#zach.interactions

     “AWFULLY FAR AWAY from the party, aren’t we?”

If the air was cold, there was even a colder current of air that blew the moment Zachary spoke from behind the person. The train cars seemed to be backed by a curtain of trees that had managed to grow even against the scolding fires that burned the earth. The noise from the event still sounded loud and clear, but the critters that ran around the bushes made as much noise considering their proximity to the woods.

Zach had been in Centralia for some years now, but even as the local florist, he was barely seen in social gatherings. Of sweet ( and rather eldritch ) disposition, he always had a smile and a gentle advice to share with someone; kindness seemed to be his main trait and yet, this whole scenario with the dark crevices in between the trees and the cold winter air, seemed nothing like the sunny vibe the boy possessed.      “Were you going somewhere?”

          “Ah, petal, it’s so nice to see you again”.

Zach had walked into the coffee shop probably knowing that Ella would be there at the time. He had been absent shorty after the snow storm to fix some things at the capital, but every day away from Centralia had felt odd; away from his house, from his people, from his plants. Now, he was CRAVING some attention ( to both give and receive ) and why not pick one of the most emotionally vulnerable people in this godforsaken town? You just need to throw the bait.

                       “I have missed you”.

It had been a tumultuous past months to say the least. Zachary had been in and out of Centralia resolving issues he would rather not talk about of course, but as soon as he received word that Lake was possibly back, he dropped everything in his to-do-list to pay his old friend a visit.

He did not even know if they were living at their old place, but it was a good place to start. The little beast has manners, of course, he would never show up to someone’s doorstep emptyhanded and so, he picked some flowers: peonies, white roses, fox glove and irises ( because what’s a good bouquet flower without a little poison in them? ). Still, all of them reminded him of Lake.

Zach rushed into town looking bright, clean and pristine as always, causing the old buildings to creak in resentment. Unbothered, he took one step after the other with eyes sharply hunting for his prey, but oh, way before he even reached their street, the familiar figure showed up, causing his heart to unexpectedly skip a beat.    To think Lake had voluntarily crawled back into HELL itself was... surprising.   Zach thought they had more willpower than that; but they probably had a good reason to return, right?

         “Lake!”