Black Roses {Skephalo}

Day Seven [3]

————— 24 days remaining ————— Sunday, January 7th, 10:47 pm
Status 1: stage 3 - Poppy
Status 2: stage 4 - Cobalt

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-Zak's POV-

Darryl apartment is further away than I thought. He said it was only a 15 minute bike ride, but it takes a full hour to walk there.

The older boy has his hood pulled tightly around his head against the bitter cold, a bulky leather jacket on his shoulders. He dresses a lot darker than I'd expect him to.

His outfit is made up of burgundy and black, making his emerald green eyes stand out more. As we're walking side-by -side, I can see his eyelashes brush up against his glasses lenses when he blinks.

I snap out of my trance to find those eyes on me. There's a sad smile on his face, a look of concern. He keeps looking over at me every couple of minutes as if I'll disappear when he's not watching.

"You alright?" I ask him, a smile on my face. He sighs. "I should be asking you that. Those cuts looked pretty deep..." he trails off, looking away.

I reach out a hand and gently grab his chin, angling his head back towards me. He can't hide the surprise on his face from my sudden action.

What the hell am I doing?!

"Don't act so sad. See, I'm fine!" I smile brightly to accentuate my point. "I'm the one with the injury, and I'm still smiling. You should too."

The guilt from hiding it pains me a little as I shift my coat to better cover the bloodstain on my hoodie. I move my hand from his face and tap my index finger lightly on the end of his nose.

"Boop."

Darryl giggles, brushing my hand away. His complexion pales suddenly, eyes widening just a little. "Are you alright?" I ask again. He brushes off my concern. "Yeah just cold. Come on, I live just round the corner."

Suddenly he grabs my sleeve, pulling me round a corner and towards a large building. An apartment complex, not looking in as great condition as my own.

This is further out from the centre of town. I live in the centre, which is pretty expensive. YouTube is enough to pay it though. Makes sense to live out this end if you work in a coffee shop.

As we enter the building, I head straight for the elevator. "My apartment is on the third floor, you think you can walk that?" Darryl laughs, guiding me towards the staircase. "Fine" I huff, sticking out my bottom lip.

I almost burst out laughing as Darryl stops in front of apartment number fourteen. It's comical to me, but Darryl would think I'm crazy. A door opens, but not ours. Darryl spins around and starts smiling. "Oh hi!"

The person Darryl addresses is stood in the doorway of the apartment opposite. He holds a brown cat in his hands, stroking it lightly.

The boy is around my age, dirty blonde hair and green eyes almost as striking as Darryl's. He towers over both of us, so much so he has to angle his head down to speak to me.

"Ooh Darryl is this Zak?" the blonde asks excitedly. I smile brightly at him. "Yep, that's me!" He returns my smile, offering me a hand in greeting. His cat scratches at his outstretched arm, sinking his claws into the boy's forest green hoodie.

"Patches!" the blonde shrieks, moving his hand away and setting the cat down on the floor. The brown cat immediately comes to me, circling my legs. "Awh. Guess she likes you" he shoots a look at Darryl. "Guess she's not the only one- OW!"