The day started out quiet for Vanoss. Quiet, and extremely early. He didn't tend to wake up later like the others, and was usually up and about by six in the morning. It wasn't that he had trouble sleeping, the Canadian just liked getting up early. It was a normal day, which meant it was recording day with his friends. He knew for a fact that he was the only one of his friends that was awake in the city right now, so he refrained some sending a text to anyone. He didn't have anything to say anyway, so it wouldn't have done anything except earn him an earful from whoever he decided to wake up.
Evan was still dressed in his plaid pajama pants, and didn't bother to change into some more presentable clothes as he made his way to the kitchen. The early morning sun dipped through the thin, white curtains that shielded his eyes from the light outside and reflected off the beige kitchen tile. The young man's bare feet slapped across the cold, tiled floor as his mind ran on autopilot, taking a mug and starting to prepare a cup of coffee on an impulse. Vanoss blinked tiredly as the machine beeped into action, and the loud alert broke him out of his sleep-induced trance. His gaze happened to lower downwards to settle on the mug he had chosen, and Evan smiled as he recognized the signature hockey mask emblem painted on the side; Delirious.
A gentle smile graced his features as Evan's mind fell back to his friends. He turned so he could see out into the living room and leaned back into the countertop. His mind ran a brief analysis of the group of morons he called his friends, and bounced his knee as he thought. There was nothing that he genuinely disliked about his group of friends. Sure, they made a couple stupid jokes here and there, and most of the time they made a point to get under each other's skin, but that was simply how they interacted with each other. They all had a mutual understanding that anything negative that they said to each other in game was never truly felt by any of them.
While the group, usually Wildcat or Basically, tended to get pretty pissed in the heat of the moment, everything cooled down almost instantly afterwards. There was a sort of unspoken understanding that each of them could be themselves, and act as stupid as they wanted without fear of being judged or criticized. It made their group tightly knit, almost on a family level. Evan felt differently than the others did about it, this he knew for a fact. His immediate family was small enough, and to him the guys were considered his family.
Vanoss raised an eyebrow in thought as he finished making his caffeinated beverage, and sipped it quietly. His brow furrowed as he tried to comprehend what it'd be like without having them as his friends. The thought of him and the others being "normal" amused him. Evan pictured Delirious wearing a casual outfit with just his character's clown makeup, and nearly choked on his coffee from the sudden outburst of laughter it rose out of him. They were definitely not what you could call normal. The main factor to that reason was that one of the group members was not human; Lui, who was in fact an extremely intelligent monkey from a well-respected animal research facility. He was practically a human inside a monkey's body, when Evan really thought about it.
A small thought broke through his mind, and Evan stiffened as it corrected his mind with a painfully slow voice. Two. Two friends weren't human.
Evan's mood underwent a drastic change and he placed the mug on the counter beside him. He became all too aware of the moving appendages behind him, and the Canadian looked over his shoulder with his irritation boldly gracing his features.
The white, feathered wings ruffled behind him and casually rested against his back. They were quite tall when not condensed into the small space on Evan's back; they arched a decent length below the top of his head and reached just below his knees. The gamer looked away and picked up his coffee as he walked towards his office. He knew work would help diverge his thoughts, and Vanoss was quick to load up his computer and his music files.
Evan's wings were a well-kept secret between him, and the world. Besides the people at the lab, his surrogate parents, Rosaline and Neal Waits-Fong, were the only living souls Evan knew personally that were aware of his condition. While he appeared to be completely normal from the outside, the fact that he had physical properties equivalent to a large bird did not define him as being remotely human. His skeletal structure was different; he had abilities any human would never have; and most importantly, he had a pair of wings sprouting out from his back. Neal always told Evan that he was a good 'seventy five percent human' and the rest of his DNA was composed of genes taken from multiple birds of prey, including owls. Perhaps that was why Evan had chosen the owl character for his GTA avatar. Whether it was natural impulse or just coincidence, Evan didn't know.
What the gamer did know for sure was that he had a pair of wings, and was stuck with them for life. He also knew that it was something that he had to always keep to himself. While Rosie encouraged him to tell them the truth, Evan had always locked up whenever he considered enlightening his friends of his condition. He had attempted to on multiple occasions, but whenever he tried to say a word, his throat dried up and he'd become tongue-tied. He played it off as he usually would and they would move on, only for Evan to mentally slap himself for not saying anything long after the call had ended.
