Lie Like You Mean It

“Nickybear!” Mina screamed as she tackled me to the ground. I let out a sharp exhale of air as my chest collided with the hardwood floor. I rolled around under her in order to face her.

“Oww…” I groaned trying to push her off of me. It was much too early in the morning for this. Besides, her hands were sticky with pancake batter from what she was cooking. She grabbed my face between her hands and gave me a big kiss on my forehead, leaving the pancake mix on my cheeks.

“Please don’t tackle him when you have that shit on your hands.” Zero said from the table, already digging a fork into the food in front of him.

“Psh… it’d give you an excuse to lick it off, though.” She said, laughing and pulling me to my feet. I felt my blood run to my cheeks as I vigorously tried to wipe the batter off. When I finished doing that I took the available seat next to Zero.

“You missed a spot.” He stated boredly, pointing to my temple.

For a second, I thought he was going to take Mina’s advice and before I could stop myself I yelled out, “No!”

“I know Nicolas. I don’t listen to everything that fangirl suggests.” He grinned over at his sister, who, in turn, stuck her tongue out at him. He reached over and wiped it off for me using his thumb and a sweet manner that was completely un-Zero-like.

But he never had a consistent personality around me. I mean, yeah, his past contributed to that. But like he keeps repeating, he hates everyone. Everyone but me and his family. He unswerving in acting cold and distant to them. But with me, he had streaks of kindness and gentle gestures at random intervals. I was different than everyone else to him. He liked me.

Apparently he’d been paying more attention to me than I thought. He knew what I hated and what I thought was acceptable now and he respected that. Well, I can safely say, it took him long enough. Maybe he was testing his limits with forcing me to tell him he was special, but I couldn’t tell for sure.
“Tch… I can be a fangirl if I want. Er… just don’t tell Dad.” She laughed.

I felt my back go rigid and my teeth clamp down over my bottom lip. What if their father liked to lynch gays? Figuratively speaking of course. I’ve seen their dad, no way would I win in a fist fight with him.
“Uh… is he-?”

“No! No, Nickybear, he’s not like that.” She started giggling again at how that comment had made me freeze up. “Don’t you know how awkward it is if a father finds out his daughter likes to watch guys make out?”

I felt my face heat up again in a slight blush. I guess I was just like Dad with the whole jumping-to-conclusions trait.

“I thought I told you to quit calling him that.” Zero growled from beside me. I think we were both getting a little angry at her repetitive use of ‘Nickybear’.

“Aww… come on.” She begged, obviously adoring the nickname she’d given me.

“No, he doesn’t like it.”

“I’m sure you decided that on your own. Nickybear isn’t saying anything.” She argued, setting a plate down in front of me.

“I-I don’t like nicknames…” I whispered, keeping my eyes on the pancakes that were heaped onto my plate.

“You see?” He stated in an I-told-you-so tone.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry Nicolas. I won’t ever do it again…” She pouted, joining us at the table, taking a seat across from us.

“I… It-‘s ok-” But then Zero grabbed my arm gently and leaned towards me. But this time I didn’t flinch away. Maybe I was getting used to this.

“Don’t give in to her.” He whispered in my ear. “She does that all the time.” I bit my lip and held my tongue. I really didn’t like the nickname, but I hated the face Mina was giving me. And with Zero backing me up, it gave me enough confidence to stand up against the expression that I normally couldn’t have refused on my own.

“You guys are no fun!” She whined, but then started laughing, showing that it wasn’t all that big a deal to her. She chewed over a saturated pancake bit before saying, “So, what are you guys going to do about school? I mean, I know you’re not telling his parents, but telling the school is different.”

“Uh… I, uh…” I blushed furiously at the thought that people would know. What was going to happen at school?

“As if you need to ask. You’re the only one that’s going to know.” Zero stated, almost seeming a little angry at having to answer that question. But it relaxed me a little, having the volatile side of him back.

