Hear the Whispers in the Dark (Vik)

[Zachary Ellis]

Zachary was not normally the type of student who broke the rules. He was raised to be a good boy and follow the rules; and yet, he somehow found himself enveloped in the cold, dark air of early morning. The island he was on was certainly a tropical one, but at night, the temperatures dropped and it became cooler and crisper, much like the fall back home in New Jersey. The thought brought a small smile to the young man’s face, but it quickly disappeared as he hesitantly walked through the courtyard. The only light that was nearby was the eerie, yellow light that was leaking from the old castle turned school’s windows, which were actually facing his back, so the only thing he was able to see standing angled away was his shadow, which was taller and more imposing than he had thought himself to be. A rustling sound coming from across the courtyard startled him and he backed slowly toward the wooden door out of which he had come. Maybe going out for a walk had been a bad idea, after all. It had to be at least 12:30 or even 1:00 in the morning, and he was sure that, even if the night patrol was not out, something that was out was bound to send his anxious self bolting for the building. Sure, he was not afraid of the dark any longer, but that did not mean that a sudden noise would not frighten him. He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself as he started to cross the courtyard once more, trying to avoid the windows so that he had a better chance of not being seen.

The blue-haired teen somehow made it safely through the courtyard and was starting to feel the sweat that had gathered on the back of his neck and forehead start to evaporate a little bit. The whole reason he had decided to take a walk in the first place was because of the nightmare that had dragged him from the world of his dreams. It was a vague nightmare, really, for all he could see was two body through the cracked glass of a car window and pieces of glass, plastic, and rubber scattered on a black road. It was hard to tell what else had been going on, though, because, in the nightmare, it was the dead of night and it was hard for him to see. Staring at the image of the dead boy and woman had caused him to nearly jump out of his bed and open his mouth to scream, though no sound had come out when he had done so. He had decided that maybe a walk would help free his mind of the terrible image of a cut up and bleeding woman and boy. He was not sure what exactly he had seen, but whatever it was, it scared him and made him even more nervous and on edge. He felt his breathing pick up and, in order to alleviate some of the anxiety he felt, he sped-walked through the forest, ignoring all of cracking the fallen branches of trees made underneath his feet. After some time, he still did not feel anchored, so he decided to bolt through the forest and see where it took him.

Zachary had expected that there was something beyond the perimeter of the forest that the prefect that showed him around had warned him never to go into. What he was not expecting was for his sneakers to encounter a slight rocky area before nearly sinking into the sand that clearly indicated the area he was in; a beach. The blue-eyed young man blinked slightly, waiting for a few moments for his vision to adjust to the darkness. In the meantime, he pushed his red-rimmed glasses up so that they were nice and snug instead of sliding off the bridge of his nose. Once he could see properly, he started to pad carefully toward the shoreline, letting his eyes flutter closed as he managed to get closer and closer. The sound of water, but especially the ocean, was relieving some of his anxiety already and boy, had he needed that. Sure, it would never banish those horrible images that he relived on occasion, but it did make him feel more connected to the earth and in tune with himself. He stood there for a long time, his hands tucked into his pockets as he synchronized his breathing with the movement of the waves. He stood far enough away so that his shoes would not get wet, but close enough so the sound would echo in his ears without any difficulty.


Things seemed to be pretty quiet until the crunching of rocks drew his attention. His eyes snapped open and he turned around, casting his blue eyes upshore to see a figure on the rocks, presumably where one would have entered from the woods. Normally, the young man was not so bold, but, that night, he had a feeling something was going to happen if he did not help the other person, so he ran up the beach and approached the other person, whom he soon found out was another male and offered his hand shyly. “Excuse m-me,” he stammered, internally cursing his stutter for making an appearance, “Are y-you alright? I’m s-sorry if I j-jumped to conclusions… You j-just looked like you were s-struggling a little bit.” After helping stabilize the other person, Zachary scratched the back of his head before offering his hand, “M-my name is Z-Zachary, b-by the way. W-what’s yours?” Despite his stutter, the blue haired young man smiled shyly and tried to put on a friendly air. After all, he was only trying to be friendly and help someone else out.

[Viktor Rogers]

Vik was one that rarely ever enjoyed the blanket of darkness that enveloped the world at night. It was almost as if that darkness sought out to cause the teenager pain by causing him to trip over unseen roots, fall flat on his face, and feel even more blatantly useless than he already was. Being deaf was hard enough, and losing the majority of his sight to the night gave him a severe feeling of unease and discomfort. It also made it more difficult to lipread, due to the long shadows caused by the high points and drops in peoples' faces and the low light source the moon provided. Besides, the view of the world in darkness reminded Vik of the silence he always felt but, ironically enough, couldn't even hear to fully understand it. Many others revelled in the quietness that was offered by the night, and they gained energy from the idea that all others were sleeping. However, in contrast, it only reminded Vik of how alone he was in that he felt in that same silence all the time - and it wasn't at all comforting to him like it was to others. So, even if he loved being alone occasionally as much as the next guy, Vik couldn't help but dread the nights he spent outside.


However, despite his hatred for the darkness, sometimes his hatred for his roommate was significantly stronger, as it was that night. It wasn't uncommon for the two to argue about music and whether Marcus should be allowed to play his instruments in the dorm, and that was also the situation of that night. Vik had exploded as he always did when he didn't get his way when it came to music, and it did not help at all that Vik's roommate, the puke-haired boy with severe anger issues, was definitely not one that ever backed down from an argument. So, one can only imagine what happened with the two of them snapping at one another, and the sad part was that it really wasn't rare for either of them to get that angry with each other. The argument had left Vik on edge, tired, and sick of his roommate and Ashford in its entirety, prompting him to slam the door and march out the building without a care for any prefects trying to stop him. Well, of course he did actually mind, and he did make huge efforts to avoid them as to not get caught, but he at least pretended he didn't care.


Without heading in any specific direction, Vik found himself wandering the forest, carefully watching his step. The moonlight leaked through the thick canopy of the trees, thankfully illuminating Vik's path so that he could continue without stumbling. His emotions were off the charts, moods switching from anger to sadness in an instant, before he began to linger on his disability and his past. He would stop once in a while to do this and sit on unlucky stumps or tree roots, begging that maybe, just maybe, he would be able to hear the light breeze brushing past the leaves, or the sound of his feet crunching against the dry leaves, or the sound of the awakening owls, or...anything at all. Whenever he did sit down and just think, the teenager could be found with his head in his hands, and if one observed closely enough, perhaps they'd see a tear a tear or two fall down his face or hear quiet sobbing. Apart from that, he would look as still as a statue with the staggered movements of his shoulders being the only thing giving away that he was even still breathing.


