Zenon's Game Chapter 104

They were all gone.  The bikers had driven the others away.  The danger had subsided and the ambulance was on its way.  Bryce was rolling in the gutter and Layton' friend was bleeding heavily.

Zenon limped towards her, eyes only on her. Blood was on his hands and he was drained.  She ran into his arms and he pressed his hands on either side of her face.  His dark blue eyes lightened at the sight of her.

"Candy."

He kissed her once. He kissed her twice. He didn't stop kissing her.

"You caught it. You actually caught it," he said in between kisses, "I'm so proud of you."

"An obnoxious boy once told me not to let something good slip between my fingers," she responded, feeling a deep emotion.

"Sounds like one delusional guy," Zenon smirked.

"Yeah, well, he isn't the only one."

Zenon whispered, "You're my heroine, Candace.  You rescued me."

His charming smirk was contagious.  His lip was cut and his body was bruised, but he was smiling.

"I can't wait to date you," he said.

"Zenon, you're injured.  Maybe we should postpone our date until you-"

"I'll go on this date limping if I have to.  It's tomorrow.  And even tomorrow's too long."

The sun is gone but I have a light ~ Kurt Cobain

The night is always so dark. I saw the violence that burst out of it and the mess it left in its wake. Paramedics were lifting Axel into an ambulance, setting him alongside Christopher's injured friend.

Bryce's car was dented, scratched and had a smashed window. He sat on the cement pavement, leaning against the wheel of his car while his hand bled on his lap.

Zenon held me in his arms even though he was injured himself. He kissed me and made sure I was alright.

I was alright. We were all going to be alright.

Then, Zenon and I separated to see to our friends. I went towards the ambulance. Layton was trying to push past the paramedics to join his friend inside.

"There's no space for you to accompany him. You can see him in the hospital," they told Layton, before they tried pinning him down to ten to his own wounds.

"Axel," I called into the ambulence, "We're here for you. Do you hear me?"

"You're shouting, Candace, so yes we all hear you," Axel responded from his stretcher. His humor had not gone anywhere.

"How do you feel?" I called out, not lowering my voice at all.

"This is VIP transportation so I'm good."

I smiled but cast a worried glance in Bryce's direction. Zenon was crouching beside Bryce now, helping him get up. Bryce put his weak arm over Zenon's shoulder and leant his full weight. Zenon heaved him up and they walked towards us.

My gaze softened watching them.

In my short time with Zenon, I have seen the power of friendship. His friends go through fire for each other, with each other. They stay true in a way I haven't experienced before.

In the thick of the fight, Bryce and Zenon had protected each other when the gang turned on them for my necklace. I remember seeing that. My silly necklace. It wasn't worth all this.

The silver necklace sat in my pocket and I felt it like a heavy weight on me. I felt partly to blame for what happened tonight.

Bryce sat down as a paramedic came to tend to him. He shifted his weight off Zenon's shoulder and Zenon stumbled. He was wounded and carrying Bryce had exerted a lot of physical pressure on him. I ran to help Zenon, but the paramedics were already beside him.

They criticized him for injuring himself further and sent him to sit with Layton.

"You're all under eighteen so we will be calling your legal guardians as soon as we arrive at the hospital," the paramedic said, "The police will also be there to take your statements. Now, no one is in a critical condition. So, you can stop helping each other and focus on yourselves."

The gambler's bike gang stayed at a distance from the paramedics. They had helped in the fight but didn't want to go much further.

Their leader came up to me, now, and said, "A comedic muse who's always one step away from catastrophe."

"It tends to pan out that way when we meet, doesn't it?" I remarked, "I may be your muse, but you may be my bad omen."

He laughed, "I've been called that before."

My eyes gravitated to Zenon. I felt comforted by the sight of him. Hearing his deep voice calmed me and seeing his captivating presence revitalized me. He was in a deep conversation with Layton.

The gambler saw where my eyes were drawn to. "That boy is trouble," he said.

I nodded. Zenon was dramatic, energetic, charismatic, sarcastic - all the ic's - and I had the biggest crush on him.

"But he needs a girl like you. If I'd been that lucky, my life would've taken a very different turn."

Almost as if Zenon could hear us, he turned towards me. His blue eyes melted mine, in the way they always have. He and Layton exchanged a one arm hug and then Zenon came towards us, limping slightly.

"I don't like you kid," the gambler announced as Zenon approached us, "Because you remind me of me."

"You remind me of my bad bets," Zenon answered, "But thank you for getting involved tonight. I'm sure you did it for her, more than for me but thanks."

"You bet I didn't do it for you, but you should be proud of yourself kid. You were unarmed and outnumbered, and you took those guys on."

Zenon didn't take compliments easily, and he put the attention back on me, "Can you take Candy home? I don't want her to stay up at the hospital with us. They're going to call our parents and she doesn't need that kind of trouble."

Zenon wasn't looking at me since he knew how I would react.

I immediately disagreed, "No, I want to-"

"I'm with the boy on this one," the gambler said, and told us both, "I'll leave you two to say your goodbyes and then I'll take you home Candace."

He left without waiting for us to respond. He spoke to his men and stood by his motorbike.

I stared angrily at Zenon, "I want to come with you."

"I know, and I don't want to be away from you," he answered, taking my hand, "I want to stand by your side but not if you have to stand in my mess."

I reluctantly accepted his argument and moved on to a question that had been on my mind since he walked up to us, "Zenon, what did you say to Layton?"

Truthfully, I had been surprised to find Layton fighting alongside Zenon. They were supposedly rivals.

"I told him that, after tonight, I have his back. He had mine."

They were on opposite teams on court, but maybe not off court anymore. Both hyper competitive and facing similar challenges in the same sport; it could be the start of a strong friendship.