Magnum Opus

"Hey, I have enough to get us some coffees and some cake? Maybe we'll have to share the cake, I only got twenty dollars on me. But hey, it's fine. The cafe's a cool place, y'know? And you're hungry, and I could always do with some food," he grinned, pushing himself from the bench and forcing himself to bite back a remark about Tyrone. He knew that he and Tyrone both deserved a little backlash from their behaviour, but Tyrone definitely didn't deserve to be fucking kidnapped-- assuming that was what happened to him.

Felix was still clinging to the hope that Tyrone would casually wander back home soon and gush about some guy he'd slept with.

"For the record, I don't think anyone has been kidnapped. I... I'm pretty sure nothing like that is going on, so... so can we not say 'kidnapped'? Fuck, Tyrone-- he wouldn't get himself kidnapped."
 
"He is pretty strong, I suppose," he admitted whilst pushing off the bench as well, immediately regretting the idea once realizing he had to trek through the snow. In both an honest need for balance and a bit of a cheeky move, Cain immediately grabbed for Felix's hand as he wobbled in the snow. Once regaining his balance, he shyly looked away with a soft snort in embarrassment.

"Look, let's not talk about them. My whole life has been centered around my brother, I think a few hours without him would be okay. I just - I think if I keep worrying, I'll have a heart attack or something. Wouldn't be surprised, my mom says I have a weak heart." He admitted once trudging through the woods, his eyes locked forward to keep from blushing.
 
Felix didn't really know how to react to the sudden hand hold.

On one hand, it really wasn't ideal. If someone saw, his reputation would spiral downwards--

But on the other, that sort of thinking disgusted him. Why should he honestly care what others thought of him? His reputation was pretty shit anyway, what with his parents being the way they were, and even if his 'friends' decided to re-ignite the bullying, he was far stronger physically and mentally than he used to be. So... well, fuck them, right? If he wanted to hold a guy's hand, he would. Tyrone could do that confidently enough without getting bullied, so why couldn't Felix?

Making a move to grab Cain's hand again, he offered down a shy grin before locking his eyes on anything but the other out of bashfulness. "...I mean, it isn't good that he's suddenly missing, but I... I kinda get it, you know? He does demand a lot of attention. Like I said, I prefer you out of the two of you."
 
"It's tiring, but I love him," he reassured with a heavy sigh as he offered the hand a tight squeeze. Glancing over at the other briefly, his eyes quickly darted away once again as he stifled a nervous bout of giggles and snorts. Instead, he tried to clear his throat and continued along carefully, only occasionally wobbling.

"I just have to tell myself everything is going to be okay, you know? If I don't, I... I'll be too stressed to help my mother out. I've really thought about it, you know? Vomited a lot in anxiety. It's pretty sad, I know." He grumbled as he absently tapped his fingers against his side. "You're lucky you're a single child."
 
"...As much of a pain I'm sure Gabe is, I'd rather have him as a brother than be alone. I mean, sure, you might be getting a little break, but... I dunno, he's your brother, you know? You're fucking twin brother. It's nice to have that, wish I did," he smiled, only really stiffening a little once wandering out of the woods and arriving in the main hub of the town. It was one thing strolling through the woods where nobody could see, and another doing so with Cain where people buzzed around-- but, to his credit, he continued to hold his hand and ventured towards the cafe determinedly.

"Look, if... if there are jerks who make fun of you in there, I'm gonna tell 'em not to, okay? I... I promised you that I'm gonna be nicer, and I'll stick up for you if I gotta do that."
 
"You don't have to do that, Felix. I mean, I... I don't mind being made fun of, you know? I'm weird, that's okay. My mother always tells me that I'm unique, but I know I'm just strange. Granted, I guess I've got a reason, but still," he tried to explain subtly, though it realized it just came out as gibberish as he tried not to slip on the slushed sidewalk.

"There was one school I went to where there was this one guy who treated me alright, that was nice. We had to leave pretty soon after, though, so... He wasn't fake, I don't think. I hope not. We don't have cellphones really, only emergency ones, as to keep my... dad, off our trail, though it would have been nice to talk to him again. That's okay, though. As long as I know that there's one guy out there who doesn't think I'm a total freak, I'm okay."
 
