Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

June 13, 2004. Baltimore, Maryland.

“We need to stop.” Abram’s voice quivered as he spoke. Typically, 14-year-olds (or 15, but only on his forged IDS) like Abram would be spending their time at parties or with family at the beach. However, Abram was trying to outrun Lola with a stolen car, who was out to kill him and his mother. Even though he was only 14, he was forced to learn to drive by his mother in case they were running away and couldn’t. Mary was wounded in the chest by an accurate shot from Lola; the hole in her chest almost showed off her ribcage. However, for Abram’s sake of not getting distracted while driving, she attempted to hide the wound using her scarred arm. But Abram knows it’s there and is slowly withering away from his mother’s life.

Mary continued vomiting blood in the back seat, and Abram quickly blinked the tears out of his eyes. Mary allowed no emotions; she almost seemed like she was zoning out. ‘No emotions, no weakness’ she constantly reminded him. So much to the point where Abram heard her voice when he was doing something that went against her strict guidelines. Yet another bullet grazed through the window.

“Oh my god!” Abram cried. His mother coughed and wheezed. Her chest was pouring out blood like a horror movie set.

“No,” Mary started, but she coughed more blood. “—Time! We need to hurry.”

Abram had no time to care for the delicious smell on the ground. Blood was the only thing Neil craved; he feels bad that his mother's death makes him indescribably hungry. However, for the sake of his dying mother, he would need to think about feeding later; now he needed to get her to a hospital. Abram took a sharp turn, praying for Lola to suddenly lose him.

“Don’t worry,” Abram reassured his mother.

“Pull over,” Mary croaked.

“What?” Abram wiped the tears off his face.

“I said pull over, boy!” Mary shouted. “Don’t ask questions; just do as I say.” She threw a fit of coughs after the yelling.

Abram quickly stopped the car, taking the keys that were now sharing his pocket with his lighter, which Mary stole from Nathan. They were on a beach, in whatever city Abram escaped to this time. The car was so close to the water that if it were any closer, the water would drift it to another continent. The water almost calmed Abram down a little bit, although, with the blood on the sand (from Mary? Abram? Both), he went full panic again. The two successfully outran Lola; however, Abram and Mary weren’t in good condition. He didn’t even realize the bullet wound on his neck, which realistically should kill him; his adrenaline was pumping, and his one-track mind was only focused on keeping his mother alive. Abram would kill himself over and over again for his mother. It was always his fault for Nathan’s outbursts; it was the right thing to do.

“Mom?” Abram stratched his scars anxiously. His mother’s current condition made him feel worried; what if she doesn’t make it?

“Listen to me, Abram. Listen closely; I will not tell you this again. Do you have your lighter?” Abram nodded. “Good. I have no more time left. No doctor, nobody will help me. Listen, and do not go against me. You will burn the car and burn myself with it too.” Abram looked like he was going to hurl. His (currently) brown eyes felt as if they were going to pop out of his sockets. What is she talking about? Abram covered his mouth in fear that his cries would put a new target on his and Mary’s backs.

“Don’t you dare look at me that way. This is the only way. Nobody will help us; I taught you ways to keep yourself alive; he will never get you. Do it, Abram,” Mary commanded.

“But-but…” Abram’s chest was getting tighter by the second. What is she talking about? We’re all humans. Humans can survive bullet wounds. Abram has had too many to count, and he’s still breathing, so why is Mary acting so suicidal?

“I can save you!” Abram cried. Mary grabbed Abram’s face and slapped it. A huge red mark was growing on his left cheek. Somehow, it hurt more than the bullet wounds or the hot iron.

“Didn’t you listen to anything I said?!” She thundered, “Do it now! We don’t have time.” Mary forced her way into the stolen car. Abram clutched the lighter in his pocket, trying to see if another task would calm him down. It only made him more anxious. Hopefully, if Abram blinks his eyes one more time, he will be transported to a world where he and his mother lived normal lives without anybody hunting them down, where Abram played soccer and Mary was a regular mother, and all this running would all just be a sick and twisted nightmare. Abram blinked, testing the waters. Nothing.

Mary got in the backseat. The window was closed, but Abram could read her lips. ‘Do it.’ Abram whined, but he flicked the lighter, testing it. He waited to see if Mary would snap out of it. This was all just a sick joke—a prank even—to teach Abram a lesson.

‘I love you’ Abram spoke, shaking. Mary smiled and gestured for him to go on. Abram turned away, placing the lighter on the hood of the car. The radiation of the fire was almost luminous, and it almost gave Abram a sense of security.

“Mom? Mom..no, no, no!” Abram cried. He swore he could hear Mary’s screams of terror during her last moments , burning into ashes.

Abram told himself to suck it up, and he ran away without looking back.

November 13th, 2006. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

CRACK

The area was now dead silent—well, just for a few birds chirping. Or screaming in agony. Besides the birds, you could only hear a pin-drop and Neil’s hectic breathing. The man in front of Neil was oozing out blood, there was a nasty purple bruise on his neck from Neil snapping it, killing him immediately. The man’s name didn’t matter, his family didn’t matter, and the reason why he attempted to stab Neil didn’t matter because he’s dead now and Neil Abram Josten had enough food for 2 weeks.

The tearing of the flesh and the blood made Neil feel alive. Neil never remembered his life before he realized that the only way to live was to run. He also forgot the last time he ate something “normal.”

Neil ripped apart the guy’s neck as if he were starving (basically he was), but Neil could’ve gone at least a day or two before he started hallucinating his dead mom, the car, or his very much alive father. The blood dried in Neil’s fingernails, and his eyes were bloodthirsty.

SLAM

There was ringing in Neil’s ears; he was slammed on the brick wall behind him, and oh god, the blood trickled down his head into his palm. His head was spinning like crazy, and his vision was blurry. Neil looked up and saw a bit of yellow? No, it was orange. Never mind. Neil’s head was forced up. Foolishly, he thought the ringing wouldn’t get any louder, but it did, like a school bell dismissing students.

“Mom?” Neil whined. Mary had the same blonde hair, Neil was convinced that she’d come back eventually, that she escaped from the car and was waiting for Neil in Europe. So they can be with a better family, a better place where there was no surviving. Just living.

“Oh my god... What the actual fuck?” Neil picked up a voice to his left, and the yellow moved to the left at the voice. "Andrew, what? Oh, no, no, no.”

Neil felt a rough, callused hand pick up his head; if these were different circumstances, Neil would’ve thought it was a nice gesture, but Neil was currently bleeding. His vision somehow came back, slowly but surely. But the ringing never stopped. The voice to the left matched that of a boy with emerald green eyes. And he looked horrified. He avoided looking at the random guy’s body at all costs. Yellow (or Andrew) was another issue; his hands were covered in Neil’s blood, and he laughed at Neil’s pain manically.

“This him?” Andrew’s hands were too close to Neil’s mouth. So close that if Neil wasn’t basically paralyzed, he’d bite off Andrew’s hand, if not careful. Neil would snap his neck after, exactly the same as the rotting corpse beside him.

“Yes. But what did you even do? God! He’s bleeding everywhere. And why did you ask that now?” Green eyes shrieked at the sight of Neil. He turned to Andrew with a silent look on his face. Andrew seemed to understand the unspoken message because he rolled his eyes.

“Don’t worry, Day. He’ll be just fine,” Andrew said.

“Should I call dad? Abby?”

Andrew ignored Day; his dead hazel eyes focused only on Neil. Neil tightened his hand into a fist and bared his fangs at Andrew, who chuckled.

“Nathaniel,” he taunted. Andrew put his hands from the corner of Neil’s mouth to the back of Neil’s neck, and he looked up instinctively. Neil glanced over at “Day,” who was paling by the minute, anxiously gripping his hands. Day bit his lips, revealing teeth that Neil and his father also shared. It wasn’t the only trait he and Nathan shared; Mary thought there was an uncanny resemblance between the two. Neil fully believed this, and he punched mirrors to avoid looking at his reflection. Or his father staring right back at him.

Andrew paid no attention to Day; he turned to Neil and bashed his head against the wall. Neil winced in; this was worse than the bullet wound or the time where Nathan got close to snapping his leg off after not sitting still during an FBI investigation of the Wesninskis. The blonde smiled with all his teeth and whispered, "Night night.”

Neil’s head snapped, and all he saw was black. And the last thing he heard was Andrew’s horrifying laughter.

Chapter Text

November 14, 2006. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

Wymack pinched the bridge of his nose in disbelief. Or anger. He wasn't sure, but nothing can even describe how upset he was with Andrew Joseph Minyard.

“So what you’re telling me was that you found Nathaniel, but you snapped his neck because he could pose a threat?” Wymack looked at Minyard dead in the eye.

"Well, not to me, David. But hey, at least me and Kevin are okay.” Andrew blew a bubblegum bubble, smirking right after he popped it. Kevin looked at Andrew, horrified. He always wanted to do the right thing, and he did exceptionally well in school to become a recruiter. Somehow, Andrew got dragged into it as well, mostly because Kevin refused to take the job without Andrew because of their blood pact (no literally, it was a blood pact). The young students they both recruited like the school but avoid Andrew at all costs, as if he was a hawk and they were rabbits. Wymack never wanted Andrew as a primary choice in representing the school, his anger issues and his lack of interaction were not a good combination. But with (hopefully) future students who seem intolerable, Andrew was not afraid to use his strength to protect himself and Kevin.

Kevin got up from his seat “For the record, I never told him to do any of this!” He huffed.

“Okay. Kevin, sit down.” Wymack sighed for the umpteenth time today. “I don’t want to try giving you two detentions because you,” He pointed at Minyard, “Would definitely escape, and you?” He pointed at Kevin, “Would cry, and your creepy boyfriend would kill me. Damn, I do not get paid enough for this.”

“Not my—“ Kevin faltered, not even trying to attempt to correct his father. The mistake happened too many times to count, so Kevin should stop correcting him. Andrew shook his head at the mention of Jean Moreau.

The school phone beside Wymack rang with Abby’s familiar number. He picked it up and never left eye contact with Minyard or Kevin. Kevin looked, spooked to say the least. Wymack never really gave him a dad talk or a dad yell, but he’s sort of working on it. Minyard was laser-focused on his bloody hands.

“Hello,” Wymack greeted.

“David?” Abby said, “Neil is in recovery. With a few stitches in the back of his head, he woke up only a few hours ago and still almost slammed me for calling him Nathaniel. I spelled him to sleep a while longer; it’s a good thing we brought him here. I can’t imagine the condition he might’ve been in if he didn’t receive medical attention.”

“That’s good to hear,” Wymack hummed.

Abby smiled. “Yes, I think that he should be all good, and he has the weekend to get settled in.”

“Alright, Abby, let me finish yelling at these kids. I’ll check in with you in a second.” Abby said goodbye and hung up. Wymack glanced up at only Kevin; Minyard was nowhere to be seen.

"I-I-I, uh, I don’t know where he is,” Kevin stammered.

“It’s fine,” Wymack said, sitting back down.

Beep, beep, beep.

The monitor attached to Neil was showing that his heart rate was slowing. He fought tooth and nail to get up but immediately regretted it; his sides ached. Neil winced at the pain, noticing the bandages wrapped around his head and torso. The bandages didn't quite cover most of his scars, such as the knife marks from Lola, burn marks from his father, and bruises from himself. Neil didn’t have a shirt on, and if he wasn’t strapped to a hospital bed, he’d run away, but not without a shirt to hide his scars. Neil’s body was a reminder of all the hardships he faces and will face in the future. Some may call it heroic, but Neil would call it traumatic. He looked up, trying to find a nurse. However, right next to the monitor, he saw the devil reincarnate: Andrew.

Andrew did a mock salute in lieu of a greeting, and Day gave Neil a weak smile. Neil glared at Andrew; who was playing with a small knife. Twirling it as if it were a toy. He occasionally turned his attention away from the knife and stared at Neil, as if he were trying to figure out who gave Neil new scars.

"Hm, they have you all strapped; huh, I wonder who gave you those.” Andrew pointed to the bandages on Neil’s face with the knife. He smirked at Day, who wasn’t amused.

“I’m Kevin,” Day said, “Once you’re out of here, my d- uh, the principal wants to talk with you,” When Neil looked confused, Kevin continued.

“We’re in a school, uh, Palmetto Academy... ring any bells? We won the swim championship in 2005. No? Okay, um, do you want some help, er, Nathaniel?” He said it awkwardly, pointing at Neil’s bandages. If looks could kill, Kevin and hopefully Andrew too would drop dead. Neil glared at him, hoping their heads would explode so he could get out of this godforsaken place.

“Neil. It’s Neil.” Neil said it firmly.

“Okay, cool, Neil. So me and Andrew are going to go. Class and all, ha. Hey, I’ll see you later.” Kevin murmured. Neil gave him a confused look that read, ‘I don’t like you people.’ Kevin walked out of the office; Andrew stayed behind to look Neil up and down, and then followed Kevin out when he was satisfied with his analysis. Neil sighed, praying that he could get a few more hours of sleep.

A few hours later, Neil was to be taken to the principal’s office to talk about schedules and school things (Kevin’s words). Kevin and Andrew were to show Neil around as punishment of some kind. Andrew should’ve got expelled. Neil looked up at the chandelier in awe, there were kids no older than 13 running in the halls, people studying at tables around the school, and a large fire crackling in the bottom floor. When Neil peered into the nearest window, there was a large pool. The water was a clear blue and there was a P.E. class happening, boys and girls were swimming laps in similar uniform. It almost made him forget that there were two annoying boys to his left and right.

“Huge, right?” Kevin nudged Neil lightly. “My dad’s office is almost here. You’d like the pool; I love the pool. I’m on the swim team. You need to join. I mean, we have a lot of divers, but we need more swimmers, which helps blow off steam. Hey, did you know that—“

“Enough,” Andrew glanced at Neil. “You’ll scare the new kid with your Olympic swim facts.”

Kevin grumbled. ‘This conversation has definitely happened before.’ Neil thought. Kevin stopped in front of a huge door. The door was the largest there was; it was a velvet color, and the door knob looked like real gold.

“Here. After he talks to you, we’ll be right outside to give you your tour,” Kevin said optimistically.

Neil sighed and stepped through the door.

Neil peered through the door, and a man no older than 40 was doing paperwork on his desk. The office wasn’t lavish or anything; it was more cozy, if anything. There were book shelves, photographs, and a comfy red seat in front of the man. Neil instinctively counted three exits: the door, the left window, and the right window. It was a habit that Neil picked up when on the run with his mother—to count and plan ways to escape anytime someone who threatened Neil’s life was in the same general area. It didn’t help that the principal was an older man; Neil always felt even more tense around men because of his father’s abuse.

“Neil. Come take a seat,” the man said. Neil obliged, in fear, since this man had the same build as his father. And if Neil blinked, he would see Nathan Wesninski sharpening a knife. Neil sat down on the seat in front of him, straight and tense, waiting for what the men had to say.

“I’m assuming you don’t know why I sent Kevin and Andrew to come fetch you in Millport,” he stated. Neil looked around at his messy desk, the name card on his desk reading “David Wymack.”

“No, sir,” Neil said, raising an eyebrow.

“Just call me Wymack. The reason why I recruited you to this school is because you are supernatural, Neil. I knew your mother personally. Seeing you in the files shocked me, I never knew he had a son.”

Mary Hartford was a strange woman, to say the least, but Neil owned his life to her. They escaped Nathan Wesninski, a notorious serial killer, and went through trial and error trying to escape those like Lola. Two years ago, Neil burned her car along with his mom’s body and all her secrets, and it looks like David Wymack knew more than Neil expected, and he wanted answers.

“What are you talking about?” Neil asked.

“Your mother was part of an underground witch coven; all Hartford’s inherit the witch’s blood. They can manipulate magic, and you are one of them.”

Neil stayed silent in shock.

“Nathan Wesninski, your father." Wymack said, "Is he a notorious serial killer, correct?”

Neil didn’t respond. His father’s name alone causes Neil to freeze up. The iron, the knives, and the cleaver. It was all coming back to him, as if he had somehow lost his memories before. Neil dug his fingernails into his skin to keep him from sobbing all over Wymack’s desk.

“Your father is a vampire, Neil. Which makes you one too.”

Neil almost felt like he was going to vomit. What the fuck does this guy know? A vampire? A witch? His mother doesn’t know magic; it's not even real! If she did, then why couldn’t she make her and Neil’s world a better place? Or kill Nathan once and for all.

“God, what are you talking about? What are you even saying? You’re just saying crazy things!” Neil spat.

“I know this is new information; trust me, I told every student in this school their family history. But please believe me, and please stay at this school. We will protect you from your father and other supernatural beings that can harm you and your peers,” Wymack said, looking at Neil sympathetically.

Neil thought about it; well, staying in this school was definitely better than being homeless and with a target on his back. Maybe if he were to stay here, Nathan would have no idea where he was. Plus, Neil hasn’t been in school in years, and Wymack knows more about his secretive mother, whom Neil needed to know more about. If only Neil could raise her from the dead. Neil was blind to the supernatural secrets of his mother, and he wanted to know so badly how and why she kept them from him.

“I’ll stay,” Neil said firmly.

“Good choice." Wymack grinned. “I’ll have your schedule by tomorrow; you can decide between rooming with the vampires or the witches. We keep it separate because of an incident that happened a while ago.”

“Okay. Yeah. Cool. Sorry, this is just a lot. Can I go?” Neil said, holding back his tears.

“Of course, my son and his… lonely friend will give you a tour; hopefully you heard about that. Also, sorry about Andrew. I’ve been trying to make him less violent for years now,” Wymack said, rolling his eyes.

Neil got up and left the room without a word.

Neil sighed as he opened the door. Kevin and Andrew were outside, waiting for him. Kevin smiled sympathetically at Neil, noticing his eyes had become significantly more red. Andrew never glanced; he began walking first, which set a trend. Kevin quickly followed. Neil huffed and then trailed past them.

Kevin glanced at Neil and said, “Word of advice, don’t dorm with the witches; they do crazy shit. Trust me. Once I slept over, and I couldn’t even sleep because I heard chanting all night, the second worst day of my life.”

“Thea was the first?” Andrew snickered.

“Don’t remind me,” Kevin groaned.

Andrew looked at Neil. "Kevin's weird ex,” he said for context.

“I don’t care,” Neil replied bitterly.

“Room with the vampires; we’re pretty chill. Oh my god, you can meet Jean; he’s super cool. He has these gorgeous eyes, and he’s teaching me French." Kevin swooned.

“Jean is Kevin’s weird boyfriend.” Andrew glanced at Neil.

“Not my boyfriend!” Kevin shouted.

“I don’t care!” Neil shouted this time.

“Feisty, aren’t we?” Andrew deadpans.

“Huh. Guess I am,” Neil smirks.

“Here. You can stay with me; there's an extra bed, and I can give you swim posters. You can also borrow notes too.” Kevin smiled and nudged Neil playfully. Neil tried hiding his wince.

“Thanks,” Neil sighed.

Neil lay in bed, wondering what his mother would say to all of his questions. Kevin knocked on the already-opened door with a schoolbag slung on his shoulder.

"Hey," he said as he sat down on the bed next to Neil, dumping all the things in the schoolbag on the bed. Which included two pairs of uniforms, notebooks, a folder with papers, and a ring.

Neil raised an eyebrow. “What’s this for?”

“For you, of course,” Kevin rolled his eyes, continuing, “Try on the uniforms, but first give me your hand.”

Neil was confused, still, but obliged. Kevin put on the ring, and it glowed a bright red.

“It’s a daylight ring,” Kevin explained. “You can go out in the sun without burning to death now. It’s a lifesaver, trust me.”

“Thanks,” Neil gave Kevin a half smile. Kevin grinned back, showing his fangs.

“First day tomorrow, its cool though because me and Jean will show you around; we’ll probably have a bunch of classes together since we’re vamps; oh, and the classes aren’t the same every day; take a look,” Kevin passed Neil his schedule.

On the top of the schedule, it read Neil Josten 2006–2007, and every day it had 8 different classes. Neil had normal classes like chemistry, but he also had things like vampire history and potion making. Neil felt sort of relieved when Kevin told him they both share the majority of their classes. Neil tolerates Kevin and actually prefers if he shared classes with him. But he’s worried that his dog, Andrew, would tag along too.

“See you tomorrow, Neil.” Kevin ruffled Neil’s hair, messing up his auburn curls, and stepped out of the room. Neil put his new stuff away, turned off the light, and went to bed thinking about how his first day would go.

Chapter Text

November 15th, 2006. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

Neil woke up from a dream where he was a fox and he played some kind of made-up sport involving a racket. Neil suddenly woke up to a loud bell. Neil turned on the light and rubbed his eyes, groaning. Besides the bell, that was the best sleep Neil has had in years, he hasn’t even slept in a bed since his mom died.

Neil put on his uniform. He put on blue kaki pants and a black shirt over his gray uniform. He also checked if his daylight ring was on his ring finger; it was, and it was still glowing the same bright red color from the first time he put it on. Neil eyed Kevin’s side of the room, which had Olympic swim team posters, a whiteboard that had his schedule for the month of November, and neatly stacked piles of clothes.

Neil packed his things in his schoolbag. Kevin gifted him, and he stepped outside the door. Opening the door, he almost bumped into Kevin; who was getting ready to open the door.

“Shit, sorry. Hey Neil, first day, huh?” Kevin punched Neil playfully. It hurt a bit, but Neil thinks he hid the wince well enough. Next to Kevin was a taller vampire, about 5’11 or 6’0 if Neil’s feeling generous. His eyes were a dark gray and piercing into Neil’s skull, trying to figure him out piece by piece. He wore a sports jersey with the number 29 and the last name “Moreau.” The jersey had what Neil is assuming were the school colors, orange and white.

“This is Jean. We’ll show you around; come follow me. Oh, wait here,” Kevin threw a bottle to Neil. Neil caught it, but he couldn’t quite tell what was inside, but Kevin urged him to drink it. It was blood, but it was different than the blood Neil had drank before.

“It’s rabbit blood; human blood’s not really allowed here, but it's still okay. Let me see your schedule again—“ 

“He looks familiar,” Jean cut off Kevin, although it wasn’t in English. It was in French. Jean motioned at Neil with his eyes, and Kevin quickly got the message. What these two didn’t know was that while Neil was on the run, he picked up languages like French, German, and Spanish too. Languages helped him get out of tough situations and effectively communicate in different countries. Kevin looked at Neil sympathetically, assuming that Neil felt left out; however, he was technically “in” the conversation. He just pretended to not understand, which worked out because Jean continued to speak.

“I know him,” Jean drawled purposefully so Kevin would really understand. Kevin eyed Jean in a different way. Not with his usual love-struck eyes but with genuine worry and anxiety. Kevin bit his lip, almost drawing blood, while Jean turned around, rolled his eyes, and left. Neil was beginning to wonder why he did that, but a figure he desperately didn’t want to see walked up next to Kevin.

Andrew purposefully bumped into Jean without looking behind him at Jean walking down the stairs. He caught up to Neil and Kevin, and he looked at them both as if he were doing mental math. He wasn’t wearing the school uniform but instead wearing jeans and a black sweatshirt. A yellow crescent moon revealed itself on Andrew’s neck, and Neil wondered if it was there before. With words shaper than a blade, Andrew broke the silence with “What did he say to you."

It wasn’t necessarily a question, but it was more of a command for Kevin to tell him. Neil looked at them both, accidentally making eye contact with Andrew, who then looked at Kevin with fury.

“Nothing, dude. It’s okay,” Kevin glanced at Neil anxiously, as if he were a predator and Kevin was the prey. Neil clutched his schedule to hide his shaking. Andrew huffed impatiently, sensing Kevin’s white lie like a lie detector.

“You know I don’t like that, Day.” Andrew gave Kevin a silent warning that Neil couldn’t quite place his finger on. Their relationship went deeper than just recruiting kids for the school based on the non-verbal indicators they gave each other.

“You know that in the end it will hurt you,” Andrew glared at the taller vampire.

“Leave it alone." Everyone heard the shake in Kevin’s voice. It was silent for minutes after; the loud chatter from other students in the distance allowed for Neil to not go insane, but the noise made Neil even more crazy.

Neil, like Kevin, also began to worry about Jean’s cryptic French messages. Neil did not recognize Jean, so how did Jean recognize him? Does Jean know his mother? father? Lola? Neil felt the indescribable urge to just run away from everything; Jean definitely knows too much. Neil tried his best to bury Nathaniel Wesninski in Baltimore with his mother; however, it seemed like others remembered the funeral. Jean was one of those who truly knew Neil, or Nathaniel.

Andrew moved to walk on Neil’s left; now Neil was in the middle of an anxious vampire and a murderous midget.

“Here’s your class, Neil. Sorry about Jean; he’s been... going through some things. I’ll see you later.” Kevin ruffled Neil’s hair, then walked down the nearest flight of stairs. Neil glanced at Andrew, who gave him Jean’s unfamiliar, disturbing stare. Trying to figure him out and solve him, like a math problem,.

“Ready? Actually, I don’t really care.” Andrew chuckled like he’s the funniest person ever.

‘He’s more like a clown,’ Neil thought to himself.

Andrew opened the door rather abruptly and closed it with an equal amount of strength but quicker, almost slamming it to break Neil’s hand. Neil scowled and cursed, but stepped inside.

There weren’t assigned seats in this chemistry class, so Neil was stuck in the back row with Andrew, who sat by Neil without any word. There were 50 seats in this class, but of course Andrew chose the seat next to Neil, just to bother him.

Neil tried paying attention to the lesson. It was about the periodic table. All witches required this class to graduate, but there were also other vampires in this class that he also saw around the dorms. Neil instinctively scanned around the classroom to find all potential exits. So far, he had the door and the window next to Andrew, but he stopped counting so he could take a look at the blonde next to him. Andrew seemed like he was taking notes, but as Neil looked closer, he was sketching badly drawn animals. The animal he drew was a gray wolf that Andrew was shading in with his pencil, and next to the wolf was a white rabbit.

“Kevin won’t tell you what he meant,” Andrew said, interrupting Neil’s thoughts and also continuing with the sketching. Neil ignored him but kept watching Andrew shade in the wolf.

“But you understood what he said.” This time Andrew looked at Neil, like he’s giving him his full attention. Neil glanced at Andrew, staring at him. Andrew’s golden eyes pierced through Neil's, but it wasn’t quite as cold as Jean’s. The chime of the bell rang throughout the school; ending 1st period, quicker than Neil expected. He began packing up his notebook and pencils, Andrew, as well as the rest of the class, got up and made way for the door. However, before Andrew could leave the classroom, he stood in front of Neil.

“You’re interesting, Josten. But no matter how hard you run, I still can read you.”

He left without a word, but what replaced Andrew was the ripped page of the wolf and the rabbit drawing on the table.

Neil was drinking out of his water bottle (or blood bottle) with Kevin and Andrew sitting around him at their lunch table. They sat at a table on a balcony; below them was a pool that was holding a physical education class. Andrew pulled out a flip phone; it was the newest model, and he began typing away immediately. The tapping drove Neil so insane that he almost yelled for him to stop. Although Neil wanted to keep his peace today, he refused to say anything. Kevin was watching the class below him with envy. He mentioned that he didn’t have a PE class this semester because of his schedule being full; Neil didn’t have one either, but in the middle of Kevin’s rant, he discovered that Andrew did have one for his final period. Not that it mattered.

“Where did you get that?” Kevin pointed at Andrew’s phone.

“Nowhere,” Andrew drawled, he didn’t stop typing, but he was trying to figure out how to look up at Kevin without looking down. “You gonna tell?”

Kevin rolled his eyes, then motioned for Neil to stand up with him to watch. Neil slowly got up; he felt Andrew’s lingering stare as he made his way to Kevin.

“I know I already said this, but you should totally join the swim team. Do you do any sports, Neil?”

“I used to play soccer—“

"Oh, my god. I’m on the soccer team too! You should join; what position did you play?” Kevin exclaimed. Andrew groaned, and Neil bit his lips.

“Center-back, sometimes forward. But I’m rusty; I haven’t played in years.” Neil also looked down at the class below them. A group of girls were taking turns jumping off the diving board; the majority of boys were trying to get off their swimming caps and goggles.

“Oh dude, look at Jeremy Knox.” Kevin motioned to a blonde boy below them. “He’s a werewolf, and he’s the captain of the soccer team,” Kevin swooned. This time Andrew got up and stood next to Neil, but he wasn’t watching the class; he was looking at Neil instead. Jeremy glanced up at the three waves, but gave a special wink to Kevin.

Kevin awkwardly waves back while Neil and Andrew just stare. Kevin walked away with his hands in his face, screaming profanities and “Oh my god, he winked!” The bell rings, dismissing class or ending lunch, like in Neil’s case. Andrew left immediately and ran down the stairs. Neil had a free period, so he wanted to stay at the Kevin waved Neil goodbye, who was now all alone, with only the wind and the chatter in the distance being his source of entertainment.

While getting the bag he left in his locker, Neil glanced around the school for two reasons. One, to find exits; the front door, windows, classrooms, etc. And two, to look around at the other students. In the distance, Neil found Kevin and Jean next to an art classroom; they were talking intensely. Jean looked petrified, like a child whose balloon got lost in the sky. Kevin, on the other hand, looked firm, even serious.

Neil never noticed some features of the vampires; Kevin had freckles on his nose and bit his lip when he was nervous. Jean’s nose was crooked, and he had a bandage covering his left cheek. The bandage moves as Jean stares at Neil, looking at them like the taller vampires were caught doing something they weren’t supposed to do. Neil quickly looked at his locker, like it was the most entertaining thing there was.

“Jesus,” Neil mumbled to himself.

“He’s so weird, amirite?” A voice spoke up next to Neil. Neil jumped up like a cat as Andrew cackled. “Why are you like this?”

Neil sighed in response, hopefully a sign that the blonde boy would stop the “conversation.” Unfortunately, he continued.

“Don’t know why he has the bandage on. Think it’s a tough guy act?” Andrew asks rhetorically. He leaned up against the locker next to Neil, not touching. Neil could smell Andrew’s lavender soap clearly. Neil ignored him, looking at Jean and wondering how much does this guy really know.

Chapter Text

November 17th, 2006. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

Many years on the run couldn’t prepare Neil for potions class, or any “witch” class in general. All the witches in his class are full witches, meaning that they knew that they were aware that they are witches ever since they could crawl (or float). Neil, however, found out he was a witch two days prior, and today he found out his magic worked differently than everyone else. When he attempted to do an “elementary school” spell and failed miserably, his teacher spoke to him privately about his mother. Neil was, surprised to say the least, that the teacher knew about his mother, but if Wymack knew; than this teacher may know more.

According to Neil’s teacher, the coven Mary Hartford was part of had a different kind of magic; they took the magic from anything and used it on their own. Which, hypothetically, means that every person Neil encountered technically has magic, so do the pebbles on the ground. This type of magic puts Neil at a great disadvantage; he has to touch everything and everyone if he wants to use magic to his fullest potential. Neil assumes that he could use his own arm to take away the magic and use it for himself, but based on the trial and error trying to summon a simple flame, it didn’t work out.

Neil still couldn’t even get his first spell yet, so his teacher gave him schoolwork that said “1st grade” on it. She smiled, reassuring that Neil was going to get the spells and that his mother’s side of the family were powerful witches, so he would get it too, though Neil automatically knew he was absolutely fucked based on the fact seven-year-olds are better at magic than he is, and also he didn’t know any of his extended family. Mary slapped Neil the time he asked if the Hartfords could help and she screamed that they couldn’t help her anymore, so the family talk from his teacher was awkward. The homework included basic spells and tips and tricks, but Neil couldn’t get it. If only his mom didn’t bleed out and beg Neil to get burned, maybe he would know how to do these spells.

There was a knock on the door. Neil immediately recognized the knocking as Kevin’s because he was the only person who knocked twice (Andrew usually kicks the door). Even though he knew it was Kevin, and Neil has a slight soft spot for him despite only knowing each other for about four days, Neil still yelled, “Get the fuck out!” The pressure of moving to a new state, a new school, and learning new material finally caught up to him on Wednesday. Not only that, but no matter what Wymack said, Neil was still worried that his father was going to catch up to him eventually, he had people all around America, there was bound to be a Butcher lackey in Virginia.

The sadness eventually turned into aggravation, it was to the point where Neil threw his bag at the nearest wall, which almost hit the glass window. Neil, attempting to hide himself, threw his weighted blanket on his face, mumbling to himself all the numbers he could remember in Spanish. When he got to trece, the door opened slowly, and creaking loudly as Kevin and Andrew popped their heads in, staring at Neil. Andrew was the first to step in; he raised an eyebrow at the sight of Neil's distress. Kevin, however, looked more sympathetic.

“Neil? We’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Kevin said.

“Don’t say we. I’m not apart of this,” Andrew put his arms up as if he were getting arrested. He raised an eyebrow at Neil’s distress. Kevin sat down on the bed and stroked Neil’s hair while he cried. “Shh, shh, it’s okay; you’ll get it; you’ll do it.” But what did he know? He knew he was a vampire forever, and he also didn't have the blood to do magic like Neil. Neil couldn't imagine him struggling in his classes, or sports, for that matter. Hell, his father is the principal of the entire school.

“Get off him, stop babying him,” Andrew glared at Kevin, who (shockingly to Neil) complied.

“Hold on. I have something that would make you feel better; I just have to find dad.” Kevin quickly left the room. Leaving Andrew and Neil alone.

It was awkward. Neil couldn’t stand revealing strong emotions and being vulnerable, especially to someone he hates. His mother taught him to repress his emotions so he would not risk getting caught or killed. But this was Neil’s first time that he had cried with another person in the room. Neil felt the bed shift as Andrew sat down on the bed next to Neil, who had blankets covering his face.

He cleared his throat while Neil wiped his tears on his uniform. “I’m not a witch. But I know someone who is.” Neil’s head popped out from the blankets, and he saw Andrew staring at him. His stare wasn’t cold like Jean's, or his father's; it was warm, like a fireplace on Christmas day, and Neil almost felt like he could lean into it to share the warmth.

“She can help you. I will take you to her, but under one condition,” he continued.

“Anything,” Neil’s voice was hoarse, and getting the words out felt harder to do than running a marathon.

“Truth for truth. You ask me questions, and I will answer, and the other way around,” Andrew offered.

Neil raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Think about it.” He put the blanket over Neil’s head. As Neil pried it off, Andrew had already left the room without a word.

Kevin later comes in with an orange cat plush. “This might seem, I don’t know, weird? But this thing always made me feel better when I was a kid. My dad built this school when I was seven, but I actually attended when I was ten, and, man, I was fucked up. This guy helped me out, though.” He snorted while setting the plushie down on Neil’s bed.

“To be honest with you, Neil, you’re kind of like a best friend. I know we just met, like, what? four days ago? But I barely had...have friends, and I’m still trying to figure out the friend shit, even though I’m just seventeen. Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that I’m always here for you, Neil.” Kevin smiled, revealing his fangs. Neil smiled back, genuinely this time.

Kevin’s kind gift and Andrew’s strangely thoughtful gesture made Neil think that maybe he was going to be just fine.

The next day, Neil spent his free period in the dorm, trying to catch up on homework and failing miserably. He almost fell asleep multiple times; the rain outside his room made him feel exhausted. However, this homework was due the next morning, and Neil had no time to procrastinate. As he was getting ready to leave the dorm to get to class early, he almost bumped into someone shorter than him.

“Andrew?” Neil asked.

Neil fully expected an Andrew death glare. The stare is extremely creepy, which says a lot because Neil’s father is a serial killer. Neil honestly feels nervous when around Andrew. But he rolled his eyes and gave Neil a silent invitation to follow him, which was him just walking away. Neil, feeling drawn to him, ran quickly to catch up with the werewolf.

“We’re going to the witch’s dorm,” Andrew explained. Neil hummed, not really listening.

"We’re skipping class too.”

“Wait what?” Neil was fully awake now.

Andrew huffed. Neil realized since being around Andrew 24/7 that the huff was the closest thing Andrew does to a laugh. He also notices that Andrew fidgets with his rings, he never wears his uniform, and he bites his nails (but never around Kevin).

“Chill. Nobody will miss you anyway,” Andrew taunted.

“Same goes to you,” Neil deadpans, rolling his eyes.

“Here,” The boys stood outside the dorm room. Andrew, surprisingly, knocked, and now they waited. A girl with colorful hair and a silver cross on her neck answered the door with a smile.

“Andrew,” she said in lieu of hello. Andrew gave her a two-finger salute. The girl turned to Neil and smiled wider. “Neil, I’ve heard many good things about you. Come in?”

The boys stepped in. The dorm was much different than Neil’s. It was colorful—too colorful. The rainbow-haired girl’s side had paintings on the wall, books neatly stacked on a bookshelf, and a table that had many makeup products. On the table was something most prominent: a bible. Neil wasn't super religious, nor was he around any religious people. The religious text on her vanity surprised him. The other side of the room was less colorful, but there was a whiteboard with what seemed like game strategy and a jersey folded neatly on the bed.

Rainbow Hair gestured for Neil to take a seat. She looked up at Andrew with a smile. “You’re not staying?”

Andrew shook his head. “Dan?” he asked.
“With Matt,” the girl replied. She turned to Neil as Andrew walked out. “I’m Renee. I will teach you no matter what, Neil. To be quite honest with you, the teachers don’t know how they can help us. We’re different. Why don’t I show you?”

Renee snapped her fingers. As if he were being slapped, Neil suddenly felt a slight pain all throughout his body. Looking around, he realized that they were now in a cemetery. Due to his legs becoming weak, Neil falls into the dirt head first, almost eating the dirt.

“I’m sorry,” Renee said softly. She offered her hand to Neil and pulled him up with a great deal of strength. “Don’t worry. I’ll teach you that, but here's what I wanted to show you.”

Neil watched all her movements carefully. Renee’s eyes turned obsidian black while she kneeled down on the dirt, and a skeleton broke free from the grave. It didn’t move, but Neil looked at her and the skeleton in awe.

“I’m a half witch like you, Neil. Our abilities are much different than those of those who are full witches,” Renee smiled and pointed at her yellow moon tattoo right on her neck.

Looking at the tattoo, he realized that Andrew had the same one. In Palmetto, all werewolves are distinguished by a moon tattoo. The reason they are differentiated is because of the full moon protocol, which basically counts heads during the turning. Neil doesn't know the specifics of what happens during the turning, but the vampires also need to be locked up due to the aggressive, animlaistic behavior of the werewolves. Vampires, unlike werewolves, do not need to be marked; just looking at the shape of the teeth is enough to differentiate between a vampire and a werewolf.

Renee made a cutting her throat motion, and the skeleton was brought down 6 feet under as if the dirt were quicksand. Her black eyes turned back into the familiar brown. “My biological mother was a necromancer; she passed down the skills to me. What can you do?”

“I can take the magic from things and use it. It doesn’t really make sense to me.” Neil mumbled, It sounded less "cool" when put into words, and also after Renee's show of bringing a dead person back to life. If Neil had a hold of this power, the first and only person he'd bring back would be his mother.

Renee chuckled “It makes sense. Here, why don’t you touch my arm for the magic and try to focus on only what you want to do? When doing magic, you need a clear head; breathe in and out.”

Neil sighed, but he touched Renee’s arm and breathed. He closed his eyes and focused on the fire he wanted to summon, not Renee’s necromancy, his weird teachers, or Andrew. Neil heard a cheer from Renee, so Neil cracked an eye open. The burning red fire was in his hand. It felt, almost comforting, and Renee’s smile kept Neil calm.

“Amazing! Good job, Neil.” Renee exclaimed.

“Thank you,” Neil replied. He clasped his hands together, getting rid of the fire.

“Ready to head back?” Renee asked. Neil nodded in confirmation as they teleported back to her room, Neil still hasn’t gotten used it the feeing yet, his knees almost gave it like the first time. Renee chuckled as Neil laughed awkwardly.

“Bye Neil, I hope we can do this again,” Renee hummed. Renee had this vibe that made Neil feel nice and easy around her, she understands the struggles that Neil is facing. Neil smiled and waved goodbye.

Outside Renee’s dorm, was Andrew standing outside waiting for Neil. He glanced at Andrew’s neck, noticing the glowing moon tattoo. Andrew noticed this and raised an eyebrow, a silent question. A ‘what are you looking at?’ Neil shrugged as if Andrew asked that verbally. Andrew shook his head and made way to the witch dorm exit, and Neil had no choice but to follow.

Chapter Text

November 18th, 2006. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

On Saturday, Neil, Kevin, and Andrew sat at their usual lunch table on the balcony to get some homework done. Neil complained that they could’ve gone to the library, but Kevin countered it with the light breeze, and the background was merely for the “aesthetic.” Andrew stayed silent.

Neil was trying to memorize spells for a quiz, Kevin was doing a vampire history project (which Neil also had to do) with his headphones on, and Andrew was sketching gray rabbits on his history notebook. Andrew has definitely improved his art since last week. Neil glanced at Andrew and moved closer, their arms about to touch, but Neil always remembered Andrew’s “no touch” policy, which Andrew made it clear that Neil knew. Neil didn’t want to touch Andrew anyway; they were sworn enemies (well, at least on Neil’s side). Neil put his arms on his lap while looking over at the shorter boy.

“Why do I never see you do any work?” Neil asked.

“It’s done. Renee?” Andrew continued sketching.

“She’s great; she helped me out a lot, actually. Thank you,” Neil smiled brightly, reserved just for Andrew, who glanced at Neil and then quickly looked away.

“Andrew?” An unfamiliar voice called, and Neil’s head quickly whipped around to reveal that the voice matched a boy with tan skin and brown curly hair. Kevin looked up at the boy, deeply sighed, and then went back to his project. Andrew didn’t even move, but he did roll his eyes.

“Jeez, baby cousin, don’t ignore me like that! Anyway, do you know where Aaron—Wait! Oh my fucking god,” The boy stared at Neil. The weirdest stare ever. People stared at Neil and his mother while on the run, but that was because they were basically dressed in rags. Mary would always shield Neil from these judging stares when they would walk outside looking to buy hair dye. However, this stare from this boy was strange, and Neil felt sick to his stomach because of the attention.

The boy tried whispering to Andrew, but he was too loud. “Do you remember the guy I was talking about? The super fine one?” He said it in German. Which was a shocker because both Andrew and the guy didn’t look German or even look like they spoke it. Andrew never mentioned to Neil that he could speak another language, let alone German. Which Neil was fluent in but forgot some words because he mostly used French and Spanish on the run. Curly had a thick accent, but he sounded pretty close to a native speaker.

Andrew glared at him, reaching for his armbands to threaten him. “Get away.” Andrew’s German accent was better than Curly’s, like he was a mime, and he mimicked a native speaker.

“Woah-woah, hey now, calm down.” Curly hair said nervously. “Now that I know you weren’t listening, that’s him! You have to tell me everything about him; be my wingman.”

Neil felt way too uncomfortable. Why did he learn German? It could’ve been Russian. Why him. Leaving the scene was too suspicious, since Neil wanted to keep his language cards for a little while longer. Since Andrew never mentioned his German skills, there’s no reason Neil should either.

“And what would Erik think about this?” Andrew deadpanned.

"Andrew, we’re not even together yet. I just need someone to distract myself from him,” Curly groans.

Andrew slowly blinks in irritation. “Nicky, Get the fuck out. I don’t know where Aaron is; leave me alone.”

“But—“ Nicky started, but he realized that going back and forth with Andrew wouldn’t do anything. In English, Nicky murmured, “This is the thanks that I get,” and walked away.

This is the weirdest family interaction Neil has ever seen, and his dad is a murderer out to get him. It felt strange that someone was actually interested in him, no matter how odd Nicky was. Neil couldn’t believe that he was attractive enough for someone to like him. Neil doesn’t understand attraction; there was no room for it while on the run. Neil hasn’t even gotten his first kiss, and he was not planning on getting it soon.

“You okay?” Neil decided to break the silence. Andrew ignored him and shaded in the rabbits.

November 20th, 2006.

On Monday afternoon, Neil was ready for another Renee magic lesson. Instead, he was dragged onto Renee’s bed as he was lying down on a bed while Allison was doing his makeup. Allison was a vampire, like Neil, and one of Renee’s good friends. They’ve known each other ever since they started to go to Palmetto at 10. Immediately after Neil and Andrew stepped inside Renee’s room, after rolling her eyes at Andrew, she freaked out over Neil’s long eyelashes and long auburn curls.

"Dan, pass me the foundation; what do you think is Neil’s tone?” Allison applied the base to Neil. Before Neil even knew what daylight rings were, he spent all of his time in the shade, afraid that he would be burned alive. According to Allison, his “beautiful skin“ was all genetic. She and Dan gushed over Neil’s skin a ton, while Renee simply smiled and Andrew stared right at Neil as well, seeing if what the girls were saying was true.

Danielle, or Dan, was a witch and Renee’s roommate. She’s the president of the student council, which represents witches, and she was also the captain of the girls soccer team. She passed a bottle of foundation to Allison that was close enough to Neil’s shade.

While Allison worked her makeup magic, Andrew glared at Allison the entire time, which Renee sensed because she kept attempting to have a peaceful conversation with him, but Andrew kept ignoring her. Andrew and Allison seemed to have the worst relationship Neil has ever seen. Although Andrew doesn’t mention Allison to anyone, Allison does talk to Andrew, but only referring to him as ‘monster.’

"Wow, monster, take some of the glaring energy and use it to mend your family relationships,” Allison provoked. Her glare back wasn’t quite scary like Andrew's, but the insult caused Andrew’s neutral expression to crack. A normal person may think that the insult didn’t faze him, though Neil noticed the twitch of his eyebrows that indicated that the insult did go through. The room got quiet. Neil and Renee both looked worriedly at Andrew, while Dan looked around and awkwardly chuckled, trying to ease the tension.

“That’s enough, guys.” She started, but then Andrew almost lunged towards Allison, but Renee blocked it just in time. Neil sat up, honestly more worried for Andrew than Allison.

Allison scoffs and flashes a smile, all teeth.
“Fuck you, bitch.” Andrew growled, slamming the door on the way out. The room was eerily quiet after, the quiet you hear in horror movies. Allison laughed; it wasn’t Dan’s awkward laughter or Andrew’s maniac laugh. She laughed like Andrew’s reaction was stand-up comedy.

“He’s so dramatic; let’s continue.” She flashed a smile at Neil, but he was already standing up to leave.

"Now, where are you going?” Allison asked rudely.

“Ally…” Renee started.

“To find Andrew, he’s my friend, and your acting like a dick. Watch your mouth next time,” Neil glared at her, and the door was slammed a second time.

November 21st, 2006.

Kevin insisted that Neil come to soccer practice today. He sat on the bleachers with Renee as they watched the team split and play a mock game. As practice was coming to an end. Two werewolves came up to Neil and Renee. One had a huge grin on his face, and the other had a blank stare.

“Hey Renee,” Smiley said.

“Hello Matt, how are you?” Renee replied kindly.

“Doing good. Neil, right?” He took a look at Neil, and Matt’s smile never faltered. He was a bit sweaty, and his uniform was a bit of a mess, but he made Neil feel easy, or easily uneasy.

“Uh yeah…hi,” Neil said awkwardly.

“Dan told me about you; good things trust me. This is Seth, by the way,” Matt chattered, and Seth inclined his head in lieu of saying hello.

Matt continued, “Your first week was good?" Neil nodded. “Nice. You know we should get to know each other; oh, we’re going to be best buddies, man.” Matt brought Neil close for a weird side-hug. Neil isn’t really a fan of hugs, especially ones from someone he has only known for 5 minutes. Someone behind Matt and Seth cleared their throat, and all four of them turned to look at Andrew and Kevin.

“Get off him,” Andrew threatened. With the soccer uniform, you can clearly see Andrew’s moon tattoo. Neil thinks Andrew looks the best in the uniform, and he should show the tattoo more often, but nobody tells him that.

“Sorry…sorry,” Matt put his hands up to Neil as if he were getting arrested by the Andrew police. Neil awkwardly shifted away.

“Uh, good practice, guys?” Kevin hesitated, quickly sensing the tension.

“Yeah, totally,” Matt replied. Seth rolled his eyes. At this moment, Neil remembered that when he, Andrew, and Kevin would walk around the school, Kevin would mention “Gordon.” Kevin scowled every time the athlete was mentioned; it seemed they had an unresolved rivalry in soccer since they both play the same position. Matt also seemed kind of hostile towards Kevin; he played defense, but since Matt and Seth seemed inseparable, Seth’s hatred towards Kevin may have transferred onto Matt.

“If we don’t want Allison to throw a fit, we better leave,” Seth said to Matt and Renee. Renee looked up, her eyes showing that she suddenly remembered the hangout. Matt ruffled Neil’s hair, which earned a quiet growl from Andrew. Renee asked Neil if he wanted to join the upperclassmen friend group’s small get-together at Renee and Dan’s dorm. Neil politely declined; he didn’t really know the others besides Renee, and he only put faces to Seth and Matt ten minutes ago.

Matt and Renee bid goodbye to Neil. Seth was the first to leave the field without acknowledging anyone else. Kevin sighed as if he were holding his breath. Neil noticed how tense Kevin was; the practice was intense, and seeing boys he doesn’t necessarily like talk to Neil might’ve caused that tension.

"Hey, I’m going to go with Jean over there; thanks for coming, Neil,” Kevin said, ruffling Neil’s hair. Andrew turned from staring at Neil to glaring at Kevin. Kevin quickly noticed this and put his arms up because he knew that if he kept his hand on Neil’s head any longer, Andrew would bite them off himself. Neil has no idea when Andrew became so protective of him; almost a week ago, Andrew was slamming him into the pavement. But now he glared at anyone who looked at Neil for too long. It almost felt…comforting?

“No problem, man.” Neil tried; he’s been trying out slang lately so he wouldn’t sound like an out-of-touch old man, in Allison’s words. Kevin ran to the other side of the field. Now that he was left alone with Andrew, Neil has many questions to ask, such as ‘why are you so protective of me?’ or ‘why don’t you show your tattoo?’

After the lingering silence, Andrew staring at his armbands, and Neil staring at the ‘03’ on Andrew’s soccer jersey, Neil finally spoke up.

“You don’t show that often,” Neil motioned to the moon tattoo on Andrew’s neck, which Andrew covered up with his hand, uncharacteristically. Neil thought that he would show it off and maybe be proud of being a werewolf. It doesn’t mean being one is stressful, but the werewolves Neil has seen are very open to the fact that they howl at the moon a few times a month.

“Why don’t you stop looking?” Andrew threatened, but with less bite than Neil anticipated, he shrugged in response. He didn’t really know what to say; he couldn’t just stop looking. He felt like his eyes were only made to look at Andrew.

Andrew began to walk around the field, and Neil followed. He liked walking, but especially running. It was a huge adrenaline rush, and it made Neil feel much calmer and safer; all he knew was how to run.

While walking, Andrew kicked the rocks on the field. “You know you can tell all those people no.”

“What do you mean?” Neil raised an eyebrow.

“When they touch you, say no. If they won’t listen, I’ll kill them,” Andrew says seriously. “I know how you feel when you’re touched when you don’t want to. Just use your words, Neil.”

“Thank you,” Neil said, because he didn’t know what to say honestly. Neil could’ve sworn he saw Andrew’s ears turning red, maybe it was from the soccer practice.

After a bit more walking, Andrew cleared his throat. “I was walking with Renee earlier; what would you do in a zombie apocalypse?”

Neil glanced over at Andrew, who was already looking at him and awaiting an answer. With the sunlight, Andrew’s eyes looked ethereal; they normally looked hazel, but because of the shining sun, they looked golden. When Neil looked closer, there were also specks of green as well.

“I’d get supplies and stuff; I don’t think the apocalypse would be any different from running away from my father,” Neil said. He never really talked to anyone about his father; it was a sore spot. Andrew and Kevin both respected his wishes; even though Neil was previously rude to them, they still didn’t cross his boundaries.

“Who would you save?” Andrew asked, his full attention was always on Neil, but it seemed he’s soaking in every word Neil says.

“I don’t really know. I think I’d save Kevin, Renee, and you,” Neil answered truthfully.

Andrew just nodded and simply left. He went slowly up the stairs, onto the bleachers, and left the soccer stadium. Neil just simply watched Andrew leave; he probably forgot to do something and had to do it. All Neil thought about for the rest of the night was the zombie apocalypse and gold.

Chapter Text

December 22nd, 2006.

It was the day before the majority of the Palmetto students would leave the school for winter break. Today was especially talkative; at school, all of the high school students spread the word that the vampire dorm would be hosting the annual Christmas party. In Palmetto, every December 22nd, a dorm is nominated to host the party. It was a student-led event, and the teachers allowed it even though there was some illegal activity. Since Neil was an unfortunate resident of the vampire dorm, he couldn’t really escape the party. Also, Nicky, whom Neil had been talking to more often since they figured out they actually shared a history class, practically begged him to go.

The party was going to be all night, starting at around 8 p.m. During passing period, Allison (who’s 3rd period class was on the other side of the school) ran up to Neil and bribed him. If Allison got him all “glammed” up, she would give the answers to the math packet Neil received for break. Neil gladly agreed. She told him to meet her at Renee and Dan’s room, so all four of them could get ready together.

At the moment, Neil was trying out Allison’s outfit of choice: a white collared shirt, black jeans, and a sparkly belt to top it all off. Dan said that she would help Neil with eyeliner, and Renee helped style his curly hair.

“Guys, do you think I should come back to school with Neil’s hair color?” Allison took a curl from Neil’s head and put it on her hair, like some kind of wig.

“Don’t take my thing,” Neil joked. Dan laughed, almost smudging Neil’s eyeliner; Renee chuckled; and Allison rolled her eyes playfully while putting on some bright red lipstick.

"Guys, did I apply it on right?” Allison asked if it was difficult to do hair, let alone your makeup, if you were a vampire. If Neil had to pick an ability to get rid of, it wouldn’t necessarily be the reflection issue, but he knows how badly it impacts other vampires.

Renee left the bathroom and was now in a small white dress that complimented her pale hair. She walked up to Allison, examining her makeup. “It smudged a little, here.” Renee got up close and wiped the lipstick near Allison’s lips.

“Done.” Renee smiled, turning to the bathroom again to get hair spray. Allison was significantly more red; it was quite obvious since she was a pale vampire. She cleared her throat and started applying eyeshadow, trying to distract herself.

“New year, new me, bitches. God, what should I even do? I haven’t thought of any resolution ideas yet.” Allison applied lipstick, then her lips made a “pop” sound, trying to get all the red on her lips.

Dan left the bathroom; she wore a green top and a black skirt to match, and she had emerald earrings to match.

“Break up with Seth,” Dan joked. But the stare Renee gave her afterwards was almost deadly. Neil almost forgot how terrifying Renee could really be; she was a skilled necromancer only at eighteen, and she was proficient at weapons, including knives. Her stare was equivalent to slitting someone’s throat with no remorse.

“Pfft, Neil, baby. C’mere.” It’s been a common theme that the upperclassmen call him silly pet names. Nicky calls him gorgeous, Allison calls him baby, and Dan calls him pretty blue eyes. It was all ridiculous, but it felt kind of nice to have friends and get nicknames, no matter how silly. Allison applied some perfume to herself; after that, she reached down to a stashed-away box on the bottom of Renee’s vanity. Inside the box, there was men’s cologne; it was an icy blue color, and it smelled fairly good.

“Can one of you guys duplicate the cologne? I took it from Seth when we were ‘getting ready’ in his room, if you know what I mean,” Allison winked at Neil, who rolled his eyes.

“More like getting undressed,” Dan teased. Allison threw her head back, laughing. Neil stole the magic from the vanity; he duplicated the cologne using a simple spell.

Allison put some cologne on Neil, then squished his cheek, the one with all the burns. However, they were covered up a bit from the foundation. Neil wanted to hide some of his scars, and Allison was more than happy to. “Aw, look, you’re so cute now, Neil. I wish you could see yourself.” Neil smiled. He did wish he could see himself right at the moment; he trusted the girls’ opinions on how he looked. But looking in the mirror was like looking at Nathan up close, and Neil didn’t want to take any chances.

