Worlds Apart

Snorting at the mention of a 'normal life', it took everything in Nico not to just laugh absurdly at the remark. Any chance of a normal life for him ended the moment he murdered his parents, and he knew that; he was fine with that. His idea of normality was being with his family; Eros' idea of normality wasn't achievable. And frankly, Nico didn't want it. He didn't want to make friends and hang out in bars and do what every other young person did.

He just wanted to be with his family, and he was certain he would be with them sooner rather than later. He didn't know how long it would be, but he knew they would find him. He just had to be patient and deal with this useless attempt to 'fix' him first.

Unable to speak or even motion with his hands, the boy shrugged and moved to stare back out of the window, his eyes only drifting to glare angrily at the woman in the driver's seat. He had never wanted to hurt someone as much as he did her, though he realised she was too smart to let him have the opportunity to do that.
 
It was a solid drive before they pulled into a clearly beaten up motel far enough from the city to keep from anyone finding them. Lifting Nico from the car, she easily swung him over the shoulder and set him on the bed. She took off the tape, her eyes critical.

“I didn’t want your friend here to come,” she explained, shooting a glance towards Eros. “He’s going to keep me from doing my full spiel, lucky for you.”
 
"He's not my friend. Don't let his presence stop you doing what you want. I'm intrigued. What are you gonna do, hm? Y'all are gonna yell at me? Ooh, are you gonna beat me up; beat the evil outta me? That's sweet," mumbled Nico, his voice hoarse from hours of not talking. He was predictably achy and, as a result of eating proper food for the first time in ages and the long journey, he was pale and close to throwing up, though he somehow managed to hold back the urge.

"...Just get this over with. My family are going to find me; they're vampires. They'll track me down, you don't really stand a chance, doll."
 
“You’re going to stop talking, for a starter,” she began after slapping the other hard across the face with strict eyes. “I’m confident that yo will change long before your ‘family’ finds you, Nico. Speaking of family, aren’t they lovely? Eros told me how they use you for food, isn’t that lovely? They keep you from eating proper nutrients. You’re going to ‘turn’ on your birthday, right? What if you die from malnutrition? You seem to refuse to eat food so why would I try to feed you?” She harshly questioned.

“We’re going to feed them,” Eros insisted, squirming in discomfort. “I... I’m going to get a smoke.”
 
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"...I won't be begging for food. Don't feed me, that's precisely what I want," he grunted, frowning at the slap. He wasn't so naive that he assumed no violence would occur, but it still didn't mean he was happy with it. It reinforced how powerless he was, after all, and it wasn't a feeling he ever liked to feel, especially after years of being told how 'special' he was by his family.

"Go on, Eros. You rush out and ignore this; I'll never fucking forgive you," he responded with a fierce glare at his former friend, eventually falling silent and staring at the deprogrammer instead. If anything, her insistence that he could be helped was amusing, and it helped pass the time to watch her yell and hit him in that attempt.
 
“Implying That If I stayed you’d forgive me,” he countered flatly, a grimace growing. “Don’t be so dumb to assume I don’t know what you’re doing. No matter what I do, you’ll never forgive me and... that’s okay. Even if I get you to stop killing innocent people then I did something right,” he countered, keeping as stern as he could before taking a seat at the desk, lighting the cigarette then and there.

“Fine, happy? Oh, look, you still hate me. You keep assuming I’m some dumb ‘human’ despite the fact that you’re human yourself and I know that fucking eats you up inside, Nico. The only thing special about you is that after being weakened, you resemble the brother of some fucked up, lonely dude. Outside of that, you’re just like everyone else.”
 
It took everything Nico had in him not to react to the words. They cut deep, but it was pointless trying to react to them when he couldn't do anything about it. Instead, he pursed his lips and stared out of the window, even if there was nothing out there to really see. He couldn't make out much anyway, the thin blinds obscuring his view, but that did change twenty minutes or so later. After staying emotionless all that time, his expression instantly changed at the sight of what he assumed rightly to be a familiar car, belonging to one of his 'brothers'. That smile only widened when he saw the outline of the muscular man, turning triumphantly towards the deprogrammer and Eros.

"You're both dead, I hope you know that your deaths will bring me incredible joy. I promise you'll suffer, I guarantee it," he cooed happily, though it faded somewhat in confusion when the door was knocked upon. His family, he assumed, were urgent to get him back, so knocking politely on the door seemed... odd. His 'brother' had hardly been subtle, wandering up to the correct motel door without attempting to hide or sneak in. Nico assumed he had something up his sleeve, of course. He couldn't imagine a family member would turn up like and just ask politely to take him away; that made no sense.

"Open the fucking door," he grunted to Eros demandingly. "L-Let him in. I... I demand you let him in, Eros."
 
“Why would I do that? Why would I open the door, so your ‘family’ could slaughter me? Don’t be ridiculous,” Eros replied, having lit another two cigarettes in that time. He watched as the deprogrammed looked through the little peephole.

