purred into the other's face..purposely practically strangling the goth with his breath. Zane's chest tightened and at one point, he looked away..only for Gene to give him a soft nudge, urging him to face the green figure. Without warning however...Patches began to tug off Zane's mask.
"Let's see what hides-"
"N-No-" Zane thought about his words..still wanting to see polite.
"P-Please...I'd rather not." Patches seemed to freeze, before beginning to chuckle.
"Heh! And what a voice at that!" The candy people in the junk yard began to laugh, including the Cherry, who of which was now sitting atop a broken rusted car. They were making fun of his stuffy voice...soon, Gene spoke up.
"He's a freshman."
"Ah, that explains it." Patches chuckled, but soon sighed....lifting his head. This time, a new expression bore on his face. He wasn't amused...he had a smile, but his eyes were narrowed.
"So...what were you Shadow Knights doing in Sugar Skull's territory?" If he wasn't in such a scary situation, Zane knew he would of laughed at such a girly not threatening gang name. However, he remained quiet, an amused smile forming and hiding under his black and white mask. Gene lowered his head a bit, before soon lifting it and pointing to a figure behind him. Zane followed his hand and saw the tall muscular werewolf from before...The werewolf had a foot on top of the now awake Zenix's back, keeping him pinned to the ground. Zenix meanwhile, was cringing and gripping his head, glaring up at the wolf and looking to his leader and fellow Shadow Knight with a nervous expression. Gene was carefully making sure not to stutter or stumble over his words..
"We were making our nightly rounds, and one of yours chased us into the woods."
"He did?" Patches turned to the werewolf, smirking a bit.
"How naughty of you Eli." The werewolf seemed to cock his head and ears a bit, a confused look on his face. He spoke...a deep rumbling voice coming from his sharp toothed mouth.
"Eh..? But Patches...you-"
"Hmm...now normally I have Eli do things for a reason." Patches tapped a finger to his chin, tilting his head and faking a confused thinking expression.
"Hmmmmm....oh yes! I remember!" He grinned, putting his splotched green hands on his own hips.
"I wanted to ask you something Genie. Why did you run right past me earlier? You know...I called to you." Gene froze up, managing a calm smirk, crossing his arms.
"Ah, sorry about that. We were in a hurry and I didn't seem to notice." Thankfully...Patches chuckled, that angry expression slowly softening into his 'normal' creepy smile.
"Ah, that explains it. You ARE pretty fast after all.." He purred, cocking his head...but suddenly focusing on Zane.
"So...before I let you go...who is this small little goth?" Zane blinked and went to speak, before Gene spoke first.
"His name is Zane Reggan."
"Reggan? Haven't heard that name before..." Gene looked down to Zane, and then back to the candy person. Zane wondered...why...why did he say the wrong last name? Zane blinked and took the green figure's clothes in...obviously he was extremely rich. And well, Zane's family WAS one of the richest companies in the area...were their families perhaps rivals? Though to Gene's fear and Zane's nervousy...that mean angry smile returned, his eyes narrowing.
"Are you sure...that it's not Zane..Romeave?"