Chapter 94 The Outlaw Gang's Oracle

"Yeah, I run the support of the biggest gang..." he murmured while sleeping until his grandmother shook him to wake him up.

"How many times have I told you not to sleep at your desk and to sleep earlier?!" she yelled, worried about Zack's health.

Yawning and dazed after suddenly being woken up and not sleeping much, he took a moment to respond.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I just had some work to do."

"Work? You barely go to school and all you do is play games in here."

"But at least you cleaned your room after so long. It was reaching a point that even I was going to attempt to clean it for you."

"Cleaned my room?" Zack looked confused as he looked around his room to see that it truly had been cleaned up.

Even things on the desk that he slept on had been organised, and his bed had been made.

"Um, yeah. I think I cleaned it last night...?" he said as he got out of his chair and started to stretch.

"You think? Anyway, get ready to go to school."

"I'm not feeling too well today, Grandma. I'll go tomorrow, I promise," he pleaded.

"You look fine to me and your teachers always tell me that your attendance is really bad."

"But I'm still at the top of my class in every academic subject, so please..."

He gave his grandmother puppy eyes and coughed to make it seem like he was ill until she finally gave in.

"Just don't slack on your studies and make sure to get some fresh air. You're always in this room."

Seeing that she had given in, he jumped over to her and kissed her forehead.

"Thanks, grandma, and don't worry. I won't let you down and I'll make you proud of me," he promised.

"I'm already proud of you, Zack. Just be happy and proud of yourself for me," she said with a warm smile, seeing how much the young boy she had raised had grown.

"I am," he reassured her as he led her out of his room and helped her back down the stairs.

"You really don't have to keep coming up to my room every morning anymore, grandma. The stairs are too much for you and you have everything you need downstairs."

"But..."

"Don't worry about me. I'm old enough now, okay?"

She couldn't help but nod her head, and it seemed as though something about Zack had changed.

"They really do grow up fast," she said to herself as she watched Zack excitedly scurrying back to his room.

But then suddenly she heard him let out a loud scream that was quickly muffled up...

-

"You idiot, why'd you scream like that?" Xavier scolded quietly after quickly covering Zack's mouth.

While Zack had taken his grandmother downstairs, Xavier had crawled out from under his bed and was sitting at his desk, glancing over all the screens and devices on his desk.

Of course, not wanting to mess anything up, he tried his best not to touch anything and just sat at Zack's desk and waited for him to show up.

However, he never expected Zack to scream so loudly and suddenly upon seeing someone sitting at his desk.

"Zack! Is everything alright?" his grandmother called out worriedly.

Zack, who had calmed down after seeing that it was none other than Xavier who was in his room, quickly responded, "Yeah... I just saw a spider."

"A spider? Zack isn't scared of spiders?" his grandmother said to herself, confused as to why he had screamed.

But since he seemed fine, she didn't bother questioning him further.

"Just keep it down, alright?"

"Yes, grandma. Sorry about that and it won't happen again," he reassured her before quickly closing the door to his bedroom.

And as soon as he did, he received a slap on the back of the head before he could even react.

-

"Listen here. If you scream like that in front of me again, I'm gonna beat the life out of you. And you better start sleeping earlier and taking care of yourself," Xavier scolded in a humorous manner.

"But it's nice that you're respectful to your Grandma. Just make sure you spend as much time with her as you can, as you never know when it's her time."

Although it was hard to think about, it was the truth, and seeing how old she was and how much she struggled with daily activities, it wouldn't be long until she would need intensive care.

And not long after that happens she'll...

You get the idea.

"Yeah, I will," Zack said while rubbing the back of his head before sitting at his desk.

But in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but think that Xavier was a hypocrite and probably didn't spend much time with his own family.

And he wouldn't be wrong to assume so.

Apart from his mother, who, lately, he hadn't spent much time with, Xavier didn't have any others that he regarded as family and also didn't have any close friends to speak of other than the ones he had made recently.

He had found that blood isn't necessarily thicker than water, and his mother was someone he cared about because she birthed him, took care of him and sacrificed so much for him, not simply because of the blood ties.

But his father, for example...

Just thinking about him made his blood boil, and Xavier didn't like showing that side of him to others as he cleared his mind and maintained his relaxed and jovial character.

And while Xavier was thinking to himself, Zack had also been doing the same.

-

He was in awe of how fast Xavier was, and the speed at which he had covered his mouth was no joke.

Xavier had managed to get up, dart across Zack's room, and cover his mouth in what seemed to be less than a second.

It was so fast that Zack couldn't even react in time, and if Xavier was attacking him, it would have been game over for him.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case as the 2 of them began settling down.

-

Xavier lay on Zack's bed and made himself comfortable, as if nothing had happened, but then it started to sink in.

Zack, who was sitting at his desk, suddenly jumped up and looked directly at the indifferent youth that lay on his bed.

"What is it?" Xavier asked nonchalantly.

"I just realised. How the fuck did you get into my house?!"

"Hey! Don't swear so loudly. What would your Grandma think of you? And it's not my fault your house is so easy to break into."

"Break into? You broke into my house?!"

"Well, yeah... I just jumped up to your bathroom window and managed to climb in through it after prying it open," Xavier answered casually.

"You did what?!"

"Can you just calm down?"

"Calm down? You literally broke into my house! What the hell did you even break into my house for?"

"To clean your room," Xavier responded, before bursting out into laughter, seeing how much Zack was flipping out.

And after continuing their back and forth for a while longer, Zack couldn't help but laugh after calming down and realising how crazy his boss was.

-

Sitting back down, Zack commented, "So, it took somebody to break into my house and clean my room for this room to finally get cleaned," before laughing to himself, thinking about everything that had just happened.

"Yup, and it was filthy, to say the least. Are you a pig to be living in such a mess? And also, how deeply were you asleep?"

"Well, I went to sleep quite late," Zack replied with a wry smile.

But when he did, he realised Xavier's face became serious, and as it did, he couldn't help but sit up.

"I appreciate that you were working for the benefit of the Outlaw Gang, but don't overwork yourself and destroy your body. Sleep is essential, and now that you're training with us, it is even more important."

Zack nodded his head and couldn't disagree.

"So, what brought you over to me? Other than to clean my room," Zack asked, seeing as they had gotten serious.

"Well, I needed some information and help, and who better to go to than Zack, The Outlaw Gang's Oracle?" Xavier responded in an exaggerated manner.

"Oracle? I like it. So let's get started," Zack said before turning to his computers, focused and ready to help Xavier in any way he could.

"I actually need you for quite a few things, so first go and eat some breakfast and shower. I'll chill here and wait."

"What? But I had just gotten into the zone and I'm pretty sure you're a busy man."

"Exactly, so hurry up."

And Zack did exactly that, washing up and eating before quickly returning for them to get straight to work.

While doing so, he had made sure to make his grandmother some food and do anything she needed for her, with Xavier's reminder still lingering in the back of his mind.