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"...What's going on with you both? I'm not going to start this car until I get some answers, and you know full well I'll stick to that. We can sit out in this car all night if need be, but I'm not moving an inch until we get answers. Your brother is close to having a full out panic attack, Gabriel, and you're acting far too... strange and I don't like it. I'm your mother, I... I'm supposed to make you guys happy, aren't I? Am I just doing a bad job of that?" Questioned Pearl slowly, turning around in the car seat and frowning to herself at the state of both the twins. She didn't really know what was going on. It could be the stress of the bullying, or Gabe taking the 'selfish' comment to heart, or Cain's bout of ill-health at the moment.

No matter what it was, it only made her feel awful for not being able to just protect them properly. It might not even be her fault, but she instinctively took the blame.

"Nothing, Mom! I... I can't speak for Cain 'cos he's his own person and stuff, but I'm fine! Super duper, actually. I just don't want to do childish stuff 'cos it's... I'm 16! I-I'm not 6."
 
"Hm," was the simple response from Cain as he avoided his mother's eyes, instead staring at the floor of the car as he nervously began to rub his legs. Pulling them up to sit criss-cross, he used that only to rub them harder. It took all he could not to begin hyperventilating, or rocking, though it still wasn't very subtle on how anxious he actually was. When he noticed that they weren't moving, his face grew red in embarrassment.

"I think I'm going to be sick. I n-need to go home. Now." Cain quickly blurted before offering a feigned smile, though it didn't take a genius that it wasn't real. "I'm fine! I... L-Let's just go and we can all just go to sleep and pretend that everything is fine, right? Like we always do. Everything is just peachy."
 
"You... You never tell Mom or me how you feel, do you? You always bottle it up and think you're, like, saving us or something, but you're just making things worse! Do you know how upsetting it was t-to hear from Mom that you thought I was... selfish?--"

"I didn't say it like that, Gabe--"

"--That I was making you feel like you always had to look out for me? That you felt overwhelmed? Why didn't you tell me yourself?! I-It makes me look awful and feel bad and you should just tell me!" Ranted Gabriel suddenly, only aware of how loud he was when he felt his throat ache from his shouting and practical screaming. He didn't really realise how angry he'd been until he began to talk, too, and while he felt awful about unleashing all his anger out like that, he felt justified in doing so. He knew just why his brother bottled things in-- but he was furious about it, too, because it made him feel horrible, and he could have potentially rectified it all years ago if he'd known about it. "...I want to be a good brother, C-Cain, and you make me feel bad."
 
Wincing at his brother's raised voice, Cain had only begun to cry in response as he hid his face with the sleeves of his sweater. Loud noises had always freaked him out, in general, but to be snapped at by his brother out of nowhere was terrifying. hence why he pressed his covered face into his lap. The whole scene proved Gabriel's point, of course; the idea of showing how upset he was, especially in front of his brother, was something he had just trained himself to stop doing. While he could often do it subtly by just leaving the room or keeping his mind on something else, it was much harder to be subtle when he was in such a close space, forced to be sitting besides his brother and mother.

"I'm sorry." Cain eventually whispered once Gabriel seemed to simmer down, though he didn't show any sign of really doing anything to fix himself. "I'm sorry, I... I-I'm sorry. I'm a bad brother, a-and... I thought I was doing the right thing, but I wasn't. I'm sorry. Can we please just go home?"
 
"I'm the o-only one who shows how I feel, and you hate that. You think I'm a burden and... and I'm... not, Cain. If I'm really a burden, then stop hanging out with me and stop doing everything with me. You're literally m-my life but I don't wanna burden you, you know? And... And maybe I should do what you and Mom do and pretend to be fine when I'm fucking not. I-it's hurtful that neither of you share how you feel with me and then make me look like a-an emotional f-freak and... and... and I'm gonna walk home, I need fresh a-air."

"No-- No, don't, you can't walk in your own, Gabe--" Blurted Pearl, though, in fear of having her son just snap at her that she didn't trust him to do anything alone, she nervously sat back and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. Gabriel had never snapped like that, and Cain had never really been this emotional in front of her... and as a result, she easily let her own pokerface fall and tears to build up. "...What... What do I-- Is this my fault, Cain? I don't understand, I... I've been a good Mom."
 
"This isn't your fault," he reassured slowly, though mostly to try and calm himself down, rather than his mother. After a few loud, shaky breaths, he eventually removed his arms and wiped the snot and tears away. Instead of the usually soft and kind appearance, he was left to look like a mess. Glancing at his brother as he took a step out of the car, he immediately looked at his mother before taking a wobbly move for the door.