“Ready, guys?” Dan perked up.

The girls plus Neil were “fashionably late,” as Allison said. It was 9 p.m. on the dot when they arrived at the vampire dorm. Renee could tell that Neil was nervous because she motioned for him to get closer. With her heels, she had to step down so she could talk into Neil’s ear over the booming music.

“You alright?” She yelled.

“Yeah, but I don’t know where Andrew is,” he yelled back.

Renee gave him a knowing smile. “I have an idea.” She pointed at the large kitchen in the dorm. It was only there for one purpose, storing blood bags, but now, because of the party, it stores different types of booze as well. Neil made his way to the fridge when he spotted Andrew chugging a beer like he was challenged to and was going to win a lifetime supply of ice cream as a prize.

“Hey.” Neil started, but then Andrew spit out his drink at the sight of Neil.

“What? Do I really look that bad?” Neil said, worriedly. Since Mary never really made him forget that Neil was a splitting image of his father, he grew up to be very insecure. Being a vampire and unable to see his reflection was the cherry on top.

Andrew looked Neil up and down. “Yeah,” he said with no hesitation. If Neil didn’t know Andrew, he’d spiral. Fortunately, he knows Andrew well, and he knows he didn’t mean it. If anything, Andrew meant the opposite.

Neil thought Andrew looked the best at this party, or in the entire world. Andrew was wearing a black leather jacket, a white tank top, and dark blue jeans. Neil looked down at Andrew’s arms and noticed that he wasn’t wearing his armbands today. He leaned on the countertop and took a sip of his second beer, his hazel eyes never leaving Neil’s blue.

Neil looked around the party; everyone was in the center of the dorm, drinking and dancing. Neil couldn’t find Kevin anywhere around, or the upperclassmen.

“Kevin’s with Jean?” Neil said, his eyes never leaving Andrew. Neil almost felt high; his face felt flushed, and he wanted to talk to Andrew for eternity.

Andrew looked Neil up and down again. “Yeah.” Andrew looked more red and flushed than usual, maybe because he was drunk; he was chugging beers anyway.

“I can’t believe you’re drunk already.?” Neil smirked sarcastically.

Andrew chuckled. “If you think I’m drunk, you’d be in the wrong, Josten.”

“Neeeeeillll!!!” A singsong voice coming from Nicky ran towards Neil. Andrew immediately groaned in agony as Nicky hugged Neil in the back while Andrew’s doppelgänger was behind him, glancing at Andrew, who was now downing a bottle of vodka. Neil also looked at Andrew, who was raising an eyebrow at his twin.

“Oh my god, Neil, you look so good. are you sure you’re single? Are you trying to impress anyone? God, Neil, you know I’m spiritually with Erik; there’s no need for all this!” Nicky rambled, quickly making Neil uncomfortable. “Aaron, you know Neil, right?”

With Aaron’s outfit, which was just a regular white button-up and jeans, Neil could see the moon tattoo. However, when he looked at Nicky, he didn’t have the tattoo. Neil has seen Nicky use magic when trying to trip up homophobic people in the halls, but Neil assumed he was part werewolf as well. Maybe Neil could ask Andrew later.

“What? Andrew’s boyfriend?” Aaron replied snarkily. Andrew spit his drink, but this time it was in the sink. Neil ignored him.

“Don’t fucking touch him.” Andrew glared daggers at Nicky, trying to caress Neil’s shoulder. Nicky quickly let go, chuckling awkwardly.

“C’mon Aaron, cya around Neil,” Nicky winked. Aaron glared at Neil as he walked away.

Neil sighed, but now that they’re gone, Andrew is taking up all of his attention. Neil sometimes wishes it could only be them two. Though he shakes off the idea, thinking it’s selfish, Andrew swiftly moves closer to Neil, to the point where he could feel Andrew’s breath at this point. The music suddenly turned up louder. Andrew grimaced at this; werewolves have enhanced hearing, meaning the music is about ten times louder than it is for someone like Neil.

“You don’t drink?” Andrew raised his voice over the music.

“Yeah. You need a break.” Neil also raised his voice, glancing at the empty cans Andrew had previously downed. Andrew noticed this and giggled! Neil felt proud that only he could do this to Andrew.

“Here, oh my god, hey Neil!” Kevin exclaimed, motioning forward to Neil to do their special handshake.

Neil and Kevin had their own handshake. It was the middle of the night on a Sunday, and both vampires couldn’t sleep, so they created a 20-step handshake that included the most basic moves, but they both thought it was cool, and that’s all that mattered. After the handshake, Kevin reached into a cooler next to Andrew, cracking open a can of beer, which Andrew downed in 30 seconds. Andrew, an extreme alcoholic, looked at Kevin with wide eyes in shock. Neil mirrored Andrew’s reaction; he never really knew Kevin was that type of person, especially because he’s an athlete.

"You guys know where hic Jean is?" Kevin said, his face flushing. Neil didn't know if it was from the alcohol or the fact that Kevin was head over heels for the devil in a vampire body.

Speak of the devil. Jean followed behind, looking in the cabinets for a glass. Andrew passed an unopened bottle of vodka to Kevin. Neil looked over at Jean for a second; if he did it a second longer, Jean would try to punch him. Neil’s friends won’t let him near Jean, for Jean’s own good. Both of them have tried fighting each other on multiple occasions. Kevin and Jean both looked messy; Kevin’s hair was all over the place, and his black button-up was more “button-down.” Jean looked sightly more put together, but his black hair was also messy, and his tie was put on backwards.

Kevin nudged Neil. “Doing alright? Oh my god… It’s your first palmetto party. Wow. Wait hic you’ve been here all this time?”

“Just been with Andrew here, yeah.” Neil replied.

“You two are cute hic. I love all of my friends,” Kevin hiccuped. “I’ll see you later... I just have to hic find Jean. Oh my hic god, he’s here next to me; that saved me a lot of time.”

Jean looked at Kevin fondly, but after Kevin left the kitchen for his room, he stopped the love-struck eyes when he noticed Neil and Andrew. His face shifted into an angry scowl, seemingly angry because Neil was talking to Kevin. Neil knew Jean was oddly protective of Kevin. At first, Neil thought it was because both boys were somewhat together; however, lately, Neil realized that it was deeply rooted in something else.

“Move along, Moreau.” Andrew’s eyes were bloodshot from all of the alcohol, and his ears were even more red. Even when he was drunk, Andrew still looked imitating.

Jean glared at Neil. “I’m only going to say this once and only once. Stay away from Kevin. We already have our plates full of Moriyama bullshit; there’s no room for Wesninski junior to come in and destroy our lives.” He said this in French. Jean’s words were quick and angry, like he had practiced this before. Neil has no idea how Jean is aware he is fluent in French; he thought he perfectly masked not reacting to the cryptic messages on his first day. Guess not.

The last thing Jean expected was Neil’s punch in the jaw. Jean clutched his jaw like his face was melting away; he was getting ready to lunge at Neil before Andrew pushed Neil lightly away and grabbed Jean’s arm before it could even graze Neil.

“I’d be careful if I were you; I wouldn’t want another broken arm, huh?” Andrew applied more pressure to Jean’s arm. “I don’t like it when people touch what’s mine.”

Jean winced, and Andrew gave him a smile that sent chills down Neil’s spine. It wasn’t a smile that Andrew gave Neil after he made a corny joke or when Neil finally understood the homework. It was a smile that reminded Neil of when they first met. Andrew finally let go, and Jean glared daggers at him, then finally left in the same direction Kevin went earlier. Neil felt like his lungs were getting heavy, like he couldn’t breathe. What does Jean know? Why couldn’t he just call him Neil? How was Neil ruining Kevin’s life? So many questions felt unanswered. Neil was anxiously picking at the scars on his hands when Andrew grabbed him to stop him.

“Hey. Stop that. Breathe with me,” Andrew demanded, getting Neil’s attention.

Neil tried matching Andrew’s breathing. They were crouched on the tiles of the kitchen floor, but it didn’t matter. Andrew was here with Neil, and that’s all that mattered.

“Yes or no to touching your face?” Andrew asked.

“Yes,” Neil replied. Andrew wiped the tears (Neil was crying?) from Neil’s eyes; he immediately melted like puddy.

“Want to get out of here?” Andrew asked.

“What?”

Andrew cleared his throat. “Not like that, junkie. I mean that your room is not the best place to sleep, so you can sleep in my room. I’ll sleep on the floor.” Neil completely forgot that the party basically took place in his house.

“Okay. That’s okay.”

Andrew looked at him, his eyes morphing into the silent question, ‘Are you okay?’

“I’m fine,” Neil lied.

“Okay.” Andrew got up, and Neil followed. They made their way out of the kitchen and out of the door. At the door were all the upperclassmen. Renee waved at Neil, but after seeing his face, her face immediately broke out in worry. Luckily, Matt, Dan, and Seth didn’t notice him and Andrew; if they did, both boys would be bombarded with questions. Since Renee turned around to see Neil, Allison did as well. She didn’t notice his cheeks being tear-stained, but she did notice how close Andrew was to Neil.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” she called out mischievously. Neil ignored her while Andrew slammed the door in her face.

Andrew’s room was different. It was a good difference, of course, but it was not like anything Neil had seen before. There was no other bed; he had metal band posters all over his walls, and he had a closet filled with black clothing. Andrew ditched his leather jacket and threw it on the floor. Neil noticed the faint scars on his forearms, but the more important issue was that Andrew was jacked. Neil knew Andrew worked out, and being a werewolf, he had the strength, although he never noticed that Andrew had the arms until now.

“Are you sure? I mean, I can sleep on the floor. I’ve been doing that for a while,” Neil said softly, like someone was eavesdropping.

Andrew passed a tank top and some sweatpants to Neil; he almost looked upset. “I don’t regret anything,” he affirmed. He then went to the bathroom to change.

Neil changed into Andrew’s clothes. The shirt had a Green Day album cover in the front, and the pants were a bit loose. The clothes gave Neil a sense of comfort, though, since they were Andrew's. Andrew came back from the bathroom in a short-sleeved gray shirt and gray sweatpants.

Andrew had a pillow and two blankets for him on the floor, and as he was getting settled, Neil spoke up again.

“Are you sure you’re—“

“Shh, bunny, it’s okay. Go to sleep,” Andrew reassured him. Neil sighed, fluffing the pillows to make himself comfortable. He looked down at Andrew below him, who was glancing at the floor.

“Goodnight,” Neil said.

“Goodnight,” Andrew mouthed. Neil went to sleep knowing that “bunny” was his favorite nickname of all.

Chapter Text

December 23rd, 2006. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

Neil woke up in an unfamiliar bed; he didn’t really remember what happened last night, let alone whose room he’s in. Neil gripped the tabletop and summoned a ball of light. He got up and looked around. As he looked down, there was Andrew; his hair was messy, and he was typing as fast as humanly possible on his flip-phone. Neil destroyed the ball of Neil, and moved over to turn on the light.

“Drew?” Neil said groggily.

Andrew put his phone down. “Hm?”

“Are you leaving school for break?” Neil got out of bed and sat next to Andrew on the floor. Neil could’ve sworn Andrew moved closer.

“That’s the plan,” Andrew responded.

“Where will you be going?”

“Nicky owns a house in Columbia, so we’re going there for break.”

Neil smiled. “What are you going to get for Christmas?”

“I don’t know, junkie. It’s meant to be a surprise. You?” Andrew said glancing at Neil, awaiting an answer.

“I don’t know. I never had a Christmas before,” Neil chuckled sadly.

Andrew nodded. Suddenly, he reached over Neil to the bottom of his bed and pulled a neatly wrapped present. The wrapping paper wasn’t very “Christmassy.” It was orange, and it included little cartoon foxes. Andrew offered Neil the present; the tag read “To NJ, From AM.” Neil wrongfully assumed that Andrew wanted him to take it; when he reached out for the present, Andrew immediately put it to his left side, where Neil couldn’t reach.

"Ah, ah, ah,” Andrew teased. “You need to play my game first. Truth for truth.” Neil raised an eyebrow, but gestured for Andrew to continue.

“Why did you punch Jean yesterday?” he asked.

Neil forgot that he gave Jean the biggest, most purple bruise last night; it felt good, but Neil couldn’t help be wonder what Jean meant. He was convinced that he was ruining Kevin’s life just by being here, and the only solution to fix it was to punch Jean.

Neil anxiously picked at his scars (which earned a “stop it” from Andrew). “My father was, no, is a serial killer. Jean knows this and knows I’m his son. I don’t know how, but he said I was ruining Kevin’s life. So I punched him.”

“Yes or no to holding your hand?”

“Yes.” Andrew grabbed Neil’s hand. His rough, callused hand was rubbing circles on Neil’s.

“To stop the picking, It’s annoying,” Andrew explained. “You can ask me a question, if you want.”

“Okay. Why doesn’t Nicky have a moon tattoo?”

“He’s not a werewolf. Me and Aaron are half-werewolves from our dad. Nicky is a witch from his mom’s side.” Andrew’s thumb kept circling Neil’s hand, providing comfort to him. Neil couldn’t help but melt into the touch.

“Here.” Andrew passed along the present. Neil didn’t know the last person who got him a present; his mom bought him clothes and weapons, but those were necessities. His father once gifted him a knife on his fifth birthday, and ever since then, Neil couldn’t stand seeing knives.

Neil carefully opened the present, and he felt Andrew’s stare never leave him. Inside the box, there was a phone that was the same model Andrew had. In the box, there was also a charger.

“Thank you so much; I love it.” Neil smiled brightly. Andrew scoffed, but it was Andrew for “you’re welcome.”

“This way, you can call me anytime. I expect you to charge your phone too,” Andrew said.

“Okay,” Neil said, taking the phone from Andrew’s hands and smiling. “I’ll call.”

“You better.” Andrew glared at Neil.

The knocking on the door broke the spell of happiness between Neil and Andrew. Neil, whose habits are still engraved deep into his skin, had shivered. Who knew who was behind that door? Mary always prepared Neil for the worst possible outcomes, a weapon always in both of their hands. Now, Neil didn’t have to use weapons, though the muscle memory kicked in as he reached for a pillow that could be miles away.

Andrew, who was fearless, reached for the door with no hesitation. There were Nicky and Aaron. Nicky was in the same outfit as he was last night, which Neil finally remembered when he peered through and glanced at the cousins. Aaron, however, wore a hoodie with big, bold letters that read “Mackenzie” in the back. He held a suitcase, probably with other Mackenzie hoodies. Neil wondered what brand that was.

Before Nicky could obnoxiously greet his uninterested cousin, he inspected the dorm to see if something was different. His hutch was correct because not only was Neil inside, but there were pillows and blankets on the floor, uncharacteristically from Andrew. Surprisingly, Nicky didn’t immediately catch on, and surprisingly, Aaron noticed Neil. Nicky raised an eyebrow towards Andrew, and Neil felt the urge to code this message or translate it into different languages. At the same time, Aaron scowled at Neil inside the dorm. Neil has no idea where the hate came from; maybe he’s just bitter or jealous.

“Finished packing yet?” Nicky perked up.

“No,” Andrew replied. He was too busy talking to Neil.

“Hey Neil!” Nicky grinned, peering over Andrew to make uncomfortable eye contact with Neil in the background. Neil awkwardly smiled. Andrew rolled his eyes but moved out of the way so his brother and cousin could come in. Relieved, Aaron dropped his suitcase on the floor but stood up against the wall, glaring at Neil like he was a prisoner on escape watch.

“Oh my god, Neil, you should totally come with us to Columbia; it’s going to be so fun!” Nicky exclaimed. Neil didn’t know how to respectfully turn him down. How do you explain to someone that ‘I can’t go because I’m paranoid that my father would come and kill me?’

“Remember last time we invited someone... or somebodies to tag along?” Aaron said, raising an eyebrow at Nicky. Another silent message. The cousins’ ways of communicating with each other fascinated Neil, but it also made it seem like he was the odd one out. Though Neil was grateful for Aaron’s dislike for him, being around Nicky and Aaron constantly for about 2 weeks seemed almost worse than the torture he received from his father.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Andrew deadpans. Nicky dramatically gasped, clutching his chest.

Aaron’s eyes widened. "Oh, okay, maybe not for you.”

“Sorry, kid, maybe next time.” Nicky ruffled Neil’s hair. Lucky for him, Andrew was too busy glaring at Aaron. Also lucky for him, Neil didn’t have the energy to remind Nicky that he’s only two years younger.

"Anyways, I hope you two... have fun. Just remember to pack Andrew,” Nicky grinned.

“Out.” Andrew threatened.

Nicky’s laughter boomed throughout the dorm as he opened the door and left. One more time for good measures, Aaron glared at Neil. This time, Neil glared back.

“What’s his problem?” Neil said, immediately regretting it since the problem’s twin brother was standing beside Neil.

“Maybe the cheerleader is ignoring him again,” Andrew guessed. “I need to go see Bee.”

"Bee” or Ms. Dobson, was a psychology teacher who focused on the mental studies of werewolves. Out of all of the high school teachers, the werewolves show an immense amount of love for her. Andrew visits her often, while also denying at every chance that he has a soft spot for her.

Neil nodded, rising up to leave Andrew’s room. “I’ll see you next year.”

Andrew scoffed at the corny joke. Neil laughed as he shut the door, thinking about the snow outside. Neil could’ve sworn he saw Andrew smile a bit before he left.

** “Wake up, Kevin!” were words that Neil never thought he’d have to scream repeatedly. Kevin lay on his bed in a deep sleep, pill bottles scattered all around his nightstand. Kevin’s face was a rosy pink and his hands didn’t move but if Neil looked closer he could almost see them shaking. Neil jumped up on the bed, trying to ignore the pills being crushed beneath his knees. He frantically shook Kevin, who didn’t budge.

Hard drugs couldn’t kill vampires, but, like humans, there were hangovers or hallucinations. However, other methods like a wooden stake could. If Kevin were human, Neil could easily check if he were alive, though his lack of a heart wasn’t helping Neil at all.**

Neil, who was slowly losing it, ran outside of the room as fast as he could, banging on Jean’s door hysterically. Jean opened the door, his eyes narrowed at the sight of Neil but realizing that Neil was in distress his face immediately morphed into concern.

“Kevin…Kevin…” Neil cried, out of breath. Jean’s face shifted again, mirroring Neil’s distress; however, it was even worse based on Jean stealing Kevin’s habit of biting his lip for a spilt second. He pushed Neil out of the way and ran over to Kevin and Neil’s shared dorm.

Neil got on the bed, pinching himself and silently begging that in only a few seconds he would wake up and this would all be a sick and twisted nightmare. Neil kept trying to shake Kevin awake, while Jean stared white-faced at Kevin's whiteboard. Neil glanced up at where he was looking. There wasn't even a twenty-third date; the box was crossed out in red marker.

As if a switch turned on, Kevin woke up vomiting up all of his breakfast on Jean. If the situation wasn’t serious, and Neil hadn’t cried his eyes out not even twenty seconds ago, Neil would’ve laughed in his face. However, Neil felt no more than relieved. Jean did too, because even if he was covered in Kevin’s breakfast, he desperately clung onto the sick vampire, afraid he’d wither away. Or go into the mini coma again.

“Mom?” Kevin breathed out, he was hyperventilating like Neil had never seen before. Neil didn’t have a heart, but if he did it would’ve dropped into his stomach; he knew how it felt to be dazed and beg for your mom to ease the pain. Neil had no idea what had happened to Kevin’s mother since he and Wymack are radio silent about it, but Neil assumes that whatever happened wasn’t good. Especially because of Kevin trying to scratch his skin off, attempting to forget about the pounding in his head or fight the urge to puke once more.

“No, baby, it’s me. Don’t worry, you’re safe; they won’t get you. I won’t let them.” Jean clutched him tighter. Kevin quickly softened at Jean’s touch, though his hands still shook like crazy and his eyes were red from the deadly combination of drugs and a panic attack.

Neil had so many questions. What happened to Kevin’s mom? Why was the twenty-third of December crossed out? And who was out to get Kevin? And most important of all, why did Kevin attempt to overdose? Surely it wasn’t like Neil’s situation; maybe Kevin’s mother was alright, and maybe there’s nobody out to get him. It could be the side effects of the pills he took. But Kevin knew that pills couldn’t kill him, so why did he try?

Kevin was sadly whining into Jean’s chest. Jean held onto him, now impossibly close. The taller boy was whispering sweet nothings into Kevin’s ear. Neil, rightfully so, felt out of place in this scenario, but he can shove the embarrassment down just so he can have confirmation that Kevin was going to be okay. But looking at this scene made Neil wonder if he would ever have a support system—someone to hold him, someone to whisper sweet nothings in his ear. It was always him and Mary, though Neil is talking about a different type of comfort from a different type of person.

Kevin pushed himself away from Jean’s arms and made eye contact with Neil. This didn’t feel like Kevin; his eyes were cold and his skin was colder. Kevin’s pupils were shaking rapidly and his hands, who were previously only shaking a little was now matching his pupils: shaking uncontrollably. Even for a vampire, his behavior felt strange. Kevin was no different than a carcass.

Turning over to hurl again, Jean’s eyes never left Kevin, and Neil could say the same about him too. Kevin was shaking as Jean patted his back to help him. Again, Kevin glanced at Neil, but it was different. He looked petrified.

“Number four,” he sobbed, before passing out again. Neil scrambled towards him to check if he was sleeping, or in that deep sleep state again. Jean didn’t move.

“We have to help him!” Neil yelled at Jean. “Call Abby… Wymack…”

“Go.”

“What?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself, Wesninski.”

“What the fuck are you—”

“Leave!” Jean shouted this time, tears swimming in his gray eyes. Not wanting to pick a fight with him any longer, Neil stepped out of the room, wondering what number four was and why Jean was being so defensive.

Chapter Text

December 28th, 2006. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

It was the third day of winter break. At this point, Neil was extremely bored, and when he wasn't, he was angry. Being around Kevin was fun, but when Jean lurked around too, there was an boiling, disturbing tension between them that only resulted in bickering and punching each other.

Kevin wasn’t aware of the fight Neil and Jean had at the Christmas party; he was also not there to hear the insults Neil received from Jean that night too. Though, maybe he wasn’t that shit-faced, he could’ve noticed the huge purple bruise on Jean’s jaw. If he did notice Kevin didn’t utter a word. However, what Kevin does know and is fully aware of is his connection to the “Moriyamas,” whoever they are.

Neil dreamt about seeing Andrew again. What he’d say, what they’d do, and how Neil would repay him. Andrew’s Christmas gift made Neil fuzzy in his chest, but he also felt extremely guilty about Neil not giving anything back. Andrew reassured Neil that he didn’t want anything, and when Neil tried protesting, Andrew reminded him that he doesn’t regret anything he says.

Neil also received other presents from Kevin; he got a fox-stuffed animal (which Neil is hugging tight in his sleep), Allison got him $100 gift cards to different clothing stores, Renee got him spell books, Dan and Matt put money together to gift him a soccer jersey for his favorite pro-team, and Seth left cologne on his doorstep with a note reading "I know.” He also received a punch from Jean, which was definitely his least favorite Christmas gift ever, but the other gifts made up for it.

Suddenly, there was a bang at the window. Neil was by himself tonight since Kevin spent the night in Jean’s room. After the incident on the twenty-third, Jean and Kevin have become even more inseparable than usual. There’s no way those two would be at his window. Neil woke up immediately while on the run; he was used to waking up even if his mother was on the same bed as him. He was an extremely light sleeper; it took a while for him to get used to Kevin’s habit of moving around constantly in his sleep.

In the blink of an eye, Neil was slammed against the door with a loud thud. It almost gave Neil deja vu. The long nails of a woman’s hand gripped his throat as he tried calling for help. Neil couldn’t see because the light was turned off, but he could tell that his throat had deep red markings. After successfully prying off the hand, Neil gripped her head and used the magic to create light. The face that matched the voice was even more shocking than the sneak attack.

“I found you, boy,” she said. The voice only belongs to Lola, one of Nathan’s right-hand women. Lola instantly charged towards Neil; it was slower than the punches he receives when fighting with Jean, so Neil quickly dodged it.

Neil has known Lola all of his life; she was always to his father’s right, always taking orders, and always punishing Neil when his father wasn’t there. She was responsible for the scars on Neil’s chest, for Neil’s hair being dead from all of the box dye, and for his mother’s death.

After taking magic from Lola, Neil already knew she could manipulate magic. But her doing so was more shocking than Neil actually putting the pieces together. However, this magic was different from his, Renee's, or even Nicky’s. It made Neil feel cold all over, as if he were on his last breath, meaning it could only mean one thing. Lola possessed black magic. Neil’s eyes widened at the dark matter she summoned; the black magic sucked up Neil’s light like a black hole. Due to the impact, Neil’s lamp and windows shattered as if the dark matter were a screeching high note.

Lola was an offensive fighter, and as she lunged forward to attack Neil, he used different spells by gripping her arm, stopping the attacks. Shield spells were particularly difficult, as was Neil’s weakness. He really did wish it was his specialty because he never needed it more. The dark matter Lola summoned eventually turned her entire dominant right arm into some sort of black goo. She used this arm to push Neil against the door; the loud slam could be heard in different countries. With no time to get back up, Neil used the floor below him to use a barrier spell to push Lola off him.

She moved back, startled, but then she had a bloo-thirsty grin on her face. As if she were a vampire, her teeth were sharp, and her eyes seemed to glow red. Lola lunged for Neil as he desperately tried to block her attacks. Both witches were slammed against walls, furniture, and each other. Lola finally got an opening from Neil and attacked his legs with a horrifying spell.

Pain scorched through Neil’s body, like he was Mary burning away in the car, or as if Nathan beat him until he was black and blue. Neil desperately clutched his leg as if it could heal it; if he tried hard enough, he could wake up, and this would all be a sick and twisted nightmare. Neil didn’t possess healing magic, so there was no use. Lola grabbed Neil’s neck; she could snap it in one swift motion, but she was only here to make him suffer. She gripped his neck as she did when she first broke in.

“I’d kill you right here, right now. But your father would want you in one piece, so that he could do the honors.” Lola grinned manically, slamming Neil against the wall again and again. He whimpered in pain; he felt his skin becoming blue, and he felt the black magic on his leg slowly eating him like a parasite. The choking wouldn’t kill Neil, and Lola knew that. But his infected leg could cause permanent damage.

“Get...off!” Neil begged, wincing in pain. Lola’s grip only got tighter. If he were human, his airways would’ve closed already, and Neil’s dead body would lie in his room as nobody came to help him. Luckily, or unluckily, Neil was in fact superhuman. He could survive this, but who’s to say he would survive his father, who knows how to kill a vampire with only one blow? If Neil was having a panic attack now when seeing Lola, who would know his reaction if he ever saw his father again?

“You thought you could get away so quickly? I’ll make sure you’ll meet your mommy in hell.” Lola threatened, and Neil’s fuzzy vision made it seem like her eyes were glowing red.

Neil gasped, trying to pry Lola’s hand off of his neck; however, he needed to think critically. Renee taught Neil defensive spells, some of which stunned Lola during their battle but didn’t work since Neil was now immobile. Neil forced himself to look down at his leg, where the black magic was moving up to his thighs. The pain burned through him like the circles of hell, and Neil silently prayed to his mother for it all to stop.

Neil had an idea—a suicidal idea. He didn’t know if this could work since nobody but Hartford’s had his type of magic. His hands leaving Lola’s at his throat, Neil took the magic from his leg and transferred it onto Lola’s hand; she recoiled immediately. Stumbling out of Neil’s range, she stepped on the shattered glass on the floor. Lola removed her hands from her face, and the sight seemed like it was from a horror movie; her eyes were pitch black. There were no pupils, and there was black liquid pouring down her eyes. Lola didn’t scream; she was good at keeping the pain hidden, but she somehow stared right at Neil, even though she was temporarily blind. It could’ve been the ragged breathing coming from Neil. The black magic from Neil’s leg was slowly disappearing; however, Lola’s arm was fully pitch black, and the black matter from her eyes made its way to Neil’s floor.

“You’ll regret this, Nathaniel. You may have outsmarted me, but your father and I now know where you are; let’s see how long you’ll last.” Lola snarled. She circled the floor with her feet, summoning a pentagram that teleported her to wherever she came from. All that was left was broken glass, black matter, and Neil’s racing thoughts.

He was silent; he couldn’t cry or scream. But he vowed to never sleep again.

December 29th, 2006.

Neil pulled an all-nighter. All night, he sobbed and scratched his face to keep him awake. There was no way he’d risk sleep where Lola could come any minute and kill him. Maybe she’d changed her mind; maybe Nathan Wesninski gave her the green card to brutally kill Neil in his dorm. He had no weapons, and his magic had limits; he was an open target, meaning that Neil had to be fully aware at every moment.

Neil thought about the events from last night. How did Lola find him? And how did black magic work? Neil had no idea Lola possessed magic, let alone black magic. It wasn’t obvious to Neil, though it wasn’t obvious that his father’s teeth were sharper than others or that his mother could only die from a burning fire. Palmetto forbade the use of black magic, and it was taught in none of the classes. According to Renee, it went against all laws of magic, and only a few black magic witches are left that haven’t gone mad. Black magic seriously messes with your head; there are serious side effects, and the consequences could be deadly.

Due to the limited knowledge Neil had, he itched to find more information. Neil couldn’t summon magic himself; he needed to take the magic from another object. Taking the black magic from his leg revealed a whole new chapter in his magic. Did Mary ever use black magic? Only taking the black matter and using it on Lola caused such an intense reaction. Neil wondered if he was immune to the mental effects of it.

Neil glanced at Kevin’s side of the room, he still wasn’t there (probably making out with Jean or something), and his bed was untouched after Neil cleaned up Kevin’s side of the room. Neil didn’t have the energy to put all of the clothes away, fix the shattered window, or fix the holes in the floor. Neil’s flip phone, from Andrew, stayed on his nightstand table along with a framed photo of Neil and the girls and also some of Andrew’s drawings (Neil kept every one).

Neil grabbed the phone and dialed Renee’s number, which was one of the two he has (Neil lied to Nicky, saying he didn’t have a phone). When Andrew gifted Neil the phone, he put himself as Neil’s emergency contact along with Renee. Neil couldn’t speak to Andrew; he didn’t want to worry him. Andrew would fly from South Carolina to Virginia in a heartbeat if Neil even breathed wrong. But Neil couldn’t handle that, not now, and most importantly, Andrew probably couldn’t either. He only knows bits and pieces of who his father was, but he doesn’t know about Lola or his mother. Andrew deserved to spend the holidays with his family and not worry about Neil’s PTSD and insomnia.

Renee picked up immediately. "Hello, Neil, how are you?”

“Good,” Neil croaked out. The last time he spoke was to beg Lola not to choke him. Talking felt like Neil had to think about breathing, like his body couldn't manually do it.

“That’s good. The break has been nice, but going back to Palmetto seems nicer. I met a bunch of new family, which was strange,” Renee said.

“Cool, uh, I wanted to ask you something. Since you’ve been in Virginia for a while."

Renee had been living in Virginia ever since she was adopted by the Walkers. Neil assumes that she knows all of the spots better than anybody else.

“Of course. What is it?”

“The library you mentioned that one time we were studying, do you know where it is?”

Renee mentioned that she gets all of her school and non-school spell books from this underground magic library in downtown Virginia. Neil assumed that if they had all of these spell books, there would be something to do with black magic.

“I can text you the address. If you need any books, I could always lend you some.”

“No. It’s fine.”

“I sent it. Sorry, hold on." Renee paused; there was a distant chatter in the background. “My cousins are calling me; I’ll see you soon, Neil.”

“Bye.” Neil said as Renee hung up.

Neil was yearning for answers, so he needed to figure out a plan to sneak out of the school for just a few hours.

What day is it? Mystic Falls, Virginia.

Neil doesn’t know what day it is anymore; he doesn’t eat, and he doesn’t sleep. Everything has just been a mushed-up clump of days; it was all the same, and Neil was trying so hard not to fall asleep. There was one explanation for all of the craziness: Lola was a hallucination. She’s not real. The fight never happened, the black magic never happened, and the bruises on Neil’s neck were there simply to mess with him; they could be hallucinations too.

Neil thought about how he would go about leaving the school undetected for a few hours. He had an idea, and that idea involved one of his best friends. Neil doesn’t know the last time he saw Kevin; maybe it was last week? or yesterday? No matter that, he wasn’t in their dorm. So Neil assumed he was with Jean in his room.

Jean, like Andrew, had special conditions where he was required to actually not have a roommate. Neil has no idea why; Andrew says that it’s because nobody likes him, but Kevin gets defensive and says it’s because he doesn’t like anybody else. Even though Jean hates Neil’s guts, Neil still had the decency to knock on his closed door.

The man himself opened the door, he was wearing a gray hoodie with some shorts and still had that same bandage on his cheek. Once, Neil made the mistake of asking Kevin about it, and Kevin got whiter than a ghost while Andrew laughed so hard he almost fell into the pool.

“What?” Jean asked, flatly.

“Where’s Kevin?” Neil asked, tiredly.

“Not here. What do you want, Wesninski?” Jean provoked.

“Call me that again, and I’ll show you what makes a Wesninski,” Neil threatened.

Changing his mind immediately, Neil realized he could take advantage of this situation. “I need to talk to you.”

Jean raised an eyebrow, but surprisingly, he let Neil in before he could let himself in. Jean’s room was very...simple. The walls were the same white as everyone else’s; there were no posters or whiteboards, just bookshelves and pillows. Neil wanted to catch a ride from Kevin, who recently got his license last year and could get permission from Wymack, but Neil had other pressing issues to ask Jean.

“You can’t sit,” he said, breaking the silence.

“I didn’t want to sit in your shitty bed anyway." Neil felt as if he were going to fall over, but he would take that any day and then sit next to Jean Moreau of all people.

“Talk,” Jean demanded.

“Calm down. Anyway, what did you say to me on Christmas? What do you mean by the Moriyamas? Who even are they?”

“It wasn’t Christmas,” the bastard replied.

“Oh my god! Who the fuck cares? Tell me,” Neil groaned.

Jean took a deep breath. “To humans, the Moriyama family is a huge, booming business; they invest in stocks, run banks, whatever. To us, they’re the most ruthless vampire killers there ever were. They will take extreme measures to get rid of us all, do you understand? There is nothing we can do to stop it.”

“And how the hell do you know me?” Neil glared.

“Newsflash, the entire Moriyama family does. They all have eyes everywhere; they know where you are, where I am, and where Kevin is. No matter what we three do, we’ll always be theirs. Your father works for the Moriyamas, and we’ve met before. You just don’t remember.”

“What are you even saying, asshole?”

“I’m saying that before you gained short-term memory loss, your father almost gave you away to the Moriyamas. Do you not remember? Why do you think you ran away and they found you in Maryland? Because your dad hit you a little too hard? No. Your mom didn’t give a shit. They were going to use you; use us.”

Neil’s lips quivered as Jean continued, “Like your father, my parents had their debt to pay. The Moreaus were saved by the Moriyamas from bloody, thirsty vampires, and the family wanted me in return. Do you know what they did to me, Wesninski? They turned me. They fucking turned me. You’re dead, Neil; we all are. That’s who the Moriyamas are. They are hypocritical vampires who want to kill their own kind to be superior, and your daddy fits into the criteria.”

“W-what?” Neil choked out, too shocked to even think about processing the information given. He thought the vampire father and witch mother were enough, but adding a vampire-killing vampire family was the final straw.

“Because—“ Jean started but paused as the door creaked. Appearing was a smiling Kevin, whose smile immediately faltered after noticing the tension between Neil and Jean.

“Uh,” Kevin cleared his throat awkwardly.

“I told him about the Moriyamas,” Jean said.

Kevin bit his lip. “Oh god.”

“You knew about my father? Both of you,” Neil murmured in disbelief. Jean was an asshole who kept secrets, but Kevin? Jean just stared at him, while Kevin’s lip quivered like Neil’s did earlier.

“I’m sorry, Neil. We wanted to tell you after you dealt with all of the bullshit first,” Kevin sighed. “Jean told me on your first day of school how you guys met and about your father.”

“Why do they do this?” Neil asked, trying desperately not to burst into tears or pass out due to the lack of sleep.

“Killing vampires and drinking their blood only makes you more powerful. This is why vampire laws restrict this from happening, plus drinking vampire blood has severe side effects. If you want the power, like the Moriyamas, you can afford to put the consequences aside,” Kevin explained. Jean looked up at him as if this was news—it was to Neil—but he didn’t expect Jean to be confused.

“You were supposed to be the fourth person, junior.” Jean narrowed his eyes at Neil, who couldn’t believe it.

“I’m going to go to bed,” Neil lied.

Kevin leaned in to hug Neil as Jean turned away, staring at his blank walls. “Neil, if you ever need anything, I’m always here.”

“Thanks,” Neil replied, sniffling. After breaking the hug, Neil quietly left Jean’s room, feeling as if he had burdens on his shoulders.

Chapter Text

Kevin says it’s the 5th, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

“Yeah. It’s the 5th,” Kevin said.

Neil felt as if he missed days or even weeks, it was almost two weeks without sleep. Neil couldn’t do it. What if Lola came back? Or even worse: his father? Neil didn’t want to take any chances so he kept on taking the pills and drinking coffee, or anything to just to keep him awake.

“I need your help,” Neil said.

“Of course, dude. Anything,” Kevin said smiling.

“I need you to take me to this address.” Neil handed Kevin his dying flip phone that had Renee’s text, which was the address to the library. Kevin looked at the text in confusion, but as if a light bulb lit up, his expression looked like he got something.

“Oh, I know where that is. Thought it was an abandoned building or something, never knew it was some library,” Kevin said.

“What?” Jean asked, uninvited as per usual. Neil rolled his eyes, but Kevin handed Jean Neil’s phone. He raised an eyebrow at Neil in response, expecting an answer from Neil. Unfortunately for Jean, he wasn’t necessarily invited to any of these plans so he wouldn’t be receiving one. Neil ignored him and faced Kevin, at the corner of his eye he saw Jean smirking at him.

“Are we going or what?” he said.

“Who invited you, Moron.” Neil rolled his eyes, snatching his phone from Jean.

“It’s Moreau, actually.”

“Alright. Let’s go.” Kevin broke the tension, he twirled his cars keys and the sound somehow made Neil stop trying to torture Jean.

Passing the different classrooms, Kevin suddenly stopped looking inside Ms. Dobson’s room. The door opened, the room looked relatively normal, besides the lights being turned off. The most prominent thing was that there was no Ms. Dobson and Kevin knew that something was wrong.

Kevin didn’t have her class, nor did Jean. Neil didn’t know if they had her in the past, or if they both know her well because of Andrew, but Kevin seemed worried that she wasn’t in the classroom.

“What is it?” Jean asked.

“I don’t know, she hasn’t been here in a while.” Kevin stated, biting his lip after. “Never mind that, let’s go.” The three vampires went down the stairs, ready to be amongst humans.

The library seemed normal for the most part. Besides that everything from the window’s, to the bookshelves were dusty. The three walked in, expecting more people to be there, however it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. An older woman popped out of the front desk near the stairs and studied the boys carefully.

“May I help you boy?” The clerk asked.

“Yeah, can we look around?” Neil asked, he gripped the desk taking and using the magic to temporarily change his eye color from icy blue to violet. It was of the first spells he learned, and he did this so the lady would get the hint that these boys weren’t like other clients. The woman nodded and off the boys went.

“I need to go by myself,” Neil turned to Kevin.

“Gonna steal?” Jean taunted.

“Gonna kick your ass,” Neil deadpans.

“That’s cool, I want to check out the history section anyways,” Kevin gushed, he was secretly a bookworm, especially if the books had to do with history. Neil taught him about the human American history he learnt in his ten different schools all across the globe. Kevin was extremely fascinated since he only knew Irish history, and about vampire history.

Neil nodded and eyed the staircase leading to the depths of the library. Renee never mentioned this section of the library, but Neil had the idea that all of the forbidden items were locked away in the basement.

Checking the basement door, Neil automatically knew it was enchanted based on the aura, he could feel the intensity of the magic booming through, he couldn’t imagine what lied inside. After taking every last drop of magic from the door, he used it to burst the door open. Luckily, the impact wasn’t too loud, if it was the clerk would’ve kicked him out already.

Inside was dusty, really dusty. There were a few books around a series of bookshelves, that seemed like they haven’t been touched since the Great Depression. The books didn’t have titles, but creepy images of demons sketched on the pages, cryptic messages like “Help” and “When is this going to be over” were etched in blood. It didn’t scare Neil, if anything it made him more curious. The contents of the first book Neil picked up included spells he had never seen before. Horrifying spells; possession, draining someone’s life, and killing someone instantly.

Neil, rightfully so, was a bit freaked out. But this was his only option, when his father along with the Moriyama family will show up at his doorstep, what will Neil do? Change his eyes different colors? Life doesn’t work that way, the school doesn’t teach him and Neil needed the next step from Renee. He needed to do things on his own, maybe Neil will kill himself due to this, but at least he died trying. Hiding the book underneath his tattered sweater, Neil made his way upstairs to Kevin and Jean.

Kevin was reading a book on a couch, it seemed like it was another history book judging from Kevin’s huge grin on his face. He looked up from his book and glanced at Neil.

“Hey. Find anything?” Kevin asked.

“Not today,” Neil lied.

“Mon Chou? And the short one too.” Jean said, calling over over the two other boys. Kevin’s ears turned red and Neil’s did too but not in the same way Kevin’s did.

“Get over here, I think I found something.” Jean said staring at the book in front of him.

Kevin ditched the history book and Neil followed him to where Jean was standing, next to the history section.

“This isn’t human history.” Jean flipped over the book so that both Kevin and Neil could see the contents inside. It included information such as vampire wars, werewolf turnings, and witch death. Neil realized that he never told the other vampires that this library was full of magic, and that the clerk at the front desk was most definitely a witch, like him.

“Take a look at this.” Jean flipped a few hundred pages more until there were professionally done pictures of painting on the page, titled “The Court.”

“‘Nobody knows what the Court is or how it began. It is a pool of muck that is home to dark creature such as demons. By unlocking this portal, the world will be raised to havoc. No new information since the 1300s.’” Kevin read out loud, he looked at Jean worriedly after. Though Jean stared at Kevin, like he was about to break any minute now.

In a flash, Jean took the book and threw it at the nearest bookshelf. Many books fell stacked on each other due to this. He looked at Neil with an indescribable rage. Yes, Jean was angry at the party but this was insanity. Kevin, who was scared out of his mind, but kept a firm face as if he was a role model for an angry Jean and a nervous Neil. The clerk in the distance didn’t bat an eye to the sudden noise from the books.

“You asked ‘why?’ Neil? Because this is what the Moriyamas are truly after. The butcher killing other vampires for the benefit of only his own is nothing compared to what the Moriyamas want. They tried for decades to open this portal. They tried using me!” Jean exploded.

Kevin’s eyes began getting glassy, holding in the tears from his eyes. If Jean was abused and turned by the Moriyamas, Neil had no idea what Kevin had gone through. Did Kevin relate to Jean? Kevin did not have the physical scars that Jean owned, but he did have the mental scars. Kevin couldn’t sleep without a night-light, he uses drugs to forget the pain, and refuses to look at Jean from the angle of where his bite is.

No matter Neil and Jean’s difficult relationship, he can’t deny that he feels bad for Jean. His sole purpose to the Moriyama family was to unlock some demon portal. Jean had been through so much and somehow Neil understands why Jean has been wary of Neil since the very beginning, of his father. In a way, both vampires are the same: they run away from their past. It’s not the most efficient way to deal with trauma but when there’s a vampire killing family breathing down their necks there are definitely limited options.

“Have they done it yet?” Neil asked, breaking the silence.

“No. We’d know. The Court drains magic as well as the demons. Said it on the book,” Kevin answered.

“How did they want to use you? For The Court I mean” Neil turned to Jean, he asked quietly like Jean was going to break if Neil asked any louder. Jean, however, was much stronger than that and answered.

“With my blood. They don’t know how much or who’s. Master assumed that a recently turned vampire would do the trick, guess it didn’t,” his voice quivered as he spoke, Kevin grabbed his hand and circled his thumb on the taller’s hand. Neil didn’t know who “Master” was, but he knew that whoever they were, they had a bigger role in this situation than anticipated.

“So, how should we stop it?” Neil glanced at the couple. Kevin bit his lip, he never wondered if there was a way to stop the Moriyamas, even the name startles Kevin; so how would stopping the opening of The Court go? Jean’s gray eyes darkened at Neil’s question.

“What are you talking about. There’s nothing we can do, who are we? who are you? You’re only what? Sixteen? Just because you watched your dad cut open a few people doesn’t mean you can take on an entire corporation? You’re sick in the head, Wesninski.” Jean snarled.

Before Neil could gut him, Jean recoiled after Kevin quickly let go of his hand and punched Jean in the face. The same place as Neil did, the mark on Jean’s cheek now being bright red.

“What is wrong with you? Why turn Neil away? He wants to help. We want to help. Instead of being pessimistic, why won’t you accept our help?” Kevin seethed. Jean, quietly, touched where he was slapped. Jean didn’t dare to hit Kevin back because he knew he was right.

Kevin sighed. “Let’s get back? Grab the book, Jean.”

Neil clutched the spell book he had, still inside of his sweater. He was afraid that it would’ve fell somewhere, or someone took it. Relieved that it was still there, he followed Kevin out of the library. Neil glanced at Jean who stared at the picture of The Court in silence.

January 7th, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

It was the day that 80% of the students in Palmetto returned from holiday break back to school to push to continue the year until their next break in April. Neil hasn’t slept in almost 3 weeks; his eyes were droopy, his anxiety was getting worse, and he swore he saw Mary right outside his window.

Classes didn’t officially start until the 8th, since students needed to unpack and get settled in. So Neil didn’t have to worry about being around large groups of people, while trying to fake paying attention in class. Last night, Neil stayed awake yet again, but this time he was reviewing the black magic spell book he stole from the library. Since Neil’s magic worked differently than others, he had no idea how to actually use black magic. However, randomly at five am, he had the idea to create a magical object.

Creating magical objects was not one of Neil’s specialties, however it was taught in class, so he had an idea of where to start. Neil decided that he was going to make one, but something that could be easily stored in his person, like a piece of jewelry. Later on today, Neil was planning on using a necklace he took from some flea market a few years back. Neil never knew he still had it, but he found it in his pocket inside the sweater he wore when he was recruited. Before attempting to do this, he needed to desperately see Andrew.

Neil ghosted Andrew, not on purpose, but with his paranoia from the 27th, he didn’t want to risk something crazy. Neil never had a phone before Andrew, his mother forbid him because she was paranoid that Nathan would somehow get their location based on the phone in his pocket. His hallucinations also worked in mysterious ways and sometimes he even saw his favorite shade of blonde hair, he knew that the Andrew that visited him wasn’t truly him, but Neil was still fucked up somehow.

At the werewolf dorm, Neil knocked quietly on Andrew’s door, the door immediately opened revealing Andrew looking unamused.

Neil cleared his throat “Hi.”

“You look awful,” Andrew stated. Neil stayed silent, he couldn’t see what he looked like but he could only assume negative things because of the lack of sleep. Andrew didn’t push an answer from Neil, but he raised an eyebrow in curiosity, or concern.

“Come inside.” Andrew said moving out of the way to let Neil in. Neil stepped inside to see suitcases stacked on top of Andrew’s bed, since most of his belongings were inside the suitcase; the room felt empty and not Andrew-like. The walls didn’t have the Green Day posters and there were no curtains hung up, the light made the room feel heavenly. If Neil didn’t have his daylight ring on, he’d be burning as if he were in hell.

Andrew pushed the suitcases off the bed without any care, one of them opened to reveal some of his black clothing he packed with him to South Carolina. Andrew tapped on his bed, inviting Neil to come sit down.

“No, lay down,” Andrew commanded. Neil obeyed. Andrew placed the blanket onto Neil, it was soft and recently washed, so it smelt like lavender.

“Junkie, when’s the last time you slept? Your eyes are red,” Andrew silently looked at Neil, the question ‘yes or no’ is written all over his eyes. Neil nods and Andrew, who lies down next to him. Andrew pulls in Neil closer and brushes off the auburn strands from Neil’s face.

“Three…weeks ago?” Neil tried.

Andrew wasn’t the type of person to push. He knew Neil’s boundaries, and Neil knew his. Andrew would kill someone if they went against his wishes, and Andrew had made it known before that he would do the same if it involved Neil’s boundaries as well. It made Neil feel safe, comforted.

“Go to sleep, Neil. I’ll keep watch,” Andrew said. He took a look at Neil as if he knew everything about him and everything that happened to him. Andrew understood Neil, and Neil understood Andrew. The werewolf could just stare at Neil and notice if something is wrong. Neil never knew that a person could know him so well, but Andrew proves that every day. As Neil drifted off to sleep, Andrew hugged him so tight that Neil was so sure that Lola wouldn’t go near them both.

Chapter Text

January 9th, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

“Okay,” Andrew said with indifference. Neil, Kevin, and Jean stared at him in shock. In Jean’s room, they showed him the spell book that contained the information on the mysterious “Court” portal, which opened up demons from the pits of hell. However, based on Andrew’s reaction, it could’ve been unicorns or cats.

“Okay? That’s it? See Kevin, this is why we should never tell him; he’s heartless.” Jean said, glaring at Andrew, who raised an eyebrow in return. Kevin shook his head while Neil fiddled with his new necklace. Last night, Neil figured out  how to transfer black magic into a piece of jewelry, specifically from a flea market a few years ago. Neil also figured out that he couldn’t sleep without Andrew right by his side.

“I’m just waiting for you guys to continue,” Andrew bites back.

“Anyways, the Moriyamas are trying to get ahold of The Court so they could disable magic and send out demons that kill anyone in sight. We need to somehow stop this, you in?” Kevin asks. Andrew shrugs, meaning he’s all on board.

“You’ll really do it?” Neil smiles.

Andrew clears his throat, his ears turning pink. “Yeah.”

“We need to eliminate the ways the Moriyamas have already tried unlocking the Court." Kevin said, turning to Jean. Jean had a stern look on his face, trying to keep his composure, but the mention of the Moriyamas may have been too much.

“They tried Riko Moriyama first,” Jean shivered. Kevin looked at him with wide eyes, scratching his left hand nervously. Neil didn’t know the name Riko, but he was obviously related to the Moriyamas, and now he was confirmed to be related to the Court. Andrew looked around at the tension in the room after the mention of Riko; it seemed like he knew the name and wasn’t surprised that he was part of the issue at hand.

“Master thought that the blood of a human would unlock the portal; he used his youngest nephew to do that. It didn’t work, meaning there are two outcomes to why it didn’t work: one, human blood doesn’t work, or two, they didn’t use enough.” Kevin explained it to Neil. Neil almost felt bad for Riko; however, the way Kevin struggled to get his name out and the way Jean looked sick to his stomach, Neil almost thought that maybe he deserved it.

“Vampire blood doesn’t work either.” Kevin glanced down, instinctively feeling the side of his stomach. “After my mother died, the Moriyamas took me in because the Master was good friends with my mother. They slashed my stomach to use the blood for the Court. I didn’t remember this until we were looking at the book for the first time. Now, my memories are starting to come back.”

Neil grimaced. How could these assholes do this to children? For what reason? The demons they might unleash eventually won’t benefit them. Neil always knew that humans could be money-hungry; he was surrounded by people stealing from others. He eventually became that person too, but dragging everyone else down solely for your own benefit to be the most powerful was a different level of insanity. Even if Moriyama’s plans to open up the Court work, who knows if the bloodthirsty demons will spare them?

“And recently turned vampires don’t work either,” Jean stated.

“So what could work?” Kevin asked.

“Werewolves,” Andrew simply said. All three vampires turned to look at Andrew, his moon tattoo looked like it was narrowing, as if it were his third eye. Andrew’s words alone made the room completely silent. Logically, it made sense. Would the Moriyamas kill a werewolf to get what they want? Most definitely, and Andrew knew this from the very beginning—every since he looked at Kevin, broke Jean’s hand, and slammed Neil into the pavement.

“Do you really think...” Neil winced. He couldn’t imagine losing Andrew.

“He's right,” Jean unexpectedly said. “The Moriyamas haven’t tried that yet.”

“Maybe my dad could help; maybe we could find some information; we don’t really know werewolf blood could be the key,” Kevin suggested. Though he grimaced, he expected a certain reaction from the three other boys in the room, like he knew it was coming.

“No,” Jean said immediately, narrowing his eyes at Kevin and sending an unspoken message. Kevin raised an eyebrow at him, either not understanding what Jean was putting down or he completely understood it but didn’t accept that ‘no’ for an answer. What the four boys have agreed upon is life or death. Neil assumed that Jean would accept help from older, wiser adults. However, he quickly turned down Kevin.

Neil could tell just by looking at Andrew that he agreed with Jean. No matter how much the two clashed, Andrew and Jean both have a similar viewpoints on those with higher authority. This past week, Neil found out multiple things about Jean, but he still has no idea what truly happened during his recruitment. Like Jean, Andrew’s recruitment had also been a tough pill to swallow. Kevin stayed silent on both of these issues, and Neil wouldn’t dare to pry. Neil realized that, because of Jean and Andrew’s difficult past, he could somewhat understand their views on authority figures such as Wymack. At first, he thought Wymack resembled his father.

“We should do this on our own. Think about it; nobody knows about The Court but us and the Moriyamas; bringing more attention to it would just make things worse,” Neil said, coming into Andrew and Jean’s defense. The boys all glanced at him. Andrew looked at Neil with the same look he always gives Neil; it wasn’t harsh or sad; it felt fond. Jean, however, looked at him as if he thought this was a fake Neil. His eyes spoke all of the words he couldn’t say out loud.

Kevin sighed, agreeing. “Yeah. You’re right.” He flipped through the book, staring at the painted image of the horrifying black hole. The suicidal messages on the black magic spell book made Neil feel curious, but the Court made Neil feel an indescribable nervousness, even by looking at it. Nathan Wesninski was going to sacrifice him to unlock it; the thought only made the knot in Neil’s stomach grow tighter. He gripped his necklace nervously when Andrew turned to him and mouthed, ‘stop it.’

“Does the book say where it is?” Neil asked, and after that, he quickly let go of the necklace, obeying Andrew’s words.

Jean immediately looked down, like his shoes were the best thing there were to see. Andrew watched Kevin silently, awaiting an answer.

“It’s here. In Virginia,” Kevin’s voice broke, and Neil’s world shattered; he wasn’t surprised by the information. But Kevin’s reaction is what really got him.

“We’ll close it, I swear.” Neil promised. Kevin smiled at him; he truly believed in Neil. They could destroy it, everyone’s lives would be normal, and both Kevin and Jean could sleep peacefully at night without worrying about the Moriyamas possession of their blood.

Jean silently stared at Neil; he tried hard, like Kevin, to find hope in this 5’3 hybrid. Logically, only Neil couldn’t do it alone, and undoubtedly, Jean didn’t like Neil. Jean looked at Kevin endearingly, who was all the hope he needed.

Andrew also looked at Neil, but it was different from Jean’s stare or Kevin’s gaze. He wasn’t trying to look for hope like Jean was or suddenly realize Neil’s help could solve the issue at hand like Kevin was. Andrew always believed in Neil's every word and every action. Andrew found hope in Neil from the very beginning.

Neil couldn’t sleep without Andrew.

He provided comfort and security that Neil never knew he would ever receive after the death of his mother. While staying up for the umpteenth time this month, he looked over the black magic spell book and decided what he wanted to do first.

Ignoring the calls for help in the book, Neil flipped through the pages, trying to find what the easiest spell was so he could master it. The second-to-last page of the book was stained with blood and obscure pictures of what it seemed like to be black birds. The spell read a series of what it looked like to be Latin words. These spells were structured differently from regular spells; the spells taught at Palmetto didn’t need to be voiced. Magic classes are required for the students to learn how to use these spells with only the words or pictures in their minds to make it easier. For black magic, you needed to recite the spell out loud and also focus on the picture in your head at the same time.

