Cupid Rhymes With Stupid - 愚蠢的傻瓜 (BL)

Chapter 2: Zachy, Not The Wacky

Zach rushed toward his room. Upon entering, gloom immediately flooded him. He looked at the busted light near the bathroom's door yet to be replaced by Xander. He tried to push away the emerging melancholy and approached his bed. The wooden floor creaked with his every step.

Together with his worries, he put his bag and Little D down. Little D behaved well as it idly sat on its place. Its head jerked to the right and looked at Zach with its luminescent blue eyes. Docile and still—Zach tenderly stroked its head as he saw his current self with the little puppy. 

In an attempt to pull the strings of their connection closer, Little D turned over and showed its bruised belly. Tears welled up on Zach's eyes. The need to escape from this world's cruel reality coaxed him to enter his own universe. He granted Little D's desire and gently rubbed its stomach, easing away the pain. Little D slowly closed its eyes as the warmth of Zach's hands lulled it to sleep.

As darkness slowly approached, Zach threw his back on the bed and faced the ceiling filled with glow-in-the-dark stars. He distinctly remembered how his grin had reached his ears when Sabrina had given these stars during his seventeenth birthday. They symbolized a huge part of his personality; they represented the vastness of the universe he created in his mind.

He pondered it for a while, closed his eyes, and started to indulge in his favorite hobby—fantasizing.

His mind was a blank canvas until blurry images of his current room began to manifest. This bedroom had only two big beds which the four boys occupied. He shared the same bed with Xander, while Yin and Yang held the opposite bed. He still remembered how Yin and Yang's pair of Teletubbies shirts scattered atop their mattress, while their Yu-gi-oh cards cluttered under their bed.

Unlike the twin's bed, his and Xander's bunk was neat and arranged, as always. He felt the smoothness of the bed's cover at his back, leaving no room for annoying bumps and creases. The ocean-breeze scent of the fabric conditioner wafted into his nostrils and shattered all the seams of anxiety and discomfort.

With much free time on hand, he leisurely smiled on the memory of how secured he had felt inside the four corners of this room. He had always recreated the world he imagined since he was ten—a world without violence; a home where he could settle down peacefully together with his family.

This fantastic world soon materialized in his mind.

Old Matron Chen and Papa Chen were smiling on a rocking chair, while the warmth of the setting sun touched their faces. The freshly roasted chicken Xander brought to their picnic made his stomach grumble, while Sabrina chased Yin and Yang for their mischief. The cool breeze of the wind swung his hair back and forth. The sharp tip of the Bermuda grass pricked his skin as he lied down and listened to Xiao Lu, Uno, Dos, and Tres singing "Rain Rain Go Away" in harmony under the clear skies.

'Huh? Is it raining?'

Little did Zach know that the land of fantasy eventually consumed him into slumber. His subconsciousness took control.

In the orange explosion of the evening sunset, Zach stood up and saw the scowling wisps of clouds began to curl up like wicked genies. He could feel the humidity began to ascend, as the taste of metallic thunder hung in the air. The blinding flash and the deafening sound abruptly devoured his senses. The once tranquil park started to shake violently and torn open rifts that menaced every sentient being.

His siblings blared in panic.

"Ge, I'm scared!" Xiao Lu screamed.

The song that the four little kids merrily hummed was replaced with cries of fright and helplessness.