Evan shook his head and slipped his headphones over his ears. His wings were resting calmly against his back, though they held a looming, intimidating presence behind the gamer while he worked on his music. It was hard to ignore them, especially when they always seemed to have a mind of their own. Vanoss focused on the music and it wasn't long before he slipped into his natural groove, and began making more progress on his music. He had been working on his experimental song for just over an hour as his caffeine settled into his body before he heard the phone go off. Evan looked down, and briefly read the message from his friend. Brock had sent him a quick message, to which the Canadian quickly replied to before saving and closing down the program.
He pushed away from the desk, and let his feet drag across the floor as he made his way into his room. The door opened silently, and the man's dark eyes rested on the familiar red jacket that was strewn over the edge of his bed. Evan exhaled and felt frustration boil up as he glared at the article of clothing with a knowing look of irritated defeat. The Canadian went to his closet and dressed himself in his classic grey shirt and black pants. He pulled his red sneakers on, and wound the laces tightly before rising to his feet. The jacket stared at him in a way that seemed obscenely smug, and the gamer sighed in defeat as he walked over to the red clothing.
Evan picked it up and closed his eyes as he began to fold up his wings. The white, feathered appendages bent up into the small space on his back. They folded over with practiced motion, but the muscle beneath gave out a small cry of discomfort. Even though he had done this for years and his body had built up the flexibility, it never got comfortable for either Evan or his body. It never would, if he was truly being honest with himself. It was a trait he was stuck with, whether he liked it or not, for the rest of his natural life.
Evan didn't waste any time and hastily pulled his jacket over his shoulders. The dyed leather successfully held the wings in place, and Evan sighed in relief as he loosened up. The jacket tightened as his wings extended outwards by a few inches, but it stopped after it was held down by the clothes that covered him. It was a little more bearable, but the small soreness in between his shoulder blades didn't go away, nor would it ever if the Canadian kept up the same lifestyle. Evan looked at himself in the mirror and held out his arms as he turned in a circle.
You couldn't see a damn thing, as usual. His wings were thankfully small enough to hide behind his back, and their practiced flexibility granted him more free reign over the movement he was able to do.
Evan smiled in slight accomplishment, even though he knew the grin wasn't in the least bit sincere. He bit his lip, and picked up his dark sunglasses with one smooth wave of his hand. He slipped them over his eyes and the gamer crossed his arms as he stared at his mirrored image. Just like that, the insecure, young Canadian with dewy brown eyes had vanished. In his place was the stoic, and free-spirited bundle of badassery that was VanossGaming.
He looked at himself for a few more moments before letting a light smirk spread across his features. While it was a pain to go through every day, he was happy to put up with it. He was happy with where he was, and to Evan, the good things outweighed the bad things. His phone went off again, and Evan pocketed it after confirming that he would join the session that would begin in just a half hour or so.
The Canadian exhaled and made his way over to his computer with an eager grin on his face. "Let's go to work."
"Evan, you bitch!" Tyler yelled through his headset. Vanoss let out a laugh as he saw Tyler's player model fall into the pit to the side of their platform. Wildcat no-clipped back up and promptly shot a crossbow at Evan's character, and the gamer quickly moved away from his friend.
"I'm sorry, but it was just too perfect to resist… Oh, shit!"
Evan began laughing again as he accidentally walked off the platform backwards into the pit himself. His corpse went flying across the map, and he heard Tyler burst into laughter, and he could practically hear Craig rolling his eyes. Delirious and Moo both let out a tiny chuckle of amusement. Everyone recouped and Vanoss glanced at his voice chat, though he could only see his friend's profile pictures.
The laughter of his friends gave him a warm, euphoric feeling inside, and the gamer found himself forgetting the permanent burden he carried. He loved how easily his friends could make him forget his troubles, and allowed him to simply have fun every day. It made him feel free in a way; nothing to hide, nothing to cover up. It was just his voice and a simple internet connection.
He jostled as he heard someone say his name. "Hello? Earth to Evan!" Vanoss flinched in his seat, and directed his attention back to the game. Everyone was staring at him with their characters, and he heard Moo snicker as his character sharply turned towards theirs in a comedic manner. The final round was over, and his friends were waiting for him to restart the game as his game was stuck at the map selection menu. "You alive over there?"
