Monsters in the Closet

River hadn't been as happy as he was for years, the simple sight of a bed and a television making him happier than anything else. That didn't mean he couldn't stop his mind drifting to the negatives, specifically the motel's location. If his condition decided to show itself, there was literally nowhere for him to conceal himself. With all the woodland area, he had hoped that he could simply rush off into the forests and wait the transformation out without Josef knowing about it or getting hurt. The motel, unfortunately, seemed to be situated at the side of a road without anywhere River could theoretically hide out in, and that terrified him. It had been years since his last transformation, as a result of the constant drugs fed into him, but he knew without them it was only a matter of time.

"This is lovely," he commented as he took a seat on the bed, sighing happily at the comfort. He was still petrified, but letting that get to him and ruin the genuinely happy moment wasn't something he was willing to do right now. "How long will we be here? I-I don't mind, it's just-- it's not that far from the lodge, my parents might-- they're going to look for me, they won't just l-let me escape like this."
 
“Just a few nights,” he reassured, tossing his clothes on the bed casually. “I think you should take a shower and get cleaned up a bit. It’ll help with the aches and pains, I can assure you,” he urged before flopping onto one of the beds, sighing in relief once hitting it. “Just long enough to get you some proper stuff - clothes, shoes, you know. I have money burning a hole in my pocket so don’t worry,” he reassured before motioning the other to the bathroom.

“I’ll be right here, I won’t sleep until you finish in case you fall or something. You’re weak, River - I don’t want anything to happen now that you have the opportunity to get better. There should be soap in there, and some wash clothes.”
 
"I...I'll pay you back for all this, I promise. Maybe not with money because I don't... think I'll ever make enough to pay you back, but I'll help you out if you ever need me to, I won't even hesitate," he nodded firmly, grabbing the towel from the bed and immediately taking the advice to shower. His father had cleaned him with nothing but cold water all these years, so the prospect of a hot water and nice smelling soaps made his cheeks grow red in excitement.

It was only when he'd headed into the bathroom and locked the door that that excitement, much like the colour in his cheeks, drained away. He hadn't had his condition play up in years, but he still remembered how it felt when it was about to kick in. He knew the dizzy sensation and couldn't forget the pain that began to spring up before the transformations, so when it hit him hard, his first reaction was to panic as he gripped the sink for some support. The idea of changing was horrendous anyway, but to do so in a cramped bathroom when his new friend was sat just outside was far worse a situation than he could imagine. The only way to get out of it was to be too drugged up to be able to complete the change, but without that, he knew he was fucked - unless he knocked himself out, anyway. His father had discovered that trick and, if the supply on drugs was unavailable, used it as an unfortunate alternative to prevent his son from changing and harming their retreat members.


It didn't take long for him to make the decision, breathing out calmly to brace himself before whacking his head as hard as he could against the sink. The next thing he knew, he was waking up on the bathroom floor, his head bleeding and throbbing painfully - but compared to what could have happened, it was nothing. From the lack of anxious yelling from Josef, he assumed he hadn't been passed out long so resumed with his shower, making the moves as slow as possible, as though any fast moving might provoke the transformation again. Fortunately, it seemed like the storm had passed, and he headed out from the shower with a smile, clutching his old clothes tightly in his arms.

"That was lovely, r-really. You should shower-- I'll just get some sleep, I'll be fine."
 
Having turned on the television, he hadn’t heard the loud crack or the thumping on the floor but he sure as hell wasnt tired enough to notice the blood oozing from River’s head. He immediately got to his feet to hurry to River’s side, panicking immediately as he inspected the wound.

“Jesus fucking - what did you do?!” He quickly squeaked, he too losing all of the color from his cheeks as he grabbed a smaller towel and wrapped it neatly around the wound to at least pad the bleeding. Once doing that, he rummaged through the bathroom and at least found a small med kit, replacing the towel with a proper gauze and tape, moving as quickly as possible with a grimace. He had seen enough of this with his ‘friends’ when they overdosed or did something dumb so he at least had some minor emergency knowledge. “Are you okay? Do you feel dizzy?”
 
Having been naive enough to assume the shower would stem the bleeding, he paled at the other's concern, wanting to avoid being fussed over if it made Josef so concerned for him. He knew he wasn't in the best of conditions at the moment, but he still thought he could do some things himself. Apparently, he couldn't even check himself in the mirror to make sure the bleeding had stopped, and the realisation that he had been so careless didn't do much for his self-esteem.

"I think I passed out, I don't know. This has all been overwhelming-- it doesn't hurt, I'm okay!" He reassured as confidently as he could, though allowed Josef to clean him up nevertheless. "I got dizzy, but I'm alright, really. I pass out a lot, it's... not a big deal."
 
“You pass out a lot? That’s... not good, River,” he insisted as he carefully wrapped the other’s head, sighing deeply. “Come on, let’s get you into bed, okay? I’ll get you a cup of water. You’ll stop bleeding quicker if you’re dehydrated so drink up. We can... I don’t know, go to a diner in the morning,” he reassured, cringing when he realized just how much he was fussing over some stranger. He could have easily ignored the sounds of chains and have enjoyed the resort but instead he decided to be too weak and risk going to jail. Granted, it was clear that the other needed it. So after leading the other to go to the bed, he grabbed a glsss of water.

