I'd like to be friends//Skepnoblade

11.

Techno stopped. What? Zak was paid?
He felt himself start to tremble a little, though he tried not to show it.
"I'm sorry, what?" He stuttered, unsure of what to even say to that. Surely it wasn't true. There was no way.
"I paid him to be your friend. I knew you didn't have any friends, so I asked him to befriend you. He never cared about you."
Techno took a steady breath, before deciding that he wasn't going to control his fury anymore. If his mother could so simply and carelessly tell him that a person he trusted didn't care about him, he could tell her how much he didn't believe her.
"I don't believe you for one fucking second. What, are you mad because I finally have a friend? Is that it?"
"Honey," She started, "You two were getting way too close for my liking. I don't want a gay son."
What the fuck? That's what this was about? Techno gritted his teeth.
"I don't even like him! Mom, have you ever heard of being close with someone? I finally trusted someone. I finally made a friend, and you're mad about that."
Not wanting to hear any more, he stood up and headed to his room, slamming the door shut. In fact, he read somewhere that slamming a door after an argument made things worse, but he couldn't care less at the moment.
He didn't even know if he was gay or not. Whatever he was didn't bother him, but it clearly bothered his mom.
He took a deep breath in an attempt to recollect himself. Surely Zak cared about him. If Zak didn't care about someone, then he'd say "fuck you" and move on with his life. He wouldn't have been friends with Techno for so long if he didn't. But, then again, maybe he didn't know Zak as well as he thought he did. What if he really was only in it for the money?
Snatching his phone, he quickly went to message Zak. Not having time to correct his grammar if it was wrong, he swiftly typed out a message.

Techno
zak there's something really important I just need to ask you, it might be weird to answer but i just- i need to know

Zak
wht oh hi okya ask away

Techno
did my mom pay you to be friends with me?

Zak
uhh- well- techno,, at first she did. i told her i didn't need the money and i'd try to talk to you anyways, but she persisted. techno, please don't take this the wrong way, i still love and care about you and i'd like to be friends

Techno
what,,???

Techno
zak, i don't know if you've noticed lately, but all i fucking wanted was a friend. that was it. i cared about you, zak, and i trusted you,,??? the fact that you had to be paid to even deal with me hurts. maybe we shouldn't talk anymore. maybe my mother was right

Zak
techno, i didn't interact with you simply because I was paid, it was because i liked you as a person. hell, i forgot she even paid me, i just liked talking to you

Techno
whatever, zak, don't talk to me again

Techno wasn't sure if he was being rational or not, but he left the chat, shutting off his phone. It finally sunk in that Zak was paid. Someone had to be paid to even think about trying to talk to him.
Techno wasn't much of a crier. He just didn't cry, it wasn't something that he did. He despised it, actually. The wet, sticky tears that stuck to your face, the watery eyes, and the headache you occasionally got from it. But, something in him caused him to break down, leaving tears to fall down his face.
Someone actually cared about him. Or at least, he thought they did. And now? They'd probably never talk again.

Zak was stunned. He had no clue what was going on, or how he even found out. But, mostly, he felt really bad. Techno's response was completely justified, he couldn't imagine finding out that one of your close friends were paid to talk to you. That had to have hurt.
The entirety of the situation didn't feel real. It felt quite fake, but Zak was aware he had to come to terms with it.
He didn't want to cry. He knew he didn't have a reason to, and if anything, Techno deserved to be the one crying. But, he felt tears blur his vision as he sniffed, taking his sleeve and wiping his eyes. He already missed the joking conversations, the stupid facts no mortal being should know, and overall, the comfortable silence. Zak definitely missed that. Whenever he was around people, he always felt a need to talk, or say something. With Techno, being quiet was fine. Simply being in each other's presence was enough.
He heard his bedroom door creak open, and he glanced up. It was his mother. He was quick to wipe away his tears, hide the fact that his eyes and nose had turned a light shade of red, anything to stop her from noticing. Though, he soon realized it looked like his mom had been crying as well. Confused at to why, he gave a small wave.
"Hi, mom," He said softly.
She just gave him a weak smile and sat down beside him.
"I guess you know what happened now."
Zak pitifully shrugged. He really didn't know much of what happened, all that somehow, Techno found out.
That got him thinking. How did he find out? Zak supposed Techno deserved to find out, but he just wanted to know how. His friends could've said something, but he trusted that they wouldn't have.
The only person he could think of was either Techno's or his own mother.
"Not- Not really," He stuttered, being aware that for once, he really didn't know what happened.
Zak's mom sighed.
"You should know. I don't think I should leave you confused."
So, she began talking. And as she explained, Zak only progressively got hit with several emotions at once.
"Techno's mother brought up the subject of how you two were getting close. I agreed, and, I thought she saw it as a good thing. But, she believed that maybe you were getting too close. Even if you were, that shouldn't have been a problem. But, she didn't agree with gay people, and we ended up getting into an argument."
Things started to click into place. Zak made much more sense of the situations he was in.
"Oh."
That was the only thing he had said.
"I suppose Techno probably messaged you about that," She gave another weak smile, "She insisted she was going to stop you two from interacting. Though, the fact she paid you was an excuse to end the friendship between you and Techno."
Zak nodded, thanking his mother for telling him this. Things made sense, but he didn't have to be happy about it. He felt upset, furious, sad, yet he knew most of it was his fault.
He should've never accepted the money. He didn't even fucking want it.
Once he mom had left, figuring he needed some time to be by himself, he stood up and snatched the dollar bills on a table in the back of his room, tears already staining his face. It wasn't like he needed this now. It wasn't like he needed it in the first place.
He'd return it to Techno's mother.
Since the two parents were so close (were being past tense), they often had a couple things at each other's house. Techno's mom would certainly be back.
And, perhaps Techno would too. He left at least two dictionaries here, since he came here so often.
Zak forced a smile at that. What a nerd.

