Magnum Opus

"Well it ain't fucking fine, is it? I get it, he's an ass-- but he's kinda just lost his mom and his dad's in prison for fucking murdering her. On top of that, he's stuck living with me and that ain't good for anyone 'cos my folks are shit, so... so can't you just go easy on him-- Gabe, I mean. You're fine, Cain. It's your brother that's kinda fucking things up right now. I'm just-- I'm gonna wait in the car, 'kay? Take your time but... I'm just gonna calm Ty down I think."

"...I haven't done anything wrong, you know? I don't care anymore, this trip i-isn't for making friends, I guess. L-Like you said, it's serious and... and I thought it could be fun," shrugged Gabriel, wrapping the remainder of his fries up in a napkin and, with a final sip of his milkshake, abandoned the rest of the meal. "How far 'til we get there? It's just gonna be awkward in the car so I... I'll just sleep."
 
"You did nothing wrong, Gabriel," reassured Cain once alone in the diner. With a quiet humph, he scooted out of his own booth to sit besides his brother, picking up a few spare fries to nibble on in the meantime while another hand squeezed his brother's affectionately. Taking in the younger twin, he offered a slow smile.

"Don't be upset, but it'll take at least another day if we just go straight down without stopping," he admitted as he bit his lip. "You can't sleep that long but... I'll try with you, okay?"
 
"Hey, I know I did nothing wrong! They can try and make me feel guilty, but I... I literally did nothing but defend myself, so I'm not gonna get all glum, don't worry~ I'm not letting them get to me. B-Besides, this trip isn't really for us to make friends, even though I'd love to be you right now, having all this attention from a cute guy, but that-- it's fine! I'm, what, 16? I... I have years to find someone nice, y'know?" He shrugged, cutting himself off from that conversation when he self-consciously noticed how long he'd babbled on for-- and he knew that his attempts at picking himself up weren't necessarily true. He didn't think anyone would really like him, and clinging to that hope seemed redundant, though he could pretend to do so for his brother's benefit - he wasn't going to make Cain fuss and get protective of him if he showed how upset he was. There were clearly far more important things to prioritise.

"Look, I just won't really talk to them. I'll put my headphones on, do some reading, maybe. I-I brought, like, 10 of my comics with me."
 
"I brought your sketch pad and some pencils," he added with encouragement as he smiled at the waiter. Once receiving the to-go boxes, he dumped his extra fries in the container. Handing over the other to his brother, he tugged on his winter coat and hat, once again losing his shape to the piles of black clothes.

"Do I really dress badly?" He questioned as he saw himself on the reflection of the window, taking in his rather bland clothes in contrast to his brother's vibrant ones. "I... I'm not sad or anything, I just like to wear black."
 
"Huh? Oh-- Oh god, no! No, I like your style! Could I wear all black? No, but I doubt many people would wear the stuff I wear. It's personal taste, y'know? I ain't judging you really strictly about it. I'd love to have a little colour on you but if you're comfortable with black, that's fine! And Felix doesn't seem to care, he seems to like you regardless," shrugged the younger of the two twins, adjusting his own colourful jacket and, holding the container close to his chest, slowed himself down once out of the diner. Heading back to the car, with two boys he was sure would prefer him to leave, wasn't really how he wanted to spend the next few hours, but he didn't entirely have a choice in the matter-- unfortunately.
 
Taking Gabriel's hand in his own unashamedly, he trailed alongside the other. Cracking his back once at the door, he offered an apologetic smile to the younger twin before slipping into the seat. Rummaging through his bag, he tugged out the sketch pad and pencils as promised along with a piece of candy - anything to try and cheer up his brother.

Meanwhile, the sight of Tyrone with his face in his hands, sniffling. His phone was on the floor by his feet, having been tossed haphazardly. Once noticing the twins were back, he sat up with a cough before running his hands over his head, tugging on his hat. "Y'all done?"
 
Normally, the sight of anyone crying would send Gabriel into overdrive, trying to help out in whatever way he could which, admittedly, wasn't very much. The sight of the teenager he had had a huge crush on, therefore, would have made him flustered in his efforts to seek out what was wrong-- but he didn't do that now. Instead, he offered across a meek smile in acknowledgement before slipping back into the cocoon of blankets he'd set up nicely for himself, happily reaching for the colouring pencils and, once he had on his headphones (to listen to some characteristically cheesy pop songs, no doubt), he shut off from the goings on around him.He had seen this trip as a way to socialise and make friends-- but he'd let that idea drop the instant he felt like he was just either being teased or frowned upon by the other teenagers.