“This’ll be fine, just relax,” he urged with a small smile. “Just... one step at a time, yeah? It’ll be good for you to get a nap.”
 
"You don't need to fuss so much, you barely know me," he reminded, seeming to feel the same way as the other. He didn't mind the help; he appreciated it far more than the other could realise, but he felt almost guilty, as though he was a burden to Josef having a normal life. Even though he had made it clear that he hadn't done good things and had never had a 'normal' life, River still felt awful for putting him in this position of care; a position he really hadn't asked for.

"You can take me to a hospital if you really want, just leave me there. I... I can get help and leave before the police are called," he suggested as he sunk into the bed, forcing back a grin at the soft pillows behind him. It was a standard motel, but to him, it might as well be a five star hotel; anything was better than a cold floor in a basement. "You don't know me, I-- I'll bring bad luck to you. I'm not a good person either, so... so you'll just be getting into trouble. My parents will say you kidnapped me."
 
“It’s fine, seriously. I want to do this,” he replied easily before flopping back onto his bed, covering his eyes with his arm. “Trust me, this... is giving me a reason to stick around, I guess. I mean, outside of running away I have nothing going for me. Thanks to your parents, I... at least can say that my addiction is not as bad as it was, yeah?” He admitted.

“Seriously, you can leave but I think you should stick around until you’re at least healthy enough to not pass out when coming out of the shower, huh?” He reminded, pointing to the bandage as he turned down the volume of the television.
 
"...Alright. Alright, we can stick together then. I feel much safer with you than on my own anyway, you're cool and... smart and funny, so... so you're the perfect friend. I had a few friends when I was a kid, but they weren't as great as you," he pointed out with a childish grin, deciding not to fight against the decision any longer. Problems would inevitably arise, but he was willing to let his future self deal with them because, right now, he was too happy to ruin the situation he was in.

"I've always wanted to go somewhere hot, with beaches and the ocean-- can we go somewhere like that? I'd love that," he sighed dreamily, rolling onto his side to try and get his body to relax a little. ""And I can eat ice cream, 'cos that always looked great in the cartoons I used to watch. I was never allowed it-- and you'll be there, so it'll be great. I'm sure you'll be fine-- with the addiction thing. I'm here to help so I... I'll help you with that, that can be my job."
 
"We can drive down to Florida - or Texas. Hell, California is the furthest from here so maybe that would be better?" He suggested, rolling to face the other once under the blankets, sighing deeply in relief when he felt the warmth of the blankets no matter how scratchy the comforter felt. Flicking off the lights, he let the television illuminate the room instead, ignoring the cheesy infomercials that always seemed to play so early in the morning.

"I'm going to get some sleep, okay?" He murmured, pulling the blanket up to his chin to counter the chilly motel room. "I suggest you do that too. Sleep as long as you need, we'll get food in the morning and then we'll get clothes, okay?" He urged, desperate now to fall asleep. He wanted to sleep but he didn' want to fall asleep before River did just in case.
 
After the exhaustion he had gone through, it didn't take long for River to go to sleep. He wanted to stay awake all night, just to make sure his parents weren't going to suddenly arrive at the motel and drag him back against his will, but he trusted the other to defend him if that were to happen. So, trusting Josef enough to help him if the worse were to occur, he allowed himself to drift to sleep.

He wasn't suddenly in perfect health when he woke up, but he at least had a lot more energy - the food and the sleep had done him the world of good, which allowed him to (probably for the first time) wake up with a smile on his face.

"You awake?" He called over to Josef, peeking his head up out of the covers to glance across at him. "...Did you sleep well?"
 
If there was one thing Josef wasn’t good at, ( and there are a lot of things Josef wasn’t good at) it would have to be waking up in the morning. It didn’t help that he had been sober and thus had no drugs on them because that would typically help him wake up. Instead, he reacted with a groan and covered his head more with the blanket to block out the sunlight. He knew it was inevitable, that he had to wake up and face the day, and eventually rolled to face River with a frown.

“Ugh, what time is it?” He murmured, rubbing his face wearily, wincing when he heard the television. “Fuck - it’s whatever. How are you feeling? Any better? You had quite the fall last night...”
 
"Oh, I'm fine! You're not a morning person, are you? You're not going to be grumpy all day, right? 'Cos that'd suck. We're kinda going on an adventure together, cheer up. You said we can go to California, so... being all mopey and grumpy isn't going to be very helpful. Come on, get up, let's get breakfast. I think I want to try pancakes," he babbled, having eased out of bed and dutifully made it again, seeing no need to leave the covers undone.

"...I had a fall, it... really shouldn't be the main topic of discussion, i-it... I'm fine, Josef. It doesn't matter. One more bruise isn't going to make a difference to me, I'm used to seeing them at this point," he smiled, growing quieter at the memory-- or rather, the memory of why he had to hurt himself, rather than the action itself. "Come on, let's get going! My Mom always says the early bird catches the worm. She's real funny with her sayings like that."
 
