Behind The Smile *[Skephalo Highschool AU]*

Chapter 27

This book is actually getting kind of long- anyway I had a question?

When this book finishes, would you want me to make a second book? I'm not gonna give away too much future plot, but like it would be them after what happens in this book. Idk if it's a good idea or if people would read it, but just wondering.

———

Zak's POV

As soon as I heard Zarro walk away, I attempted to lift my head up. It worked, and on the ground in front of me I see no others but Darryl. I sigh. Why's he even here in the first place?

Nausea bubbles inside of me. He got hurt because of me, but why? I frown, and sit up. I groan at the immense pain in my back, but regardless I stand up anyway.

There's still yelling in the kitchen behind me, but I try my best to ignore it with my growing headache. I walk over to Darryl, only to find him completely blacked out.

I lift up his arms, before slowly lifting his whole body onto my back. I knew as soon as Zarro walked away he wasn't gonna mess with me again tonight, so nobody should stop me from walking upstairs.

I do exactly so, walking up the stairs slowly. Luckily, the staircase is short, therefore I make it to the top fast. I turn towards the closest room, Mia's room. I hope she's ok.

I walk into there, immediately leaning Darryl up against the wall when I enter. I make sure the door is closed, before looking at Mia, who looks terrified.

I pull out the first aid kit that I put in both my and her rooms for stuff like this, talking as I work. "Why aren't you asleep, Mia? It's late." I ask, starting to patch up all of Darryl's wounds.

"I was to scared!" she cries out, running over to me. I finish patching Darryl's wounds, and turn towards Mia. I embrace her in a hug, and she just cries. I sigh.

I stand up again, and she steps away from me. "I have to go shower, but make sure my friend here doesn't move too much, okay?" I say, and I see Mia nod. She once again has to wipe away tears that shouldn't be there.

I exit the room, and walk back downstairs to the only bathroom we have. As soon as I get there, I throw up in the toilet. I don't know why, but for some reason I felt so sick.

———

Darryl's POV

It feels like forever as I wait in darkness. There's no sound, and I felt like I was floating. Was I dead? No, no chance.

It's not long before the blackness fades, and light starts to peak through my eyes. The first thing I see when I wake up is a small girl standing in front of me. She must be no older than 6.

"Who are you?" I mumble, my head throbbing. I see her smile slightly. That's when I notice she has a huge bruise on her cheek. How'd she get that?

"Hi! I'm Mia," she says, still smiling. Oh, this is Zak's sister. I smile back at her. "Hi Mia, do you know where your brother is?" My voice slowly becomes louder with every word I speak.

"Mhm! He's in the shower." For a kid, her English is really good. I wonder if she can read and write. "Thanks, Mia," I say, now noticing how puffy her eyes are. Seriously, what happened to this kid?

All of a sudden, the door opens again, and Zak walks in. He glances at me, but doesn't lock eyes with me. He was wearing a normal blue hoodie with black sweatpants on.

"Zak! Your friend is awake!" Mia says, pointing at me excitedly. Zak is in a drawer, rummaging through it. "I know, sweetie. Now come here so I can brush your hair," Zak says, holding up a hairbrush.

I see her run over. The bond between the two makes me smile. But Zak isn't smiling, and that causes me to frown. In fact, his eyes look empty. As if there's no emotion inside them at all.

I take this chance to stand up, and I see Zak's head shoot to me. The emptiness in his eyes is gone, now full of concern. "Please be careful Darryl, I don't want you to get more hurt," Zak says, before turning his eyes back to Mia's hair.

I smile slightly, and slowly walk over to the two. They're sitting on the bed, and I just sit next to Zak. I watch as he slowly combs through all the knots in Mia's straight hair.

Thousands of thoughts run through my head. Was this the right choice? Should I have stepped in at all? Wait, I still need to apologize to Zak. Should I though?

"Zak, I just wanted to say sorry for what I said to you the other day," I apologize, and he shakes his head. "No, it's not your fault. I should've just told you where I was. I'm sorry," he responds, now putting the brush down and starting to braid Mia's hair.

I smile. "Zakky, I wanna play with your friend!" Mia says, jumping up as soon as her hair is finished. He looks at me, and I just nod.

For the rest of the night, we just play princesses in the bedroom until Mia falls asleep.

———

Zak's POV

As soon as Mia's asleep in her bed, Darryl turns to me. "So uh Zak, when exactly were you gonna tell me that all of this was happening?" he asks, genuinely sounding concerned.

I turn away from him, fixing the sheets on Mia's bed. "Zak, don't ignore me. Were you even planning on telling me at all?" he talks again, and I simply just shake my head. I can see he's both shocked and not shocked by my answer.

"I didn't want you to worry for me, you already have so many problems to worry about, I feel like I would be a burden telling you all this," I say, turning towards him. "So please, don't do anything about it. I swear my family isn't always like this. All families argue at some point, right?" I try to convince him.

"Really, then how'd Mia get that bruise? And don't think I didn't see the bruise on your forehead a few days ago," he says, crossing his arms. I look downwards.

"Just stop, okay? We're fine. Don't overload yourself with others problems, worry about your own. Like the fact your mom is on the verge of death right now. You should be spending your time with her, not me." I say, before sitting against Mia's bed.

I don't answer any more of Darryl's questions. I just stare at my feet until the morning comes.

———

AHAHAHAHA I didn't expect to finish this in one night BUT I DID. I hope you liked it, because two posts right next to each other sounds pretty darn cool.

Thoughts?- comment them here!

Constructive criticism?- comment it here!

Ideas?- comment them here!

Word Count: 1195