“That’s fucked up, you know. You want to see me dead so bad,” Eros continued, a frown on his lips. “That’s the most fucked up part of it, o be honest. You disappear and reappear wanting to kill me, yeah? No appreciation, either,” he murmured, taking a deep drag of his cigarette with no real sign of anxiety.
 
"Let him in or he'll just smash the door down and... and maybe a little politeness will earn you several more seconds, Eros. J-Just fucking do it--"

"Hello? You guys going to open up or what? I'm not going to hurt you, scout's honour," the vampire on the other side of the door smiled, placing ahand over his heart in the knowledge that someone was probably watching him from inside the room. The man -Louis- rolled his eyes at the silence he was met with, pushing his blonde hair back from his eyes in mild irritation.

"...I'm here to help. Would you rather I bring the others and have them slaughter you? I'm here to help Nico. I came without them. They don't know where you all went; I followed you alone. So let me in before they drive past and see me hanging out here," he grunted, his French accent growing heavier in his annoyance. "When I say help, I mean help. Same as you're doing in there, I assume. Helping him. I want to do that too, we're all on the same page."
 
Shooting both the woman and Nico a look, Eros sighed and pushed up from his seat to step out, closing the door quickly behind him as to keep the other two from hypothetically getting hurt. If he was killed, that was... fine. The deprogrammer was doing good work, after all. Taking in Louis, he tapped the ash from his cigarette.

“ ‘Help’?” He confirmed with a raised brow. “Of all people, how exactly do you plan to ‘help’? Take him away and hurt him? I don’t think I can let you do that. If that means I’m going to get ‘slaughtered’ then so be it.”
 
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"Louis! Help me, they... they don't get it, they won't ever get it, so get me out of here and... and we can go home," began Nico urgently, his smile fixed on his face. In fact, it was the happiest he had been throughout this whole time, his eyes regaining a shine to them in response to seeing someone he regarded as not only family, but someone he was the closest to within the group. Louis had been the newest recruit to the group until Nico's entrance, and the two got along extremely well.

It was why he wanted to help Nico - because he cared so much about him. He was as involved with the group as Nico was, but, while he followed their beliefs and the rules set in place, he wasn't as indoctrinated as the others were. In fact, Louis was often the one resistant to extreme violence, which he had tried to desperately hide to avoid punishment for it. He knew he couldn't run away, knowing that sticking with the group meant he could feed without actually killing anyone himself, but he sometimes wished he could.

And if he could help Nico out before things went too far for him, he would. Even if it meant turning on his 'family' and helping out the ones who had kidnapped Nico from them.

"Hey, it's fine. Détendez-vous, je suis ici maintenant, yes? Can't you let him out of those ropes? What's he going to do to you, exactly? He's hardly going to deal you any serious damage. In fact, remove the knife he has hidden on him before you undo the ropes - I don't need you humans getting hurt, it's not why I'm here," the vampire continued as he stood back,having already noticed from the way Nico was shuffling his feet that he had a knife strapped to him in his sock. If it showed Eros that he could be trusted, he would gladly point out Nico's weapon. Casually sitting on the bed beside Nico, ignoring his confused expression, he offered a handsome smile to the other humans. "I'm Louis. I think the fact I haven't hurt you should speak volumes, hm? Like I said, I want to help him. Nico's... very dear to me. I don't want him to... end up like me. Or the others. He needs a life; some normal friends and... his humanity, I suppose."
 
It was natural for Eros to be skeptical, his eyes narrowing warily at the vampire. He took the advice of course, holding Nico close enough to keep him from attacking as he grabbed the knife. Nico’s weak strength against his own, much stronger form was a huge advantage and he knew that, hence why he had bulked up. So, once grabbing the knife, he handed it to the deprogrammer who remained rather quiet as she took in the scene, a frown on her lips as Eros cut the ropes.

“Why do you want to help him?” Eros questioned quietly as he undid the rope. “I would imagine you would want to just kill us and bring us back to that fucking creep of a ‘brother’ you have.”
 
"Haven't I explained? I forgot how tiresome humans can be. I suppose I was this tiresome before they changed me. My god, it's irritating. I told you. I regret allowing myself to be turned, it's... unbearable sometimes, the constant hunger. I don't necessarily agree with my family. I'm with them out of convenience these days rather than a belief that what we're doing is right. I grew out of their convictions a long time ago," he admitted carefully, smiling towards Nico to try and quash the boy's swelling anger. He had been under the impression that his family were as motivated as he was, so to learn that Louis, the one he was closest to, was less convinced about it all than the others were... well, it was devastating. It didn't make sense and it also made him a traitor. Traitors were punished with death, as the leader had made sure to emphasise. Anyone who turned their back on the family were killed and a replacement would be found, however long it took.

Nico hardly wanted that fate to be handed to Louis, so hearing him admit all this was horrifying.