Zak glanced at the door in the main room when he heard a doorbell ring. He wondered who it could be, though he had quite a good guess. He stood up and clicked open the door, flinching as he noticed the familiar face of Techno and his mother.
"Hi," He softly said, his voice cracking towards the end, "I assume you're here for your things?"
Techno's mom nodded coldly, while Techno just stayed quiet, looking down at the floor.
"That's great," He said with fake enthusiasm, unsure of how to react, "Go ahead."
Once Techno was out of earshot, he turned to Techno's mom, swallowing.
"Here. Take this," He held out the money he'd given her, "Seeing as I won't need it anymore."
She only took it with a blank expression, a smile forming on her face soon after.
"Come on, Zak. This was for the best. You and I both know you and my son were getting way too close."
Zak winced at the thought that maybe she was right. He didn't have one clue if Techno felt that way, but he'd started to realize, slowly, that he might have feelings for him.
"And? Even if we were, that shouldn't have been a problem," He trembled, tears forming in his eyes. He looked down. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she got to him, "You know what?"
She only met his gaze evenly, waiting for him to continue.
"Fuck you," He snarled, "You homophobic, lying piece of shit."
Before she could reply, he turned and left the main room, heading to his own room. He was so frustrated, and just wished none of this had ever happened. He wanted things to go back to normal. God, maybe if he never caught feelings for Techno this wouldn't have happened.
It wasn't until he was standing in the doorway that he realized Techno was in there. He was gathering the two dictionaries he had in Zak's room.
Zak took a moment to scan over Techno, biting his lip. He was rather anxious, so he just stayed standing for a moment. He figured that it didn't take too awfully long to gather a dictionary or two, so before Techno could leave, he sighed, and broke the tense silence.
"Techno-"
"I don't want to hear it," Techno looked up, clutching his dictionaries.
"Just please listen to me," Zak said quietly.
Techno groaned. There was no way he could ignore Zak when he had those sad, pleading eyes.
Those kind of eyes never worked on Techno. But, he guessed Zak was different. He always had been. If Zak was like everyone else, he wouldn't have gotten so close to him.
"Start talking."
"I just- I wanted to say I'm sorry. It's completely understandable for you to not want to talk to me anymore. I just wanted to tell you that I... I couldn't have cared less about the money," Zak said slowly, willing the tears in his eyes to stay back. He wouldn't cry in front of Techno. He wouldn't. He didn't deserve to, anyways. "I liked you for you. You were a great friend, and I didn't "tolerate" you. I enjoyed being with you, and- I don't know. I'm sorry."
It was silent for a while. Unfortunately, it wasn't the type of silence that was comfortable.
Techno thought for a moment. Zak didn't seem like he just wanted money from it. It explained why he all of a sudden started talking to him, but all of his interactions just seemed so genuine.
Techno forced himself to take a deep breath. before taking a step towards Zak, who was trembling.
"This doesn't mean that we're all good now, but I forgive you. I believe that you weren't in it simply for the money, but I'm going to need some time."
Zak exhaled. That was enough for him.
"Now, I gotta go. My mother's going to kill me if I spend any longer here than I have to," He cleared this throat, walking out of the room.
Zak couldn't have been sure when exactly Techno left, but he did it soon. He was fine with that. It was enough to know that Techno didn't completely despise him.
Maybe they'd be able to talk a little on Monday. He knew he wouldn't be instantly forgiven, but this was a start.
Zak sighed, sitting back down on his bed. Things maybe, just maybe, would turn out okay.