"Right, can we go now? No more stops, right? We'll just... drive until we get there, I can't be bothered to stop again," grinned Felix playfully, buckling in his seatbelt without further mention of Gabriel. He wanted to apologise for snapping, sure, but the twin seemed more content in just blocking him out, so he had no choice but to really accept that.
 
"We can switch places later tonight so you don't have to drive for, like, 24 hours," Tyrone suggested in a murmur as he tugged on his seatbelt. Staring out the window, he wiped his puffy eyes before reluctantly picking his phone back up to try and seem fine. He had promised to himself that Felix was the only person he'd ever cry in front of, and like hell was he going to break that promise over two twins.

"... I always wanted to learn how to drive," piped Cain from the back as he dared to lean against his brother. "I'd probably crash the car the minute I tried, a-aha... plus, our mom insists to try and find alternative ways to get around. Walking, bus... you know, the usual. I think it's a good idea in theory,"
 
"Hey, you gotta start somewhere, you know? I had to work, like, two jobs to get enough cash together to gt lessons and stuff. My folks were never gonna hand me any cash to help me out," shrugged Felix back in return, albeit with a faint grin. he had gotten used to talking about how shit his parents were and he didn't once feel bad for it these days, able to insult them and degrade them (which they deserved) with a grin on his face.

"I kinda think everyone should know how to drive. What if you just wanna, y'know, get out the city for a while? It'd a bit of a hassle to go through getting buses and shit, right? What would you have done if I couldn't drive, how would you get out of Canada and to this cult if I didn't know how to drive and didn't have a car? It's pretty important, Cain, not gonna lie."
 
"I wouldn't be able to," he replied simply as he watched cars drive by. "Not until I found someone who could help. Our mother would never drive us, and I don't blame her. The stuff they did - I wouldn't want to meet them myself, either. I'd rather wait as long as I had to, to kill these people. They're... monsters, and I know what a proper monster is," he murmured quietly, his tongue carefully running across the secretly razor-sharp teeth,

"If it were up to me, I wouldn't have Gabriel involved in this. He doesn't deserve to see someone die," he stated rather coolly as he wrapped his scarf around him tighter. "That's what needs to happen, though."
 
"You know I like your brother right? I just think that-- look, he's fucking 16, you can't wrap him in cotton wool. If you're gonna do this and put yourself through this, your brother needs to help 'ya out. He ain't a kid," sighed the human from the front, starting up the car with a faint frown. He had barefaced lied, he knew that he had - he didn't really like Gabriel much, h'd finally made his mind up on that, and he was sure that, no matter how hard he attempted to lie, his dislike of the boy came out loud and clear--

But he liked Felix a hell of a lot, and the two seemed like a unit, so if he wanted to build something with one twin, he needed to get along with the other-- or, at least, learn to hide how much he disliked him.
 
"He isn't as strong, emotionally, as me," he insisted as he popped a candy in his mouth despite the fact he claimed to be full only minutes before. "My mother withheld everything from him until just recently, Felix. I... I don't know what he'd do if he witnessed it all, to be honest. I just want the best for him so he doesn't have to worry about things like these. He has a lot of potential, you know? He could go to a nice art school. I don't really have a chance, you know? If I get... traumatized by this, it isn't like it's taking any opportunities away from me."

With a heavy sigh, he watched Felix through the car window with a frown. "It's fine. I want him to be happy and if solely dealing with this all, I'll do it."
 
"Well, you ain't alone, are 'ya? Like, if Gabe has to stay behind, that's fine, but I said I'd help 'ya out. I don't understand a lot of this shit, but I understand these folks ain't nice, right? So if you gotta deal with 'em, that's... fine. I'll help 'ya," grinned Felix, offering the expression quickly over his shoulder-- though the only real reason he was so wiling to help was because he had absolutely no inclination to believe that Cain wanted these people dead. He got the impression that was what he was hinting at, but he figured that, when it came down to it, the cult members would just get a few beatings, threatened some, and then they'd drive off having left them spooked and battered.

He wouldn't be so quick to offer help if he truly believed murder was on the cards.

"So, this cult, then... Not good, huh? Then again, what cult is good? Do they believe in, like, dark magic shit and all that?"
 
"Yeah," he admitted. "I mean, that's what I understand. My mom told me that they had us for some world-ending reason or something, that we were special. I don't think there's anything super weird about us, you know? Sure, we're a bit unique but we're not so unique that we'd help bring the end of the world."

