Fearless ≫ Zach Mitchell

vi.

s i x

~

Ashton watched closely as the green blurs of tree zoomed past the window of the monorail. Her elbow resting on the arm rest and her chin in her palm, she was only half listening to what Gray was saying. She wasn't trying to be rude- in fact, she enjoyed listening to the boy ramble on about dinosaurs- but she just couldn't find herself to focus. Gray seemed to take the hint eventually, his voice slowly dying down until they were sitting in silence.

Zach sat on the other side of Gray, sneaking occasional glances to the pair of girls sitting in the seat behind them. His signature smirk plastered across his face, he made small talk with the blonde girl. Though Ashton's gaze was focused outside the window, she was still listening in on their conversation. She hated to admit (she didn't even know why she felt this way), but she felt a twinge of jealously. She thought that, after the Mosasaurus Feeding Show, she had finally broken Zach out of his shell, and that he would finally spend some time with her and his little brother. Apparently, she was wrong.

She was thankful when Gray turned to speak to his brother, though the words that fell from the twelve year old's mouth only made her heart sink to her feet.

"If mom and dad get divorced, will one of us be with mom and the other with dad?"

"What? Why would you say that?" Zach's eyebrows pulled together in a look of confusion, though his attention didn't stay on the younger boy for very long. He glanced back at the blonde sitting behind them, smirking once more.

"Because they are," Gray said quietly, the sadness in his voice almost enough to break Ashton's heart. She wanted to comfort him, though she thought it was best to stay out of their business. After all, she had only just met them.

"No, they're not getting-" Zach paused, almost as if he were afraid to say the word divorced, for his little brother's sake. "They're not getting divorced. Look, you haven't been around long enough. They've always been that way."

"They get mail from two different lawyers," Gray pointed out, glancing over at Zach with glossy blue eyes.

"That doesn't mean anything," Zach countered, though Ashton could hear panic beginning to build up in his voice. He was starting to believe his brother.

"I googled- they're divorce lawyers." As he said this, Gray turned back to face the front. His face was scrunched with sadness, his bottom lip in between his teeth as if he were fighting to hold in tears.

"Alright, whatever." Zach swallowed thickly, straightening his posture and turning around so that he was no longer facing the girl behind him. "You know what? It doesn't matter, okay? I'm gonna be gone in two years anyway. All my friends' parents are divorced. Hey, knock it off!"

Finally pulling her attention away from the window, Ashton looked over at Gray. The twelve year old's eyes were glossed over, tears slowly falling down his cheeks and his bottom lip stuck out in a small pout. Though she said nothing, she placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, giving it a gentle, comforting squeeze.

"Look, you're gonna get two of everything," Zach told him; it was clear that he was actually trying to comfort his brother, even if he wasn't very good at it. "Two birthdays, two Thanksgivings. Two-"

"I don't want two of everything," Gray whispered, blinking slowly and allowing another tear to fall from his eyes.

"Yeah, well it's not up to you," Zach said flatly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his gray jacket. "There's a point where you have to grow up."

Finally growing tired of his douchy behavior, Ashton wrapped her arms around the crying Gray's shoulders, allowing him to lean into her and bury his head into her chest. She glared at Zach, her jaw clenched in anger as he showed no signs of regret. "That was a dick move, man." When Zach only pursed his lips and lifted his headphones over his ears, Ashton slowly pulled away from Gray. "Hey, it's going to be alright, okay? You're going to be okay."

~

The line for the Gyrospheres was so long, it was almost unnatural. Though luckily for them, Ashton and the Mitchell's were able to skip the whole line due to their fancy VIP wristbands. The line for the VIPs was existent, though not anywhere near as long as the other. Gray had stopped crying by then, though he still stood closely to Ashton, his hand wrapped around her arm as he rambled on about DNA.

"The soft tissue is preserved because the iron in the dinosaur's blood generates free radicals. THe proteins and the cell membranes get all mixed up and act as a natural preservative. DNA can survive for a millennia that way. Even if the amber mines dry up, they'll still have the bones to-"

"Shut up," Zach snapped at his little brother, his tone clearly annoyed. No matter how much she wanted to yell at him, Ashton only rolled her eyes as he continued to stare at a group of girls not too far away.

"What do you think is gonna happen from you just staring at them?" Gray asked, loud enough for the group of girls to hear. Beside him, Ashton snickered to herself and exchanged a high five with Gray, while the girl giggled amongst themselves, though Zach only rolled his eyes.

To others, it might have seemed like Zach was checking the girls out. But in reality, he was comparing. He found himself doing that a lot lately, to the point where it was almost natural for him. He was comparing them to Ashton, believe it or not. Ashton Grady may have been a outspoken, sarcastic bitch at some points in time, but Zach liked that about her. And he had to admit, she was absolutely beautiful, and she didn't even realize it. She was one of those girls who had to post pictures of themselves on the internet- not because she was desperate for compliments, but because she didn't know. And he liked that about her.

Zach was snapped back into reality as a nudge in his side. Glancing over, he saw both Ashton and Gray staring at him expectantly. Looking ahead of him once more, he realized that a special three-seated Gyrosphere had pulled up in front of them; they must have been waiting on him to get in. Coughing awkwardly, Zach quickly stepped into the giant glass ball, scooting over to the farthest seat to give Gray and Ashton room.

Ashton took a seat in the middle, with Gray on the far side. The circular door to the Gryosphere slid closed, with the voice of the ride operator telling them to enjoy the ride fading along with it. The ball slowly began to move, descending down a small ramp and into the grassy valley beneath them.

Ashton quickly reached out for the controller in between her knees (which was why the middle wasn't exactly the most comfortable seat), though Zach beat her too it. His hand gripped the sphere-shaped controller, with her hand on top of his. Feeling her cheeks heat up in a blush, she quickly removed her hand, glancing over at Gray to hide her rosy face.

"You can drive," she murmured. Though she couldn't see him, Zach still curled his lips into his signature half smile. He slowly lowered his arm into a more comfortable position, gently resting his arm on Ashton's bare leg. At his touch, several shivers ran up her leg and into her spine, causing to to take in a sharp, though subtle breath. Zach chuckled lightly, obviously feeling the way she tensed under his touch, and slowly push the controller forward, causing the Gyrosphere to lurch into motion.