Vik lingered for a long time like that, minutes passing almost like seconds to him. He knew he could remain like that forever and let his body simply die, and he had contemplated doing such a thing before. His thoughts were toxic, causing him to hate himself and regret even his existence at times. He was worthless after all, according to everyone he had ever cared for, as even his own parents couldn't love him after he'd hurt them. He had betrayed their trust by going out to a party, and then ruined their hopes, dreams, and expectations of him in the process when he got in to a car crash. Even worse, Vik hadn't even had the guts to save everyone the pain and end his life when his parents had made it obvious that they hated him for what he had done, and for what the car crash had done to his future. He couldn't remember much about the whole thing and it didn't help he had been drunk, but every once in a while he'd get remember a piece of what happened, even if he didn't want them. Maybe it was the memory of the his friend shouting and slamming on the breaks, or the memory of the glass shards slicing through his skin as if it were butter, or even part of the memory of his head slamming against the concrete and everything fading to black.


Even though he hadn't moved in what felt like ages, Vik stood up with a sudden purpose to clear his head and his mind. He was emotionally unstable: it was late, he was dwelling on the past, and he had just gotten in an argument with his roommate. His movements became more fluid and he wiped away the tears that lingered in his eyes as he resolved to move forward, and only forward. The past was something that, for the rest of that night, he would do his best to avoid. Despite his burning, bloodshot eyes, Vik moved forward down a known path that he had taken before, towards the beach. There, he could sit and watch the waves roll and perhaps even fall asleep far away from anyone that wished to argue with him. As he walked, the trees began to thin and the texture of the ground gave way to rocks, in which Vik began to walk more cautiously as to avoid twisting an ankle. However, as he did so, he spotted the figure of a man approaching him and he grew uncomfortable. He'd heard of the insane students that lingered outside in the night, searching for unwitting students, so he tensed his muscles and slowed down his pace even more, but he couldn't help but be slightly off-balance on the large rocks.


When the boy approached, though, it seemed to be without a malicious intent. Fortunately, the moonlight lit up his face and permitted for Vik to at least understand some of his words, and he pieced together the rest of what the boy had said based on context clues. Vik's response to the knowledge of what he said was to relax and take the boy's hand, balancing himself with his help before smiling kindly, hoping the redness in his eyes would have faded by the time he arrived on the beach. "Yeah, everything's alright, I can assure you of that," he responded, making effort to keep his voice steady. "But thank you very much for the help, I'd much prefer to take a helping hand then end up with a twisted ankle far away from the school in the dead of night." After he had managed to completely stabilize himself, he released his grip on the other boy's hand and stood firmly on a rather large rock, before he found himself firmly shaking Zachary's hand again to introduce himself. "I'm Vik, it's nice to meet you, Zachary," the teenager grinned, watching the boy's lips carefully for movement. He had no desire to miss any of the conversation they had, and having someone tell him a hilarious deaf joke would probably set him off, so he hoped to make that as unnoticeable as he could. Well, he tried to do that all the time but it rarely ended up working, but he hoped it would this time. However, the boy seemed to be nervous and stuttered a bit, which unfortunately made lipreading more difficult but it did make Vik more comfortable as it meant he wouldn't be the type to tease Vik for his lack of hearing.

[Zachary Ellis]

To say that Zachary was a bit of a nervous nelly was stating the obvious. Yes, he was kind and always reached out to people in need, but that did not mean that he did not become nervous easily. The sound of rocks crunching from upshore had, at first, filled him with utter terror. He had heard rumors that there were students who shrouded themselves in the darkness of the night and waited for unsuspecting students to wander out before attacking them ruthlessly. The bespectacled young man had then remembered that the words he had heard were just that; words. After wavering between decision and indecision for a few minutes, he climbed up the shore to meet whoever was standing on the rocks. It was dark, and he could not see very well, but he knew that he saw the shape of person. The crunching must have come from beneath the person’s feet, for they were standing on the very rocks that the blue-haired young man had crossed over to get to the sandy shore. As he got closer, the moonlight slanted in such away that he could almost see the male’s entire upper body. His shoulders were tense, as if he was waiting to either pounce or flee. For a moment, he hesitated; was this other person dangerous, or was he trying to keep his guard up because he had heard someone approaching? He was not sure, but he made sure to show that his intentions were not malicious by offering a hand and speaking in a soft voice.

Zachary nodded slightly when Viktor said he was okay. Still, the blue-haired young man kept the other’s hand in his grasp as he helped him navigate the rocks. Sure, the boy was not blind, but the moon was not the best light source, and even the people with the greatest balance may have had trouble keeping themselves steady in such a rocky environment on an extremely early morning. “You’re w-welcome,” the blue-haired young man replied, making sure the other was steady and safe on a large rock before gently removing his hand. “Injured b-body parts are n-no fun,” he joked quietly, scratching the back of his head, “I c-can’t t-tell you how many times I’ve strained my shoulder swimming.” He wondered for a moment if the other young man could not hear him well, because the other teen seemed to be looking more at his lips. Instead of dwelling on the thought, though, he firmly shook the other’s hand back, slightly surprised at how strong the other’s grip was. From his outward appearance, he did not seem that strong, but maybe there was more to the other young man that met the eye. “It’s a p-pleasure to meet you too, V-Vik.”

Zachary huffed to himself in frustration after dropping his hand from Viktor’s. He was becoming more and more annoyed with his stutter as it continued to become intrusive into his speech. He knew that he was able to talk without it; he had a full conversation with his foster parents before leaving for Ashford. So why, then, did he have so much trouble with talking to someone his own age? He wanted very badly to make friends, but his stupid stutter, which was supposed to go away in his teenage years he had heard, was making it difficult for him to be himself. “I’m s-sorry about this,” he said wearily, pointing to his lips, “T-this s-stutter is hard to control, especially when I meet new people. H-hopefully it will go away soon.” The last part of his statement was meant more for himself than for the other young man standing before him. He shifted slightly to sit on a smaller rock next to the one the other teen was standing on. For some time, the blue-haired boy watched the ocean in silence, a small smile on his face as he watched the waves roll onto the shore, and then retreat. He had always found the beach, and even the ocean itself, to be a wonderful, calming place. After a while, Zack looked up at Vik and smiled a little, “I’ve always l-liked the shore. It’s p-peaceful to me.” He blinked slightly, realizing his words came out of nowhere and he chuckled to himself, looking back down at the sand, which looked more of a dark brown color in the light of the moon as opposed to the normal tan color it was in the sunlight. If he looked up, though, he could see the reflection of the full moon dancing on the surface of the ocean water. “If you d-don’t mind my asking,” Zack started, looking up at Vik so that the other could see his face, “W-what brings you out here so late at night?”