Neil didn’t know Latin, but he did know Spanish and French, and those two are quite similar to Latin, so Neil would probably get the pronunciation right. The fault in this spell book was that the spells didn’t have a specific purpose; Neil didn’t know what the string of Latin words would do to him. But it’s not like the other pages had descriptions either. The risk was present, but Neil could take that risk if it meant he could survive and stay as Neil Josten.

Neil wasn’t always the most careful person. He kissed girls in Baltimore, though it was no more than just a peck on their cheek. Mary beat him after and said that girls would only lead to them being caught. Neil refused the box dye and the eye contacts in Germany. Mary let him know that the butcher’s people could potentially be in Germany with a slap to his face.

Neil has always been self-destructive, which is why he mumbled the string of Latin under his breath. The new lamp Kevin bought the two of them (Neil gave the excuse that he was practicing soccer and the ball hit the light, Kevin approved) flickered then abruptly shut off, leaving Neil in the dark.

Before he began to panic, Neil realized that: one, he was alive; and two, the spell didn’t do anything to him. Reaching to turn on the light, Neil almost fell off the bed. It felt like the light was far away, so he tried blindly touching his nightstand, which wasn’t there. Neil then decided on the second-best option, which was taking the magic from the empty nightstand and creating his own light. The light shone at the wall, where Nathan Wesninski laid his cold eyes on his son.

This time, Neil actually fell off of the bed; looking at his reflection in the mirror reminded him of Nathan, but this was really him. Nathan had every scar, every bruise, and the same face Neil tries to ignore when Nathan places a knife to his throat.

Neil screamed in fear, hoping that someone could come help him or pinch him because he froze and couldn’t do it himself. The last time Neil tried convincing himself a traumatic event was a dream was when he had to hide his neck from all of the nail markings on his throat. Backing up against the nightstand, his hands felt broken glass on the floor. Neil’s hands felt like they burned after the glass got in his skin, but the real pain was Neil learning how to breathe all over again.

“Don’t…no no no please, please don’t please!” Neil begged Nathan, who gloomed over him. Neil covered his eyes, but Nathan’s terrifying presence still made him cower in fear. Neil is going to die.

“Neil?” A voice spoke up in the distance. Neil couldn’t quite hear it; his own crying and begging filled his ears. Neil suddenly is being shaken, but it wasn’t Nathan’s huge hands that had a knife between his fingers; it was rough and callused.

“Neil?” The voice said it again, this time slightly more frantic.

Neil’s head rose out of the barrier he created with his arms. There was no Nathan, there was no Lola, and there certainly was no Mary. But there was an angel.

Andrew snapped his fingers in front of Neil; he moved back, startled. Fortunately, his vision came back, and he could clearly see the blonde in front of him.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked.

“Yes,” Neil croaked.

Andrew picked Neil off of his body, and his hands were being cut by the broken glass on the floor. Andrew slowly and carefully put Neil on the bed, as if he were going to crack if not careful enough. The blonde took Neil’s now scarred hands into his own scarred hands. Andrew looked at Neil with a neutral expression, but if you look closer, you can see Andrew’s brows furrowing and his golden eyes becoming glassy.

“What happened?” Andrew demanded.

“I don’t…” Neil started, noticing that the spell book was still on his bed. Since it didn’t have a title, Andrew could only assume it was a school textbook.

“Your eyes were pitch black, Neil.” Andrew pulled Neil closer by his jaw, forcing Neil to make direct eye contact with Andrew. In any other circumstance, he’d love it. But now, after a panic attack, all he wanted to do was sleep. The pitch-black eyes seemed like they matched Lola’s when she was attacking Neil in a fit of rage or when she screamed in agony as her arms were eaten away by the dark matter.

“I…” Neil couldn’t explain himself, no matter what. It all sounded like a child’s fantasy or a trailer for a horror movie.

“Let’s sleep. Yes or no?” Andrew’s eyes never left Neil's, and his hands never stopped caressing Neil's.

“Yes,” Neil said, trying hard to smile. But he couldn’t; his face felt like he was on fire, and his hands did too. Andrew noticed Neil’s wincing that he desperately tried to hide. He removed his hands from Neil's and laid down on the bed, but not before pushing away the spell book on the floor. Neil couldn’t stand to see the book in sight, and maybe Andrew didn’t understand that the book was the cause of Neil’s panic attack, but deep down it looked like Andrew understood and wanted to burn the book to the ground, along with whatever Neil hallucinated.

Andrew looked at Neil, about to ask the ‘yes or no’ question again. Neil attempted to smile, even though his lips quivered from thinking about Nathan.

“Yes,” Neil simply said. “It’s always yes with you.”

Andrew nodded, grabbing Neil’s waist slowly and pulling him in. Since Neil was taller by a few inches (three exactly, Andrew scoffed after hearing this), Neil would have to crane his neck so it can make contact with Andrew’s chest. Neil was so close that maybe, just maybe, he could move even closer and...

Andrew distracted Neil from his train of thought by gently placing his wounded but perfect hands on Neil’s auburn curls. He melted into the touch and wished that maybe in a different universe, he and Andrew could do this every single day, and Neil would wake up next to Andrew every morning and every night when he had nightmares. Neil wished that he had met Andrew sooner, and they both had normal lives. Perhaps in this life they were both humans and went to a regular high school and didn’t have to worry about the Moriyamas behind the scene or the Court slowly opening up.

“I can hear your thinking, junkie.” Andrew moved the auburn strands of hair from Neil’s face to get a good look.

“It’s nothing,” Neil mumbled from Andrew's neck, his fantasy life quickly disappearing. “Can I hug you? Yes or no?”

“Yes, my stomach and up.” Andrew nodded. Neil then wrapped his hands around his upper body.

“Goodnight, bunny.” Andrew yawned, somehow pulling Neil in a bit closer. Neil mumbled a ‘night’ before drifting off to sleep.

The knocking on the door immediately startled Neil. He woke up in an instant, and as if a switch had turned on, he was in flight or fight mode. The only potential exits were the broken window. Andrew, along with Neil, also abruptly woke up because of the noise.

Neil immediately reached into his pillow for some kind of weapon, but all there was was Andrew’s arm. Andrew noticed Neil’s panic and pulled him in. Neil accidentally stared at Andrew’s lips for a bit too long, but Andrew didn’t seem to notice because he was staring at Neil’s eyes.

“I’ll check it; don’t try to run away now. Stay with me,” he said, his gaze still on Neil. Andrew pryed his hands off of Neil’s face and went for the door. Opening the door with no fear, there was Neil’s third-least favorite vampire: Jean Moreau.

Jean didn’t look deshelved like Neil; he looked almost put together. His face was stern, and he looked like he was participating in a death match-staring contest against Andrew. Andrew seemed to have won because Jean blinked his eyes in irritation.

“What are you doing here?” Jean said, raising an eyebrow.

“What are you doing here?” Andrew countered, looking him up and down in disgust.

“I need Neil’s help.” He said, both Jean and Andrew turned to stare at Neil, awaiting his response.

Chapter Text

January 10th, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

“What?” Neil said, glaring at Jean, awaiting an answer.

“I need your help getting information from Wymack.” Jean rolled his eyes, like it was obvious what he was trying to put down.

“You could do it yourself,” Neil said, raising an eyebrow. Vampires have the unique ability of hypnosis, which causes the person the vampire is using the ability on to do as they say until the spell is broken. Vampires at Palmetto are forbidden to do hypnosis because, one, it causes life-threatening consequences like short-term memory loss or even death, and two, witches are immune to hypnosis. Witches have something similar to hypnosis; illusions are almost-physical reenactments that can be used to manipulate someone’s actions. Because of the similarities between hypnosis and illusions, it causes immunity between vampires and witches.

Jean glared at Neil. “Just come and help for once; you can bring him too.” He motioned at Andrew with his head. Andrew cocked an eyebrow but was smirking, like the invitation was all part of his plan. Neil shook his head but left his dorm after Andrew did.

The three walked side by side with Neil in the middle, Jean to his left and Andrew to his right. It was better that Neil stood in the middle, even though he brawled with Jean at multiple occasions. It was better that Jean and Neil fought instead of Jean and Andrew. Neil hasn’t seen them actually physically fight, but Kevin mentioned once during break that Andrew broke one of Jean’s arms. Neil wished he’d seen it, but he didn’t want the cold feeling of staring at Andrew’s manic face. Neil always wondered what Jean did to provoke Andrew.

“What do you mean get information from Wymack?” Neil questioned Jean, breaking the tense silence.

“He knows more than we do; his son has ties, and his son’s mother has ties too,” Jean explained with a neutral expression, but then looked at Neil with a smug look, like Neil is missing in on an inside joke. “Oh, you didn’t know about that.”

Neil had no idea that Kevin’s mother had her own ties with the Moriyama family. Neil assumed that she died before it was brought to light that the Moriyama’s had the Court opening in progress. Neil looked at Andrew, who was looking down at his feet. Did Andrew know? Most definitely, Kevin and he were close and knew each other since they were twelve. Neil has only known them for three months.

The school was dead silent. There were no teachers or students outside, but inside Wymack’s office you could hear faint chatter. Jean turned to look at Neil, eyeing him; studying him.

“When I’m hypnozing, restrain him. I know you know how to do it,” Jean planned.

Neil does know how to do it; the spell wasn’t formerly taught at Palmetto, but it was taught by Renee. Only Neil, Renee, and Dan knew how to physically restrain someone using magic. It was difficult to do; you have to imagine the number and strength of the chains as they go through the person. Though Neil didn’t find it too hard, there were definitely harder spells.

“You can be moral support,” Jean said to Andrew.

"What can I say? It's the most important job,” Andrew said sarcastically. “But what would Kevin think about this?”

Jean took the bait, and his eyes immediately narrowed. Hypnotizing your boyfriend’s father is an insane thing to do, but deciding to do it takes a long time of thinking. Jean doesn’t want to hurt Kevin, but his father keeping the information from him can hurt everyone, and benefit the Moriyamas. Jean wanted to destroy Moriyamas’ more than anyone, but this week he started to realize that he was in need of others help. Hypnotizing Wymack was something Jean needed to do.

Briefly, Nicky mentioned that Kevin and Andrew had a special kind of relationship, and due to Nicky’s choice of words, Neil assumed he was getting at how they were dating. Which, obviously, was incorrect since Jean unfortunately exists. Nicky laughed with tears in his eyes and said that the two boys made a blood pact at only fifteen years old.

Blood pacts are a black magic spell where two people are bound together by blood and a marking on their body. Neil wasn’t quite sure of the significance of the pact or how it benefited both Andrew and Kevin. At the time, Neil didn’t really make much of it, but he then quickly realized that both boys had restrictions against them. When Neil first met Andrew and Kevin, he overanalyzed their interactions and found out that, due to the blood pact, they could not lie to each other. Which means Andrew always knew Neil’s ties to the Moriyamas and Kevin’s overdose. Not only that, but he will eventually tell Kevin how Jean hypnotized his father.

(“Why would they even do that?” Neil asked Nicky, who was taking a sip of his herbal tea.

“I don’t know; I always assumed they were fucking, but then on that faithful day, Jean came along.” Nicky said, shrugging. Neil almost spit out his tea in response. He could never imagine those two in a romantic relationship. The idea made Neil feel something that he had never felt before; it made his stomach twist as if he was about to hurl.

“But who would even allow it?” Neil questioned. “Who created the blood pact?” He clarified.

Nicky put down his cup, and it hit the plate with a loud ‘clink!’ He stared at Neil; it wasn’t the usual flirting stare he did at Neil; it was something more serious. He then rolled up the sleeve of his uniform, revealing a black marking. The marking’s shape resembled a blotch of paint, but looking closer, Neil realized quickly that it wasn’t an art-class accident. Neil always assumed it was a bruise from a fight or falling off his bed.

“I did.” Nicky’s brown eyes met Neil’s blue, but Neil’s eyes quickly moved down, looking at Nicky’s horrifying black marking.)

“It doesn’t matter what he thinks; we’re helping,” Jean defended. Andrew didn’t say anything, but the magic would force him to later on. Jean sighed, opening the door and revealing Wymack doing paperwork.

“Hm? You kids need to go to...” Wymack started, but Jean didn’t give him the opportunity to finish his sentence. Jean grabbed Wymack’s head, turning it towards him. Jean’s dark gray eyes were turning blood red by the second.

“The Court is opening up soon; there’s no time. Your son and your students are in danger. When is the next exchange?”

Andrew looked at Neil with his eyebrows raised and a grin on his face. Neil couldn’t really tell if the look was in support of Jean or to tease him. Neil smiled, shaking his head. Before he forgot, he quickly cast the restraint spell, the purple chains binding together Wymack’s limbs. The last time Neil did the spell, the chains were a bright purple color; now the purple is a few shades darker.

Instead of Wymack’s eyes turning the same blood red as Jean’s and complied, he raised an eyebrow, like hypnosis was the oldest trick in the book. Jean stumbled back, almost bumping into Neil; thankfully, he kept the spell going. Neil couldn’t see Andrew from the position he was in, but he could tell he was at least a little bit shocked.

“Hemlock,” Wymack simply said, reaching in for his necklace. “It prevents hypnosis; you could try better than that.”

“I don’t care what you have to say; you better tell me right now,” Jean growled.

Neil suddenly remembered what they were here for: to get information about the Moriyamas. While attempting to hypnotize Wymack, Jean mentioned an ‘exchange.’ Neil knew nothing about what it meant, so he mouthed to Andrew, ‘What’s an exchange?’ Andrew responded with a shrug.

“I don’t know what you kids are planning, it’s above my pay grade. But I’m smart enough to know that if I don’t tell you, you’d kill for the information.” Wymack pierced his lips. “The next exchange is on the next full moon, the 12th. The Moriyamas now use the moon cycles to determine the next exchange.”

Jean nodded, accepting the information. “Let him go.” He said, turning to Neil and giving him a look. Neil, who didn't want to fight right now, dropped the spell.

“What are you kids going to do?” Wymack questioned, then sighed after realizing the boys would rather die than admit their plans.

Jean shook his head and left; Neil and Andrew left as well, eventually catching up to Jean, who was walking faster than ever.

“How’d you guys even get the location?” Kevin asked. The four boys—Neil, Andrew, Kevin, and Jean—were huddled up together, staring at the map of Virginia. Wymack gave the other three, excluding Kevin, the time. But the location was something that Jean already knew. The location in question was a club in downtown Virginia, away from Mystic Falls. Meaning that there is predominantly human activity in the area.

“They always go there for the exchange, at least before they do." Jean replied.

“What? They used to do it in New York.” Kevin gripped the paper, and it creased in response. His brows furrowed, and there was clear tension in the room after the mention of Moriyama activity. Neil looked at Jean, and his face mirrored Kevin's, with the same furrowed brows and pierced lips.

“What even is an exchange?” Neil spoke up. Jean looked at Neil with a bored look on his face; Andrew stared at Neil instinctively, licking his lips; and Kevin looked worried but explained anyway.

“The exchange is a certain day every month where the Moriyamas exchange weapons and money between other cult businesses. Jean and I have been to at least one before; it’s really not fun.”

“We need to stop it; the weapons aren’t just loaded guns; they’re wooden and silver. They’re meant to kill people like us,” Jean added.

“We could use hypnosis on the humans with the weapons,” Neil suggested. “If it doesn’t work, I could use illusions.”

“Good idea, Neil.” Kevin affirmed.

“What would we even do with the weapons after?” Jean wondered.

“Burn them?” Kevin murmured, unsure.

“Probably.” Jean nodded.

“Andrew, won’t you be coming with us?” Neil questioned. He glanced at Andrew, who had been staring at Neil the entire conversation. Andrew looked away for a quick second, but then turned back to look at Neil and tapped on his neck.

“Because of my father, I can’t,” he said monotonously.

With the hoodie Andrew has on, his moon tattoo is unnoticeable, but the three vampires already knew that he had one. They also knew how strange werewolves get during the full moon. Neil was upset that Andrew couldn’t come along, but with the theory that werewolf blood could be the key to opening up the Court, he would much rather Andrew be safe in Palmetto, even if he was not fully conscious in his wolf form.

“Alright. The plan is that Neil, Jean, and I will spilt up, trying to hypnotize as many humans as possible, take the weapons, and burn them outside of the club.” Kevin instructed. Neil and Jean shockingly agreed on the same topic, and Andrew kept seeking glances at Neil, which made his chest feel fuzzy. If he had a heart, it would be beating at the speed of light.

This time, Neil and Andrew were in Andrew’s room since Kevin and Jean stayed in Neil and Kevin’s shared room. After a few yes-or-no’s, Neil and Andrew were on the bed, basically cuddling. Their legs were tangled with each other; Neil’s hands were on Andrew’s waist, and Andrew’s hand was in Neil’s curls.

“Drew?”

“Hm?”

“How does it feel during the full moon?” Neil asked, his nails digging into Andrew’s waist. It didn’t hurt him; it made Andrew feel good, actually. Neil’s curls were on Andrew’s finger; he kept twirling them and letting go; letting the auburn curls coil.

“The days leading up to it are worse; I’m more aggressive. The transformation was the worst thing ever when I was a kid; now it’s not bad,” Andrew answered.

“Truth for truth? How did you know you were a werewolf? You can ask me questions after, too.”

Andrew was silent for a few moments; he kept playing with Neil’s hair. It felt nice, but Neil was worried that he crossed a line he shouldn’t have.

“I’ll tell you, but I get two questions.” He said. Neil nodded.

“I knew I was a werewolf after my recruitment.” Palmetto students (at least the ones Neil knew) didn’t typically go spreading around how their recruitment went; Neil’s was sort of a sore subject as well. For God’s sake, he was slammed into the wall, but somehow the guy who did the slamming turned into the guy who cuddled him in his sleep. Sometimes Neil thinks about how maybe he and Andrew could be more; something.

“The day of my recruitment was a full moon; Aaron and I were in California, homeless; it was the afternoon when the recruiters came.” Andrew moved his hands to Neil’s face and touched it softly. Neil smiled, but he didn’t dare to look away; he was giving Andrew his full attention.

“Aaron was horrified. To protect him, I shot one of the recruiters, but it didn’t do anything. They were normal human bullets. They used magic to put us to sleep, and then we got to this shithole. Right after, we got the tattoos, and then we were chained up downstairs with all of the others. But do you know how werewolves actually know they are werewolves?” Neil shook his head. He knew too much about vampires and witches because he was both, but he knew nothing about werewolves. Neil never asked any questions to Renee, Matt, or Seth; the first time he asked a werewolf-related question was about 5 minutes ago to Andrew.

“You figure it out when you kill someone or see another person kill someone. I killed Tilda, and Aaron saw it. Are you scared yet, Neil?”

“I’m not scared, Andrew.” Neil pulled Andrew closer so that he would look at Neil’s mouth and listen to every syllable. “I killed my mother too.”

“Oh?” Andrew quirked an eyebrow. “There goes my first question.”

“And your second?”

Andrew just buried his face in Neil’s chest, avoiding the question. “Go to sleep, bunny.”

Neil went to bed, thinking about the blonde sleeping right beside him and how he would do anything to cease his suffering.

Chapter Text

January 12th, 2007. Downtown, Virginia.

“Turn it down!” Neil yelled at Jean, turning up the music with a smug look.

“Why should I?” He screamed over the music that was increasing in volume. The song was a new “top 100” hit that played on the radio. Neil knew nothing about music; he didn’t have time for entertainment while on the run. Andrew and Kevin tried showing him some music, such as Green Day or Queen, but he doesn’t really understand the appeal. Andrew’s eyes widened when Neil mentioned that he doesn’t listen to music and immediately gave him his CDs. Neil listened to all of them, but only liked one song.

“I think the driver gets volume privileges.” Kevin sighed, turning down the volume all the way down. Neil smirked, positioning himself straighter so that Jean could see his devious smile through the mirror. Jean, meanwhile, sank into the seat, slouching.

“Now, Neil. Don’t go too crazy once you see all those humans,” Kevin joked. Neil moved forward from the back seat to punch Kevin’s arm playfully. Kevin grinned while Jean looked outside the window. The snowy scenery made it seem like Mystic Falls was a winter wonderland. If only Neil lived in a chilly fantasy world instead of the reality he was in.

Kevin tried to lighten up the mood, but looking at Jean, Neil remembered why the three boys were in the car in the first place. They were going to stop the Moriyama exchange of supernatural weapons and try to be there in time for the turning.

Tonight was a full moon, and while the werewolves were changing shapes, vampires were strictly instructed to stay locked in their rooms to prevent werewolf scratches. It hasn't happened in years, but the school kept the vampires inside just in case. Kevin, Jean, and Neil didn’t necessarily discuss this with each other, but the rules of Palmetto were engraved in their minds, and they had to follow them. Not only was the fear in defying the rules present in the three boys, but the fear of dying was present as well. On Neil’s first day, Wymack mentioned that there were three separate dorm sections but he didn’t explain why. The “incident” was in about 2001 where a vampire was killed by a werewolf scratch during the full moon. After that, the supernaturals were now separated.

Kevin pressed on the brakes, parking the car. Right outside was a club, with neon-colored lights and loud music booming. Because of the cold winter and daylight savings, it was pitch black outside only at 5 p.m. Neil glanced at the club from his backseat window, feeling drunk just by looking at it. Kevin turned the keys, and the vampires quickly got out of the car.

Neil anxiously played with his daylight ring; it seemed like Jean felt the same too because he was shaking his hands, maybe getting the sweat off. Kevin, however, had a serious look on his face. It was either confidence or a mask, but Neil couldn’t really tell because he’s been focused on how exactly they’re going to get in.

“How do we know if the bouncers are humans?” Neil mumbled, biting his lip.

“We could tell, teeth and all. If they’re vampires, you can just use illusions; you can do that, right?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah,” Neil answered. “I can use illusions.”

“Let’s just go in already,” Jean said, furrowing his brows in irritation, or anxiousness.

Walking up to the club, three bouncers stood in front of the entrance, letting the whole line of college kids inside, but only if they had a reservation. At first glance, Neil couldn’t tell if the bouncers were vampires, especially because of the stereotypical bouncer glasses on. The bouncers were almost the same size as Kevin and Jean, but Neil reached up only to their chests; it would definitely be difficult to bring them down to use hypnosis. But he did it anyway.

Neil smiled at the nearest guard and said, “Hey.”

The bouncer was about to ask if Neil and his two friends had a reservation, but Neil quickly rebounded by saying, “I can’t hear you; come closer?” He motioned downwards towards Neil, who took in the bouncer’s face so that he was staring into Neil’s now blood-red eyes.

“I saved you in a car accident a few years ago. You asked me if I ever needed anything in return. I said that I didn’t, but right now I do. You are to let me and my friends in; can you do that?”

The man nodded, letting the vampires in and quickly following them behind. The other bouncers didn’t think too much of it; they kept asking the line of people if they had reservations while they groaned over how Neil and the others were let in without waiting.

The vampires sat down at the table nearest to the door, where they could watch the bar but also see who came in. The phase 1 strategy was that Kevin and Jean sat in the seats looking at the bar, and Neil sat in the seat where he could see who entered.

As he left, Jean raised his eyebrows at Neil and said, “So lucky I’m not human anymore.”

“Yeah?” Neil said, not really caring. He kind of forgot Jean was previously human. Neil somewhat lived like a human, but the more time he spent at Palmetto, the more he realized that he had been living like a supernatural all along. Kevin didn’t live like a human since he always knew he was a vampire. Kevin was on the uneducated side of human knowledge. Once Neil told him that humans didn’t have super-speed abilities, Kevin’s eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. Neil gazed at Kevin, who stared at the bar, more envious than aware.

Neil motioned to the door where men in stereotypical blacksuits went inside, without reservation, carrying large suitcases. Kevin glanced at the men, and Jean couldn’t make the stare more obvious by whipping his head around. When the men were out of view, Kevin put a hand over his mouth to stop the choked cries. Jean looked down, his face looking quite green.

“Phase two?” Neil asked, gazing at the two miserable boys right in front of him. There was no time to waste.

“I wish I could get drunk right now,” Kevin moaned in agony. Jean, the hypocrite, who went against Kevin’s insane alcoholic tendencies, sighed but raised an eyebrow to agree with Neil in a ‘Jean way.’

Phase 2 was the part where the boys split up, trying to get information on the Moriyamas. The Court, the next exchange, and perhaps something specific about ‘The Master.' The vampires got up from their seats and parted ways. Neil moved near the back of the club, where most of the black suits were. He had the advantage of using offensive and defensive magic against these seemingly human suits, so he was the one to go near most of them.

The suits all had blank expressions on their faces, hands gripped on their suitcases. They didn’t make conversation with each other, but they obviously touched their ears and talking in their ear pieces. Neil quietly shifted towards the tallest of the suits. He noticed Neil quickly, even with how short he was. Neil motioned with his finger so that the taller man would move down, so Neil would take him in and hypnotize him. The man at first was weary but went down, realizing that this might be important.

“Hi,” Neil greeted, his eyes turning immediately red. “I’m now your new boss; I tell you what I say, and you do it with no thinking involved. Now, tell me, who was your previous master?” Neil used the word master at the end, hopefully making the hypnotized man realize that Neil is looking for Moriyama information.

“Tetsuji Moriyama.”

“What were you tasked to do?”

“To receive supernatural weapons to send back to the Moriyamas.”

“And what’s this?” Neil put a hand out so that the man would give him the suitcase.

“A gun with silver bullets.”

“Ah. Now why don’t you—“ Neil stopped suddenly. A loud noise resembling bullets shot out of the club. The humans all dove down in fear, under the tables and chairs. Neil didn’t duck; human bullets couldn’t hurt him. Neil glared at the opposite corner of the bar and witnessed a horrifying sight. Some suits were pointing their guns with wooden bullets at Jean and Kevin. Kevin had his arms up, as the suits might’ve instructed, but Jean had his arms down. He looked fearless on the outside, but on the inside, he worried for his boyfriend’s safety rather than his own. Jean's face was stern, and he sneaked a glance at his boyfriend, making sure he was safe. Jean would 110% throw himself in front of Kevin to save him.

Using his speed, Neil punched the suits around him that weren’t hypnotized. Quickly, he leaped over the bar, standing in front of the two taller vampires. The suits now changed their target to Neil and raised their guns at him.

“Hands up; we won’t ask you again.” One said, pointing the barrel to Kevin’s chest.

“We wouldn’t want another Cross incident.” Another laughed. Neil had no idea what the “Cross incident” was, though he can assume that it might’ve been someone else trying to infiltrate a Moriyama exchange.

“Jean, give me your hand. Right now, no games.” Neil whispered harshly, but it was so soft that only a vampire could hear. Jean, who was desperate to get out of here, obliged and gave Neil his hand.

Neil didn’t know if he could take magic from Jean; he had never really tried taking magic from a non-witch before. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and he grabbed Jean’s hand. Feeling the magic surge through his body, Neil put his hands up, miming what a horrified Kevin was doing right now. While having a firm grip on his necklace, Neil quietly recited the Latin from the spell that haunted him many days ago. He realized after looking more into the cries of help on the spell-book that what seemed to be the real Nathan Wesninski was an illusion; and the spell targeted your biggest fear.

Neil also realized that he accidentally used the spell on himself since nobody else was in his bedroom at the time. The understanding of this made Neil feel quite stupid, but this means that if he repeated the spell with the intent to cast it on the suits, it’d most definitely work.

Neil had his eyes fixated on the suits while hexing Moriyama’s men using the same black magic spell under his breath. The men immediately dropped their guns and backed into a corner, huddling each other and trying to beg to make it stop. A downside (or blessing) of the black magic curse was that Neil didn’t know what they were looking at. Neil obviously saw his father gloom down on him, but that’s only because of his foolishness.

Kevin slowly, but surely, dropped his hands. He was clearly in disbelief that Neil caused such a reaction against the suits. Jean, on the other hand, was smirking towards Neil, as if he knew Neil was going to do it all along.

“What even was that?” Kevin gasped.

“Never mind that,” Neil said, his mother's British accent making a slight appearance in Neil's speech. “We need to get the weapons and burn them.”

Phase 3 was to burn all supernatural weapons in sight. The boys left their trancelike state and moved towards the cowering suits, taking their suitcases as they cried out for their loved ones.

“What about the humans?” Kevin looked down under the tables where the customers hid. He’d always had a sympathetic bone in his body, especially for humans. Kevin was well aware of how un-magically gifted humans were, and Kevin felt like maybe he needed to protect them, most likely because his father is human. Yes, technically, Kevin was half-human, but he had no human features on his body—no regular teeth, no sun immunity, and no desire to eat human food. Being a half-vampire didn’t affect someone as much as being a full-vampire; they had the same abilities and the same opinions on humans: they are weak.

“Can you make them forget this?” Jean asked Neil.

“No,” he mumbled. “I can’t do that.” He couldn’t do it, he was drained after using the black magic spell. Neil felt like he took at least one hundred melatonin pills as he blinked slowly, trying to stay awake.

Uncharacteristically, Jean patted Neil on his shoulder. “It’s fine. Let’s go.”

The boys carried their suitcases into the car. On the way to the destination, Neil and Jean didn’t fight over the music, their actions today, or whether milk or cereal came first. They stayed silent, in mutual understanding that Neil had saved all three of their lives today. Neil didn’t know if the other two vampires knew if he used black magic on the suits, but they seemed to not care. The chilly wind and the snow on the window made the atmosphere look gorgeous and almost made Neil forget that he made at least twelve men go insane today.

Kevin pulled over at a beach; however, due to all of the snow, it looked like Antarctica. It was about 6:30 p.m., almost time to get back to the vampire dorm in time to not be detected. Neil glanced up at the night sky, the full moon staring back at him. The transformation has started already, so the boys were out of time and had to do this quickly.

The last time Neil had been on a beach, he had burned his witch mother into ashes inside a stolen car. Now he was on a beach to burn down supernatural weapons that almost killed Neil and his friends today. It felt like such a strange coincidence, but Neil didn’t feel like crying or grieving because of his dead mom. He felt like a new chapter of his life had opened up; he survived a near-death experience, and it felt like it was nothing, but now the vampires were one step closer to stopping the opening of the Court for good.

“Lighter?” Kevin asked both his boyfriend and friend. Neil tapped on his pockets, checking for one. While on the run, Neil always had a lighter, but after his mother’s death, he stopped buying them. The fire would make Neil feel another level of anxiety, though the habit of checking his pockets stayed the same.

Jean, on the other hand, took a lighter from his pocket. Sensing Kevin’s shocked expression from a mile away, he said with a grin, “Stole it from someone around. Don't know whose it was.”

Kevin shook his head, smiling back. Neil would never begin to understand how he found Jean of all people charming. Kevin took the lighter and placed it on the suitcases. The three boys stepped back and watched the weapons burned away.

“I feel accomplished, but I don’t know. I think we basically got no new information on the Moriyamas.” Kevin started itching his skin anxiously.

“The suits indeed worked for the Moriyamas,” Jean replied. “I had no time to ask any other questions; those dickheads wanted to have my head first.”

“I heard the guys talking about the ‘Cross Incident;’ do any of you guys have an idea what that is?” Neil asked, his eyes still fixated on the fire. He gazed over at the couple, and it seemed like the fire caught their undivided attention as well.

“No, sorry,” Kevin said, apologetic.

“Yeah, no. I have no idea what that is.” Jean shook his head. The fire seemed to have almost blown away from the heavy snowstorm brewing in the sky; the weapons were now ashes that blew away in the distance.

“Shall we head back?” Kevin asked, twirling his car keys.

"Yeah, I don’t want to miss the full moon.” Neil joked while Jean groaned.

Throughout the car ride, Neil thought about what the ‘Cross Incident’ was. He was running out of ideas; he knew that the mention was important, but he couldn’t put a finger on why it’s so important and how he was drawn to the incident. Going in to look at his scars, Neil noticed that his left ring finger was pitch black, and Neil couldn't scratch it off.

Chapter Text

January 13th, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

The aftermath of the full moon was like visiting a hospital. Everyone was miserable.

In Palmetto, there was no school on the days of the full moon; however, the days after, there was, and it seemed like some werewolves preferred if there was the entire week off. Last night, Kevin, Neil, and Jean arrived at the school at 7:00 p.m. on the dot after burning away supernatural weapons on a beach in downtown Virginia. Walking in Palmetto, Neil could sense the depressing atmosphere of the school. The lights were turned off, and everyone was in their dorms. The boys rushed upstairs to their dorms; nothing crazy happened to any of the vampires, so everyone just slept, praying that school would get canceled tomorrow.

Before school started, Neil was walking around with Kevin, searching for Andrew, who wasn’t in his room. They both checked every classroom, every dorm, and every secret spot (there was a secret room in the library; Neil found out because he almost fell, unlocking the secret passageway in the wall). The last destination was their lunch table on the balcony. Luckily for Kevin and Neil, Andrew was there, sitting and staring at the pool. Unluckily for them, there was a sleeping Aaron. His head was on his arms as he snored softly while Andrew watched him intensely.

“Hey, feeling okay?” Kevin asked Andrew, who changed his gaze from the pool to both Kevin and Neil. He slowly blinks and softly growled, saying nothing.

“If anything, we should be asking if he’s okay.” Neil said, motioning towards a sleeping Aaron. Andrew snorted, and Kevin shook his head, smiling. Neil felt quite proud; he made Andrew laugh. Even though Aaron was sort of a sore thumb, Neil kind of felt bad for Aaron. Especially since he was feeling sick.

“Where’s Katelyn?” Kevin questioned.

“I don’t know where the cheerleader is; maybe she is skipping with the rest of her posse,” Andrew deadpans. Neil didn’t know who Katelyn was, but he assumed it might have to do with the “Mackenzie” hoodie Aaron was wearing the day before Christmas break.

Andrew tapped on the glass table near Aaron, who woke up immediately after. Aaron rubbed his eyes and scowled after seeing Neil right next to Andrew.

“Great. It’s you,” Aaron complained groggily. Neil rolled his eyes; he still hasn’t figured out why Aaron hates him. Neil mentally takes back thinking about feeling bad for him. “I’m leaving.” Aaron groaned, picking himself up and walking slowly out of the balcony area.

The three other boys watched Aaron leave; Kevin shrugged after, Neil snorted, and Andrew just shook his head, not really caring. Neil didn't really know where Kevin and Aaron's relationship stood on the "friend scale." He had never really seen them talk by themselves, and if they were together; it was because Andrew was in between them. Neil gazed at Andrew, who looked not very good. Andrew’s eyes were droopy, his eye bags were significantly darker, his blonde hair was all over the place, and there was a huge red scratch on his right eye. But no matter how battered and bruised Andrew was, Neil always thought that he was beautiful. During Neil’s internal monologue, Andrew’s hazel eyes pierced through Neil, wondering why he was looking at him like that. Kevin, a romantic, quickly sensed the tension between the two other boys and bid goodbye. Unlike Aaron’s slow walking, he ran down the stairs. Most likely going to Jean’s dorm to talk about Neil’s obvious pining.

“What are you looking at?” Andrew glared; it wasn’t really a threatening stare, but it was curious.

“You,” Neil said with a strange amount of confidence. He was never this confident when talking to someone, but Andrew brings out a side of Neil Josten he would have never expected.

“Don’t,” Andrew simply said. Neil couldn’t stop staring, though. You could shoot him with wooden bullets or burn him at the stake before even daring to make Neil look away from Andrew Minyard.

“How did you get that?” Neil asked, gesturing towards the scar on Andrew’s eye. Andrew touched it, and the widening of his eyes showed Neil that he just noticed that it was there. Neil, the hypocrite, thought that the scars that made up his entire body were ugly. Looking at his body brought back the horrifying memories of being shot, stabbed, and even hurting himself in other areas to stop the pain. But looking at Andrew, the scars on his arms and now on his face made him feel more “human,” and even more gorgeous. Neil couldn’t think that you could possibly look even better, but Andrew proves him wrong every second.

“I don’t know,” Andrew admitted. Werewolves were’t conscious during the full moon, they couldn’t remember the day of the full moon; it was almost like the day didn’t exist for them. The only reminders of the night before was the mutual tiredness through the entire werewolf population the day after and unknown scars making an appearance.

“I have an idea; follow me?” Neil smiled at Andrew, giving Andrew a hand so he could get up from the seat. Andrew could stay, go with Neil and reject the hand, or take on Neil’s offer and his hand at the same time. Neil prayed that Andrew would take his hand; he wanted to feel Andrew’s rough, scarred hands on his.

Fortunately for Neil, Andrew immediately took his hand. Neil didn’t care that the other students looked over at them both, wondering why ‘the monster’ was holding hands with the new kid. Andrew didn’t care either; if anything, he squeezed Neil’s hand tighter as they went up the stairs. Neil unlocked his dorm door and patted the bed for Andrew to lay down. Andrew sat down, and Neil did too. Andrew unlaced their hands, and Neil felt a little upset, but Andrew was still with him, and that’s all that mattered.

“You need to sleep,” Neil stated. As Andrew opened his mouth to protest, Neil said, “No, you need to. You were here for me when I couldn’t sleep; now I’m going to do the same for you.”

Andrew glared at Neil; this time it was threatening. Neil raised an eyebrow, a plea that Andrew listened. He did really need it. While Andrew was watching Aaron sleep, he looked like he was going to pass out like his twin. Even now, Andrew was slowly blinking, trying to force himself awake. Rolling his eyes, Andrew complied; laying down next to Neil, who was sitting down.

“I’ll keep watch,” Neil promised. He said it quietly because Andrew was about three seconds into being knocked out.

“Yes or no?” Andrew mumbled.

“Yes,” Neil said.

Andrew wrapped his arms around Neil; he felt every scar graze his arms, and Andrew’s blonde strands tickled his neck pleasantly. Neil moved himself under, so he was lying down next to Andrew. Neil felt like he was in heaven and he could sleep here forever; however, he promised Andrew he’d keep watch. Like Neil, Andrew preferred if someone trustworthy was near him, keeping watch. Neil didn’t know how Andrew slept at night since he was by himself. He heard Andrew’s soft snores and knew that this was what he wanted forever.

Neil couldn’t fully understand how he felt about Andrew. Almost three months ago, Neil couldn’t stand being near Andrew. Andrew was an aggressive, violent boy; he was a “monster.” Neil ignored Andrew as he threw paper airplanes at him in class or when he complained about Jean (even though he agreed). Now, Neil couldn’t stand when others called him that. Andrew was much more than a hostile werewolf; he was just seventeen; he was the biggest metal fan Neil had ever known; he liked chocolate more than anything; and he truly did care about his family and friends.

Neil wanted Andrew to be near him, talk to him, and touch him. But most importantly, Neil wanted Andrew to be safe. Ever since the group’s discussion on what could possibly open up the Court, the idea that werewolf blood could do the trick has made Neil feel uneasy. What if the Moriyamas take Andrew away from him? Neil shook his head, dismissing the thought. There’s no way they could do that; Neil would kill thousands, even millions, with black magic that could maybe kill him eventually just so Andrew could sleep soundly at night.

Neil wasn’t huge on romance; he didn’t completely understand the appeal. On the run, Mary forbade many things, like phones and going to school, but most important of all: romantic relationships. She said that girls would manipulate you into giving out information, and those school girls would somehow report back to Nathan. Even though Mary and Neil lived on different continents while on the run, she was still firm in her irrational logic. Neil didn’t dare to defy his mother, but now that she was dead, hypothetically, Neil could start talking to girls. But he doesn’t want to; he has no desire to do so. Neil wasn't that type of person to have "one-night stands" or anything; he needed to really know the person. Neil only wants to be by Andrew’s side and to kill the Moriyamas.

Neil took his left hand from underneath the blankets and stared at it. His ring finger was turning more black by the day, and only the area near his nail was the normal tan color. The pain slightly burned, though Neil has gone through worse, and he has a high pain tolerance, so it wasn’t too bad. His finger reminded him of his leg being slowly eaten away by Lola’s dark matter. Neil shivered at the thought, but quickly felt calm as Andrew moved closer towards Neil and was sleepily mumbling words in German that Neil couldn’t understand because he accidentally fell asleep too.

Neil woke up five hours later, tiredly rubbing his eyes and blinking a few times to get rid of the blur. The first thing Neil noticed was that the blonde who slept beside him was not there anymore; the second thing Neil noticed was that there was a pillow in Andrew’s place; and the third thing he noticed was that Neil’s window was open. The cool January air flowed through Neil’s room. Shivering, Neil grabbed the nearest hoodie in his closet, which was a hand-me-down from Kevin since he grew out of the majority of his clothes at fourteen, and those clothes perfectly fit Neil. Kevin noticed after a week of the two living together that Neil only had a maximum of five outfits, so Kevin gave him a bunch of clothes, even though Neil rolled his eyes, saying he didn’t want to be a charity case.

After putting on sneakers and that hoodie, Neil peered out the window and looked up. There was a slight jump from a balcony that could be used to get up on the roof. Not surprisingly, once Neil stole food from some market for his mother, he was then chased by the police while he climbed a building and jumped over some, barely making it. Neil had a feeling that Andrew was on the roof of the building due to the window not being shut and the faint smell of smoke coming from above Neil.

Neil jumped onto the balcony, going up the white stairs that led up to the roof, revealing Neil’s favorite blonde sitting there staring at the night sky. Andrew quickly noticed Neil, but he turned away, taking a puff of the stolen cigarettes. Neil sat next to him, but not too close because he hadn’t asked Andrew if he could sit closer yet. Even though Andrew and Neil had napped together in multiple instances, both boys still asked each other if small touches were okay.

Turning back to Neil with the cigar in his hand, Andrew had a blank expression on his face. “How did you find me?”

“I smelt you,” Neil said, quickly realizing that is absolutely not how you woo someone. His face turned red in embarrassment; Andrew’s also turned red, but maybe not in the way Neil’s was.

“I don’t smell.” Andrew frowned, positioning himself so it looked like he was going to get up and leave Neil. Neil was worried he made Andrew feel uncomfortable, which was the last thing Neil wanted to do.

“No! Sorry, I meant the smoke,” Neil sheepishly said. Andrew raised an eyebrow but sat back down, smirking, finding Neil’s reaction hilarious. He threw the used cigarette off the roof; it landed on the pavement, waiting to get stepped on by a passerby later on. Andrew took the pack of cigarettes from his dark blue sweater pocket and the lighter from his other pocket. He silently showed the pack to Neil, offering him one.

“I don’t know. I never done that type of stuff before,” Neil awkwardly smiled.

“Suit yourself,” Andrew shrugged, lighting his second cigar. “Truth for truth, what’s something you’re afraid of? Besides the obvious," he asked, hinting that Neil shouldn’t mention his father or anything Wesninski adjacent during this moment.

“I guess large dogs—I don’t know—it’s kind of stupid. The barking scares me,” Neil admitted. He gazed at Andrew, who was listening to his every word. On Andrew’s nose, there was a snowflake, which he wiped off immediately after feeling the cold sensation. Looking up, Neil noticed that it was snowing, and it got significantly more chilly. But the fire from Andrew’s cigarette gave Neil a sense of warmth.

“What are you afraid of?” asked Neil.

“Heights,” replied Andrew. Before Neil could remind Andrew that they were sitting on the roof of one of the tallest buildings in Palmetto, Andrew moved closer and blew smoke on Neil’s face. Neil gagged, and Andrew just snorted.

“And what about last night?” Andrew raised an eyebrow at Neil, who was still gagging over the smoke.

“There was a Moriyamas exchange; Wymack didn’t lie. We took the weapons and burned them near a beach; we didn’t really find out a lot, but I heard about the ‘Cross Incident.' I have no idea what that even means,” Neil explained.

Andrew hummed, satisfied with the answer. Neil didn’t say that he, Kevin, and Jean almost died last night from supernatural guns. Eventually, Kevin might say something about it, but now’s not the time for Neil to say it.

“I have an idea of what that might be,” Andrew says, pulling out a phone from the same pocket that had his lighter, which was ditched beside him. Before unlocking the phone, Andrew threw the second used cigarette off the roof. The warmth of the fire disappeared, but a different kind of warmth enveloped Neil as Andrew shifted closer to him. Their shoulders touched while Neil bit back on the urge to connect their lips.

The unknown phone was already unlocked. Andrew opened up the text messages and opened a text in which the contact name read “Mom.”

“It’s Bee’s phone.” Andrew’s eyes met Neil’s. His expression was unreadable. “She left it here.”

Bee hasn’t been at the school since Christmas break; her class went to the library instead since there weren’t enough teachers to fill in for her. Neil could tell that Andrew was worried about her; he always skipped class to go see her and have some of her hot chocolate, and he only did her assignments and ignored all other teachers. When anyone else would greet Andrew, he’d ignore them, however if Betsy greeted him he would give her a slight smile.

Andrew scrolled up a bit and passed Neil the phone. The texts above were from a year prior, when Bee and her mother talked about her hometown; however, the texts on the bottom, which were sent on the 27th of December, were serious, frantic messages from Bee’s mother stating that she needed to go to Newark, New Jersey, because "she" was found.

“The "she" in question was Bee’s neighbor’s daughter. While Bee moved to Virginia, her childhood friend stayed and had a daughter who was abducted five years ago. She told me that she was constantly stressed over this girl years ago, and apparently the girl was found around Newark. So guess Bee took a flight.” Andrew shrugged, turning off the phone.

“That's horrible, but what does this have to do with what the suits said?” Neil bit his lip.

“The girl’s name was Robin Cross,” Andrew explained. “And now, somehow, she’s tied to the Moriyamas.”

Neil’s eyes widened, and his hand met his face in an instant. The Moriyamas were still using little kids. What kind of sick fucks would even dare to do such a thing? Neil began to wonder if Robin Cross was a supernatural; if she was a werewolf. If Bee was a werewolf, there was a chance that her friend and her daughter had the werewolf gene as well.

“I can hear you thinking, junkie. They definitely found her, and she’s fine now. The Moriyamas won’t get her, so don’t fret.” Andrew’s stare didn’t leave Neil’s face; in his own way, Andrew made Neil feel a little calmer.

“Yeah,” Neil sighed. “You’re right.”

The two boys sat in silence, trying to shake off the snow from their heads. Neil gave up and put up the hood of his hoodie so he wouldn’t get any more snow. Andrew didn’t seem to mind; he just stared at the snowy sky, watching the crescent moon above the two boys. But Neil minded; he wiped the snow off Andrew’s hair, the snow falling on the rooftop. Neil stared at Andrew the entire time as this happened, admiring every little detail on his face, from the scar on his face to the small mole on his mouth. Neil wanted to kiss it so bad.

“A few days ago, you wanted to ask two questions, but you never said the second one. What was it?” Neil breathed, glancing down on Andrew’s soft, pink lips. Hopefully he didn’t notice.

Andrew cleared his throat, not expecting the sudden question from Neil. Awkwardly, Andrew just looked down at the snow beside him; he kept wiping off the snow from his face and clothing.

“I was going to ask to kiss you,” Andrew whispered, glancing up at the hybrid. Neil was about to laugh. Who would want to kiss him? But Andrew was completely serious; his eyes never left Neil’s, his eyebrows lowered, and his ears were red (Neil assumes it wasn’t from the cold). Now, Neil’s entire face was red, but he did want to have a taste of Andrew. He wanted his lips on his, he wanted Andrew to grip his waist as they kissed, and he wanted Andrew to whisper sweet nothings in his ear.

“Yes or no?” asked Neil.

Andrew, surprised, replied. “What? Oh. Yes, yes.” Andrew grabbed his waist and somehow pulled Neil in so close that he felt Andrew’s breath on his skin. The lighter and cigarettes were ditched; Neil was Andrew’s new drug, and he was addicted.

“My chest and up,” Andrew said, positioning himself more straight so that his lips could reach Neil’s. Before actually kissing him, though, Andrew’s hand touched his jaw. The touch was soft, like a ghost was the one touching him. Neil buried the hand that didn’t have the black matter on it in Andrew’s hair; he didn’t put both hands on his hair, afraid that it was contagious. As both boys were leaning in, a yell in the distance caught them in a trance. Andrew’s hand didn’t leave Neil’s waist, but his other hand did leave Neil’s jaw.

“You fucking dickhead, you told him!” Jean suddenly ran up the stairs leading to the roof. His face was flushed in anger, and his jaw was clenched. The anger quickly disappeared, and it turned into embarrassment as he fully comprehended what he walked in on. Andrew impulsively pushed Neil off of him, but it was a light push, so Neil did not receive a concussion this time.

“Really?” The expression on Andrew’s face was more than anger; it was a promise that Andrew was going to push Jean off the roof, and hopefully Jean would turn into a human and die because of the blunt head trauma.

“Dude, how’d you even find us?” Neil said in disbelief. There's no way he could know without going into Neil and Kevin's shared room and noticing the open window. Jean was also a vampire and couldn't use locator spells no matter how hard he tried.

Jean ignored Neil. “You know what? Me and Kevin could be doing what you guys wanted to do if you didn’t tell him!” He huffed. “He won’t talk to me because of your stupid blood pact.”

“Sucks to suck,” Andrew smirked. Neil just wanted to get the fuck out of here; he was so close to actually kissing Andrew until Jean came and ruined it. Who knew if they could even come close to doing it again? Maybe it was the cigarettes or the heat of the moment. Neil liked Andrew, but did Andrew truly like him back?

Neil got up, not wanting to witness Jean’s death. “I’ll talk to him.” He pushed Jean a little too hard so that Jean stumbled a little bit while running down the stairs, leaving to try to find Kevin.

Chapter Text

January 14th, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

“No, Neil. I’m not mad at you,” Kevin sighed, throwing his soccer ball on the wall. The noise was loud and obnoxious, but who was Neil to tell an angry Kevin what to do? It was 12 a.m., and instead of sleeping, Neil was comforting Kevin over a fight that he and Jean just had. A few days ago, Neil, Jean, and Andrew went to interrogate Wymack with hypnosis and failed miserably, but they got the information on the date of the Moriyama Exchange.

Kevin was not so angry at the hypnosis part of the situation; he knew that his father wore items that prevented magic from affecting him. But he was more so angry at Andrew being the one telling him rather than Jean. Neil was also furious at Jean, for different reasons, obviously, but in this case, Neil kind of agreed with Jean keeping that from Kevin. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and getting the information from Wymack made the four get one step closer to closing the Court for good.

However, on the other hand, Neil knew that Kevin was also upset over his father keeping information from him. Neil knew that all too well; his mother never told him that he was a witch, and his mother never told him that craving to kill people was actually normal for someone like Neil. But, no matter what happened, the burning of the supernatural weapons did happen, and now, because of Andrew, there was a new lead.

“If it helps, Andrew has something, but we need them both in here to talk about it,” Neil said.

Kevin stopped bouncing the ball on the wall. Thank God. “Yeah. That’s fine; tell them to come here.”

Now, in Neil and Kevin’s shared dorm, Kevin sat on his bed, and Neil and Andrew sat together in Neil’s bed (which surprised Neil; he fully expected Andrew to avoid him after the “almost kiss.”) and Jean stood up, not wanting to sit next to his boyfriend or Neil and Andrew, who were giving him death glares but for different reasons.

“Take a look at this,” Andrew says, handing Kevin Bee’s phone so he could read the text exchanges from her and her mother. Jean peered over, reading it as well. Kevin, surprisingly, wasn't mad that Jean was basically breathing down his neck; he was focused, analyzing every word that Bee and her mother used.

“So the Cross Incident...” Kevin started.

“Has to do with her." Jean finished.

“Right.” Andrew confirmed, taking back the phone and putting it in his pocket.

“We need to find her.” All eyes were on Neil after he said that, and he felt nervous knowing that Andrew was looking at him. “The Moriyamas have an eye on her, the suits confirmed it. We need to find her before they do. She could be a werewolf, she could be the key.”

“Neil’s right, but how?” Kevin wondered.

“Can’t you use locator spells or something?” Jean cleared his throat before speaking up. He kept sneaking glances at an unimpressed Kevin, who kept catching him doing so.

“I could try, but I need a personal item of Robin’s. Like something with her DNA,” Neil explained.

“Aren’t location spells black magic?” Andrew said, staring at Neil, awaiting an immediate answer. Neil forgot that Andrew’s cousin was literally a witch, meaning that Andrew knows what is forbidden and what isn't. Neil’s almost jolted, feeling that the black matter on his hand was eating away at his skin and burning him. It spread to his pinky finger the night before. Neil knew exactly how to stop it, but he wanted to protect himself, his friends, and now the missing girl, Robin Cross.

Clearing his throat, Neil said, “Yeah, but it’s not that bad.”

Andrew wearily raised an eyebrow but didn’t push further. Kevin and Jean, who knew nothing about witchcraft, also stayed silent.

“Okay. Well, if we don’t have any of her belongings, how are we supposed to find her?” Kevin murmured, biting his lip. The rest of the group fell silent; they had no idea how to find the girl.

“Maybe we could search Bee’s room for something?” Neil spoke up, completely destroying the silence.

“That could work,” Kevin nodded in agreement.

“How about you and Minyard go in there?” Jean grinned at Neil’s glare. Andrew just stared out the window, ignoring Jean. It was clear Jean was ‘trying’ to set Neil and Andrew up after rudely interrupting them yesterday. Andrew tugged on Neil’s sweater making Neil realize that he actually was listening the entire time. He was trying to get Neil’s attention, which he definitely received. If Andrew asked for anything, Neil would do it.

“Let’s go.” Andrew spoke after getting Neil’s attention. Neil stood up as Andrew did, and both boys made it for the door, leaving Kevin and Jean to sort out their relationship problems.

Bee’s room was locked. Andrew tried breaking down the door using his arm; it had worked sometimes, but this time it didn’t work. The school was quiet, and neither Neil nor Andrew could pickpocket Wymack for the keys at this hour, especially because both boys would witness Kevin’s wrath. Andrew punched the door once more, which didn’t budge.

“Nope. Nothing,” he said, out of breath. Honestly, Neil found that so attractive, but he would never, ever say that out loud. Trying to distract himself from Andrew’s voice, he thought of ways to open the door.

“Hold on, I have an idea.” Neil palmed the door, trying to extract the magic and using it to blast the door. It worked, with the door making a slight crack so that Neil and Andrew could both go inside. Andrew nodded at Neil, letting Neil know that what he did was smart. Neil smiled as he put his feet in the crack first, and Andrew followed shortly after. After getting inside, Andrew tried flickering the lights on, but the lights only stayed on for a few seconds and turned off. Neil took magic from the walls and made some light.

“Stay near me,” Neil said. He could light the entire room up; it wasn’t a difficult spell, but he felt like lying so that he could have Andrew’s blonde hair tickling his neck and to smell the ash trays and the hint of vanilla. Andrew didn’t think much of it; he was glued to Neil’s side as they made their way to Bee’s desk in the front of the classroom.

“You keep the light on; I’ll search.” Andrew planned, and he immediately started looking inside the drawers of the desk. Neil didn’t really notice what Andrew was taking out of the drawers; Andrew didn’t speak a word, but he was humming a song while looking. Neil thought it was enchanting; he was surprised when he found out Andrew was only a werewolf because his voice and actions were bewitching.

Neil thought it was strange, though, how Andrew still wanted to talk to him after yesterday. He thought it would’ve been at least a little awkward between them, but no, they were back to normal. How could Neil even begin to ask Andrew to do a re-do and kiss him like they both deserved it? Like they both needed it?

Neil also wondered how he could possibly find Robin Cross; she might not even be in the United States, let alone New Jersey, where Bee’s mother said she was. If Andrew does find one of Robin Cross’s belongings, Neil had never done the locator spell before, and he had no idea if it was in the spell book, still under his bed from when Andrew pushed it off the bed before they went to sleep.

“Anything?” asked Neil.

Andrew stopped humming. “No.”

“Maybe she took all of Robin’s stuff, or never had any in the first place,” Neil said, rather pessimistically.

“No,” Andrew shot down the idea. “There has to be something. Bee always talked about Robin.” He moved to the bookshelves nearest to the closed off windows, and Neil followed to give him light.

