Zach Wright (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lovemakesafamily) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomtownies2015-09-07 04:10 pm
lovemakesafamily) wrote in fandomtownies2015-09-07 04:10 pm
Arms Hotel, Room 715, Monday Afternoon
Sometime mid-afternoon on Monday, with Cody down for a nap, Zach closed the door to the bathroom in the hotel (the better for a little bit of privacy, and to keep from waking his nephew), and pulled out his phone.
He called the house number, first, and the wait until it started to ring seemed infinitely longer than he'd ever waited before, just long enough for his heart to stop beating, or so it felt. One ring, a second, a third, a fourth, and--
"Hey, it's Jeanne," his sister's recorded voice said. "You know what to do."
And that was the wrong answering machine message. No, 'It's the Wrights," no Cody blabbering into the receiver. No mention of their dad, although it had been a long time since his name had been on there, Zach had to admit.
Realising that he'd been sitting there, making no sound, for several seconds, Zach hurriedly hung up the call, leaving the blank message on Jeanne's machine. He flicked through his contacts, looking at one name after another, trying to decide who to call next.
His world was still there, but... Had Jeanne just change the machine because they'd left? Not tried to call, wondering where her brother was, her son?
Gabe. Gabe was safe. Zach highlighted his name and hit send.
Another long, interminable wait as the phone connected, but only a ring and a half before a drowsy voice answered, "... 'Llo?"
"Gabe?" Zach said, his heart now racing, his head rushing. "It's Zach. Just -- wanted to call and check in."
"Zach? Who's Zach?" And everything stopped for him, even as Gabe's voice became clearer, the man who should be Zach's best friend waking up a little more. "Wait, are you that guy from my lit class? Dude, it's 10AM on Labour Day, why are you calling about class now?"
Zach stammered for a moment. "Oh, uh." He tried to find words. "Uh, sorry, never mind. No, it's someone else, I think it's a wrong number, never mind." And he practically stabbed the end button with his thumb, rushing to hang up the call before Gabe could say another (wrong, so very wrong) word.
Tori. Tori next, Zach thought, although his heart had leapt to his throat before he could even start going through his contacts again.
They'd been off-again when he left, Zach remembered -- at least, they had been until she'd disappeared, which was why it had taken so long for him to notice that she was missing in the first place.
"Hello?" His ex-girlfriend's familiar voice calmed him a little; if nothing else, she was okay, she was all right, she was still there, even if she didn't remember him.
"Hello?" Tori said, again, a little impatient, a little worried. "Who is this?"
"Sorry," Zach answered. It was official: Tori didn't know him, either; she'd had his number memorised practically since he'd gotten his phone. "Uh, wrong number."
"Oh, okay." He could practically hear Tori smiling. "Bye, I guess?"
"Goodbye." And maybe it had more meaning for him than for her, but... Goodbye, indeed.
One more number to try, just to be sure, just to make absolutely certain. (Two numbers, if he had Shaun's, but Gabe's older brother was just distant enough that Zach had never felt right asking for it.) Jeanne's cell number was the last.
It felt... faster, now, as he waited for the phone to connect. Maybe because he thought he knew what was going on. As the call connected, Jeanne's voice came down the line: "Hey."
"Hey," Zach replied. "It's Zach. I've got Cody with me, wanted to check in."
"Who?"
And that was that. The world was back, but for whatever reason, he no longer belonged in it.
"Zach? And Cody."
"I think you have the wrong number," his sister -- or was she, anymore? -- told him. "Sorry."
Zach closed his eyes, shutting out the world for a moment before saying, "Oh, no, I'm sorry. Have a good day?"
"You, too."
And that was that.
Turning his phone off -- no point in having it on in the first place if everyone who'd have had the number didn't know he'd ever existed -- he left the bathroom and came over to sit in a chair beside the bed Cody was sleeping on. He'd take some time, watch Cody sleep, and try to figure out what was going to happen next.
[OOC: Expecting the current roommate, but also open if anyone wants to knock on a random person's door? Zach is more than happy to be distracted.
It wouldn't be me without some tl;dr post about my characters, right? ;)]
He called the house number, first, and the wait until it started to ring seemed infinitely longer than he'd ever waited before, just long enough for his heart to stop beating, or so it felt. One ring, a second, a third, a fourth, and--
"Hey, it's Jeanne," his sister's recorded voice said. "You know what to do."
And that was the wrong answering machine message. No, 'It's the Wrights," no Cody blabbering into the receiver. No mention of their dad, although it had been a long time since his name had been on there, Zach had to admit.
Realising that he'd been sitting there, making no sound, for several seconds, Zach hurriedly hung up the call, leaving the blank message on Jeanne's machine. He flicked through his contacts, looking at one name after another, trying to decide who to call next.
His world was still there, but... Had Jeanne just change the machine because they'd left? Not tried to call, wondering where her brother was, her son?
Gabe. Gabe was safe. Zach highlighted his name and hit send.
Another long, interminable wait as the phone connected, but only a ring and a half before a drowsy voice answered, "... 'Llo?"
"Gabe?" Zach said, his heart now racing, his head rushing. "It's Zach. Just -- wanted to call and check in."
"Zach? Who's Zach?" And everything stopped for him, even as Gabe's voice became clearer, the man who should be Zach's best friend waking up a little more. "Wait, are you that guy from my lit class? Dude, it's 10AM on Labour Day, why are you calling about class now?"
