Glacier Frost: A Glaciershipping Fanfiction

5: Healing

Zane jolted up in his bed, instantly regretting his decision. His whole body ached and was sore. He let out a quiet groan of pain. His sudden movements and sound woke the person in the room next to his. He was startled to see a very tired, disoriented Jay burst into his room at top speeds.

"Zane! Oh my gosh, you're up! We all missed you so much!" Jay said, practically tackling the Nindroid into a hug.

"J-Jay... It is very good to see you as well. Now, would you mind getting off of me? I am still very sore." A winded Zane said.

"Oh yeah sorry!" Jay said, jumping back, "I knew you were gonna be sore, but I guess I just forgot about it."

"I'm... Not sure what happened. How did I get back here? How long have I been out?" Zane said, still confused.

"You've been out for five days. We noticed you were missing, and your falcon spotted the Serpentine approaching the Birchwood Forest. Kai, Cole, and I went to save you, but if it wasn't for Cole I'm not sure if you would have made it." Jay said, going quiet.

"What do you mean?" Zane asked.

"You fell. Some Serpentine pushed you over the edge of a cliff and you fell into a frozen lake. Cole ran down and dived in after you. Kai and I tried to hold the army back, but they almost got you guys. Nya swooped in last minute and pulled you two into the Bounty."

"Cole... Saved me?" Zane said, his face turning a light shade of blue, "Is he alright? Diving into frozen over water has a high chance of giving one hypothermia."

"I know. That's why you can't see him yet. He's sick. Hypothermia."

Zane suddenly felt a wave of anger rushing over him. It was his fault Cole was sick. Cole risked his life to save him. All of his friends might have been captured because of his own stupidity. If he hadn't been outside that one night, none of this would have happened.

"Soo... What happened? The Serpentine... They hurt you, didn't they?"

Jay expected some sort of reaction, but he didn't expect Zane to start crying. He tried not to freak out and to comfort his friend.

"I-i'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring up anything! Uh... Um... Should I hug you? Or do you want space? I uh- don't know- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Jay shut his mouth and hugged his friend.

Zane's eye's widened at the sudden contact. His tears flowed as he hugged his friend back.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay." Jay said, "I didn't mean to say something that rude."

"It's okay..." Zane said quietly, "I was chained up in a dark room. I was blindfolded and overheard conversations between a Serpentine and Garmadon. They were debating whether to kill me or not. Garmadon said the could treat me however they wished as long as I was still conscious. I was beaten by what sounded to be at least twelve of their recruits. Then I blacked out." Zane finished going quiet.

"Hey, it's okay." Jay reassured him, pulling out of the hug, "You're okay now. They can't hurt you anymore."

TW!

"There was something else too. But, I didn't un-understand it." Zane said quietly.

"What happened?" Jay questioned, concerned.

"I-I don't think I should tell you. I think it was ba-bad." Zane said, getting more and more nervous.

"Zane. I know it's hard, but I can't help you unless you tell me." Jay urged him.

"Th-ey touched me... U-u-under the lower part of my g-gi. I-it felt w-weird... Like it was wr-wrong... I-I blac-ked out after that... I-I don't kn-know what else happened."

Jay tried to hide the terror in his eyes. This was much worse than he thought. His friend was molested, maybe raped, and he did nothing to help. Zane was terrified and had no idea what happened to him. He started crying again, and all Jay could do was hug him close and whisper to him softly.

"Hey... It's okay... You can cry... Just let it out... You're okay... They can't hurt you anymore... You're okay..."

Zane eventually calmed down enough to talk.

"Jay?" Zane said wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"How did you know I was hurt in the first place?"

"I was the one that repaired you."

"You... You repaired me."

"Yeah and?"

"So you saw them... Didn't you?" Zane said, grabbing hold of his other arm, "You must think I'm a freak." He laughed awkwardly.

Jay silently pulled up his sleeve. Zane let out a soft gasp and bit his lower lip. He was seeing someone like him. Someone that came out of a bad situation, but not without scars to tell the tale.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Zane whispered.

"I thought no one else would understand. Not even my parents know."

"I understand Jay. But why? Why would you do this?"

"My parents always loved me and cared for me so much, that I never had any doubt that I was loved. That was until I started school. I was bullied throughout my entire school life because I did theatre and was in the robotics club. I was pretty much the perfect target for bullies. There wasn't a day I wouldn't come home with a new broken bone or nose bleed. My mom started to catch on and asked me about school and what was going on. I would say nothing, and she wouldn't press. She probably should have pushed a little harder."

TW END!

"I'm so sorry Jay. I never knew."

"Haha yeah. That was kinda the point." Jay said, letting out a nervous laugh and scratching the back of his head.

"Now." Jay said, "Tell me what is going on with you. I'm going to assume those aren't old."

Zane sighed and shook his head.

"They are not old. It started after I learned about my past. I felt empty. Like I would never be the same again. And that emptiness and loneliness just increased when I-" Zane let out a cough, "May have found a function of my system I did not know I could do. I did not know I had the capability to feel love until..."

"It's Cole isn't it?" Jay said.

"H-how did you know?!" Zane said, his face turning a pale robin's egg blue.

"You make it really obvious. I mean, almost every time you have a conversation with him, I  have to fix you because you had a short circuit. All you ever seem to do is talk about him, and you always blush when someone else talks about him. You-" Jay said, poking Zane in the chest, "Have one of the biggest crushes I have ever seen."

"But, what should I do? I could never tell him. Wouldn't he hate me?" Zane said, playing with his hair.

"No way! He's your best friend! He wouldn't hate you. But just a warning..." Jay said, standing up, "Love is a crazy path, and please... Don't beat yourself up over it."

Jay left, and Zane let out a deep sigh.