"I don't think you're a freak, I mean. You're weird, sure, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing! Besides, I... I only have one person who genuinely likes me, too, and he's god knows where right now, so don't be too hard on yourself. Like I said, we aren't... best friends, but I think you're cool," he shrugged as casually as he could manage, only really stiffening from that calm posture once inside the cafe that did seem to attract teenagers more than any other demographic. It probably wasn't the best place to go if he wanted to avoid rumours and gossip spreading, but it was the only place he really knew-- and his frequent appearances had granted him discounts.

With his limited money, discounts were appreciated-- even if it meant going somewhere most the kids from school hung out.

"Ignore them, just... come sit," he quickly smiled, directing Cain to a table in the corner with his hands supportively rested on his shoulders. "...Tyrone's not here, so... you won't have to put up with his fucking corny jokes every few seconds."
 
Trailing along warily, he immediately tensed from the staring eyes, his already nervous demeanor causing him to shrink into his oversized coat, attempting to hide from the whispers. Once seated, he turned to lock eyes with the window as he watched passerbys, realizing in that moment that this was the most socializing without his brother he ever had - and a good amount of that was because him and his brother were in a different class.

"I'm sorry that they're staring," Cain whispered while glancing at the counter, sighing in relief once noticing the cashier seemingly not giving a shit. "I just - this was a mistake. Here I am, making you look bad."
 
"It's not a mistake. I'm fucking starving, aren't you? We could get some fries to share? And some onion rings, I can afford them too. Maybe, if I get an additional discount, we could get two milkshakes too," he murmured, throwing himself into the menu just to avoid the glances and the whispers from a few kids from his classes; kids who often teased Cain and encouraged Felix to bully them more than he wanted to.

And yet here he was, sat with the boy they disliked and trying to rebuild their shit relationship. He didn't see them being best buddies, but they could be cordial and civil and... and nice. He didn't want to be a bully, and he wasn't prepared to be peer-pressured into it anymore. It'd probably get a huge backlash from his 'friends' and subject him to some teases himself, but he could deal with that.

"Ignore them, they're all assholes. You know Miranda over there? Next time she teases you, you tease her right back. She's not all that. She once threw up all in assembly once, all over Tyrone. I mean, she didn't come in for a week after that because she was mortified," he snorted, resting his head on his hand to fully observe Cain opposite. "She's a bitch, you shouldn't be scared of any of them. They're not perfect, they're hypocrites."
 
Cain couldn't help but offer a childish snort at the vomit comment, his cheeks growing red a tad at the thought as he watched the clearly stiff woman walk past with her coffee in hand. He turned away quickly, though, and instead focused on the heavy snow at the window. His mother always told him not to be rude or disrespectful to others even when they did the very same to him, and Cain tried to abide by those words of wisdom. Granted, it was hard when the same woman had pointed at him and threw her trash at him and his brother quite often.

"That's mean," he scolded lightly, though did flash a small smile. "I mean, she... probably has some stuff going on, I dunno. I think everyone has something bad happening to them, that's just how life is. Maybe... M-Maybe that's whats happening, you know? If she could stop making fun of my family for a split second and actually talk to us, like you did, then she'd see that we aren't... terrible. Granted, you only started doing this because you didn't want to get expelled."
 
"No I'm not, I told you. I want to be a better guy-- you're real shit at listening to people, aren't you?" He sighed, his smile eventually fading at how many times he apparently had to repeat himself. He understood the cautiousness, but that didn't mean it was any easier having to constantly repeat his intentions. Frankly, it was annoying.
 
Resting his head in his hand, he moved to cover his mouth as he actively avoided the other's glances warily. He wasn't a moron, he knew how to read people's vibes. Growing quiet for a moment, he eventually offered a shrug of his shoulders while closing his eyes. Eventually, his eyes opened once again to glance at the counter with pursed lips.

"Look, I... I have my reasons, okay? I can't tell you, b-but... I'm not allowed to trust anyone. Anyone could be lying, a-and I... I don't know. I don't know, okay? Anyone could be put to get my family, Felix. I... I mean, for all I know, some very bad people have gotten to him and plan to hurt him. I'm hoping otherwise, but I don't know."
 
"...Do you have, like, diagnosed paranoia or something, 'cos you're starting to sound genuinely... I dunno... it ain't natural to be like that. You can't go your whole life thinking everyone's out to get you, it'll drive you nuts. And hey, like you said, your brother's all about attention. Maybe I'm paraphrasing, but still, he'll trail back home with some excuse-- maybe he is with Tyrone, huh? Maybe Tyrone likes him, I dunno. He said he was kinda cute once, not that it's a glowing endorsement with Ty, 'cos he thinks everyone's cute, but still."

