......

It was as if Zak was frozen, he couldn't move his body and he couldn't speak. He was forced to stare into the bright green eyes that glistened back at him.

The hands slid off of Zak's shoulders, resting at Darryl's sides. Somehow, Zak suddenly felt cold.

"Watch out next time, yeah? Wouldn't want to crash into anyone again." Darryl smiled again, teasing Zak, before he began to walk passed him again.

A feeling of urgency fell over Zak, this may be his only chance to talk to him again. He spun on his heel, walking after Darryl.

"Wait!" Zak exclaimed, reaching out a hand to stop the man. Darryl turned and paused, waiting for what Zak had to say. "Could we talk for a minute?"

A puzzled look came over Darryl's face, and the words that came out of his mouth stabbed Zak's heart, "I'm sorry, why? I don't know you."

"Yes, you do! I'm Zak, from the video game store!" As Zak said those words, something flashed in Darryl's green eyes, but he quickly masked it again, and Zak was unable to read his expression.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. I have somewhere to be, so if you don't mind..." He trailed off and turned again, taking steps away from Zak.

Still feeling as if he needed to stop Darryl, he went after him again, "Please, wait! I really need to talk to you!"

Darryl whipped around, anger now clear on his face.

"Listen, if you don't leave me alone, I'm going to call the police, got it? Get away from me. I don't know you." His last words were pointed and painful, his eyes small slits as he glared down at Zak behind thick framed glasses.

Once again, he turned and fled from Zak, this time getting away.

Zak stood alone, wondering what he did wrong.

Then, he broke down.

The tears flowed like a waterfall and he couldn't stop them. He leaned against the building he stood next to and slid down until his knees were in front of him. He hugged his knees to his chest and rested his head on his arms, unable to control the gasps for air or the loud, broken cries that came from his lips.

The tears went on for what seemed like an eternity, his hands shaking and his entire body feeling weak. His mind told him to stop, but his body wouldn't listen.

After a while, he was able to calm his shaking hands enough to pull out his phone and dial his mom's number. She picked up on the second ring, and he heard her cheerful voice echo through the phone.

"Hi sweetie, I was just about to call. Dinner will be ready soon and I didn't want you to miss it." She greeted him, oblivious to the fact that her son was crying.

"Mom," he choked out between sobs. "Can you come pick me up please? I'm by the station I get off at for work."

"Zak, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you? What's wrong?" She spoke quickly and worriedly. Zak took a deep breath, trying to calm himself enough to respond.

"Please, just hurry." With that, he hung up the phone. He could feel another wave of tears coming, and he didn't want his mother to hear his terrible sobs.

___________

Zak heard a car pull up to the curb, and then a door open and close. He was too weak to bother looking up to see who it was, not that he cared. He heard rapid footsteps approach, and warm arms enveloped him. He immediately knew who it was and he breathed in her scent, trying to calm himself.

His mother helped him up and into the car, where she also had to buckle his seatbelt. His body wasn't moving enough voluntarily at this point, and he was embarrassed but he didn't care much about anything at the moment.

The ride was silent, or at least he thought so. Zak zoned everything out around him, including all the colors that passed by out the window. He didn't care if his mother was trying to ask him if he was ok, he couldn't hear her over the sound of his shattering heart.

Soon, they pulled up into their garage and, once again, his mother helped him out of the car. She guided him into the house and down the hall to his dark room. She didn't bother flipping on the lights since she knew he was going to turn them back off anyway.

Zak sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the ground. He heard his mom sigh before she ruffled his hair and then turned out of the room, closing the door behind her.

He sat on the bed for a while, taking in the darkness around him. Eventually, he kicked off his shoes and swung his legs onto the bed, flopping his back onto it as well. His movements were robotic and broken, like some sort of puppet. He stared up at the ceiling with nothing on his mind.

Nothing but Darryl, that is.

He still didn't understand what he did wrong, but his mind couldn't process anything at the moment anyway. His entire body hurt, everything hurt. His head, his heart, everything. He felt like he had shattered into a million tiny pieces and they'd never be put back together again.

Zak was heartbroken.