lake effect kid

ZEKI DEMIR has been accepted to participate ! they are a 27 year old all the way from CONNECTICUT . HE is currently studying EDUCATION at the interchange.

false.

false.

zeki folded the envelope shut, full of developed pictures he’d taken in turkey. he was excited for his dad to receive them. “do you know where we can send letters and whatnot out from?” he inquired, tucking the envelope under his arm.

.

“i’d go back if you want to go, i don’t think i’d ever get tired of it.” they’d never seen anything quite like the blue mosque before and, if they were leaving soon, mel was going to make sure to see it again before they moved on. holding his hand a little tighter, she let their hands swing between them as the headed back to the villa, her need for him no diminishing with their steps. it didn’t matter where they were, or who they were with, mel was sure that feeling would never dissipate. “i get that. i don’t even want to leave and my family has no connection here.” she could hardly blame him for feeling so strongly. “i love it here.” mel stated, no doubt in her mind. “i love - you.” she said, equally as sure of her words. it didn’t feel like much saying it, it had been true for a long time.

.

“let’s go before we leave,” he agreed, excited for yet another site to see. sometimes he wished he could stay here, but he’d miss his dad if he moved back alone. and his dad would surely miss him. he allowed their hands to swing with their steps, always both feeling like a child again with mel and also sometimes like they’d been together for years. in some ways, he guessed, they had. zeki could think of times he’d spent wondering if she felt anything for him, and now here they were. “we’ll come back sometime. we can bring my dad to visit home.” he smiled fondly at the idea. zeki couldn’t help the way his heart skipped a little in his chest at those words. they’d said it before, but platonically. he’d always loved mel. but this was different. yet it was so casual, so normal. he grinned before leaning over and pressing a kiss to the side of their head. “i love you too, mel.”

“be careful what you wish for, you know i can cut deeper,” no truer a word had been spoken by ashley valero. her bark and her bite were equally as vicious but zeki had rarely been at the end of it, just an unfortunate bystander. “a new woman? what? you think i’ve turned over a new leaf or some bullshit?” she did remember his semi-disappointment at her leaving, perhaps in her actions too. “this leopard never changes its spots.”

.

“but not for the only guy you can stand to be around for more than five seconds,” zeki joked with her, but he felt some truth to it. he’d watched her cut some serious moods sometimes, but they were never really towards him. he wasn’t sure if she favored him or he just knew how to navigate her personality. “can you blame me for hoping you’d at least come back wanting to crack a beer with me? i should’ve known better, though.”

             another  swig  from  her  bottle  before  she  chuckles,  ❝  truthfully,  that’s  been  my  impression,  too.  i  was  hoping  it  was  just  a  bad  day  to  show  up,  but  maybe  not?  ❞  if  anything,  at  least  the  experience  will  provide  some  sort  of  entertainment  (  hopefully  ),  making  it  worthwhile  in  the  end.  she  doesn’t  miss  the  reply  he  gives,  the  way  he  didn’t  mention  his  mother  for  the  return  trip  never  taken  and  if  she  had  more  tact,  she’d  let  it  slide,  but  she  doesn’t.  ❝  did  something  happen  to  your  mom?  why  would  you  and  your  pops  have  been  the  only  ones  to  move  back?  ❞

.

zeki chuckled. “it’s not a bad thing, really. i mean, everyone is friendly enough and there are no cliques to try to fit into, so there’s that.” the boy shrugged. maybe that was just his opinion because he personally didn’t mind it. it had never occurred to him that others might want to feel another way about it. he was a bit stunted by her question. zeki cleared his throat. “she-” left he almost said, but he fixed it. “they got divorced when i was just a kid. pops and i moved to washington for work instead.“

.

holding onto his hand tightly, but comfortably, the two made their way back down the street and mel couldn’t help but think of how perfect it felt. how natural. she couldn’t imagine ever having come to istanbul with zeki, it wouldn’t have been right. “have you been to the blue mosque yet? it’s incredible.” mel said, mind both on getting back to their villa and talking about the places on her itinerary. there were a lot of them. “i was planning on going to the basilica cistern tomorrow, do you want to come?” she asked, not wanting to pressure him to spend all his time with her. that was the last thing mel was interested in doing. turning down their street, she rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand, smiling warmly in his direction.

.

zeki’s eyes scanned the city as they walked, sometimes shocked that this is where his parents grew up. he was envious, even, of that fact. not that he hadn’t loved his upbringing with his dad, but this made him feel as though he’d been missing something. “not yet, but i’d like to,” he replied, smiling softly at the other. mel always had ideas for what to do, and he loved that about them. “of course i want to come, hardly a question.” he laughed. if there was anyone zeki wanted to experience instanbul with, it was her. “i wish we were staying here longer. selfishly, of course.”

~

Beer wasn’t always his drink of choice, but he had to say the brand they were drinking was actually pretty good. He glanced at the bottle in his hand, hoping to memorize the name, though he knew he wouldn’t remember it later. “I miss the wine from back home, though. I suppose everyone’s got something or other that they miss from home, right?”

.

zeki sipped from his own beverage, wondering silently if he could manage to send some home to his dad somehow. “where’s home for you?” he questioned, genuinely curious about where his classmate was from. he wasn’t good at picking up on accents.