“Well, I’m no bird,” he huffed before rummaging out of the bed reluctantly. He could spend the whole day in bed easily but he had promised he needed to keep and when he made a promise, he tried his best to keep to those promises. Groaning, he moved to the bathroom, splashing some water in his face before starting up the shower.

“Alright, I’m going to wash up and we can head to the diner,” he reassured before slipping into the shower, sighing deeply. His muscles had been tense and he was exhausted so a warm shower would at least help him relax long enough to keep his mind off the possibility of being caught.
 
In his absence, River decided to try and make himself look as presentable as he could, taking the time to examine himself in the mirror for the first real time. He knew he couldn't erase the bruises and the cuts, but he could at least clean himself up enough to avoid as much attention as he could. His hair had always been cut by his father, (mostly when he was unconscious and couldn't unnerve the man though there had been times when he had been awake to watch him. He was no expert, but he at least knew how to cut his hair without it looking ridiculous - and he knew a trim and some style to his hair would do him the world of good.

It wasn't going to dramatically change how bad he knew he looked, but he at least felt better for it. The new clothes and the new hair were small parts of the new life he wanted to create for himself, so however small they were to others, they were huge milestones for him.

"Can we go now? I'm kinda hungry," he murmured once the other returned, his smile widening once he really noticed how tall he was-- at least compared to Josef. "How old are you, then? Are you younger than me? Or... am I just tall? My Dad's pretty tall, it makes sense, I guess."
 
“I’m 21,” He replied quietly once exiting the bathroom, happily donning clothes that werent his pajamas and instead replaced with some simple jeans and a sweater over a basic sweatshirt. He wasn’t one for fashion even in situations that he should give attention to, so when he wasn’t obligated to give a shit about his appearance, he wasn’t going to. Stretching out his arms, he tugged on a ball cap and offered his coat to River with a smile.

“It’s cold out. You definitely can’t fit into my jeans but I have some sweatpants with some drawstrings so they don’t hang off too much. I have slippers, but that’s about it when it comes to shoes,” he explained, taking out the appropriate clothing to offer the other. “Sure, you don’t look like you would walk down a runway but it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.”
 
"I could walk down a runway, I... I mean, I can walk just fine. I'm not on my deathbed yet, I just needed some food and some sleep yesterday, that's why you had to carry me. I can walk just fine," he declared defensively, taking the comment as criticism for his lack of energy, which had ultimately resulted in him needing assistance to walk a few steps the prior day. Admittedly, taking those few steps still hurt him and he probably did need the help, but he had already decided to opt against asking for it if it made him look weak.

"I'm not that weak, Josef. I... don't want you thinking that," he smiled as he slipped into the clothes, tying the drawstrings up as tightly as he could once realising that was what was needed to prevent them slipping down. "...I really don't want you criticising me, you're a friend now and friends don't do that, right?"
 
“Relax, it’s a joke,” he replied, his smile faltering. “It’s... a fashion thing. People walk down a runway to show off, like, glitzy clothes - never mind, I’m sorry,” he murmured before grabbing his wallet and keys, that of which he promptly attached the hotel key to. Bringing all his stuff with him when he didn’t need to yet was just a waste of energy that he didn’t have yet.

“Alright, let’s head out,” he declared, patiently waiting for River to exit before triple checking that the door was locked, his lips pursed. “We’ll eat first then go shopping, maybe get some long-term food so our trail won’t be so easily followed. I’m paying in cash so it isn’t too bad, though,” he explained.
 
"I'd just feel safer if we were further away than this, I guess. We're still in Vermont, right? I... my parents can find us. We can leave here soon, can't we? Because then that'd be safer for me-- and you. I... I guess they'd say you kidnapped me and you'd go to prison, which wouldn't be fair at all," he babbled, talking to fill what he assumed would be an awkward silence. After years of nothing but silence -and years not talking to anyone, for that matter- he was understandable eager to talk, even if it was a series of nervous babbles about topics he'd rather not think too much about, like getting caught and separated from someone he had already grown a fierce attachment to.

"...Did you come here just for the lodge, to help with your addiction? Nobody came with you, no friends or anything? You seem nice, like you'd have lots of friends," he commented as he pulled the hood of the sweatshirt up over his head for warmth. "Maybe we can stay with one of your friends? That'd save you money-- I know you have lots, but I don't want you spending it all on me. I'd just feel bad."
 
“I don’t have any friends.” He firmly reminded, staring out the window briefly. Starting up the car, he began the trip to the closest diner as his stomach growled angrily. He brought no notice to it and instead kept his eyes locked in the road. He wasn’t one to really talk, especially when stressed, but he figured that River didn’t feel the same.

“Listen, River,” he began, exhaling. “I... went to your parents’ lodge for addiction, sure, but I was also running away from some very bad things I’ve been accused of. It’s... a long story and I know you wouldn’t understand but let’s just say that you’re my only friend now and I’m not going to lose another friend, yeah?”