“I guess you could say, I’m the light of your life,” Neil smirked, but it faltered as soon as Andrew gave him a blank stare. “No?”

“No,” Andrew said, his lips curling upward.

He skimmed through the textbooks on the shelves, which were all werewolf history and human psychology text books. Moving onto the other bookshelf, it was about the same types of text books. Andrew groaned in frustration.

The boys sat down at the nearest desk next to them, the desk was also near the now-cracked entrance door. Andrew’s hand carried the weight of his head, while Neil was still holding the light in his right hand. Tired of holding it and wanting to tease Andrew a bit, Neil got out of his seat to take the floor magic, lighting up the entire room. Andrew’s hand left his cheek as he stared at Neil in disbelief.

“Really?” He deadpans, unimpressed.

“I just wanted you near me,” Neil admitted.

“I hate you,” Andrew replied.

“Not what you said last night.” Neil was now fully grinning, fangs and all. With the now-lit room, Neil could see Andrew’s eyebrows furrowing and his golden eyes. Neil could see the mole on Andrew’s mouth that he wanted to kiss, and he could see that maybe Andrew wanted to kiss him too. Or maybe he was just being delusional.

“I hate you,” Andrew repeated.

“I know you do.” Neil’s grin never faltered.

Andrew rolled his eyes, getting up to look at the next bookshelves on the other side of the classroom. Neil followed but was chuckling at Andrew’s reaction earlier. Both boys, shoulder to shoulder, skimmed through those books as well. Nothing.

“Who would ever have this many books?” Andrew placed the last book back on the shelf, moving onto the next one.

“Not everyone is allergic to books, Andrew.” Neil teased, also moving on to the next bookshelf. Andrew took the first book he saw and hit Neil on the arm. It hurt only a little, but Neil pretended that his arm was going to fall off.

“Andrew! You’re making me bleed. Oh god, it’s falling off!” Neil joked.

“Dramatic,” grumbled Andrew. But he turned away to hide the slight smile. Neil caught it and wished he had Andrew’s eidetic memory so he could have the image in his head forever.

Moving closer to the last bookshelf, which was nearest to Bee’s desk now, the boys looked over the last set of books. Also nothing. Neil sighed as he put the last history book down. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Andrew staring at him. The stare was pure lust, or maybe love (perhaps both?).

“I want to kiss you until your lips are bruised, and until I’m so sick of you. Yes or no?” Andrew moved closer to Neil. Neil leaned in but didn’t quite kiss him yet.

“Yes. Yes Andrew. It’s always yes with you,” Neil smiled. Yes. This is all that he wanted; he and Andrew embraced in each other, kissing as the sun sets and the moon rises. Neil and Andrew holding hands, sleeping together, and admitting secrets that only they would know.

Andrew pushed Neil onto the nearest wall. The push wasn’t out of anger like it was when they first met; the push and Andrew’s gaze showed desire. The wall had a huge whiteboard, and Neil didn’t care that the markers were uncomfortably touching his back; he only cared about Andrew kissing him senseless, until he is numb. Andrew grabbed Neil’s waist, circling his thumb on it. Andrew had to almost go on his tippy toes to kiss Neil, which almost made Neil laugh.

“What are you smiling at?” Andrew glared, his grip tightening on Neil’s waist.

“You, angel.” Neil grinned, directing himself to lean down and kiss Andrew. Andrew moved himself forward, forcing Neil to really be against the wall. They moved in their respected directions so their lips could meet. Neil wondered: What will happen? Will the time stop? Will the earth stop orbiting? Will Andrew want to do this again?

Suddenly, Neil fell backwards. Andrew couldn’t catch him in time. The wall flipped over, causing Neil to almost have a concussion. Luckily, head trauma couldn’t kill Neil, but it could still cause brain disorders. Neil touched the back of his head where it hurt; there was blood pouring out of it. The fall almost made Neil’s head split open. Andrew quickly rushed towards him, touching Neil’s head where the wound was and cradling Neil in his arms.

Neil’s first thought was: His angel was beautiful.

His second: Fuck Betsy Dobson and her secret room. Oh, and the Moriyamas too.

“Jesus,” Andrew shivered, his right hand moving from under Neil’s head. Andrew’s pale hands were now red because they were drenched in Neil’s blood. He then moved his left hand, slowly and still in shock from what happened.

“I’ll be right back.” Andrew said, wiping the blood from his hands on his Korn t-shirt, which most of the blood got on. Neil had no idea why, but once Andrew put his now-bloody hands on Neil’s face, staining it with his own blood, he knew why. Andrew tilted this head and closed his eyes, kissing Neil’s chapped, soft pink lips, and ran away before Neil could react. Or kiss him back. Neil’s bloody hands touched his lips, and Neil smiled, replaying Andrew’s kiss in his head. Nothing extraordinary happened, but Neil’s world did stop and then started again with Andrew Joseph Minyard.

Neil didn’t have the strength to move his head and look around at the room’s atmosphere. He was worried that one slight movement would crack it again; hopefully Andrew was bringing in some medical supplies rather than leaving because of the kiss. But what if the latter was true? Maybe Andrew regretted what he did, and he’s leaving Neil here to bleed out in Betsy Dobson’s secret lair.

The insecurity in Neil’s mind quickly disappeared after he saw in the distance that Andrew was slipping through the cracked door with a roll of bandages and a bottle of painkillers. Andrew sat down, inches away from Neil, taking the bandages and attempting to wrap them around Neil’s head.

“Do you actually know how to do this?” Neil asked, smiling sleepily because of the blood loss. Neil looked at his hands that were covered in blood and stupidly tried to wipe his already bloodied face with his stained hands. Neil grinned sheepishly at Andrew, who shook his head.

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” Andrew simply replied, cutting off the last of the bandages. They made Neil’s head feel tight and uncomfortable, but they were better than the stitches that he probably needed later on.

Andrew handed Neil the pills. “Take two. Wait, I forgot water. I can…”

Neil swallowed the pills without any water. Both. At the same time.

Andrew looked at Neil in disbelief. “You’re so strange, junkie.” But the blonde leaned forward so that he was in between Neil’s legs. Andrew grabbed Neil’s jaw and leaned his head in to kiss Neil. Neil moved forward to kiss Andrew back, tasting the vanilla chapstick and smelling the familiar ash tray scent. If it were anyone else, Neil would gag, but because it was Andrew, he had grown to enjoy the smell of smoke.

Neil had never really kissed someone like this. There were some girls here and there, but it was all in elementary school, and they were all just pecks on the cheek. What he was doing right now was a real kiss. His first kiss. Neil was worried that Andrew was going to leave because Neil was just so inexperienced, but Andrew, on the other hand, was quite experienced and led him by grabbing Neil’s face and tilting it gingerly. Overall, Andrew was the one making moves.

Andrew then did something that Neil would never expected, he still had his hand in Neil’s jaw but during the kiss when both boys would break off to breathe, Andrew bit Neil’s now-red lips, Neil made an embarrassing noise and Andrew almost laughed.

“Are you sure you’re not the vampire?” Neil giggled.

“Shut up, junkie.” Andrew kissed him again. Andrew kept kissing and biting him and Neil was starting to get the hang of the whole kissing thing. Neil grabbed Andrew’s waist, he wanted to touch his hair too but the dried blood on his hands would dirty Andrew’s hair. Andrew’s hands were also bloody, but he didn’t care that Neil’s cheeks were stained with blood, he just wanted to touch him. And Neil would let him.

Neil broke the kiss to touch Andrew’s face with care, bringing it even closer so that Neil could kiss the mole on his mouth. Andrew’s eyes were still closed, but after the kiss, his eyes fluttered open.

Neil was going in to kiss him again, but Andrew glanced behind Neil, then cupped his dry, bloodied hand over Neil’s lips.

“What happened? Did I do something wrong?” Neil asked worriedly, his voice muffled because of the hand on his mouth. Andrew’s lips were also red and a bit bruised, and his ears were beet-red.

“No, I saw something. Use your light.” Andrew instructed. Neil was so occupied over Andrew’s lips that he just realized that the “secret lair” was a bit dark, and the only light was from the actual classroom, but it didn’t light up the lair well enough. Neil cupped Andrew’s face, taking in the magic, but also just wanting to touch him for a while longer. Summoning the light, Neil placed it on the floor, lighting up the entire room. Neil almost felt like he was having an allergic reaction after he noticed all of the dust on the walls and windows. There were empty bookshelves filled with cobwebs to the sides of Neil and Andrew. Neil glanced at Andrew, whose eyes widened at whatever was behind him.

“Drew? What’s wrong?”

“Look behind you.”

Neil, afraid that his head would split open, moved his head slowly but surely. Behind him was an entire wall with red strings connecting a picture of a young girl with raven-colored hair in the middle to some pictures of other men and women all across the wall. Neil’s red-stained hand touched his face in shock. This board could make or break the search for Robin Cross.

Chapter Text

January 15th, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

“Robin Cross,” Neil explained, turning to Kevin and Jean, who stared at Betsy Dobson’s crime investigation whiteboard in shock. Neil, Andrew, Kevin, and Jean stood in Bee’s secret lair, trying to decipher how all of these people were somehow connected to the missing girl, Robin Cross.

“You two know any of these people?” Andrew asked the couple, and Neil never thought that Kevin or Jean could know some of these people. If they actually did know some, it would make the situation more horrifying than it already was.

Kevin paled. “Kengo Moriyama.” The black-and-white picture of Kengo Moriyama was cut and pasted from a news article. He was smiling, and by the angle, it seemed like he was shaking someone’s hand, like they were opening a business, or it could be a Moriyama exchange.

“Kengo Moriyama was the reason why the Moriyama family owned so many businesses; he was the reason why Moriyama Exchanges are now a thing, and he was the reason why we now know about the Court.” Jean clarified; his voice was shaky, and his hands twitched in fear. Kengo Moriyama was a business superpower; of course he had to do something with Robin Cross.

“What happened to him?” Neil asked.

“He’s dead. He died last year due to health problems. I mean, that’s at least what everyone else thinks.” Jean said. Kevin’s hand was on his face, still in shock. Andrew watched Kevin carefully, giving him a sympathetic glance.

“What do you mean?” Kevin murmured.

“It’s strange how he suddenly died, especially because last year there was more business tension than usual,” Jean glanced at Kevin, some sort of nonverbal exchange. Kevin understood what Jean was putting down, his eyes widening even more, but Neil and Andrew were left confused.

“The Moriyamas are split into two branches: the main family and the branch family. The main family handles business, stocks, and all that stuff. The branch family handles supernatural things, but for humans, they own some businesses as well. When I was,” Jean cleared his throat, his eyes glassy. “With the Moriyamas, both families were competing over owning more money, each Moriyama wants power more than anything. What I’m really trying to say is that the Moriyamas staged Kengo Moriyama’s death.”

Kevin gaped at Jean. Kevin knew, like Jean, how power and money-hungry the entire Moriyama family truly was. But, Moriyamas killing other Moriyamas was something that he couldn’t quite comprehend; it was possible, and Jean did have a point, but why would they ever? Neil thought that Jean could be right, but what he’s caught up on is: What did Kengo Moriyama have to do with Robin Cross?

“And who’s that?” Neil asked, pointing at another photo. There was a string connecting the grinning man to Kengo Moriyama’s. This time, the photo was colored, and you could see the man’s sharp teeth clearly. They weren’t as sharp as a vampire’s, but they were too sharp to be human.

“Ichirou Moriyama. Now at the top of the main family and owner of all of the Moriyama businesses. He took over as soon as Kengo Moriyama died,” Jean explained. If Ichirou took over after Kengo’s death, did that mean that Ichirou killed him to replace him as the top man in the main family? It was a valid hypothesis, but how could you even prove it? The boys all went silent, thinking of how to possibly solve this insane puzzle.

“The strings connecting him to these other men and women could be his employees,” Andrew inferred, breaking the tense silence. Jean nodded, Kevin was still standing there in shock, and Neil was mentally trying to put the pieces together.

“But all of these men and women are connected to Robin; who could’ve taken her away?” Neil bit his lip.

“If only Bee was here to explain all of this bullshit,” Andrew cursed.

“All of them, maybe.” Jean’s eyes never left Robin’s picture. Her photo was taken on some kind of “picture day” at school, and her huge smile made Neil feel colder than usual. One of her strings was connected to a brunette man, no older than 35, and his photo was also connected to the black and white smiling photo of Kengo Moriyama. The brunette man had a grin on his face; it wasn’t all fake like Kengo’s or genuine like Robin’s. It was something more unsettling that Neil couldn’t even begin to imagine.

“Who is that?” Neil said, pointing at the unsettling brunette.

“I don’t know,” Jean replied. Kevin shook his head, not knowing either. Andrew stayed silent; he also didn’t know.

“Do you think you could take her photo and, like, find Robin? Or something?” Jean questioned, glancing at Neil.

“I don’t know; I never done that kind of spell. It’s different from the locator ones, but I can try,” Neil affirmed, taking Robin Cross’s school photo off the whiteboard. The red strings fell in response. But the brunette’s manic grin did not.

In bed, Neil stared at Robin’s photograph. How could he even begin to find her? Neil only really started learning magic three” months ago; he was a quick learner; however, the location spells were not only difficult for high schoolers, but they were black magic. Neil hasn’t had the chance to really check if the spell book had any location spells since Andrew stayed in his room 90% of the time. The last thing Neil wanted to do was accidentally hex Andrew.

“You’ll find her,” Andrew says. Moving in closer to Neil, who was sitting up analyzing the photo. Andrew sat up, his head fitting perfectly on the face between Neil’s shoulder and his jaw. If Neil and Andrew were normal high schoolers and not hybrids and werewolves, they would be kissing on the bed, but Neil is losing hair over the Moriyamas and the Court. Oh, but, Andrew. Andrew was patient; he waited; he knew how tough the entire situation was for Neil, and Neil couldn’t have asked for a better person.

“I don’t know if I could do it.” Neil’s voice broke. Out of the four, he was the only one who could use magic to find her. Yes, he could ask other witches, but why would he let more people know about the threat of the Court? He needed to keep this between him and the other three boys.

“You can do it. I know you can,” Andrew reassured.

“You’re lying,” Neil doubted, tears prickling his eyes.

“I don’t lie, Neil.” Andrew kissed Neil’s shoulder. Neil knew that he was telling the truth. Neil was about to kiss that mole again when Andrew snatched Robin’s photo out of Neil’s hand.

“Hey!” Neil started.

Andrew flipped the photo over, revealing some writing on the back. It read ‘From Serenity Cross to Betsy Dobson’ with a heart at the end.

Andrew raised an eyebrow, an unimpressed look on his face. “You’ve stared at the photo all day, and you’re telling me you haven’t noticed this?”

“I could kiss you right now,” Neil swooned, leaning in towards Andrew.

“You’re so fucking stupid,” Andrew glared, but he kissed Neil’s cheek anyway.

“Do you think Serenity is Robin’s mother?” Neil asked, blushing.

“Most likely,” Andrew replied.

“We could maybe find her, but how?”

“Could you use the location spell on the photo?”

“No. I know it came from Serenity, but it’s technically Bee’s. If I use the location spell, we’ll get Bee’s location, not hers.”

Andrew’s head left Neil’s shoulder, getting up from the bed. “I have an idea. Follow me.”

Neil complied, putting on a sweater and his sneakers and following Andrew out the door. Ignoring other students studying or loudly gossiping, the school wasn’t all that packed. Andrew walked faster than Neil, who was desperately trying to catch up. Andrew made his way to Wymack’s office, which for once was empty since Andrew couldn’t hear any noise inside. Neil gripped the door, literally destroying it into broken pieces on the ground. Both boys walked in, but Andrew reached into the cabinet and pulled out an old computer.

“Does it work?” Neil asked.

“I don’t know,” Andrew replied, clearing out the desk (basically throwing the important documents on Wymack’s desk on the floor) and setting down the computer. Neil gripped the desk, creating some electricity and powering up the computer. It shocks Neil every day that magic basically goes against technology; Andrew didn’t even have to plug the computer into it for Neil’s electricity to work.

Neil wasn’t an expert on technology, there was no need for that on the run. But Andrew grew up using technology in California, and he also defies the Palmetto rules and constantly uses his phone. Andrew opened up the browser and typed in “Facebook.”

“Every old person has this app now,” Andrew explained to Neil as if he were an alien. “We could probably find Serenity; we don’t really know if she lives in Newark.”

Neil nodded, and Andrew quickly made a Facebook account with random letters as the username and a collection of numbers as the password. Andrew typed in the search bar “Serenity Cross” and came across a few accounts. He clicked on the first account; the profile picture was of a black-haired woman with black eyes to match. She was smiling brightly in the photo, and her account banner was a family photo picture including Serenity, an unrecognizable blonde man, and a little girl who matched Robin Cross.

“This has to be her,” Neil said, moving closer to Andrew to really see the computer.

Andrew scrolled down using the mouse to view her bio, which read, “Proud mother of a beautiful daughter, New Jersey, loves wine.” The shorter boy scrolled down a bit more to view all of Serenity’s posts, which were all pictures of summer pool parties, drinks, and typical Facebook mom quotes. On February 14th, 2005, there was a post with yet another family photo. It had a young Robin in the middle smiling with some missing teeth and some sharp teeth, and the same blonde man from the banner stood to Robin’s left with a slight smile. Serenity stood on Robin’s right; she had her arm around Robin, and her smile reached her eyes. The picture was taken in a backyard as the sun shone on the Cross family.

The caption of the post read, “February 14, 2005. My beautiful baby would be turning 12 today. I love her so much. I hope she is smiling at me and her father up in heaven.”

“Wait. Zoom in.” Neil paused. Andrew used the mouse to zoom in on the picture, looking at Neil for further instruction. “The man’s hands.”

The blonde man, presumably Robin’s father, had two rings on him. One on his ring finger, which most definitely was an engagement ring since Serenity had a matching ring on her ring finger as well. However, what Neil was trying to look at was the ring on his pointer finger. It exactly matched the one on Neil’s finger.

“That’s a daylight ring,” Neil said, turning to Andrew, who was zooming in on Robin’s hands. Her little finger had an exact replica of Neil's and her father’s rings.

“She’s a vampire too,” Andrew uttered.

“Does that mean she’s a hybrid?” Neil wondered.

“We don’t know if she’s actually a werewolf. The moon tattoos are a Palmetto thing; she doesn’t have one. There’s no other feature in this photo that would prove she’s a hybrid.” Andrew explained.

“Right.” Neil sighed “If she was only a vampire, why would the Moriyamas try to take her if they knew that vampire blood wouldn’t open up the Court?”

Andrew tapped on the desk. Silence.

“We need to try to—” Neil started, but stopped after hearing someone clearing their throat. Neil and Andrew both looked up at Wymack, who looked at them unimpressed.

“What are you two doing? And why is my door in ashes? You both have five seconds,” Wymack sighed.

“Each?” Andrew grinned, his fangs revealing.

“Five…” Wymack started counting down.

“I was trying to contact Tilda.”

“Nice try, Minyard. She’s dead.”

“Good heavens, the proper term would be passed away.” Andrew cackled, quickly logging out of Facebook.

“Why shouldn’t I give you two detentions?" Wymack glared tiredly at the boys.

“Kevin would cry if I didn’t play goalie at practice,” Andrew grinned, knowing exactly how to get out of Wymack’s detention threats.

“Get out of here!” Wymack groaned. Neil quickly got out of there; honestly, he did not want detention. Andrew followed behind shortly, laughing so hard he almost cried.

Chapter Text

February 13th, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

“For the last fucking time, I can’t use teleportation, Jean.” Neil groaned.

“Why the fuck not?” The idiot asks. Obviously, it would be quite difficult for someone like Jean to understand, but to Neil, it made sense. Since Neil’s magic depends on other objects’s, he needed a strong, magical object to use tougher spells like teleportation. If Neil had a different mother, the use of teleportation would also drain his magic for that day. It’s a lose-lose situation.

“Because I'm telling you I need a powerful object, like the most powerful,” Neil almost growled. His necklace, which sometimes Neil forgets lives now on his neck, couldn’t work out because teleportation was not a black magic spell. He only needed to use his necklace when he wanted to traumatize or kill a bunch of people.

It was now a month after the discovery of Serenity Cross and the whiteboard in Bee’s classroom. Bee has still not returned to Palmetto; the school is covering it up, saying that she’s on medical leave. There was no new information on the Moriyamas or Robin Cross, besides the Facebook account that confirms that Serenity still resides in Newark, New Jersey. Between the time of the Facebook account discovery and now, Palmetto shot out exams left and right, tournaments for soccer, and full moons kept the boys from actually doing something about Robin. Neil has felt extremely guilty, but as soon as the boys were free, he called over Kevin, Andrew, and Jean to his room to discuss how to get to Newark. The plan was for at least Neil and another one of the boys to get there, find Serenity, use a location spell on Robin’s belongings, and find her once and for all.

“Okay. If Neil can’t teleport, what the hell can we do?” Jean gritted out.

“Here.” Kevin threw his car keys at Jean, who caught them immediately. “Why don’t you two take a trip to, I don’t know, cool off or something?”

“Why do I need to drive?” Jean said, childishly.

“Because…I’m…busy,” Kevin lied through his teeth. Kevin wasn’t a good liar, and everyone knew that. Which is why Neil raised an eyebrow and Jean laughed. Andrew stayed silent, looking out at the rainy atmosphere outside.

“Ohhh. Okay, sure,” Jean mocked. “And what about Neil’s boy toy?” Neil almost got up from his seat and gave this dickhead a piece of his mind, but he stayed sitting because Jean was the designated driver. It was better to see with two eyes than with one. Also, he realized that this was one of about four instances when Jean actually calls him by his name instead of “Junior” or “Nathaniel.”

“I’m busy,” Andrew said, for some reason not denying that he was Neil’s “boy toy.” He said it was a bit more convincing than Kevin, but the tone of his voice sounded wrong to Neil.

“Great,” Jean rolled his eyes, mumbling French curses under his breath. He left the room without saying goodbye.

“We’ll cover for you two,” Kevin smiled. Andrew stared at Neil.

“You know I can drive, right?” Neil called out, trying to follow Jean. But before that, he waved goodbye to Andrew and Kevin.

“Yeah, but you have no license. I’ve been in a cell before; I’m not doing that shit again.” Jean said, twirling Kevin’s keys.

“Same, but I’m not even going to try to ask you why.” Neil sighed.

“I didn’t mean jail, but I’m not going to ask you either.” Jean and Neil made it to the parking lot. Kevin’s black car, which he got for his sixteenth birthday, glimmered at the two vampires. Kevin was one of those guys who washed his car every day, whether it was used or not. Jean went to start up the car, while Neil sat in the passenger seat, trying to adjust it.

“Do you have her address?” Jean asked rather rudely.

“No, but there’s a store near her house that I saw in one of the photos. I’ll put in the address,” Neil said, leaning forward to put in the address of the random corner store on the GPS. After the address was inputted, Jean began driving. It was quite awkward at first; both boys didn’t have a necessarily good relationship with each other, and Neil was thinking about punching him not even ten minutes ago. Neil couldn’t imagine surviving in a car with Jean for six hours.

“Are we there yet?” Neil cheekily asks.

“I swear on my parents, I’ll fucking gut you right here.” Jean’s stare was horrifying. He was no fun. Besides the music from the radio, the car ride was quite awkward. Neil looked outside the window; he didn’t want to turn it down because of the heavy rain. The pitter-patter of the rain on the window's surface made Neil feel almost calm.

“What’s up with you and Minyard?” Jean asked, breaking the silence. What was up with Neil and Andrew? Ever since the kiss in Bee’s classroom, they’ve been lazily kissing before sleeping, holding hands under the tables, and staring into each other’s eyes during class instead of paying attention.

“What do you mean?” Neil’s eyes left the window and now looked at Jean, daring him to say something bad about Andrew.

“Are you guys dating or what?” Were they dating? Neil and Andrew did do romantic things together, but they never really sat down and asked each other if they wanted to be boyfriends. Neil assumes that Andrew wasn’t the type of person to put labels on himself; Neil was like that too. He didn’t like other boys or girls. He only liked Andrew.

Neil simply shrugged; he didn’t really know how to answer Jean’s question. Even if he did know, Jean wasn’t worthy of knowing.

“They’re doing something for us on Valentine's Day,” Jean revealed.

“Who?” Neil asked.

“Our boyfriends, or, sorry, my boyfriend and your…thing,” Jean teased.

“It’s Valentine’s Day?" Neil never celebrated stupid holidays like that, money was short while on the run, and when it wasn't, he was being beat until he was black and blue by his father.

“No, dumbass. It’s tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

Hour one: Virginia.

The car ride was awkward. Insanely awkward, luckily there was some music that allowed Neil to not go insane over the silence; the rain’s noise was also there, but the constant wiping of the windshield made Neil a bit irritated.

“Okay. It’s driving me insane; why did you go to jail?” Jean said, looking at Neil and driving with only one hand. It could be unsafe, but Neil has been in multiple car accidents (some weren’t his fault!) so he couldn’t judge.

“Why do you care?” Neil asked bitterly.

“Don’t want my boyfriend to be around a murderer,” Jean admitted.

“Stealing, you?” Neil sighed. He was still caught up over how, of all the things he did, he was arrested for stealing. For fuck’s sake, he killed and ate humans.

“I didn’t actually go to jail, but I was locked in the werewolf-turning cells after my recruitment.”

“What the fuck? Why?”

“Tried to kill the recruiters; I also tried to kill Wymack.”

“Jesus.”

“Yeah. I was recruited three days after I was turned, and during the turning period, it was all pain. My fangs growing, the bite on my neck, and the memories of my death. But, anyway, how the fuck did you escape?”

“Mom bailed me out; I got beat after.”

“Jesus. And nobody knows about this?”

“Well, Andrew does. But I was going by Chris at the time. Neil Josten has a clear record.”

“Truly the work of a Wesninski.” Jean smiled with all his teeth, and Neil gave Jean a death glare in response.

“Who let you out of the cellar anyway?” Neil asked.

“Wymack,” Jean replied. “Kevin had to beg him to let me out.”

“That’s how you two met?”

“Yeah. Kevin automatically knew I was property of the Moriyamas, so he wanted to always see if I was okay. I punched him the second time I saw him.”

“How did he know?” Jean stayed silent.

“Sorry,” Neil apologized, realizing it was probably a touchy subject. “Different question: How did you meet Andrew?”

“He was there too when I was locked up; he just stood there and gave me weird looks. He hated me ever since I punched Kevin.” Jean leaned over like he was going to tell a secret; however, he just looked stupid since it was just him and Neil in the car. “Don’t tell him I said this, but I hate myself for doing it too.”

“I won’t.” Oh, he most definitely was.

“What do you even like about Minyard?”

“Everything,” Neil automatically said.

“No,” Jean said, shaking his head. “Specifics.”

“He understands me.”

Jean raised an eyebrow at Neil, checking to see if he was kidding or not. Quickly realizing that Neil was completely serious, he looked away, his eyes now on the road. “I’ll take it.”

“I don’t care. Why did Andrew break your arm?”

“Before me and Kevin were dating... I guess we had some problems. In an argument, I insulted him and mentioned something he was insecure about. Minyard knew this and snapped my arm. He wasn’t suspended or anything; his brother and cousin made sure of it. I was in a cast for months.”

“Guess you deserved it.” Neil raised an eyebrow.

“Guess I did,” Jean strangely agreed.

Hour Three: Washington, D.C.

Neil and Jean made a pit stop at a gas station for a bathroom break. Yes, vampires still had to pee. Jean parked the car so he and Neil could get out. Stepping inside the gas station was a chain smoker at the front desk, aisles and aisles of snacks, a group of girls giggling over the magazines, and the destination towards the back: the men’s bathroom. After doing business, Neil and Jean stepped outside, looking around the gas station. Neil hasn’t really been at a gas station in who knows how long, and based on Jean’s wide eyes, it has been long for him too.

“Have money?” Jean whispered.

“Money? For what?” Neil asked, the slight British accent making an appearance, making “What?” sound like “Wot?”

“C—never mind,” Jean said, looking disappointed. Neil keeps forgetting that Jean used to be human, ate human food, went to human school, and played with other human kids. Neil didn’t have that, Kevin didn’t have that, and Andrew didn’t quite have that since he was always a werewolf. Jean wanted something other than blood to drink so badly, but his body rejected anything but that.

Neil tried patting Jean’s shoulder but could only get up to his bicep. “Sorry, dude.”

“Whatever,” he said. As the boys were making their way out of the gas station, two of the group of girls who were previously looking at magazines came up to them, blocking their way.

“Hey,” one girl says, twirling her blonde hair. “I’m Avery; I haven’t seen you two before. You guys from here?”

“No, we’re from Virginia.” Neil replied, irritated. He needed to get out of here so bad.

“Oh wow, Virginia seems boring; I never knew there were cute guys living there.” The other girl beside Avery winked at Neil. “I’m Serena.”

“Uh huh,” Neil said, uninterested.

“Wow, you’re really cute. Like, really cute. I forgot ginger boys could be cute,” Avery flirted, batting her long eyelashes. “You guys have Facebook?”

“No.” Neil lied. Technically, he had a shared account with Andrew, but they haven’t used it since last month while they were trying to find Serenity. Jean just ignored the girls; he didn’t have Facebook.

“I don’t really like short guys, but I could make an exception.” Serena said she made eye contact with Avery, and they immediately started giggling. Jean rolled his eyes, he was also quite irritated.

“Right, but my boyfriend doesn’t think so,” Neil hummed. The girls stopped giggling and started looking at each other with a confused look.

“Him?” Serena asked, pointing at Jean.

“Oh, no, that’s my dad. I’m adopted,” Neil said, deciding to fuck with them. Jean glared at Neil, but the girls didn’t notice because they were too busy looking at each other.

“Oh, sorry.” Avery said, biting her lip.

“We’re just gonna…” Serena trailed off, and she and Avery quickly ran away, meeting up with the other girls right outside the gas station. Outside, Neil could see the rest of the group laughing at Avery, whose hands were covering her face, and Serena, who just stared at the floor in embarrassment.

“Your boyfriend?” Jean started, glancing at a grinning Neil.

“Whatever. Let’s get out of here.”

Hour 4: Baltimore, Maryland.

As soon as Neil and Jean passed the big, green, “Welcome to Baltimore, Maryland!” billboard, Neil was on the edge of his seat.

It wasn’t just raining in Baltimore; it thundered too. Neil wasn’t one to typically be scared over silly things like thunder or drowning, but now that he was in the motherland, he was feeling extra jittery. Jean didn’t know that Neil was born and raised (if you were to call it that) in Baltimore; he just assumed that Neil was just scared of the thunder. It wasn’t until Neil started hyperventilating that Jean knew something was wrong.

“You okay?” Jean asked.

“Yes. I’m fine,” Neil replied, struggling to get the words out.

“Is it the thunder?”

Neil shook his head. His vision was getting blurrier by the second. He couldn’t hear Jean, the thunder outside, or the pitter-patter of the heavy rain hitting the window. There was a loud, piercing ringing in his ears. Neil put his hands on his face to stop the ringing, which didn’t work. He felt a hand shaking his shoulders, but he just wanted the ringing to stop and to leave Baltimore for good.

“Neil? Neil?” Jean kept shaking Neil, and after the third attempt, Neil could slightly hear Jean. He heard the thunder right outside his window the most. Neil’s shaking and crying didn’t stop. It felt like he was always in Baltimore; it felt like his mother was going to be revived and try to take Neil with her; and it felt like Nathan’s icy blue eyes were watching him constantly.

“Neil? Hey. Listen to me,” Jean tried comforting. “The year when I got to Palmetto, your boyfriend didn’t trust me at all. He looked at me weird, and overall, he just acted like a guard dog to Kevin; this was even before the blood pact bullshit. Anyway, one time it was me and Kevin eating breakfast, and Minyard stormed in. He grabbed my shirt and pulled in and was like, ‘Where the fuck is it?’ and I was like, ‘What are you even talking about?’ and he was like, ‘My CDs, bitch, where are they?’ He’s just yelling at me, and I’m so confused. It didn’t help that I was also trying to learn English at the time.”

Jean continued; by this time, Neil was crying and shaking less; he was tuned into the story, especially since Andrew was mentioned. “So basically, for the entire month after he was eyeing me more often, I didn’t even take his CDs; I don’t even like metal. But one time, in like March, Kevin, Minyard, and I were walking to Jeremy’s dorm so we could walk to practice together, and I don’t know if you know this, but Jere and Aaron are roommates, so when Jeremy opened the door, Minyard saw his CDs on Aaron’s table, and he freaked the fuck out. Aaron was using them to date Katelyn. How embarrassing.”

Neil was now laughing, wiping off the tears from his eyes. For a few moments, he forgot that he was in Baltimore; he forgot about his parents and about magic for a second while he listened to the story. The story was normal, and Neil wished he could experience some normalcy. But what he was caught up on was: how did the story successfully distract him from the panic attack?

“How did you?” Neil sniffled.

“I get them too; Kevin tells stories about his childhood and stuff to distract me. I thought it would work on you,” Jean said. “I can’t be in a room that’s dark; I can’t take pills; and I can’t stand the number three.”

“I can’t stand knives, I can’t stand how I look, and sometimes I can’t stand fire.” Neil confessed. It kind of felt good telling someone this; obviously, Andrew knew about these things, and Kevin most likely knew about Jean’s triggers. But it felt good to confide in someone who wasn’t your significant other.

“I guess we’re more alike than it seemed, Josten.” Jean grinned, saying Neil’s actual last name correctly, for once. Neil sheepishly smiled back.

“I’m going to go to the back seat and sleep; I’m tired,” Neil murmured, yawning.

“I bet,” Jean responded. Neil took off his seat belt at the red light and laid down on the back seats. Neil shifted around a few times to try to find the most comfortable position; luckily, for the rain and the car lights being off, it was dark enough that Neil could sleep well and Jean could drive.

“Night,” Neil mumbled in French.

“Goodnight,” Jean replied, also in French.

Hour 6: Newark, New Jersey.

“Neil, wake up.” Neil immediately got up because of the voice of Jean; luckily for Jean, he didn’t touch Neil. His running instincts would’ve accidentally killed Jean. The car was parked in a street near the corner store Neil put in the address of. The rain stopped, and there was the sun shining brightly and a rainbow in the distance.

“Where are we?” Neil tiredly groaned.

“New Jersey. Get your ass up and help me search for the house,” Jean tugged on Neil’s (it was actually Andrew’s) sweatshirt.

“Okay. Okay,” Neil said. Pushing himself up was the hardest task of today, and Neil had to relearn how to breathe while having a panic attack. Neil slammed the car door shut, and Jean did so too. The two vampires walked side by side along the street. On the street, there were children riding scooters, construction sites, and adults with bags going into the mall a few streets away to go shopping.

“What does the house look like?” Jean asked.

“It’s a light blue, has a balcony, a backyard, all that shit. It’s noticeable.” Neil said, remembering the photos from Serenity’s Facebook.

"Thanks, genius,” Jean said, rolling his eyes.

“Suck my dick,” Neil bit back. A mother passing by with her two kids in a joint stroller shushed Neil, who gave her a passive-aggressive smile.

“That’s what you get,” Jean scoffed.

“Okay. You can go die now,” Neil jeered.

“Wait.” Jean stopped, pointing at the house in front of them. The house perfectly matched Neil’s description, besides the curtains being different. Neil raised his eyebrows in shock that it was that easy to find Serenity’s house. Neil and Jean walked up the small steps. Looking out the windows, it seemed like nobody was home because the lights were off.

“I’ll ring the doorbell; you do the talking.” Jean said. Before Neil could protest, he rang the doorbell almost one million times. Neil didn’t have enhanced hearing like Andrew, but he could hear a groan from inside the house. The door opened, and lo and behold, it was the woman herself: Serenity Cross.

Serenity looked awful; her jet black hair was everywhere; she was still wearing her pajamas even though it was the afternoon; and her eye bags were almost as dark as Neil’s.

“Yes?” She asked, clearly annoyed that these two high schoolers with unfamiliar uniforms were at her doorstep.

“Boy scout cookies?” Neil tried. There were no cookies, and they were certainly not here to sell anything.

Jean cleared his throat. “Sorry, he’s stupid. We need to talk to you about your daughter, Robin Cross. We have information on her that we’ve been needing to tell you.”

The annoyed mask on Serenity’s face immediately dropped and turned into concern; it was clear that she was mentally debating whether to actually let these two strangers into her home. Though her motherly instincts told her that maybe Neil and Jean had something ground-breaking about her missing daughter, Serenity stepped out of the entrance, inviting the boys in.

Neil and Jean looked at each other, a bit surprised that Serenity actually wanted them in. Jean was the first to step in, taking off his shoes. He followed Serenity into her kitchen, which was to the right. Neil followed shortly after, taking off his shoes and sitting next to Jean at the kitchen table.

“Need anything to drink?” Serenity asked, reaching into the fridge and pulling out a glass of water for herself.

"No, thank you,” Neil blushed, still embarrassed over the “boy scout cookies.”

“We can’t drink that human stuff.” Jean’s stare was cold; he was most definitely jealous that Serenity could eat and drink things he couldn’t.

Serenity paused, raising an eyebrow at Jean. Suddenly, she got the message and sat down in front of Neil and Jean. Her lips were in a thin line, and she mentally analyzed the boys in front of her. “Okay. Talk.”

“We attend Palmetto Academy; I’m assuming you’re well acquainted with one of our werewolf teachers.” Jean raised an eyebrow—a test.

“Bee? Oh yes, we go way back. Ever since high school, she has always wanted to be a teacher.” Serenity smiled, looking into her water glass.

“We found her phone; her mother talked about how your daughter was found here in New Jersey.” Neil stated.

“That’s what Mrs. Dobson said.” Serenity sighed. “They couldn’t find her; it was probably some other black-haired girl. Not my baby.”

Neil and Jean made eye contact with each other. Neil bit his lip anxiously, and Jean just shook his head. It was time to bite the bullet.

“Have you ever heard of the Court?” Jean asked, and he stared at Serenity. Jean watched her every move, and as she analyzed him, he did it back.

“No, what’s that?” She said, genuinely confused. Neil could tell that she wasn’t lying because of the slight rise in her brows. Serenity sipped her water, waiting for Jean to continue.

“The Court is a demon portal that is in the process of being unlocked. Unlocking this would mean that magic all throughout the world would be drained and monsters like demons would be unleashed. Me and Stefan here are trying to stop the closing.” Jean explained, motioning at Neil. It was smart that Jean used a different name; Neil applauded him.

“Steven?” Serenity inquired.

“No, Stefan,” Neil corrected.

“Oh. Sorry, I used to know a Steven way back when. Ha. He moved out a month after…Robin went missing.” Serenity gazed down, gripping the table. Jean opened his mouth, trying to get Neil’s attention, but Neil just shushed him.

“Anyway, when me and Alex were trying to find information on how to close it, the group of people that are trying to open the portal mentioned a "Cross,” and we’re assuming that they have... or had access to your daughter,” Neil said. Jean nodded, catching the code name from Neil’s mouth.

Startling Neil and Jean, Serenity dropped the glass of water on the floor. Luckily, she did not get cut (Neil and Jean would’ve lost it if that happened), but her expression looked like she was cut over and over again.

“Who were those people? Why are they talking about my daughter?” Serenity quavered.

“That’s not the point; the point is...” Neil started, but then Serenity got up as if she was going to lecture the two boys.

“What is the point? The point is that my daughter could still be out there, and you’re keeping information from me! So let me ask this again: Who were those people?” She raged. Neil, whose mother did yell at him frequently, was quite shaken up over this. Jean, however, was never disciplined by an older woman before. His face was nothing less than a blank stare.

“It’s classified. We’re trying to get less people involved. Even telling you about the Court puts a target on your back. Do me a favor and comply with us, and you and your daughter will be safe.” Jean snarled.

‘Low blow to mention the daughter’ Neil thought, but it needed to be said.

Serenity sat down, wiping the tears from her hands with her large red nails. “I’m sorry. I get it.”

Jean raised an eyebrow, but Neil spoke up. “It’s okay. But anyways, our concern was that they’re using your daughter's werewolf blood to open up the Court.”

Serenity immediately stopped crying and just stared at the two boys, puzzled. There was no way that she didn’t know Robin Cross was supernatural; in the family photo, Robin and her father both had daylight rings that matched vampires. Hopefully Neil didn’t have to explain supernatural things to her because he was the wrong person to do so, but Serenity didn’t seem too shocked by the Court talk.

“Okay. If, theoretically, the Court opened due to werewolf blood, my daughter would not fit the criteria,” Serenity inferred.

“What do you mean?” Neil questioned, motioning forward to really hear Serenity.

“Robin is all three—a tribrid. Werewolf, vampire, and witch. I am a werewolf; her father was a vampire, and her grandmother was a witch.”

Neil gaped, and Jean’s eyes widened. Of course, something extraordinary like a tribrid would open up the Court. Of course, someone extraordinary like Robin Cross would be taken by the Moriyamas, and her blood would be used to unleash demons. Neil gripped his leg in anger, creasing his kaki pants. How could they do such a thing? To a mother? To a father? To a grandmother?

“Okay,” Jean spoke up. “Now, what we’re really here for: Stefan here is a witch; he can use a locator spell using a belonging to track down someone’s location. We can save your daughter, Ms. Cross.” Neil nodded, affirming.

“Okay, follow me.” Serenity got off her seat and ran up the stairs while Neil and Jean slowly followed in front of her. To the left was a room; the pink sign read “Robin’s Room.” Inside the room was a pink room; the walls, the bed, and the stuffed toys on the bed were all different shades of pink. On the shelf were family photos, graduation photos, and poorly drawn drawings of cartoon characters.

“This was her room.” Serenity smiled weakly. “Use this; it was her favorite.” Serenity handed Neil a soccer ball. It was dirty and a bit deflated on the right side. Neil palmed it, getting all of the dirt on his fingers. But he didn’t mind.

“She used to love soccer, my little goalkeeper.” Serenity sighed.

“I think we should go outside to use the spell,” Neil hinted. “I think it might mess up her room.”

“Oh, yes. Of course, let’s go.” Serenity said that after Neil and Jean left the room, she locked the doors again. The room was never to be walked into again. Stepping outside in Serenity’s backyard, Neil was in the middle of the yard, placing the ball in front of him. Serenity and Jean stood near the house; Jean kept a safe distance from Serenity.

“I wish I could’ve thought of a witch doing this spell for me. The only one I knew was Robin’s grandmother, and she cut contact.” Serenity ranted.

Jean just nodded along, not really caring. “If you don’t mind, Stefan needs quiet.”

“Right,” Serenity deflated, like the soccer ball in front of Neil.

For the past month, Neil has tried again and again to perfect the spell. He used Andrew’s belongings, Nicky’s belongings, Allison’s belongings, and whomever else’s he could get his hands on. Neil has done the spell more than a thousand times, and he was confident that he could get the spell. The black matter on Neil’s hand burned at the mention of the spell; it spread to his palm during the last time he used black magic.

Neil recited the Latin under his breath. Neil’s eyes lit up a dark purple, and the entire yard lit up the same shade as Neil’s eyes. The soccer ball had a dark matter beam come out of it. Neil immediately fell to his knees. Even though Neil had done the spell a thousand times before, the pain of the black magic was unbearable. Serenity was getting ready to go to Neil to help him, but Jean just put his arm out, stopping her. No matter how many times he has done the spell, the flashbacks are always horrifying.

First, Neil saw a supernatural gun. It was clearly a weapon against werewolves because he could see the silver bullets pouring out as a silhouette of a girl put her arms out to beg the perpetrator to stop.

Second, Neil saw The Court. The terrifying black hole of a portal was there. Neil could feel the insane amount of dark energy that, if Neil were to jump inside, he would be fully consumed by the black matter. He would just be black goo inside the portal; maybe he would turn into one of the demons.

Third, Neil saw something that wasn’t like the rest. Myrtle Beach. The beach was quite magnificent, but it made Neil feel uneasy knowing that the beach showed up in his flashback. The night sky of Myrtle Beach was the strangest thing; the sky was blood red, and there were dead bodies all over the sand as the blood water splashed on the carcasses.

Fourth, Neil saw the number one.

Gasping as if he were drowning, Neil snapped out of the flashback. The ball was untouched, still dirty, and deflated. However, mentally, Neil was fucked up. Jean instantly ran up to Neil, hugging him in the back as he sobbed. Serenity ran up to the boys, but she just stood there with a sympathetic look. She wasn’t close to any of the boys to join in on the hug, and Neil would prefer if she didn’t.

“I saw her! Robin, she’s in South Carolina.” Neil cried into Jean’s arms. Serenity’s eyes widened at an instant, while Jean hugged Neil even tighter.

Chapter Text

February 14th, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

Neil was on his tenth “uh huh” as Nicky blabbed about how Erik was going to take him on a romantic date after school. The twins'—Andrew and Aaron—had sightly mirrored bored looks on their faces. However, if you were like Neil (or maybe Katelyn), you could tell who was who easily. Besides Andrew’s collection of piercings, his lips were pierced, and he kept sneaking glances at Neil. Aaron did not have piercings, at least that Neil knows of; he looked angry that he was there with his family plus Neil. He would rather be with Katelyn instead.

“I can’t believe he confessed to me on Valentine's Day. I mean, how romantic is that?” Nicky exclaimed.

“So romantic,” Aaron drawled. Though it was clear that he was trying to think of ideas for taking Katelyn out on a Valentine's Day date.

Valentine's Day was a huge day in Palmetto; the school was decorated in red, white, and pink. Hearts were floating around, new couples like Nicky and Erik started, and single people dreaded this day. Neil didn’t really think today was going to be something special for him and Andrew; maybe today was just going to be normal. They still had school anyway.

Neil wasn’t really listening to Nicky; Neil had nothing against him, but he was still thinking of the four flashbacks he got yesterday when finding Robin’s location. The gun, the Court, Myrtle Beach, and the number one. Neil shivered at the thought. Andrew turned to him and mouthed, ‘Going to run?’ Neil shook his head. He wasn’t going to run—not now, not ever. The bell then rang, destroying Neil’s thoughts.

Nicky and Aaron both got up; Aaron left downstairs without saying goodbye to his family or Neil. Neil didn’t really care, but Andrew rolled his eyes at his brother’s lack of farewell.

“I’ll see you two hopelessly single people later,” Nicky teased, picking up his school bag from the seat next to him and leaving to get to class.

Neil snorted. Andrew gazed at Neil with an unimpressed look. “What are you laughing at?”

“I mean, technically, we’re not single.” Neil raised an eyebrow, testing the waters.

Andrew raised an eyebrow back, but smirked. “Technically.”

“Are you going to take me out on an outdoor date with a picnic, and we kiss in the sunset?" Neil said, miming Nicky.

Andrew bit his lip, trying to contain his laughter. The second bell rang, starting class and also startling the two supernaturals.

“Wanna skip?” Neil asked.

“Yeah,” Andrew said.

Now, they were on the roof. It became their designated spot; only a few people knew about the vampire dorm’s roof. And only a limited number of people knew that it was Neil and Andrew’s spot to kiss and share secrets. Andrew was on top of Neil, in between his legs, kissing him senseless. Neil had his hands buried in Andrew’s blonde hair, which, since the sun was still rising, looked golden. Both of Andrew’s hands were cupping Neil’s scarred face; Andrew didn’t care about the scare. If anything, he liked them. Neil was lying down on the rooftop. Right next to him were Andrew’s cigarettes and his customized lighter (Neil accidentally kicked it out of the rooftop; Neil snuck into a corner store with Kevin, who bought him another one with orange tape and cats on it; Andrew has kept it ever since).

“You’re ethereal,” Neil said fondly. He moved up, so now that his left hand with the black matter was carrying the whole weight of Neil and Andrew on his lap, his other hand still tugged on the shorter boy’s hair. Andrew stopped the kissing to bite Neil’s jaw, teasing him.

“Wow. You learned a new word today. Who would’ve thought?” He poked fun at Neil. Andrew’s teeth grazed Neil’s neck before he bit the exact spot that made Neil go crazy. Neil’s hand that was on Andrew’s hair grabbed his face, redirecting Andrew’s focus from Neil’s bitten neck to Neil’s bruised lips. The two kissed like they were hungry; Neil’s eyes begged for more after Andrew seemed like he was finished, but Andrew just liked to tease him. Neil slipped his hand from the rooftop to Andrew’s waist, which made his tank top rise up and made Neil want to bite him right there at that spot. But Neil didn’t know if Andrew would even like it. Andrew rolled his eyes but leaned in, smiling, to kiss Neil once more.

Andrew broke the kiss, but before moving, he gave Neil one final kiss on the cheek. Andrew rolled over from Neil’s lap to lay down next to the taller boy on the rooftop. Neil changed his position from sitting up to laying down as well. Neil rolled over some more, so that if Andrew pulled him closer, Neil’s auburn curls would tickle his neck. Andrew turned to look at Neil. A month ago, Neil was convinced that Andrew just liked him for his looks (if he even does look good, he can’t see himself; he wouldn’t know). Andrew’s stare was just lust. But the more time he spent with Andrew, the more he realized that the blonde boy looked at Neil with love and desire.

“Hi.” Neil grinned.

“Hey,” Andrew replied, his ears turning red.

“It’s quite cold, isn’t it?” Neil asked, very British.

Andrew realized the accent change and snorted. “Very.”

Andrew knew what was coming; Neil would say it was cold. Andrew had to humor him so that Neil would give Andrew his hoodie or sweatshirt, whatever he had on that day. If Andrew ignored him or lied and said “not really,” Neil would complain until Andrew said some sort of variant of “Yes, Neil.” Neil once saw Matt give Dan a hoodie with his soccer number, four, on the back. Neil asked him why, and he explained that it was a romantic gesture. Neil has loved the idea ever since and wants to give Andrew all of his clothes, even if some are too small.

Neil took off his bright orange hoodie, his scarred stomach making a little appearance. He handed the hoodie to Andrew, who turned to the other side to smile. Andrew put it on; in hoodies, he and Neil were about the same size, so Andrew didn’t have to roll up the sleeves this time.

“Does it fit?” Neil asked.

“Mhm,” Andrew responded.

“Okay,” Neil said, satisfied. After a quick ‘yes or no?’ The two boys were back to kissing again, both of their smiles never leaving their faces.

After the bell rang, dismissing the last class, Neil, Renee, Allison, and Dan met up in Dan and Renee’s shared dorm. The plan was to help Dan get ready for her date with Matt today. Allison really wanted Neil to come since he “doesn’t know how to dress” (yes, he does) and because it’s been a while since he and the girls hung out. After the roof, Andrew suddenly said that he needed to go talk to Aaron about something, leaving Neil by himself. He knew Andrew was using a white lie, but what for?

Neil, Renee, and Dan were sitting down on the beds talking about some of the classes that they shared when Allison barged in.

“I found it!” Allison said, grinning. She held up a green dress for Dan; she tried finding the outfit weeks prior, but after cleaning out her closet, she finally found it.

“It’s beautiful, Allison. Thank you,” Dan smiled back, taking the dress from Allison. "Let me try it on.”

“See, Neil, you have to color coordinate. Dan looks best in green because it's her favorite color; I look good in red because, of course; Renee looks good in every color; and you look good in blue. I don’t understand why you never wear it; I can order some clothes for you. Anything to not see you in the jorts anymore.” Allison snickered.

“Hey! The jorts aren’t that bad,” Neil said, crossing his arms. Renee giggled.

“How do I look?” Dan said, coming out of the bathroom. The green dress fit her perfectly, and Neil thought it looked really good on her.

“Beautiful,” Allison affirmed.

“Amazing!” Renee smiled.

“You look really good, Dan.” Neil agreed, giving her a smile.

“Thanks guys,” Dan blushed.

“Now time for makeup,” Allison said, going into Renee’s vanity to get out her makeup. She tried finding Dan’s shade for foundation, while Renee was having some casual conversation with Neil. She kept asking about Andrew, though, which was kind of weird.

“Allison, are you going on a date with Seth or something?” Neil asked genuinely. Allison stopped applying the makeup on Dan, Dan gaped at Neil, and Renee gave him a worried look.

“No, we broke up last week.” Allison smiled. “It’s okay, though, because it was a mutual agreement; we’re still friends.”

“Oh,” Neil said, extremely guilty. “Sorry.” At the corner of his eye, he saw Dan raise her eyebrows, smiling at Renee, who shook her head sadly. It was a silent exchange, and Neil wanted to know what it meant.

“Speaking of dating, what’s up with you and the m—sorry, Andrew?” Allison quickly corrected her words, realizing that Neil was not afraid to kill anyone who called Andrew that word. Even if he and Allison were good friends.

“We’re friends; why?” Neil asked innocently. Neil and Andrew haven’t really sat down and talked about whether they want their thing to be public. Neil didn’t mind if it was public or not, but sometimes it gets annoying when people ask if Neil and Andrew have something going on.

“Dunno, he’s always glued by your side, though,” Allison shrugged. “Does he like to hug you or something?”

“Ally, let them keep their things to themselves.” Renee asked nicely, clearly knowing something that Neil doesn't. Allison, who couldn’t defy Renee, just rolled her eyes.

“Okay. But you have to learn how to dress if you want to get with Andrew. Don’t give me that look, Neil. You’re always so defensive when it comes to him, and you give him gaga eyes during class.” Allison called him out. Yes, Neil was definitely defensive about Andrew, but he forgot that Allison does share some classes with the two, and yeah, he does look at Andrew with gaga-eyes. Sue him.

“Whatever,” Neil mumbled, slouching on the bed.

“All done.” Allison smiled at Dan, who smiled back. Dan was always gorgeous, but her features popped more with the soft makeup.

“You’re beautiful,” Renee complimented Dan.

“Thanks guys. Hey, I’m going to head out now; I’ll see you later.” Dan beamed, waving goodbye. The others waved back as she left the door. Renee then pulled out her phone, which buzzed loudly.

“Neil, is your phone dead?” Renee asked.

“Oh. I think so.” He left his phone at his dorm, not charging. Neil hasn’t charged his phone in a while; he needs to actually start doing it. Who knows if something will happen and he might need it?

Renee chuckled. “Andrew wants to see you.” Allison had a large grin on her face, excited that her friend was romantically interested in somebody else, even if that somebody else was Allison’s enemy.

“I’ll see you guys later.” Neil stood up, waving goodbye. As Neil left the dorm, he could hear Allison yell, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” and her giggles after. Neil just shook his head; he planned on doing exactly the opposite.

After knocking on Andrew’s door three times, the man himself came to answer the door. Andrew had an annoyed look on his face that immediately dropped at the sight of Neil. Andrew stepped out of the way to let Neil inside. Andrew’s closet was uncharacteristically messy, and there were some hoodies on the ground. Neil tried his best not to step on any of them as he made his way to the bed. Neil and Andrew laid down on the bed, and after a quick ‘yes or no’ from Neil and an eager ‘yes’ from Andrew, Neil grabbed Andrew’s waist to pull him in closer. Neil peppered kisses all over Andrew’s face, who was laughing.

Andrew put his callused hand on Neil’s mouth. “Wait.” Neil waited. “I have something for you.”

Neil’s eyes widened. Neil didn’t get Andrew anything; he has no time to get gifts because he was in a different state for the majority of yesterday. Andrew dropped his hand from Neil’s mouth.

“I didn’t get you anything, though,” Neil muttered.

Andrew shook his head. “I don’t want anything.”

“But—” Neil started but stopped when Andrew pulled out a holographic disk from under his bed.

“What’s this?” Neil asked.

“CD. I burned it,” Andrew explained.

"No, you didn’t. It’s not burnt,” Neil raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Andrew laughed so hard that he had to wipe the tears out of his eyes. “No, junkie. I mean, I used Wymack’s shitty computer to put some songs on this CD. You can take the CD player if you want.”

Neil kissed Andrew’s cheek. “I love it; thank you, angel.”

“Don’t call me that.” Andrew glared at Neil.

“Oh, you don’t like it?” Neil asked worriedly. Andrew shook his head, but his entire face was red.

