Limelight

Diaz, Zeke and Fritz: Mean

(Ever closer to Zaz getting together...

I'm also considering a new BGZ ship but I haven't written one of the characters involved into anything yet so I'm gonna try to do that first and see if the ship will actually work)

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Whenever BFZ played at a zombie mash, or anywhere else, he kept his eyes on Zach. When they passed by his friends' table in the cafeteria, he couldn't help looking up at the sound of Zach's voice. When Alonzo had dared Zach to do something ridiculous, he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing while Zeke rolled his eyes. And when a new video was uploaded to the band's YouTube, he was among the first to watch it.

Zeke, however, had his doubts about Zach. He kept insisting that he could never be in a real relationship; he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes from wandering, he didn't take people's feelings seriously, and he never genuinely liked anyone he flirted with anyway. Diaz was determined to prove him wrong, though. He just couldn't picture Zach Fairmourn as anything but a good person. He was funny and witty, unashamedly himself, a talented dancer and musician, he obviously cared a lot about his friends, and trusted them completely, and they trusted him, too. Plus, if he could call people like Zane Nao and Denzel De'Ath his friends, how bad could he really be?

If only Zeke would stop being so negative whenever the subject came up.

"Look, I get it, OK?" Diaz snapped when he had once again insisted that Zach wasn't worth it, "He's not interested, he's not serious, but do you have to be so..." he trailed off, searching for the right word, "... Mean about it?"

"Mean?" Zeke suddenly stopped, looking almost hurt. He had always prided himself on never being (needlessly) mean. He would call people out if he felt he had to, and he didn't hesitate to throw a punch if it came to that, but it was against everything he stood for to say or do anything just for the sake of being mean. He faltered, "Dee, come on, I'm not being mean. I'm just looking out for you!"

"I don't need you looking out for me! I know what kind of person Zach is, I know what I could be getting myself into but whether he completely ignores me or he dumps me after a day, it's my life and you don't get a say in it! And, you know, maybe he'll actually end up surprising you."

"You said you weren't gonna go for it," Zeke frowned cautiously, "Don't tell me you're actually thinking about asking him out or something..."

"No!" that didn't sound convincing, "Just... you know, if it did happen."

"This isn't sounding so good."

"It's not your choice, Zeke!" Diaz couldn't help shouting. He was getting so frustrated with how controlling his supposed best friend was trying to be. Sure, Zeke had always been protective of his close friends, but there was a thin line between protective and possessive.

Zeke didn't respond, instead he stood his ground and stared Diaz down, Diaz glaring back at him just as stubbornly until he turned and stormed off. Groaning, Zeke spun round to look at Fritz, who had been watching in silence up until this point.

"Would you please talk some sense into him?"

He just shrugged, "I don't know what you expect me to say to him, but I'll give it a try."

– LIMELIGHT –

"I know what you're gonna say," Diaz said the second he saw Fritz approaching, "Listen to Zeke and give up 'cause he knows what he's talking about and he just doesn't want me to ge-"

"That is not what I'm gonna say," Fritz interrupted and Diaz went quiet for a few seconds.

"... He sent you over here to talk to me, didn't he?"

Fritz nodded once, "Yeah," then he shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets, "That doesn't have to mean I agree with him. Or that I'm gonna tell you what he wants me to tell you."

"So... you don't agree with him...?"

He shook his head, "Not completely."

"Which means you do agree with him."

"It means," Fritz smiled, "If you're really serious about this, then I say go for it. Unlike Zeke, I don't think Zach's entirely hopeless. But..." Diaz quirked an eyebrow as he trailed off.

"But what?"

"There is still a chance he'd move on pretty fast. So don't go diving headfirst into anything, alright?"

There was a pause as Diaz just looked at him, then turned away for a moment, thinking. After a while, he turned back to Fritz with a confident expression on his face.

"You know what?" he leaned back on one hand, "I don't think he would."

Fritz shook his head, "Don't get your hopes up too high. He'd almost definitely say yes if you asked him out or something and that'd be great, but all I'm saying is don't expect it to last too long."

"Yeah, maybe your right," Diaz gave a non-committal nod, then the corner of his mouth quirked up ever so slightly, "Or maybe when he realises somebody actually likes him, he'll want to hold on to that."

"Is that really what you want, though?"

"What do you mean?"

"If that's how it is, then it wouldn't be because he liked you. He'd only be in it just to be in a relationship."

He hadn't thought about that. But it only made him want to prove his point more.

"We'll see."