.

meeting his eye, mel wasn’t entirely sure of the best choice in this situation but the only thing coming to mind was getting out of the store and somewhere else. nodding quickly, mel knew she had to get out of the shirt but first they leaned in to give him a quick kiss. moving behind the curtain to take the shirt off, mel put on what she’d arrived in before coming out of the changing room with the shirt in hand. mel debated buying it but ended up tossing the shirt on the rack again. meeting zeki’s eyes, they shrugged. “it’s not that great,” she said, smirking mischievously. “i don’t want to get something i’m not sure about.” mel didn’t take the whole thing too seriously. “come on.” they mused, placing their hands on his shoulders. “i highly doubt that silas will be around. wanna spend a little time in my room?”

.

the boy smiled into their kiss, the warmth of it spreading even to his fingertips, it seemed. she moved quickly, so much so that he had to softly chuckle to himself that he had given her the urgency even though he wished they had all the time in the world. but they’d only be in turkey for so long, and school was still a factor to their time spent together, so he liked to bask in it when he had it. “fair enough. for the record though, you pulled it off well.” he grinned, placing hands on their waistline. “sounds like a plan to me. hopefully he’s gone for a bit.” the boy pressed a kiss to their forehead before removing his hands from their waist. he grabbed one of her hands in his to begin their stroll back.

“i leave for two seconds and you start asking me dumb shit questions. have you joined the rest of the male population at the bottom of the pile?” the last time they had really spoken was a lifetime ago, something still so strange to her about what zeki had said. she would have been more affronted still to find it was a lie so it was lucky for him that she decided not to ask about it at all. 

.

zeki placed a hand over his heart, feigning pain. “damn, i haven’t seen you in months and you’re gonna cut that deep?” he removed his hand then, chuckling softly. the last time he spoke to ashley had been so uncomfortable, but he tried not think about it. especially because that same dare was what placed him in the relationship he was in today. “your tastes could’ve changed, you could be a new woman now for all i know.”

             she  pops  the  cap  and  takes  a  swig,  taking  a  seat  nearby.  she’s  pleasantly  surprised  he  bothers  entertaining  her  request  and  repays,  what  she  believes  to  be  is,  his  truth  with  her  own,  ❝  hm.  guess  i’m  feeling  a  lil’  outta  my  element  and,  for  once  in  my  life,  worrying  about  fitting  in.  it’s  big,  y’know,  leaving  the  only  home  and  family  i’ve  ever  really  known.  ❞  gold  hues  flick  to  the  other,  ❝  but  twenty  five  years  is  a  long  time  to  be  gone.  why’d  you  leave?  if  you  don’t  mind  my  askin’.  ❞

.

zeki listens to the girl intently while she talks. demir men always were good listeners, though men of few words most of the time. “i get that. to be honest with you, i’m not even sure what fitting in entails here, anyways. we’ve got quite the crew.” he says it as if he personally knows everyone very well, but truly it’s just what he’s picked up from an outer perspective. “my mom got a new job so my family decided to move to the states. not sure why dad and i never moved back, honestly.”

.

“yeah?” mel asked with a smirk, turning in his direction and showing off as she turned in a slow circle before walking in his direction. maybe she shouldn’t have been so forward with him all the time but now that they were together and things had already moved past the just friends category, mel couldn’t help herself sometimes. placing a hand on his chest, she met his eyes with a mischievous glint in them, running their tongue along their bottom lip. “and here i was thinking you were my turkish memorabilia.” she teased, brushing their nose against his playfully.

.

zeki’s eyes trailed after his person, watching their every move so intently. mel had become so comfortable to him, even more so than before. he could watch her do anything and be mesmerized by it. the boy met her stare with one of his own, eyes sparkling with feelings, the place where their hand lie on his chest tingling even after all these years of passing nonchalant touches. “melanie carter, unless you want to get me banned from a store in my home city, you should hurry up and buy that shirt so we can go. you’ll have me thinking less than pure thoughts in this dressing room.”

“not at all. it literally makes me feel like i have to burp and puke at the same time. i cannot stand it.” gross, but true. “oh yeah like literally everything else. surprise me. i’ll close my eyes and you put something in my hand.” 

.

zeki let out a soft chuckle. “okay, i get that. i won’t pass any judgement.” he himself loved a good beer, but he understood why others wouldn’t like it. the boy reached for the small flask he’d set aside as well, filled with a rum, and handed it over. “don’t think, just sip.”

~

If there was one thing Mateo did not need, it was a drink. He didn’t have the best track record with alcohol. But then, what was one beer, really? Nodding, he smiled at Zeki and reached out to take the bottle from him. “It’s exactly what I wanted, actually,” he replied with a short laugh, taking a swig. “Thank you.”

.

zeki didn’t allow his smile to falter, nodding his head once. “no problem,” he responded, taking a sip from his own beer. it had a familiar taste, one he wished he’d gotten to know better. “better enjoy the goods here while we can, right?”

             truthfully,  her  first  impression  of  the  programme  hadn’t  been  great.  niceties  seemed  to  be  few  and  far  between,  but  maybe  she’d  just  arrived  on  a  bad  day?  ❝  if  you  don’t  mind  sharing  with  me,  i’d  love  one.  thank  you.  ❞  after  retrieving  the  bottle,  ❝  so,  stranger,  tell  me  what’s  on  your  mind.  ❞

.

zeki let the bottle slip into the girl’s fingers, reading her features as it did so. he didn’t know her, but she seemed kind at face value. “what’s on my mind is that i’m happy to be in a country that still feels like home 25 years or so after i left it,” he said softly, nodding his head. “what’s on your mind, stranger?”