Leave Me Alone, Big Brothers! [BL]-Chapter 92: Unaware Lions

"Damn it!" Nathan cursed as the two of them left.

He stared at the two broken cell phones on the floor. He picked them up. "I don’t know what I can do with them."

Maybe he could ask Leo about it. Louis had said that guy was great with IT and computers.

Nathan looked at Zane. "Thanks."

"I was bored waiting for you. I was about to come find you in the locker room," Zane said.

"Sorry."

Meanwhile, they had forgotten about the other person there.

Nael was trembling, his face a ghostly shade of white. He looked at the wreckage, then at Nathan, his eyes wide with genuine terror.

"They’re going to be wilder now," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Nathan, you shouldn’t have done that. You made it worse. They have backups... they’re going to go crazy!"

Zane, who had been watching the two phones with a look of clinical boredom, turned his sharp gaze toward Nael. "Don’t you realize what you’re talking about?"

"You don’t understand!" Nael snapped, his panic rising. "They’ll post everything! They’ll destroy us! Alexander will be angry with me!"

Zane let out a short, dry laugh that sounded more like a bark. He didn’t understand the real problem. But what he did grasp was that the two boys were threatening Nael with something important.

"Did I just see a Salazar being so scared of a ridiculous threat?"

"It’s not ridiculous!" Nael insisted, clenching his hands. "If this gets out—"

"Hey, Salazar, don’t be an asshole," Zane interrupted, stepping closer. "Do you know how powerful and crazy your family actually is? Do you have any idea how many things the Salazars hide from the media on a daily basis? And here you are, shaking because two idiots might leak your secret?"

Nael went silent, his mouth hanging slightly open.

Nathan, too, looked confused. He had seen Alexander be cold, Roger be crazy, Leo be so isolated, Malvin too kind, and Lucas arrogant. But they were just annoying brothers.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked, looking between Zane and Nael.

Zane took a deep, weary breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He looked at the two twins with a mix of disbelief and pity. He couldn’t believe he was looking at two Salazars who were completely unaware of how dangerous their own name was outside the school gates.

"I forget you two grew up in a bubble," Zane muttered. "Don’t worry. Your family will handle it perfectly, even if those two are brave enough to try something. Which I doubt. They don’t have the balls to touch you."

Nael blinked, the fear in his eyes slowly being replaced by a bit of hope. "You sure? How do you know?"

Zane shook his head. "Both of you, really... it’s like watching two lions be afraid of a couple of stray cats."

Nael stayed silent, his face still looking worried.

Zane then continued, "Don’t you think you should at least say thanks to him?"

Nael looked at Nathan, then looked down. After the rift that had occurred between them a few days ago, he felt awkward. But he hadn’t expected Nathan to help him. He had thought the boy would mock him.

Nael swallowed hard.

But before he could speak, Nathan interrupted. "Forget it. I just hate you still hanging around with them. You know, it’s better to be alone than to be with friends like them."

Nael looked down, not wanting to admit that he was too afraid and avoided conflict.

"Thanks," Nael finally said.

Nathan looked at his twin and sighed. "It’s okay."

He looked at the destroyed phones again. He didn’t know the full extent of the Salazar power Zane was hinting at, but he felt a strange, dark sense of security.

He turned to Nael, his expression softening just a fraction.

"Go home, Nael," Nathan said firmly. "Go with Louis. I have things to do with Zane."

Nael looked at Nathan, then at Zane. "Where are you going?"

"Just spending some time with my friend," Nathan replied. "Go. I’ll call Louis once I’m done. Just tell him I’m studying at the library or something."

Nael opened his mouth to argue, but the look in Nathan’s eyes, the same cold, determined look he had seen when Nathan was breaking those phones, stopped him.

"Let’s go," Nathan said to Zane, his adrenaline finally starting to level out.

As they walked toward the parking lot, Nathan couldn’t help but think about Zane’s words. How dangerous were the Salazars, really? And more importantly, was he becoming one of them?