"I can't let him go out there alone, I.... I-I know he hates me. He hates me a lot now, doesn't he? I - I tried to tell him to stop seeing this guy, because he was just ignoring the fact that the guy was a jerk. I-I've been telling him that for months, and... I shouldn't have gotten annoyed. I'm selfish, you know?" He babbled on quietly as he fiddled with his seatbelt. "What if someone hurts him, ma? That'll be all my fault."
 
"...You know what your brother's like, Cain. He... He doesn't get things like he should, he's always been like that. It's endearing but it's dangerous and he gets himself in trouble and it's stressful for you and me. Let's not pretend it's not. I told him that, I... I looked right at him and I told him how stressful he is. What sort of mother does that?! I-I was just-- I shouldn't have, h-he looked so hurt and it's the first time it really sunk into him and... I don't know. I can't pretend that he isn't stressful when-- when look what it's doing to you! You're my son too and you're under so much stress," she grimaced, reaching behind to affectionately cup his face with her hand, offering a smile in the hopes it would stop his tears and just get him to take a few deep breaths.

"If we go after him, he'll accuse us of not trusting him enough, but he could get hurt if you don't and... and I don't know what to do, I'm at a loss. He's not in a good place, you're not either-- I'm not. The house is a ten minute walk, I... I'm sure he can manage it."
 
"Mom, what if the guys go after him?" He questioned immediately, though did revel in the fact that it was just them for once. While he wasn't going to just pour his heart out to his mother, he felt much more comfortable talking to her just a bit more. Sniffling, he shamefully looked away from her eventually and let out a shaky sigh.

"I'm sorry. I just... I-I know you're going through a lot. Gabe is my responsibility, I'm the one to make sure he's okay. It's not fair, but I know that's what I have to do. I love Gabriel, he's my best friend, and I'm okay with having to watch him, but I just - he thinks he can just do whatever he wants, and I can't. I can't just go up to people and befriend them. No. For all I know, they could be those... bad people. He gets to live oblivious."
 
"Gabriel is never going to be understanding and mature and... and I love him for it, it's who he is, but it's also... it's nothing that's going to change and it does mean we have to care for him, I get that. Oh god, I shouldn't have-- I was so harsh on him, Cain! H-He looked so distraught and... and look, he... I'm sure he understands now that he has to listen to you, I'm sure the message has sunk in," she encouraged, forcing herself to smile as she finally started the car up, motioning her son to do up his seatbelt. Every fire in her being screamed for her to rush out after Gabriel and fetch him back into the safety of the car. He was 16, but she didn't feel comfortable allowing him to go off like this on his own. She wouldn't feel happy about Cain going alone either. They were all close to one another, and the thought of Gabe taking a walk through the woods home all by himself was hard to stomach-- but she had to. She heard his cries of wanting more independence, to stop being childish, and so had no choice but to allow him to do this simple act by himself.

Besides, he'd probably get home before them, what with all the traffic currently piling the road. She fully expected to see her son sat at home, proudly grinning to himself over how he managed to do something by himself, without anyone assisting him, and that in itself allowed a smile to break on her own face.

So when he wasn't there, of course she felt a twinge of panic. She went through the rooms just to make sure he wasn't sulking in the bathroom, as he often did. Then she just sat and waited, thinking he'd turn up in the next five minutes. Then they passed, and so did ten, and then fifteen, and before she knew it, a full half an hour had gone by without him skipping through the door. It was at that moment that she realised the stupidity in trying to let Gabe do something this simple. His cried of independence were a result of him being angry, and that was all. As soon as he cheered up, she knew he'd be the same old Gabriel again, so there was no need to let him go alone, and yet... she had. And she blamed herself terribly for it when, after hours of searching, she had to return home at midnight without him.

Three days had passed since then. Pearl had literally done all she could: she informed the police at the station she worked at who, to their credit, rushed out to search, and she herself headed out almost every hour to routinely check the woods and surrounding areas, all while handing posters out to people to keep an eye out for the boy. She and Cain took it in turns to search: when she was out the house, he was in it, just in case Gabriel wandered home. When she took her turn in the house, she had her son head out with some policemen.

Currently, it was her turn to go out searching for the hour, and she'd headed out looking like a complete wreck. When your son was missing, you were hardly going to bother with the usual makeup routine, were you? As she headed out, though, Felix wandered up the path, nervously smiling at the woman and offering a meek nod to Cain. He might have been on terrible terms with Cain recently, for obvious reasons, but Felix had been one surprise of the last three days. While his friends all rolled their eyes at the disappearance, he was always seen lending a hand and assisting the search. He wasn't an asshole, and he wasn't cold-hearted, either. If he could help out, he was going to do so-- and he had a personal reason to do so now.

