"Hakdog."
- Ira.

(Dedicated to Memec_Daisuki)

***

Like Kristen, Zachary was staring at the stars. He sat in a rocking chair on the patio. Though the chair's swaying and the night breeze were like lullabies, he was wide awake.

He was lost in his thoughts, thinking about how nice it would be if Yassi was there with him, gazing up at the night sky in his arms. And how dreamy it would be if tonight, Yassi was also outside, and thinking the same thing.

Fantasies, he sadly thought. Everyone makes fantasies. That's normal, though it's a waste of time.

Would they see me as less of a freak if they knew this side of me?

He didn't know how to answer that question. Showing them this dreamy side of him was more likely to make him seem more of a freak than a normal guy.

People hated freaks. He feared being hated.

It was a fear that his father had nourished well in the past...

***

Zachary shivered, feeling the chill of the winter night seeping through his coat. He huddled in a corner of the porch.

His father had locked him outside again.

He couldn't cry about it, since his tears were frozen stuck to his cheeks. He could only sob and wonder why his dad was treating him this way.

Sure, he knew. On the night of his eleventh birthday his father had pulled him aside.

"You bastard child," he said.

Zachary had blinked, confused as to why he would say that. He stared at his dad, and the man glared back.

He didn't know what else to do, so he let out a nervous laugh. "Dad, that's bad." He tried his best to grin.

Then he was slapped. By the back of his father's hand. He'd refused to think that his dad himself had slapped him. He thought it was the hand itself, and that it was an accident.

It hurt so much, he could feel a bump rising on his cheek. He could feel a cut made by his father's wedding ring. The gem on it had a sharp edge.

He blinked back tears, trying his hardest not to cry and sob and break down in front of his father. Maybe this was a test. Maybe this was what becoming a man was all about.

His father grabbed him by the hair, forcing him to look directly into his eyes.

"Don't call me 'Dad'. You don't deserve to be called my son, Zach. You're not even a real child of mind."

Then he let go and pushed back Zach's small body. He fell to the floor on his back. For a while, he lay there, sobbing from a pain that was deeper than bruises and cuts.

***

"You're not even a real child of mine."

Back then, Zach's childish mind hadn't been able to understand that. Now, he knew what it meant.

His father's name was Amos. Amos Cubelo. When he married Elena, his mother, they had an age gap of about 10 years. Both were old enough to be adults by that time, though.

Most said it was his father's age that made Elena unsatisfied. Some said Amos had treated her cruelly. Others thought that Elena married Amos for the wealth his Spanish family had.

Whatever the reason, Elana had an affair with a man named Akio Tanaka. Akio was obviously Caucasian, but was descended from a long line of Japanese nobles. His Japanese name was the result of a tradition carried out by the nobles' descendants.

Their love apparently resulted in none other than Zachary himself.

When Zach was born, Amos became a bit suspicious. He was secretly infertile, and he had made sure that even his own wife would never know.

Akio was found in an abandoned warehouse the day before Zachary's eleventh birthday. He was alive, but badly injured with clear signs of torture. When he recovered enough to be questioned, he accused Amos.

Amos, with his wealth, won the case. He continued to treat Zachary cruelly, but carefully to make sure he was not caught. He'd beat Elena when she protested at how her son was treated.

"You whore! You care about this pitiful child of your infidelity? He's worthless. He can't even carry on my wealthy bloodline because of his tainted blood! You'll die in rags."

Blood. That was all Amos seemed to care about. He spilled it with every blow he gave his mother, and the slaps he gave her son.

Eventually Elena found the courage to report her husband to the authorities. She'd been scared of his wealth and power, and shame at her affair had drawn her back. She brought pictures of clear signs of abuse, making sure that Amos would never escape this case unscathed.

Amos paid dearly. The bail he needed to keep out of jail alone cost him most of his money. Enraged, he filed a divorce. It was approved without much incident, and Amos cut his ties to him and his mother without even saying goodbye. He didn't pay child support. On the day he left, he'd seemingly vanished off the face of the earth.

After a while, it seemed Amos' prediction was going to come true: Elena and Zachary were now homeless, begging on the streets for a living wearing only rags. Amos' house was the only home Zachary had ever known, and he'd refused to give it to them. Amos had sold the land as soon as he found a chance.

