"You think my mother is intimidating? I... suppose she is, isn't she? She's not scary though, Percy. She knits, for crying out loud. How can a woman who knits be scary?" Snorted Sylvan, smiling to himself at the clear contrast in his mother's character. She was often characterised as being glamorous and most people would hardly expect her to find most her entertainment in knitting in front of the TV with a pot of tea at her side.

"I... don't think she's scary? Or your father, Rene. Just... not what I'm used to?" The human weakly smiled, growing paler the moment he realised what would happen if he did hurt Rene. It was inevitable that the truth would come out eventually, and he could only imagine how bad things would get after that. "...I wouldn't ever hurt you, not... not purposely, I... I'm not a bad person. You know that, yeah?"
 
I don’t think you’d ever hurt me, Percival,” he reassured, his eyes sparkling eagerly. There had been plenty of people he considered friends who would drop him the moment they met his father - the large paintings were one thing but to meet him and his mother in person was much different. For this ‘merman’ to seem to take it much easier than some more... different monsters was a relief.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he insisted before offering a quick kiss, his tail swaying eagerly. Linking arms, he motioned him to tug him closer. “Lets go, Sylvan. I’m just - I’m Just really glad everything has figured itself out. We can talk to Brennan properly and just... make things normal again.”
 
"I don't want to talk to Brennan, why would you suggest that? He's a jerk and I have no interest talking to him-- he was so rude yesterday that Marcus had to push him away from us. If I wasn't there, I'm sure he'd have beaten him up-- and he deserved it. Just let him sulk about the school looking glum, Rene. He doesn't deserve to be in my presence," huffed Sylvan. He was fully aware that Percy was carefully listening in, trying to work out what had happened and why Rene was involved in it all, but he had no intention blurting the truth out.

He may not like Percy, but he wasn't going to ruin the one relationship that seemed to be working out for Rene. He liked him too much to see him heartbroken again, after all.

"I was going to study with Marcus in the library, he's waiting for me-- we could all do that together? It's the perfect opportunity for you both to see that he's a really cool guy."
 
“... is that alright with you?” Rene questioned warily as he shot a glance to Percy. He had no real reason to be uncomfortable by Marcus outside of the fact that his boyfriend didn’t seem to get along well, so he was pretty open to the idea... but he didn’t want to start an argument with Percy out of the fear that it would lead to questions about what happened with Brennan.

“I mean, I’m fine with it. I need to study on my Western Literature class, anyway. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to read Shakespeare without getting a headache,” he admitted with a bashful smile. “English still looks a bit like garbage to me.”
 
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"...Would anyone listen if I said no?" Percy grimaced, the very idea of sitting at a table with Marcus and ignoring their past history being terrible to him... but he didn't want to cause another rift inbetween the two friends. If he had to swallow his hatred for the werewolf to ensure his boyfriend maintained his friendship with Sylvan, so be it. He couldn't bear to see Rene upset, so forcing himself to sit at a table with Marcus and not retaliate to his digs was the aim... however difficult it would inevitably end up being.

"Oh, hush Percival. You might grow to like him if you sat down with him. He isn't that mean about you, really. He hates Brennan more than you-- but who doesn't hate Brennan?" The drider cooed, hurrying forward to get to the library as soon as possible once realising how late he was to meet Marcus. With a flurry of apologies, he eagerly sat down opposite him at the table, pushing some books out of the way to make room for his coffee and small breakfast.

"Rene and I made up. Our mutual hatred of Brennan brought us back together," he laughed, beckoning Percy and Rene to take their seats. "I thought we could all get to know you better, Marcus~"
 
“Percival.” Marcus greeted flatly, his initial smile and reassuring laughter dropping almost immediately at the sight of the alleged merman. “It’s unfortunate to see you. I was hoping I could escape your pretentiousness for awhile but it seems you’ve got this Rene fellow wrapped around your finger. Is that a part of a plan or something?-“

“Aha, anyway!” Rene cut quickly as he tugged his bookback onto the table. “Yes, Brennan is a mighty jerk here. I’d like to speak to him properly and really discuss the consequences of what he did.”
 
He could have easily fund an insult or two to throw back at Marcus, but he hardly wanted Rene to witness that side of him. He had been doing a relatively good job at hiding how bitter he could be. He had a plethora of insults he could pull out to throw at various students in the school, often detesting them for simple (and unreasonable) things like the sound of their voice or how they looked. He was pretentious -he knew that- but he didn't think it was a very attractive personality trait.

