Summer Lights (Zed x Reader)

Temporary Delivery Job

It'd been a slow week for you after school's been out for the summer. As much as you may have complained about school, without it your schedule actually felt pretty empty. You've tried contacting your friends, but they all seemed to be too busy to hang out with you this summer break for one reason or another.

Not wanting to let this bring you down, you decided to jump off your bed, and look up some holiday destinations you can visit on your laptop. Apparently, there's going to be a fireworks show being held on Diamond Beach every night for the first two weeks of summer break, there's also a beach house you can stay in while you check out the various other shops and buildings. You then checked out a few different forum sites on the internet for other things you can do. You noted the rumors popping up about a mysterious ghostly figure who might've lived in the old lighthouse on Diamond Beach, which could be interesting to investigate.

Finally deciding on your newest holiday destination, you went to book a spot in the local beach house and quickly opened your closet, deciding to put those big travel suitcases to use for once. You made sure to pack your favorite summer clothes, laptop, and all the other essentials, before getting a cab to Diamond Beach.

Once you arrived at the beach, you took a good look at your surroundings. They actually looked prettier than the pictures, the sapphire ocean reflects the sunlight in such a way it almost twinkles! Maybe that's where the name Diamond Beach came from, aside from the amount of seashell shaped gems found on the shore. You haven't been to a beach in a while, but you forgot how much you loved the view. The many colorful buildings also looked gorgeous against the sunny blue skies of the summer beach. You took a picture to remember your first day here.

As much as you'd like to immediately go to investigate the lighthouse, you decided to save that for later. According to the map you have of the town and what you can see, the lighthouse is placed on top of a tall hill. Who'd want to live in a house this high up anyways? It'd take way too much time and energy climbing up and down the hill everyday just to get to the town! It was almost like the old owner didn't want anyone to visit them. Oh, and if your stomach grumbling is anything to go off of, it was time to get some lunch.

Looking around the beach, you spotted a couple of places you can go to for food. There was Frostbite, a cute ice cream shop placed near the fountain, but there was also a pizza place right around the corner. "Pizza Palace"... That's the pizza place you've ordered delivery from a couple of times, right? Well it was something familiar, and since you were already there, pizza it is.

The door slid open as you entered the restaurant. There doesn't seem to be many people in here right now. You spotted someone on the counter, leaning lazily on his arm next to the cash register. His messy red hair had black streaks in it, which almost hid the dragon horns that jut out under his cap and his shirt was torn at the sleeves for some reason. Glancing at his name tag, you read his name, Zed. That name sounded familiar, but you couldn't quite place where you've heard it before.

His eyes flickered towards you and he sighed, "...Great another customer," okay, WOW, "Welcome to the Pizza Palace, home of the best pizza on Diamond Beach," he paused, "Uhm, what can I get for you?"

Not the most enthusiastic greeting, but you didn't really mind as long as the food was good. He did seem familiar somehow... Wait, was he the pizza guy that came to deliver to your apartment the last time you ordered pizza? He looked pretty out of it though, it wouldn't hurt to ask if he's alright.

"Uh, hey, are you okay there, Zed?" he seemed a bit startled at the mention of his name, before realizing he was wearing a name tag. Zed looked you in the eye and pointed at his face, "Do I look okay?", he exasperated. Seems like he'd been holding this in for a while. "...Sorry I asked?" you responded intelligently, "...Ugh, it's just been a busy day, alright? We've been short staffed lately so I've been stuck working the cash register!" he ran his fingers through his hair, lifting his cap a bit, while eyeing the incriminating object.