[Viktor Rogers]

Although saying this would be unsurprising to anyone who has encountered Vik before, he's definitely not a quiet individual. Whether he's loud because he's yelling at some unfortunate musician or he's just being his typical, extroverted self, he's someone you can't miss in a crowd, and his giant height of 6"2' and growing also aids this. If nothing else, he's someone that most people try to avoid getting in a fist fight with, unless they had super strength or they were Marcus. The two of them had gotten daringly close to fighting a multitude of times, with Vik's explosions of anger being the main instigator for it all. But, if Vik would be allowed a comment on the whole thing, he would stand adamant in saying that it was Marcus who started it all by being a musician in the first place. Hopefully, though, this boy wasn't a musician and wouldn't ask too much about his roommate if Vik had to bring it up, as it could lead to some disagreements between the two of them.


Vik dipped his head in acknowledgement of Zachary's acceptance of Vik's thanks, before he grew curious as the boy spoke of swimming. He looked Zachary up and down, observing that he was, in fact, a well-built young adult. Zachary had clearly spent his fair share of time in the gym, perhaps even practicing for swimming tournaments. How competitive had the guy been? Vik knew nothing about water sports, so for all he knew he could be the Tiger Woods of swimming. That is, if Tiger Woods was actually any good. Vik didn't know anything about golfing either. "No, it's definitely not much fun to get hurt. I mean, I'm fortunate enough to have not experienced any drastic injuries." Apart from losing his hearing. Apart from being hospitalized after a car crash. But, neither of those mattered at the time and Vik would prefer to pretend that it hadn't happened around this guy. "Are you a big competitive swimmer, then? Or, I suppose it'd be better to ask if you were before you arrived on the island," Vik asked, watching him carefully to see if his expression changed. The stutter that the boy had was getting a little frustrating for the lipreader, as it caused him to miss out on bits of the sentence, but he was lucky enough to get some of the important words so he managed to respond kindly to Zachary's comment on it. "Nah, I understand you're nervous. I mean, it's pretty late at night and for all you know I'm some serial killer." Of course, Vik was lightly teasing as he obviously wasn't some insane kid. He was trying to return to his normal extroverted self despite the sombre mood of the night, but he found himself being much more serious than he normally would be. He'd have to shake it off somehow.


Vik eyes flickered towards the waves when Zachary referred to them, hoping that maybe he would hear them crashing against the shore, but it was a ridiculous desire as he knew it would be impossible for him to suddenly regain his hearing. The waves didn't have the exact same relaxing feeling when one couldn't hear them - rather, they were just another reminder that Vik was deaf. His eyes locked back on the boy's lips though, as to read them and make sure he didn't miss anything.  He had grown used to never making eye contact, although he was sure it must make others feel slightly uncomfortable. When Zachary finally asked what had brought him out so late, Vik wrinkled his nose in obvious displeasure. "My, uh, my roommate and I don't really get along sometimes. I wanted to get out of the building and away from him," he responded, feeling slightly uncomfortable with it all. Vik knew, deep down, that he was in the wrong for how he treated Marcus, but he couldn't help but act as he always did to musicians. "What about you? It's pretty late, I'm sure it's not normal to come across innocent people on the island in the dead of night: it's pretty dangerous out here."

[Zachary Ellis]

Zachary blinked slightly as he noticed Viktor examine him briefly, and felt a little strange about it. Sure, he was used to scouts and recruiters watching him from the sidelines of meets, but he had never wanted to be super serious about swimming in the future. He knew he was not talented enough to be the next Michael Phelps or any other comparatively young swimmer that made it to the Olympics. Before his powers had entered his life, he had wanted to continue swimming while going to college to become a physical therapist. He wanted to help other people just like himself, who had sustained bad injuries and needed help to get their body functioning back to normal. Of course, all of that had changed when his strange abilities had suddenly appeared, pretty much out of the blue. At first, it was a rather simple thing; the water seemed to be magically drawn to him, and it was easy to make that look like an accident. What was not easy to disguise was the fact that he all but disappeared when he was swimming in a meet. He had lied and told many people that he moved so fast that he was a blur, but that excuse had only worked for so long before people started to see through it. As a matter of fact, blending into the water and the water being attracted to him were the whole reason why he was sent to Ashford in the first place. A small frown crossed his lips at the thought; he still felt guilty about nearly drowning the other butterfly swimmers while trying to get a breath himself. He was quick to force the feeling of guilt that was welling up in his gut down so that he could focus on answering Vik’s questions instead of getting lost in the caverns of his own mind.

Zachary chuckled a little bit; he had to admit, the other young man had a bit of a sense of humor, which was good. The blue-haired young man had come into contact with many sour people in his lifetime, especially when swimming was involved, and it was nice to be able to joke with someone and not have them get offended so easily. Vik’s question caused Zack to tilt his head slightly, blinking before laughing nervously and scratching the back of his head. “W-well, I used to swim competitively a lot back home. I never really planned to go to the Olympics or anything, though. I’m not that good.” Several people that used to go to school with the bespectacled teen probably would have argued with him and told him he had lots of talent and could easily be the next hot, young swimmer for team USA, but that was never really his goal, anyway. Of course, given that he was now stuck on an island with a bunch of other (possibly psychotic or even psychopathic) teenagers who also had abilities, though not necessarily the ones that he possessed. Thankfully, Vik gave Zack the impression that he was neither of those things, which was a relief for the blue-haired teen. He wanted to believe that not everyone on the island had some kind of dangerous mental problem, and there was his proof. Well, hopefully, anyway. Zack sighed again as he dragged up the subject of his stutter. He hated the thing with a burning passion, but no matter how hard he tried, he struggled to finally kick it. It seemed to be dying down slightly, since the other young man did not seem like too much of a threat. “I’ve h-had it since I was a kid. It j-just gets annoying when I’m trying to talk to someone. I w-want to interact with other people, but stuttering just gets in the way of communicating.” He sighed a little again and shook his head, grimacing slightly, “S-sorry about that. I g-get carried away sometimes…”

Zachary saw the wrinkling of Viktor’s nose since he was looking at the other’s face, and his own face fell into a sort of frown. Sure, the two of them were not really friends or anything, but the blue-haired teen never liked to hear that things were not going well for other people. “I’m s-sorry,” he said almost instantly after registering the displeased look on the other’s face, “I d-didn’t mean to bring up such a sensitive subject, I was just curious.” His statement trailed off into mumbling, though the only thing he averted to the ground was his eyes. The other’s question caused him to look up and blink slightly. He gently pushed the red framed glasses up his nose and chuckled a little bit at the other’s concern. “I, um... “ He scratched the back of his head and looked over at the ocean. The bloody and glass-filled image flashed behind his eyes and he nearly jumped in the air out of sheer surprise. He had not expected it to come back so suddenly. He shuddered slightly and rubbed his right hand against the upper part of his left arm. “H-honestly, I had a pretty bad nightmare,” Zack answered quietly, keeping his eyes down but still keeping his face angled toward Vik. He could tell the other was reading his lips, so he wanted to make the process was as easy as possible.