Vanoss rubbed the back of his neck and laughed sheepishly. "Sorry. Just zoned out, I guess."
"Are you tired or something?" Moo asked curiously.
Evan shook his head, though he knew it pointless to do so. "No, I'm cool. Just some random, jumbled thoughts."
"Well, you better get those thoughts unjumbled before tonight, mister!" Wildcat jeered playfully. "We need you as focused as possible for our super fun guy's night!"
"You mean our 'get drunk off our faces and pray you don't die from alcohol poisoning' night?" Craig interjected with a laugh.
"Exactly! Super Fun Guy's Night!" Tyler snapped, giving an enthusiastic 'woo' for extra emphasis on his clear excitement.
Evan laughed, and rubbed his eyes. "Okay, I'll try to get my head cleaned out just for you, Tyler... But don't expect me to be the one driving your drunk ass home."
"Nah, man, that's Nogla's job. Terroriser and him have got the biggest alcohol tolerance out of all of us."
Moo snorted, and Evan heard Delirious burst into a fit of laughter. "Wow! Okay!" The Canadian remarked, and a large smile grew across his face as he sat in amused surprise. The joke wasn't even that good, but Delirious managed to get everyone laughing with his overreaction to the joke. Tyler gave a small, high pitched chortle and Evan leaned back in his chair. The gamer smiled softly to himself, and ran his hand through his short, messily styled hair.
"You know, as great as this conversation is, could we possibly get the fucking game going before ya'll decide to go off on a tangent?" Delirious spoke up, and a few small giggles followed from his microphone.
Everyone verbally agreed, and they went back into the game. Evan kept playing and made a point to talk as much as normal, but his mind kept wandering back to what he was thinking about before. He really did feel a sort of...completeness when he played with the guys, and he knew that it was something he wouldn't trade for anything. He stopped for a moment and looked around his room. He saw his friends begin to kill one another ingame and laughed quietly to himself when Mini screamed, the younger man frantically running across the map as a can. He knew he could live like this forever. Evan knew that no matter what happened, he never wanted this life to end.
It was in that moment that Evan vowed to never ruin what he had with the friends he was proud to call his family. He wouldn't do anything to hurt them or put them in harm's way just because of his secret. No matter what the cost.
Once the session ended, everyone ended up going their separate ways. Craig, Tyler, and Moo said their goodbyes and left the call, but Delirious stayed behind for a short while.
"So, you ready for tonight, then?" Evan heard his friend ask him. The Canadian groaned, and stretched his arms.
"You mean that I'm prepared for trying to tame my friends, who will most likely be drunken assholes, and late night basketball that I will suck at? Absolutely."
Jonathan's laughter rang through the headphones, and it echoed in Evan's ears. "Same here. It feels like it's been years since the last time we went out as a whole group."
Evan nodded. It was rare that they managed to get together as an entire clan. Even Luke was going to be there, which was a rare occasion since he didn't live anywhere near Los Santos. Evan stiffened as his wings brushed against the back of his chair. He glanced back, and sighed quietly. The red jacket he had on before was currently lying forgotten on his bed in the other room.
"Evan? You alright over there?" Delirious asked with a twinge of curiosity.
Evan clamped down on his tongue, and froze like a deer caught in the headlights. "Oh! Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I just got... distracted."
There was a brief pause and Delirious spoke up quietly. "Evan, are you feeling okay? You've been out of it all day and it's making me worry. You're never this quiet, even when you're sick."
Vanoss ran his hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. "Delirious, I'm fine. Really, it's okay. I've just been a little distracted lately; don't worry about it."
"If you say so..." Delirious replied, but he sounded unsure. "... But, in case it isn't, you know you can always talk to me, right?"
"Delirious, believe me; if it was something important, I would have told you." Evan said in slight amusement. 'Except if it mentioned that I'm living a lie, have been lying to you daily, and could potentially leave without a trace at a moment's notice.' He thought to himself bitterly. He ignored the slight, guilty feeling that sprouted in his stomach after that internal remark. "Out of everyone, I've always considered you my best friend."
"Aw, don't get all mushy on me now, you bitch." Jonathan replied, trying and failing to hide the smile in his voice. He sounded much more jovial than before, and it brought a small grin to Evan's face. "I'll see you there?"
"Yeah. See you at the bar." Evan spoke with a soft smile.
"See ya, Evan."
