All For You

Chapter VI ~ Apart

Zack and Genevieve reached point b and as Genevieve stepped out of the car she looked around. She saw a big wooden cabin in the middle of the forest. She looked at the front door as it opened, revealing her dad. She ran to him and hugged him tightly. “You are okay now, sweetheart,” he said as he hugged her tighter, kissing the top of her head. He let go and saw Zack stepping out of the car. “Where is Tayden?,” Mr. Wilson asked Genevieve, confused. “I don’t know. They switched me at the school," she answered. He narrowed his eyes. Zack walked up to them as he noticed how Mr. Wilson was staring him down. “Why are you with my daughter and not Tayden?,” Mr. Wilson asked Zack. Mr. Wilson gave Zack the benefit of the doubt from the beginning. Something never felt right to Mr. Wilson when it came to Zack, and after Zack's many outbursts and rude behaviour, Mr. Wilson had grown to dislike him a lot. He still respected Zack's skillset but that was the only thing he respected about him. “It’s simple. Genevieve was safer with me,” Zack answered coldly as he looked at Genevieve. She noticed his stare and started walking towards the cabin annoyed. She was confused when it came to Zack. After his help today with Elliot she didn’t know how to react around Zack. She was still mad at him, but she also wanted to thank him for his help. “Fine. But you better watch that attitude of yours,” Mr. Wilson said and walked after Genevieve. Zack sighed and walked after the two of them into the cabin. They walked into a large living room where Matthew, Noah, Isaac, Skyler and Mr. Yun was sitting in the couch area. Zack walked past Genevieve and Mr. Wilson as he flopped down next to Skyler on the couch, tiredly. “You good?,” Skyler asked as Zack closed his eyes, leaned back comfortably and sighed. Zack opened his eyes and glanced at Skyler. “Yup,” he answered as he turned his head to look at Genevieve. “What’s that Genevieve?,” Mr. Wilson asked as he saw the mark on her neck. She had tried her best to cover it up with makeup in the car but it was useless. Zack had told her it was useless, but of course she didn’t listen. “Oh nothing,” she said embarrassed and covered it with her hand. Zack followed their conversation closely. “Is that a hickey?,” Mr. Wilson asked. Zack smiled to himself and couldn’t wait to see how she would get out of this one. But his amused look soon faded as he noticed someone was looking at him. He turned his face and was met by the stares of all of the guys. They all looked at him with such disappointment as they all assumed it must have been Zack, who had left that mark on her. “If you really want to know then, I’ll tell you. This guy at school wouldn’t take no for an answer and almost forced himself on me. But I’m okay thanks to Zack. He was there and ended up teaching the guy a lesson. I doubt the guy will ever even look at me again,” she said, annoyed, as her father wouldn’t let the topic go. Zack stood up and stared all of his friends down as their expressions changed. They all felt really bad about jumping to conclusions before knowing the full story. “I’m gonna take a walk,” he said coldly and walked out of the garden slide door. Mr. Yun noticed the atmosphere in between the boys and looked at Zack as he walked out. He looked at the others a little confused. “What was that about?,” he asked. Usually Mr. Yun was very good at reading people, but the seven young men and especially Zack were impossible to read. “Oh.. Nothing. That’s just Zack being Zack,” Isaac lied as he tried to convince Mr. Yun not to worry about Zack’s suddenly leaving. Mr. Yun wasn’t stupid but knew he wouldn’t get any answers from the boys. He figured that Zack might just have a little crush on Genevieve. Of course Mr. Yun thought that Genevieve was too good for him. To him she was like a niece. Instead, he decided not to pay it any more mind and walked to Mr. Wilson.