Despite the vague agreement, he really didn't believe that the two were together. Gabriel had been gone three days, while Tyrone had only really gone for one. If that wasn't enough evidence, it just didn't seem feasible to Felix - there was literally no reason for Tyrone to rush off with a guy who he had recently dramatically declared he hated after Gabe's now infamous outburst.

But, clearly unbeknown to Felix as he sat in the cafe thinking it all over, Gabriel was with Tyrone.

Well, specifically in the basement of Tyrone's parents' house.

Like Cain briefly alluded to, and constantly feared, there were people across the whole country who could be involved in the cult Pearl had been part of. They might not be fully committed members who dedicated every single second of their life to the cause, but they might have an interest, regularly visit the main settlement and do their own private studies.

Evidently, Tyrone's parents fell into that category. They were a relatively well-off, normal couple who simply had private interests that weren't... conventional. And they'd struck gold recently when coming across Gabriel in the woods three days ago, tearing into a dead deer carcass. After that, everything fell into place and they'd wasted no time coaxing the naive boy to their home to decide whether to take him to the main settlement in America themselves, or organise something else.

At least killing him wasn't on the agenda, which Felix had feared would happen the moment he was tossed into the locked basement. The only company he'd really had in those three days was from Tyrone bringing him food that only really consisted of raw animal meat - not a patch on his preferred meal, but enough to settle growing cravings, anyway.

"...Can I have a vanilla milkshake or something with this? I dunno, I like vanilla ice cream, and... and vanilla soap! Mama wears that, she always smells nice," he sniffled the moment his meal arrived, forcing his lip to stop quivering at the self-reminder of his mother. "Can you stay and talk? I'm lonely, it's c-cold and dark down here. I hate the dark."
 
"That's pretty sad, that a monster like you could be such a wimp," grunted Tyrone as he cringed at the raw meat. Sliding it over, he took a large step back warily as he absently watched the other. He had only ever heard of the whole cult activity through his parents and always thought it was a load of bullshit. To learn that the seemingly weak Gabriel was happily tearing a wild animal to shreds was terrifying, to say the least.

Tyrone wasn't a terrible person. Sure, he made fun of other kids and bullied the occasional nerd, but he wasn't one to hurt people. While his parents insisted to knock him out and Keep Gabriel sedated, the boy couldn't bring himself to do it... At the same time, though, he wasn't planning on just skipping over to Gabriel after learning that he could tear through human flesh. Instead, he was far more comfortable remaining a good distance. "You aren't getting any vanilla ice cream, nor are you going to see your mom. My parents are going to bring you to their leader or whatever and... I dunno, open a portal to Hell or something."
 
That had been another huge thing that had occurred - Gabriel had discovered everything after sixteen years of living in obliviousness.

He had always been under the impression that there wasn't a reason for why he and his brother were the way they were. He thought it had just been one random, arbitrary thing that had no explanation. His father, in his eyes, was an alcohol wife-beater who his mother was running and evading.

Obviously he knew the truth now, and it hadn't really settled in well. He pretty much refused to believe it until being yelled at by Tyrone's father and slapped hard across the face for daring to call him a liar. Frankly, the revelation hadn't really properly sunk in yet, which was why he was happy to babble about vanilla ice cream and the like. If the news properly settled, he'd be curled up in the corner, refusing to even communicate. Either that, or he'd try to kill Tyrone's parents-- something he was refusing to do right now out of respect to his mother's rule of never hurting people.

"...I'm not a monster, that's kinda mean. I don't hurt anyone, Mama said that if I did, then I'd be a monster, but I've only hurt one person and that was 'cos he was hurting me first," he mumbled, his hopeful smile immediately fading when he realised Tyrone wasn't really there to converse happily with him - he seemed far more inclined to shoot some insults and stay as far away as humanly possible.

"Can't you just let me go, 'cos my brother's gonna be real angry at you and my Mama too so... so you should let me out, right? 'Cos this is like kidnap and that's not nice," he continued, rubbing his tired eyes with one hand while the other quietly grabbed the raw steak for him to nibble hungrily at. "And we're friends, right? You... You said we were kinda like friends before, and I still like you, even if you're being kinda horrible to me. Again."
 
