Hello everyone, and welcome back to Virus! :D
Yes, I am back from New Mexico! It was super nice in the mountains, and my favorite part was the white-water rafting (even though I was the only one to fall out of the boat in the rapids, oops). I got back Monday, and I wrote this chapter quickly last night for today, so I hope it's not too terrible!
Also, just a fun fact... I went to a college fair this morning and ran into one of my friends from school. He texted me later saying that his mom had recognized mine, and that apparently, our grandparents are cousins. Basically, I found out that we're either second or third cousins. Who knew? I'll never look at him the same ever again xD
Anyway, remember to follow code_cherry on Twitter, and to vote and comment for more. Enjoy!
Z A C H [ G R A S E R 1 0 ]
"Hey, Zach."
I jumped violently in my chair, opening my mouth to scold whoever had joined the TeamSpeak for calling me by my first name... and stopped before the words even left my mouth. I sat back, crossing my arms. "Good grief, Ash, you scared me. I thought you were one of the guys."
"Because I sound so much like the guys," she quipped sarcastically. "Can't I even greet my boyfriend without getting scolded?"
"No," I joked, sticking my tongue out. "No, you can't."
"Whatever, robot." Her voice had softened affectionately, and I smiled at the sight of her stunning eyes as they appeared on facecam.
"Any news?" I asked, as had become habit when the two of us spoke. Ash could, after all, go on for hours about the progress she and Will were making, and it was nice to see her so excited.
"Not much." She leaned her chin on one hand, smiling slightly. "Although I'm pretty sure Will and Grape hit some kind of breakthrough last night. Whether it's good or bad, I can't tell; he's been moping around a bit for most of the day."
"I'm fine!" yelled Will in the background, and I chuckled as Ash brushed her raven-black bangs out of her eyes.
"Anyway, I meant to ask you something." She tilted her head to one side. "That email you and Bayani told us about... you said it had no sender?"
I nodded. "It was masked. None of us could identify it. Why do you ask?"
"Well..." She hesitated, and I frowned. "I don't know, there's just something... weird about the whole thing, don't you think?"
"I guess. Our fans have never been this nosy and determined before." I fingered the chord of my headset absentmindedly. "But Grape's right, you know. There's not much we can do about it except to continue to reject them; we can't block the address, after all."
Ash didn't look convinced, her expression becoming unreadable, and worry instantly sprang to mind. "Ash, are you okay?"
She sighed, not looking at me. "It just feels so wrong, Zach. Like the whole thing with Nano all over again..."
Uh oh, time to backpedal. "That's all behind us, Ash. He can't get to us again."
"I know, but..." She trailed off, shaking her head aggressively. "It's stupid, forget it."
Something's definitely up. "Ash..."
A loud crack made me leap out of my chair, startled. Racing to my window, I was shocked to see dark clouds swirling where blue, sunny skies had once stood, a nearby tree sizzling with sparks where lightning had just struck. What the hell?
"Zach?" questioned Ash, concerned, and I realized that I'd ripped my headphone plug out of my computer in my haste.
Shaking my head in confusion, I concentrated. I have to stop this!
Slowly but surely, the winds slowed and the sky cleared, leaving no evidence that the storm had ever existed but the now-charred tree. I blinked, biting my lip. I hope that doesn't make anyone suspicious...
"Zach?" came Ash's voice again, and I tore my gaze from the burned piece of bark and returned to my seat, re-connecting my headset.
"Sorry, I must've lost control just then," I replied, not really believing my own words. "Freak storm."
"Ah." Her tone was sympathetic. "That's my fault."
"No. You can always talk to me, Ash. Promise." And, I added mentally. I wasn't even angry. My ability hasn't been triggered by my emotions since I first got it.
Her gentle expression was enough to make me melt. "I love you, Zach."
"I love you, Ash."
Ugh. I'm SO terrible at fluff chapters, it makes me gag just writing them. This chapter makes me cringe, and it DEFINITELY isn't my best work. I'm so sorry. Looking at my outline, chapter twelve is when it really starts to heat up, so stay tuned everyone! I promise it gets better!
QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER:
Just for fun, I decided to make a personality quiz based on the Pixel series! I'll link it here, down below in the comments, and both on my Wattpad profile page and Twitter; once you've taken it, comment who you got! :D
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=which-character-from-the-pixel-series-are-you
Vote and comment for more! Until next time!
~ Cherry
YOU ARE READING
Virus -~- Book 3 of Pixel
Fanfiction“I want to know how they survived, what vital information we’re missing. I want them found and brought here as soon as possible, and we’re not going to stop until we figure out what gave them the ability to walk this Earth with the rest of us. I swe...