“Ohhh,” Neil grinned smugly. “You like it?”

“I hate you.” Andrew deadpans.

“I know,” Neil says, leaning in to kiss Andrew’s lips. Andrew titled his head so Neil could kiss him; meanwhile, he wrapped his arms around Neil’s neck. Neil pulls Andrew impossibly closer, deepening the kiss.

Andrew broke the kiss so he could bite Neil’s neck. Before he does, he licks the spot—the now-purple bruise that Andrew kept biting earlier today.

“Are you—fuck.” Neil cursed as Andrew smiled while he sank his teeth into Neil’s flesh. Neil will always be surprised that Andrew was only a werewolf and not a vampire as well. Neil did like getting his neck bitten, but he wasn’t going to admit that.

“Hm?” Andrew said, biting another spot on Neil’s neck.

“You—oh fuck.” Neil panted. He desperately wanted to ask Andrew what he was doing for February break. It was next week, and usually Andrew, Aaron, and Nicky go someplace so they can get out of Palmetto for once. Neil wanted to know if Andrew was leaving Virginia. He wanted to get out of Palmetto and do something with the blonde. However, because of his “secretly vampire boyfriend,” he couldn’t because Andrew was having too much fun teasing Neil.

The shorter boy positioned himself on top of Neil, leaning down to kiss him. Neil had to crane his neck to reach Andrew; it was slightly uncomfortable, so Neil moved up from the bed, but he still had a firm grasp on Andrew’s waist. Like Andrew was going to leave.

“What do you think Nicky’s doing right now on his super-date-extravaganza?” Neil teased.

“Not this,” Andrew’s smile revealed his sharp teeth; he was trying to shimmy out of Neil’s hoodie that Neil gave him earlier today. Neil helped him out; seeing Andrew shirtless was like walking around in the Sahara Desert. It suddenly started getting hot. “Why are you talking about my cousin?”

“Haha, no reason. Anyway, are you doing something for break?” Neil asked, kissing Andrew’s neck and then the mole that makes up 90% of Neil’s thoughts. The other 10% was the way Andrew's ears turned red when Neil kissed him. It drove Neil insane.

“Yeah, South Carolina again.” Neil immediately stopped kissing Andrew. Neil’s arms dropped from Andrew’s waist. Andrew raised an eyebrow at Neil, sensing that something was wrong.

The gun, the Court, Myrtle Beach, and the number one. How could Neil forget about it? They occupied Neil’s thoughts in Newark—the ride back and all night—even when Andrew was next to him, circling his back with his hand.

“Sorry,” Neil apologized, leaning in for another kiss. But Andrew stopped Neil by putting his hand on Neil’s mouth again.

“Something’s wrong with you,” Andrew stated. “Don’t run away.” He didn’t mean run away physically; he meant run away mentally. Keeping secrets to himself, distancing himself from friends, and losing sleep. Neil wasn’t going to run. He stopped running when he met Andrew.

Neil sighed sadly. “I won’t run. Not anymore. I need Kevin and Jean here. I need to talk about Newark.”

Andrew put on Neil’s hoodie, leaving the room. Leaving Neil to his thoughts.

A few minutes later, Kevin and Jean walk into Andrew’s dorm; Andrew follows shortly after. He locked the door. Kevin and Jean sat on the floor while Andrew joined Neil, sitting on the bed.

“Hey,” Kevin greeted, smiling at Neil, who weakly smiled back. Jean looked at Neil with a knowing look. After yesterday, Neil and Jean now have a mutual understanding of each other. It was strange looking back at the many brawls they had. They could’ve been friends all along.

Kevin and Andrew quickly noticed that Neil and Jean were acting weird. A good weird, but still weird. Andrew’s mouth gaped at the two, and Kevin spluttered. “Are you guys okay?”

Neil laughed. “Yeah.”

Jean shook his head, smiling at Kevin and Andrew’s reactions, finding them amusing. But instantly, his face turned serious. “We need to talk about yesterday.”

Andrew moved forward, listening intensely. Kevin did the same thing, his eyes not leaving Jean and Neil’s when they explained how the trip to Newark went. They talked about Serenity’s reactions, Robin being a tribrid, and the black magic spell that Neil used. Thoroughly, Neil explained every single vision he had to the very last detail. Andrew looked at Neil intensely, listening to every word.

“Sorry, Neil. What did you see again?” Kevin murmured, and when Neil explained that he seemed like he was dissociating, Neil knew the feeling all too well. Kevin has seen the Court up close, felt the dark energy, and was used over and over again to try to unlock it. Jean looked at Neil with confusion, trying to put the pieces together.

The visions made Neil feel uneasy, like he was going to hurl at any minute. The flashbacks weren’t just scenes with no connection or purpose; it was clear that it was all supposed to be a timeline—a connection.

“A gun, The Court, Myrtle Beach, and the number one,” Neil shivered. Andrew moved closer to caress his leg. It was a silent message of ‘I’m here’ that Neil so desperately needed. Neil gave Andrew a small smile. Neil glanced over at Kevin, whose hand was on his mouth. He looked away, vomiting on the floor. Jean stared at Neil like Neil were the visions themselves. Jean was there when Neil went through them, but Neil just mentioned that Robin Cross was in South Carolina, not anything else. Jean stared at Neil like he was the one who shot the girl, opened the Court, destroyed Myrtle Beach, and, most importantly, was the number one. Neil looked at Kevin’s distress with intense guilt. Andrew looked at Kevin with wide eyes.

“You saw the number one?” Jean croaked out, like it was hard to get the words out.

“It was…” Neil tried remembering. “It was like a knife or something. It was shaped like the number one.”

“Okay,” Jean choked out. “We can talk later; I’m going to get Kevin to his room,” Jean said, holding Kevin like a fragile piece of glass. Quickly, with vampire speed faster than light, they left. Neil and Andrew were left alone; they stared at each other. The loud screams of the gym class below them didn’t matter; what mattered was deciphering the link between the four flashbacks.

“Remember when Kevin and Jean said they were the second and third persons that were used to open up the Court?” Andrew broke the silence, gazing at Neil, hoping that he remembered.

“Yes. I do,” Neil uttered, still caught up on both of their reactions.

“The first person to be used was a human boy, Riko Moriyama. Knives were used to cut their stomachs so the blood could be used; if you saw a knife shaped like the number one, then...”

“Riko Moriyama has to do something with Robin,” Neil gasped. “But why would he take her to South Carolina? The Court is in Virginia.”

Andrew shrugged, but he still maintained eye contact with Neil. There were so many questions unanswered, and Riko Moriyama was the hardest to solve. Andrew’s phone buzzed, revealing a notification from Facebook. He realized he could download the app on his phone, like every other person ever, in case they couldn’t use Wymack’s computer. He followed Serenity Cross just in case there were any updates on Robin Cross. The notification was a post that was created a few seconds ago.

The post was a picture of the dirty soccer ball Neil touched and used for the spell yesterday. The dirt was still on it, and if you looked closer, you could see the black matter on it. The caption read, “Today, my beautiful baby turns fourteen. I’m going to find you.”

Below the post was a news post about the South Carolina news. Andrew only followed a limited number of people, and Neil guesses that the news was one of the selected few. The post read: Breaking news! A local store in Horry County explodes suddenly. The police are on the case. The attached video was footage from a security camera a few miles away from the store. One second in, the store immediately burst into flames. Thankfully, there were no civilians outside the store. But there were two people passing by, one boy and a girl.

The girl was a few inches shorter than the boy; her face couldn’t be seen, but the light from the fire revealed her pale skin and jet-black hair. She was facing away, not noticing the security camera, but the boy did. Five seconds into the video, the boy gave a horrifying smile. It was more unsettling than Kengo’s, Ichirou's, or even the mysterious brunette man from Betsy’s whiteboard. The smile was a dare, a test.

At seven seconds, the girl finally noticed the camera. After she made eye contact with it, the footage stopped and the glitching started. At ten seconds, you can hear the boy’s psychotic laughter and see the dreadful number one on his cheek.

Chapter Text

February 14th, 2007. Horry County, South Carolina.

Eighteen was Robin’s unlucky number. It was how many times she bit her victims until she was full; it was the eighteenth of November when she was taken by Steven; it was the eighteenth of April when Riko Moriyama tried stabbing her for the first time; and many more attempts to come.

Robin could feel Riko’s dead eyes watching her every move. Riko wasn’t a vampire; he was very much human; at least Robin thought so. But it seemed like he would get a thrill from ripping out someone’s heart and eating it. Robin didn’t care about how Riko felt; she only cared about tearing into this guy’s flesh. Robin and Riko were in an alleyway in Horry County so that Robin could eat her breakfast, lunch, and dinner while Riko loaded more bullets into his 9mm caliber gun.

“Could you be any faster?” Riko snarled, shooting the already-dead man that Robin was eating. The bullet barely grazed Robin. Even if it did, Riko couldn’t kill her, even if he tried. Riko killed the man with no remorse because of his insults to the Moriyama family business. Riko was content and proud of his billionaire status, even though his family did not speak to him at all. But, his brother, Ichirou, gave Riko a gun for his seventeenth birthday, which was the worst mistake he has ever made. Riko went out shooting people, the suits had to clean up the mess, and Robin had to destroy the security footage with only her stare.

“Few more seconds,” Robin spoke up, her mouth full of blood. Her hands were hands, and so was her face after she itched her cheek eighteen times. She bit into the man’s oozing heart, the blood getting on her all-black outfit (Moriyama Protocol).

Riko pointed the gun at Robin; he wasn’t close enough so that the barrel would come into contact with her head, but with his practice, he could easily get a clean shot with no witnesses. Unfortunately for Riko, human bullets couldn’t kill Robin. And the stab wound from April 18th, 2005, couldn’t either.

“You can’t,” Robin grinned, blood pouring out from the slight gap in her teeth. Even if the bullets in his gun were silver or wooden, he couldn’t kill her. He was under a spell. Riko couldn’t kill Robin; her magic worked in mysterious ways that Robin couldn’t even begin to understand. Staring at cameras would make them shatter; the suits could give her whatever she wanted (if they didn’t wear their Thyme necklaces. The Master forced them to do so after Robin was given to the Moriyamas), and Riko Moriyama was forbidden to kill Robin until he fulfilled her promise.

Riko pointed the gun at the brick wall nearest to Robin and pulled the trigger. A warning shot. She blinked but didn’t show fear. She couldn’t, especially not near Riko. Robin wiped the blood from her face; it was a bit dried near her mouth, but you could only notice if you were so close to her.

“You two finished here?” A suit who was keeping watch called out. Robin didn’t quite understand why these people would work for such an insane family, but it was all for money. Greed is all Robin knew and all she was taught. When leaving Moriyama Manor (there were about 11 in the United States and a few more on other continents), Riko needed a minimum of five bodyguards near him. When you’re the son of famous deceased billionaire Kengo Moriyama, you need to be protected at all costs from paparazzi, or assassins.

“Yes.” Robin said, getting up. Leaving the dead man there, she tore his face up so that he wouldn’t be identified, and the wounds looked like an animal attack. Riko followed behind, his gun now in his pocket.

Robin was taken by Steven Anderson, her next-door neighbor, when she was only nine years old. She was locked in his basement for months; the windows were too high, and he was always home. And when he wasn't, his friends were. On April 17th, 2005, the Moriyamas figured out that Robin Cross was a valuable asset to carry out their plan, giving Steven ten million dollars for Robin; she was now property of the Moriyamas.

Robin was the theoretical key to unlocking the Court. She had only seen the Court once, and she felt like the deceased monsters and supernaturals inside were calling her name. Like a siren’s song. After that, Riko Moriyama tried stabbing Robin in her sleep.

Riko Moriyama was the unwanted second son of Kengo Moriyama. Riko was weak, fragile, and everything of that sort. His older brother, Ichirou Moriyama, who was now the owner of all Moriyama businesses and the owner of all eleven Moriyama manors in America, was always the more successful brother. Kengo paid no mind to Riko; he didn’t care about Riko’s first tooth falling off, his first one hundred on his math quiz, or Riko’s first kill.

Desperate to prove himself to Kengo, Riko Moriyama made it his life mission to unlock the Court for him in Kengo’s memory. If Robin wasn’t such a powerful witch, he would’ve done so already, but things don’t always come so easily. Riko nearly went insane the day Kengo Moriyama died. He died before he could see Riko’s success for himself.

On April 18th, 2005, Robin gave Riko an ultimatum. If he were to find Steven Anderson himself without any help (he moved out of New Jersey one month after kidnapping Robin; he left once again after receiving his ten million dollars), Robin would drop the spell, and he could kill her. Currently, they are in South Carolina. Some suits were around the state, trying to match a face to the photo of the brunette man.

Riko was obsessed with the idea of killing Robin. Slashing her stomach would give him power and a thrill. The demons inside the Court would listen to him and only him, and Kengo Moriyama would finally notice him. He agreed to the conditions; it’s not like he could say otherwise; he was still spelled even two years later. Lately, Riko has been slacking on trying to find Steven, so Robin decided to tag along.

The two, along with a bodyguard at each of their sides, were walking along Myrtle Beach. One suit’s gun had human bullets, and the other’s gun had silver bullets to keep Robin from running away. There was no point in running away now; Robin wanted to kill Steven herself, and Riko promised that he would find him.

It was a nice day, not too cold but not scorching hot, so all of the humans came out to swim in the ocean water, play volleyball, and ride the ferris wheel. Robin watched the humans, quite envious of them. Oh, how she would kill to be human. But humans are greedy creatures, and sometimes Robin feels good about being a tribrid.

Robin laughed as a girl fell while trying to catch the volleyball, her face on the sand as the other girl next to her helped to pick the fallen girl up.

“Greedy humans." Robin laughed under her breath. The suits were close to Robin, directed to shoot if she went in the wrong direction, but Riko was closer. If he heard her comment and was offended, he didn’t say anything anyway.

Robin tried to figure out if Riko was human or not. Excluding his maniac tendencies and having a gun with him at all times, Riko didn’t seem human. He wasn’t a werewolf; he’d turn on the full moon at the same time as Robin did. Riko did have sharp teeth, but they weren’t as sharp as Robin’s or the Master’s. Riko never used magic either—well, at least not that Robin is aware of.

Once, in a moment when Robin lost control of her composure, Riko ripped the stitches from his stomach. He bled all over the bed, clutching his stomach, before he could get proper medical attention. Riko didn’t seem hurt over his; he had a blank stare on his face, but he called out for help anyway. But, Robin was there. Robin was the one to kill Riko Moriyama.

Robin ripped out Riko’s heart. Out of every human’s heart that she has eaten, Riko’s was the strangest; it was bitter. It was pitch black. Riko laughed the whole time; his laughter haunted Robin, but she was manic; her laughter was stronger. She ate him away. She ate him like there was no consequence. She ate him like he was just a regular man and not a billionaire's son.

Robin then woke up to a barrel to her temple. Back to square one; back to what she had known for as long as she could remember. Riko Moriyama was alive, and Robin was convinced that ripping out Riko’s heart was a vision from some kind of episode. Since then, Robin has learned to keep the craving for blood to herself. It was tough since a little droplet made her veins pop out and her eyes red, but she forced herself to learn anyway.

Distracting Robin from her thoughts was Riko’s cellphone ringtone. The contact name was just the number, but with Riko’s scowl, Robin assumed that he knew exactly who was calling him. Riko stopped walking on the sand and put the phone on speaker. The voice was none other than Ichirou Moriyama; it was strange that he was calling Riko. Both brothers barely spoke any words to each other, especially after Kengo’s funeral. If Ichirou called, it meant he was asking Riko for a favor.

Even though Robin picked up on some Japanese while with the Moriyamas, she still couldn’t decipher the conversation between Riko and Ichirou. Only Riko’s furrowed brows and the obnoxious grinding of his teeth showed that the call was not pleasant. In the middle of Ichirou talking, Riko immediately hung up the phone, then threw it on the ground. The phone shattered immediately. The bodyguards didn’t look concerned, and Robin simply stared at the now-broken phone.

“We need to go to Columbia to pick up weapons from another company,” Riko gritted out. Ichirou forced Riko to do his bidding; most likely. Ichirou was busy with the other twenty companies he owns, so he couldn’t be a ring leader for the next Moriyama exchange. Robin has only come on one Moriyama exchange. After being given to the Moriyamas, she came along with Riko and the Master to some bar in New York City. Furious at the Moriyamas, Robin snapped the neck of one bodyguard. The other suits shot her with bullets that made her sleep to stabilize her; she woke up with a bullet wound on her shoulder, and Riko stood before her, ready to give her another.

The suits immediately nodded, and they went back to the parked black limousine, where Riko and Robin sat next, with one suit on each side and the other two in the shotgun and driver seats. Today was not a day to find Steven. Robin gripped the car door in anger, but after noticing her daylight ring on her hand, she felt slightly better.

Eden’s Twilight was a two-story, loud, and extremely colorful bar. Robin just turned fourteen today, and had no business being inside a bar, Riko on the other hand was seventeen. Still underage, but slightly better. With Riko Moriyama’s billionaire status, there was no way that the bouncers would not let him in. Riko and the suits were harmed. Robin would never use her magic for something like this, but if the bouncers ever touched her, she was not afraid to.

The bouncers first noticed the number one on Riko’s cheek. Riko thought that being the first person to open up the Court was a privilege, even a blessing. He thought that the stitches on his stomach were like battle scars. Manipulated by his obsession, Riko got a tattoo of the number one on her cheek. The mysterious second person who was used to open the Court escaped before he could get a number two indicator on his body. The third person used did have a tattoo on their cheek; they got it the day before they died. Nobody talked about the second and third people, especially Robin. She was almost shot with silver bullets when she asked about them.

The bouncers nodded, and of course they automatically recognized famous billionaire Riko Moriyama, who was secretly an insane murderer and found pleasure in making his dead father proud. The bouncers moved out of their way, and Riko gave a grin back. No matter if Riko wanted to try to smile genuinely, he would still look out of place. Robin followed shortly after, and then the suits did.

Sitting at the nearest table to the door, most of the suits left to do the exchange while Robin and Riko (with a bodyguard next to him) sat across from each other. Robin stared out of the window. How fast could she snap the neck of the bodyguard next to Riko so she could escape? Robin has thought of escape plans, but where would she go? She didn’t know the address of her childhood home; her brain blocked that part of her childhood, and Robin didn’t know where her grandmother lived either. Going to the police and explaining her situation was a no-go either; they’d think she was a lunatic.

A blonde young man came up to the table. He was wearing a white shirt that was slightly unbuttoned on the top. He also had a notepad on one hand and a pen on the other.

"Hey, I’m Roland. Do you need anything?” He said, his eyes not leaving Riko’s. Roland's smile could only be described as a cat's, ready to pounce. Suddenly, Robin felt extremely uncomfortable.

“Uh, no, we’re—” Robin started. They weren’t here for drinks, only for the exchange. Roland seemed to know that all too well since he worked here.

“I think you need some company,” Roland purred at Riko.

“No.” Riko grinned with his fake magazine smile. The fake smile was what the public saw, but what Robin saw was Riko reaching in his pocket for his 9mm caliber.

“Sorry,” Roland put his hands up; however, with his tone, it seemed unapologetic. Riko crossed his arms, and Robin’s hand carried the weight of her face. “Let me know if you guys need anything.” Roland walked away.

As Roland walked away, Robin fiddled with her daylight ring. If she, hypothetically, escaped, then how long would it take for the Moriyamas to track her down again? Would Robin survive the silver bullets being shot at her? Or would she live another day? Robin bit her lip in anxiety, the booming music wasn’t helping and the man who’s drink almost spilled on Robin’s black t-shirt didn’t help her tease emotions either.

The suits came back with the suitcases and their pockets empty. Riko and Robin got up, and the suits followed them both to the limousine. However, Robin’s daylight ring stayed sitting inside Eden’s Twilight.

Riko practically begged the suit, who was driving, to make a pit stop at the nearest gas station. Riko also begged him for him and Robin to be alone while they shopped for what Robin could assume was candy. Even though the suit's mission was to protect Riko Moriyama, they were also to do what he said. Defying a Moriyama was punishable by death. They let him go on his own; also, Riko was armed, and Robin, who was supernatural, could protect him. But why would she?

There weren’t many people in the gas station—just the owner and a few groups of people buying food. Naturally, everyone inside the store knew who Riko Moriyama was and thought Robin Cross was a nobody.

The group of people whispered to themselves, most likely about the Moriyama family or how Riko was gracing them with his presence. Robin thought that was a load of bullshit.

Riko gave Robin a smile, the type you’d see in a black-and-white news article. “Burn this store down.”

Robin gaped at him. “What?”

“They insulted my family; you do as I say or I’ll kill you.” Riko’s smile never faltered; if anything, it got bigger over the idea of killing Robin and fulfilling his purpose. The reason why he was born.

“I don’t even know how to do it.” Yes, Robin was a skilled witch, but she always did her spells with no intent to do so. She cursed Riko Moriyama with no intent and will continue to do so until he does his side of the deal.

“One day you’ll forget your spell, and I’m going to slash your stomach and then your throat, Cross,” Riko threatened. “I'll bathe in your blood."

Robin felt the anger boiling in her stomach. When will this guy get the hint that he can't kill her? Definitely, the two hundred ways Riko tried should've sent him the hint. Guess he didn't get the message. After Robin gave him a glare, Riko continued. "You're only useful to me and my family dead. You're useless alive."

“If I’m only useful dead, then who disposes of the bodies you kill? Who gets rid of the footage? It’s not you, that’s for sure,” Robin snapped. "You need me as much as I need you." Robin didn't want to admit it, but someone like Riko with a huge family, the power, and the technology could be useful for finding Steven once and for all.

“You’re. Only. Useful. Dead,” Riko repeated, his grin spreading to his eyes. The group of people staring at the two didn’t even notice that this would be their last moment. Grabbing the nearest wall, the store immediately burst into flames. Robin didn’t do it for Riko. Robin did it because she wanted to kill him once more.

Running out of the store, Robin and Riko walked outside casually, as if nothing had happened. If the two were convicted anyway, the Moriyama family would bail them out. If they didn’t receive bail, the Moriyamas would negotiate a deal to get both of them home.

Riko smiled at the security camera as the store exploded for good, the screaming inside stopped, and the sign on the top of the building fell out. When Robin stared at the camera, it started glitching, and it almost fell on Riko.

‘Greedy humans.’ Robin thought while staring at Riko, whose eyes looked much redder than hers.

Chapter Text

February 21st, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

“How’d you even get money for the house anyway?” Kevin asked Nicky, who was throwing his back cackling. He almost hit his head and swallowed the mint gum he was chewing. In Nicky’s room, he, Aaron, Andrew, Neil, Kevin, and Jean were discussing their plans for spring break. Yesterday, while kissing, if Neil and Andrew weren’t out of breath, they talked about spring break. If Robin Cross was currently in South Carolina, the boys could make a trip to try to find her and break her free from the Moriyamas' grasp.

Asking to invite Neil, Jean, and Kevin along on the trip wasn’t the hard part (Nicky screamed; he did really like them, but he screamed because Andrew never really asked for anything like that); it was the planning. The plan was that when the cousins had taken the other boys to Eden’s Twilight, Andrew and Neil were going to interrogate Roland, who was most definitely working, if he knew anything about a certain raven-haired girl.

“Oh my god, he asked how I got the house.” Nicky cackled, hitting Aaron while laughing. Aaron gave him a glare. One of Nicky’s bad habits was hitting people while laughing, but luckily he was smart enough to not hit the wrong twin. Andrew would bathe in his blood.

“So one day it was like July, and the weather was so nice and—” Nicky started.

“Can we talk about the rooms?” Aaron cut him off.

“Oh, yeah.” Nicky awkwardly smiled. “Me, Aaron, and Andrew have our own rooms. Kevin and Jean can share the guest room. And Neil, you can share with Andrew.”

“What?” Neil and Aaron both yelled at the same time. They both stared at each other for a good second before Aaron broke eye contact because he wanted to stare at Nicky in defiance. Andrew just raised his eyebrows, and at the corner of his eye, he saw Jean trying to stifle his laughter. Neil caught this too and sent a warning glare at him. Jean and Kevin were the only ones who knew Neil and Andrew had something going on; the others had some ideas, but Neil quickly shut them off. Andrew wasn’t too upset about being out; those who were close to him knew he was gay, but the assumptions about their relationship drove Neil crazy.

Andrew notices these little things. Neil twitches his eye when Allison makes a snide remark; he defends Andrew and almost punched Jean a few times because of him. Andrew, like Neil, was new to the relationship thing (kissing Roland a few times didn’t count.), so he didn’t quite understand why Neil would go out of his way to bruise his knuckles for Andrew. Andrew would most definitely kill for Neil, but finding out that Neil would do the same was world-shattering.

“Oh, you both don’t know yet. Okay, whatever. Neil, you can share with those two,” Nicky said, pointing at Kevin and Jean. Kevin got sent back to reality from his daydream and gave Jean a confused look since he only heard his name. Renee definitely rubbed off on him because Andrew silently prayed that Neil stayed with him in his room. Andrew slept better with Neil around, and Neil had made it clear that he felt the same way. They both needed each other.

“Yeah, I’ll share with Andrew.” Neil said. Andrew immediately felt relieved.

“Great. Okay boys, we gotta pack,” Nicky grinned.

In Neil’s room, he packed all of his outfits (excluding Andrew’s clothes, most were from Allison and Kevin, some from Dan and Matt, and one singular shirt from Seth). Andrew was finished packing, so he was in Neil’s room too, “helping out Neil.” Instead, he was basically just sitting down, watching as Neil lazily used a telekinesis spell to take the neatly folded clothes into the suitcase Nicky lent him.

While moving his fingers to do the spell, Neil sat down on the bed next to Andrew. The hybrid thinks he’s not obvious and not a pathological liar, but he was. Andrew could read him; he knew everything. Andrew knew Neil bit his lip when he was upset; Andrew knew that Neil smiled when he was angry; and Andrew knew that when Neil was scared, he would cry and beg for Mary Hartford to come back to comfort him. Now, Neil’s sharp teeth sank into the fleshy part of his lip. He scratched the battle scars on the palm of his hand while he stared right outside the window. Andrew knew something was wrong.

“Are you going to run, rabbit?” Andrew asked, moving closer. He was here to listen to Neil, to comfort him, and to kiss him whenever he was sad. Neil always did the same for Andrew, when he’s manic before the full moon, when he’s sick after the full moon, and when he doesn’t talk for the whole day after getting into bad fights with his brother.

Neil quickly snapped out of his trance, not realizing that he was still moving his fingers even though the spell was finished and the suitcase was closed.

“No, just thinking. About Robin,” Neil sighed. His voice was slightly more raspy than usual. Neil stood up to put the suitcase on the floor next to his bed. Andrew’s eyes never left Neil; if anything, he stared harder to try to figure him out.

“We’ll find her,” Andrew affirmed.

Neil smiled, leaning down to kiss Andrew on the cheek.

“I have an idea, but I’ll tell you once we get there,” Andrew said. “I know someone who would know where she is.” Roland might know where she was; not only do Moriyama exchanges happen in bars, but Roland is well-known in South Carolina. Both of his dads ownership of one of the most popular bars in South Carolina boosted his status in high school since he brought booze to all of the parties. Well, at least that’s what he told an uninterested Andrew the last time they went to Eden’s.

“Okay,” Neil breathed. “Thank you.”

Andrew simply nodded, leaning down to hand Neil’s suitcase, which was ditched when Neil kissed Andrew. “Let’s go. Don't want to keep the others waiting.”

Andrew owned a car. Well, technically, he shared it with Aaron and Nicky. It was under Andrew’s name, though, so it's his. Andrew let Nicky drive sometimes and let Kevin drive it before Wymack gave him a car for his sixteenth.

Walking to the parking lot, Nicky was the first to notice Andrew and Neil. He raised his eyebrows but smiled knowingly after. Andrew reached into his armbands to give Nicky a scare; it works every time. Nicky, worried that he might get stabbed, threw the car keys at Andrew, which he was previously using to unlock the car to keep some suitcases in. Kevin and Jean were in the back of the car, loading everyone’s suitcases. Neil went to help put his in the trunk too. Aaron was leaning against the car, staring intensely at Neil.

Andrew didn’t quite understand his twin brother’s grudge against Neil. When Andrew was kissing Roland after his shift at Eden’s, Aaron and Nicky both didn’t really approve of their thing. Aaron would give Roland death glares that made him seem like he was actually Andrew. Two summers ago, Roland and Andrew got into a bad fight. It was silly now, looking back at it, but they were somewhat drunk, and it seemed real. Roland put all of Andrew’s insecurities to light, saying that Andrew sometimes did care what people thought about his family, that Andrew was too protective over Aaron, and that Andrew was scared of coming out. Andrew did say horrible things back, but after the last one Roland spit out, he stormed out and left Eden’s. At home, Aaron came home with bruises on his face, but he kept saying, “You should’ve seen the other guy.” Andrew didn’t cry, but Aaron surely did, and it wasn't because of the pain in his face.

“Neil’s sitting shotgun,” Andrew said, distracting him from Roland. He was not looking for any remarks about the arrangement; it was Neil in shotgun, and that’s final. Nicky didn’t care; if he wasn’t driving, he was in the back seat. If Jean hadn’t come along, Kevin would’ve complained that he was “too tall” and his “legs couldn’t fit.” But Jean being present somehow cured Kevin’s habit of complaining. Andrew glanced over at Aaron, who clearly had the biggest problem with Neil riding passenger.

“What?” Aaron asked, in shock. “Why him?” Andrew just gave him a death glare in response. He wasn’t going to waste his energy on his brother; Andrew wanted his boyfriend to sit in the front with him, and Aaron didn’t understand that for some reason. Or he did, but just opposed it. Aaron rolled his eyes, but he listened to his twin, sitting at the right window seat, moping in silence.

“No use fighting the love,” Nicky grinned, sitting next to Aaron. Through the rearview mirror, Andrew glared at Nicky too.

“And I got the aux,” Andrew said smugly. Everyone except Neil groaned. It was going to be a long ride, but at least Andrew could stare and sneak glances at Neil when the lights flashed red. But how could Andrew possibly resist kissing him for those five hours?

Columbia, South Carolina, 8:30 p.m.

Andrew survived not kissing his boyfriend for five hours. The ride wasn’t too bad for the most part, besides the obnoxious bickering between Nicky and Aaron and Nicky asking Aaron who was the hottest guy in Palmetto, but of course the straight cousin said soccer captain Jeremy Knox. Neil was asleep for most of the ride, and while all of the boys were in Nicky’s room, Andrew noticed that Neil’s eyes were droopier than usual and that he yawned before speaking. Once Neil’s head hit the car door, Andrew automatically turned down his Green Day. Just for Neil.

Finally arriving at the Columbia house, the boys all got out of the car. Kevin, Jean, and Aaron helped out with the suitcases while Nicky unlocked the house. Before walking in, Andrew handed Nicky the car keys back. Nicky grinned, and Andrew shook his head, hiding a slight smile. Eden’s Twilight. Kevin and Jean were with the cousins a few years ago; Andrew has no idea if they had a good time. He was with Roland the entire time, which was not his best moment. Though Andrew assumes that the couple would have a good time since they’re raging alcoholics at only seventeen, the product of all of the Palmetto parties they snuck into.

“Aaron, Kevin, and Jean come with me. We need to buy some clothes for the best night of Neil’s life.” Nicky grinned, though it looked more teasing, and it was a silent message to the twins. Aaron still had a blank stare, and Andrew almost laughed.

“Here we go again.” Jean shook his head, but he was smiling.

“Finally!” Kevin cheered. Neil was so confused, glancing at Andrew with an eyebrow raised. Andrew mouthed, ‘I’ll tell you in a second.’

“Why can’t Neil come?” Aaron asked, glaring at Neil once again. Neil raised an eyebrow, reading to make a snide remark, but Nicky spoke before he could get the chance.

“Andrew can give him his clothes. He and Andrew are similar sizes, you know, being short and all. Sorry, sorry!” Nicky apologized after Andrew reached into his armbands, but not before looking to see if Neil was glancing away.

Aaron growled, but Jean just patted him on the back, leading him outside the door. Kevin and Nicky bid goodbye to Neil and Andrew. As the door shut, Andrew made his way upstairs, carrying his and Neil’s luggage with him. Neil followed him upstairs as well, carrying another suitcase. After setting down the suitcase, Andrew grabbed Neil’s waist, pulling him onto the bed. Neil almost fell on top of Andrew, but Andrew’s other arm was wrapped around Neil’s torso, stabilizing him.

Neil’s laughter was enchanting. Andrew felt like he was under a spell every time Neil spoke. Neil made Andrew feel like it was just them in this cruel, sick world, like Andrew could be calm for just a few seconds.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked, moving in closer to Neil. To smell the cologne and the blood on his mouth. To anyone else, the disgusting smell of blood would turn them away from Neil Josten. However, Andrew stayed. The blood only meant he was being a slob and hadn’t watched his face after drinking.

“Yes, always yes.” Neil grinned, his beautiful teeth showing but slowly going back inside of his mouth as he leaned in to kiss Andrew. Sometimes, Andrew liked to let Neil lead. Neil was a good kisser now with Andrew’s help, but he was god-awful the first time they did. But Andrew didn’t care, as long as Neil was kissing him.

Andrew tightened his grip around Neil’s waist, pulling him closer. The boys nipped on each other’s lips; the kiss was sloppy, but they both liked it. Usually their kisses were much slower-paced, but Andrew wanted to get Neil’s clothes off right now. Andrew broke the kiss to bite Neil’s neck; he didn’t need his eidetic memory to remember which parts of Neil’s body made him scream as much as possible.

“Fuck—” Neil giggled, caught off guard by the bite that Andrew gave him. Neil used his hand to pry Andrew off of him to connect their lips once more. Neil buried his hands in Andrew’s blonde hair. Andrew loved it when Neil tugged on his hair.

“Can I take off your shirt, yes or no?” Andrew asked.

Neil hesitated, but eventually he responded. “Yes.”

Andrew raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, sorry.” Neil apologized. “It’s just…my scars.”

“I like your scars,” Andrew complimented, making sure to tilt Neil’s face so he could see Andrew’s serious face. He did like Neil’s scars; he hid in sweaters and hoodies, but when they were alone, he had that all off. Neil’s scars were proof of survival and battle. Andrew’s scars were proof of a mental battle, not quite like Neil’s experience, but the most important part was that both Andrew and Neil survived and learned. That’s what Bee told Andrew before she left.

“You do?” Neil’s eyes widened, but he took off his shirt so that Andrew could see all of them. Every single one. Neil had scars all over his body, bullet wounds on his chest, and scratch marks on his face. Andrew thought that Neil was the light of his life, and his scars didn’t make him any less than a person.

“Yes,” Andrew said firmly. With Neil, Andrew took off his shirt too, so the two boys matched. Andrew also took off his armbands, something he doesn’t typically do. He only did it with Neil, who needed to see that others have the same “burdens” that he did.

So Neil could finally get the message that Andrew loved every part of him, he kissed the scars on the hybrid’s chest. Neil laughed like he was being tickled (he might be ticklish), but he redirected Andrew’s attention back to his lips. Andrew nipped Neil’s lips, not until he bled but until it made Neil feel the sensation.

“Mmm. Angel,” Neil whimpered. The first time Neil called Andrew was when he was in the middle of a panic attack, and Neil was convinced that Andrew fell from heaven just for him. The second time he called Andrew was when they kissed for the first time. He didn’t quite understand why Neil would ever compare him to an angel. Andrew shot Tilda in the head at eleven, he shape-shifted into an aggressive animal a few times a month, and he had a reputation. Andrew was no angel.

The sudden noise of Andrew’s car in the garage startled both of the boys. Neil stopped the kiss, moving from the bed to look outside of the open window. The others were back from shopping, and Neil and Andrew were supposed to be ready for Eden’s.

“Nicky said get dressed, but we did quite the opposite,” Neil grinned. Andrew shook his head but had a smile on his face.

Andrew got out of bed so he could look inside his closet for something Neil could wear. Size wasn’t the problem; most of his clothes fit Neil; the problem was finding a good outfit for Neil. Andrew had his outfit set up; did he want to match with Neil? or would it be too obvious that they were together? It didn’t matter because these leather pants were calling to Andrew, and he thinks that Neil would look too good in them.

Andrew handed Neil a black tank top, the leather pants he was eyeing, and the same leather jacket he wore at the Christmas party.

Neil looked confused. “Why all black?”

“Because you can’t wear blue jorts with orange shirts all the time. Use different colors,” Andrew responded, a bit smugly. He hated the jorts.

"Allison, and now you?” Neil sighed, turning around to try on the clothes. Meanwhile, Andrew had a similar outfit on (not including his armbands), but instead he had on ripped jeans and a black shirt Kevin got for his birthday two years ago.

A knock on the door startled the two boys again. “Are you guys done fucking? We’re getting ready to leave,” Nicky said.

“We’re not fucking!” Neil called out, embarrassed.

“Almost done,” Andrew called out with dullness.

After the two got dressed, they went downstairs to meet up with the other boys. They also wore all black outfits; it was the unspoken rule about going to Eden’s. The black outfits with the colorful lights made the group stand out. Nicky threw the car keys to Andrew, who caught them. Nicky trailed back to try to talk to Neil.

“You’re going to have so much fun,” Nicky squealed, placing an arm around Neil to squeeze his shoulder. “Wow, you look so good.” Neil smiled uncomfortably back.

“Nicky,” Andrew warned. Nicky immediately put his hands up like he was getting arrested.

“Sorry,” Nicky said, looking around awkwardly.

“Can we just go already? I can’t stand you guys throwing yourselves at Neil,” Aaron groaned. He said “Neil” quietly, as if it were a forbidden word.

“Whatever,” Andrew rolled his eyes, starting the car. The group headed for Eden’s, but Neil and Andrew headed to find Robin Cross.

Neil was buzzing with nervousness. When Neil would open up about being on the run from notorious killer Nathan Wesninski, he would mostly talk about how he was restricted from being in public areas, kissing girls, and other insane things that Andrew still couldn’t wrap his head around. If Tilda had even tried doing what Mary did, Andrew would’ve used the gun to shoot her much sooner.

“Neil,” Andrew whispered once the group got out of the car. Nicky and Aaron got out of the car immediately to have a casual conversation with the bouncers; they didn’t really talk to Andrew, but they loved talking to the other two cousins. Kevin and Jean followed shortly after, definitely going to the bar first.

“Huh?” Neil blinked his eyes, seemingly coming back to reality from a daydream or a thought. Andrew held his hand out, in which Neil accepted immediately. The boys walked into Eden’s minutes after the rest of the group did.

If Andrew could describe Eden’s with two words, it’d be "shit-show". But if he were to describe it with one word, it’d be "loud." Eden’s was an introvert's worst nightmare; everyone talked to each other no matter if they knew each other or not, there was booming music, and the lights made Andrew feel like he had epilepsy. Andrew squeezed Neil’s hand tighter, and Neil rubbed circles on Andrew’s hand in response.

“Hold on, he’s here,” Andrew said, referring to Roland. He has most definitely seen Robin Cross personally, and if he hadn't, he would certainly know someone who has. Andrew scanned the club, searching for that shade of blonde that he could not stand. Absolutely nothing.

“I have an idea,” Andrew assured Neil. Andrew and Neil walked up to the second floor of Eden’s. There was this storage closet that he and Roland would go into; it wasn’t really used to kiss, but it was used if they wanted to escape the music and lights. Roland would go there when his shift ended sometimes, so Andrew assumed he was in there.

The closet was locked. Andrew tried opening it a few times, but the door wouldn’t budge.

“Got a hairpin?” Neil asked. Andrew shook his head. He should’ve brought one.

Neil let go of Andrew’s hand to take the magic from the door and open it using telekinesis. Andrew missed the warmth of his hand, but with Neil’s spell, it gets them one step closer to finding Robin Cross. The door opened, and Neil put his arm up to pretend he was the one who opened the door. Andrew and Neil witnessed a horrifying sight.

Roland was taking off his pants while some other guy Andrew didn’t know sucked on his neck. Andrew cleared his throat, and the two immediately pushed off of each other. The unknown boy put his pants on and ran out of the door, almost pushing Neil in the process.

“If you guys wanted to join in, you could’ve said so,” Roland groaned, not realizing who was behind him. He pulled up his pants and turned around. “Fuck! Andrew? What are you doing here?”

“We need your help,” Andrew says.

“I could always do you a favor,” Roland purred, looking Andrew up and down. The window next to Roland shattered, and Neil looked redder than usual. The glass almost cut Roland, but he wasn’t really phased by Neil’s threat. Neil was heaving with anger.

“No, we need to find this girl,” Andrew sighed.

“Who?” Roland asked.

“Robin Cross,” Neil explained impatiently. “Black hair, black clothes. Ring a bell?”

“Robin? Robin… wait. I think I know who you guys are talking about,” Roland said, surprised. “Yeah, she came here on Valentine's Day with Riko Moriyama. Yaknow, the billionaire.”

Neil gaped. “What was she doing with him?”

“I don’t know,” Roland said, quite rudely. He did not want to talk to Neil. Andrew gave him a warning glare, but he didn't notice because he was fiddling with something inside his pocket. “She left some kind of ring, though.”

Andrew and Neil looked at each other. They were thinking the same thing: her daylight ring. Andrew wasn’t an expert on the vampire thing, but being around Neil, Kevin, and Jean all the time made him notice and learn more about them. Based on Neil’s reaction, it was clear that Robin Cross couldn’t survive without her daylight ring.

“Where is it?” Neil questioned.

“I don’t know, why shou—” Roland couldn’t continue his sentence before Neil grabbed the broom stick next to him, stealing the magic and putting Roland to a temporary sleep.

“It’s in his pocket,” Neil says, going to Roland’s sleeping body to fish the daylight ring out of his pants pocket.

“How’d you know?” Andrew asked, a bit astounded that Neil would use such a spell so quickly.

Neil shrugged, but smirked when he finally found the ring in the large pocket, displaying the ruby-red gemstone that glistened in the night sky. “Dunno, I had a feeling.”

The boys left the storage closet, and Roland inside of it, immediately bumping into Aaron. He wasn’t drunk or anything; he might’ve been on cracker dust. Luckily, cracker dust didn’t make you extremely intoxicated; it just increased dopamine levels. Aaron stared at Neil and Andrew in shock as they left the storage closet at the same time.

“You—” Aaron started.

“Just knocked out Roland,” Neil grinned with confidence. 

‘Jesus,’ Andrew thought. 

Aaron raised an eyebrow. “Okay, let me come with you guys to wherever you’re going. Nicky’s with some other dude, and I don’t even know where the other two went.”

“What a way to cockblock, Aaron,” Neil rolled his eyes, teasing Aaron, whose eyes widened so much it looked like they were going to pop out of his sockets. Andrew bit his lip, trying to contain his laughter.

“Whatever, more, the merrier. But we’re looking for a girl, and this is serious shit, Aaron. If you’re coming along, you’re helping. Got it?” Neil demanded.

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, sure.”

“Hold on to it,” Neil told Andrew, handing him the daylight ring. Andrew held a firm grasp on it. The three boys left Eden’s Twilight, searching for Robin Cross. But where would they begin? Andrew guessed the streets. Aaron walked in the middle of Neil and Andrew, which made Andrew unbelievably angry. But Aaron didn’t seem like he wanted to leave his spot.

“You think she’s in Horry County?" Andrew asked Neil.

“Where?” he responded. His rabbit can sometimes be so stupid.

“The store,” Andrew said, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, maybe.” Neil looked down at the pavement but shook his head. “She could be here though; Roland said she was here a few days ago. There’s a chance she stayed.”

“I feel like I’m missing something here,” Aaron cut Neil off.

“Suck it,” Neil said, with a grin that showed his fangs. Someone had to put Aaron in his place.

Aaron rolled his eyes but didn’t back down. “I don’t give two shits what you have to say; I just need to know you’re not going to kill some little girl and drag my brother down with you.” Aaron was testing Neil.

Neil’s face went dark. “You know what, Aaron? I’ve been planning nonstop, losing sleep, and missing school so we can find this girl. Finding her means that you, your girlfriend, and everyone else’s can fucking live another day. Do you get it now, Aaron? Or do I have to spell it out for you once more?”

Aaron went silent. Andrew stayed silent. Neil scoffed after moving to walk next to Andrew. The walk was silent, but Aaron took on his side of the deal. To Andrew’s right, he looked through stores, alleyways, and crowds of people to try to fit a face to the vague description Neil gave of Robin Cross. Neil, who was to Andrew’s left, also looked around, but mostly at crowds of people. Andrew looked ahead, hoping that today would be the day they would see the black hair they desired to find.

The trio made it towards an abandoned area of Columbia. Andrew and Aaron lived on the other side of Columbia, in the ‘nicer’ neighborhood, so they didn’t know their way around this side. There were a few broken homes that reminded Andrew of the unspoken past, where he and Aaron survived off the streets after the death of Tilda. The twins had to survive for eight days at eleven outside; they had no other family since their werewolf father got up and left before the twin’s birth. Who knew when the police found Tilda’s body, if they even did?

Aaron hated him. Despised Andrew. He was convinced that Andrew was going to kill him too. How could he kill his mother like that, so brutally? So cruelly? But even though Andrew and Aaron shared the same age, Andrew understood how Tilda verbally abused Andrew, how she physically abused Aaron, and how her breath was sharp and her eyes were red. Andrew understood that if it was down to one of the twins to get rid of Tilda, it had to be him. Aaron did not understand.

“Stop that.” Andrew glanced at Aaron, who was biting his cheek at the sight of the broken glass on the floor. Aaron was weak from the homelessness, and Andrew had to be strong for him.

“Sorry,” He mumbled, not wanting to show weakness. But how could he not?

“Wait." Aaron stopped in his tracks, and Andrew did too. Neil continued walking for the same reason the blondes stopped. Blood. Being a werewolf did not have its perks; one of them was enhanced smell. Aaron says they’re like dogs, but Nicky reassures them that the twins are far from animals. All three of the boys could smell it from a mile away. Andrew ran to grab Neil, whose veins were popping out and eyes turned a dark cranberry color. Andrew hated it when Neil needed to feed; he wanted to see his icy blue eyes instead of the unsettling red.

“Andrew, listen to me,” Neil cried in pain. It was not from Andrew’s grip, even though it was stronger than he intended. It was the pain of resisting the urge to kill. Vampires were naturally drawn to blood, no matter whether they were humans, animals, or even werewolves.

Andrew wishes he could say that Neil has gotten better at resisting the urge, but that was only in a perfect universe. Neil grew up killing, and he would die with a kill count. Neil killed humans because that was the only thing he could do to eat. It was unsettling to think that, at ten years old, Neil had already killed about twenty people. It has only been a few months since Neil started attending Palmetto, and he slowly learned to drink rabbit blood instead. But at this very moment, it was like all of the progress had gone away. Neil was bloodthirsty again. But recovery wasn’t always a straight line; that’s what Bee always said.

"Andrew, are you listening?” Neil begged. The sclera of his eyes were turning pitch black, like Neil’s left hand (he keeps saying it’s a tattoo; Andrew thinks that's absolute bullshit).

“Yes,” Andrew said, tightening his grip around Neil, who was involuntarily scratching Andrew’s skin. He was driven by the murderous tendencies he buried deep inside. Aaron did not dare to touch Neil, but he stood in front of him just in case Neil ran away.

“When we go there,” Neil shivers, salivating. “If I go...fuck, crazy. You punch me; knock me out.”

“What?” Andrew asked. This Neil was scarier than the werewolf's manic tendencies before the full moon. This Neil was not his. This was not his rabbit; it was a fox.

“I said—”

“I heard. What?”

“Because…fuck,” Neil groaned in pain. “I’ll kill you.”

"No, you won’t.” Andrew deadpans, more confident than anticipated. Neil could kill him and would, but Neil would resist the urge a thousand times before laying a hand on Andrew.

“I can do the honors,” Aaron piped up.

“Shut up, Aaron!” Neil and Andrew yelled at the same time, Neil’s voice was much rasper though.

“Promise me you’ll do it.” Neil scratched Andrew’s skin harder, almost drawing blood, but his tears dropped on Andrew’s hand. “I don’t want you to die.”

Andrew caught Neil’s hand. “Fine.”

“I have a feeling…fuck.” Neil twitched, about to scratch his own face. “Robin.”

“What?” Aaron questioned.

“I swear she’s...” Those were Neil’s last words before he was fully consumed by the urge to shed blood. Neil’s eyes were pitch black once he broke free from Andrew’s restraint. At the speed of light, Neil punched Aaron, who was right in front of him. Neil ran off to the alleyway where the revolting scent was coming from. Andrew and Aaron, who was holding his face in pain, ran for Neil. The werewolves were fast, but Neil was faster. His energy came from hunger and desire.

Once Andrew got to the alleyway, he and Aaron witnessed a horrifying sight. Neil latched on to the brick wall from the deserted apartment, still trying his best to fight back the urge to massacre the entirety of South Carolina. Andrew stood, putting a hand out so Aaron wouldn’t move further. The rotting carcass in front was frightening, but the figure stabbing the body eighteen times was bone-chilling.

The figure turned their head around. Their entire body was stained red, and the walls around the body were too. If Andrew didn’t know better, he’d think that the corpse was just some guy. However, when the figure moved their hair out of the way, it became obvious who the body was. The number one on the cheek was the only identifying factor of the body; the tattoo stared at Andrew, like it was laughing at him. Or the world around him.

“Hi,” The figure grinned sinisterly. She was no longer seven years old, she was no longer missing, and she was here, tearing apart Riko Moriyama like it was nothing. Like he was nothing. Robin Cross stared at the twins like they were her breakfast tomorrow. To prove her point, she stuck her hand into Riko’s chest, pulling out his oozing heart and taking a bite. Andrew almost gagged. Aaron clutched his chest, vomiting on the ground.

Neil was stalking closer and closer to the body, heaving. Neil was still fighting, but it just wasn’t enough. His strength made it so that the brick wall cracked on impact from Neil’s hand. Andrew slammed Neil to the wall; he did not want to be rough and dangerous. Not anymore, not to Neil. But today, he needed to be. Robin cackled as the blood poured from Neil’s head, but he wasn’t worth her time. She stabbed Riko once more.

“Take Neil, and go to Nicky.” Andrew gritted out to Aaron, who was almost too scared to move. But he swallowed and grabbed Neil, placing him over his shoulder.

“Looking for this?” Andrew asked, smirking. He pulled out Robin’s ring from her pocket, eyeing it. She couldn’t be outside without it, and she couldn’t hold back the urge either.

“Who gave you that?” Robin’s red eyes widened, blood pouring out of her mouth and sharp teeth. Robin, Robin, Robin. Her mother hasn’t taught her that sometimes you can’t always get what you want yet. It was clear.

“Fetch.” Andrew smiled, throwing it outside of the alleyway. Luckily for Robin, there were no other people outside; Aaron just left with Neil back to Eden’s. Unfortunately for Robin, Andrew had ulterior motives. Even though she just gutted a billionaire right in front of him, Andrew didn’t show fear. He only did it with Tilda, and look where that got him—a murderer, just like Robin Cross.

Standing up, with blood still pouring out of her mouth, Robin limped towards Andrew. desperate for her ring. Riko Moriyama’s dead body was long forgotten since she had her fill. Even though drinking blood makes vampires feel relieved, Robin looked in pain, even though she was laughing at Neil’s distress not even five minutes ago. The raven-haired girl gripped the wall like she was miming Neil, walking towards Andrew, who stared at her bloody hands.

“Give it back,” Robin pleads, reaching out for the ring that was too far away now that Andrew kicked it almost to the road.

“If you answer my question first,” Andrew ordered.

Robin stopped limping, waiting. The blood from her hands dripped down to the pavement below Andrew.

“Why did you kill our favorite billionaire?” Andrew asked, staring at the bugs eating up Riko’s body like Robin did.

“Next question.” Robin snarled, gritting her razor-sharp teeth.

“Wrong answer,” Andrew said, kicking her leg. Robin quickly realized she was falling but couldn’t catch herself in time before her head hit the cold, hard concrete.

If Andrew was a vampire, he’d go mental over Robin’s blood spilling on his brand new shoes.

Chapter Text

February 22nd, 2007. Columbia, South Carolina.

Gun, the Court, Myrtle Beach, and the number one.

That’s the first and last thing Neil dreamt about when in a deep sleep, and that’s what he remembered once he woke up in a cold sweat. Before Neil could count how many exits there are in this room, he made eye contact with a tired Aaron, and right next to him was a worried Andrew.

A sharp pain in his head made Neil clutch it, trying to make it stop. But what hurt the most was his left hand, slowly turning into the black Neil dreaded. Neil looked up at Andrew, who let out a sigh of relief. Aaron just rolled his eyes; he was most definitely hoping that Neil would never wake up.

Andrew moved closer. “Yes or no?”

Neil winced in pain. “Yes.”

Andrew hugged Neil like he was frail, like he was hurting. He held him carefully, like he was a newborn baby. Neil was hurting, but he honestly didn’t expect that Andrew would be here next to him. He fully expected him to leave and do something good with his time, not stare at Neil and hoping that he'd wake up.

“I’m sorry,” Andrew said, holding Neil closer, but it wasn’t enough to hurt him. He said it so quietly and so hurtfully that Neil just wanted to kiss Andrew better, not the other way around. Even though Neil's head was pounding, it seemed like Andrew needed the comfort more.

“What happened?” Neil asked.

Aaron cleared his throat, “If you could get off my brother now."

“I wasn’t even—”

“Whatever, take these. You hit your head pretty hard,” Aaron instructed, handing Neil blue pills and a cold glass of water.

“Okay, but what happened?” Neil repeated, but not before swallowing the pills and the water along with it. Neil didn’t remember anything from last night; after going through the basic Who am I and Where am I questions, he quickly realized that he was in Columbia. But why was his head pounding?

Aaron and Andrew looked at each other, seemingly using twin telepathy to communicate. How could they tell Neil?

“We were looking for Robin; you smelled blood, went batshit, Andrew knocked you out because you asked him to, and now I have to go give Robin her pills,” Aaron quickly summarized, quickly leaving to Nicky’s room.

Robin? The Robin Cross that Neil had been searching for so long was here in this very house. Neil desperately needed to see her.

Andrew didn’t cry, but he was so close. “Can I?” he murmured.

“Yes,” Neil winced. It hurt to move, but Neil’s body could be consumed by the black matter, and he would still pull Andrew in close.

After actually looking around, Neil realized that he was in Andrew’s room, in his bed. He didn’t take a good look around yesterday, but he noticed there were more posters, a larger CD player, and black clothing on the floor. Looking back at Andrew, his eye bags were darker, his eyes were glassy, and he yawned after every second.

Andrew laid down on his bed next to Neil. Andrew carefully wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him in closer. Neil leaned forward, but not too forward so that his head hurt like hell, so he could kiss him on his favorite mole. Andrew smiled, leaning in so he could receive it, while his ears turned red at the contact of Neil’s lips.

“We found her,” Andrew said, touching Neil’s cheek.

“But what now? The Moriyamas are going to find her.” Neil bit his lip worriedly.

“Riko Moriyama is dead,” Andrew stated. “For good,” he added.

“What! How?” Neil gasped, wincing after. How could Riko be dead? Not only does he probably have bodyguards all around him, but his uncle was a vampire, so if Riko suddenly died, Tetsuji could technically turn and revive him.

“Robin—” Andrew started, but the loud, pitchy scream from Nicky’s room made Neil and Andrew jump up from the bed to run there.

Running into the room, Neil saw that Robin had recently tried attacking Aaron, who was digging his nails into her arm. Nicky looked at Robin in horror; the scene happened all too fast.

“Get off me!” Robin growled. Aaron had a blank stare, and he tightened his grip. If Neil didn’t know better, he’d think that Aaron was actually Andrew.

“Wait,” Nicky said, still shaken up. But Aaron let go of Robin, allowing Nicky to use his magic to shackle her. It wasn’t like the restraint spell that Neil knew—it was something more powerful.