"Hey, I... can I come in? I... thought you might want company, I dunno. Tell me to fuck off, that's cool-- it's just, I... I get this whole thing is fucking terrible, but Tyrone-- he hasn't answered my calls for the last day and he didn't turn up for school and... and I dunno. This whole Gabriel thing has just freaked me out and now Tyrone's not texting me back. He didn't go home last night, his Mom said so, so... so could I come in, maybe? I... I could do with a coffee?"
 
Much like his mother, Cain had blamed himself within five minutes of being home. Call it twin intuition, but he knew his brother wasn't going to come home. He was left to pace nervously only ten minutes after that, and he locked himself in his room after a half hour. After a good two hours of literally cutting up his pillow after chewing it nervously, he did eventually return to his mother's side.

After that, Cain had shut down emotionally. Watching his mother freak out so much for the past three days made him think he needed to defend her. When at school, he wouldn't speak to anyone - though it wasn't as if he did that anyway. He would take his classes, come home, do his homework, and head out into the woods. The only person he spoke to was Felix, and that was only out of obligation when on a search.

Initially getting excited once hearing the knock on the door, when he realized it was Felix rather than his brother, his eager grin dropped almost instantly. Eyeing Felix cautiously as he explained himself, he carefully pushed the door open a tad bit more to really take in Felix's genuine concern.

"You can come in, sure." He decided quietly as he stepped to the side. "I, uh... I'm sorry. I know you two are close, so... it's pretty lonely here, so..." he murmured as he folded his arms. Glancing at the kitchen, he subtly licked the small intestine from his teeth. "It's supposed to snow, so just come in quick."
 
"No, it's-- it's not as bad as Gabriel, I mean. Tyrone's an asshole. He's probably fucking some guy in the next city over and doesn't want anyone knowing, he's fucking idiotic like that," huffed Felix as he gratefully trudged out of the cold, removing his thick parka coat and beanie the moment he was inside the warm home. As soon as he was, he did find himself smiling to himself at the Christmas decorations lining almost every surface, and the fairy lights trailing up the banister by the stairs. It had all obviously been set up before Gabriel went missing, but it was still all so homely and perfect. The only thing decorating Felix's house right now was the multi-coloured beer cans tossed around the carpeted and stained floor, so this house was nothing short of heavenly.

"...I'll make the coffee, yeah? I'm real good at coffee. My mom's usually, like, hungover by morning and she demands a cup of coffee, so I've gotten real good at it," the bully began, forcing himself to smile and act like everything was okay, even if he was sure Cain was one second away from just breaking down. In Felix's defence, he'd been nothing short of lovely to the boy since the incident. He'd never come that close to expulsion before, and while that was the motivating factor behind his change of personality, he also kind of liked Cain, in a weird way. The moment Cain gave interest in his music, Felix decided that he was a decent kid.

"Has... Has there been any sightings of him? I'm always checking the web and the news, you know? I want to help, I mean that. Tyrone was helping a lot too, before he just took off. He was fucking distraught about it all, blamed himself. The other guys... they don't care, but they're assholes so ignore them."
 
"No, we haven't gotten any new leads," Cain replied quietly as he took a seat at the kitchen table and watched Felix critically. "I have my theories, but they're bullshit. I just... I'm responsible for all of this, you know? I forced my brother away, I guess, and these are the consequences. I've... gotten over it," he lied, before clearing his throat, "... but my mother is the one whose really upset. You don't need to comfort me, comfort her."

Eventually, Cain's eyes drifted to the table where the newspaper laid. Even if it had only been three days, a cutesy and flattering picture of his brother was featured in a giant ad, thanks to his mother's alright income. Looking at it made Cain's hands wring, though he held back tears. "So Tyrone hasn't texted you?"
 
"Tyrone-- Oh, no. It's... I know he's a bastard sometimes, but he's my best friend. He's the only one out of that group who didn't beat me up when I was younger. He defended me and shared his lunch with me. We text every day, even if it's one simple text, you know? His parents said that he didn't go home and it just... it's not like him, I guess. But I'm sure he's just off having sex somewhere. He's had his eyes on this guy at the bowling alley," he shrugged, determined not to make a big deal out f Tyrone's own disappearance. Gabriel being missing was far more serious, given he'd been gone three days now. Tyrone would probably turn up in a few hours and make Felix's concern look pathetic.