[Viktor Rogers]

Although Vik's eyes were trained on Zachary's lips, he couldn't stop them from widening briefly as the boy informed Vik that he had swam competitively before. It sounded like something that would be a lot of work to train for and do, but everything really was like that, wasn't it? However, the amount of training one must go through to be in a completely different element must be very odd; swimming required a lot of muscles that people didn't use everyday. Vik, well, Vik only really trained the generic muscles like his upper body and legs. Reminded of the presence of his own arms, he crossed them to give them something to do rather than just hang at his side awkwardly, although it may have gave him more of a closed-off appearance. "I'm sure you're just being modest. If nothing else, I'm sure you're much better than a lot of people your age," he responded kindly, although Vik obviously had no clue if Zachary actually was any good. It was just generally a good idea to praise people and make them feel better about themselves, even if the praise was unfounded. Besides, the boy in front of him seemed very normal, and Vik was still unsure about how much of the population of the people on the island actually weren't crazy. He had yet to encounter anyone who tried to kill him, thankfully, but he'd heard enough rumours to know that those type of people were out there. And, well, Vik was defenceless against any form of attack apart from physical, in which he was somewhat capable due to his working out habits. Being a deaf sound manipulator didn't really help him much against people that could literally tear the ground away from his feet. This made it generally a good thing to befriend other people that weren't crazy.


Vik remained quiet as Zachary spoke about his stutter. He seemed very frustrated with it, if nothing else, and Vik could understand why. It was something he couldn't control, and it caused problems for him and everyone else around him. It wasn't to the extent of being mute, of course, but it was something that definitely could affect social situations and deter people from talking to Zachary. Vik, as a deaf teenager, understood how impactful it could be to be so blatantly different with people able to tell in moments that something was off about him. "Yeah, I, uh, I can understand that. Communication is tough enough when you can talk normally, having a stutter probably doesn't help much." Although he felt like the kid was whining a bit for such a small problem that he had, Vik didn't comment on it and kept the thought to himself, trying not to compare his deafness to the boy's stutter. After all, they were two completely different things and they could both be perceived as a different form of debilitating, although Vik felt like his own was much worse and this made it more difficult for him to take Zachary's complaints about his stutter seriously.


When Zachary apologized for asking about Vik's roommate, Vik waved his hand in the air dismissively. He wasn't bothered much by Zachary's question, more so about the whole roommate situation he had going on and how horrible it was for both Marcus and him. It was too bad they couldn't change rooms or anything, because it would save a lot of pain for the two of them. Then again, they did sometimes still get along so maybe one day they could put their differences aside and actually become good friends. That day obviously wouldn't be anytime soon, but it could happen. However, if it did, Vik would have to suffer through a positive interaction with a musician everyday, and the thought of that made him internally shudder. At least for now he would keep his distance when he could, and when he couldn't he wouldn't try to change his attitude in hopes that Marcus might quit music instead.


At the mention of Zachary having a nightmare, Vik held back a chuckle, thinking that perhaps the guy had some weird fear of monsters and that kept him awake. The last time Vik had had a nightmare like that that warranted running to his parents room crying for help was when he was probably four or five, and it was almost odd that Zachary had had such a bad dream that it had forced him out of the dorm building. However, avoiding assumptions was better and Vik decided it'd be best to ask about what it was and not just assume that Zachary was a childish coward. "What was it about, if you don't mind me asking?" his eyes were filled with curiosity when he asked, although he was understanding in that he knew it was likely the boy wouldn't tell him at all..

[Zachary Ellis]

Zachary did not really like to ‘toot his own horn’, so to speak. Still, since the other had asked, he did admit that he swam competitively and the surprise he received in return a little puzzling. Confusing still was the way that the other young man crossed his arms over his chest. The blue-haired young man thought back over what he had said. Had he said something offensive or rude? Normally, he was aware of such things. “I’m s-sorry, did I say something to offend you?” he asked, his dark eyebrows furrowing slightly in confusion. He was referring to the other young man’s clearly closed posture. It only occurred to him after he apologized that the other might have been cold or something. As if his body was responding to his thoughts, a sudden chill snaked up his spine and he rubbed his upper arms with his palms, grimacing when he realized that he had run outside in only pajama pants and a t-shirt. He supposed it was better than just running outside in boxers or something, though. He blushed slightly at the other young man’s compliment and scratched the back of his head, “T-that’s very kind of you, Vik.” He pushed his red-framed glasses up his nose out of habit, trying to draw attention away from his embarrassment. The young man blinked suddenly, as if he had forgotten something and quickly added, “B-by the way, y-you can call me Zack, if you want. S-sorry, I forget to mention important things, sometimes.” He scratched the back of his head again and grimaced slightly, his cheeks flushing a rosy pink color briefly.

Zachary nodded a little bit, as if to agree with what Viktor had said. Still, he counted himself among the lucky people on the planet. There were people who could not see, could not hear, or could not really function because they had no food or water. “S-still, I should count myself amongst the lucky,” he said, glancing out toward the water before looking back at the young man with whom he was conversing, “T-there are people that have it worse off than I do.” He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing his bangs to the side slightly. He smiled a little at the other young man, as if to try and lighten the mood a bit. After all, the world was not all doom and gloom. “A l-lot of things in this world are beautiful,” he added, his smile widening a bit, “And I t-think we’re immensely lucky to be able experience them.” As if to prove his point, he glanced over toward the ocean, which had the silvery orb that they called the moon reflecting off its’ surface. He let out a soft, contented sigh before turning back to the other young man.

