Stolen Heart (Zenix x Reader) |Book One| [UNDER REVISION]

You

Y/N's POV

After we sit on the bridge for a bit longer, Zenix and Gene take me around the woods, laughing and talking the whole way. We reach a pond and Gene begins removing his shirt. Out of courtesy, I turn away, but when I see Zenix tug his shirt up over his head, I have a difficult time drawing my gaze off of him. His muscles ripple as he throws his shirt onto the ground, giving me a small smile when he notices I'm staring.

"What are you looking at?" he questions, approaching me slowly, lightly flipping his hair back as he removes his fingerless gloves. I watch his hands, his painted fingers tug at the cloth of his gloves with a strange sort of delicacy that makes my head buzz. My eyes are drawn to his arms, which have a variety of scars on them, but I try not to stare.

"I just met both of you," I mention, looking back up into his eyes. Zenix raises an eyebrow, and I can't help but notice his ears reddening. I smirk, "and you're already kissing me and taking off your clothes." Zenix stops in his tracks, biting his lip as his eyes widen.

"I didn't kiss you!" he blurts, crossing his arms. I narrow my eyes and place my hands on my hips, to which Zenix's expression only grows more flustered. "I just rested my face on your head, that's all!" I shake my head, grabbing the bottom of my shirt to remove it. Zenix's eyes stay fixed on me as I do so, mouth hanging open so wide that I can see the piercing on his tongue.

"Are you guys going to come into the water or what?" Gene yells at us from the pond, his body already fully immersed in the water. Zenix reluctantly turns away from me as I adjust my bra. As I walk over to the pond, Zenix takes multiple steps back, then runs to jump into the water, splashing Gene and I when he lands. I cry out as the freezing water hits my skin, and with a sudden rush of adrenaline, I copy Zenix's exact movements, landing in the pond right by Gene and Zenix. The pond's waters aren't clear, but the guys' comfort with it makes me feel safe. Gene reaches his hand towards my face and brushes away some of my soaking hair.

"You never answered my question earlier, Gene," I mention, grabbing his wrist and moving his hand away from my face. "The one about why you want to hang out with me. About why you're being so nice to me." Travis always told me Gene was someone he didn't fully trust, and based on the interactions I've seen with him and the other guys, it seems like a lot of others feel the way my brother does. Gene glances over at Zenix, who has barely ever looked away from me since I removed my shirt, however his eyes have been only on my face despite my bare torso.

"We've never had the best reputation," Zenix replies for Gene. "Which is stupid, like we weren't the best of people at one point, but we've definitely moved past a lot of our old actions."

"What Zenix is try to say is we're not the most beloved people in the neighborhood, and we saw you as an opportunity to become friends with someone who didn't have any pre-existing opinions of us," Gene adds, giving me a smile. "I've been trying to hang out with Aph more, but I don't think she trusts us much either after everything in high school." Zenix shakes his head, whatever thought that just came into his mind causing him to make an angry expression. "I used to be more," Gene hesitates before he starts explaining, "sneaky and selfish than I'd say I am now. But Zenix--" he elbows Zenix on the bicep. "--he's still as angry as ever." Zenix glares at Gene and grabs his shoulder to push him under the water. I giggle as Gene struggles to escape Zenix's attempt to drown him. 

We all hang out in the pond for a while, playing games and swimming around, but eventually we decide it's time to leave. The cool breeze sends chills down my spine, my teeth clacking together as I wrap my arms around myself. Suddenly, I feel a warm cloth against my back, and I turn to see Zenix placing his jacket over my shoulders.

"Aren't you cold?" I ask him, about to give him the coat back, but the stern look he gives me is very definitive.

"Not as cold as you, so I don't need it." Before I can protest, he walks past me. The three of us walk back to the neighborhood, our shorts and upper bodies drenched, but thankfully I have Zenix's coat to cover me up. When we reach Gene's house, he waves to us,

"I'm going to get cleaned up and then help Sasha, it sounds like she needs some advice about her car." He winks at me, "Catch you later, Y/N." I give him a polite wave, then continue to walk down the sidewalk with Zenix beside me.

"Are you going home?" I ask him. He shrugs,

"I was going to ask if I could just stay with you, maybe help you unpack?" After a little consideration, I smile over at him,

"I don't see why not." We make our way over to my house without saying much until I reach the door and begin unlocking it. "I can probably lend you some clothes I have that are Travis', we share some of the same stuff." When we walk inside, I take off Zenix's jacket and hang it up on the new hooks I installed onto the wall. We remove our shoes, and I instruct Zenix to wait in the kitchen while I get some clothes for him. In my bedroom full of boxes, I put on a tank top and sweatpants.

"Hey, Y/N?" I hear him call up to me.

"Coming!" I yell as I bang my head on the top of a shelf as I look for a t-shirt and shorts. I rub my temples, biting my lip as my head throbs from the pain. Getting up, I walk out of my room. "Alright, I have a change of clothes for you, although they might be a little small, I don't know if you and Travis are the same size." I tell Zenix as I walk down the stairs. He takes them from me, looking at the green t-shirt and grey sweat shorts while I find my eyes focused on the precise lines of scars on his arms.

"Hey, Zenix?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go for it," he looks up at me, then takes a sharp inhale as he notices where my eyes are looking.

"Gene told me you get angry a lot," I begin, "and I was just curious--"

"If that's where these are from?" Zenix interrupts, an unfamiliar coldness in his voice. I gaze into his eyes, but he seems lost as if he doesn't know whether or not to tell me the truth. "You don't want to know about me, Y/N."

"Yes I do. It won't change anything."

"You don't know who I am, what I'm like," he raises his voice, backing away from me and into the kitchen counter. "I'm angry, immature, brash, and I make dumb decisions in record time, I don't think. I used to do--" he gestures to one of his scarred arms. "--this to cope because I hated myself, and the scars just stayed, they'll always remind me of who I used to be." Zenix finally meets my gaze, brown eyes narrowed with fear and frustration. "I don't know why you intrigue me so much, I don't know why I kissed your head, I'm so impulsive, I just didn't want to go home and be alone with myself when I could be with you." His face is redder than I've ever seen it, dampening from sweat. He takes my hand lightly, which surprises me since he looks so angry, but he handles me with delicacy like I'm glass he might break. Zenix repeats himself, "You don't want to know about me, Y/N." I place my hands on both of his cheeks, touching my forehead to his. His breathing slows and deepens, a sigh released through his nose. Our eyes are so close that the features of his face blur together, and yet I feel like I'm seeing him clearer than I ever have.

"I want to know who you are, Zenix."