The moment Delirious logged off, Evan released a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. He leaned back in his chair and relaxed his shoulder blades. Vanoss glanced at his wings, and let out a sigh of exhaustion. His arms wrapped around his shoulders and he rubbed them gently in an effort to comfort himself. His wings curled around his body on impulse and he buried his head into the makeshift cocoon. Evan sat in his chair, enveloped in warm feathers for a long time without moving an inch. The quiet ticking of the clock behind him gave him a soft white noise as the gamer sat in thought.
Evan looked to his right, and saw his reflection in his mirror. He eyed the wings attached to his back before sighing in defeat. His brow furrowed, and he looked at himself in disbelief. "What am I doing here..?"
He knew that every day he spent here was just another day harming his potential for abandonment. If the guys found out, he would have to leave and never come back. Evan had already been through the hassle of running from the government before, and once was enough for the young man. He came back to Canada, and lived there for a year and a half before finding a new home in Los Santos with his friends.
If he left now, it would crush him and his friends alike. Evan despised himself in that moment; he had been foolish to let himself get attached to his friends. The bond they shared was beyond the option of abandoning, and he had lost all chance of running from his problems. It was shameful thing to admit, but in the hybrid's case, it was all he had.
Evan grit his teeth and stared at his reflection in determination. His eyes gazed over his wings, and he glared at them angrily. If leaving when things got really bad wasn't an option, he just wouldn't have to let them find out at all. It was the only way. Evan felt guilty for choosing not to tell them the truth, but he knew that it was the best for all of them. It was eating him alive inside, but he forced himself to just deal with the pain. The less they knew, the better and more painless it would be for all of them in the long run. He'd be proud of this in the future. He knew he would.
Evan turned back to his computer and reached for his mouse. He could sulk later, but now he had some videos to edit.
"Has anyone heard from Evan?" Craig asked as they all gathered in the bar. Everyone shook their heads, and Tyler groaned in irritation.
"Did he forget again?"
Delirious spoke up as he glanced up from his phone. "No, I talked to him about it just after we finished the session... But he was sounding pretty tired..."
"Why doesn't he just text us if he can't show, like a normal person?" Terroriser remarked with slight annoyance. Everyone grumbled in agreement, but the slight concern could be silently heard from all across the table. If Evan wasn't answering to anyone, something had to be up.
Jonathan glanced outside and saw that the sun would begin setting in just half an hour. He pushed his chair to the side and he left the table. "I'm gonna go over there and see what's up."
"You sure?" Luke asked quizzically. Delirious nodded at him seriously.
"He sounded like something was wrong earlier, so that might be why he isn't showing. I'm just gonna go see what's going on, in case he just lost track of time or something." He waved absentmindedly to the rest of the guys. "Ya'll go ahead; I'll be back in bit." Everyone nodded, and Delirious walked out the busy bar.
The clouds were turning the sky to a dull grey as a Delirious exited the building, and was coming in fast. Jonathan scrutinized the clouds and hummed as he made the prediction of the storm's target. It was about time they got some rain. He glanced at the nearby city and clenched his jaw. "Evan, what the hell are you doing over there?"
Evan pulled away from his desk with a sigh of relief. It only took five tries, but his video finally completed rendering, and was ready to be uploaded later the following day. The gamer was happy to be done with it and glanced at the clock. He swore as soon as he saw the time, seeing that he was almost thirty minutes late. Everyone must have arrived there by now. He had to leave immediately before the guys would come and get him themselves. Evan knew better than to let them come get him without a word from him; the hole in the wall of his apartment's entrance was still hidden behind the painting he had hung there.
The Canadian got up and exited his office. His toes buried themselves into the soft, gray carpet in his hallway, and Evan saw from the living room that it was going to get dark within the next hour or so. The sky was gray and he could tell from the distant thunder that it was going to storm. Good, that was the way he liked it. He loved it when the weather was dark and gritty; it felt more natural than having every day be a walking Barbie cartoon, with crayon blue skies and clouds that looked like someone had copied and pasted tufts of cotton candy. The storm clouds felt more real, more alive, more like himself.
Evan entered his room, and walked directly towards his closet. He pulled the door open halfway, and reached in for his small group of hanging garments. He felt the familiar fabric of leather and smiled in satisfaction. The Canadian slipped his shirt off with some minor difficulty, and dropped it in the waste basket inside. Evan glanced up and briefly examined the small array of shirts he owned before picking out a worn, black one. It was soft, and looked like it had seen better days; his white logo was faded and the shirt itself looked decades old.
