Uncensored warning for birth defects and hidden atheism.
[name_m]Zechariah[/name_m] “ [name_u]Zeke[/name_u] “ [name_m]Ephraim[/name_m] [name_u]Banner[/name_u] (24) is a friend of [name_f]Raina[/name_f], knowing her through her older brother. Zeke’s younger brother is Raina’s boyfriend. He was also [name_f]Goldie[/name_f] and Olive’s dog walker until he moved away to Thousand [name_m]Oaks[/name_m], where he currently resides. He still goes north to visit his brother and friends and occasionally south to see [name_u]Cheyenne[/name_u] and [name_f]Jacqueline[/name_f], since he used to do theatre with them. Despite being in theatre, he’s more of an improv type of person and loves performing on the spot for the thrill. [name_u]Zeke[/name_u] doesn’t care about the whole NorCal vs. SoCal debate and likes both even if he is a former NorCal resident who now lives in SoCal.
[name_u]Zeke[/name_u] and his brother grew up in a [name_u]Christian[/name_u] family who gave their children biblical names. However despite their parents being very faithful, they weren’t strict or used their religion for rudeness. Despite it, [name_u]Zeke[/name_u] is secretly atheist and hates being called “ [name_m]Zechariah[/name_m] “. He won’t ever say anything about it to his parents because he doesn’t want to risk upsetting them, plus they’ll likely assume [name_u]Zeke[/name_u] is trying not to be [name_u]Christian[/name_u] because his toxic ex-girlfriend was [name_u]Christian[/name_u]. This isn’t true, [name_u]Zeke[/name_u] doesn’t like his ex because she used him for money and material things, not for her religion. Another reason why his parents would be shocked he’s atheist is because he was born with a heart defect and needed surgery just to survive infancy. He takes medicine daily to stay healthy. His parents assume he’s super faithful because of this, but he’s actually more pro-science thanks to doctors and medicine that he wouldn’t be alive without. [name_u]Truth[/name_u] is, while [name_u]Zeke[/name_u] has parents that are very [name_u]Christian[/name_u], they’re good people and that’s why he doesn’t want to hurt them by saying he doesn’t believe. They wouldn’t even mind if their other son and [name_f]Raina[/name_f] had a baby before marriage although nobody in the family knows.
[name_u]Zeke[/name_u] and his brother are close and he loves seeing his brother with [name_f]Raina[/name_f]. [name_u]Zeke[/name_u] and [name_f]Raina[/name_f] are strictly just friends; [name_u]Zeke[/name_u] would never hit on his brother’s girlfriend and they live too far away anyway. He did still buy some of her art and is a supporter of helping artists make profits from their work. He’s also a good friend of Raina’s older brother as well. After all, he and Raina’s older are about to be uncles, even if neither of them know it yet.