“If you don’t mind, we need to talk to her alone,” Neil said without wincing this time, the pain slowly faded away from the pills. Andrew nodded his head at his twin and cousin, confirming that Neil and him needed to be alone to talk Moriyama business.

"Yeah, no problem,” Nicky grinned, patting Neil’s shoulder as he left. Aaron left, but not after narrowing his eyes at a sickly Robin. Even though she was physically restrained and her face was bruised somehow, she still had a threatening look on her face.

“I’m Neil, and you killed Riko Moriyama,” Neil stated.

“And you’re next,” Robin snarled, trying to break free from the magic. Her pitch-black eyes narrowed towards Neil and Andrew. Neil still kept a firm face, while on the other hand, Andrew broke out into a smile. But it was all teeth. Neil quickly realized how different his usual restraint spell was from Nicky’s. Nicky knew that Robin was a witch, so the blue shackles prohibited her from using magic. Now she was just a vampire and werewolf.

“Really?” Neil’s eyebrows rose, unconvinced.

“We need your help to get the Moriyamas off our asses,” Andrew says, leaning in.

“Since you killed Riko, the rest are going to target us; we know where to keep you safe,” Neil explains.

“And how am I supposed to trust you?” Robin raised an eyebrow.

“Take it from me. I was a homeless killer with Moriyama ties and a father out to get me, but after Palmetto, I learned how to defend myself, I made friends, and to be honest, I’ve been better, and now I want to help you, Robin.” Neil insisted.

“If you think I’m going to trust that one, then you have another thing coming.” Robin glared towards Andrew, whose grin got wider. Andrew found humor in those threatened by him, and Neil sort of felt the same.

“I know your mother,” Neil deadpans, biting the bullet.

“What?” Robin gawked.

“I’ll tell you where your mother is if you come with us,” Neil blackmails. Andrew's grin dropped, now having a blank stare on his face. Neil knew that his eyes were wider than usual, so he was listening intensely. Robin immediately started thrashing and started pulling her hands apart, attempting to break the spell. The blue shackles did not budge.

“Get me out of here!” She cried.

“I’ll break the spell if you do it.”

“Fine! God, Fine.”

Neil touched the blankets, and then Robin’s hands broke the spell. He fully expected her to attack, but she just stared at him with wide and glassy eyes.

“Do you really know my mom?” Robin’s lips quivered.

“Yes,” Neil confirmed. “She misses you.” Neil instantly regretted the second part because Robin burst into tears.

“If she missed me, she would’ve saved me!” Robin exploded. “If she missed me, she should’ve never answered that phone call and left me outside. If she missed me, she should’ve—” Robin started hyperventilating, gripping the walls that had a small flame growing. At this point, tears dropped on the blanket on top of Robin; her black eyes were now glassy, and her face turned red in anger. Even though Neil and Robin’s situations are definitely not the same, he sympathized with her, and he too wanted his mom with him. Every day, Neil wishes that he was raised in different circumstances as a human with a normal family. Maybe he would’ve turned out differently; maybe he wouldn't have tried to kill his boyfriend because of his bloodthirsty tendencies.

“Shit." Andrew cursed. Neil quickly took the water from the nightstand and threw it at Robin’s hand, the flame quickly dying.

"See, this is what I mean: you’re not in control of your emotions or your magic. You need to come with us,” Neil said, trying to be as convincing as possible.

Robin retracted her hand from the wall, realizing that she had almost started a fire in the house. She was still crying, her hand absorbing all of the choked sobs. Neil never thought he would turn out to be a sympathetic person, but after seeing Kevin and Jean cry because of the sick reminders of their trauma, he started to realize that he needed to be there for them. Now, he's starting to feel bad for Robin, who was taken from her mother, her father, and the chance to be a normal schoolgirl.

Andrew moved towards Neil to whisper in his ear. “Kevin and Jean should talk to her.”

“Oh, right!” Neil whispered back, but it was much louder than Andrew. Andrew glared at Neil because he couldn’t keep quiet, and now Robin is raising an eyebrow, waiting for Neil to admit what he was so surprised about.

“I’ll go get them,” Andrew said, leaving the room. Leaving Neil and Robin alone. Robin just stared at Neil; her eyes never left his, as if she were trying to figure him out. He felt uneasy, but once he thought about Robin having no desire to hurt him and also about her accepting his deal, he felt a bit calmer.

A few moments later, Kevin and Jean stepped into the room, but Kevin came in first, and his eyes teared up first.

“Where is it?” Kevin asked, desperate. Andrew stepped into the room after, glancing worriedly at Neil and then at Kevin.

“What?” Robin asked, her voice cracking.

“Your number,” Kevin explained.

“He never gave me one." Silence. “He never tried to use me.”

Jean sighed in relief, but he was also crying. Jean glanced at Andrew, signaling for him to leave the three alone. Andrew tugged Neil’s sweatshirt to lead him outside of the room.

“We’re going to Sweetie’s,” Andrew explained, offering Neil his hand. Who was Neil to decline?

Arriving at Sweetie’s, Andrew and Neil were still holding hands. Neil loved it, and he knew that this simple ice cream place was more to Andrew and that the older woman behind the counter was more than just an employee. Andrew inclined his chin towards the woman, who smiled and waved back.

Andrew and Neil sat down next to a table nearest to the window, on opposite sides, which means unfortunately that Andrew broke off the hand holding. But before doing so, he lifted Neil’s scarred hand to give him a chaste kiss.

“I’ll order,” Andrew said.

“Okay,” Neil blushed. “Can I get vanilla?”

Andrew nodded, then walked away, chatting it up with the older woman.

So much was on Neil’s mind. First off, was this a date? ‘Well, obviously, because you’re dating,' Neil’s brain said. But he will never understand why Andrew even likes him. Neil’s past and personality only attract trouble, and now apparently Andrew. Neil also doesn’t quite understand why Andrew stayed after that shitshow yesterday. Since, according to Aaron, he went crazy because of the smell of Riko Moriyama’s dead body, why does Andrew want to be with someone like Neil, who has murderous tendencies?

Also, Riko being dead was something that raised so many questions. Like, is Tetsuji still looking for Robin? And how much would he sacrifice to have her by his side? Neil shivered at the thought; he just found Robin and couldn’t imagine losing her now.

Andrew came over and set down the ice cream. He passed over the plain vanilla ice cream towards Neil, and he started digging in on his chocolate monstrosity.

“You’re so boring,” Andrew poked fun at Neil, biting into his spoon.

“If I’m so boring, then why are you with me?” Neil asked smugly. In response, Andrew kicked him under the table. Neil almost fell laughing.

After some silence from all of the eating or chewing on Andrew’s end (Andrew adds Oreos to his ice cream; Neil thinks it’s revolting), Andrew spoke up.

“I used to come here a lot with Aaron and Nicky before Eden’s. Kind of to get ready or prepare, or something.”

Neil nodded, and Andrew continued. “You better not run now, rabbit. Now that Robin’s here.”

“I won’t.” Neil confirms it firmly. He will not run. His father was now just a side thought; he only cared about his friends, Robin, and especially his boyfriend. Right now, he has a lot on his plate because of the Moriyamas and Robin Cross, who is currently being hunted down by the Moriyamas and most likely the police too because of the explosion in Horry County.

“You better not,” Andrew repeated, making eye contact with Neil. His hazel eyes, which looked green in this lighting, met Neil's icy blue.

“I won’t,” Neil confirms again.

After a few moments of just chewing and staring at each other, Neil spoke up.

“I’m worried about Robin being in Palmetto; she hasn’t been in school in years, and... I don’t know,” Neil falters, stabbing the bottom of his ice cream cup with his spoon, suddenly not hungry anymore.

Andrew looked up from his ice cream, reaching out for Neil’s hand. The shorter boy rubbed circles on Neil’s rough hands, comforting him. “I’m getting deja vu.”

“What do you mean?” Neil asks, genuinely confused.

“Did you know that the recruiters get a file before going off to actually find the person?” Neil shook his head. Andrew nodded and kept caressing Neil’s hand.

Andrew continued. “Me and Kevin got your file, picture, shit like that. You were our first 'mission,’ and Kevin was up all night for a week, wondering if you were going to fit and stuff, especially since you didn’t know you were supernatural until the day after your recruitment.”

Neil’s eyes widened. Kevin was worried about him. Now it did sound familiar; Neil was taking Kevin’s place, and now Robin was taking Neil’s place.

“But look now. At you, at us. You fit right in, and she will too.” Andrew kissed Neil’s hand. Neil melted.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Neil sighed in relief, as if a burden had disappeared from his shoulder. Robin was going to make friends, learn to control her magic, join sports, and meet her mother. And the Moriyamas were not out for her, and she can sleep at night without attacking anyone who touches her.

Maybe in a perfect world, but not this one.

*That’s exactly what Neil thought when he was staring at the dead wolf in the living room of the cousins' Columbia house.

Everyone inside the house circled around the rotting animal; it was cleaned out of all blood (somehow), and flies were circling around it as well, but for the same reason as the supernaturals were.

Nicky’s hands were on his face, shocked. Kevin and Jean looked at each other, sending a silent message. Neil, Andrew, and Aaron all had firm looks on their faces, trying to figure out who on earth put this here. Robin didn’t look at the animal; she just stared at Neil’s face, like he had caused this.

“Who would—” Nicky bit his lip, breaking the silence.

“The Moriyamas,” Everyone turned to Jean; though he didn’t look embarrassed, his dark gray eyes narrowed. “This is a threat to all of us.”

Andrew leaned down and rolled the animal over on its back, revealing a number 4 carving that was most likely used by a knife on its stomach. Kevin ran away to the bathroom, and Jean quickly followed him.

Nicky gasped. “I need to call someone, oh shit.” He then ran upstairs to call someone to help with the dead wolf problem.*

“Sick fucks,” Aaron murmured under his breath. This time, Neil agreed with him.

“They’re coming for me,” Robin glanced down at the carcass. “Why are you guys keeping me in your house? Let me go back.”

“No,” Neil said strongly. “I won’t let you go back to the Moriyamas. Not only are we trying to protect you, but we’re trying to protect other people by not opening up the Court.”

Robin stared at the wolf in silence. “Something's wrong with Riko.”

“What do you mean?” Andrew raised an eyebrow, his sight leaving the body, and his hazel met Robin’s black eyes. Robin shifted uncomfortably; it seemed that whatever she was going to say next was a touchy subject. Neil looked at her as well, signaling that whatever she was about to say was most definitely important and that she had his undivided attention.

“I…I swear I killed him before,” Robin stuttered, scratching her hands in nervousness.

“Huh?” Aaron asked, and Neil and Andrew were equally confused. There’s no way she killed him before; the three of them (well, more so the twins because Neil lost his memory from that moment) saw his bloody and battered body in the alleyway. So what was Robin getting at?

“I mean, I swear I stabbed him. I went crazy because of the blood, and then I woke up the day after, and he was alive. I feel the same…never mind,” Robin rubbed her eyes.

“I—” Before Neil could say that he believed Robin, there were so many supernatural things that Neil didn’t even realize could happen that reviving didn’t seem all that shocking. It was possible, but what was confusing was how it was Riko Moriyama of all people. But where does somebody like Tetsuji fit into all of this? How did nobody know that Riko was potentially supernatural until right now? Kevin barged into the living room from the guest bedroom on the bottom floor of the house.

“We need to go back to Mystic Falls. Right now,” Kevin cried. His hands were bloody and shaking uncontrollably as he held the exact knife shaped like the number one that haunted Neil’s dreams.

Chapter Text

February 23rd, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

“What even is a ‘potions making’?” Robin asks rhetorically, her eyes widening at her busy schedule. After the dead wolf threat from who other than the Moriyamas, Neil, Andrew, Kevin, Jean, and Robin went back to Virginia by Nicky’s teleportation so that Robin could officially enroll in Palmetto and be protected by the school’s magical barrier.

Neil, Andrew, and Robin were currently standing on the balcony of Neil, Andrew, and Kevin’s usual lunch table. Since most of the students were out for February break, the classrooms, including the pool, were empty. The only noise in the area was the rustling of the trees nearby and the conversation between the three supernaturals.

“That’s what I said when I got my schedule for the first time,” Neil said, suddenly remembering how his crappy first day went.

“This is stupid,” Robin said, crumbling up the paper in her hand and throwing it on the ground like litter. Andrew raised an eyebrow at her while Neil tried to get the now-ball of paper off the floor and quickly  smoothed it back up.

“See, look, we have some classes together. Not the werewolf stuff, though you share it with Andrew,” Neil pointed at the schedule. Robin peered over his shoulder. She was a few inches taller than Neil, so it felt like she was towering over him.

“Oh, joy.” Andrew deadpans, and Robin shoots him a glare. Ever since Andrew knocked out Robin while she was out of sorts, she still holds a grudge against him. Robin seems to like Neil the best since he did go through with his promise and gave her information on her mother. He also offered to help in some of her classes; he knew how difficult these classes could get, especially if you haven’t been in school for quite some time like Robin.

She also seemed to like Kevin and Jean as well. Neil wasn’t there for their conversation yesterday when they were in Columbia, but he could tell that the three have a mutual understanding with one another, especially because they have gone through similar traumas.

Robin still wakes up in cold sweats and has eye bags, which indicates that she gets little to no sleep, and she can’t deal with the rabbit blood, but deep inside Neil knew that if he could do it, she could as well. Robin has the potential to be a strong supernatural, considering that she has the advantage of being all three types.

“Are you sure that the Moriyamas won’t get me?” Robin asked. She was one of the strongest girls Neil had ever met, but right now she looked small, yearning for comfort. She almost looked like a regular, human fourteen-year-old; however, looking past the gap in her front two teeth, you’d notice her abnormally large fangs and the way her eyes turned the horrifying cranberry color that all vampires went through when smelling the satisfying smell of blood.

“I swear it,” Neil promised. Robin gave him a slight smile; she was still beginning to trust him. And Robin didn’t give her trust to just anyone.

Neil was like her; he always thinks about how now he and Robin are two sides of the same coin. Neil hasn’t trusted anyone before Andrew, Kevin, and the others; he couldn’t sleep at night, and he constantly searched for exits in any room. Even though Neil has been in the process of healing, he still accidentally keeps his habits, such as saving blood or trying to kill Andrew two days ago.

“Where are you going to room?” Neil asked Robin. Since she was a tribrid, she could pick where she wanted to sleep. Neil didn’t know how to make her pick the best dorm; he had friends in all of the dorms, and no matter where you were, there would eventually be parties in all of them.

Robin scratched her neck, and from this angle, Neil could see the currently healing moon tattoo. According to Andrew, it takes a few weeks to fully heal, but it didn’t cause any pain or anything. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t join the vampire dorm until you want Kevin to bug you about joining the soccer team or Jean inviting himself into anything,” Andrew deadpans, rolling his eyes.

Neil giggled. “He still tries to beg me to join next year.”

“Will you?” Andrew asks.

“Maybe,” Neil replies. “I’m still rusty.”

“Can I think about it?” Robin asks nervously.

“Yeah, of course,” Neil says. “Let’s go find your classes.”

Robin nodded, following Neil and Andrew down the stairs. Her first class on Thursday, when school started, was supposed to be Betsy’s class. She still hasn’t come back to school, and Neil could tell that Andrew is messed up because of it. He really did look up to Bee and wanted her back. Sometimes, when he and Neil were alone, he'd talk about the advice Bee had given Andrew that really stuck with him. Things about his emotions and picking up methods to deal with his anger. Recently, he started drawing more often.

“So Bee isn’t here, so your class is in the library until she comes back,” Neil explains, pointing towards the library. Andrew did not show anxiety, but he fiddled with the black rings on all of his fingers.

“Oh, okay,” Robin said. Neil raised an eyebrow toward Andrew. It seemed like Robin didn’t remember Betsy, even though she is good friends with Serenity. It might be that Robin forgot most of her childhood. It seemed likely that Neil forgot bits and pieces too. He didn’t quite understand why he felt anxious around bodies of water or dogs. But that can be from his blocked childhood memories.

The three supernaturals were now sitting besides the pool; the water was too cold to dip their feet in, but the cool air made Neil feel calm, like he was at home. He sat in the middle between Robin and Andrew, hopefully preventing a freud. Now Neil understood how Kevin felt when Neil and Andrew weren’t on speaking terms the first time they met and the many occurrences where Neil and Jean spout insults at each other for a living.

It felt unreal that Robin Cross was sitting next to Neil after months of searching for her, but the real question was: how could Neil make her stay? Palmetto was hard on Neil; adjusting to a new school environment was harder than gutting a man. Neil thought about leaving and escaping through his bedroom window to somewhere far away, like France or Spain. How could somebody like Neil convince Robin to sleep another night in Palmetto rather than the Moriyamas?

Neil didn’t know how Robin lived before he found her ripping out Riko Moriyama’s heart. He didn’t want to know unless she would want to open up one day and tell him herself. Neil hopes that he and Robin could be friends; they have many similarities, and he can help her. But right now, he will give her space.

Andrew moved closer, his head now on Neil’s shoulder, as they stared at the pool. Neil placed his right arm over Andrew, pulling him closer.

“I can hear you thinking,” Andrew whispered in German.

“I’m thinking about the Moriyamas and...” Neil responded in German as well; his chin moved towards Robin, but she didn’t notice; she was too busy staring off into space. Neil tried to talk quietly, even though they were talking in a different language; the names were still the same. Using a German accent to say a name like Robin would still make her realize that they were talking about her.

“If you keep worrying about little things, your hair will turn gray,” Andrew said, turning to meet Neil’s eyes. Neil loved it when he spoke German. Andrew was always attractive and would always be no matter what, but he got even better-looking when he was speaking German. His accent was perfect, and his eidetic memory made him remember every word and every dialect.

“Yeah,” Neil said, but he wasn’t really paying attention. He was too busy resisting the urge to kiss Andrew; it was the perfect scenery, and every time was the perfect time to kiss his beautiful boyfriend.

“I’m still worried about her; I can’t help it. What if the Moriyamas come back? What if Riko comes back?” Neil’s voice cracked.

Andrew used his hand to tilt Neil’s head to kiss his scarred cheek in an attempt to comfort him. It worked because Neil was now thinking about how Andrew’s soft lips felt on his skin. “Don’t worry about it, bunny.”

“Okay, sorry.” Neil bit his lip, not only with anxiety but also at the sight of Andrew. He was gorgeous, and he made Neil nervous.

“Don’t apologize.”

“I want to kiss you so bad.”

Andrew laughed. “Not right now.”

“I’m going through withdrawals.”

“We literally kissed yesterday.”

“That’s… too long! Like, way too long.”

Andrew laughed again, stealing Nicky’s habit and hitting him lightly. Neil’s grin almost touched his eyes. He was about to lean down to kiss Andrew when Robin cleared her throat. Neil completely forgot she was here.

“I decided,” Robin said, disgusted that these two were about to make out right in front of her.

“Wait, decided what?” Neil asked, switching to English. He almost responded in German. Neil needed to work on switching languages; once he tried talking to Jean in German, Jean gave Neil a strange look and made fun of him after to Kevin.

“Where I’ll sleep,” she said.

“Oh, sorry.” Neil smiled sheepishly. “Uh where?”

“I want to be in the witch dorm.” Robin nodded.

“Oh yeah, we can go there,” Neil said awkwardly.

“Cool,” Robin glanced around; she was embarrassed, like she walked in on something she wasn’t supposed to. She sat up, making for the door, even though she still didn’t know where every room was. Andrew’s hand slipped out of Neil’s back as he got up; he felt Andrew’s warmth leave him, unfortunately. But maybe later he could kiss Andrew until they were both numb.

Robin was one of those who had no roommate.

Her new room was empty, and she didn’t necessarily come to Mystic Falls with any of her belongings. She left them at the Moriyamas, if she even had any.

Right now, Neil, Andrew, Robin, and Jean, who joined them a few minutes ago, were hanging in Robin’s new room. It was a little bit awkward because they didn’t know Robin all that well, but Neil is willing to put in the work to know Robin Cross inside and out.

Robin didn’t seem to mind that Andrew and Jean were getting high in her room. But Andrew still had the decency to open the window. On the ledge, Andrew and Neil sat next to each other, their shoulders touching. On the other side, Jean sat, smoking one of Andrew’s cigarettes. Robin was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Kevin was coming in and out of her room, bringing in different types of pillows and school supplies from his own room.

"Robin, do you have a favorite color?” Neil asked.

“It’s purple, why?” Robin perked up.

“Just wondering. I want to get to know you better,” Neil explained. Robin just shrugged and continued staring at the wall, ignoring the other boys smoking in her room.

“Can I have another?” Jean asked Andrew, who was throwing his used cigar out the window.

“No,” Andrew deadpans, reaching in for another cigarette in the pack that usually resides in his back pant pocket.

“Dick.” Jean huffed, and Andrew shook his head, grinning towards Neil. Neil smiled back. Neil wanted to kiss him so fucking bad.

“When is the next party?” Neil asks, leaning in so he could take in the satisfying smell of the smoke, which reminded him of Andrew.

Jean threw his used cigar out the window as well. “Once we win the championship,” he said, his voice significantly raspier.

“Sometimes I feel bad for the humans you guys beat,” Neil said, shrugging.

“I don’t,” Jean grinned smugly. "Neil, are you going to join the team?”

“Is Kevin rubbing off on you? I don’t know. I’m really bad.” Neil bit his lip.

“Nah, Jere is a good teacher. He can teach you,” Jean said, eyeing Andrew’s cigarette pack.

“Jere?” Neil asked.

“Jeremy,” Jean replied.

“Mm,” Andrew mumbled knowingly.

“Robin, cats, or dogs?” Neil asked.

“Cats, next question,” she replied.

“I used to play defense; I played striker once, never again, but I liked that better than defense any day,” Neil said, leaning down to put his head on Andrew’s shoulder.

“Oh, yeah, I wish I didn’t play defense sometimes. Nah, but Kevin can help you out; he’d be more than happy to,” Jean offered.

“I guess yeah,” Neil said.

Andrew blew smoke on Neil’s face, grinning. “Nerd.”

“Stop!” Neil laughed.

The door opened, revealing Kevin, who was carrying a stack of school supplies. Neil was starting to get some deja vu from his first day; he couldn’t imagine that he was the same person four months ago. Neil was angry, and he hated school. Now, even though he skipped multiple times, he still honestly liked it, and his friends and boyfriend made it better for him.

“Okay, Robin, here are some notebooks. Trust me, you need all of this,” Kevin said, placing down the stack of books on her bed. She got up, eyeing the books but not uttering a word.

“I’ll be right back,” Kevin said, making for the door.

Robin, who was wearing the same black sweater she was wearing when gutting Riko (it was now washed, thanks to Nicky), took it off, revealing scars on her forearms. Most of them were healed, though some were fairly new. Robin caught Neil’s worried glances and stared at him back.

“It's just humans fighting back,” she explained. He understood that the humans he killed did fight back. If Neil were a different person, he would feel guilty, but Neil was in a moment in his life where the insane actions he and his mother took were solely to survive. Neil had to put himself first.

Robin was getting up to place the sweater on the edge of her bed, but before she could, she put her hand inside the inner pockets of it, taking out a large black feather. The mysterious black liquid stained both of her hands. Neil left the ledge after quickly noticing Robin’s distress. He leaned over on the bed, looking at her hands.

“What is that?” Neil mouthed.

“I don’t know, it was inside of my sweater,” Robin’s hand started shaking. Andrew and Jean got off the ledge also, moving next to Neil so they could see the feather for themselves.

Andrew picked up the feather, which stained Robin’s new white bedsheets, and then stained his hands as well. “What even is this shit?”

Jean grabbed the feather from Andrew’s hand, which earned a glare from the shorter boy. Jean licked his hands, which now had the black substance on them. Neil, Robin, and Andrew stared at him in horror.

Jean’s eyes widened. “It’s blood.”

“What?” Neil asked worriedly.

“Blood. It’s blood,” Jean repeated, shaken.

Kevin opened the door once again, carrying bedsheets. His face dropped, sensing the shaken-up atmosphere Robin’s room had become.

“What happened?” Kevin ran up to his boyfriend and touched his hands. The black substance now getting on Kevin.

“Blood,” Jean said; he was stuttering like a broken record. Instead of the vampires feeling the insane hunger they always do when in contact with blood, they all felt empty. Jean ran out of the room, immediately feeling sick after licking his hand clean.

Chapter Text

March 1st, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

“Sometimes I still don’t understand the rules, and I’ve been playing for seven years,” Allison said, looking around at the people cheering after captain Jeremy Knox scores against the rival team. Sometimes Neil felt bad for the opposite team since it’s humans versus supernaturals.

It was now the end of February break, and basically the entire population of Palmetto was watching the high school league semi-finals soccer match. Neil has been to every game to support Andrew, Kevin, and Jean, but this game felt like a different atmosphere. Ignoring the fact that there were three times the usual number of people, Robin was there right next to Neil, seemingly enjoying the game.

The day before, Neil introduced Robin to all of the upperclassmen. They are extremely outgoing and were more than happy to include Robin in all of their hangouts. Robin, like Neil in the beginning, didn’t have friends and didn’t understand the appeal. But everyone is down to help her out and make her have a good high school experience, despite the Moriyamas.

Before the game, the five of them went to Allison’s dorm so that Robin could borrow some orange and white clothes to represent the school. Neil and Robin had matching orange stripes on their cheeks, while Allison, Dan, and Renee had orange and white dots on their faces.

Right now, Neil, Robin, Allison, Dan, and Renee sat towards the back of the bleachers to get a full bird's-eye view of the field. Neil’s eyes were only on Andrew, who had just caught the rapidly spinning ball. The crowd gasped, then shouted and cheered for him. Neil could tell that Andrew fixing his blonde locks was him covering up his reddened skin due to the embarrassment of catching attention.

“Is it good?” Renee asked Dan softly; she nodded, handing Renee a nacho, which she gladly accepted.

“Didn’t you say that you played?” Dan leaned over towards Robin; the loud cheering made her have to raise her voice.

“Yeah, goalie. Just little leagues though.” Robin nodded in confirmation. It was quite obvious that she used to play because she stared at the opposing team’s goalie with a confused look. The other goalie was not quite as good as Andrew, and Robin knew this no matter how much she disliked him. Andrew was a goalie superpower.

“You should totally join the team next year,” Allison chirped up. “We’re, like, super good. Swear it.”

“Won a handful of championships,” Dan smiled proudly at the mention of her team.

“We do need another goalie,” Renee leaned in towards Robin, smiling. The five started clapping along with the Palmetto side of the bleachers as Kevin scored a point from across the field. The crowd went wild. Jeremy ran over to Kevin to ruffle his hair and then ran over to do a handshake with Seth, who was playing good defense, even though he was a striker like Kevin.

“I should,” Robin affirmed. “If he joins.” She smirked towards Neil.

“I told you I’m not good, plus the team already has a ton of defensive players,” Neil sighed. In little leagues and his elementary school team, Neil played defensive for the entirety of his career, until once he had to play striker since the main one on the little league team was out sick. Neil loved playing as a striker, but he was nowhere near as good as he was in defense.

“So am I,” Robin rebuttals. "Oh, I can’t do that.” She said after Dan offered her a nacho.

Dan turned red and smiled sheepishly. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“You’re fine,” Robin said. She was always aware that she was a vampire, so the idea of not being able to eat human food didn’t affect her as much.

“But…” Allison singsongs. “You get to practice with your boyfriend!”

Neil, who was staring at Andrew, glared at her. “I see him all the time anyway.”

“The way you didn’t deny he’s your boyfriend, oooooh,” Allison teased, and Dan tried masking her laugh for a cough. Renee smiled, and Robin was super tuned in to the game, so she wasn’t mentally present in the conversation.

“No matter if I deny it or not, you’re still going to call him my boyfriend,” Neil said, rolling his eyes. Allison laughed.

"Anyways, since Neil’s boring and Robin’s my new favorite, how was your first day?” Allison craned her neck so she could see Robin’s face.

“It was…different. I haven’t been in school in years,” Robin said.

“It gets better, trust me,” Renee said.

“Oh yeah,” Dan agreed.

Allison squeezed Neil’s arm, pointing at the bleachers to their left. “Dude, literally look at Aaron. Oh, he could not make it more obvious; he’s looking at Katie.”

“Oh my god.” Neil chuckled.

“Aaron’s dating someone?” Robin spoke up.

“You have no idea.” Allison shook her head, laughing. The crowd went wild once again after Andrew blocked another speeding ball.

"He definitely says something like, 'It's me and you against the world, baby'" Neil laughed.

"Stop! Don't say that." Allison covered her mouth, stifling her laughter.

"That's your brother-in-law you're talking about," Dan nudged Neil playfully.

"Oh, god, don't say that," Neil groaned at the thought. Aaron being his brother-in-law seemed nightmareish, but the idea of marrying Andrew seemed like a blessing.

“After this, we all need to go to that one restaurant like downtown; anyone know what I’m talking about?” Dan asked.

“Name’s not coming to me,” Allison scrunched her eyebrows.

“Oh! The melting pot,” Renee answered.

“Ask Andrew too, Neil. Since you’re like the only guy that can make that kid go to outings,” Allison shook Neil’s arm.

“Not even Kevin could do it,” Dan perked up.

"Okay, fine,” Neil mumbled.

“You guys will never guess what Marissa told me.” Allison smiled with all of her teeth.

“What?” Dan asked.

“She’s a vampire here,” Renee whispered to Robin for context.

“She has a crush on Jean.” Allison smiled even wider.

Neil’s eyes widened. “No!” Lately, Neil and Jean have been hanging out. Since Newark, they have been tolerate of each other, and they even enjoy each other’s company. Kevin is still shocked that his boyfriend now gets along with Neil because, not even five months ago, fists flew every time they were in the same general vicinity. Since Neil and Jean have a good relationship with each other, Andrew doesn’t make sarcastic remarks towards Jean anymore. Which Kevin is extremely relieved about.

“Yes!” Allison chuckled.

“He’s literally dating Kevin,” Dan said, shaking her head and laughing.

“Is the game over?” Robin asked.

Neil glanced at the large timer. “Uh, five seconds.”

The crowd counted down along with the timer, screaming like it was New Year's Eve. Kevin had the ball, successfully outrunning the opponent's defensive line. Jean and Matt were trying to go in front of them, tripping them up so Kevin could score.

“Three!” The court screamed. Kevin was in front of the goal; it seems that he was kicking now. It was a risky move since the opponent's goalie was already predicting Kevin’s move and was already moving towards where Kevin was aiming.

“Two!” Kevin was still getting ready to kick the ball, and the other Palmetto soccer boys were going up to the scene, watching intently. Neil glanced over at Andrew; nobody was on his side of the field, but he was kneeling down, which was an attempt to provoke the other team. It worked since other players threw him the middle finger, which Andrew gladly did back. He, along with the crowd, watched Kevin intensely.

“One!” Kevin stopped the ball, and with the speed of light, he shot the ball precisely on the upper right corner of the goal; the opposite goalie was already on the left side of the grassy side of the goal. Scoring the Palmetto Foxes their third point that they desperately needed to secure the win and move up in the championship brackets.

The crowd went wild, and Neil and others stood up to scream along with the crowd. Jeremy was the first one to run up to Kevin, hugging him so tight. Kevin placed his hand on Jeremy’s waist to pull him closer to hug him back; the dirt on Kevin’s uniform was now getting on Jeremy’s. If Neil didn’t know better, he’d think that Kevin and Jeremy were the ones he was dating based on the way they were also very touchy-feely. But it just might be a Kevin thing. The other soccer foxes, except Andrew, ran up to do a group hug with Kevin.

“Ke-vin, Ke-vin, Ke-vin!” The crowd, along with the soccer team, cheered. Kevin’s face was red; he was not really expecting the attention. However, Neil knew him so well at this point that he knew that Kevin relished the popularity.

“Shall we go to our friends now?” Dan asked.

“Yeah,” Allison said.

The five of the supernaturals pushed through a crowd of people, running down the stairs. Neil broke off from the group to go up to Andrew, who was getting ready to go up to Kevin. Kevin was now alone with Jean and Jeremy, hugging each other and talking with some other students who came down from the bleachers simply to talk to the three star players.

“Angel?” Neil called out. Andrew’s ears perked up as if the pet name were his actual name.

“Yes or no?” Neil asked.

“Yes,” Andrew said immediately.

Neil took Andrew in, hugging him and peppering kisses on his face. At this angle, the students on the bleachers couldn’t see them, so the two could have their privacy. Also, the lights were no longer shining on this side of the soccer field; they were on Kevin since he scored that legendary shot.

“You were my MVP today,” Neil purred.

“I didn’t even do anything,” Andrew rolled his eyes, but he smiled as Neil gave him a kiss, this time on his mouth. Neil placed his scarred hands on Andrew’s cheek so he could have balance before his thoughts were consumed by the blonde boy’s pink lips.

“Mm, you’re so good, though.” Neil broke the kiss to place his hands on Andrew’s waist, gripping it. Neil was getting ready to bite Andrew’s earlobe, but Andrew put his hand on Neil’s mouth before he could.

“I almost forgot you have a hard-on for soccer,” Andrew shook his head, smirking.

"Nah, just for y—”

Andrew laughed, cutting Neil off. “Let’s go back to Kevin; we need to put him back in reality.”

“Oh yeah, he probably thinks he’s all that,” Neil chuckled. The boys walked towards the middle of the field, where Kevin, Jeremy, and Jean were, but before Neil tried kissing Andrew, the upperclassmen plus Robin joined in with them, most likely discussing the plans Dan brought up earlier.

“Neil!” Kevin exclaimed.

“Hey, here to place you back in reality,” Neil smirked smugly.

“Oh yeah, he thinks he’s on the top of world right now,” Jean teased, adding on to Neil’s joke.

“Stop it!” Kevin yelled, embarrassed.

“Nice blocks, Andrew.” Jeremy smiled at Andrew, who just gave him a blank stare. Jeremy just smiled awkwardly after. Neil almost felt bad.

Robin loudly called out to Neil. “Allison wants to know if you asked Andrew yet.”

“Oh, shit, no, I haven’t,” Neil yelled back, suddenly remembering. “We all want to go out to some restaurant; wanna come?”

“Yeah,” Andrew said.

“What? Andrew Joseph Minyard goes on an outing. Who would’ve thought?” Kevin gasped dramatically.

“Shut the fuck up,” Andrew growled. “I’m going for Neil, not your ego.”

“Someone had to tell him that.” Jean grinned. Jeremy and Neil both chuckled.

"Oh, c’mon, since when did you guys become friends?” Kevin pointed at Jean and Andrew, and after no response, he shook his head, going towards Robin’s side of the group angrily.

“Ally’s about to humble him,” Neil laughed.

“Oh yeah,” Jean smirked.

“One of those Millport boys tried pushing me. Jesus Christ, they played rough.” Jeremy rolled his eyes.

“Dickheads,” Jean murmured. Kevin quickly ran up to Neil’s side of the field.

“They’re making me drive,” he pouted.

“I can still drive, you know,” Neil offered.

“No!” Kevin and Jean both yelled. Andrew snorted.

“Jeremy’s sitting shotgun,” Kevin smirked.

“What? Why?” Jean gaped.

“Because he’s the best one here,” Kevin said smugly, moving towards Jeremy. Jeremy, giving the same energy back, smirked back.

“Can we go now?” Andrew said it impatiently.

“Okay, fine.” Kevin grinned, pulling out his car keys.

Dinner was fine; Neil and Andrew didn’t really talk, and neither did Robin. All three of them were very introverted and were still getting used to being in group settings. Luckily, the others very much wanted to talk. The group discussed things like upcoming games, classes, and other things. They tried including Robin as much as possible, but she was only interested in getting to know the others and the school better.

It was nighttime, but nobody wanted to go to sleep. Nobody was planning on falling asleep early since the next day was a half day at school because of the full moon the day after (many students were not going to show up; everyone wanted a full day off), so Neil, Andrew, Robin, Kevin, and Jean were going to hang out in Neil and Kevin’s shared dorm. The five of them had gone through things together; it was easy to talk to one another, especially compared with the conversation with the upperclassmen. Especially with alcohol and cigarettes involved.

“I want to skip so bad tomorrow; ugh, I have so much homework and it’s only my second day!” Robin groaned, placing her head on Neil’s pillow.

“Don’t skip. I did it one time, and it’s like a drug. I keep doing it.” Neil joked.

“‘Cause you want to kiss Andrew!” Jean grinned, most definitely drunk and out of it. Only Neil and Robin didn’t drink; Andrew had a few sips, but he finished a cigarette and was reaching into his pack for another. Kevin and Jean were so drunk that they looked as if they were going to fall over any minute.

“It was one time!” Neil countered but retracted after Andrew gave him a look. "Okay, a few times, but Robin, don't be like me; don't do it.”

Robin groaned at the pillow again, beating it with her hand. Kevin laughed.

“Babe, how’d you even know where to shoot the ball?” Jean asked Kevin.

Kevin shrugged. “I just had a feeling.”

“Wise words from the queen of soccer,” Andrew deadpans, his red eyes making it obvious that he was extremely high. Kevin gave Andrew a two-finger mock salute and downed his glass of vodka.

“Neil?” Kevin tried getting his attention.

“Yeah?” Neil replied.

“You need to call Andrew your boyfriend in front of Allison; you have to,” Kevin said sluggishly.

“Why?” Neil narrowed his eyes.

“We bet on you two; I need the money.”

“What? What do you even need the money for?”

“Soccer jerseys,” Kevin deadpans.

“Kev—” Andrew started, but he almost jumped from the loud buzzing coming from his phone in his pocket. Robin sat up, hearing the deafening buzz.

“Who is it?” Neil leaned over to Andrew to look at who was calling his boyfriend. The phone number was a random set of numbers.

“Ask if his refrigerator is running.” Jean giggled, almost choking on his drink.

Andrew declined the call; he was most definitely not asking the random if their fridge was running. It was most likely spam, but the number called back immediately after, and this time Andrew got curious.

The five of them circled around, and Andrew placed the phone in the middle.

“Stop laughing,” Kevin hissed at Jean, who almost hit his head on the wooden floor.

“Andrew Joseph Minyard,” the raspy voice coming from the phone said. Andrew turned to Neil, whose eyes widened, and mouthed, “Wow.” Jean immediately stopped laughing and looked at Kevin and Robin with concern.

“Is Robin Cross with you?” The voice said, Robin covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to cry. Neil glanced over at Kevin and Jean. Kevin bit his lip worriedly while Jean moved closer to Robin, attempting to protect her from whoever this voice is.

“No,” Andrew replied monotonously. Andrew was fearless. Neil loved every part of him, but he was starting to think Andrew should tone it down based on the other's expressions on their faces.

The voice cleared his throat, but it sounded muffled because of the horrible quality of the call. “I am offering you fifteen million dollars if you hand over the girl.”

Neil quietly gasped, not wanting the man to realize there was another person listening in on the call. Robin was scratching her skin to distract her from the tears forming in her eyes. Jean looked like he was about to either snap Andrew’s phone in half or curl up into a ball and die. Kevin cried almost enough for all four of the supernaturals in the room; like Robin, he put his hand on his mouth to try to contain the choked sobs.

“No,” Andrew repeated, ending the call. The man did not try to call back this time.

“What the hell? Why would you hang up?” Robin snarled. “Why do you guys want to keep me so bad? Let me go!”

“I feel sick,” Kevin gagged. He took the entire bottle of vodka, downed it in two seconds, and reached in for another.

“Robin, we care about you too much to let you go back there again,” Neil explained. He was still shaken up over the phone call.

“I need to go, sorry,” Jean mumbled, his voice shaking like he was struggling to get the words out. "Kevin, come on.”

Kevin walked over to Jean wobblily. Jean had to hold onto Kevin’s shoulder to make him walk right. The vampires opened the door, most likely to go to Jean’s room and sleep it off.

“I need to go to save all of you,” Robin cried.

“Robin, listen to me; I don’t want you ever going back to those sick fucks again. If they come and get you, then I will kill them before they could even graze you, you hear me?” Andrew said, placing his hand on Robin’s shoulder to attempt to calm her down from the hyperventilating.

“Okay,” Robin sighed. “Sorry.”

Andrew nodded, and Neil gave a weak smile. Andrew says that he will protect everyone here, but how will he? Neil wants to believe in Andrew, but how could he single-handedly stop the Moriyamas? But Robin believed it, so Neil felt like that was his motivation to keep moving forward despite the threats from the serial killer family.

Chapter Text

March 2nd, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

“Why do you like kissing my neck so much?” Neil asks, placing his hands around Andrew’s neck.

Andrew shrugs but immediately breaks out into a huge grin. The shorter boy dove down from on top of Neil to bite his jaw.

The two boys were skipping school in Neil’s room; it was a half day, and nobody was going. Tomorrow was a full moon, and most werewolves wanted to sleep in anyway. Neil wonders if his and Andrew’s attendance will catch up to them anytime soon.

Neil laughed. “Stop biting my neck and kiss me, angel.”

Andrew obliged, tilting Neil’s head so that their lips would meet. Every time they kissed, Neil felt like it was their first time all over again. Neil still had butterflies in his stomach every time he looked at Andrew, and his face still turned red every time Andrew caught him staring.

While kissing each other with hunger, Andrew’s rough hands went inside Neil’s shirt to touch his body and his scars that made up his entire chest and arms. Andrew moved closer to Neil, craning his neck so that his tongue could taste every part of Neil’s. Neil took off his shirt so that Andrew could have easy access to his body since he desperately wanted to learn and remember every part of Neil.

Andrew’s breath hitched when Neil broke the kiss to drag his tongue on Andrew’s jawline. It made Neil feel proud that only he could do these things to Andrew. Andrew grabbed Neil’s jaw, connecting their now-red lips once more. This time, their tongues danced along with hunger, and the room suddenly started feeling hot.

Andrew took off his shirt, throwing it somewhere on the ground, then buried his hands that had black nail polish on Neil’s auburn locks, scratching his hair pleasurably. Then, Andrew tugged on Neil’s pants, teasing him as he broke the kiss to bite Neil’s neck, giving him a few purple hickeys. Neil loved it.

Neil places his hands instinctively on Andrew’s cheeks; however, Neil quickly realizes that his entire left hand and parts of his arm have black matter on them. Afraid that it was contagious or something, Neil retracted his hand and placed it on his side, hoping that Andrew hadn’t seen it. But since Andrew was the most observant person Neil has ever known, his golden eyes moved from Neil’s bare stomach to his hand, catching Neil’s wrist with his hand.

Neil winced in pain. Andrew immediately dropped his hand and moved to Neil’s side, his eyes never leaving Neil’s left hand.

“It’s not a tattoo,” Andrew said. It wasn’t a question; it was a statement—a claim. Neil stayed silent, not knowing what to say.

“I’m thinking that has to do with the black magic you practice on a regular basis, am I wrong?” Andrew accused. Neil kept his silence. “I’m thinking it has to do with that necklace you wear all the time.”

“What are you talking about?” Neil asked.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Andrew said, narrowing his eyes. It was a test.

“There’s no other way,” Neil said silently, his voice breaking like glass.

“What?” Andrew asked, and his eyebrows were narrowed too. Andrew was clearly angry.

“I said, there’s no other way.” Neil raised his voice, glaring at Andrew. How could he understand? Andrew was the last one to get him to fully understand Neil’s train of thought. The Moriyamas were only out for him too because he willingly applied himself to Neil’s situation. The Moriyamas have been out for Neil since January 19th, 1990, and there's no other way to get them off his back without bending the rules to kill them for good.

So what if Neil went insane? So what if the black matter spreads to his brain, killing him? Right now, he needed to protect his friends, himself, and, most importantly, his boyfriend, who was now clearly accusing him of doing something irrational. Neil has given it some thought, and he is set on the idea of killing himself first rather than letting anyone else be taken by the Moriyamas.

“Neil, I’m not fucking stupid; there are other ways. I don’t even have to use magic to understand,” Andrew scoffed. “You don’t have to hurt yourself to help anyone.”

“I’m not hurt! I’m completely fine; you know what? My hand is so fine that I can slam it against the wall and not feel a thing!” Neil snapped. “Want to fucking see?”

“You’re not fine, Neil. Stop lying to yourself and stop lying to me; it’s getting out of hand,” Andrew narrowed his eyes. “You’re acting delusional.”

“Oh? I’m delusional?” Neil shot.

“Yeah, you’re acting so insane right now.” Andrew accused. “Calm down.”

“Don’t talk to me like that. You don’t understand! You’ll never understand. I’ve been on the Moriyamas fucking Court list since I was born, and you’re there for what? The thrill? The fun of it?” Neil exploded.

“Because I’m trying to be there for you, for Kevin, for Robin, and even for Jean! But at least I’m not trying to actively kill myself,” Andrew retorted.

“You’re not doing anything!”

“So are you? Your black magic will not stop Riko Moriyama from regenerating and stabbing you ten times in the chest with a wooden stake, Neil.”

"Oh, fuck you. Don’t talk to me.”

“You’re running away; you’re truly a rabbit at its core.”

“Don’t fucking say that. I’m not trying to kill myself, and I’m not trying to run away—”

“—Why do you lie to me? All the time, Neil, don’t give me that look. You know exactly what I mean. What if it was too late and I lost you because you’re a fucking idiot? What if I lose you because your "tattoo" eventually spreads to your brain and kills you?" Andrew growled. “Do I even know you?” He said the last part so frail and so broken.

“What are you even talking about? I’m not lying to lie. I’m just not telling you things! It’s different. I’m trying to protect you. Like, seriously, how are you not understanding? Did the balls from last night’s soccer match hit you too hard?” Neil snarled.

“Yeah, well, newsflash. Not telling me, your boyfriend, shit counts as lying!”

“Ohh, okay. Now you want to be my boyfriend? Oh well, it seemed like you were ashamed of me and my ‘destructive tendencies.’ We cannot leave Neil alone because apparently he’ll try to kill himself! Put him on suicide watch!”

“Who’s ashamed? It seems that you’re the one ashamed of life, and you’re trying to kill yourself. Why are you like this?”

“Why am I like this? Well, let me fucking tell you, because you don’t understand how it is to grow up killing and stuffing emotions down inside and not letting them out. And now you don’t understand that I care about you!”

“I don’t understand? I’m the first person who can relate to you. I care about you—”

"No, you don’t! You never will—”

“—I’m still trying to understand how fucking black magic can protect Robin, there are other ways. Your shitbag father taught you how to use weapons! Is that not enough for you, Neil?” Andrew interrupted, grabbing something off the floor.

“Oh, you’re bringing my fucking father into this. You know what I’d love to mention yours, but... Hey! Don’t walk away, asshole!” Neil cursed as Andrew, with his shirt already on, got up and slammed the door loudly on the way out.

“Fine! You know what? Fuck you, Minyard!” Neil called out to nothing. Andrew was already gone, and Neil was already crying his eyes out.

Neil furiously slammed his left hand on the wall hard enough so that it stained a part of the wall with his black blood. The magic he accidentally took caused the entirety of the lights in the school to shatter and explode, including the third nightlight besides Neil that Kevin bought this year.

Neil’s left hand bled and bled, and Neil didn’t have the motivation to get up and seek medical attention. He didn’t care that he was now bleeding black matter; he only cared about killing the Moriyamas and stopping the Court from opening up.

Fuck Andrew. And fuck the Moriyamas.

“You’re so miserable; get up,” Jean said, shaking Neil’s shoulder. Neil did not want to get up, and he especially did not want to go outside of his dorm to potentially see Andrew.

Jean, the model student he is, showed up to school and wanted to hand Neil the classwork he missed. However, he was in for a rude awakening when Neil was throwing pillows at the door as soon as Jean walked in. Now, Jean was on Neil’s bed, attempting to comfort him.

“I can borrow Kevin’s car, and we can go to an arcade or something; they’re so fun.” Jean shook Neil again.

“Leave me alone!” Neil cried.

“Neil. What the hell are you so depressed about?”

“You know what? You wouldn’t get it because of you and Kevin’s perfect, beautiful, healthy relationship.”

Jean smirked, showing his teeth. Neil got to Andrew earlier, but there’s no way he could hurt Jean. “Answer my question.”

“I…got into a fight with Andrew.” Neil wiped his tears, but they kept coming.

“Oh, okay. We’re still going to that arcade. Also, stop clinging onto me.”

“Sorry.”

“Hold on, let me find Kevin. He’s probably with Robin. I need his keys.” Jean ruffled Neil’s hair, leaving the room. Neil was trying to calm down, but Andrew’s words stuck with him like glue. Was there another way? There most certainty wasn’t; if there was, Neil would know.

Neil just stared at the ceiling until the door opened again. Neil sat up, a bit startled, and looked at Jean, who was smirking and shaking Kevin’s car keys. Neil got up and put on a black hoodie and some jorts (nothing is wrong with them!), and followed Jean out the door.

The boys got into Kevin’s car, Jean in the driver’s seat, and Neil riding shotgun. Neil rubbed his eyes; his head was hurting from all of the crying, and his hand was still in pain from all of the bleeding.

“Jesus, you look like shit,” Jean smiled, lightly teasing Neil.

“Thanks, dick,” Neil hissed.

“Okay, now what were you two even fighting about? I didn’t know you two had a fighting bone in your bodies, and that’s coming from me, who was your personal punching bag.” Jean turned his body towards Neil; it made him uncomfortable, but he knew that he was giving Neil his undivided attention.

“You provoked me, but... I don’t know, it feels stupid if I put it into words.” Neil looked down to avoid eye contact with Jean.

“Just tell me, I won’t judge... this time,” Jean grinned.

Neil punched Jean on the shoulder, but then he rolled up his sleeve, revealing his black arm. “I’ve been doing black magic ever since the library; that’s why I wanted to go. Andrew’s mad because I’m convinced that black magic is the only way to stop the Court, and he’s convinced I’m going to kill myself.”

Jean stared at Neil, thinking, until he put in the keys to start up the car and fixed the mirror above the two. Jean eventually spoke up. “Okay, first there’s probably other ways; oh my god, don’t growl at me; you look stupid. Anyway, for the almost seven years I’ve known Minyard, or even if I didn’t know him, I can tell that he cares about you, Neil.”

“But he doesn’t understand.”

“So make him understand. Talk to him. You know me and Kevin have had countless fights about our interesting ways of coping, but even though me and Kevin may never be normal again, we can still heal, and talking to each other helps. Swear it.”

Neil stayed silent, but Jean continued. "You know, you're kind of like me. The Moriyamas made a piece of shit, you know this more than anyone. I was convinced that you were with the Moriyamas and that you were going to hand me and Kevin back to them. That's obviously not the case, but they made me so paranoid and sleepless. What I'm trying to say is that what you've been going through the past year was hard, and you took out all of the stress on Minyard, which you shouldn't do. The trauma fucks you up."

Neil sank into the car seat. “I guess, but I don’t know... Today I don’t want to talk to him. I feel… too bad. Like, I can't show my face."

“That’s fine. But I’m just saying if he doesn’t want to talk to you, I’ll lock you two in a storage closet like in the movies.”

“They do that in movies? So weird.”

“You’d be surprised at what they do in movies. Also, tone it down with the black magic shit.”

Neil huffed, but then he snorted. Jean also snorted. They glanced at each other and started laughing hysterically.

“Okay, okay, ha! Wait, we’re here.” Jean said, parking the car at the front of the arcades. The two vampires got out of the car and walked in. The atmosphere was loud; there were a bunch of children running around, and the overwhelming smell of pizza tainted the room.

“Did you know me and Allison make fun of you for the jorts? Sorry, you had to hear it from me,” Jean snickered, punching Neil lightly.

“Get the fuck away from me,” Neil glared at him.

Jean laughed as he went up to the front counter, handing the clerk two twenty-dollar bills, and in return, he received forty golden coins. He went back to Neil, who was glancing around the colorful area in awe.

“What are those for?” Neil pointed at the cup of coins.

“One coin equals one round; we can play any game forty times; sweet deal, huh?” Jean grinned, shaking the cup like he was rich.

“I guess,” Neil said with a slight smile.

“C’mon! I’m going to kick your ass in the gun games,” Jean beamed, grabbing Neil’s wrist that wasn’t affected by the black matter and dragging him towards the back of the arcade.

Let’s just say that Neil destroyed Jean in those shooting games. What can he say? He was professionally trained to use guns at age eight; if he couldn’t shoot zombies on a screen, then Lola has done a shit job.

“Ugh!” Jean banged his fist on the toy gun connected to the table. “Rematch!”

“No, let’s do something else, like...” Neil looked around, trying to think about what to do next.

“Oh, I have an idea. Follow me,” Jean hummed, getting up from the uncomfortable seats and running like some of the younger children to the other side of the arcade, towards the large collection of claw machines.

Neil easily caught up to him; Jean wasn’t necessarily a fast runner. “What even are these?” he asked, putting a hand on the glass of the claw machine the two vampires stared at. What was inside were an insane amount of stuffed animals, most of them were animals and cartoon characters. Neil wanted them all.

“Claw machines. Basically, you move the joy stick, then press this button, and you try to angle it just right so you can get a plush,” Jean explained.

“Oh, that’s cool. Can I play?” Neil asked.

“Oh yeah, but I have a request for you.” Jean grinned like he was the Cheshire cat. He leaned in to whisper in the shorter boy’s ear. “What if you can use your magic to make that fox over there levitate and go inside the trap door?”

“I have a hutch that this is the only reason you brought me along.” Neil’s eyes narrowed at Jean.

“Oh, no. I’m offended you’d even think of that, but I want you to get something for Minyard. It’d be nice to give it to him when you apologize,” Jean said.

“Who said I was going to apologize? If anything, he should,” Neil pouted. But it did seem like a good idea; the black cat in the middle of the other stuffed toys was also calling to him.

“Oh, you’ll see. Anyway, how about it?” Jean nudged Neil.

“I’ll get your stupid fox for Kevin, but I kind of want to try out the game myself,” Neil said as he retracted the magic from the glass. Jean, who was thankfully tall enough, blocked the way so no humans could witness this horrifying witchcraft. The levitating fox made its way to the trap door, bouncing down to the door below Jean.

Jean kneeled down and reached his hand into the trap door, grabbing the fox out of it. It was adorable, and Neil understood Kevin’s obsession with foxes wholeheartedly.

“Did you know Wymack made the school mascot a fox because Kevin loved them so much?” Jean smiled, eyeing the fox in his hands.

“I didn't, actually,” Neil said.

“Oh, here.” Jean handed Neil the cup of coins; there were about twenty left there. Neil inserted a coin into the machine, trying to move the claw.

“Ugh!” Neil groaned when he accidentally clicked the “drop” button.

“Hold on, I’m going to use the bathroom. Stay here.” Jean ruffled Neil’s hair and ran over to the bathroom, which was towards the back of the arcade.

Neil was so bad at the claw machine. He has used about twelve coins so far; the black cat needed to be his by the end of this night. Hopefully, Andrew will accept this peace offering.

Jean came back, running towards Neil. “Any luck?”

“No!” Neil grated out, inserting his thirteenth coin.

“You’ll get it, and if you don't, you've got that magic.”

“I guess.” The claw grabbed the black cat by the neck, and Neil slowly moved it towards the left to where the trap door was. Neil pressed the “drop” button, and the cat dropped down. Neil kneeled down to retrieve the plush.

“Nice!” Jean nudged Neil. “He’ll love it.”

“I hope so,” Neil sighed.

“Wanna play those motorcycle games over there?”

“Yeah.”

An hour later, Neil and Jean arrived back at Palmetto. It was about ten p.m., and it was extremely dark outside. Neil was buzzing with nervousness. What could he say to Andrew? The car ride back to school along with Jean’s talk before they left made Neil realize that he fucked up, really bad.

“You’re shaking so badly; calm down. Just say you won’t do the freaky magic shit again and that you care about him; blah blah blah, then you guys kiss,” Jean grinned, teasing.

“I don’t know,” Neil said, biting his lip.

“Neil. He loves you so much, and if you consider his feelings, he’ll accept your apology.”

“Okay, um. I’ll see you.”