Zachary blinked slightly when Viktor asked him what his dream was about. At first, he was a little hesitant to say anything about it. After all, it could be used as some kind of blackmail. Then again, the other young man did not seem like the type of person to act that way, so he figured he was safe. People may have called him naive, but he did not care. People preferred honesty and openness, and he knew this. Of course, he was already open and honest to begin with, so it was not as if he was changing himself. Besides, it would be very kind of him to allay the other young man’s curiosity. He ran a hand through his hair again, taking a deep breath before closing his eyes and trying to picture the image he had seen. “I c-couldn’t see much, because it was dark in the nightmare, b-but there was a woman and a boy.” He tried to put himself back into the vision he had had during sleep, hoping that maybe tapping into the terror might trigger a better memory. “T-they were trapped behind cracked glass and plastic. T-the boy was all cut up, and the w-woman was trying to bang on the glass t-to get out.” A shiver ran up his spine at the remembrance and he rubbed his upper arms a little bit, as if he were cold from the outside temperature. His eyes fluttered open and he looked directly at the other young man, his blue eyes tinted a slight shade of violet in the moonlight, “I’m p-pretty sure they were trapped under a wrecked car…” His voice became quiet and he looked down at the sand for some time before speaking up again. “I k-know you probably t-think I’m a wimp for running away,” he mumbled, “I j-just didn’t want to relive the accident again… It was b-bad enough the first time,” He tried to keep the subject vague, just in case the other young man was sensitive to certain subjects.

[Viktor Rogers]

When Zachary asked if he'd done anything to offend Vik, Vik frowned deeply in confusion, before he remembered the position of his arms. "Oh no, I-uh, yeah, I was just feeling a little off with my hands at my side. Needed something to do with them, y'know? Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as rude," he responded, stuttering a little at the start as to try and find a way to word that he didn't mean to cause any offence. Perhaps he should try being a little more upbeat, despite his fatigue and emotions that were running wild. He'd make an effort, he promised himself, as he let his arms fall back down to his side although now he felt awkwardness setting in. He hadn't meant to offend the other boy, and he felt horrible for it. "I can assure you I'm not a complete asshole and that I wouldn't try to be passive aggressive like that, if that helps any," he chuckled a little, trying to loosen the mood about his own mistake before he nervously glanced down at his feet and back up at the boy so he could catch his next words. As Zachary suggested to call him Zack, Vik relaxed and gave him a another warm smile. "For sure, 'Zack' is a bit less of a mouthful. I mean, if you need to you can just blame missing important things on me - sometimes I can't get everything in a conversation so if you pretend you said it and I just didn't catch it, I wouldn't doubt you at all," he said, although it was a light joke as Vik tended to pride himself in his lipreading abilities. He was a lot, lot better at it than the average deaf person, it was almost unnatural.


When Zack acknowledged that he was more fortunate than most, Vik's respect for him returned. At least he could admit that, although his stutter was unfortunate, he was still very lucky in comparison to many other people. However, the serious tone was something that Vik intended to change - he found an opportunity to make a light joke so he did. "I mean, yeah, I'm on the Earth still. I think I'm a beautiful sight to behold." He grinned ear-to-ear, before shaking his head while he chuckled. Letting that hang in the air for a second, he contemplated how to respond a little more seriously. "At the same time, the beauty in the world can be harder to see than the ugliness. It's a lot easier to complain about one's problems than realize how fortunate one actually is. I'm very guilty of doing that, myself," Vik pointed out, not allowing his eyes to leave the boy's lips to glance at the ocean that Zack was looking at.


Zack spoke of his nightmare being a car accident, and Vik's previous thoughts of him being a wimp immediately dispersed. The memories of his own were scattered and mismatched, but it was terrifying enough to even imagine going through that again. He'd had his fair share of car crash nightmares, too, so he could sympathize with the other teenager. To show this, he dipped his head briefly and slowly nodded. "That sounds horrible, I'm sorry. You seem to say it as if it's a recurring dream, does it happen often?" he asked, eyes warm and friendly to show that he wouldn't make fun of the boy for being open. Vik understood fully, and he returned the boy's honesty with his own. "I-uh, I've been in a car crash before." He grew a little uncomfortable, having not mentioned it to anyone on the island before. He gestured to the scar going along his face and glanced downwards quickly, but he couldn't keep his eyes there for long in case the other boy spoke again. "It's where I got all these scars from," he said, trying to keep a monotonous attitude but his voice was threatening to betray him. He didn't know why he was so trusting towards this boy, as the event with his car crash was something he tended to hate talking about, but he felt like the friendliness and honesty of the boy just allowed him to open up himself.

[Zachary Ellis]

Zachary blinked slightly at Viktor’s explanation of his posture. The blue-haired young man’s face flushed a read color and he scratched the back of his head. Boy, did he feel stupid after that. “N-no, no, you’re fine,” he stuttered, waving his hands in front of him, “I j-just thought I s-said something stupid without realizing it.” He bit his lower lip a little bit and stubbed tip of sneaker into the sand. His foot sank a little and lightly pulled his foot up to re-adjust himself properly on the sand. He had almost forgotten where he was standing. The young man often became very involved with what he was doing, which was, at the moment, conversing with someone else, that he seemed to forget everything that might be going on around him. The young man turned his blue eyes to meet the other young man’s as he spoke again. “I d-didn’t think you were anything of the sort,” he replied with a small, shy smile, “You s-seem nice. S-seems like you just h-have a lot on your mind. I c-can understand that.” The young man liked to think that, for the most part, he was able to read people decently. Sure, maybe he may have misjudged the other young man’s defensive stance, but he was certain there was an air of something about him. Zack was not entirely sure what it was, but maybe, if he talked to Vik a little more, he would figure out what it was. In the meantime, though, Zack was able to chuckle at the good-natured poke. “Only my parents called me ‘Zachary’,” he replied, forcing himself to smile a bit. Even though he had lost them when he was very young, he had no doubt they were very good people who loved him a lot. He nodded a little to the rest of the young man’s statement, though he was not entirely sure what it all meant. Maybe the other young man had a hearing problem or something. He shrugged it off; if the other wanted to talk about it, he would most likely bring it up.

The sudden serious tone was merely a by-product of Zachary backpedaling a bit. He had realized too late that he was complaining too much and wanted to fix it. Thankfully, the slightly heavy air seemed to be lifted by the other’s joke. The blue-haired young man’s face flushed slightly as he scratched the back of his neck. He would not lie; the other young man was attractive in a way. He blinked slightly, wondering where in the hell that thought had come from. He shrugged it off, knowing that he was being honest, at least. “You are attractive,” the blue-haired young man mumbled, his face turning as red as the frames of his glasses, “B-but I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that. I’m s-sure many a girl has said something along those lines.” He played it off as a joke, since the original statement also had a joking tone to it. He coughed slightly and scratched the back of his head again. He was not sure how the other would react. Ideally, the other young man would just chuckle and brush him off, ignoring the possible undertones of his honesty. The worst thing that he could be asked is if he was gay. In all honesty, he was not sure how to answer that question, if it were to come up, but he liked to think he was creative, so he could always make something up, too.

