(The events of this chapter happen on the same day as the last chapter, just at a later time.)

Darryl's Pov:

I start to gather my belongings from my locker in the locker room. Once I have everything, I shut the locker door and turn to see George entering the room. He says, "Hey, Badboyhalo, I have a question..."

I raise an eyebrow to let him know to continue. He asks, "Did you... do something recently...?"

I look at him perplexed and say, "No. Why are you asking such a thing?"

"It's just that... I passed by some agents and heard them whispering about you. I couldn't listen in on much without making it obvious, but it sounded like they were talking badly about you."

Really? Huh. Well, that's interesting. Never heard about someone having the nerve to speak ill of me. I say, "Well, I have no idea what that's about. But thanks for letting me know."

"Aren't you going to do something about it?"

"Some other time. Right now, I just wanna go home."

It's more like I want to see Zak. (☹️) With that, I walk past George and head out of the locker room.

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I'm driving with a grin on my face. That's how it has been for a while now. I'm just excited to see Zak each day, so I always end up smiling as I drive over to his house. I can't wait to see him. I quickly check my phone to see if Zak has responded to my text from earlier, telling him that I was on my way. Huh. Weird. No reply. He hasn't even seen it yet. He must be busy at his house or something. Probably cooking, showering, or even taking a nap. (The poor man doesn't know his bf got kidnapped.)

Once I arrive at his house, I quickly get out of the car and head over to the front door. I knock on the door and wait patiently. After a minute of finding no answer, I knock again. I wait to find no answer again. That's weird. He normally opens the door for me right away as soon as I knock on the door the first time. Is he just dead asleep or something? Hmmm. I dig my hand into my pocket to pull out what I'm looking for. A key to Zak's house. I was surprised myself when Zak gave me this, but he said that it wasn't that big of a deal since I come over almost every day, and who knows what could happen.

I put the key in the keyhole and unlock the door. I open the door, step into the house, and call out, "Zak?"

I lock the door behind me, and my eyes quickly land on the kitchen island wall, half-expecting to see Zak cooking in the kitchen like most days when I arrive. But he isn't there. I look to the right to see that he isn't in the living room either. I go and walk down the short hallway and step beside the door to the left. I gently knock on it and say, "Zak? Are you there?"

No response. I open the door to find the bathroom empty. Honestly, I was half-hoping that I wouldn't find him in the bathroom. Especially after he promised that he wouldn't hurt himself anymore. I shut the door and continue walking down the hallway to the door right at the end. I knock on it again and say, "Zak? I'm coming in."

After a second of waiting for a response, I open the door to Zak's room to find him not there either. I was hoping to find him here sleeping because it has happened once where he was sleeping by the time I arrived. It was quite adorable to find such a sight. I remember being slightly panicked during that time before I found Zak sleeping. Honestly, that was probably one of the first times that I entered Zak's room. I rarely go in here since we spend most of our time in the main part of the house. There's only been a few rare occasions when I've seen this room. (I know how this could be taken for you dirty minded people. But I assure you, it is NOT that. Go to horny jail.)

But now that I have found no Zak in even his own room, I'm starting to feel my nerves rise a bit from fear of what could be happening. I shut the door and step back down the hallway into the main part of the house. As I sort of aimlessly walk through the house, I put a hand into my hair and grip on it. Where could he be? Should I try calling him or sending another text? Or am I forgetting something that he has mentioned beforehand?

I then subconsciously walk into the dining room. That's when I notice something out of the corner of my eye on the dining table. I look over at it to see that it's a piece of paper. Oh? Did Zak leave me a note? Well, that thought slightly relieves me. I step up next to the dining table and grab the note so that I can bring it up to my face to read carefully. It says, "Looking for your boyfriend? You should know where to go by now, Badboyhalo. This would've been much easier if you just told the truth. -The Demonic Organization."

I freeze. What...? T-TDO!? They- they have Zak!? And this penmanship- it looks like Technoblade's! No... no no no no NO! This can't be happening right now! I stand there stunned for a moment. Then, I feel the fear in me quickly turn into anger. I slowly crumple the paper in my hand. I then throw it out of my sight and slam my hands onto the table. These little- how dare they? HOW DARE THEY!? They're going to pay. I'm going to make them regret that.

They should've never messed with Zak. Zak... That anger in me is starting to turn into sadness and guilt. Who knows what he's going through. Oh God- he was all alone- I wasn't here for him. I couldn't protect him... Tears are starting to prick at my eyes. Zak... I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry that you had to go through that alone. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry-

I let out a chocked sob. I then suck in a breath and wipe the tears from my eyes. Now is not the time to cry. I need to get Zak back. Without a second thought, I dash out of Zak's house and enter my car to make my way back to the TDO agency. I need to speak to Technoblade.