Then Akio found them, and he took them to his house. He fed them a warm meal, and gave them a change of clothes. He let them stay for the night. He tucked Zachary in bed, and called him his son, which he was.

That night, the love between Elena and Akio blossomed once more. Within a few weeks, they were engaged.

Which led to Zachary's surname being changed from Cubelo to Tanaka.

Though he was happy about the change since Akio was the kindest dad he had ever met, he still thought of Amos as his father. Amos was nice in all the years Zachary had known him, before he had found out Zach wasn't his son. Zach liked to think about what he had liked about Amos, not the abuse he had endured at his hands.

After Akio and Elena were married, Zachary had returned to school. There he met Yassi Cubelo. He was curious about whether he was related to Amos, and hopeful about his chances of finding him, so he asked Yassi if she knew anyone by the name Amos as a relative.

Zach had picked the wrong time to ask a question. Yassi was chatting with Lily, and did not look happy about being interrupted. All he got was a I-don't-know-anyone-named-Amos and a rude Please-leave-me-the-fuck-alone.

He still felt angry at Amos, and at Elena, and even at Akio. He could spend all day thinking of all the things that could have happened if Elena didn't have an affair with Akio and if he hadn't been born.

Or he could spend all night. He gazed upwards to the stars, and began thinking about how the universe would be better without him.

Elena and Amos would have lived happily ever after.

Elena wouldn't have had to experience Amos' beatings.

Amos would've stayed nice to her.

Akio would've avoided torture in an abandoned warehouse.

He smiled. My classmates think I'm a freak, and my family's suffered because of me. Maybe the universe would be better without me, he thought.

***

Waiting in the forest was no longer any maddening for Yassi; it had become boring.

So, to pass the time, she let her mind sift through some memories.

She remembered the first day of school. Zach was there, glancing at her when he thought she wasn't watching. It had creeped her out.

Then he had looked shocked when the teacher had called out Yassi's surname to check her attendance.

The memory was so vivid, that now, it seemed like she was there, and not in the dark forest.

***

"Cubelo?"

"Present," Yassi replied, stifling a yawn.

The whole class was loud with conversation between students taking the chance to talk before the teacher began his lecture.

The teacher, like Yassi, seemed sleepy and bored nearly to death. He didn't silence the class.

Out of the corner of her eye, Yassi saw Zach glancing in his direction again. This time his mouth was open.

What the heck? Does this guy just check out every girl that catches his eye? I wouldn't wonder if the reason he was here was that he was creep in his last school, Yassi thought.

Zach, noticing her expression, quickly turned away, but he knew that it was too late.

Later, at lunch, Zach went over to where Lily and she were talking.

Coincidentally, their topic was him.

"Hey, do you know that new kid? The guy named Zach?"

"Oh, him?" Lily said in a tone that matched her blush. "He looks pretty hot."

Yassi rolled her eyes. "Sometimes, Lily, I wonder whether you're blind."

The pause in conversation as Lily pouted was when Zach decided to ask his question.

"Uh, hey...Yassi, right?"

Yassi turned. Her glare made Zach want to run. "Yeah. What is it?"

"Uh, I hope this isn't a weird question or anything, but do you know anyone named Amos? Amos Cubelo."

"I don't, you creep. Leave me the fuck alone."

Zach looked like a wounded puppy as he turned away. Lily looked like a kitten about to wail.

"Oh, stop it, Lily. You look stupid."

***

Yassi had wanted to say, "Yes, I know him. He's my father. But he kind of wants to hide his identity, so he tells everyone else that he's Señor Javier."

And that would have sent the entire police force knocking on their doors.

Her father had revealed everything to her on her sixteenth birthday. She knew he was a mafia boss, and had done horrible things.

Yassi had felt disgusted. She didn't want to be associated with a notorious criminal. She considered telling the police, but she was afraid of what would happen to her reputation if she did.

The fact that Zach knew her father's name had creeped her out more than a little. Had Zach been stalking her for years?

She was thinking about how to tell her dad about Zach, and what he knew, when she heard twigs snapping.

She turned towards the sound, partly irritated at the thought that this was probably another animal again, and partly hopeful that it was Faith.

Instead, she saw something worse. Gwen, wearing her signature blue hoodie.

Her head was still on her shoulders.

***

Welp, that was a long update.