"This isn't all about you. I can't just let you leave, because my parents will kick me out. I know you're utterly delusional about how actual normal families work, but my ma and pa don't rush to my side the minute I scrape a knee or go to my school with a juice box if I forgot to bring one. Do you honestly think I want to be the kid with parents in a cult? No. I also don't want to shove raw meat over to you when I could be hanging out with Felix, or actually doing homework. Don't act as if you're the only victim in all of this, okay? It's not my fault you decided to just tear into a wild animal, that ain't my problem," Tyrone easily replied as he shifted his weight, growing more uncomfortable by the second.

"Look, just... I don't know what to do, but I'd like to be able to keep a roof over my head. I've got a scholarship, I can't lose that because you decide to leave. I don't have anyone to help me out, my parents refuse. Just - fucking, stay still and be quiet, okay? I'm sure my ma will say something."
 
"...I was hungry and the deer was dead, it's not like I killed it myself. I... I wouldn't do that if it wasn't already dead," he whispered, as though that slight amendment would make what he did any less terrifying. He had openly sat in the snow and tore apart the animal - nothing he said would change that fact.

Instead of trying to convince the other and make him realise that he was pretty harmless, he chose to obediently stay quiet. He didn't want to get hurt more than he already had been (Tyrone's father had been pretty handy with his fists) and he also didn't want to receive any more hurtful insults. At this point, he figured that his 'friendship' with Tyrone had come to an end, as sad as that made him. He really liked him, he thought that was obvious, but he'd finally come to terms with just how little Tyrone cared for him. Even someone as naive as Gabriel had finally cottoned on.

Which was why he chose to speak again only a few seconds later, his usually innocent expression hardening fast. "My brother will find me and he'll kill you and your awful, horrible parents. My mother can... she'll cover it up and then... I dunno, then I'll probably have your nasty father's kidneys on toast for breakfast or something-- because h-he's so horrible that I don't care what happens to him, okay? O-Or your horrible mother, or you. You're horrible too."
 
"Yep." Tyrone replied flatly as he watched the other, his expression going blank as he leaned against the stairs. After a long moment of silence from Tyrone, he scoffed bitterly before hurrying up the rest of the stairs and properly slamming and locking the door behind him, a wide grimace on his face as he immediately grabbed his phone, his fingers moving fast to type away.

"oi, dude. where u @? ive got some crazy shit u gotta hear. my parents are fucking c r a z y." He typed quickly, adding his usual barrage of emojis for emphasis as he hurried up to his room to grab his things. He had always thought his parents were chill, but after hearing they were a part of a cult, it was understandable that he was a bit wary of them finding out what he was doing.
 
For the last ten minutes or so, Felix had genuinely found himself enjoying Cain's company. Sure, the boy was quiet and hesitant, understandably so, but Felix definitely saw himself making progress. Slow, painful progress, but progress nonetheless. He felt he'd also pretty much proved that he was doing this because he wanted to get to know him when he all but threatened the gaggle of girls nearby who were clearly preparing a few insults. He was pretty proud of himself for getting them to leave before they made them.

And then he received the text from Tyrone that did catch him off guard for a few seconds, having to blink hard just to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"I, uh-- it's Tyrone," he murmured across to Cain, setting down his slice of pizza to text the other back. As surprised as he was, he did feel a huge sense of relief about it too. He had begun to genuinely panic about his friend, so to get the text from him that seemed pretty damn normal really was good.

'im at the diner, got pizza . dude u better explain where the fuck u been the last day -_- ' He responded quickly, frowning more and more as he did so. On one hand, he was glad the other seemed fine. On the other, it really didn't explain the day he'd disappeared and had him worrying about him.
 
"look its going to sound fucking bananas. youre going to laugh @ my face and think im some lunatic but i promise that this isnt bullshit" came Tyrone's text almost immediately, and Cain peered over curiously. Shooting a glance towards Felix, he moved to scoot closer a tad and carefully took the phone. Immediately after did another text send. "dude can i chill @ ur place tonite? its way 2 fucked @ my place rn and i really don't want my pa coming after me and beating my ass'

"Is... Is he alright?" Whispered Cain curiously, his lips pursing. "Is Gabriel with him? Oh, God... I-I hope he's alright. What of Gabe and Tyrone got into some trouble? G-Gabe can't handle being in trouble, he'll cry and..."
 
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