"...Your brother's tough, you know? I saw what he did to Tyrone's locker-- and you fucked my nose up, so you're both, like, kinda strong. I bet you did martial arts as little kids," he teased lightly, hoping to break the tense air as he sunk to the chair and offered across a sugary cup of tea, instead of coffee. Tea, right now, seemed like it'd be more comforting.
 
"Oh, I... no, not really. We both were born pretty strong, got it from our father, I guess." He explained, all the while absently moving to take a sip. "I'm not a big fan of sports, to be honest. I know y'all like hockey up here, but in America, football is where it's at. Neither be nor my brother are bulky enough for that, you know? We were raised on art and music." He offered with a shrug before offering a small smile.

"It's nice that you're here, you know? I know you're doing it out of sympathy, but it's still nice. I really am sorry for the nose. Did... did you at least get a good grade on the homework?"
 
"I'm doing this because I want to do it. I can't make up for what I did, but I can show you I'm sorry, can't I?-- But honestly, this has nothing to do with me or you or any of that. I want to help out finding Gabe because he's a sweet kid and... he needs to be found, right? I'd hope people came searching for me if I was lost or disappeared," he admitted as he quietly tapped his teaspoon against his cup, at least until become aware of how grating and annoying it was.

"The homework-- oh, I... yeah, I got an A+. Not that that's surprising. You're good at science. Like I said, I'm... I'll be happy to help you with something I'm good at. I guess you don't want to accept that offer 'cos, you know, I ain't been fucking nice to you, but it's there. The offer, I mean."
 
"Why are - were - you so mean to me?" He questioned, his brown eyes once again fixated to Felix as he set his head on his knuckles. "I... I really like you. I think you could do a lot, if you weren't mean to me. I know you're talented, and I would love to learn how to play an instrument, b-but you scare me, if I'm going to be honest. I mean... You beat me up pretty bad. I forgive you, but still."

"... Do you want some food?" He asked after clearing his throat. "I feel awful, not giving you dinner. I already ate, but... my mother taught me to make strangers feel like family. I mean, it's the least I can do for you taking time out of your day to spend time with me. I'm pretty boring, let's be honest."
 
"Do you want the easy answer? You were easy targets, you and your brother. Like, you know I was bullied pretty badly, like, worse than you. Easily worse than you, and... I dunno, it made me feel better by making you feel worse. It's fucking wrong, I get that, but you've met my Mom. She's... awful. And hurting you guys at least made me feel like there were kids out there who were suffering too-- I was fucking deluded, I get that," he admitted as earnestly as he could possibly hope to be. It made him want to just have the ground swallow him whole when he spoke like this, because he felt fucking weak for doing so, but he owed him this, at least: a decent explanation and another proper apology.

"I... I could do with a sandwich," he continued, once feeling how hungry he was. "I mean, I usually make my own food but we... don't have much back home at the moment. Mom doesn't get out much and money's tight and-- it sounds like a buttload of excuses, huh?"
 
"It's fine, really. We usually buy enough food for three, so... plus, I'm a picky eater. I try not to be, though, you know? We have a good income, but we aren't made of gold. " He teased. Heading towards the fridge, he rummaged through the neatly wrapped organs to find the deli meats. Popping out the turkey, salami, and ham, he offered a smile to the other man.

"Have at it. We've only got white bread right now,... I should probably go to the store. I've never gone alone, though..." he admitted, his face growing red in embarrassment at the confession. "I hope this is good enough."
 
He wanted to question him more about the fact he'd never gone to the store alone, especially when it contrasted with him and the fact Felix had only ever gone by himself, but he wisely chose to simply smile and begin making himself the sandwich hungrily. He already knew that Gabe and Cain did everything together, and he didn't want to bombard him with ideas of independence and the like when he was missing the other half of him; the person that literally did everything with him. It just wasn't wise to reiterate the fact Gabriel wasn't around right now.

"...Hey, I can always go with you, if you want. I'm sure your Mom would like coming home to a fully stocked fridge-- and I have a few dollars, I can buy stuff too. It was for my Mom's alcohol, but fuck her, she can fucking go without. I'd rather buy food for a nice family than feed her habit, I guess."
 
"I don't want to leave. I mean, it's pathetic to think and I know it isn't the case, but... b-but what if he comes home, realizes no one's home, gets discouraged, and runs off?" He questioned weakly, though knew how stupid it was as he nervously poured a cup of water for himself. Biting hard on his knuckles in contemplation, he eventually let go once noticing he had cut his knuckles up with the bite.

"Do you ever get lonely? I mean, you're a single child, right? You always seem to be with your friends, but... I nean, I have a twin and it gets lonely with him around. I dunno - I'm sorry about the babbling. Didn't get much sleep last night... or the night before."
 
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