Dane and Zion

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

~Zion~

       I wouldn't stop spamming my sister with text messages until I finally saw her leave her school building. Alika always took so long to leave the school, even though she knew I didn't like waiting this long for her.

       But because she was my sister, she always made sure to take as long as she could to annoy me. Which was exactly why I was spamming her with text messages to annoy her.

       Alika looked fed up by the time she got into the passenger seat of my car. "You didn't have to blow up my phone like that."

       "You were taking too long," I said. "I have to work tonight and would like to get at least an hour to rest at home before I have to leave."

       Alika was about to throw her backpack in the backseat, but once she turned around she noticed a baby carseat in the middle. "What's that?"

       "Oh, that is your niece, Malaya," I said as I pulled out of the school's parking lot to drive home.

       "What?"

       "Family studies project. I have to take care of a baby until Friday."

       "Alone?"

       "Nope, with Dane. He's my partner. Oh, and he will be staying at our house until the project is done so we don't have take each take a night to watch our beloved daughter."

       "Beloved? You do know that it's not real, right?"

       I just glared at my sister in reply. Why was everyone so mean to Malaya? Sure, she wasn't technically real, but she didn't deserve all the hate and slander she was getting. She was just a baby, and everyone was calling her fake.

       Once I pulled my car into the driveway, Alika quickly got out of the car to head inside, but not before calling me a loser, like most siblings do. Honestly, were you even siblings if you didn't call each other losers?

       It took me a while to get inside because I had to grab my backpack and Malaya and the diaper bag, since my loser of a sister didn't even bother helping me. I bless her life with a niece and this is the thanks I get?

       "Mom, Dad, I have a surprise," I said as soon as I walked in and saw my parents in the kitchen. "You are now grandparents."

       Mom immediately looked at me, and then noticed the baby I had. "Oh, thank goodness. For a moment there, I thought you got a girl pregnant."

       "You really thought he got a girl pregnant when he's too in love with Dane to even look at anyone else?" Dad asked. 

       "Speaking of Dane..." I began, but Dad didn't even let me finish before cutting me off.

       "You see?" Dad asked. "He didn't even deny it."

       "Of course I'm not going to deny it," I said. "Anyway, Dane is my partner for this baby project and we figured it would be a lot easier to be together to take care of the baby instead of just each of us taking her for one night. So Dane will be spending the next two nights here. Awe, thanks for saying yes, Mom and Dad."

       "We did not say yes," Mom said. "You didn't even ask."

       "All I heard was yes."

        Mom chuckled. "Of course that's all you heard. Don't worry, we're totally fine with Dane staying here so you can work on your project together."

       "Sweet, thanks," I said. "He'll be here soon. He just went home to pick up some stuff. Also, can I not work tonight? I have a daughter to take care of."

       "Which is exactly why you should work," Dad said. "You need money to take care of your daughter. So no, you're not getting the day off."

       I sighed. No matter how much I tried and how many excuses I came up with, my parents just wouldn't let me take a day off work. Well, unless I was extremely sick.

       ...Maybe I should fake being sick. Or at least actually get sick because my parents could always tell when I was faking it.

       Now the question is how exactly do I get myself sick?

       As I was waiting for Dane to show up, I sat on the couch with my beloved daughter, watching TV and hoping she wouldn't cry. She hasn't cried yet at all since the project started, so she was probably going to be crying all night.

       I would probably just cry with her.

       The doorbell suddenly rang but before I could even get up from the couch, Alika rushed down the stairs. She opened the door, then called, "Zion! Your boyfriend is here!"

       I got up from the couch, carrying Malaya in my arms as I walked over to the front door. "Uh, he's not my boyfriend," I said, gesturing for Dane to come inside. "He's my husband. Get it right."

       Dane sighed. "We're fake married, Zion."

       "You really need to remember that I only hear what I want to hear," I said. "So I actually just heard 'we're married'."

       "I can't wait until this project is done," Dane said.

       "Did you hear that, Malaya?" I asked my daughter. "Dane said he wants to get a divorce. I think when this marriage is over, you and I will go on a vacation somewhere."

       "You have to give her back before we get a 'divorce'," Dane said.

       I sighed. "It's just logic after logic with you. Also, want to cover my shift for me?"

       "We have a shift together," Dane said. "If I cover your shift, someone's going to have to cover mine because I'm definitely not doing both."

       No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get out of work.

       Dane and I still had a bit of time before we had to get to work, so I led him to my bedroom so he could drop off his stuff there. "Hey, do we have any homework today?" I asked as Dane was putting his suitcase beside my dresser.

       "You mean besides the homework for English class?" Dane asked. "The homework we were assigned before school ended? You know, the poem analysis we have to do?"

       "Oh, right," I said. "Want to do my homework for me?"

       "Sure," Dane said. "As long as you cover my shift tonight."

       "Now that's just cruel," I said. "You know how much I don't want to work tonight. Like, I had to be out of my home, I can't listen to music, and I have to serve people food instead of eating it myself? No thanks. I guess I'll just suffer and do my homework."

        "You'll live," Dane said. "So I actually have an idea I want to run by you. One that may advance your singing career."

       "Ooh, what is it?" I asked. "I'm willing to do anything. You need me to skydive? I'll do it."

       "It's not going to be something that extreme," Dane said. "It's something simple. A music video."

       "A music video," I repeated. "I like it."

       "There will be a lot we have to do to get it done, so we're going to have to start looking for people that are willing to help," Dane said. "People who are good with cameras, editing, even make up and costumes."

       "And I know just the people," I said.

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zion is so dramatic tbh but also a big mood. why go to work when you can sleep?

i was going to make this longer but it's 3:30 am lol. i got distracted watching onward BUT IT WAS SO GOOD.