Of course, Cain didn't believe that. He knew they were special and he knew just how desperate the cult was to get their hands on him and his brother, the thought of what they would do causing him to shiver. Popping open the box of fries, he nibbles on a few to keep him from growing nervous.

"I don't know what will happen and I don't really know why we are so... weird, but I know that they'll do bad things to Gabe and me if they get near us. It means a lot to me that you're going to do this, I just... if something bad happens, you won't hate me, right?"
 
"I don't think you're that weird-- like, there's no real 'normal', but you ain't that far off-- besides, say you are, right? I like it, it ain't a problem, so of course I ain't gonna, like, hate you. If I thought there was a possibility I'd end this trip hating you, I wouldn't have come," he admitted casually, not really reacting too much to the other's rambles. After all, he wasn't going to start believing that the twins had 'world-ending powers' - one of them was currently nibbling on cold fries and the other was humming under his breath while doodling with some crayons. They were hardly... scary or threatening.

The plan had been to continue driving until they got around or near the place this 'cult' had apparently settled, stopping only to let Tyrone take over-- but before he gave his friend that chance, the car unceremoniously (and unluckily) broke down. It was dark, incredibly late and they were easily in the middle of nowhere, a trifecta of reasons that caused Gabriel to grimace and nervously stare out the window as Felix attempted to check what was wrong under the bonnet-- not that he had a clue what he was doing.

"I don't... I don't like this, Cain," the brother mumbled, slipping off his headphones with a weary glance at his twin. "...Where are we? L-Like... do we have a map?"
 
"I've had the GPS going," Cain admitted in a whisper as he wrapped himself up in his blanket, the sudden winter chill taking no time to hit them all within the car now that the heat was gone. In the hours they were traveling, Cain had fallen asleep pretty heavily, only to wake up to the slamming of the door by Felix. Tugging out his phone, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"We're in He middle of Iowa," he murmured, his lips pursing tight. "It says we're a few miles away from the next town, but nothing is going to be open right now."
 
"So... So what are we gonna do, Cain? Just sit here in the cold and... and wait-- wait for what, even! T-This isn't... it's not... it's scary, I-I just... I don't like it," groaned Gabriel as he wearily shifted to glance out the front window, his slight hope fading the moment he spotted Felix throw his hands in the air and let out a string of unsubtle cuss words.

"...What if, like, someone with a g-gun or a knife comes out the woods, like in a horror movie? Nothing good comes out of breaking down o-on an abandoned road next to the woods, Cain. L-Like, it's a horror movie waiting to happen," he continued with a faint grimace but, in an effort to make up for his comments, he nudged closer and handed across the notepad of his sketches across. "See? That's you, and that's Felix 'cos he's pretty good to draw when the sun was on him, and then... I did do Tyrone but I scribbled over it and it got kinda abstract."
 
"There'll have to be someone who has to drive down this road eventually, okay? Don't worry," the older twin reassured as he watched Tyrone's attempt to check the engine, his phone lighting the car. His attention soon returned to his brother as he reviewed the drawings, his amazement unsubtle at the sight. Sure, if you took Cain to the Louvre he'd probably just stare at the paintings and sculptures blankly, but he always could appreciate his brother's talent. He didn't hold back on offering a wide grin.

"This is amazing, though I guess that's no surprise coming from you. I'm serious about the art school thing, Gabe. I think you'd get really far, y'know?"
 
"...I don't think I could do that, Cain. Mom wouldn't let me go away to study by myself, w-which I understand. I wouldn't do well without you, I'd lose my mind and do bad stuff and... and I don't want to go away like that. M-Maybe, I just-- I'll give it some thought," bashfully shrugged the boy as he offered across a grateful smile for the abundance of compliments. His mother didn't really get to see his art much, but Cain always did, and he'd never once said a bad word about it, so Gabriel always was thankful for that.

Holding the notebook back against his chest protectively, he grimaced out the window at the empty, bare road. "Nobody's gonna come down here," he began silently. "I... I don't think we're gonna, like, be saved or anything."
 
"Our phone doesn't have signal," he murmured to himself before offering a grim frown. "Look, we can trek out for a bit, okay? In the morning, of course. I don't think we should move right now. We have extra blankets, right? H-Hey, Maybe Felix's phone has a signal!" He blurted suddenly before getting to his feet, scurrying our of the car.

"This is going to be fine, I promise." He insisted to his brother as he wrapped himself up carefully to hide from the cold. "We have plenty of food and water."
 
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