In the car, they talked about Nael and Zimmer.

"I didn’t expect that to be the secret he’d been hiding all this time," Nathan said.

Zane drove, saying little. But he knew what might have happened to Zimmer behind his resignation.

"That kid is so stupid," Nathan said, wondering why he was worried.

"If our teacher disappears, you don’t need to worry. Your family will definitely fix it. But I don’t think Nael is stupid. He is the smartest kid in our grade. He was the valedictorian since elementary school, never failed," Zane said.

Nathan fell silent. He pondered Zane’s words. "What? Are you serious? That stupid kid is the valedictorian?"

"Not only that, he has been a master in fencing for years. That’s why he is in the special class," Zane added, ignoring Nathan’s surprise.

Nathan’s mouth hung open.

Zane chuckled softly. "It seems you don’t know your brother at all."

Nathan swallowed hard. He was silent. Well, that was true. He didn’t know his brothers at all.

"But it’s strange. Why is he still having trouble finding friends if he has so many talents?" Nathan still didn’t understand. With so many activities, he should have more friends.

"You only know his two bastard friends. Maybe he has more genuine friends."

Nathan doubted that, remembering that Nael had been angry with him because he had Zane, Gabriel, and Eli.

Zane took Nathan to a restaurant and several other places before heading to the car racing area. Since the event didn’t start until seven, they spent time together.

And they exchanged information about many things.

Currently, they were at a café near a playground covered in thick snow. Zane handed Nathan a cup of cappuccino.

Nathan stared at the cup and smiled slightly, appreciating Zane for ordering it for him.

"I bought donuts too. Try this, the tiramisu donuts here are really good," Zane said enthusiastically.

Nathan ate the donut before sipping his drink.

Then Zane reached for a cigarette in his jacket pocket, but before he could light it, Nathan snatched it from Zane’s lips.

"Don’t smoke, please," Nathan said, making Zane fall silent, transfixed.

"What?"

"Don’t smoke," Nathan repeated more clearly.

Zane lowered his lighter and stared intently at Nathan. No one had ever dared to forbid him from doing anything before.

"Why? It’s not bothering you," Zane said.

"No, you should not smoke. You know you have a bad condition in your lungs. Why do you smoke anyway? It’s not cool at all," Nathan said.

"You have no right to tell me what I can or can’t do."

Nathan looked at Zane, who appeared expressionless, making him a little worried that their newly formed friendship would be ruined.

Finally, he put the cigarette on the table. "Up to you."

Zane grabbed the cigarette and stared out the window. But this time he didn’t light it, just played with it between his fingers.

Nathan was also silent.

But after a few moments of awkwardness, Nathan started the conversation. "Sorry."

Zane looked down at the cigarette in his hand. He sighed, then put the cigarette back in his pocket.

"I don’t feel like smoking now."

Zane looked at his watch. "We’d better go now."

Nathan deliberately didn’t turn on his cell phone, knowing Louis would flood it with calls and texts.

The neon lights of the city blurred past the passenger window as Zane drove them to the racetrack.

Nathan tensed up, because this time the boy was exceeding the speed limit. He held his breath every time they almost grazed another car while overtaking.

"Oh shit!" he cursed several times.

Zane chuckled softly.

He slowed down when passing through a quieter street with many turns.

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. Then he looked at the dashboard, then at Zane. "I still don’t get it. How do you have this kind of hobby if you have asthma? Isn’t the exhaust a lot?"

Zane shifted gears, his movements fluid and practiced. "What’s wrong with it?" he asked, a small smirk playing on his lips. "I don’t have severe asthma. Honestly? I feel like I’m suffocating worse when I’m at home."

He didn’t mention the way his stepmother’s voice felt like a tightening coil around his throat. Several times, he felt intense tension when Marie started talking to him.

"Better I race," Zane continued. "Sometimes it gets tight, but I have my maintenance inhaler. I hit the gym four days a week specifically for cardio and lung capacity."

"You are really unpredictable."