A few hours went by and Genevieve was starting to worry about Zack. He had been gone for a long time and it would be getting dark soon. Ethan and Tayden haven't arrived yet either. But she wasn’t worried, she had reserved a text from Tayden. He texted that they would be there soon. Genevieve decided to go look for Zack. She was still angry with him after he had been such a jerk, but what if he was lost or maybe hurt? She didn’t know why she cared. She would definitely not admit to the fact that she had growing feelings towards him. He had this gentle side to him that she had only seen a few times. She really liked that about him. She grabbed her jacket and went outside. It was starting to get dark as she walked into the forest. She took out her phone and turned on the flashlight. She walked for a few minutes looking around for him. But he was nowhere to be found. “Zack!,” she called out. Nothing. She walked around and called out for him for about half an hour. It was starting to get cold and it was completely dark now. She heard the sound of some sticks breaking on the forest floor. She got a bit startled and looked in the direction with her flashlight. No one was there. She heard the same sound behind her and she turned around quickly. But there was still nothing to be seen. She grew a bit scared and looked around not knowing where she was. She hadn’t really thought this through. “Are you trying to get lost in the dark forest all by yourself or what?,” a male voice said behind her and she screamed as she got startled once again. She turned around and saw Zack. She grew really annoyed with him. Why would he scare her like that? “No of course not, you i***t. I was looking for you,” she answered, annoyed, and walked to him. “Why?,” he asked, confused. “Because it was getting dark and you have been out here for almost four hours,” she said as she walked past him. He followed behind with a little smile on his face. “So you were worried about me?,” he asked with a smirk, finding it cute that she would walk into a dark forest alone to look for him. “Compared to you, I care about the people around me. I would have done the same for the other boys,” she said coldly. For some reason he grew a bit annoyed and, well... jealous by that statement. He stopped walking and as she noticed it she stopped too and turned around looking at him. “Well I hate to break it to you, but you are walking in the wrong direction. The cabin is that way,” he stated, pointing behind him. He smirked at her as she pouted. “Why didn’t you just say so, you i***t?,” she said a bit embarrassed. They started walking in the right direction. Genevieve heard a sound from her side of the forest and walked closer to Zack, being a little scared. As she heard the sound again she grabbed Zack's hand. Zack looked down at her as she looked around scared, holding on to his hand for comfort. “Is it comforting?,” he asked her shamelessly. She looked up at him confused. “What is?,” she asked back. He nodded his head down at their hands holding on to each other. She looked at them and panicked a bit and let go of his hand. “Oh sorry,” she said, embarrassed. He looked down at her as he held out his hand for her to hold again. “It’s fine,” he said shortly, not knowing what else to say. She hesitantly grabbed it. He looked away from her as he intertwined their fingers together. She looked up at him as he did that and blushed. She completely forgot how much of a jerk he had been. This was that gentle side of his she couldn’t resist. She leaned close to him and held onto his arm as they walked through the forest. “Yes, it is very comforting,” she finally answered his question. They looked at each other and smiled. She really liked his smile. It was a shame he didn’t smile more often. He felt a bit proud of himself. He didn’t know much about comfort in any way, and it felt great knowing he had successfully provided Genevieve with some when she needed it. They didn’t really talk much on their way back. As they could see the cabin Zack stopped and looked down at her. She stopped with him still holding onto him as she looked up at him. “Are you okay?,” he asked, looking away. She stared at him surprised. “What?,” she asked, thinking she might have heard wrong. He cleared his throat and asked again as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “Are you okay? I mean after today with that guy Eddie... or whatever his name was,” he said, looking down at the ground. She couldn’t help but smile. With her index finger she lifted his face up to look at her. He looked a little embarrassed and she smiled at how cute he looked. They locked eyes. “I’m still a little jumpy but I’ll be fine. Thank you for standing up for me,” she said sweetly as she pulled him down and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll go first,” she said knowing it would be bad if they were seen together like this. She let go of his arm and hand before she walked to the cabin. He almost didn't let go of her hand. Something in him wanted to hold her a little longer, but he made himself let go, knowing he had to. He just stood there and put a hand to his cheek where she had just kissed him as he blushed. He looked at her walking away as a smile appeared on his lips. What was this feeling in his chest? It felt weird.

As Genevieve walked into the cabin, she met Ethan. He noticed the hickey on her neck. Immediately not knowing the real story behind it, he grew suspicious. “Where is Z?,” he asked. She played it cool. “I haven’t seen him all evening. I’m tired. Goodnight Ethan,” she said and walked off. As she did that, Ethan noticed Zack walking out of the forest where Genevieve had just come from. That was it for Ethan, how could Zack be this stupid? Ethan walked out of the door towards Zack. He noticed how Zack was smiling to himself. Zack looked up and noticed Ethan. “Hey bro. How did the clean up go?,” he asked, excited to see his friend after a long day. But Ethan didn’t look happy. Zack stopped in his footsteps, confused, as Ethan reached him. “How can you be so stupid, Zack?,” Ethan whisper-yelled angry. “What do you mean?,” Zack asked, confused. “I just walked by Genevieve and she has a f*****g hickey on her neck after coming out of the forest with you. Besides, I saw your face just now. You were smiling like crazy, looking like a very pleased man. You did it again didn’t you? You didn’t even make it one day after our talk, Zack. I am really disappointed in you,” Ethan whisper-yelled again. Zack froze. He looked at Ethan surprised. “Is that really what you think?,” Zack asked, disappointed. He was disappointed in all of his friends. All of them, except for Tayden, had assumed he was the bad guy, again. “What else am I supposed to think?,” Ethan asked. Zack sighed. What was the point of trying to explain now? “I’m leaving,” Zack coldly said as he walked past Ethan. He was tired of having to defend himself when no one ever believed him. “Good. Because you are off this case. Go blow off some steam,” Ethan said as Zack just walked away. Zack walked around the house to the cars and drove off into the night.