Zach stammered for a moment. "Oh, uh." He tried to find words. "Uh, sorry, never mind. No, it's someone else, I think it's a wrong number, never mind." And he practically stabbed the end button with his thumb, rushing to hang up the call before Gabe could say another (wrong, so very wrong) word.
Tori. Tori next, Zach thought, although his heart had leapt to his throat before he could even start going through his contacts again.
They'd been off-again when he left, Zach remembered -- at least, they had been until she'd disappeared, which was why it had taken so long for him to notice that she was missing in the first place.
"Hello?" His ex-girlfriend's familiar voice calmed him a little; if nothing else, she was okay, she was all right, she was still there, even if she didn't remember him.
"Hello?" Tori said, again, a little impatient, a little worried. "Who is this?"
"Sorry," Zach answered. It was official: Tori didn't know him, either; she'd had his number memorised practically since he'd gotten his phone. "Uh, wrong number."
"Oh, okay." He could practically hear Tori smiling. "Bye, I guess?"
"Goodbye." And maybe it had more meaning for him than for her, but... Goodbye, indeed.
One more number to try, just to be sure, just to make absolutely certain. (Two numbers, if he had Shaun's, but Gabe's older brother was just distant enough that Zach had never felt right asking for it.) Jeanne's cell number was the last.
It felt... faster, now, as he waited for the phone to connect. Maybe because he thought he knew what was going on. As the call connected, Jeanne's voice came down the line: "Hey."
"Hey," Zach replied. "It's Zach. I've got Cody with me, wanted to check in."
"Who?"
And that was that. The world was back, but for whatever reason, he no longer belonged in it.
"Zach? And Cody."
"I think you have the wrong number," his sister -- or was she, anymore? -- told him. "Sorry."
Zach closed his eyes, shutting out the world for a moment before saying, "Oh, no, I'm sorry. Have a good day?"
"You, too."
And that was that.
Turning his phone off -- no point in having it on in the first place if everyone who'd have had the number didn't know he'd ever existed -- he left the bathroom and came over to sit in a chair beside the bed Cody was sleeping on. He'd take some time, watch Cody sleep, and try to figure out what was going to happen next.
[OOC: Expecting the current roommate, but also open if anyone wants to knock on a random person's door? Zach is more than happy to be distracted.
It wouldn't be me without some tl;dr post about my characters, right? ;)]
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Ugh, Warren was terrible with dealing with people's emotions. Especially people he barely knew.
"You look like you just lost your best friend."
... That was a terrible observation to make right now, Peace.
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Kiiiiind of accurate.
"It could be worse," Zach admitted softly. "She could be... Nothing'd, or whatever. Instead of just not knowing who I am."
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"The Nothing?"
He remembered the Nothing keenly. It was difficult to forget the way the world looked when there was only void on the other side of his bedroom wall.
"They... forgot you?"
To his credit, he managed to not say something trite, like, "That sucks."
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"Last thing I remember before showing up this weekend," he explained, "was driving here, trying to escape it. I guess whatever worked to bring everything back... I didn't go back with it. Or Cody. My sister doesn't remember either of us."
Jeanne was probably happier without Cody. And that was an uncharitable thought that Zach couldn't deny was probably true anyway.
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Warren Peace, wielding the truth like a red-hot blunt force instrument to the feelings.
"Sucks."
There we go. It had been bottling up for a full fifteen seconds, there.
"You have somewhere else to go, at least?"
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Really weird.
There was the part where he still kinda had a massive crush on the guy, after all, and had told him apparently two lifetimes ago or something. Fandom was really weird.
"I don't-- No. I don't think so." Zach wasn't sure he was ready to try staying in Fandom anyway, even if Jono was willing to put him up.
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"You need somewhere?"
Look, Warren normally wouldn't offer this to some guy he'd only known for a day, but between the kid, and the fact that it was the Nothing that had done it...
Warren still had nightmares about the damn Nothing.
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He still wasn't quite used to people being so helpful as they were in Fandom.
"I mean. I don't have anything, just some cash." His savings, and Jeanne's stash, which... he might feel guilty about eventually, but maybe she'd forgotten she'd had that, too, so probably not. Besides, Cody. "Don't suppose you know anyone who could set me up with some ID?" he joked.
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His mother would hate it, but... It was for a good cause, wasn't it?
"I've got an apartment. And a couch. Mostly in one piece. I know a place we can set you up with a job, if you don't have any moral objections to Chinese food."
He'd been the kid who people looked at because of his family troubles. And Cody seemed like a good one. Least he could do was offer.
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Yes, Zach. Say yes.
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"Yes."
He had to take care of Cody somehow, after all.
"... So what's your world like?"
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"Pretty normal," he replied. "You know... cars. Planes. Cable television. Superheroes. Normal stuff."
Never let it be said that Warren Peace was not a little shit.
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"Sure."
And then casually reached for his tea and held a burning finger under it to heat it up as he spoke.
"We've got comic books. Doesn't everybody?"
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At least Warren's world wasn't likely to be boring. "Are you guys at least more sane than Fandom?"
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You know. Comparatively.
"It's easier if you don't live near major city centers. And the worst of the worst tend to steer clear of my neighborhood anyway."
Out of respect for his dad, mostly.
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Hey, if Warren said his neighbourhood was safer, he'd trust him. And giant robots sounded easier to avoid than random yoghurt rain or whatever.
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He had cash, he had a line on a job, he had somewhere for him and Cody to stay, at least for now. That was a start.
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Fandom, at least, was good for that.