Zachary blinked slightly when Viktor apologized. The blue-haired young man shrugged a bit. “Yeah, actually,” the young man replied, scratching the back of his head. The words the red-head young man spoke caused the blue-haired young man to look directly at him. For a few moments, he struggled with what he wanted to say. Apologizing would be pointless, and the last thing he wanted to convey was that he pitied the young man. He knew that he himself was not very fond of pity, but he never said anything. He watched the other young man’s hand carefully, tilting his head to see the scar a little better. The moonlight had been casting a shadow over the scarred area, so the bespectacled young man had not even noticed it. He took a deep breath before replying, “I’m sorry to hear about that.” He flashed the other a soft, sympathetic smile. “It sounds like talking about it is hard,” he observed, his voice quiet and comforting, “Still, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, though, so, if you don’t want to say anything else, you don’t have to. If you want to talk though, I’m here to listen.” He realized suddenly that all of that was a bit strange coming from someone the other barely knew, but he supposed that was just his nature. “I m-mean, if you want to. I k-know it sounds weird coming from someone you just met, but… I want to help.” His cheeks flushed slightly again and he looked at the sand for a few moments, trying to once again synch his breathing to the sound of the ocean. He was really embarrassing himself that night, for sure.

[Viktor Rogers]

Vik bit his lip to try and hold back words threatening to spill, but he looked up curiously as Zack commented on his attractiveness and allowed a small smile of appreciation. It was a bold comment, if nothing else, and Vik couldn't help but be amazed by Zack's willingness to speak from his mind and say things that others would hold back. Or, at least Vik thought he was just being honest. It was entirely possible he was just speaking flattering words to try and get higher on Vik's list of people he liked. Regardless, it was working. "Even in the unlikely event that one would, I can assure you I'd have no interest in her. Compliments are always welcome any day, though, from anyone. But anyways, you're not so bad-looking yourself," he said, shrugging his comment off and chuckling in amusement. He wasn't lying about Zack's appearance either, and although most people on the island tended to be above average on the 'beautiful' or 'handsome' scale, Zack was definitely high up on Vik's list of cute people on the island. Additionally, Vik was completely open about his homosexuality as anyone who saw anything wrong with it might as well go to hell for all Vik cared - which led to his willingness to make a comment about the whole 'girl' thing that Zack had mentioned. The moment after he'd finished talking though, his mood returned back to become a bit more sombre again as he thought back to his parents and the different life he could've lead.


When Zack had offered his help on discussing the whole scenario with the car crash, Vik shuffled his feet uncomfortably and found himself slouching more. It was almost an effort to shrink into the earth and vanish, even though that was unfortunately impossible. "Well, I mean," he hesitated, unsure of how to word the whole ordeal. "There's not much to say. I had a life laid out for me, then I got drunk, got in a car crash, then lost my hearing along with my future." He spoke rapidly, worried that his voice would falter if he gave it time to. If nothing else, there was clear resentment in his voice, although it was resentment not directed towards anyone other than himself. After all, he'd been the one to decide to get drunk and then get in a car with his buddy. Obviously, he hadn't had much control over his actions at the time, but it still had gone against what his parents had advised when he had gone to the party and it had ended badly, as if to teach Vik a crucial lesson. Well, he'd learned. That's when Vik remembered where the hell he was and that he actually hadn't told the boy about his own loss of hearing before, and he tried to lighten the situation. He didn't want to bring anyone down with him on his depressing journey through the past. "Yeah, I forgot to mention that I was a deaf person. It's why I've been looking at your lips the whole time: I don't have some crazy lip fetish, promise," he said with a half-hearted smile, trying to return the happy mood to their discussion. It was rare for Vik to talk about his past, and doing so always made him uncomfortable. The last person he'd probably told was his parents, before he found out about his sound manipulation abilities and were sent here. A deaf dude with sound manipulation, he thought grimly, gritting his teeth. Someone has a very, very foul sense of humour.

[Zachary Ellis]

Zachary was not sure if stating his opinion on Viktor’s looks was appropriate. They had just met after all. Then again, the bespectacled young man had always considered himself an honest person, and he was not going to lie by staying quiet. He blinked a little when the other young man stated his lack of interest in women. Oh, he thought to himself, his cheeks flushing a little in embarrassment, That was dumb of me to say… “Ah, I see. S-still, compliments are nice, like you said,” he replied, scratching the back of his head. The young man’s eyes widened a bit when the other complimented him as well. He ducked his head slightly, not really sure of how to respond. He had not been paid too many direct compliments before, and even when he had, they were mostly about his ability as a swimmer. As he thought back, he could remember the occasional young lady coming up to speak with him, but he had written it off as friendly conversation. Had he not realized that they were trying to flirt with him? Well, regardless of the answer, things were different on the island than they were at home. People were interested in survival and occasionally making friends. Sure, he wanted to survive, but he also wanted to meet people too. He brushed the thoughts away and brought his head back up to smile at the young man he was speaking to. His cheeks were beet red, but he was smiling shyly, “T-thank you,” he said quietly, scratching the back of his neck. He figured the other young man was just returning the honesty that he himself had displayed. Of course, he saw nothing wrong with the other thinking he was attractive, though he would not let it mean too much, in case it was just a polite response.

Zachary observed Viktor’s demeanor and movements as he opened a line of communication to talk about the crash that the other young man had been in. The blue-haired teen felt a little guilty for bringing it up after watching the redhead try to curl in on himself and speak hesitantly. He wanted to ask the other if he would rather not talk about it, but it seemed like the other had already taken his offer, since he was talking about what happened. Vik’s description of what happened made Zack frown a bit and reach out to lightly touch the other’s shoulder for a brief moment. “It sounds like a lot has happened to you lately. It doesn’t mean you have no future, though.” He gave the other young man a reassuring smile, “Things that happened may have forced you to change your plans, but you’ll figure something out.” The bespectacled boy heard the twinge of resentment in the other’s voice and sighed internally. It had been the young man’s own fault that he had gotten drunk and into an accident, but saying that was not going to help anyone. Zack turned his attention back to Vik when he mentioned that he was deaf. He had figured the other had a hearing problem, but he was not sure how severe it was. The joke the other made pulled a small chuckle from the bespectacled young man. “Heh, I figured you had a reason for looking at my lips,” he teased quietly, a small smile crossing his face. It was only after his attempt at a teasing statement that he realized his hand was still on the other’s shoulder. He gently drew it back to himself and let his arms hang by his sides. “You know,” he said, facing the other young man so that he could lipread properly, “I thought this school was going to be full of crazy, violent people. You seem pretty chill, for the most part. And thanks for talking to me, by the way.” He scratched the back of his neck again, “I know you probably think I’m a dork or something, but it’s nice to be able to talk to someone and not have them get frustrated, you know?” More often than not, people were not really sure how to handle Zack’s stutter, so they often made an excuse to leave. Sure, Vik was not the first person to persist, but it still meant a lot to Zack that someone was willing to converse with him, despite both of their limitations.