“Know what?” Zero’s hand was instantly yanked off of its place on my arm as we heard my dad’s booming voice join us in the kitchen. He scoured the counter for leftover pancakes and took a seat across from Zero and I.

“My results on a final I took earlier.” Zero answered coolly. “I didn’t do so well.” He lied. I saw those results, it was a perfect score. Apparently he didn’t want to embarrass me in front of my dad by saying his son was in a gay relationship with him. Either that, or he was afraid of what my dad might do; which was nothing.

Yeah, he looked big, but he’s never beat anyone up in his life. “This change isn’t too much for you, is it?” Dad asked.

“No, I’ve just been slightly distracted.”

“Noah said you were a problem child.”

“Yep.” He didn’t deny it. But he’s stopped smoking thanks to nicotine withdrawal remedies. He’s ranked number one on the class roster and he hasn’t killed anyone. I don’t see what was so problematic about him.

Without thinking, I wanted to comfort him. Knowing these things, I knew he wasn’t such a bad person, but he still thought he was. So I bit my lip and subtly traced my fingers over the skin of the back of his hand. Maybe since he likes me, it might make him feel a little better. But it doesn’t change the fact that I wanted to comfort him.

He went a little rigid, realizing that, for once, I was the one touching him. His skin was pale, like mine. We didn’t go outside much because I had my video games and he had his studying. And the hands that were only used for scribbling notes or writing papers were soft; the very opposite of work worn. I guessed he didn’t see much work in the form of physical labor.

He flipped my hand over with a smooth motion so my dad wouldn’t realize and started weaving his fingers around mine to create an awkward hand-holding. Our palms weren’t touching and our fingers were barely interlaced. But I knew he was just afraid of scaring me with a stronger grip.

“I don’t see it.” Dad said. Zero looked up at him with the oddest expression on his face.

“So, what are we doing for Christmas?” Mina asked, trying to break the eerie silence between them.

“That reminds me!” Dad suddenly perked up, getting excited. That was one of the characteristics that I didn’t receive from him. “Your uncle Blake’s coming over for Christmas.”

“Is that-” Mina started. Dad and I both knew what she was going to ask.

“The gay one? Yeah.” Dad answered before she could even ask. “He’s bringing his boyfriend. Anya said you’d be okay with it Mina, but what about you Zero?”

“They can do what they want. I’m not against it.” He stated coldly, taking the last bite of his breakfast.
Considering you’re going out with me. I thought. But there was also the possibility that he didn’t even really care. As he says, he hates everyone but me and his family. As for my family, I don’t think that he likes them, he’s just semi-nice to them because they were related to me. As long as he’s not being a complete ass to them, it was fine I guess.

Zero cradled my fingers between his own and used his thumb to draw microscopic circles on the pad of my own thumb. I tried to keep myself from cringing or flinching and it worked. I didn’t want Dad to realize that something could be going on between me and Zero. Hesitantly, I let my hand relax into his.
Zero let his grip loosen and I felt his hand slip away from mine so he could throw his plate in the dishwasher.

There was a strange pang of emotion that I couldn’t identify but I pushed it aside and continued to eat the food in front of me.

“Cole also mentioned you had a boyfriend, Mina. Is he coming up to see you from… Kansas, was it?”

“California, but he's visiting relatives in Kansas first. I mentioned it to Anya, but it might have slipped her mind. She’s busy so I understand.”

“So, how long’s he staying?”

“He’ll be here for, like, five days. He wants to get here by noon on Christmas Eve.” Mina chattered, obviously happy to be talking about the guy.

“Blake’ll be here around that time too.”

Then Zero burst out laughing, which I had to say, shocked everyone at the table. Well, maybe except for me, but that’s because I’ve heard it before.
I still looked at him confusedly and tilted my head slightly at him. Of course, his eyes were on me. They were nearly always on me.

“Sorry.” He said monotonously to my father and Mina. “Let’s go play your ridiculous fighting game, Nicolas.”

But I knew by his tone that it was keyword for, ‘I’ll explain things when we’re alone’.