"...You don't mean this, this is... this is a plan, isn't it? This is all to get me out. He wants to deal with these two personally, so you're buying their confidence until he and the others arrive... That's it. That has to be it," whispered Nico, having moved close to his 'brother' to rest up against his side, just to enjoy the feeling of being hugged by someone he actually cared about and loved... even if Louis was pissing him off greatly, assuming his words were truthful. "We need to go, I-I'm not staying-- just kill them, Louis. T-They mean nothing to me!"
 
“So what are you going to do now?” Eros questioned as he watched the two, his brows furrowed in concern. He hid the urge to wince well from the others but it didn’t mean he didn’t feel horrible nonetheless. Deciding to keep his hands busy, he moved to tie his hair into a bun.

“I... want the same thing as you do, assuming you aren’t lying to us. I want Nico to be normal. I... know he probably never wants to see me after this but I just want him to be okay again, be himself.”
 
"Well, I'm going to observe your attempts at helping him, it's why I came. I assumed you had a professional working on him, so don't let my presence stop your plans," he shrugged, resting back against the headboard of the bed with a smile, folding his arms to prepare to observe what he thought was hilarity. He wanted Nico to get help, but he doubted this was the right way... though admittedly, he didn't know what way would help him.

"Just don't hit him or tie him up, I don't think I could sit back and watch him get hurt like that. As I said, he's important to me," continued Louis, his eyes moving to Nico. "...This is for your own good, Nico. You don't want to be with us, it's not... good for you--"

"Don't call me that, why are you calling me that? M-My name's Jebediah, you know that! S-Stop it, Louis." Nico mumbled, his own arms folding in the attempt to hold himself together, but when someone from his family was acting like this, it was undoubtedly difficult to comprehend it without getting so emotional. "...This is a plan, I know it is. You can't trust him, Eros. Louis's acting, I... know he is. This is an act."
 
Running his hand through his hair, Eros grew wary as he watched the deprogrammer focus on the outside, watching possible cars. Pursing his lips, it was getting hard for Eros to not light up another cigarette. Eventually locking his tired eyes on Nico, he let out a deep sigh. This was a lot of stress for Eros, added to the fact that he was losing time for classes.

"Look, I'm trusting you, Louis," he whispered, leaning forward in the chair. "You... know this whole situation more than I do, obviously. What... should we do? I don't want to hurt him, I just... don't know what else I can do. I'm hoping you aren't going to double-cross me, aha... that would be a bummer, to be honest."
 
"...I think you're an idiot. I can be trusted, but I'm also a total stranger to you; a stranger who has dedicated ten years to a... 'cult'. A stranger who happens to be a vampire. And you're trusting me? You ought to be more vigilant than that. I can be trusted and I'm not going to double-cross you, not when it concerns Nico's well-being, but you really ought to be more wary," the vampire replied with a faint smile on his face, finding Eros' comments amusing. In fact, he gave a quiet chuckle to himself, at least distracted from worrying about Nico who had stubbornly turned away.

"I don't know when I woke up regretting my choices. I suppose I woke up on my what would have been my younger sister's birthday and realised what I'd done. I don't know, okay? It's hard to explain. I dislike the violence and the... unjustified motives they give for acting out, but I also... they're still my family. You don't understand, you won't be able to. But it's my family and I care about them. I just know they'll turn Nico, and that's all I want to protect him from; from being turned. It's not... nice being like this," shrugged Louis quietly, forcing himself to smile. "Can I have a cigarette? It helps. It's either that or I feed from Nico; that's not something I want to do, obviously."
 
"I'm not trusting you because I'm an idiot, I'm trusting you because I'm desperate," he corrected quickly before handing over the cigarette and a lighter. Pulling out one for himself, he lit them both before leaning back to take in a deep puff. "If your 'family' doesn't kill me, these certainly will," he murmured before letting out a snort.

"I'm sorry, let's... leave," he decided, getting to his feet. "Let's at least get to a different destination. Your car isn't helping, Louis. I mean, you guys are so close, wouldn't they be able to tell your car? That's dumb. I... I don't know. I'm hungry and I need sleep and..." he babbled out under his breath before exhaling hard.
 
"I'm n-not fucking going anywhere. I'm staying here and... and waiting for my family to get me," mumbled Nico into the pillow he had buried his head into defiantly, though made no real effort to struggle when Louis, sighing angrily at the fact he had to stub out his cigarette, lifted him into his arms easily. In fact, Nico made more of an effort to get comfortable against him, if only because Louis was a familiar presence and he had missed that desperately over the last few days.

"We should head south. They're heading north to find him. We'll head the other direction. I'll get him somewhere safe, then I'll go back to the family, say I haven't found him. I'll make visits in on him, though. I want to help." Louis continued sternly, his serious expression only broken by Nico's mumbles, rolling his eyes at the argumentative nature. "...We should go now. I'll take Nico in my car. You're welcome to get in with us if you don't trust me yet, Eros. I'm not going to drive off with him, hm? You can happily join us and offer directions to another hotel if you don't trust me enough."