“Yeah, good luck.” Jean ruffled Neil’s hair one last time before making his way to the vampire dorm. Neil sighed, if only he could retract the confidence from other objects into himself.

Neil made his way to the werewolf dorm. He knocked on Andrew’s door lightly. He was most definitely in there, especially since werewolves try to get as much sleep as they can before the full moon tomorrow.

After a few seconds of silence, the door clicked open, revealing an extremely messed-up Andrew. Andrew was wearing red checkered pajama pants; his hair was messy, and his entire face was flushed. Andrew’s shoulders were tense, and he was wiping his face frantically.

“Um,” Neil said awkwardly.

“What do you want?” Andrew glared at Neil.

“I’m really sorry about the things that I’ve said. I hurt you, and I’m so sorry. I won’t do the black magic shit anymore. I swear it, here.” Neil apologized; he ripped the necklace out of his neck. He needed an immense amount of strength to do so. It wasn’t because Neil was weak; it was because it counted as a dark object, and those were difficult to remove. Neil finally got it off and placed it on the floor, taking the magic from the floor and stomping on it. The black gemstone in the center cracked, spilling the same black blood that came out of Neil’s hand earlier today.

Andrew just stared at the floor, then back at Neil with a blank look.

“Um, I also got you this,” Neil awkwardly smiled, giving Andrew the black cat-stuffed animal. Andrew immediately took the cat and eyed it.

“You know you really hurt me, right?” Andrew raised an eyebrow, though he was still holding the cat like it was a baby.

“Yeah, and I’m sorry,” Neil apologized yet again.

“I need to think about this, Neil.”

“Okay,” Neil sighed. Andrew didn’t quite accept Neil’s apology, but at least Andrew wasn’t going to punch him, or even worse; break up with him.

“Bye Neil,” Andrew said, waiting for Neil to move so he could close the door.

“Bye, Andrew.” Neil sniffed, moving out of the way. Andrew slammed the door but not with the amount of strength he used earlier today where he almost removed Neil’s door from its hinges. Neil sighed sadly, walking over to his dorm.

Before jumping on his bed and wallowing in his depression, Neil checked the newest text on his phone, he put it to charge before leaving for the arcade with Jean. How could he not? The obnoxious buzz startled him and it could be something from Andrew.

From an unknown number there was a simple number “13.”

Neil wasn’t scared of no stupid number, he was only scared of Andrew’s real reaction to his apology and he was scared of the consequences of the black magic.

Neil wasn’t scared of no stupid number.

Chapter Text

March 3rd, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

“I forgive you,” was the first thing Andrew said when he showed up to Neil’s dorm room at five in the morning. He was still wearing those pajama pants from yesterday, but it looks like he hasn’t gotten a wink of sleep. Neil immediately starts feeling bad for him; if Andrew asked, he would let him sleep in his bed and keep watch. If Andrew asked, Neil would kiss it better. If Andrew asked, he would destroy the entire world for him.

“Okay,” Neil sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

“We’re not doing that again.” Andrew said it firmly.

“Agreed.” Neil nodded.

“I mean it.”

“I know, I mean it too.”

“Can I…”

“Oh, yeah.” Neil said, moving out of the way so Andrew could come inside. Andrew immediately made his way to Neil’s bed and put the blankets on himself, curling up and falling asleep immediately. Neil joined Andrew on his bed. The sudden movements made Andrew wake up, but now he was staring at Neil with his beautiful golden eyes; however, in this lighting, they almost looked green.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked.

“Yes, always yes.” Neil smiled. Andrew slipped his hand under Neil’s shirt so he could grab his waist and pull him impossibly close. Andrew’s head was on Neil’s chest, and his blonde hair tickled the hybrid’s neck pleasantly.

After a few beats of comfortable silence and Neil positioning himself so he wouldn’t snap his own neck, Andrew spoke up.

“I’m…sorry too.”

“Why?” Neil raised an eyebrow, putting an arm around Andrew’s waist. “You didn’t do anything.”

“I said something about your father,” Andrew whispered, like there was somebody else in the room. He was rubbing circles on Neil’s hipbone while leaning forward to kiss Neil's shoulder blade, like he was trying to comfort him.

Neil shifted, bringing out his right hand to touch Andrew’s cheek. Neil placed a soft kiss on the shorter boy’s forehead and then his mouth. Andrew gave Neil a slight smile, but his eyes only showed worry.

“It’s okay, angel.” Neil breathed.

“No, it’s not. I know you’re afraid of your father and his weapons, and I still said it. Neil, I hurt you too,” Andrew said.

Neil was afraid of knives and cleavers because of his father, but how did Andrew realize this? Neil knew that Andrew was very observant, but he kept his fears to himself. Because of his fears, it could be why Andrew stopped reaching into his arm bands.

“It’s okay, angel.” Neil repeated it, still as genuine as the first time. Neil gave Andrew a kiss on the mole in his mouth, and Andrew instantly melted.

Andrew rolled his eyes but then leaned forward to kiss Neil on his chapped lips. Both boys sat up so they could have balance while they made out. Andrew had his left hand buried in Neil’s hair and his right hand tugging Neil’s t-shirt desperately. Neil kept his hands on Andrew’s waist. The kiss was heavy; both boys were extremely clingy, and they would take any opportunity to feel and touch each other.

“Mm,” Andrew bit Neil’s lip. Andrew then tilted his head so Neil could kiss and bite his neck. Because of Neil’s sharp teeth, he had to be extra careful; if Neil bit him too hard, Andrew would be walking around with a nasty vampire bite. Vampire bites couldn’t turn werewolves, but they would still be on their necks. Neil took his time sinking his teeth into Andrew’s jaw; not only did he want to be careful, but he also wanted to tease Andrew.

“Now you’re—mm—really a vampire,” Andrew whined. Neil thinks Andrew and his noises are beautiful.

“Was I not already?” Neil teased.

“No,” Andrew deadpans, grabbing Neil’s jaw to connect their lips once more. Kissing was like breathing, like the blood that Neil needed to live. Neil needed Andrew, and Andrew needed him.

Andrew broke the kiss, but only to position himself on top of Neil and in between his thighs. Leaning down, Andrew started biting Neil’s neck. Unlike Neil, there were no consequences to Andrew biting Neil, so he bit Neil as hard as he could.

“Shit—” Neil choked out. Andrew almost laughed. Andrew tugged on Neil’s shirt once more, and this time Neil caved in and took it off, throwing it to Kevin’s side of the room (sorry, Kevin). Andrew mimicked Neil, and then the same, with his shirt also being thrown onto Kevin’s side.

“You’re so beautiful,” Neil professed. Andrew rolled his eyes, not believing it. But he leaned down to put his tongue in Neil’s mouth. Neil placed his arms on the back of Andrew’s neck, bringing him much closer. No matter what Andrew believes, Neil thinks he is ethereal.

“I missed you,” Andrew whispered, giving Neil a soft kiss on his now-red and swollen lips.

“I missed you too,” Neil whispered back, grinning with all of his teeth. Andrew rolled over from being on top of Neil and laid down right next to him. He blinked slowly, as if he were trying to stay awake.

Neil pulled in Andrew close, so that they were in their original position: Andrew’s head on Neil’s chest and Neil’s hand on Andrew’s waist.

“Go to sleep, full moon tonight,” Neil reminded him. Andrew groaned and buried his face deeper in Neil’s chest. The taller boy’s hand circled Andrew’s waist, pulling him closer.

“Drew?” Neil said, trying to catch Andrew’s attention.

“Hm?” He responded.

“I love you,” Neil confessed. He could feel the sweat on his forehead and his sun-kissed skin going hot. He never said those three forbidden words to anyone in a romantic sense. Of course, he said it to his mother, but it was familiar.

Andrew didn’t say it back, but he moved to kiss Neil’s cheek and held Neil impossibly close so nobody would ever get him again. Neil wasn’t upset that he didn’t say it; he knew Andrew so well that he knew that Andrew did love him but didn’t know how to express it. It was both of their first relationships, Neil understood.

He didn’t need black magic; he had Andrew. That’s all that mattered.

Robin was so so tired.

The full moon was one of the worst days of her life; her eyes were red, her skin was splotchy, and her hair started feeling strange.

Not only was it a full moon, but it was her first full moon in Palmetto. The process was way different than it was when she was with Steven and Riko. She would usually lock herself up and stay there until the sun came up. Now, she had to report to the basement of the school for a count, and she could go out. Robin still couldn’t understand the concept of being outside in her wolf form and being free from the grasp of her abusers.

“There, there,” Kevin said as he scratched Robin’s black hair while her head was on the glass table, trying to make her headache go away. The gym class below the balcony didn’t help either, and Jean was trying to raise his voice so Jeremy, who was below them, could hear.

“I hate this!” Robin groaned dramatically. Her hands felt clammy, and she was swearing profusely, like she had a fever.

“You’ll be okay; trust me, it’s better to go through the full moon in Palmetto than anywhere else,” Kevin comforted.

“And I have homework!” Robin cried.

“Make Andrew do it,” Kevin said.

"No, because he’ll probably be like, ‘I’ll do it if you give me cigarettes.’ Dude, I would kill for his memory,” Robin mocked the shorter werewolf. If he were here, he’d reach into his armbands, even though Robin has told him on multiple occasions that his little threat did not scare her. Let alone make her blink.

“We all would,” Kevin agreed, nodding.

“I’m still not over the feather,” Jean said after waving goodbye to Jeremy. He sat down next to Robin and glared at her. “Get up; you’re being dramatic.”

"Oh, shut up,” Robin said, rolling her eyes. She knew he was teasing, but she got up anyway, so she could glare at him. Jean smirked in response.

“Right, I still think about it too.” Kevin said.

“Should we do something with it?” Robin asked. Kevin looked over at Jean with an eyebrow raised, like they were engaging in a private conversation.

“I don’t know,” Jean replied.

“We can’t tell anyone about it; we don’t want any more people involved.” Kevin ordered.

“What do you guys think it is?” asks Jean.

Kevin bit his lip. “I have no idea; maybe Neil knows?”

Robin shrugged. The feather wasn’t a random pigeon or anything; it was something more horrifying. As she touched it, she felt the overwhelming feeling of black magic, and the black blood that stained her hands was bone-chilling. She had never seen it before, and she’s willing to bet that no other person who knew black magic would know what the feather entails.

“Hold on, I learned this spell in class,” Robin said, ready to show off. She circled the glass table twice before it turned into a rippling water effect. Kevin and Jean both looked at each other with a confused look, wondering what kind of shenanigans Robin was up to today.

The rippling water effect slowly stopped, revealing the ceiling of Neil and Kevin’s shared dorm. Neil slowly came into view with a confused look on his face.

“Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the ugliest of them all?” Jean snickered.

“It’s Jean Moreau!” Neil mocked. “Why are you calling me?” He then whispered.

“Why are you whispering? and also put on a shirt!” Robin pretended to gag.

“Andrew’s sleeping!” Neil whispered, but this time it was much louder than before.

“So it worked?” Jean grinned.

Neil blushed. “Sort of.”

Before Robin could ask them both why they’re leaving her out of things, Kevin chimed in. “We need to talk about the feather.”

“We think it’s black magic,” Robin explained.

Neil nodded. He was sort of the expert on it; however, when Robin asked Neil how he found her using the black magic spell, he winced and gave her a look that forever stuck with her. The look was something that wasn’t Neil Josten's; it was like a shell. A lookalike.

“Okay, I’ll be right there.” Neil said he circled the floor three times, causing the ripple effect to start once more and Neil to start to disappear from the table.

“Sometimes I wish I were a witch,” Kevin sighed.

“Well, at least we have... super speed?” Robin tried.

“No,” Kevin said, shaking his head. “Not the same.”

“At least we don’t shape shift into dogs,” Jean said smugly.

“Hey! Asshole, that’s me too,” Robin glared at Jean.

Neil and Andrew both walked up the stairs. Neil had a hoodie and baggy pants on, while Andrew had a hoodie on too, but the hood covered his blonde hair. Jean raised a knowing eyebrow at Robin, who smiled. She hasn’t known these guys for so long, but she was happy for Neil and Andrew, especially after hearing all of the stories of the pining from Jean.

Neil pulled up a chair and sat down. Andrew did the same, though he just stared at rippling water below the five supernaturals.

“Where is it?” Neil asked.

Robin gave him the feather; she kept it in her pocket at all costs. She couldn’t trust anybody in her dorm just yet; most of her belongings, the little things like jewelry, were kept inside the jacket that Allison bought her.

Neil scanned the feather, the black blood staining his hands. His eyebrows were scrunched together as he concentrated on where the feather could possibly have come from.

“Why don’t we go to that library again?” Kevin said. “Maybe they have something on it?”

Neil nodded. “Oh, yeah. Why haven’t I thought of that?”

Robin and Andrew both looked at Neil in confusion. Though Andrew’s stare was more anger than uncertainty, Andrew must've been sensitive to the idea that Neil practiced black magic; it hurt people and made people go insane. If someone that Robin loved used it, she might feel bad as well.

“You’ll see,” Neil simply says to both werewolves, ignoring Andrew’s warning stare.

“We’ll be back just in time for the full moon, swear it,” Jean said to Andrew.

“I don’t really care.” Andrew’s eyes narrowed; he was in a bad mood, like Robin. The vampires couldn't understand the pain and sickness, but Robin and Andrew understood each other and their bad attitudes today.

“Dick,” Jean bit back.

“Calm down, c’mon guys. Robin’s shotgun.” Kevin grinned.

“Yes!” Robin exclaimed.

“Fuck!” Jean yelled in despair.

Kevin was the only one who waved to the clerk with a magazine smile. Robin glanced at her; she thinks that’s enough interaction for the day. Neil, Andrew, and Jean ignored her, immediately going for the bookshelf towards the suspicious door towards the bottom of the library.

“Drew, Robin, follow me super quick. You two try to find some history or something,” Neil said, pointing at Kevin and Jean.

“Okay,” Kevin gushed at the mention of history.

“Nerd,” Jean whispered to Kevin, who punched him lightly.

Robin and Andrew looked at each other before following Neil, who was already walking downstairs. Andrew trailed behind the two vampires, and before Robin could ask him to hurry up, she noticed that Andrew was shoving something in his pocket. Weird.

On the basement floor of the library, there was a large door that had chains all over it. Robin wasn’t scared of anything like that, but she could feel the immense amount of magic on the other side. But it wasn’t the type that made her feel powerful or light. It was the type that made her feel like she could sleep for one hundred years.

"Robin, give me your hand super quick,” Neil demanded. She gave it to him, feeling Neil drain the magic from her body. It was only a little; if he drained every last drop, she'd most definitely pass out or, even worse, die. Robin knew that draining someone's life was a black magic spell, but she wanted to know if Neil knew that spell.

Neil let go of Robin's hand only a few seconds later and placed both of his hands, even the one that was pitch black, on the door, exploding it instantly.

Neil grinned at Andrew, who gave him a slight smile. "Come on.”

Andrew shook his head but went inside. He could feel the magic around him to a certain extent, but it wasn’t unbearable to him like it was to somebody like Robin or Neil.

The room was dusty, and the windows were blocked by wooden planks. It felt like a horror movie set or a cheap attempt at making a haunted house. Robin sneezed a few times, the dust getting onto her nose and on her hands as he touched the book shelves. Robin could’ve sworn that she saw some spiders as well.

“There has to be something about the feather in here,” Neil pondered, opening the first book there was on the shelves and quickly skimming through the pages. Andrew was weary of the books, but he eventually caved in and began skimming through another book.

Robin, following along with her friends, moved to the bookshelf towards the back of the haunted room, hoping that this book was the one to tell them everything they needed to know. The black magic books were etched with horrifying messages, suicide threats, Latin phrases, and bloody fingerprints. Robin didn’t know if she would ever dabble in black magic like Neil has.

“Anything?” Robin called out.

“No." Neil groaned in frustration.

“No,” Andrew said, closing the book and moving onto the next one.

Robin closed her book as well. The second book was a list of dark magic objects, such as swords from the 1400s, and one that particularly stood out to Robin: a golden arrow. Because, one, there was no golden bow, which she thought was strange, those two went together like peanut butter and jelly. And two, the arrow was the only item that did not have a description. On the book, there were no cryptic messages, but there were black blood stains. Even though it was dried, Robin could tell that it was similar to the stains on the feather.

“Guys, I think I found something.” Robin said unsurely. Neil and Andrew put their books back on the shelf and made their way to Robin. Neil leaned over, trying to read the text in the book. His blue eyes were squinting towards the bottom of the page. Robin’s eyes followed where Neil was staring, and she saw three words—it wasn’t computerized text or a pen. It was black blood.

“What language is that even?” Robin looked at Andrew, who was leaning over, trying to see the words as well.

“Not English or German, that’s for sure.” He said, now looking at the golden arrow sketch on the page. The sketch wasn't very detailed, but at least the three knew it was supposed to be an arrow that just so happened to be golden as well.

“Ubi est corvus.” Neil recited. Whatever language it was in, the hybrid sounded fluent.

“What?” Robin turned to look at Neil with a large amount of confusion.

“It’s Latin; it means ‘where is the raven.’” He explained.

“You know Latin?" Andrew asked.

“No, but I know Spanish and French. Also, some spells are in Latin; guess I picked some up,” Neil shrugged.

“Right. But what could it mean?” Robin bit her lip.

“You think the feather was just some bird?” Neil asked both werewolves, glancing at them and awaiting an answer.

“Guess these weird witches want to find a bird,” Andrew murmured.

“No, wait, it could be some specific bird or something. It’s important, I swear,” Robin said quite unconvincingly.

Andrew shrugged, not really knowing how to respond. He put his hands in his left pant pocket, feeling something. Andrew’s eyes widened as he pulled out Neil’s necklace. Robin didn’t even realize that Neil had taken it off. It was obvious that it was a dark object, but it was very difficult to remove after it’s been on his neck for apparently months.

“Oh shit,” Andrew mouthed.

“What’s wrong, angel?” Neil asked. Robin wanted to die over their sappy nicknames.

“I have an idea, but we need Kevin and Jean,” Andrew says, making his way for the door. Neil gave Robin a look—something strange.

“Take the book; let’s go,” Neil said, following Andrew out of the door. Robin grabbed the book, using both hands to hold it. It’s okay if the dust ruined her new jacket; she found a lead.

Kevin and Jean were over at the history section of the library. They were sitting shoulder to shoulder on a couch while Kevin was spitting out history facts while Jean looked at him fondly, most definitely not listening, but he was only staring at Kevin’s green eyes.

Andrew came up to them, pulling out Neil’s necklace, which both boys on the couch immediately recognized. Andrew held it like it was disgusting—a horrible sight—so he passed it to Robin. The magic was overpowering; Robin couldn’t imagine Neil wearing this all day. No wonder he was now dealing with the sickening side effects. Robin noticed how Neil would wince, and she quickly noticed how easily the lies about his left arm came out.

“We’re doing a blood pact,” Andrew declared.

“What?” Neil gaped.

“Are you joking?” Jean mirrored Neil’s open mouth.

Robin knew that Andrew and Kevin had something going on—an indescribable aura to them both. When she asked Jean, he just rolled his eyes and said the two have had a blood pact ever since they were about twelve. Blood pacts were the most popular form of black magic; they were mostly used by two people who didn’t want to lie to themselves any longer. However, they were used for different purposes, like location.

“No,” Andrew deadpans, completely serious.

“Why?” Jean asked in disbelief.

“After the phone call, I was thinking that if one of us gets taken away, the rest will know.” Andrew explains.

“Good idea,” Neil agrees. Neil has made it clear that he doesn’t want to ever lose Robin or anyone else in this very room. One of these people could still be used for the Court, so it would be best that all five of them stuck together.

“Can I—” Neil asked Robin, reaching for the necklace that she was holding.

“No.” Andrew glared at him. “Absolutely not. You’re not doing that shit.”

“What? Why?” Neil looked at him in shock. “Then who will? Oh.”

The four boys stared at Robin, and even though they’re all her friends (yes, even Andrew), she still felt something uneasy. Robin looked around, anywhere that wasn’t the others; she couldn’t bear the eye contact now.

“Robin, will you do it?” Neil asked softly.

“I can try, but I don’t really know how to do the spell,” Robin mumbled.

Andrew handed her a ripped piece of paper; he must’ve secretly ripped it from one of the black magic books they were looking at. The writing was in Latin but was written in blood using a finger because of the fingerprints all over the page. It was like the person who wrote the message was making a pact with the paper.

“Connect sanguinem necessitudines,” Neil read quietly, saying the spell out loud without using blood would not do anything just yet.

“Are you sure you can do this?” Kevin asked a nervous Robin. She swallowed her fear and nodded. She had to expand her knowledge somehow.

Andrew reached into his pockets, pulling out a red push pin, most likely taken from the front desk of the library. He pricked his finger without fear, the blood pouring out of it.

Robin placed the place on the floor, and the five supernaturals circled around it like they were experimenting with it. Andrew hovered his finger above the paper, his blood pouring on the first letters of Latin. After that, he gave Neil the pin. Neil, like the other three vampires in the room, was looking away from Andrew’s blood on the floor. They could technically drink werewolf blood, but it was not very appealing. No matter if they wanted to drink Andrew's blood or not, the veins still popped out. Neil quickly pricked his finger, his black blood dropping on the paper.

“I’m not afraid to knock any of you out,” Andrew threatens. “Except Neil.” He quickly adds.

“Aww,” Neil cooed, still looking away.

“Gross.” Jean groaned. But they all knew that Jean was one of the first people who were relieved once he found out the two were official.

Neil passed the pin to Robin at an awkward angle since they were trying not to look at Andrew at all costs. Robin pricked her finger, her blood dropping on the paper. She handed it to Kevin, who handed it to Jean. All of their blood mixed with each other, Neil’s blood turning the others into a dark cranberry color.

The vampires could now turn back around since Andrew’s blood was now mixed in with the vampire blood. The vampires absolutely had no desire to drink their own kind’s blood. Robin stared at the paper, and the blood spilled onto the wooden floor beneath them.

Neil nudged Robin, smiling, so he could reassure her. “It’s time.”

Robin nodded. “Connect sanguinem necessitudines.”

The paper in front of the five suddenly exploded, all of the blood getting on their faces.

“Oh my god,” Kevin felt his face; the dark red blood stained his hands.

“Did it work?” Neil asked, touching his face as well.

“Fucking hell,” Jean murmured, glancing at his bloodied knuckles. The four others stared at him, startled.

“Look at your hands,” Jean commanded. Robin glanced at her middle finger’s knuckle, and the skull marking stared at her back.

Robin started feeling weird; already she was sick because of the full moon today, but now she felt nauseous. This might be the aftereffect of a black magic spell, but the burn in her left hand might also be.

The burn on her hand that closely resembled a feather made Robin’s vision go blurry, then pitch black. The last thing she heard was Neil scream her name in horror.

Chapter Text

??? ???,???. ???, ???

10

Neil woke up to the feeling of a hundred hands grabbing him and pulling him down to the pits of hell.

“Keep it down asshole,” Robin’s cold glare startled Neil, who didn’t even realize he screamed. Robin looked different, to say the least; her black hair was messy, her eyes were red and her previously orange shirt was now black.

“What…” Neil panted. “Where are we?” He looked around, it felt like they weren’t in a room at all. Just an infinite, black void. It was only him and Robin, they were forcefully trapped in chairs while the only form of entertainment they had was staring off into the endless nothingness.

“I’d like to know too, look down, will you?” Robin demanded, quite irritated. She made no effort to take her advice, she made no effort to look around the room for exits like Neil did; she knew that this void was her fate.

Neil looked down at his entire body being tied by rope, and that said rope was tied to the back of the chair he sat on. There were at least ten knots, there so that Neil won’t escape. It was tight and it made Neil feel a different level of uncomfortable. On his hands were shackles that connected his hands, if he concentrated he could take the magic from the chains and blow it up. Not only were the chains squeezing Neil, but his dried blood made his chest tighten in fear and the chains bringing back unwanted memories from his father didn’t help.

“Already tried that,” Robin glanced at him, bored. “Guess they planned.” Neil looked back at her, she was also tied to the chair and had the same shackles as he did.

“Who?” Neil asked.

“Who else?” Robin replied. Who else but the Moriyamas? “Don’t try to kill yourself, this isn’t a dream.”

“If only I could pinch myself,” Neil scowled, glancing down at his shackles once more. Maybe if he stared at them longer, they’d explode and he and Robin would get out, somehow. Neil tried moving himself, or the chair, so he could somehow break out of the ropes.

“You know I tried all of that before you even woke up, not the first time I was kidnapped,” Robin stared up at what would be the “ceiling” if the void was a regular room.

“Why isn’t my magic working?” Neil huffed. No matter what Robin said, Neil would do anything to get out of these chains.

“I’m thinking that these shackles limit our magic,” Robin pursed her lips.

Mary Hartford would be rolling in her grave if she ever found out that Abram couldn’t get himself out of a hostage situation. But the idea that magic is involved opens up a whole new layer to what the hell this nightmare could be.

“Guess we have to sit and wait,” Robin rolled her eyes.

“You’re surprisingly calm,” Neil raised an eyebrow, he was slowly losing his sanity while Robin didn’t bat an eye to the horrifying situation they were both in.

“Oh trust me, I freaked out, but that was before you woke up,” Robin stared at Neil, who was trying to rip the rope with his bare teeth. “Don’t do that. You’ll break your pearly whites.”

Neil stopped, if they were anywhere else he would’ve laughed at Robin’s comment, though the anxiety ate away Neil’s skin like gnats, making it impossible to find humor in this situation.

“Do you even know what happened before we got here?” he asked.

“Yeah, they tried using drugs on us, syringe and all. It didn’t work on me, but I can only remember bits and pieces.” Robin explained.

“How did it not work on you?” Neil asked.

Robin shifted uncomfortably, then she stared at Neil. Her cold, black eyes met blue. “They used those drugs too many times. I’ve gained immunity.”

“Oh,” Neil bit his lip, not knowing what to say. He wasn’t the best at comforting others, but Andrew was more qualified for the job. “So what happened?”

No matter how hard he tried, Neil Josten could not escape the feeling of forgetting, thankfully Robin was here to fill him in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

??? ???, ???. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

18

“Sometimes this shit gets old,” Robin says to Neil. At the moment, they were watching yet another boy's home soccer game, though it was interesting because the opponent team was leading 1-0. If the Palmetto Foxes get two more wins they will be declared the high school league champions. It seems important but Robin has other things to worry about.

“Eh,” Neil simply responded, taking a sip of his rabbit blood, though he had the decency to place it in one of Allison’s large purple water bottles so the humans wouldn’t see.

“You only say that because your boyfriend plays,” Robin teased, nudging him playfully. The two have been coming very close recently; they were inseparable. Honestly, at this point, they thought of each other as the sibling they never had.

The crowd cheered as number eleven Jeremy Knox scored the Foxes’ first point. Kevin ran up to him and gave him a fist bump.

“Finally.” Neil took another sip, he leaned back so that his back was on the bleacher behind him. No matter what he said, Neil was extremely into soccer. Even though he has said countless times that he wasn’t planning onto joining the team next year, all of his friends notice how his lights lit up at the mere mention of the sport.

“Wonder why it took so long,” Robin said.

“Surprised Kevin won’t grace us all with his deadly, accurate shots,” Neil smirked. The crowd gasped at the sight of the court, and Neil’s grin faded. “Oh shit.”

The crowd went silent, apart from a few chants, as Seth Gordon punched the opponent team’s striker. The other guy stumbled back but quickly recovered enough to graze Seth’s jaw. Jeremy ran up to them along with the coaches and the refs to break up the fight. It took five people to pry Seth off the other guy, he was bruised and bloodied and had to be admitted to the hospital. Even though that was such a minor inconvenience and Seth got a red card, the game continued.

Kevin scored the Foxes’ second point, he wasn’t all for provoking the over team but Jean had enough provocative bones in his body for the both of them because he stuck out the middle finger to the defensive player on the opponent team who desperately tried to make Kevin get a red card, or at least a yellow one. It would be a valid strategy if it wasn’t soccer queen Kevin Day he was trying it on.

“Queen! Queen! Queen!” The crowd chanted.

Kevin lived for the attention, he waved to the crowd and winked at a few witches who were leaning over the fence so they could get a good look at the queen of soccer himself. The girls blushed and swooned, Kevin Day did truly grace them with his presence. The crowd roared, and the opponent team’s eyes widened at the popularity of this random guy. Kevin Day was a national threat.

The opponents played dirty. Pushing and shoving the foxes, they didn’t care if some of their players were red-carded, it was revenge for Seth knocking the lights out of their key defensive player. Jean and Matt stumbled a few times, Jeremy almost fell and Kevin slammed into the opponents on more than one occasion. The dark clouds above suddenly caved in, and the rain all over the stadium did not help with the foxes trying not to fall and hit their heads.

Robin glanced at Neil, who she assumed was watching Kevin and Jeremy trying to score their third point, but, of course, he was looking at Andrew. He previously was squatting but as soon as the opponent striker came close he stood up. Before the striker could even kick the ball to the goal, Andrew was already moving.

Andrew caught the ball instantly, the crowd erupted while Andrew kicked the ball back. Neil stood up, cheering for his boyfriend. Robin clapped, that’s all Andrew gets. Sometimes Robin thinks that Andrew’s eidetic memory is horrifying, especially because him predicting the opponent’s next moves with only their height and weight statistics was a game changer. She wished she had that, from one goalie to another.

Andrew passed the ball to Matt, who struggled to pass it because of the two opponent defense lines on his front and back. Unfortunately, the other team’s striker quickly stole the ball, aiming for Andrew who blocked it by catching it once again. Neil and the crowd cheered, Andrew wasn’t necessarily popular, and if he was it was about his rash personality, but all of the student section could tell if someone was good at the game: and Andrew was one of those people.

Again, Andrew kicked the ball back except Jeremy was the one to catch it. He passed a long pass to Kevin, which was a risky move but there was no other opponent in the middle of the field. Kevin mimicked shooting but then he passed the ball to Jeremy, who sprinted towards the rival net. Jeremy shot the ball at the top right corner of the goal, but the other team’s goalie couldn’t catch it. The goal lit up the familiar orange and the refs blew their whistles, indicating that the Foxes got their third point.

Kevin ran up to Jeremy bringing him in by the waist while the announcer called for halftime. The soccer team sat on the bench, Jean had an arm around Kevin’s shoulder while Kevin was discussing game strategies with him (Robin could tell, his eyes lit up as he shot out statistics; horrifyingly Jean listened to every last one). Andrew leaned back, staring off into space as the cheerleaders performed their halftime show.

Robin couldn’t imagine that soccer games while it rained hard would be her life, all she knew was survival; surviving Steven, surviving the Master, and surviving Riko Moriyama. She was always alert, not sleeping and mostly thinking about revenge. Now, the most pressing issue of her life was deciding to finish her werewolf history project or skip it and hang out with Neil and the others.

Soccer gave her a thrill, it was a huge part of her identity. Robin didn’t remember her childhood before she was taken away by Steven but she remembered little leagues, she remembered blocking a ball would give him an indescribable sense of happiness, and she remembered how her father would call Robin his “superstar.”

“Robin?” Neil shook Robin worriedly. Robin snapped out of her inner monologue, the rain’s satisfying noise hitting the grass, and wetting Robin’s socks in the process.

“Sorry. What?” Robin blinked.

“Your pockets,” Neil pointed, his hand was shaking and his jaw was clenched.

Before Robin could realize what he was talking about, she noticed the large spot of black blood staining her white clothes. Robin kept many things in her pockets, though she knew exactly which item caused this: the feather.

“Fuck, okay we need to go.” Neil took his orange “03” sweater off to place it on Robin’s waist, she tied it on while they ran up the bleachers trying to avoid awkward conversation with classmates and bumping into people.

Neil and Robin ran around the entire school to go to the nearest dorm they could. The black blood stain dripped down Robin’s pants, the blood droplets on the hard floor and stairs of the academy.

Neil opened the door to his room with a flash, shutting the door immediately. Robin took off the sweater from her waist revealing that her entire side resembled a bloodied carcass.

“Take it out,” Neil instructed, putting the dirty hoodie on his bed.

Robin took what would be the remains of the father out of her pockets, it was slowly disintegrating, and only half of it was there. Robin didn’t think that the rest of it turned into the blood, it was something greater and harder to comprehend.

“What the…” Neil trailed. The air in his room started feeling cold, it wasn’t cold the two hybrids felt while they sat under the rain, it wasn’t the cold they felt while they sacrificed their blood to receive each other's location and a skull tattoo on their knuckles, it was something bone-chilling. Something satanic.

In Robin’s hand, the feather fully decayed to a puddle of the black liquid she dreaded to even look at. Looking up at Neil to see his reaction, he looked sick to his stomach. Goosebumps from the chilly atmosphere formed on his arms, and goosebumps formed on Robin’s because of the fear.

Neil was opening his mouth to say a few words, but what came out was black goo. While he was choking, Robin was backing away instinctively, she had her hand to her face, the black blood touching her nose and cheeks. Robin slowly backed up until she can’t no more, the cold wall made Robin’s spine shiver.

“Neil? Neil!” Robin called out. It was no use. He was still grabbing onto his neck and grabbing onto the hoodie on his bed with his dear life for comfort. Like the pain was eventually going to kill him. She couldn’t stand to see it, Robin swallowed her fears of Neil and ran up to him, patting his back so that it would all be over. The lights flickered inconsistently and the wind outside the window whistled in warning.

“Be—” Neil tried, but he kept puking out the blood. The floor, along with both of their shoes, was covered in gore. Robin desperately wanted this to be a dream, but the type of things that she had seen in her lifetime made her remember that this was inevitable.

“What is it, Neil?” Robin cried, her hands clung to his shirt.

“—hind,” Neil finished. His head turned with a large crunch.

Robin fell to her knees as soon as Neil hit the floor, she scrambled up to him. It couldn’t kill him, though Robin was still scared. Her legs burned like acid because of the matter she was on top of.

“Neil? Neil? Neil, oh god. Neil, please wake up,” Robin sobbed, her vision was blurry, and the lights flickering were going to give her a seizure. Her clammy hands touched Neil’s face all over, maybe the heat could make him wake up?

Robin felt something out of the corner of her eye. Not only did she have enhanced senses because of her mother, but with the Moriyamas you couldn’t relax. You had to be alert, and ready for action. The hairs on her neck stood up and her breathing got heavy. Something was wrong.

“Oh, haha. You got me,” Robin dared. She didn’t know who or what she was taunting but hopefully, it gave her enough time to gather the courage to turn around or the figure behind her to change their mind. The lights turned off for good and Neil’s face suddenly got colder.

“You did it!” she snapped. “You found me.”

Robin put her hands up in surrender, she no longer looked at Neil’s body beside her, she looked at the blood staining her pants. Robin heard the crowd outside cheering for Kevin Day and Jeremy Knox. The lights on the field lit up with hope. Meanwhile, Neil’s phone beside his desk lit up and the number one stared back at Robin.

Robin had her hands on her face, but she didn’t want that. She wanted her hands hugging her friends after the soccer game, she wanted to live happily and content, and she wanted to stop the Moriyamas once and for all. Her bloodied hands stuck on Robin’s gorey face like glue, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t pry her hands off her face.

No matter how hard she tried, Robin Cross could not escape the Moriyamas' grasp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

March 15th, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

03

No matter how hard he tried, Andrew Minyard could not escape this soccer match.

“Andrew you know you have to play the entire game,” Kevin said, in response to Andrew getting up to leave, to where? He has no idea, but it was most definitely not in this field. Andrew rolled his eyes, sitting back down. Kevin didn’t control him, he did it with his own free will.

The freshman, who Andrew could care less about, who played goalie alongside him recently had to go back to wherever he came from because of family issues. Meaning that Andrew had to play for the whole game. At least know he’ll experience what it would be like to be star player Jeremy Knox and the queen of soccer, Kevin Day, both boys allergic to the bench. Their coach would rather die than bench his two-star players.

Andrew disliked soccer. Hate was too strong of a word, it implied that Andrew cared about soccer, which he didn’t. Andrew was never interested in soccer, but when he caught a ball once at twelve it was over for him. Kevin trailed around him, begging to join the team. Andrew complied and joined the team, to stop the begging, but also so he could keep a close eye on Kevin. Luckily, now he shares the job with Jean.

The halftime show was boring. Andrew would rather do anything else than be here— third wheeling with Kevin and Jean or being on top of Neil, kissing him senseless. Anything. Speaking of the hybrid, Andrew has snuck glances at Neil on the bleachers throughout the game, he was easy to spot. Neil’s bright auburn hair stuck out and made him unique from any other person in the crowd, and his hoodie that had a large “03” on it did too. Frankly, it made Andrew blush but why would he ever admit that?

Neil stood up and clapped every time Andrew caught the ball, he was the loudest one once his friends scored as well. Andrew didn’t expect to have someone like him to support him, in-game and off. Of course, Andrew had his doppelgänger and his cousin come to every one of his games (Aaron says that he’s there to only see Katelyn, but his cheering for Andrew and Kevin says otherwise), though Neil’s support was different. It tugged Andrew’s heartstrings and it made him feel alive.

Andrew turned around towards the bleachers, Neil and Robin were nowhere to be found. Most likely at a concession stand or maybe in the bathroom, it made sense; halftime was only there for those two things.

“Looking for your boyfriend?” Jean grinned smugly. Andrew forgot he existed, so he simply ignored him. Jean was not as bad as he was years ago when they first met. Jean was rude, extremely annoying, and isolated himself. Now, he talked to more people and was slightly less annoying, but he was still rude. But since Jean has been good friends with Neil lately, Andrew decided to push aside his hatred for the Frenchman just for a little while.

Jean understood Neil more than Andrew. The blonde was most definitely not scared of Neil leaving him for Jean of all people, but he was frightened over the fact that Andrew might not be the support system Neil needed. During the fight he and Neil had weeks ago, Neil mentioned that Andrew may not truly understand him. Though Renee reassured Andrew that what the hybrid said wasn’t true, it still stuck with him.

No, Andrew would never understand what it’s like to kill people to eat.

No, Andrew would never understand what it’s like to have a father out to kill you.

No, Andrew would never understand why Neil even liked him in the first place.

Andrew caught Jean’s hand before it could touch his shoulder, instinctively he squeezed it, almost cutting the taller vampire’s blood circulation.

“Fuck,” Jean winced. “Sorry, you seemed out of it.”

Andrew gave him a look, a dirty look. Then he let his hand go. He didn’t apologize, but he just shook his head. He wasn’t out of it. He was just thinking.

“What were you thinking about?” Jean asked. Bastard. Even though Jean’s personality got better by a sliver, no matter what he did, he was still nosy no matter what. Andrew just stared at him, no way was he about to humor the boy with his “insecurities.”

“Fine,” Jean huffed. “You see five on the other team? His underwear is out.”

Andrew rolled his eyes but smirked, it was kind of funny. He turned around again towards the bleachers, there was still no Neil or Robin. Call Andrew dramatic, but he was starting to get a strange feeling.

“He’s probably in the bathroom,” Jean said, in an attempt to comfort the werewolf.

“I don’t care,” Andrew replied with fame indifference. He cared. He cared so much.

The buzzer screamed, ending halftime and starting Andrew’s anxiety.

29

No matter how hard he tried, Jean Moreau couldn’t escape the urge to know.

Even though he and Minyard weren’t exactly the best of friends, they still have known each other for so long. Jean could tell if something was wrong with him. Rumor has it that the “monster” was emotionless, rash, and rude. Though some of those were true, Andrew wasn’t emotionless, he was more obvious if anything.

It was obvious that he had a soft spot for Kevin, it was obvious that he would kill himself a million times just for Neil, and it was obvious that something about Minyard was wrong. His blonde eyebrows with the collection of piercings narrowed, he shook his hands when nervous, and he was looking everywhere but the game in front of him.

Minyard looked back every single second during the game at the bleachers, in the hope that his boyfriend along with Robin returned to cheer the team on. Minyard was never really into the game of soccer but this time he was completely out of it. He even let a goal in, for the first time in his career.

The crowd’s screaming died down as Minyard did not make an effort to move, he couldn’t. His mind was too occupied. Jean never knew the shorter boy was clingy or could have anxiety.

Jean loved soccer and always did. He never had little leagues like Kevin, but after escaping the Moriyamas he found relief in the sport. The shoving, the crowd, and his boyfriend’s smile whenever Jean scored gave him a sense of pride. But he never got mad whenever a teammate made a mistake, that was something Riko Moriyama would do. Jean Moreau was not Riko. He will never be.

Jean wasn’t near the blonde werewolf when he let the ball in, but he couldn’t help but stare at Minyard. Kevin, who was right next to Jean, eyes widened, he couldn’t believe it. Minyard? Letting a goal in? Blasphemy.

Gorgeous Jeremy Knox ran up to Minyard. The captain was never harsh, he asked everyone how they were doing, encouraged breaks and even gave out water for the team. Everyone needed a Jeremy. Except for Minyard. He didn’t need anyone, he just wanted Neil.

Minyard stared at Jeremy. It wasn’t a blank stare he usually gave Jean, it wasn’t the lovey-dovey one he gave Neil. This was maddening. Minyard’s face turned into a scowl as Jeremy tried talking to him, but when Jean looked closer he could tell that Minyard was sweating, but it wasn’t from the game.

The whistle blew, snapping Jean out of his thoughts. He immediately ran up to the opponents trying to get the ball from Kevin and stood in front of him, blocking the way. Kevin passed the ball along to Jeremy, who passed it to Matt, and then he passed it to Jean since he was the nearest person. Quickly before the other team’s defensive came for him, Jean passed it to Jeremy. It was a far and risky kick but like Minyard, the other team’s goalie was distracted. Jeremy scored the Foxes their fourth point, which was just enough for them to advance to the championships.

The entire team ran up to each other, hugging and jumping around. The semi-finals were only a breath away. Jean didn’t participate in the celebration, he wanted to talk to Minyard. The werewolf was staring at the trees behind the field. He no longer was seeking glances at the bleachers, it was like he accepted defeat.

“Minyard?” Jean started. “You know we won right?”

“Get Kevin, we’re leaving,” he said.

“What?”

Minyard gave him a look—a plea. Something completely out of character. Jean sighed but ran up to Kevin because he knew that the goalie was completely serious. Kevin was hugging the life out of Jeremy, his pale hands making circle motions on Jeremy’s freckled waist. Jean wishes he was in between them both but why would he ever say something like that out loud?

“Sorry but we got to cut the celebration short,” Jean tugged on Kevin’s jersey, trying to grab his attention as quickly as he could.

“Baby? Are you okay?” Kevin asked worriedly, letting go of Jeremy’s shoulders.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Jeremy said, walking over to where Matt and Seth were. If this was a different universe, Jean would’ve asked Jeremy to stay. What if Jeremy knew about the Court? What if Jeremy knew about the Moriyamas? Jean desperately wanted to know how the fake blonde would react.

“I’m good. Minyard’s acting weird,” Jean explained.

“Fuck, okay. Let’s go,” Kevin said, the two vampires were running up to Minyard, who was already moving up to the bleachers.

“Andrew, what’s wrong?” Kevin said as soon as he caught up with the goalie.

“I’m worried about Neil,” Minyard said involuntarily. Jean almost forgot that he and Kevin were incapable of lying to one another. Jean is somewhat glad that the blood pact that he was in wasn’t the same, he couldn’t imagine giving anything up to the shorter boy.

“Wait,” Jean stopped, putting a hand in front so both Minyard and Kevin stopped in their tracks. The horrifying smell of the black blood that the three were so familiar with arose. The others in the bleachers didn’t care, they celebrated the victory just as hard as the foxes did. Jean looked down, a trail of black blood led to the outside of the field, Kevin put his hand on his mouth in shock. All three of the supernaturals knew that something was wrong. Neil and Robin’s sudden disappearance, and the trail of blood matched up perfectly like a puzzle.

Jean glanced down at Minyard, who was shaking like a leaf. Jean made no effort to make fun of him or tease him. He was equally as scared, he also wanted Neil and Robin back safely more than anything.

02

No matter what he did, Kevin Day would never escape the feeling of fear.

Before Kevin Day could put a word to the feeling, he was scared of losing his mother.

Before Kevin Day could put a word to the feeling, he was scared of not escaping the Moriyamas alive.

Before Kevin Day could put a word to the feeling, he was scared that the Moriyamas would take away another he loved.

He was the first to act, he ran up following the trail of black blood. The smell filled up his lungs, but he ignored it. There were more pressing issues. Jean and Andrew quickly followed behind Kevin. They made sharp turns, almost bumped into lockers, and almost bumped into each other.

Kevin swung open the entrance to the vampire dorm, the trail of blood leading into his and Neil’s shared dorm. Kevin tried his best to open the door as fast as he could, though the door didn’t budge.

“Fuck. C’mon! C’mon!” Kevin begged, maybe if he repeated the phrase the door would magically open. Too bad he does not have a magical bone in his body.

Andrew shoved Kevin out of the way, causing the taller vampire to stumble back. Jean raised an eyebrow, waiting for what the werewolf would do. The blonde repeatedly punched the door, Kevin hoped that the punches would do something but when he looked at Jean’s expression, he could tell that Jean was convinced that Andrew wouldn’t do anything.

Andrew kept punching the door as if it were his enemy, his hands being bruised and battered by the minute. Finally, the door had a large crack in it, large enough for the three to hop in. Jean raised both his eyebrows in shock that Andrew was capable of such things. Kevin wasn’t. He always knew he could do it.

Kevin’s dorm was cold. Colder than usual, it might’ve been the fact that the window was wide open, or it could be the mental coldness that settled in the vampire’s mind because of the pool of black blood on the floor.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Kevin murmured.

“What the actual fuck even happened,” Jean gaped. The black blood settled on the three supernatural’s soccer cleats like they were taking a dip in a pool, or like quicksand ready to drag all three down with it.

“We need to find clues,” Andrew said, his face was a mask. He wanted to be shocked, he wanted to cry. But he was taught to put his emotions aside; to protect his family, Kevin, and himself. The blonde’s voice was hoarse as if he was trying to bury the tears along with his secrets.

“Look, a big one is the pool of blood,” Jean pointed out unhelpfully. The black blood spread to his legs.

“Other than that, baby,” Kevin said.

The sweater on Neil’s bed was covered in blood, staining the bed sheets along with it. The walls were covered in blood and most importantly the floor was too. Kevin had never seen this much, even when he was with the Moriyamas. Kayleigh didn’t bleed as much as this, and they didn’t cut Kevin’s stomach that deep either. The vampire’s scar ached at the thought.

Kevin looked back at Andrew, whose shoulders were shaking. Kevin thought that only he could go through the fear of losing another person, but Andrew did as well. Andrew was convinced at only twelve that he was going to lose Aaron because of their mother’s death. Tilda Minyard’s shooting was going to strain the twin’s relationship. They had no father and now no mother, only each other. That’s why Andrew grew up to be harsh, that’s why he grew up pushing others away including his brother, even though he wanted Aaron to stay. The idea of losing Neil and Robin made all three boys feel an indescribable emptiness.

While Jean was looking under Neil’s bed, drenching himself in blood, for anything, Andrew’s back met the bloodied wall, and his hands with his collection of rings met the wall as well. Andrew’s tears met the floor, while Kevin’s eyes met the phone screen that read “1.”

Kevin had never seen Andrew Minyard cry in the six years they’d known each other. But the sight made Kevin’s metaphoric heart drop to his stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

??? ???,???. ???,???

10

Because of the drugs, Neil struggled to keep awake. They made him feel slower and it made him feel like he could hear the blood flow inside his body.

But Neil shot awake once Nathan Wesninski placed a cleaver to Neil’s neck. If Neil had a pulse, everyone in the void would have heard it booming.

Nathan’s presence was like no other, it was something so powerful. Neil had hallucinated him for years now but those mere visions were not like the real thing. Looking at Nathan was like looking into a mirror, Neil and Nathan had an uncanny resemblance, as Mary once implied with all of the physical and verbal abuse.

Robin didn’t dare to speak, her mouth was clamped shut as if she were a machine and was malfunctioning. She still made no effort to untie herself, it was impossible and the only way she could was from a miracle. Neil and Robin were not blessed enough to have one.

“Nathaniel,” Nathan greeted. He didn’t smile, not yet, his large fangs were not ready to come out. His eyes narrowed at the sight of his son, he spent years running away from the killer but he was now here, tied up with no way of using magic. It was so easy to get Nathaniel here, so why did it take so long?

Nathaniel was frozen. He couldn’t move. Was he going to do it now? All of the efforts that he and his mother made, everything that he sacrificed starting from his childhood to his left arm that burned at the sole mention of magic. Nathaniel felt chilly at the sight of Riko’s dead body, the sight of the pure anger and hatred from Jean, and the sight of Andrew’s manic smile. But staring into his father’s eyes and his bloodied face made Nathaniel feel numb.

“When I’m talking to you, you respond. Do you hear me?” Nathan grinned, pushing back his head so he could see him. There it was. His fangs were larger than Neil’s or Robin’s would ever be. This was the true smile of a serial killer.

“Yes,” Nathaniel croaked out. Robin just stared at the family reunion in shock, she looked like she was struggling to keep awake, like she was going to pass out at any minute. The cleaver felt hot like it was molten lava on Nathaniel’s neck. At this point, Nathaniel was sweating bullets, was this all for show or was Nathan going to snap his neck for real?

Not yet, Nathan won’t. His cleaver met Nathaniel’s already bruised skin like he was a piece of meat at the Butcher’s. Nathaniel didn’t make noise, a whimper would cause more; that was the general rule of the Wesninski household (if you were to call it that). Every cut poured out black blood onto Nathan’s face. He wore Nathaniel’s blood as if it were a first place trophy.

“What’s that?” Nathan asked again, scarring Nathaniel’s neck with the cleaver. Nathaniel watched as the black blood poured out, staining his shirt and the cleaver.

“I heard you!” Nathaniel choked out, Robin turned around so she wouldn’t look anymore, staring into what would be the ground of this endless black hole. This endless suffering.

Nathan cut Nathaniel’s neck all the way, if he pushed in the cleaver Nathaniel’s head would’ve come out clean. Nathaniel has been through countless near-death experiences from the Moriyama exchange to almost dying due to Lola’s black magic, but this was so close. Nathaniel would’ve been a corpse if Nathan pushed it further in. But he wouldn’t because he was only here to torture Nathaniel.

Nathaniel couldn’t clutch his head to make it stay, he felt as if he was going to fall but on his chair he stood still, awaiting death. He couldn’t tell if his blood hit the “floor” because it was pitch black. Nathan’s face was stained with it and the chains restraining Nathaniel were too. Even Robin’s shoulder had Nathaniel’s blood on it.

“Too bad I’m not here for you,” Nathan gritted, positioning the cleaver now on Robin’s neck, Nathaniel’s blood looked out of place on her pale skin. Her black eyes widened, her arms had goosebumps, and her breath hitched at the sight of Nathan.

“Don’t,” Nathaniel gagged, the blood kept pouring out endlessly. “Touch…her!”

Robin’s black eyes were glassy with tears. Nathaniel always thinks about how Robin didn’t deserve this, or anything that happened to her. “Please. Please don’t.”

With no remorse or hesitation to spare, Nathan gave Robin a matching scar on her throat, her dark red blood staining both father and son in the process.

Now, Robin started shaking, the chair moving with her. She desperately wanted to get out, she wanted to break the chains and she was frustrated she couldn’t. Robin screamed at the pain. Nathan kept striking her with the cleaver and his bare fists. And Nathaniel couldn’t do anything about it.

So much blood was below the three. Nathaniel and Robin couldn’t cry anymore. It was impossible, they shed all of their tears and the blood kept pouring out of their necks. Nathaniel just wanted to go home.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Nathan fell face first, his blood pouring out and touching both of Nathaniel’s and Robin’s feet. Nathaniel wasn’t phased, he was bruised and broken. At this point he felt emotionless, his father whom he wanted dead was now drowning in his blood, and the only feeling Nathaniel felt was jealousy. Robin kept screaming the same phrase “Get me out of here!” Nathaniel wished that Nathan cut his head off clean and Robin could escape back to Palmetto and meet her mother, but that was in an alternate universe.

Nathaniel looked up, while Robin looked down, trying to view her neck, he locked eyes with the man behind the gun.

“I thought you were dead,” Nathaniel said flatly.

“No,” Riko Moriyama grinned, his teeth were sharp for a non-vampire and his eyes were red with power. He shot once, the bullet grazing Nathaniel’s stained black hair. But Nathaniel gave him a blank stare, if his abuser was dead then what is the point of being scared any longer?

“Dad, are you watching?” Riko laughed manically, looking up. “I’m going to fulfill my fucking role now!”

No matter how hard he tried, Nathaniel Abram Wesninski Jr. will never escape Riko Moriyama.

Chapter Text

??? ???, ???. ???, ???

Nathaniel didn’t pay mind to Robin, who was passed out next to him; he also didn’t pay mind to Riko Moriyama’s gun on his temple.

Riko Moriyama looked like he was finished taking a photo shoot; his hair was slicked back, he had a suit tailored just for him, and he had expensive black shoes to match. Though the collection of different shades of red on his suit made his killer status apparent, the way Riko placed his weapon on Nathaniel's face showed experience.

Riko shoved the gun into Nathaniel’s face, forcing the tied-up boy to tilt his head back so he could look at Riko’s bloody, thirsty eyes and smell the cologne. His eyes and grin widened at the sight of Nathaniel’s blank stare; the emotionless façade he had on made Riko seem more powerful. Even though it was obvious the bullets inside Riko’s gun were wooden due to the Butcher of Baltimore bleeding in front of Nathaniel, he didn’t flinch because he has been through countless near-death experiences, and not only that, but his father has done worse to Nathaniel.

“Just where I wanted you two,” Riko grinned. He had some kind of ear piece in because he tapped on his right ear once and spoke some foreign language that Nathaniel couldn’t decipher right now. Nathaniel’s ears rang, and his hands were marked red because of the rope. Was this the end?

Nathaniel growled. For the umpteenth time, he tried setting his hands free by trying to rip the rope that squeezed his chest. Riko smiled once he noticed Nathaniel was struggling. He pushed Nathaniel’s head back further; his neck felt strained, and it was as if he were going to fall.

“Struggle again, and I’ll watch you bleed like your bitch father,” Riko grinned with all of his teeth.

“Fuck you,” Nathaniel gritted out. Immediately, Riko kicked the chair, along with Nathaniel. The bloodied boy hit the ground so hard that if he were human, he would’ve died from blunt force trauma. Riko’s business shoes dug into Nathaniel’s previously orange shirt, staining it with Nathan’s blood.

“You still have a ton to learn, Wesninski. Don’t you dare defy me,” Riko seethed.

“Why shouldn’t I?” Nathaniel bit back.

“Because your little friend’s stomach is going to bleed, opening up the Court, and the first thing I’m going to fucking do is send your ass in there, like that?” Riko threatened. Nathaniel stayed silent but kept glaring at the armed boy.

Riko moved down so he was above Nathaniel, his gun still on the hybrid’s face and Riko’s thumb on the trigger. “Do you understand how much I want to kill you, Wesninski? My plans were all fucked up because of you. But now that you are wrapped around my finger, you’re dead to me. You and Cross."

“Choke on my dick,” Nathaniel glared, then grinned with malicious intent; the black blood on his teeth made his mouth taste bitter, before leaning down to bite Riko so hard that his flesh was ripped off, so much so that you could see Riko's bones. The taller boy's eyes widened and black blood poured out, and after immediate contact with Nathaniel’s chain, they disintegrated into mere dust. Nathaniel got to his feet and did what he was best at.

Running.

Nathaniel ran; he didn’t know for how long or how far, but he ran. The black walls and floor did not change, and it was like Nathaniel was stuck in a time loop. But what will happen when he’s done running? What is Riko doing? What will happen with Robin? Right now, Nathaniel is looking for a miracle. Something that would keep him and Robin safe.

What was Andrew doing right now? He didn't know how much time had passed; it could have been hours, days, or even weeks since he stepped foot into Palmetto. Was Andrew looking for him? Or has he woken up and realized that Nathaniel was all trouble?