[Viktor Rogers]

The deaf teenager could help but notice the embarrassment radiating off the other boy through his pink cheeks and how he scratched the back of his head or neck just, as Vik interpreted it, for the sake of doing something with his arms. On a normal day, Vik would be grinning wildly about the embarrassment that Zack went through from being complimented on his appearance, but today wasn't quite like that due to the whole 'I'm deaf and life sucks' thing. It wasn't even day, anyways, more like early morning, so that might contribute to why those normalities couldn't apply at the time. So, instead of giving his normal response of laughter and a dumb comment, Vik simply nodded his head with a half-hearted smile as a way of accepting his apology. It was difficult for him to act somewhat jolly when the mood of the conversation was as sombre as it was, but he was making a large amount of effort to joke around and keep Zack amused, but it was tough. Zack was one of the few people on the island that Vik had met that he got along with, probably because he didn't carry around a guitar on his back. However, Vik's pessimistic attitude that night could very well scare the boy away, and he was debatably scared of that.


When Zach put his hand on Vik's shoulder and spoke of how his life really wasn't over, Vik made a very sudden change in his body language. He rubbed the side of his arm and shifted his jaw back and forth in unease, eyebrows angled slightly downwards as he looked at the other boy with a steady gaze. His disagreement with what Zack had said was apparent simply through this, but his spoken words proved it further. He was debatably angry with the fact that Zack didn't understand how Vik had meant what he said. "Imagine this, as this is something that you might feel applies more to you. You're planning to go the Olympics for swimming. You work everyday for hours and hours on end from dawn until dusk just to practice so you can become the next Michael Phelps. You're told you're talented beyond compare, as I'm sure you are. Everyone around you would expect your success, admire your skill, and those who loved you would be proud of all your accomplishments, even the smallest ones. Everything in your life is planned out exactly how you want it: you're the top in your swimming class, you're invited to international competitions the next year, and everything's going absolutely perfectly." he hesitated, taking a moment to pause and let the idea of that sink in. It was tough for him to speak and pretend he knew anything about swimming, because he didn't, but he had to try and make it relatable for the boy. It didn't help that it was difficult for him to open up and be so blunt about the whole thing, but it was too late to go back now. He took another shaky breath, and continued. "But, then, suddenly, something happens. Maybe you fell down a flight of stairs and snapped your spinal cord, maybe you were diving and you slipped and broke your neck on the end of the diving board, maybe you just had a disease that led to it, but you're paralyzed from the neck down. You can't swim anymore. Everyone around you is disappointed, angry, and everyone loses all the respect they once had for you. Why? The one thing you were good at, you can't even do anymore. You're useless, and everyone just watches you and whispers to each other about how you're such a failure. People look at you with pity, only talking to you with fake smiles because they feel bad and so they can sound so kind to their friends just because they actually talked to you. Those who were once proud of you become indifferent, emotionless, and uninterested in you. After all, you're just a failure. You're no good at anything else. You're just a pathetic, unworthy, piece of shit that lost your reason to live." The more and more he spoke, the more his eyes began to water and fists tightened, even his voice increasing in volume as he felt the story apply more and more to his situation. He gritted his teeth together in an effort to hold back tears, trying to slow down his pounding heart and destructive thoughts.


After a few moments, he had relaxed and he'd began to think normally again. His fists unclenched and his stance grew more calm, and his eyes grew more apologetic. "I, uh, yeah, I mean, I..." he started, tripping over his own words as he wasn't sure how to admit he was wrong. He always regretted talking about his past, as it always led to things like this but he couldn't stop himself whenever the subject came up. "Sorry," he managed to spit out, glancing downwards briefly and giving a sad chuckle when he tried to take back what he'd said by making a small joke. "You probably spoke too soon about me being 'chill'." Vik raised his eyebrows and ran his hand through his hair, becoming more and more disappointed in himself. He wasn't normal. Who went into rants like that when the other person was just trying to make him feel better? What kind of fucking person would be so blatantly disrespectful? Especially with someone like Zack, who seemed to be nervous and still trying to be comfortable around Vik since they'd just met. Whatever small friendship they had had, Vik was worried he'd ruined it with his small explosion of emotions.

[Zachary Ellis]

Zachary was tempted to withdraw his hand from Viktor’s shoulder when he noticed the other young man’s body language change. Once the other started to speak in a loud and angry tone, he pulled his hand away. He seemed slightly startled, so much so that he recoiled and blinked slightly. He wanted to protest, and say that he had never intended to compete in the Olympics, but he figured it was more of an analogy to make him understand of how the other felt. His eyebrows furrowed at the story and he seemed a little irritated as well. Oddly enough though, it was not by the other young man, but rather by the hypothetical other people in the made-up situation. Clearly, the young man was relating it to his own life and it made the blue-haired young man irritated. How could people be so shallow? Sure, he had met some mean people in his life, but he was able to tune them out, because he often had a good family and a set of friends who actually cared for him and not just his talents. He waited until the redhead finished speaking before he took a deep breath. Normally, the young man did not have a lot to say, but this time, he did. “That scenario you presented tells me you’re frustrated with what happened to you. I can understand that considering the circumstances.” He took another deep breath, trying to keep himself from wilting under the pressure he was putting himself under. “The people who whisper and talk were clearly never your friends anyway. True friends would help you cope with your loss and continue to be supportive of you, even if you had to change your plans. The same should go for the figures who were proud of you, whoever they are. They should understand that not everyone can make good decisions all the time and that even those that do deserve a second chance.” He clenched a fist by his side, because the desire to lay a comforting hand on the other was strong, but he knew he should not do it, just in case he would actually get punched this time. “You’re not a pathetic, unworthy piece of shit. You’re a young person who made a mistake. That doesn’t mean you have to give up. I understand it’s hard now, especially after what happened, but maybe looking at your strengths instead of your weaknesses can help you find a reason to continue on.” The blue haired young man tried to smile reassuringly, though he prepared himself in case the other was still angry and decided to slap him.

