Sick Little Games (Zack Merrick)

• Deals With The Devil •

{ t w e n t y s e v e n }

"You know whats funny?" Vic said to me. "I've been friends with that group for years, I mean years, and I've always sat on the same table. Now you show up, and here I am, on this table." Vic explained to me like that was supposed to mean something to me. I looked at him quizzically before looking back down at the table and unwrapping my sandwich. Ew, school food. 

Vic had the red stuff, whatever it was, and began poking around at it with a crooked fork. 

"So you appear to have gotten yourself into a little bit of a pickle." I giggled at Vic's choice of words, biting into my lunch for the day. I shook my head at him and looked behind us to see Mariah glaring at us from where she sat. Vic was getting looks that I couldn't really decipher from the rest of the group. I swallowed the food in my mouth and turned back to look at him. 

"Sticking up for Jack? I don't like seeing people I love get bullied- well anyone getting bullied is a bad thing really..." My voice trailed off when I realized that Vic was now staring at me wide-eyed. I backtracked on what I said in my head to try and figure out where I went wrong. "Oh. Oh- no, not that sort of love. Platonic, brotherly- literally. Jack is my brother." 

Instead of freaking out like I thought Vic would, he just nodded slowly, asking me a question that didn't make any sense to me. "Can I introduce you to someone?" 

I furrowed my eyebrows but slowly nodded my head anyway, Vic looked deadly serious and I guess this was important to him or something. He pulled me up from my chair without any warning and started to pull me away from the table. 

"Hey- woah boy, food-" I made grabby hands towards my sandwich as I was pulled away from it with a pout. The girl who was reading on the table looked up at me and rolled her eyes before wrapping the sandwich up and throwing it towards me. I caught it with the hand Vic wasn't yanking on. "You are my savior. Friendship goals!" I called after her, seeing her smile before her head was buried in her book again. I'd have to find her again and introduce myself properly.

I half jogged to catch up with Vic. "Whats the rush?" 

"If we don't go now I'll back out and probably never do it." We were walking past our usual table, past Mariah, Alex, Jenna, Oli, Lisa and finally Zack. Nerve-wracking. Vic didn't even seem to notice as I went oddly silent, he seemed to have his eyes set on something and was working on getting me there as fast as possible. 

Vic turned to look back at me as I tried to pull my hand away from his. I was trying to unwrap my sandwich again so I could eat and walk. 

"The food in this school is...ugh." Vic told me, pulling the wrapped sandwich out of my hand and throwing it in the nearby bin. My eyes followed it as my mouth dropped open. "Trust me, I'm doing you a favour." 

I halted in my step, gluing my feet to the floor next to the bin that now held my happiness. 

"I don't think you understand what I have been through to get that sandwich, Victor." I told him quietly. I looked back up at him with puppy eyes. Vic rolled his eyes and pulled me a few steps away from the bin and to a table of my brother and his friends. 

I awkwardly turned around because Mariah and the other guys were only two tables away from us; since when did they get so close together? They were all still looking at Vic and I, talking between themselves. I turned back to my brothers table, locking onto Jack and seeing him holding a plastic tub of pasta. 

My mouth watered at the sight. 

"Justice? Are you even listening to me?" I toned out Vic's voice and looked back to Jack. 

"Give me your food." I told him. His friends looked at me in disbelief before looking back to Jack, and then between us both. They all probably thought I was bullying him because I hung out with the popular kids. 

"What? No! Get your own food!" Jack argued with me and I huffed out a breath. I'll have to make some sort of deal, I'm hungry and now I'm craving pasta. 

"I'll do your chores." I tried to bargain. 

"We don't have chores." 

I thought for a minute before turning to him with a smirk. 

"I'll let you keep one of my guitars in your room for a month." Jack hesitated. "Whichever one you want." I added to sweeten the deal. I already know which one he's going to pick one- he has a thing for my electric guitar. Has since I moved in. 

"A whole month?" he asked, putting his plastic fork down. I glanced at the pasta; so close. 

"31 Days. One guitar of your choice. You pay for damages." I laid out the deal and watched his face crumble as he pushed his food over to me. I picked up the plastic fork he was using and grinned at him before stabbing the pasta with it and sticking a piece into my mouth. 

"Are you quite done?" I turned back to see Vic's half amused expression and nodded, swallowing the food in my mouth and almost moaning at the taste. Food. I needed it after this day. Vic started to lead me away from the table again, but this time we were being lead by a black haired boy who I recognized as Kellin. 

I didn't question it until they began leading me into the boys bathroom. Despite my protests Vic managed to drag me into the dimly lit room- the lighting was the first thing I noticed, then the smell hit me. Kellin checked there was nobody else in the room, pushing open every door before standing against the main door. 

"This is Kellin-" 

"I know." I cut Vic off. Did he really drag me through all this to introduce me to somebody I'd already met. At least I got something good out of it, I thought as I looked down at my pasta. Lost a guitar for a month though. 

"K-Kellin is..." Vic looked down at the floor, obviously having trouble and I tried to give him a soothing look because he obviously wasn't comfortable right now. "Kell is my...my b-boyfriend."