So, as much as he wanted to spit out that he thought Marcus was just rude and borderline disgusting, he held back from doing so, instead offering a thin-lipped smile as he took his own seat.

"Brennan-- what happened? I still don't know what he's done to you both. I know he's a jerk, but..."

"He cheated on me and then he harassed Rene. And he insulted Marcus. He's not a good person." Sylvan replied as he tapped his nails on the table. "But forget about him-- I want us to get along. Brennan can mope about looking miserable all by himself for all I care."
 
“So Percival, could you perhaps help me with my English?” Rene questioned quickly, a hand resting on the human’s thigh to distract the man from his clear anger. If he had to result to sex, he would. Hell, the other was incredibly attractive and he would want nothing more than sex anyway. “I mean, it would be helpful. You’re so articulate, after all.”

“I could help you too, if you’d like,” Marcus offered, his eyes locking on Percival. This school was his element, not Percy’s, so he Knew that people would choose him over the one who everyone was wary over. “I have no problem with that. I know it may not seem like it but I did incredibly well in school.”
 
"I don't think he wants lessons from you, Marcus. I'm the one who has a passion for literature; I think I can teach my boyfriend without you're help," he remarked, his eyes darkening in annoyance at the apparent persistent interjection. He did misconstrue it as Marcus having a crush on Rene. Rene was popular but, above that, he was cute - at least, Percy thought so. Therefore, it was only natural that he would have to fight for him against other admirers - he just hated the fact that Marcus could be one of them.

"...I'm sure both of you could teach him something. Honestly, it's not a battle. Rene would love to be taught by you both," smiled Sylvan awkwardly from the side, feeling like he was currently sat on the outside of the group, looking in. He didn't mind attention not being on him -he wasn't that selfish- but he did at least want to be brought into the conversation... even if he had to initiate that all by himself. "I'm not the best with English-- spelling more than speaking. I'd love help on that...? I could teach one of you some German in exchange!"
 
Easily hiding his smirk with his arm at the other’s annoyance, Marcus adjusted himself to focus more on Sylvan, brows raised at the offer. He had learn some French but he was horrible at it and German always seemed like a tough language.

“Sounds like a deal,” Marcus decided with a smile before tugging out a physics textbook. “Note that I’m utter shite at learning other languages, though, yeah? You’ll probably get frustrated with me and I wouldn’t blame you,” he teased, offering an affectionate nudge. “I bet you’d be more fun to teach anyway.”
 
"Rene's fun to teach, too. But maybe he can stick with Percy, and I can have you all to myself. I think that's a nicer arrangement," smiled Sylvan, doing his best to defend his friend whilst also enjoying the attention he was seeming to receive from the werewolf. Though, any chance of basking in the attention ended the moment he glanced behind Marcus to spot Brennan by himself in the corner of the library.

He had no need to feel sorry for the vampire. He could see he was lonely and clearly miserable, but after everything Brennan had done, he didn't deserve any sympathy, especially not from Sylvan - but the drider was naturally sympathetic.

"...I should ignore him, right? But he looks sick-- he's really pale--"

"He's a vampire. They're always pale," smiled Percy in an attempt to be helpful. In reality, Brennan scared him more than anyone else he had met and he really didn't want to be in his company. "...Can we get to work? He's not a good person, ignore him."
 
“If I look at him any longer I’ll probably vomit,” grumbled Marcus in disgust. If anyone were to piss him off more than Percy, it was Brennan evidently. He didn’t take too kindly to racists, after all. Unlike Percy and Marcus, though, and much more to Sylvan’s style, Rene did feel bad. So much so that he offered an awkward smile to the group.

“Look, I’ll... talk to him quickly,” Rene reassured, offering a quick kiss to Percy for reassurance. “It hurts to see him like that. I will talk to him and get this settled,” he declared, slipping from the seat without another word.
 
Even though he saw Rene approach and didn't feel like talking to him, Brennan made no attempt to move from the armchair he had settled in. He also made no attempt to make eye contact, staring directly into the fireplace with a small frown, though he did address the other when realising he was beside him.

"I hope you're all having fun over there, your cute little friendship group. I get it, I'm an asshole. Does that mean I should be ostracised and ignored and... and made to feel like I killed someone when all I did was drunkenly kiss you? I dunno, Rene. That seems fucking wrong," the vampire grunted, finally lifting his eyes to glance towards him. "...I said sorry, like, a billion times. Sylvan's moved on, you have Percy. Am I supposed to just be alone, is that like some form of justice for you?"
 