Now Nathaniel cried. His tears made a trail on the bottom of the void; they followed him, his past followed him, and the ghost of his deceased father did too. Maybe Nathan is rotting in hell, but Nathaniel will never know, nor will he care. Right now, he is focused on getting out.

Nathaniel stopped, not voluntarily, but because the black goo below him was dragging his feet into the void. He started pulling his leg out of it; the goo felt like quicksand on his feet, and the texture burned his skin. Nathaniel winced as the substance burned through his flesh; if it stayed on longer, Nathaniel would have seen bone. Next, it was his other foot, but what was the point in trying anymore? Running away from his father was Nathaniel's life mission. Now that Nathan has a bullet through his head, Nathaniel has no idea if there is a reason why he can live happily.

Nathaniel has never felt content with death; survival and struggle were all he knew, but sometimes the struggle needed to end. Nathaniel put his burned hand on his face, covering it so he would keep his choked sobs to himself, even though there was nobody else with him—not Robin, not Riko, and especially not Andrew. The goo reached his waist; he couldn’t feel his legs, but at the same time, the scars on his stomach ached from all of the pain. To speed up the process, Nathaniel put his face under, the black goo filling up his lungs.

Nathaniel’s blue eyes shot up at an instant. The first thing he did was try to remove the goo from his eyelids. The next was a scream.

He fully expected to die in that pool, but he was here, alive and breathing. Nathaniel turned around to retch; the black goo that previously filled his lungs was choked out as if Nathaniel were a cat and the goo was a hairball. Glancing around to find exits, he realized that the room around him was dark, but there was a white door in front of him.

Nathaniel felt as if his legs were cut off; he couldn’t feel his legs, while the burns on his arms made him feel like he was being resurrected from the dead. Getting up was a challenge. Nathaniel gripped whatever objects were on the walls for support. Though the room was so dark, Nathaniel almost fell because he either gripped onto nothing or it was because his legs were not working like they used to.

Nathaniel pushed the door. The establishment that he was in seemed like an apartment, but looking closer, below the railing, Nathaniel could feel the bone-chilling aura of the Court.

The Court was on the bottom floor of the building, the black void giving the air a chilliness that cannot be felt in Antartica. Nathaniel could’ve sworn that he heard the screams of the ghosts that haunted the building. Canisters of blood were being poured into the Court, the void ate the liquid as if it were a person, and the blood was its last meal.

‘But how much of it was Robin’s?’ Nathaniel wondered.

“Just in time, Wesninski!” Riko called from the opposite side of the hallway because the two were so far apart that he had to raise his aggravating voice. Riko still had a firm grasp on his gun, but he didn’t point it at Nathaniel just yet. The railing next to them looked as if it was going to break any minute despite it being metal, and Riko looked like he wasn’t afraid to shoot Nathaniel. His red eyes glimmered at the burn marks on Nathaniel’s face, which blazed the skin of his cheeks, revealing his sharp teeth.

“Now you will see how all of my efforts will play out, and we have front-row seats.” Riko grinned, glancing at the horrors below them.

“Fuck…you,” Nathaniel gritted out.

“Do you see what we could do together? We were destined to work together because of your father and mine. We’ll take everyone and throw them in, and we can be victorious.” Riko stepped closer to Nathaniel. The hybrid made no effort to back away; if anything, he moved forward. Riko’s grin was all teeth, and the matter on Nathaniel’s burned away the skin on his cheeks, even though his mouth was closed. Riko saw all of his teeth, and he saw how insane Nathaniel truly was. Scarred and bruised like this was the true Nathaniel, the true son of the Butcher of Baltimore.

After walking to each other, Nathaniel never realized that Riko could tower over him; both his mentality and his physical height were light years away from where Nathaniel was. Nathaniel was insecure and actively suicidal, while Riko was a narcissist and killed others just for the thrill. The blood on Riko’s suit dried out into a dark cranberry color; dried or not, it made Nathaniel uncomfortable.

The two met at the center of the hall, and the screams from the Court filled Nathaniel’s head. What if Riko could hear them too but was just ignoring them? What if Riko was going to shoot him with the wooden bullets? What if Riko was going to throw Nathaniel into the Court, letting the monsters feed on his body?

“Me and you, Wesninski. You can be more than your father, and I can be who my father didn’t expect me to be.” Riko tempted.

Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed, but Riko continued. “Nathaniel, you and I could be unstoppable. Those humans hate you anyway, and your father did too. Show him that you’re worth more.”

Nathaniel grabbed Riko’s tie, slamming him on the railing so hard that Riko bled once again. With the black blood dripping down to the Court below them, the void roared, begging for more. Riko’s eyes widened, but his grin stayed the same size.

“Where’s Robin?" Nathaniel demanded; it was less of a question and more of a threat. In a blind rage, his black arm met Riko’s throat, choking him. No matter if Riko was human or not, his throat could still close, and Nathaniel could give him brain damage by banging his head on the metal floor that was stained with everybody's blood.

“Oh, Cross? Rotting in the Court,” Riko taunted, but his speech was slurred because of his air pipes starting to close. “You better fucking let me go before I shoot you to death; you’ll match with your daddy.”

“And you’ll match yours too.” Nathaniel smiled, taking the magic from Riko’s throat and tightening his grip. Riko kicked Nathaniel’s legs, which made him stumble back but not enough to fall off the ledge. Riko pointed his gun at Nathaniel and pulled the trigger; it would’ve been a perfect shot if Nathaniel hadn’t used a shield to block it. The two went back and forth until Nathaniel got close enough. Nathaniel gripped the cold metal railing so he could blast Riko with fire.

But Riko didn’t move; through the smoke and the fire burning away the metal flooring below the two, he shot once again. Due to Nathaniel’s reflexes and his quick thinking, he blocked it with another shield spell.

“You can’t kill me. Don’t you understand already? You saw as that bitch ripped out my heart, but I’m standing right before you, Nathaniel. Instead of going against me, why won’t you join me?” Riko cackled, loading his gun with more bullets.

“I would rather die,” Nathaniel provoked. The energy around Nathaniel surged, causing the Court to thunder, and the monsters under screamed for more. Now, it was a battle; whoever didn’t fall into the horrifying void wins. But Nathaniel could only do so much against an immortal.

Nathaniel was slow because of his legs, but using his vampire speed, he still caught up to Riko and punched him in the face. Looking closer at Riko, he could see that the flesh that he bit off was slowly regenerating. Not only was Riko unable to die, but every bruise and scratch healed immediately.

Riko stumbled back, getting ready to shoot Nathaniel once more, but the hybrid was quicker and kicked Riko. The immortal fell, but he didn’t crack his head this time. Nathaniel moved, so now that he was towering over Riko, he grabbed Riko’s throat and placed him on the verge of the railing. The monsters begged Nathaniel to let go; they needed the immortal’s blood or else they would die a second time. But Nathaniel didn’t just yet.

Riko had his own healing arms on Nathaniel’s hands in his throat. “Do you really think you’ve won? If you drop me, the monsters will still be released. Your little friend’s blood was already used.” Nathaniel only tightened his grip.

Riko took his gun and shot Nathaniel’s waist. The hybrid grunted in pain but didn’t pay much mind to it, even though he was bleeding out by the second. The black blood dripped down to the Court while Nathaniel grabbed Riko’s gun and punched him square in the jaw with it. Riko stumbled back; unfortunately, the railing caught him.

Nathaniel threw the gun inside the Court, the monsters screamed, not knowing what this device was. Now, Riko was not armed and had to fight with his fists. The battle seemed like it was going on forever; there was no end. There was no way for at least one of the two boys to fall off the railing, but at least Riko couldn’t kill Nathaniel.

“Neil!” Nathaniel looked up at the sound of his “name.” His hand was still on Riko’s throat. Both of their bodies were stained black; they didn’t know whose blood it was, but it didn’t matter. Nathaniel placed his other hand on Riko’s throat, the taller man choking and gritting curses at the hybrid.

“Neil!” His angel called out. Nathaniel’s vision was blurred because of his fury, but this voice was unique; it was rough and raspy, and it gave Nathaniel the comfort he needed. Nathaniel’s red eyes met Andrew’s golden, but with the Court looming around them, his eyes looked black. Nathaniel bashed Riko’s head on the railing, his eyes never leaving Andrew.

“Find Robin,” Nathaniel said, glancing at Jean and Kevin, who were behind Andrew. They looked at Nathaniel, then each other in shock, but complied, running around the building to find the tribrid. But Andrew didn’t move; his eyes widened as the blood of both Riko and Nathaniel spilled everywhere.

“It looks like your—” Riko taunted, but he puked his black blood on Nathaniel’s face before he could continue. “…Boyfriend is here; too bad all of you are too late.” Nathaniel kept bashing Riko’s head in, but the gashes kept healing, so there was only excess blood. Riko's blood splattered on Nathaniel's face; he wasn't like his father, who would lick it; he wiped it out of the way and continued bashing Riko's head in, like it was muscle memory. It might've been, but how could Nathaniel know? His brain blocked most of the trauma he faced when he was a child.

“Shut the fuck up,” Nathaniel growled.

“Neil. You don’t have to do this; come home,” Andrew said. His face was stern, but the way his voice broke and his eyes were glassy shattered Nathaniel’s metaphoric heart into a million pieces. It was never said, but a plea was hidden in the phrase. Nathaniel wanted to place Andrew on his chest; he wanted to kiss him and mumble that everything was going to be okay. But it wasn't.

Neil, that was his name. Not on paper, not to anyone else that weren't his friends, but he was mentally Neil Josten. He really felt like Neil when he was in Palmetto, learning magic spells and kissing Andrew. Andrew reminded him of who he was on the inside. But on the outside, with the blood on his face and a manic grin on his face, he felt like Nathaniel. Once Neil started making Riko bleed as much as possible, he felt like Nathaniel. Once his father kidnapped him and cut him like he was the muse, he felt like Nathaniel all over again. Once he stared into Riko's hungry eyes, he felt like Nathaniel. Little reminders like these made Neil convinced that he wasn't "Neil Josten." He will never be; he was always Nathaniel Wesninski Jr.

“We’ll get rid of him together, Neil. Come home,” Andrew whispered, moving closer and using that name again.

Neil began to cry, but as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t. If only he were human, his father was normal, and there was only Neil Josten, not Nathaniel Wesninski. Neil was only trouble, and Nathaniel was a product of his father’s ways and his mother’s psychotic behavior. Neil’s tears dripped down on Riko’s bloody suit. Even though he was still being choked, Riko smiled at Neil’s pain. Neil wanted to listen to Andrew so badly, but he couldn’t. He needed to carry out his plan.

Neil grabbed the magic from Riko’s neck and made a barrier, trapping Neil and Riko inside and Andrew out. Andrew hit his face on the shield, his face covering the mark on his cheeks.

“Neil, what are you doing?” Andrew shivered.

Neil just smiled at his angel; it was genuine, but to a stranger, he’d look insane. The blood on his face made Neil look more like a criminal than he already was. Andrew was so beautiful, he didn’t deserve someone like Neil, who was previously bashing Riko’s head in the railing, who bit the flesh out of his arms, who killed many just for his own selfish desire, who caused Robin to get kidnapped along with him, who was a bad boyfriend. If only Andrew was with somebody else, would he be happier?

“Neil?” Andrew now spoke frantically. He was banging on the shield, trying to break it and get to Neil. Andrew wouldn’t be able to break the shield, and Neil wouldn’t be able to return to Palmetto.

"Shh, don’t worry, angel,” Neil whispered. He tilted Riko’s head back so that he had the illusion that he was falling. The monster encouraged Neil to drop the immortal so they could tear him apart.

“Don’t worry? What the fuck are you even doing?” Andrew cried. Neil has never seen him cry, and he so desperately wishes it stayed that way. Andrew’s choked sobs made him want to go over there and hug Andrew so tight. To kiss him better, to fall asleep in his arms on their bed. The werewolf wiped his tears, his eyes narrowing, awaiting an explanation from Neil.

Neil used his arm with the black matter and whispered a string of Latin under his breath. Riko started laughing after noticing Andrew’s panic state. His choked laughter echoed in the room, but it wasn't louder than the monster's begging. Andrew’s cries echoed in Neil’s brain, and the mental picture of Andrew's red eyes from crying stuck with him too.

Neil put his arm up, and Riko followed involuntarily. Neil put his other arm up, letting go of Riko’s throat. Riko gasped but mimicked Neil.

“What the fuck did you do?” Riko seethed.

Neil grinned, blood seeping out of his teeth. "It's black magic; have you ever heard of it?"

He stepped on the ledge, balancing himself on the metal railing. Riko immediately followed. Both stood on the railing, trying to keep their balance. Neil snuck glances at a disheveled Andrew, while Riko was desperately trying to break the spell. Too bad for him; it was black magic. The monsters screamed; it was ear-piercing, so all three boys in the room tried covering their ears to lessen the sound.

'Come closer,' they begged.

“You’re so beautiful,” Neil couldn’t help but say to the blonde. His tears falling into the Court, the monsters let out another ear-piercing scream. Andrew, who had enhanced senses, covered his ears, but he kept crying. At this rate, the entire room would be filled with water because of Neil and Andrew’s tears.

Andrew was shaking; he had given up on trying to break the barrier that separated him and his boyfriend. He rubbed his hands in a panic because of the anxiety and his aching hands; the spell was too strong.

"What are you even saying?” He croaked out.

“Let me go, Nathaniel!” Riko ordered, trying desperately to move, but he could only follow Neil’s movements. They were linked.

“Quiet,” Neil said, narrowing his eyes at Riko, who somehow shut up immediately. Most likely because of Neil's threatening stare. He then turned around to Andrew. “I’ll close the Court, I will do it.”

"Neil, you don’t have to do this on your own,” Andrew muttered, his tears hitting the ground. The phrase was almost incoherent because of the choking in between the words.

“I have to,” Neil whispers. “I need to fix this.”

Neil hopped off the ledge, his hand being the only thing that kept him from falling into the void. Riko followed; his hands were clammy, and if it weren’t for Neil’s spell, he would’ve met his end.

“Neil!” Andrew gasped.

“It’s okay,” Neil yelled. The monsters screamed, awaiting Neil and Riko to join them so they could rip them apart.

“Neil,” Andrew sobbed. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Drew.” Neil smiled, his tears falling on his cheeks, and his head ached from all of the sobs.

“So much,” Andrew whispered. “So, so much.”

Neil’s smile grew wider, the monsters called out and begged for the two hanging off the edge to join them. Neil and Riko both let go of the railing at the same time, letting the darkness consume them and Andrew’s screams haunt them.

Chapter Text

??? ???, ???. The Court.

Neil has killed twenty-seven demons in the first few seconds of being inside the Court.

Riko just watched and laughed as Neil ripped off the heads of the monsters that attempted to eat his flesh. The monsters were pitch black on the outside and green inside, and even though Neil was starving, he wouldn’t stoop so low and eat them. His body was wired that way, so even if his body did accept the demon flesh, he would throw up immediately. It felt like only a few seconds in the Court; it could’ve been one hundred years in the normal world, and Neil wouldn't know until he escaped.

Neil’s magic didn’t work—well, it sort of did. He could technically grab onto the void surrounding him and use black magic, but he promised Andrew he wouldn’t, even though he used some to bring himself along with Riko down here. Or he could use Riko, but taking his magic was different than that of another supernatural. The black matter that spread to his chest after the mimic spell ached at the thought, and Riko laughed louder at the sounds of Neil wincing.

Neil ran up to Riko, placing a hand on his throat to choke him. "How do we close it? Tell me right fucking now or I’ll feed you to them,” he snarled, pointing at the hoard of demons, trying to cannibalize each other before noticing that the two boys in front of them were a better fit in their stomachs than their own kind.

Riko placed his hand on Neil’s to try to pry it off; even when Riko was on the verge of death, he was always shining his sharp, white teeth. “Who says I’ll tell you? These monsters will soon go out and rip out the hearts of all, starting with your bitch.” He exaggerated the last two words; the implication of Andrew was clearly there.

Neil knocked the lights out of Riko, who stumbled back, hitting the void-goo on the ground. Riko's head bled all over the place after it met Neil’s fist. The goo covered his entire body; he noticed how it ruined his suit even more and stared at Neil with murderous intent.

“I’ll fucking kill you over and over again if you mention him again,” Neil growled, staring into Riko’s red eyes.

“But you’re the one who brought us here, Wesninski. Am I wrong?” Riko grinned.

Neil stayed silent, giving Riko a death glare. The immortal was right; using the black magic that later spread to his chest, Neil used a mimic spell, throwing himself and Riko into the Court while Andrew begged for him to stop. The mental image of Andrew’s agony made Neil’s chest tighten.

Neil walked away from Riko, laughing on the floor, while stopping to twist the deformed “head” of a monster that was running at him. He needed to find a way to get out of here. Neil felt a presence looming over him, so he turned around. Riko Moriyama was following him like a dog.

“What?” Neil gritted out.

“Oh, nothing.” He smiled, digging his dirty shoes into what would be the chest of a demon. “I just have an idea.”

“Okay?” Neil groaned, twisting another head. These monsters are so annoying.

“I know how to get out, but you need to find the gun you threw in here,” Riko bribed.

“And how do I know you’re not lying?” Neil raised an eyebrow.

“Because I dedicated my life to the Court, I know all about it inside and out, and plus, I’m all you have.” The taller man grinned at the thought of blackmailing Neil.

Neil glared at him. Besides the monsters that were out for blood, it was only him and Riko here. Even though he didn’t have magic like Neil did, he was a ruthless killer and did know information on the Court. But how does Neil know that he’s not lying? What if he used the gun to shoot Neil? He already has; the bullet wound on Neil’s waist ached, but luckily the blood stopped pouring out a while ago.

“Fine,” Neil gritted, still walking.

“Great." Riko grinned. “You know, I never expected someone like you to be so ruthless, Nathaniel.”

Neil winced at the sound of his “name,” but he threw the head of the demon he ripped off clean at Riko instead of correcting him. The immortal caught it, throwing it to the depths of the darkness, grinning.

“Really?” Neil said with indifference. He could care less what Riko thinks of him.

“I thought you were a pussy, but the heads you ripped out prove otherwise,” Riko taunted.

“High praise from a king,” Neil deadpans. Riko’s smile widened at the mention of being a king. Hopefully, he realizes that Neil was being sarcastic.

The monsters kept coming at them; both supernaturals were punching, kicking, and tearing the demons coming at them apart. Riko didn’t look surprised by the blood that spilled after; if anything, it gave him a thrill. But Neil felt disheveled; yes, he had to kill humans for his own hunger, but these monsters reminded Neil of himself. Bloody, thirsty, and desperate.

Neil couldn’t even imagine what would possibly do the trick—how would he get out of his hellhole? Would he have to kill Riko? Himself? Every single monster? To get out of here and be in Andrew’s arms were the only things that Neil wanted the most right now.

“If I had my gun, it would be easier,” Riko mumbled childishly under his breath.

Neil shrugged with indifference, snapping the head of yet another demon. He didn’t care about Riko’s gun or his narcissistic tendencies. He just wanted to leave.

“How many monsters are in here?” Neil asked Riko.

“Why should I tell you?” The narcissist said rudely, kicking the head of another demon. At this point, both boys were bloody; the monster’s blood and saliva covered their hair and faces, and their shoes had vomit on them too. Both smelled horrible, but not as horrible as the monsters did. Neil could still hear the monsters rant about how delicious the two smelled.

“I thought you knew a lot about the Court,” Neil glanced back at Riko. He was steps behind, not wanting to be seen next to Neil. “Guess not.”

One way to get into Riko’s head was to make him seem inferior. Neil has been around Riko for who knows how long already, but he has successfully identified his weaknesses: He was horrible at hand-and-hand combat; he was full of himself, and the last thing he wanted to be was on the bottom. Neil assumes he can make Riko spit out information left and right if he toys with his feelings a bit.

“One million,” Riko growled, wiping off the blood from his eyelids. Neil’s eyes widened.

One million? If there were one million demons living inside of this void, then how hasn’t anybody heard of it? The Moriyamas made sure to keep the Court a secret, but why should they when they were planning on releasing the monsters? Neil wonders where these monsters have come from.

Behind Riko was yet another monster, but this time instead of twisting its head off, Riko reached into its mouth and pulled out a gun. The green saliva covered the weapon along with Riko’s arm. The immortal looked at the gun with delight while paying no mind to the monster’s carcass below his feet.

“Finally." Riko smiled, eyeing the weapon. “But I don’t know if I should tell you how to get out of here.” He shook the gun, and no bullets came out. Neil’s shoulders relaxed, and Riko looked angry that he couldn’t kill Neil, though the monsters could.

“You better,” Neil threatened.

“Oh?” Riko’s grin got wider. “Okay. Well, I guess I’ll tell you. But first.” Riko ran up to Neil, handing him the empty gun. Neil raised an eyebrow but snatched it from Riko anyway.

“Duplicate it,” Riko demanded.

“Why?” Neil asked.

“Do it,” Riko said, narrowing his eyes and quickly getting impatient.

Neil grabbed Riko’s arm, purposefully bruising it to hurt him but also to take the magic that surged through the taller boy’s body. The magic in Riko was large in quantity; it almost made Neil feel tired every time he took some. Touching the gun, Neil made an exact replica of it, and without needing the other weapon, he gave it back to Riko.

To Neil’s surprise, Riko ripped off some of his skin on his right arm, but he didn’t wince; if anything, his grin got wider. The black blood spilling out caught on Neil’s shoes, and if the hybrid looked closer, he could see Riko’s bones. Riko used his flesh and inserted it into the barrel of the gun, loading it in. Over Neil’s shoulder, Riko shot the gun, and a surge of black matter shot at a group of monsters eating their deceased kin Neil killed earlier, killing the hoard instantly.

Riko caught Neil’s odd expression and smiled with all of his sharp teeth. He placed the gun in his pants pockets while staring into Neil’s dark eyes. “We have to kill every single monster to escape.”

“And how do you know this?” Neil queried.

“Did you know that somebody has escaped the Court before?” Riko divulged, ripping off another piece of skin on his other arm. The flesh on the right arm was quickly growing back; his bones were now hidden. Neil wanted to know if Riko’s regeneration had limits, so he could leave him to die here and escape himself.

“No,” Neil said. He didn’t expect there to be somebody else who escaped this madness, but then again, the first time the existence of the Court was brought to light was in the 1300s, when the history book Jean found was made.

“It happened almost twenty years ago. A man escaped the Court, he lives in California. The Moriyamas have had an eye on him ever since,” Riko explained. “He had to kill all of the monsters to escape.”

“Don’t tell me the only way to kill them fast enough is with your skin,” Neil snarled, continuing to walk. Riko followed, smiling.

“No, light does too,” he admitted.

“Great,” Neil sighed. “But what happened to the guy who escaped?”

Riko’s manic grin turned into an angry stare at the flip of a switch. His eyebrows were scrunched together. He glared at Neil and shot a monster twice, even though it was already dead and bleeding out by the minute.

“I don’t get that information,” Riko gritted. Neil nearly forgot that Riko was part of the branch family. Even though the branch family specializes in supernatural and Court related things, Riko was shunned and neglected by his father, uncle, and older brother. He had tried to rise up the ranks of the Moriyama family, but they all saw him as the sickly child he once was. Riko was not worthy.

Neil had an idea; he used the gun’s magic to insert some light inside the barrel. Now, he doesn’t have to use double the magic for both the light and telekinesis to throw it at the monsters. To test it out, he pointed the gun at the demon, who was ready to attack Riko. With deadly accuracy, Neil shot the monster in the head before its slimy hands could graze Riko. The light caused the demon to explode; its black blood was all over Riko’s head.

“Impressive." Riko boasted. Neil ignored him and shot another hoard of demons.

“How many are left?” Neil asked impatiently.

“Oh? I thought you were keeping score,” Riko said.

Neil grunted, shooting another monster and exploding it. “How did you even know Robin’s blood could open up this place?”

Riko shrugged. “Lucky guess.” He shot a monster next to Neil, then another one behind him. “The Court was created by a vampire, werewolf, and witch. This place was the product of a blood pact, so Tetsuji assumed that a tribrid’s blood would work.”

It did make sense. Neil didn’t think Riko was lying based on his body language and how his eyes never left Neil’s. Of course, something as horrifying as the Court was created by something as dark as a blood pact. Though whenever he looked at the skull on his hand, he only thought of Andrew, who gave him light.

What was Andrew doing right now? Hopefully he wasn’t worrying about Neil. He will get out, no matter how hard or long it takes. No matter if in the real world time moved faster, no matter if he had to kill millions of demons, and no matter if Andrew refused to talk to him, Neil would make it out.

Neil snapped out of his inner monologue once a monster’s blood hit his face. He turned around to see Riko’s magazine grin while he loaded his skin inside the barrel once again.

“You’re slacking off,” Riko provoked.

Neil glared at the immortal, even though he technically saved Neil. “Dick.”

Riko’s cackle could be heard all throughout the never-ending black hole, but the demons were louder.

589,235.

That’s how many demons Neil has killed. Technically, he beat Riko by about 200,000, but who’s counting?

The Court felt empty, and Neil knew that he had killed every last demon because the irritating chatter in his head stopped. Neil’s own voice in his head was silent; he just stared at the demon's silence, as if he were grieving it.

Riko swung his gun a few times, like he was trying to find something to do, with the gun hitting Neil in the back at least once. Riko shot the rest of his skin bullets at the body, its head becoming more deformed by the second, and the blood poured out. Now Neil is starting to hate the color black.

Something strange about this particular demon was that it didn’t explode when it came into contact with the light; it looked the same as if Riko had killed it instead of Neil, minus its stomach glowing. Neil swallowed the disgust and shoved his hand inside the demon’s throat to pull out whatever the glow might be.

Along with the green vomit, blood, and mucus, Neil pulled out a weapon that shone brightly throughout the void. Neil was so used to the darkness, plus his sensitivity to light made him look away instinctively. The power of the item was unbearable; Neil felt like his hands were being cut over and over again just by simply feeling it. The hybrid blinked a few times, rubbing his bloodied, black hand on his eyes. Blue meeting gold.

But it wasn’t Andrew’s gold. While the werewolf’s was comforting, this weapon’s was distressing. It gave Neil chills.

‘Ubi est corvus?’ the golden arrow asked. Neil felt himself sweating and his eyes tearing up from the amount of magic fit into this mere arrow. Just by touching it, Neil could feel how many times this arrow was used to stab its victims right through the heart. He could feel the agony and the cries of the monsters that he killed. He could feel Riko’s piercing stare; his eyes got significantly darker as he pieced together what the golden arrow truly was and how harmful it could really be.

“Where is the raven?” Neil translated. The golden arrow seemed to have a piercing stare of its own because Neil felt as if it were a person and was staring into Riko’s soul. The arrow shone brighter after hearing Neil’s translation.

Neil looked back at the immortal behind him. Riko couldn’t die, but he looked dead. This is a moment of fear, and Neil was here to relish it.

Riko grinned, but his lips quivered, and sweat dripped from his forehead onto the dead monster. Neil knows emotion, and he knows others better from psychoanalyzing people while on the run; this was pure terror.

“Right here." Riko laughed so hard Neil got chills.

Neil gripped the arrow so hard that he felt the golden particles staining his hand, and the vision of Riko’s dead body.

Chapter Text

??? ???, ???. The Court

“‘Kill every monster?’” Neil recited what Riko said earlier.

The sweat fell from Riko’s forehead to the black goo and blood on the floor; he had a tight grip on his gun, and his dark eyes never left Neil’s.

Neil narrowed his eyes at the raven beside him. The golden arrow between Neil’s fingers yearned to connect with Riko’s heart, to kill him, for his blood to spill, and for Neil to be the one to escape. The collection of visions of Riko’s hand on the floor and his heart giving out haunted Neil like nightmares. But at the same time, they were also Neil’s biggest dream.

“Ha! But I’m not a monster. Get that fucking thing away from me, Nathaniel,” Riko snarled.

Neil didn’t wince this time at the mention of his “name.” Right now, he has embraced it. Right now, he was Nathaniel. He was the son of the Butcher of Baltimore. He was the one who was going to kill Riko Moriyama once and for all.

‘More, more. Closer, closer.’ The golden arrow chattered. Neil tightened his grasp, trying to shut up the weapon like it had a mouth. Not yet. Not yet.

“What is a raven?” Neil asked with clear murderous intent, the hybrid moving closer. Riko instinctively moves back, almost tripping over the demon carcass below him. He decapitated its head with his foot and kicked it in a fit of rage. The golden arrow shrieked, begging Neil to finish the job.

Riko grinned; others would find it menacing, but Neil sees the fear in his eyes, the way Riko’s lips quivered at the sight of the weapon, and Neil’s piercing stare. Out of habit, Riko grabbed his gun, pointing it at Neil. Though Neil didn’t move, he had magic. And Riko had no bullets.

“Back away, Wesninski. Or it’s going to get ugly,” Riko grinned while the sweat dripped down to his cheeks, which were black with blood.

“What. Is. A. Raven.” Neil repeated with significantly more venom.

Riko hesitated, but then he opened his mouth to explain. “When the Three created the Court from their blood pact, they created all of the demonic monsters from their blood. A special species called ravens was created as well; we cannot die. So don’t you dare try to kill me with that fucking thing!” Riko snapped, sneaking glances at his gun, hoping that somehow bullets would appear so he could shoot Neil and leave this place alive.

‘Closer, closer.’ The golden arrow begged. ‘Hic est, hic est.’

“Quiet!” Neil demanded. He didn’t know if the command was for Riko, the golden arrow, or the ringing in his ears.

“You saw me come back; that stupid Latin-speaking piece of shit won’t do anything! Try it, and I’ll make sure to plunge a stake in your heart and burn you to crisp after,” Riko threatened, though the shiver in his voice made it seem less intimidating.

“Really?” Neil laughed. If Riko wanted to kill him, he would’ve never missed multiple shots, unless he was too scared; too pussy.

“Why did the Three create the Court?” Neil asked one final question before he sent Riko Moriyama to hell.

Riko’s grin met his eyes, and his red met Neil’s blue. “To create the most powerful being.”

‘Facite,’ The golden arrow commanded. As if Neil were enchanted, he moved forward with his vampire speed and pinned Riko to the ground with the arrow only a few inches from his throat. The goo was consuming them both, and the smell was revolting. But Neil only smelled Riko’s blood.

Riko refused to touch the arrow, so the second best option was to grab Neil’s arm, putting so much pressure on it that Neil’s tan skin turned purple. Neil was frowning while trying to grab Riko so he could hold still, but the skin that was ripped off still revealed his teeth. If you looked far away, it seemed like Neil was smiling.

Riko had his other hand on Neil’s hair, trying to rip the auburn strands with his nails in an attempt at self-defense. The pain never made it to Neil’s nervous system; he felt nothing. Neil put the golden arrow closer to Riko’s throat; he could practically hear Riko’s pulse boom throughout the void.

“I guess you’ll really match your father,” Neil sneered. “You’ll both be rotting in hell after I’m done,” he promised.

“Do you pin your boyfriend down like this—” Riko pulled on Neil’s hair harder, but he quickly let go after the golden arrow was suddenly shoved down his throat.

“Now you’ll keep him out of your mouth, right, Riko?” Neil’s eyes darkened while he plunged the arrow over and over into Riko’s throat, ripping it apart. The blood spattered all over Neil’s face, making him more dirty than he already was. Someone like Riko should never mention someone like Andrew.

“Right, Riko?” he repeated.

“Fuck you,” Riko spat, spitting more black blood on Neil’s face. It was a miracle he could still talk after the arrow stabbed all of his insides.

The golden arrow was desperate for more blood. It wanted all the ravens dead, starting with the billionaire’s inferior son. It wanted to control Neil. It wanted to dominate the world along with the Court.

The weapon encouraged Neil’s propensity to shed blood. ‘Magis. Magis. Magis!’ it roared.

“Any last words?” Neil kept stabbing Riko over and over again until he could spit out no more gore and until the golden arrow was satisfied.

Riko smiled, his eyes starting to close, and his tight grip on Neil’s arm slowly went away. The scars on his throat did not heal; if anything, they burned away his pale skin. The “immortal’s” tears trickled down his cheeks and into the goo he laid on.

“Your eyes are gold,” the human finally said.

Neil took the arrow and stabbed Riko in the heart, finishing the job. The golden arrow cackled while Riko Moriyama’s body turned cold.

Neil paid no mind to the human rotting beside him; his grip loosened as he looked at the burn marks on his hand. The golden arrow hit the floor in delight. Neil stayed silent, but the weapon laughed enough for the both of them.

‘Oculi tui sunt aurum.’ The weapon obviously did not have a face, but the tone of the Latin phrase made it seem like it was smiling manically.

“Fuck you,” Neil croaked out, blinking his tears away. Not so he “wakes up,” he definitely knows it isn't a dream. It was to get the gold out of his eyes. The arrow took Neil’s strong emotions and turned them into something that screamed Nathaniel Wesninski. The arrow controlled him, and if he hadn’t let go, who knows what would’ve happened?

“Let me out of here,” Neil begged. “God, let me out of here, please.”

‘Take me in,’ The golden arrow demanded, switching to English so Neil could really get the message.

Even though the burns on his hands stung, Neil picked up the weapon. Now, it was more black than gold because of Riko’s blood staining it. Neil didn’t feel in control when he had the arrow in between his pointer and middle finger. Involuntarily, he moved to what seemed like the edge of the Court and started violently stabbing the goo.

Peering into the large cavity he created, he almost saw light. Light. The thing he needed most. The gleam made Neil blink a few times, but it made him feel comforted. The dark made him feel anxious, afraid, and murderous. Now he felt like if he stepped inside, there was a new beginning awaiting him.

Neil threw the golden arrow so far that it made contact with Riko’s carcass once more. It’s laughter echoed across the Court. But Neil didn’t pay any mind. He just wanted to get home, back into Andrew’s arms, back into school, and back to watching his friends play soccer.

Neil was finally going home.

Chapter Text

??? ???, ???. ???, Virginia

It was chilly.

Not the cold from The Court, not the cold from touching the golden arrow, and not the cold of Riko’s body rotting in the void. It was autumn.

After he stepped into the cavity he created using the manipulative weapon, Neil was outside of the building, where he locked Andrew out and fell inside The Court.

The thought of the void made Neil feel uneasy, like he was going to have a panic attack and relearn how to breathe. He was remolded into a killing machine, and while down there, Neil didn’t know if he was going to go back to what it was like before.

Neil knew that he was in Virginia, but not where. He had only been in Mystic Falls for a few months, but nowhere else. The hybrid didn’t know how long he had been inside the Court, but based on the crisp autumn air and the dead leaves Neil was stepping on, he had been gone for a while.

The Court felt like a bad dream; one minute Neil was being consumed by the darkness, then the next Neil was smelling the pumpkin aroma at the nearby cafes. The transition was unbearable; sometimes Neil yearned for the dullness, but then again, the color black made Neil want to retch.

His legs weren’t working as well as they used to. The scars were eating up his skin, and sitting on his knees while stabbing Riko naturally made him on the borderline of immobile. Neil was limping across the pavement as he tried to find the nearest bus stop. He had no money, just blood everywhere, though he could use hypnosis to tell the bus driver to take him to Mystic Falls.

Neil waited at the nearest bus stop; there weren’t many cars on this side of Virginia, and a few groups of people were walking. Every single person looked at Neil with shock and concern because of the blood all over his body. But he didn’t care; now he didn’t need to hide from anyone: his mother was dead, his father is now dead, and Riko Moriyama was dead for good. Neil was going home.

The bus arrived; it was empty, so Neil didn’t have to deal with any humans. The driver looked at Neil with wide eyes but didn’t care enough to ask. Neil grabbed the collar of the man’s shirt, his eyes turning black instead of red.

“You are to take me to Mystic Falls no matter how long it takes, and no, I don’t have any money,” he said. The man nodded, his eyes turning from red to a regular brown. Neil limped to the back seats of the bus, staining them with his blood. The driver began driving to Mystic Falls. Neil looked outside the window, watching the leaves die and the lights shine throughout Virginia.

Neil missed Mystic Falls. So, so much. Even though for some months he roamed around the town and the others he was cooped up in Palmetto, it felt like home. Neil never felt like his home was in Baltimore; it gave him chills, heavy breathing, and horrifying reminders of his father. Neil gripped his thigh, trying to forget about Nathan Wesninski. He was dead; his blood stained Neil’s shoes, and the hybrid witnessed Nathan’s last breath. He will not hurt Neil anymore.

The bus stopped, pulling Neil out of his trancelike state. He got up, leaving the bus, not bothering to acknowledge the driver. The bus driver sped off after the hybrid stepped off.

Mystic Falls.

Neil walked around the town, grabbing onto the brick walls of the buildings if he felt as if he were going to fall over. There were orange and black lights everywhere, jack-o-lanterns, and the same aroma of pumpkin spice lattes. Not only that, but Neil felt the surge of magic as soon as he walked around Mystic Falls; it wasn’t the horrifying aura of Riko’s magic or the golden arrow’s. It was peaceful.

Stepping through the barrier of Palmetto Academy felt like taking a breath of fresh air. The presence of the school felt like a warm embrace. Neil was going to cherish it.

The students in front of the school stopped eating, doing their homework, or teasing each other with spells and stared at Neil like he was a monster. Neil didn’t care; he just wanted to see Andrew.

Almost tripping up the stairs, Neil made it to the werewolf dorm. The werewolves stared at Neil in horror as he limped towards Andrew’s dorm. So close, so close.

Neil knocked only once on Andrew’s door. He stood there, waiting. The hybrid would wait for him for an infinite amount of time. Neil would do anything, but hopefully the werewolf will answer.

The door clicked open, revealing an exhausted Andrew. His blonde hair was shaggy, his eyes were red, and his eye bags were more apparent. He looked beautiful.

Andrew’s blank stare dropped into something worried. His pierced eyebrows raised, his pupils dilated, and his freckled hands met his rosy pink lips at an instant. The world around them felt warm; it was a bittersweet reunion.

“Neil?” Andrew gaped.

Neil nodded, giving his boyfriend a toothy grin and extending his arms. Andrew immediately ran into him, almost knocking the taller boy over. Andrew used his hands to place them on Neil’s back, squeezing him, but not tight enough to hurt the hybrid. Neil placed his hands on Andrew’s waist, supporting both of them so they wouldn’t fall. They moved together like they were one, and they never wanted to let go.

“Is this really you?” Andrew placed his head on Neil’s chest.

“Yes,” Neil breathed.

Despite the blood all over Neil, Andrew still moved up on his tiptoes to kiss him. Both of their lips were chapped, and Neil’s had blood all over, but Andrew didn’t care. He used the same passion and feelings as the first time they kissed. The blonde repositioned his hands on Neil’s face, carefully avoiding pressing down on any burns or markings.

The kisses gradually became softer and sweeter. Being deprived of Andrew’s soft lips for who knows how long felt like Neil was going through withdrawals, the hybrid itched for Andrew’s touch, and he was receiving it.

Andrew broke off the kiss, but the string of saliva was not the only thing connecting them; their arms circling around each other’s bodies and the skulls on their hands prove permanence between the two. The shorter boy kissed Nathan’s burn mark on Neil’s face. It didn’t hurt; it was like Andrew’s lips were equivalent to a healing spell. Andrew pulled Neil even closer so that they could feel each other’s breath and smell the metallic scent of the blood all over Neil.

“What happened?” Andrew whispered, rubbing circles on the cuts on the corner of Neil’s mouth. Neil looked into his boyfriend’s eyes; the gold was shaking, and Andrew was trying to suck up the tears that were waiting to spill.

“Riko Moriyama is dead,” Neil stated, leaning in to kiss Andrew’s eyelids. The blonde closed his eyes, allowing Neil to do so, but shutting them didn’t keep the tears in; a salty tear went down his cheek. Neil kissed Andrew’s cheek as the shorter boy fluttered his eyelashes open.

“I’ve heard this one before,” Andrew said.

“For good,” Neil confirmed. “For good,” he said, much weaker. The boy felt as if his legs were about to give in. Riko Moriyama was dead. For good. It felt unlikely that Neil would be the one doing the honors; he was convinced that the billionaire would live forever and laugh at Neil’s grave after using the gun to shoot him to death. Though the one who was really behind the gun was Neil.

The flashback of stabbing Riko haunted him. The golden arrow haunted him, and Nathan Wesninski haunted him. Although Neil knew that they were dead and the golden arrow was still in the now-closed Court, he still felt like they were still out to get them, and the golden arrow was going to control him once more and strip him of his freedom.

Andrew quickly let go of Neil, and the hybrid felt the tears stained with blood running down his cheek hit the floor. Andrew’s hands were by his side, not wanting to touch Neil without getting the green light. Both boys cried, though they were for different reasons; Andrew cried because Neil was finally back, while Neil cried because he was convinced the Court would take him back.

“You need to rest, bunny,” Andrew crooned, his voice cracking. He tried holding in his feelings so he could stay strong for Neil. But he was just as vulnerable.

“Okay,” Neil croaked out. He didn’t know how many days he missed of sleep; he spent all of his time awake and alert, watching and waiting for the demons to attack him, and glancing back so Riko couldn’t try anything.

Andrew stepped out the doorway, letting Neil inside. The two supernaturals made their way to Andrew’s bed. The blonde took the space next to the wall while wrapping his arms tightly around Neil, who melted at the touch. Neil put his hands on Andrew’s waist and moved closer, so his head would rest on the other boy’s chest. Andrew moved to put the weighted blanket on both of them and pull Neil impossibly closer.

“Neil,” Andrew said, trying to catch Neil’s attention.

“Yes, angel?” Neil responded. His tears were long gone, but the blood stayed. Andrew didn’t care if Neil was living, breathing proof of the Court’s horrors. Andrew wouldn’t care if he admitted he was the one who plunged an arrow through Riko’s throat. Andrew wouldn’t care if Riko’s blood stained his band t-shirts.

Andrew tilted his head and placed his hand on Neil’s jaw to give Neil another of many kisses on his burn marks. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Neil smiled; previously, it hurt, but now it was like bliss. “I’m glad I’m here too, with you.”

Andrew’s face turned into something sad, though nothing would compare to the day he watched Neil fall into the Court. His blonde eyebrows were firm together, while his shoulders were rigid. This wasn’t sadness, Neil quickly realized; it was the grief of who Neil was before the Court.

“I thought you were dead, Neil,” Andrew revealed.

“I’m alive,” Neil affirmed.

“Of course,” Andrew deadpans. “But I can tell it changed you. Inside, you’re dead,” he said, the last part much quieter, as if someone were eavesdropping.

He was right. Something did change. Neil looked back at all costs. Neil couldn’t close his eyes without transporting himself back to watching Riko bleed out, and he was convinced the golden arrow was still manipulating him with Latin through his head. Neil will never be the same again.

“I’m here for you,” Andrew proclaimed.

“I know,” Neil said.

“You better know,” Andrew said, narrowing his eyes, but he kissed Neil once more on the cheek, then on his temple.

“I know,” Neil repeated.

“Stay with me, Neil.” Andrew nipped at the corner of Neil’s mouth, not kissing him just yet.

“I will,” Neil confessed. “Forever and ever. The Court will never tear us apart, not again.”

“Okay,” Andrew nodded. “Now, go to sleep.”

“Wait.”

“Hm?”

“What’s the date?”

Andrew gave a sad smile. “September 13th.”

Neil missed six months. Six months without his boyfriend or friends by his side. For six months, he battled demons like there was no tomorrow waiting for him. But he was here now, with Andrew, and about to get the sleep his body ached for.

"Goodnight, junkie,” Andrew whispered.

“Goodnight, angel.” Neil yawned. “I love you.”

This time, Andrew smiled, but he tried hiding it by dipping his face into the pool of Neil’s auburn curls.

“I love you too,” Andrew confessed. It was muffled, but Neil still knew what he said clearly, and he could feel Andrew’s grin. It feels so good to be home.

He’s on me.

He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me.

He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. He’s on me. Fuck, he’s all over, oh god.

“—Neil! Wake up!”

And at an instant, Neil shot up. He searched the room; no monsters were ready to attack, and the potential exits were the window and the door. The hybrid felt the pillow (what? pillow?) in case for a gun or something to defend himself.

The tears kept on coming. Just like Riko’s blood, it is most likely still staining the Court’s goo. Neil’s blue pupils shook at the thought of his flashback.

Nathan was grabbing him—this time he wasn’t shot by Riko—and stabbing his face; Neil quickly became mutilated. Then, Riko finished the job by stabbing him in the heart with the golden arrow that screamed Latin terms Neil couldn’t understand.

Neil grabbed his hands; the ringing in his ears never ceased, and the shaking continued. He thought that if he hit his head, the headache would stop and Riko’s glassy, dead red eyes would stop looking at him.

Nathan was out to get him. No matter if he was dead.

Riko was out to get him. No matter if he was dead.

The golden arrow was waiting for Neil. He will eventually return to it, giving it his freedom.

“Stop! Stop, stop, stop. Stop God, stop!” Neil begged. Stop touching him. Please.

Whoever was beside him snapped his fingers in front of Neil’s face. The hybrid blinked, staying quiet. His vision was slowly coming back to normal; however, it was still blurry from the tears prickling his eyes. Neil’s lips quivered. Was someone out to get him?

“Neil, listen to me,” the blonde next to him said. Neil blinked, and the bloody tears ran down his face at the speed of light. He tried to stop the shaking, but little things like the blood on his hands or the color red would make him feel an indescribable amount of dread.

“I’ve loved you ever since I saw you in Abby’s office,” Andrew confessed. He waited a few beats for Neil to say—or react to something. Though he was still staring at the door in horror, as if someone were going to barge in and kill him.

Andrew continued. “I never had a crush on anyone before; I didn’t understand what I was feeling towards you. I would always text Renee, asking her what to say or what to do, so I wouldn’t ruin what we had. I wanted to kiss you at the party; I wanted to kiss you when you were in my room; I wanted to kiss you during our first class together; and I want to kiss you forever, Neil.

“One time, I was in my room. Bee told me months prior to take my anger out by drawing, so I did. But instead of drawing things that had to do with my trauma, I always ended up… drawing you. That one time, Kevin came into my room and caught me. Because of the blood pact, I told him I had the biggest, and I mean biggest, crush on you. He laughed, but he was like, ‘Well, yeah, he’s attractive.’ Whatever.” Andrew finished with a snort. Neil gave a slight smile. The shaking stopped, but the tears were still residing in his eyes.

“I’ve…” Neil croaked out. “I have loved you ever since the party.”

“Careful; others would think that was a confession,” Andrew teased.

Now Neil laughed. He wiped the tears from his eyes. There were no eyes, no Nathan, no Riko, and no Latin-speaking golden weapons haunting him. Just Andrew.

“Can I hug you?” Andrew asked.

“Yes,” Neil said.

Andrew pulled Neil into a crushing hug. His left hand buried itself in Neil’s auburn curls as Neil’s hands made it to Andrew’s waist as they hugged.

“Stay with me,” Andrew whispered.

“I will,” Neil affirmed.

“Don’t run away,” Andrew titled Neil’s head so they could look into each other’s eyes.

“Okay,” Neil said.

“I hate seeing you like this,” Andrew said softly, taking the hand in Neil’s hair out to wipe the hybrid’s tears. (Neil was still crying?) "I’m going to bring all of those fucking bastards back and kill them a thousand times more.”

Neil tried smiling, but it hurt. “Riko Moriyama is dead for good.”

“I’ll find a way,” Andrew snarls.

“I already did it, Drew.” Neil said.

“Fuck, Neil. You’re only seventeen; why you?” Andrew mumbled. Why Neil? Why couldn’t it have been somebody else? Thankfully, it was all over, but will Neil ever sleep peacefully again? Will Neil ever go back to being the same person?

“I…” Neil gulped. Andrew just kissed his cheek; this time it was one with the missing, burned-off skin. The blonde tried to avoid Neil’s teeth as best he could. How could someone as amazing as Andrew love someone like Neil, who looked like he just got back from a freak accident?

“How could you kiss me like this?” Neil asked, feeling the tears coming in once again.

Andrew leaned forward a bit so he could kiss the same spot again. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean,” Neil said.

“Because I think you’re beautiful—don't give me that look. I don’t care if you stabbed Riko Moriyama. I don’t care if 40% of your face was burned off, and I don’t care that your blood is staining my sheets. I still love you, Neil,” Andrew professed, giving Neil a chaste kiss on his lips.

“You…you don’t?” Neil sobbed.

“No, Neil. I don’t,” Andrew licked his tears. “I would’ve killed Riko myself if you hadn’t placed the barrier.”

“Oh,” Neil said sheepishly.

“Oh,” Andrew smiled, teasing him. “Do you want to go to sleep?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“That’s okay, bunny. We can stay up.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll protect you,” Andrew firmly said.

Neil smiled. What did he do to deserve someone like this? “Okay.”

“Want to hear about the time Aaron peed his pants while watching Ghostbusters?" Andrew grinned.

Neil gave Andrew a large grin, teeth and all. “Of course.”

September 14, 2007. Mystic Falls, Virginia.

“What the fuck?” Jean called out, clutching his bleeding nose, as Neil sank to the floor in distress.

“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’m—” Neil apologized; out of a bad habit, he started scratching his skin, but the Court enhanced that habit, making Neil almost draw blood.

“Junkie, hey, hey, you’re okay. You’re okay,” Andrew comforted, cupping Neil’s burnt cheek and almost touching the taller boy’s teeth. The blonde caressed it while Neil sobbed.

Lately, Neil has been on edge. He knows he’s at Palmetto, at home, but he feels like he’s back at the Court. Neil could never look back because one day it could be Jean trying to get his attention, but the next it could be Riko Moriyama.

“Don’t touch him, Moreau,” Andrew commanded, but it lacked his usual bite. Neil crying in his arms made him worry more about his boyfriend than Jean bleeding all over the floor.

Kevin gave Neil, then Jean, a sympathetic look, while Robin looked at Neil like she understood the feeling. The feeling of waiting until someone or something attacks you; the feeling of hitting someone by accident because they reminded you of past traumas; and the feeling of begging for all of it to stop.

While Neil’s skin and Riko’s body were rotting away in the Court, Robin was brought back safely to Palmetto. Though she arrived with mental and physical scars. The matching stomach slash she had along with Kevin and Jean was a constant reminder of her struggles, and even though she was knocked out cold while Neil was trying to defend himself against Riko, she was still present and traumatized. But thankfully, Neil was in the Court instead of her, and he will go through that a million times just so Robin won’t even worry about the portal.

The three other vampires wanted to surprise Neil after they heard from all of the chatter around school that he was back and bloodier than ever. Though it quickly backfired once Jean tapped the hybrid in the shoulder and was met with a scarred fist to his face. Neil didn’t mean to; he didn’t want to punch Jean again, but the Frenchman looked like Riko for a split second.

“We’ll get him some blood,” Robin said, flicking her black eyes from Kevin to Jean, giving them a silent message. The three ran down the stairs, leaving a crying Neil and a worried Andrew at their lunch table.

The cool autumn air did not make Neil or Andrew feel any calmer; the goosebumps on Neil’s skin grew in size as he kept gasping for air. That wasn’t Jean; it was Riko coming from his grave to finish off what he started. The gunshot wound on Neil’s hip ached at the thought, and the visible teeth on his burnt-off cheek grinded in anxiety.

Andrew held onto Neil like he was frail, and Neil melted into the touch. It's already his first day out of The Court and Neil’s already crying. It’s pathetic that he’s so vulnerable like this with Andrew.

“One time, when I was new to Palmetto, fresh out of homelessness, I met Bee. She’s great, and once I tried making her hot cocoa, stole a phone from someone on the street and looked up multiple recipes. Finally, I snuck into some restaurant’s kitchen, like five minutes away from here, and made this dirt water. But she drank it anyway and said it was good.” Andrew shrugged while leaning in to give Neil a chaste kiss on the cheek. Always that spot.

Neil wiped his tears, giving his boyfriend a smile. The sound of feet moving made Neil whip his head around to find Robin, Jean, and Kevin walking over. A glass of blood was in Robin’s hand before she gave it to Neil carefully, making sure the glass didn’t shatter and give Neil another panic attack. Neil gave her a smile in thanks and drank. Neil could feel Andrew’s gaze as the blonde stared at the veins popping out as he sipped every last drop of blood.

The overwhelming thirst for blood was the least of Neil’s concerns, but it was a relief to get that out of the way after he hadn’t drank in months. Surprisingly, he hasn’t turned into bones, and surprisingly, he wasn’t driven insane because of the blood thirst. However, he was driven insane in a different way.

Neil glanced at Jean, whose bloody nose was cleaned up and was giving Neil a smirk.

“I have an idea.” Jean grinned while shaking Kevin’s car keys.

“Where’d you—never mind.” Kevin sighed.

“What are you talking about?” Andrew raised an eyebrow.

Jean’s grin only got wider. “Let’s go to the arcade to celebrate Neil's coming back.”

Neil gave the group a weak smile. “Thanks guys.”

“We love you, Neil,” Kevin said.

“I love you guys too,” Neil blinks, trying to stop the happy tears from flowing to his cheeks. What did he ever do to deserve these people?

Robin, Kevin, and Jean started racing to the car while cracking jokes. Neil and Andrew trailed behind, staring into each other’s eyes. The blonde gave him a ‘yes or no', and after a confirmed ‘yes’ from Neil, he grabbed Neil’s hand and started rubbing circles on it.

“You’re back, Neil,” Andrew whispered.

“I am?” Neil blinked.

“My junkie is back,” Andrew smiled, kissing Neil’s hand as the taller boy’s entire body became red.

Okay, whatever you do, don’t blame Neil for making out with Andrew in the racing game section of the arcade.

Andrew was just right there, concentrating on the game, with his blonde eyebrows furrowed and biting the fleshy part of his lip while he raced to first place. Neil gave up a while ago, not to let his boyfriend win (well, that was a plus), but because he was too distracted with how irresistible his angel was.

“Yes!” Andrew cheered under his breath. He turned to rub it in Neil’s face, but he was met with Neil smiling at him and staring at him while leaning over the steering wheel.

“You didn’t even try,” Andrew stated, narrowing his eyes.

“Mm,” Neil mumbled, not really paying attention to his boyfriend’s sulking. He just wanted to kiss every part of his body. “Yes or no, Drew?”

“Yes,” Andrew nodded.

The two gave each other short and sweet kisses. They were in public, but they were still in a section of the arcade that not many visited. Guess cars weren’t popular anymore. Andrew placed a hand on Neil’s waist to pull him closer; Neil just kept his hands to his sides since the blonde never mentioned where to touch.

“Seriously? Car video games turn you on too?” Andrew deadpans, breaking the kiss but still having a grip on Neil’s waist.

Neil giggled. “Stop.”

The couple’s heads almost whipped around once they noticed Robin right next to them. She gave them a teasing look while glancing down to see Andrew’s hands around Neil’s middle.

“Robin,” Andrew greeted.

“Am I interrupting something?” She smirked. As she started to get comfortable with the group, she started reminding Neil of Jean sometimes. The two had an uncannily similar personality and a matching grin to top it all off.

Neil couldn’t help but chuckle. Robin smiled and continued. “We’re gonna do bowling; wanna play?”

“What’s—” Neil started.

“We’ll play.” Andrew nodded, then turned to Neil. “It’s kind of fun.” He whispered.

“Let’s go then!” Robin’s smile got larger as she ran away to the large bowling section of the arcade.

Andrew rolled his eyes playfully, then leaned in to kiss that burn mark. Seriously, it was starting to become a habit. Lately, Neil's starting to think it's a good one. The blonde kept his pink lips on Neil’s cheek for a bit too long, and Neil’s hands started to get clammy.

“Welcome home, Neil.” Andrew then kissed him on the lips.

He wasn’t talking about this arcade; he wasn’t really talking about Palmetto. He was talking about being around his friends and his boyfriend.

“Thank you,” Neil breathed, like the weight of the Court was off his shoulder.

Neil was home.