Over a month went by and Zack hadn’t come back. Ethan felt so guilty. He had learned the true story behind the hickey, the morning after Zack had left. The other boys had of course asked where he was and Ethan had told them what had happened the night before, how he had confronted Zack about the hickey. Tayden had confessed the truth immediately about the hickey. The only reason why Tayden hadn’t told Ethan in the car was because Zack had already dealt with the situation, it didn’t seem like important news. As soon as Ethan found out about the truth, he of course tried to call Zack. All six of them tried to call him with no answer. Ethan left the group, leaving Isaac and Noah in charge of the case until his return. Ethan was gone for a week trying to track Zack down. But it was like Zack had disappeared from the face of the earth. Noah had, of course, hacked into his phone to find his whereabouts. But he found nothing and a few days after Ethan had left, Isaac found Zack’s phone broken in half by hand in the trash outside. Noah didn’t find any new activity on Zack's credit cards either. Zack really didn’t want to be found. He had even picked open the electrical system in his car and killed the GPS signal. There was no way for the boys to find him. It was like he was a ghost. When Ethan came back he didn’t seem the same. The guilt had taken its toll on him. He hadn’t slept well since Zack left.

When Genevieve woke up the morning after Zack had left she of course noticed he was gone. Tayden explained that Zack had left alone and Ethan had gone after that morning to find him. Tayden gave Genevieve no reason as to why Zack had so suddenly left. She felt sad for some reason. How could Zack be so selfish? It was just the night before they had made up after a week of fighting. Besides, he had finally shown a bit of his soft side towards her again. It felt like he wanted to learn how to comfort the night before. She felt so proud of him because it for once seemed like he cared. She had even thought he might have cared for her just a tiny bit. As she had kissed him on the cheek she noticed how he blushed. That was the first time she had ever seen him blush. So why did he leave? After what little Tayden had told her, she put two and two together and figured out Zack must have left right after she had gone to bed. But why? Was it because of her? Did she do something wrong? Not knowing was the worst part. One thing was for sure. Something wasn’t adding up and the boys kept something from her.

A few weeks had gone by and they still knew nothing about Zack. The boys are still working on the case for Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson had been confused as to why Zack had left and was off the case. But Noah had just said that Zack had some personal stuff which couldn’t wait. Mr. Wilson had been even more confused as to his daughter’s mood. She seemed sad all of a sudden. He wasn’t stupid and knew it must have something to do with Zack. He just figured his daughter might have had a little crush on Zack. After all, Zack had saved her more than once. Mr. Wilson wasn’t fond of the idea of his daughter liking a guy like Zack. But he did have some respect for him after Zack had saved her from that guy at her school. Mr. Wilson was just happy he didn’t have to worry about Genevieve falling head over heels for him, now that he was gone.

As the boys kept on working the case, they got stuck. They couldn’t find anything on someone named Zero. They tried taking the search to the streets but it was too dangerous. It was Zack's thing to deal with the streets and its people at night. He had even built quite the reputation which didn’t help the other boys. No one would talk to them unless Zack was there and he wasn’t. Ethan’s guilt inside built up to the point where he didn’t sleep at all. He couldn’t look at Genevieve either. He felt even more guilty seeing her sad expression. It wasn’t that hard to figure out that she sort of liked Zack. Ethan thought about his and Zack’s conversion in the car a lot when he looked at Genevieve. He had sensed that Zack might have been a bit fond of Genevieve too. Even if Zack had been here, they still couldn’t have been together. Ethan had a feeling he might have broken something in Zack, denying him her. Zack didn’t date. He had never had a girlfriend. The two youngsters didn’t seem like they would work well together in any way. Zack was so intense, fearless and emotionally reserved. Genevieve was so good of heart, caring and gentle. Not exactly Zack's type at all. But Ethan couldn’t help but think about how much Zack had softened after meeting her. He actually ended up thinking that if circumstances were different then this girl might have been good for Zack. Then yet again maybe it was just because he wasn’t allowed, that Zack couldn’t stay away. He might not have left the hickey on her, Ethan now Zack wanted to be the one. He knew Zack that well. It was clear to see in Zack’s eyes that he was focused on her whenever she was around.