“You need to apologize to Marcus,” he replied, his hands in his short’s pockets. “Apologize to Sylvan properly, too. I... accept your apology, yeah. I know you regret it and that is what is important, Brennan, but they don’t know this. Just... in offering you a chance to get back in our group. You’re not a good person, true, but... you aren’t a bad person,” he murmured decidedly.

“Not to mention my father and Sylvan’s mother is here and I doubt you want to deal with them,” he reminded with raised brows. “You know how angry my father can get, so I suggest you figure something out.”
 
"Your father can fuck himself, I'm not scared of him, Rene. And I won't be apologising to anyone else, I'm fed up of fucking lowering myself like that. I'm done with it. I'd rather be alone than apologise for making a drunken mistake. Obviously I don't love you, it was a drunken mess because I argued with Sylvan. It was dumb but I'm done with paying for it," he spat, resorting to anger in an attempt to protect his more raw emotions. His father and mother never advocated him to be open with how he felt, after all, and while he could easily explain how awful he felt, it wasn't how he was raised to be.

"...You know you asked me to look into Percy? Well, you asked Sylvan, but he told me," he mumbled, glancing over at the table with a suddenly smug grin. "I reckon he's human, Rene. He smells like one-- and his father's pretty famous back in Scotland. I looked it up. He's this bigshot in Glasgow or whatever. Apparently he likes to talk on TV and in papers about his belief in 'monsters'. Now, maybe I'm looking too much into it, but... I dunno, Percy's suspicious and his Dad believes in monsters. People think he's crazy-- they won't think he's crazy if he gets proof, hm? It's just what I found out. Interpret it how you will."
 
Growing silent from the mess of words from the other, he hesitated. It was a rollercoaster of opinion, going from anger from the insult to his father, to hurt from the other blaming what he thought was genuine feelings from Brennan to be told was a lie, then to be told evidence of Percy lying? It was a lot, naturally.

“... I’ll talk to him,” Rene whispered, his eyes drifting to the large fireplace. “That’s - I don’t want to believe that is true, Brennan. God... okay. You can stay and slump about feeling sorry for yourself when I’m offering the opportunity for everything to be better. Sylvan loves you, I think.”
 
"Yet when we were actually doing okay as a couple, you made it your fucking aim in life to convince him that I was terrible, and that he deserved better. Why would you want me around Sylvan? If he does love me, surely you want me as far away from him as possible so he doesn't get back with me, right? You're confusing yourself, Rene. Make your mind up," he grunted as he turned back to the fireplace, his frown deepening when realising how immature he was being. It was the best way to keep his emotions locked up, but that didn't mean he liked having to be petty.

"...He has Marcus, right? They're all over each other, Rene. I fucked up and he moved on-- pretty fucking quickly, might I add, but it is what it is," he sighed, folding his arms across his chest. "That werewolf is an asshole too. You shouldn't be sat with him, you deserve better than that. Don't tell me you think he's cool? He's a mess."
 
“I have no opinion on Marcus. He clearly isn’t the neatest or most refined but he... is nice and down to earth - something that, admittedly, a quite a few of us aren’t. It’s something you and Percy have in common, though, if that makes you feel anything,” he murmured while crossing his own arms.

“I’m going to go back. You know where to find me if you want to talk. I would prefer you apologize like an adult so we could try and fix everything but it isn’t in your agenda so, if you ever feel that inevitable loneliness, I’ll talk to you.”
 
Even though he was smart enough to realise Marcus would always have an innate hatred of him (and the feeling was certainly mutual), he reluctantly got to his feet to make an apology. He still cared for Sylvan -he still loved him, really- and he had no regret if he stole him away from Marcus. If anything, he would love that more than he would admit.

"...I'm sorry you're so sensitive that you couldn't take a joke, Marcus. I thought you were tough and able to take some banter, but apparently not. That's alright. I just won't try to enjoy your company - I don't think I can like people who are so temperamental, but I suppose that's characteristic of your species, isn't it? You're all so angry," he remarked with a sly grin. It was hardly an apology, but it was his version of one... albeit with a heavy emphasis on critiquing Marcus. "Are we alright now? No more bickering, hm?"
 
"See, this is why I don't fucking like you," growled Marcus, his fists clenched as he stared at the vampire. "How about you stop shitting on my species because, to be honest, I could easily tear your throat out and swallow it whole. I don't want to get violent with you, Brennan, but I don't want you to walk in here boasting about how fucking pompous you are!"

"Relax..." insisted Rene, immediately regretting offering Brennan another chance. "No one is better than anyone else, yeah? We're all being offered the opportunity to go to such a good school, thus making us... equal, yeah?"