Chapter 9: Pizza with a side of sulking (1/2)
Zinnia ran through the streets panting as her head drove around, desperately trying to find some action. Alton and Gale followed slightly more worn out tailing behind. Gale wiped his head eyes, moving down to his phone. ”Still no one watching, let alone a follower. How is she still so fixated and energized?”
”She won't let the idea set in, I guess?” Alton said with a sharp tone as he stopped leaning against a lamppost. ”I'll give her that. I probably would have ended the stream an hour ago.”
”Four hours of streaming… not one viewer. Neither had Zinnia acknowledge that fact. I don't think she has once even bothered to pay attention to the camera. She is treating this as a superhero job.”
Zinnia stopped as she turned around to the two yellings out impatiently. ”You need to hurry up, guys! I heard there is an armed robbery of a pet store just up the road.”
”Robbing pet stores? That's new.”
”To be fair, have you heard how much pets can go for. I wanted to buy a dog when I was younger. It would have set me back about 300 bucks. Steal ten dogs' boom easy money. That and who would be there to stop a pet store robbery?”
”Us apparently,” Gale admitted. ”You know… when I agreed to join this streaming gig, I wasn't too sure; just look at me; I'm not cut out for this sort of thing.”
”You aren't wrong. You look like a gangbanger biker gang member.”
”How about I turn your head into mush.”
”Whoa, whoa, hold on, I'm not finished. Just looking at you tells me that. But I know you care. You want to make a difference. You aren't much different to Zinnia in that matter. None of us really match. We are like peanut butter and gravy. It's going to take a miracle for this to even remotely work, and even then, we are hardly in the clear. Any sane person would realise that would never work. Yet here we are. Even with all the faults and impossible chances pressed against us, you joined. You couldn't be more suited for this.”
Gale smirked to himself, running his hand over his chin. ”You aren't so bad yourself. You make out you don't care much about this team, but if that was the case, you wouldn't be so demanding and harsh on her. You never said. How did you and Zinnia meet?”
”By a mere chance to be honest. She found me while I was slaving away at my job. Got me in trouble and arrested for getting into a fight with this streamer. Now I owe them a lot of money. If I don't pay up, I'll be put away for a long time. I didn't think this sort of thing would happen to me. I worked at that small petrol station for nine months. I worked there six days a week, with a lot of them being double shifts. That's all the other work collages saw me as, really. They went out partying, living and just fucking about. They'd dump all their shifts on me because I would just take it. I needed the money. I kept my head down and just worked. I wasn't particularly good at it or anything, but I got by. I thought I'd be doing that job my whole life….”
”That's it! They are all officially on my shit list effective immediately; I'll bash their heads in!” Gale snaps, swinging his arm around like a lunatic. However, he eventually calms down after getting an uneasy blank stare from Alton. ”Do you wish you could still work there?”
”I don't know? Maybe? Although I hated the job, every day would be the same. I had no real friends, no social life. It was peaceful. Safe. I didn't have to worry about my next paycheck or fighting crime. Even if they offered me that job again, I don't think I would take it. It took Zinnia to make me remember just how much I love doing this.”
Zinnia sprinted around the corner stopping in her tracks falling to her knees, exhausted in the sight of the robbers arrested, police cars everywhere and dozens of fangirls screaming, taking photos of the crime scene. ”Not again?! Even the pet store?! How does Vanguard get around so fast?”
”So? Has she given you your streamer name yet?” Alton asked, utterly dead to the concept they were already beaten to the crime scene. ”She forced my one down on me out of the blue. Dread to think what she gave you.”
”Yeah, she gave me a name yesterday. Dr Destruction.”
Alton broke into laughter, almost choking on his breath. ”That is hands down the worst name I've ever heard of. I am so sorry. Ignore her bloody dumb name choice. We'll definably think of something else.”
”Nah, it's fine. The name has grown on me, and since Zinnia chose it, I'm happy with it.” Gale denies staring at Zinnia, getting into an argument with a fan of vanguard. ”Say don't you think Zinnia is cute?”
”Yeah…” Alton said robotically, not paying much attention until it clicked with him. ”Huh?! Wait, hang on, don't tell me… did you, did you join this team because you have a crush on Zinnia?!”
”What?! Don't be absurd! That is bullshit, bullshit! Your taking words from my mouth that would be a stupid reason to join a streamer's team. I mean, yeah, she's beautiful, she is a goofball and is a lot of fun to hang out with, and I look forwards to meeting with her every day, and I get all shy around her… Ok, alright! I have maybe a tiny, winy crush on Zinnia.”
Alton slouched over, disappointed and annoyed he didn't pick up on this sooner. ”I can't believe this shit. So, I have an incompetent loser who wants to be a superhero and a love-struck stream sniper to help me get out of impossible debt. Wonderful.”
Gale looked away, embarrassed as he spoke softly. ”I must ask, ugh. Are you and Zinnia, like. A thing?”
”Me and Zinnia?! Ha! No, god no, she is certainly not my type. But, don't let me stop you boy, she's all yours.”
”Do you think she would go out with me? I don't want to make this whole streaming thing awkward or anything. I don't think she would go for someone like me.”
Alton turned to Gale, inspecting his rough and cut up face alongside to match his dirty biker jacket, which was torn and stained with what he assumed was his blood. ”I don't know what you're talking about. You look like a woman's man, no doubt—ten out of ten. You just need to straighten your hair, wash your face, stop getting into bloody cuff fights, change your wardrobe. Stop looking so constipated when you talk and learn how to smile. Apart from that, you'll be fine.”
”You think so?”
”Oh, believe me, I know so. Soon Zinnia will be unable to stand to look at you before she rolls over like a dog begging for attention. Speaking of which, I think it's time to call an end to this wild goose chase.” Alton pestered, rubbing the back of his neck in desperation. ”Zinnia, I'm going home, time to end the stream.”
Zinnia's heart dropped as she turned around, broken. ”No, no! We can't! We haven't saved a single person!”
”Who cares? I sure don't. I fancy Pizza, yo Gale fancy Pizza?”
”Fuck yeah, dude!”
Zinnia began tearing up, making a tantrum, acting like a real baby. ”If we can't save a single person, what sort of hero am I?! A failure. I can't be a failure on my first attempt; this is my chance. But everyone keeps taking the saves from me; Vanguard is a big bully! He won't let me save anyone or stop any crime! I hate him….”
”The way I see it if we have no one to save, aren't we doing our job well? I mean, just think about it, no saving means there is no crime, right?”
”Yeah?”
”And no crime means we've done our job, right?”
”Yeah?”
”And if we have done our job and there are no crimes or people to save, then we can go home, right?”
”Yeah?”
”So, let's go home.”
”No way! There could still be a person in trouble.”
”Damn, it's Zinnia. Give it a break! Using that mindscape, you would never stop until your body physically breaks down. Unless out of nowhere someone comes begging for help, I'm going home. ”Alton twisted back around, cupping his hands in his pockets, sighing. ”It was never going to be easy, Zinnia… come on, pizza on me.”
”Ok… I was just hoping to save at least one person. Just one.”
As Zinnia began dragging her feet across the floor, keeping her sulking means going, an old lady approached. ”Excuse me, are you two, perhaps streamers?”
Zinnia's eyes lit up as she jumped up, spinning around to the mere question. ”Why, yes we are, mam! My name is Zinnia, and this is my partner Dauntless.”
”Oh, I am glad. I need your help; it is horrible. The love of my life is in danger.”