Whole-Hearted

[Zennon Baros]

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Zennon rushed into the first door he could find. Honestly, why he did these things was beyond him. He didn't like doing it, he hated it, but lying had become such a part of him now that he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to escape it. He couldn't ever tell anyone, if they found out they would hate him. He knew it. Look at what stress had done to Professor Pendleton. Stress and no sleep and that was what had happened. Would that happen to him? Zennon didn't think he could deal with being so helpless. He was skinny and weak at the moment, he knew that, but that had nothing to do with this. Probably. Shaking his head and splashing cool water on his face, Zennon sighed as he leaned into the sink. Clearly he'd found some sort of bathroom. He hadn't noticed it before, but he didn't spend a lot of time on this floor. Seeing Professor Pendleton like that, he hadn't handled it well, he knew that. Zennon was terrified he was going to end up like that and he didn't know how to stop it. The whole ordeal and the realisation that he was not the person Zennon was making himself out to be was painful, he didn't know what to do to fix anything and for reasons he didn't quite understand, for the first time, Zennon didn't have any idea what he wanted. "I just want to go home."
​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire had been wondering the castle aimlessly, bored. She wished Onyx was here; she had questions he could answer. But he wasn't here, so she would have to find something else to occupy her time.

What she didn't expect to see was her new friend Zennon rushing into that old bathroom. Her brow furrowed and she meandered after the boy. She found him splashing water in his face, but before she could say hello she heard him speak.

The comment caught her off gaurd. She cocked her head to the side, a bit concerned. "Well that wouldn't be any fun. Who would throw pajama parties with me?"

 

[Zennon Baros]

Zennon was surprised when he heard someone answer him and nearly jumped. "Sh*t, I didn't see you there, Sapphire." he said as he turned to face her. He'd been caught, he mentally kicked himself for not locking the door. He hadn't wanted to be found like this. Zennon was silently thankful he'd not started to cry, though he couldn't figure out if that was a good thing or not. "I...of course, yeah. The pajama party. I... forgot about that." He said, sighing as he stepped away from the sink. "Sorry, Sapphire. I'm...not feeling well is all." She hadn't asked, but he was telling her anyway. He didn't want to be caught off guard with a question he couldn't answer.
​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph raised her brow and walked past Zennon, fiddling with her hair in the mirror. "Ya know Zennon," she started. "I don't think I've ever told you where I live." She acted nonchalant as she talked. "I live in an orphanage here in New Zealand. Spent most my life alone. The old hag that runs the place," Sapph picked lint off her clothes. "She says I won't be adopted. I get in too many fights. Pretty bloody."

She turned, leaning against the sink and crossing her arms. "Not sure I can get wanting to go back home. I haven't really had anyplace to miss. But I can get feeling out of place." She looked the other boy in the eye. "I don't really got a lot of friends. Most the people I start to like end up getting hurt. Usually my fault. Still," there was a cold glint in her eye as she smirked, "I'll be damned if someone else does though. If you can point me in a general direction I can inflict pain pretty well."

She winked at him to lighten up her words. "I'm pretty sneaky when I wanna be."

 

[Zennon Baros]

Zennon watched Sapphire as she spoke. He had no idea what she was about to say, but he got the strangest feeling that she might actually hit him if he tried to ignore her. He watched her as she fixed her hair in the mirror. He frowned as she continued with her story, not really sure where she was going with this. He'd not really known Sapphire all that long, but he was beginning to think she had some scars, just like he did. And from the sounds of it, they probably ran just as deep as his did. He looked away when she looked him in the eye, breaking the intense gaze she seemed to have. He almost felt wrong, hearing all of this. He didn't think he could have told someone any of that, they clearly had different priorities. As she finished her speech, Zennon looked at her, confusion and shock clear on his face. "Sapphire, I..." What did he even say to something like that. He simply stared at her. "Uhm, thank you for telling me. That must have been tough."
​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph frowned a little at Zennon's response. She scratched her head. "Bloody hell I'm not good with people." She muttered under her breath before looking up at Zennon again. "I don't really care about that right now. I've got other things to worry about. I just..." She stuck her lower lip out and looked away.

"If you need to talk, I'll listen. I don't judge and I might get it a little bit." She glanced up at him, chewing her lower lip. "But if you don't want to talk I can go beat the hell out of whoever is putting you out of sorts."

 

[Zennon Baros]

Zennon sighed when it seemed that there was miscommunication. He smiled slightly to let her know that he appreciated what she was saying. "Honestly, Sapphire, thank you. Telling me that actually makes me feel a little better." He said, leaning against the sink. "The stuff with Pendleton just kind of got to me. I've never seen that happen to someone before and I guess I realised he was human after all." He said. It seemed like the easiest thing to explain. "A couple of us went up to the Hospital wing to see him, but when I did I guess I freaked out. He looked dead again." He admitted, shaking his head. He still didn't want to talk about it. The sight was forever burned into his memory. "I do appreciate the thought, but I wouldn't want you to get into trouble even if there was someone who was hurting me."
​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire watched Zennon. She had a feeling he wasn't telling her everything, but she also knew that secrets sometimes needed to be kept to herself. She visibly winced when he explained about Professor Pendleton. "You saw him too, huh?" She looked away, a hint of sadness on her face. "I saw him in the Entrance Hall, but I didn't go to the Hospital Wing. Professor Pendleton is really private and I didn't want to embarrass him." She admitted quietly, something different on her face.

She hadn't expected her problems to resurface again talking to Zennon. "Pendleton... is the only adult that's ever acted like he gave a damn. Seeing him break like that broke a lot of people." Though right now, it wasn't the Professor or her friend that she saw in her mind. Not really hearing the last bit of what he said, Sapph rubbed her temple.

"Hey, Zennon..." She started, a bit hesitant, before glancing up at him from under her lashes. "Ever have a problem that seems to chase you down?"

 

[Zennon Baros]

Zennon nodded as Sapphire asked about Pendleton. He had to admit that it was probably true. He hadn't realised how much of an affect Pendleton's collapse would have on other people. He'd been too preoccupied with what was happening in his own head to have worried about anything else. "I didn't think about how other people would feel after, you know?" He asked, looking up at Sapphire as she spoke. It seemed that they had both been affected by this. He listened intently as she talked about him being the only adult that ever actually gave a damn about her. Zennon didn't know much about that, but he felt sorry for Sapphire. Zennon had always been loved by his parents and it upset him that Sapphire didn't know what that was like.

Zennon moved over to Sapphire as she asked him a question and sighed. He leaned on the wall next to her. "Honestly? Yeah, it's hard to explain exactly, but yeah, I know what you mean." he shook his head. He didn't want to talk about himself, but he would be only too happy to talk Sapphire through it if she needed it.
​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph smirked a little as Zennon seemed to respond more to her problems than his own. Well, if it got his mind off what was troubling him, she wouldn't mind opening up. She needed to talk to someone anyway. It seemed to be her thing lately, but she was just so... Conflicted about everything right now that she needed a few different opinions before she decided.

She reached into her robes and pulled out a photo, offering it to the other boy.

"Meet my twin brother Onyx." She announced with a touch of dramatic flare. "I met him during break. He's a drummer, he likes all things cinnamon, he's got a sweet tooth as bad as mine, and I'm pretty sure he's gay." She smiled a little, brushing her hair behind her ear. "And I have no idea how to deal with him."