One late night, Tayden reserved a phone call from an unknown number. At first he didn’t pick it up but as it rang the third time he did. It was Zack. Tayden had so many questions for his long lost brother. Where was he? Why didn't he come back? What was he doing? And was he okay? Zack missed his friends and home. Tayden was the only one who hadn’t betrayed him. “I’m really sorry, Zack. Ethan didn’t mean what he said,” Tayden said over the phone. “It doesn’t matter now. You can’t tell the others but I’m following a lead on the case. I know Ethan took me off it but still... you know I never back away from a case. I’m in Germany and I’m fine. I don’t have a lot of time. I need you to do me a favor. Send the ciphered emails to the email address I just texted you,” Zack spoke fast. He was in a hurry. Tayden felt his phone vibrate and looked at the text message with the email. “What is that gonna help? We haven’t been able to decipher them yet. What makes you think you can?.....,” Tayden had started but had been cut off. “Just do it!,” Zack snapped over the phone. “Fine. Just be careful and come home soon,” Tayden had said. Zack had been silent after that. Tayden worried, why hadn't he cut off the call yet? It was like Zack wanted to ask something. “Is there something else Z?,” Tayden had asked carefully. “I... I umm. How is she?,” Zack asked nervously. But before Tayden could answer, he spoke again. “It doesn’t matter. Just do me a favor and keep her out of trouble,” Zack said sternly and cut the call. Tayden laughed a bit as Zack cut the call. It was weird that Zack was turning soft towards her. Tayden was happy that Zack finally showed a bit of emotion. Tayden decided to send Zack a picture of Genevieve he had taken earlier that day with the text: ‘I think she might be missing you.’ That was Tayden's way of answering Zack's questions of how she was. As Zack had reserved the message from Tayden he had noticed the picture. When he opened it he saw the picture of Genevieve. She was sitting outside in the morning sunlight with a cup of coffee between her small hands. Her cheeks were red. Zack thought about how it was getting colder back home. He had looked at her lips and noticed a little soft smile. Not being able to help it he had ended up smiling himself for the first time in weeks. She just looked so beautiful in that picture. But he noticed her eyes were a bit sad. It hurt Zack knowing it might be because of him leaving without a word. In a way he hoped it was because of him. That would mean she still thought about him.

Tayden and Zack stayed in touch since that day. Tayden had convinced Zack to inform the others about his whereabouts. Tayden told them what little he knew and they had all been so relieved that Zack was okay. They didn’t know much but at least he was okay. Ethan could finally sleep again even though he was still feeling guilty. Tayden and the others had tried to help Zack but he didn’t want help. Ethan had begged Tayden to convince Zack to come home. But Zack hadn’t been ready yet. Tayden had, without Zack's knowledge, told Genevieve that he was fine and that she shouldn’t worry. That was all Tayden had told her. It was burning her up not knowing anything else. Tayden sent pictures of Genevieve to Zack even though Zack never really asked for it. Zack didn’t even respond or comment on the pictures. But Tayden never stopped sending them, he had a feeling Zack liked being able to see her face even if it was only a picture. Besides, Tayden knew if Zack didn’t want the pictures, he would have snapped and asked him to stop. But Zack never did.

Now, over a month since Zack had left, they were holding a meeting in Mr. Wilson's new office. They were all there except for Zack of course. Mr. Wilson, Mr. Yun, Ethan, Noah, Isaac, Matthew, Skyler, Tayden and Genevieve. Last week, it was decided that today, Genevieve and Mr. Wilson could go home again, after first living in the hotel for a week and then at point b this last month. Police agreed to park a police car for protection outside each of their homes. Tayden would still have to take Genevieve to school. He didn’t mind that. It just gave him an excuse to hang out with Genevieve and keep an eye on her as he had promised Zack. Genevieve still thought about Zack sometimes but she felt like she would have to move on and forget about him. It was better this way. They were too different anyways. Besides, Zack wasn’t the type to be serious with anyone and she didn’t know if she could stop herself from falling. She accepted that he was a heartbreaker and she was better off without him. They were all sitting and discussing the situation. There hadn’t been any new attempts on Mr. Wilson's life since the first time. But the thing was they still didn’t know who Zero was. Ethan had explained to Mr. Wilson what had happened with Mr. Han. Mr. Han and a few others had been arrested. Team Bangtan never had a case they couldn’t solve but this was starting to look like it could be the first one.

The door to the office opened and they all turned their heads to look at the new arrival. It was Zack who walked in. They all looked wide eyed around at each other confused. Not even Tayden knew he would show up.