It seemed that, after Viktor ranted, he seemed to relax a little and subtly apologize to Zachary, who responded with a weak smile. The blue-haired young man had to admit, he was really expecting to hurt after the encounter. Thankfully, that was not the case, and he had to be careful not to spur the other to action. “It’s good to express your emotions every once in awhile,” the young man said with a slight smile, “Bottling things up isn’t good for you, physically, mentally, or emotionally.” Things were silent for a moment as Zachary took a bit of time to process what had just happened. Once he had, an idea came to his head. Of course, it was likely that the other was not going to be comfortable with it, seeing that they had just met and all, but maybe, he would be. The bespectacled young man pushed up his glasses on his nose before scratching the back of his head and speaking again. “I’m not sure if this is weird or not…” he started, tilting his head slightly, “B-but, would you like a hug? I understand if not, but I figured it might help.” He shrugged a little bit, standing with an open posture in case the other took his offer. He knew it was unlikely, but it was better to be prepared than not. Though, the more he thought about it, the more he realized he was the shorter person in the equation, so it might not help much. Still, it was better to offer the option than not to offer anything at all to a person who was clearly in distress.

[Viktor Rogers]

Vik shifted from foot to foot as Zack spoke, trying to absorb his words and understand them the best he could. The boy really did mean well, and it made Vik feel even worse for acting almost violently - the boy wasn't anything like Marcus, who would take those explosions and throw his own anger back at the deaf teen. Rather, Zack was much more calm and patient, it seemed, willing to try and calm the situation down and he did a pretty damn good job of it. At the mention of true friends, Vik felt obligated to explain himself further and state that he hadn't been completely and totally honest. "I spoke unfairly. I did have someone that tried to stick around me, although I'm unsure if it was just because he felt guilty for being the driver in the car crash or because he was the one that came out alright," he responded, scratching the back of his head before briefly shutting his eyes. He disagreed with Zack's suggestion that Vik would still be able to do something with his life if he just remained optimistic, but he decided to let the subject drop instead, mainly out of fear he'd get angry. He was in quite a lot of distress and it didn't help that the coldness and darkness of the night was also setting him on edge.


When he was offered a hug, it would be an understatement to say that Vik was just surprised. He was bewildered, having not expected anything of the sort from a boy he barely knew, and who he'd just ranted off his life story to. He'd be significantly less surprised if the boy had just said his goodbye and went back to the dorms. After all, Vik had completely derailed the conversation about the other boy's nightmare and started going off about depressing shit. It was rare that Vik was caught so off guard in a conversation, so he took a moment to try to figure out a way to respond. Vik wasn't even sure if he wanted a hug: after all, it was a bit awkward that Zack asked in the first place, but Vik decided the whole situation would be a lot more uncomfortable if he said no. Damn, social situations could be weird. "Eh, why the fuck not?" he muttered to himself with a shrug, and took a step forward to pull the other boy in to an embrace. It was oddly comforting, despite the other boy's shorter height leading it to look as if Vik was helping him, when it was very well the opposite.



After what felt a suitable amount of time, Vik pulled away from the hug with a bold grin on his face. "I have decided that hugs are the solution to everything, even cancer," he pointed out while nodding, his eyes twinkling in amusement. Vik watched Zack with interested eyes for a few moments, before his eyes flickered back over to the ocean and he rose an eyebrow. "What was even your plan when you came out tonight? I'm sure you just wanted to clear your head, and I understand that, but walking through a forest of crazies tends to be a dangerous way of doing it. I can't say much against it myself: I'm in a similar position, but, y'know, were you intending on going for a late-night swim or something?" he hesitated, frowning as he looked at the boy's choice in apparel. "...in your pajamas?" Vik added, but his face was not at all upset as his frown disappeared again and he smiled in amusement. His inquiry seemed pretty stupid now that he looked back on it, but he cared very little.

[Zachary Ellis]

Zachary really did mean well while he was trying to comfort Viktor. He probably sounded like some kind of therapist, and it was clear the other was just “listening” to him out of pure politeness. Of course, he knew the other was not actually listening because he could not hear, but the other still bothered to pay attention while he was talking. He honestly expected a push-back, but the other young man just let the subject drop. At first, it made the blue-haired young man slightly confused, but he just accepted it. Clearly, the subject was still extremely sore, and it was better to let things go than to keep bringing them up. He hoped that his offer to talk about things still stuck around, but, he would not be too upset if it did not. After all, the redhead would probably forget all about him after that night. Honestly, he might probably forget too, but that would be more due to lapse of time than anything else.

When Zachary offered Viktor a hug, the latter seemed genuinely surprised. Honestly, it surprised the bespectacled young man himself. Sure, he had asked the question, but it was more automatic than conscious. The bottom line was that, really, he had not meant to ask it, but it slipped out of his mouth before he could retract it. He kept his posture open, in case the other did take the offer, but he did not really open his arms wide, in case the offer was not taken. Much to the blue-haired teen’s surprise, the redhead muttered something to himself before stepping forward slightly and hugging him. His eyes, colored a slight violet shade by the moonlight, widened behind his glasses. For a moment, he was clearly startled, but, after the initial shock faded, he embraced the other back. He felt rather strange in the position they were in. He was clearly the shorter one, but he was trying to give the other comfort. Still, it was nice to actually have some kind of physical contact and not be afraid for his life. Zach was an affectionate person at his core, and he rarely had a chance to show that side of him. He rather liked the warmth between them, even though the situation was a little awkward. After all, it was a little brisk in the early morning, and she was only wearing a short-sleeved pajama shirt.

Zachary chuckled upon hearing Viktor’s admission. “Heh, that’s a very good determination you came to,” he joked, grinning from ear to ear. Being able to make someone happy was really exciting to him, honestly. Other people had done their best to keep him happy, and spreading the actions and feelings was always welcome, in his opinion. It was a little awkward to hug someone he did not know, but it was good that the other was finally smiling a bit. Well, at least, he had been until he inquired more about why Zachary had decided to venture out in the middle of the night. His face turned the color of his glasses and he bit his lower lip lightly. “Ah, n-no. I would have been wearing swimming trunks, if I had been coming out to swim,” he stammered, scratching the back of his head. He cleared his throat, laughing a little bit, “And I d-don’t think skinny dipping would be a good idea. W-who knows what are in these waters?”