However, it was his favorite shirt, and Evan could care less about what the guys thought of his fashion sense.
Evan closed the door to his closet quietly and held his red jacket and shirt loosely between his fingers. The dark haired gamer sighed and glanced at his phone, where it was quietly vibrating as someone was calling him. Thunder echoed outside his window, and Evan felt his heart swell in sudden excitement. His wings rested against his shirtless back as he looked out at the darkened sky in deep thought.
The gray clouds swirled into endless pools of shadow and light, and crashed into each other with an unexpected gracefulness that was reminiscent of a ballet. The rain tapped his bedroom windows in a soothing, enticing harmony. The thunder was like music to his ears, and Evan let out a soft sigh of longing. He gazed at the sky like it was a long-lost lover, and he bit his lip. The gamer's wings twitched with pure desire to escape to the thundering oasis above his head. It was like poison, the clouds dripping with lust and temptation, curling itself around the edges of Evan's entire being. It was one of the many things he hated about being a hybrid; his natural instincts often gained the upper hand, and could inadvertently reveal himself if he wasn't careful.
Evan gripped his jacket tightly and he forced himself to look away, screwing his eyes tightly shut. His entire being felt drawn to the sky, like he was being pulled as some sort of human magnet. The urge was intoxicating, and Evan involuntarily flapped his wings as they practically begged to be let loose.
The gamer gasped softly as he felt his wing hit his bedroom wall and snapped his lids open. Evan dragged his bare feet across the carpeted floor, and slammed his hand against the wall. He leaned into the smooth, white surface for support and groaned in frustration. The longer he ignored the urge, the stronger and more unbearable it became. Evan dropped to his knees as he let out an exasperated cry, and gripped the sides of his head tightly.
"Stop... Stop it!" He hissed, screwing his eyes shut. His fingers dug into his skull and he pulled at his short, black hair in an attempt to remove the thoughts from his mind.
"Get ahold of yourself." Evan spat angrily, speaking to himself aloud. "It's just some fucking thunder. You can hold on for just a few more days, then on Friday night we can go..."
A knock echoed from outside his apartment.
Evan stiffened and veered his head towards the door. He held his tongue and waited in silence on the floor, curled up against the wall. The sound repeated again, this time in a small burst of multiple, quick knocks. Evan recognized it as someone knocking on the front door, and he gasped as he heard the door open.
"Vanoss? You here?"
The Canadian pressed his back against the wall with fright, and dug his fingers into the carpet in a panic. He heard footsteps approaching the slightly ajar door, and Evan quickly got to his feet. If they saw him revealed like this, he'd be done for. He leapt towards the door, closed it as quietly as he could, and locked it. It clicked and Evan swore under his breath as he heard the person outside stop walking. The footsteps quickened, and Evan could feel a presence appear on the other side of the door as there was a light knock on his door.
"Evan?"
Evan felt his throat twist into a knot, but he managed to find his voice. "...Yeah? Delirious?" The gamer asked, trying to sound nonchalant as much as possible. Evan ran towards the closet and picked up his stray shirt and jacket, and began to hastily put them on. He heard his friend sigh on the other side of the door, and the gamer glanced at his wings and the door nervously.
"Evan, what the fuck are you still doing here? We've been trying to call you for the past hour!"
Evan glanced at his beside table and saw his phone softly vibrating next to his lamp. "Oh, fuck..." Evan muttered nervously and he tightened his hold on his jacket in his panicked state. He glanced at the door, and thanked the sky above that his bedroom could be locked from the inside. Delirious tapped on the door again, and the gamer could only stare in an entranced state of panic.
"What the hell are you doing? We gotta go." Delirious spoke irritably. Evan's winged ruffled nervously and the gamer bit his lip in a panic.
"S-Sorry! I... I left my phone in the other room, and forgot it was on silent."
Delirious groaned, and Evan heard what sounded like someone hitting their head against his door. "Oh, god damnit, Evan..."
Evan bit down hard on his tongue to keep a small groan of discomfort from escaping him as he bent his wings back into their hidden position. He glanced at the door, and his fingers shakily reached for the jacket's zipper. "I'll be out in a second!"
"You're not even ready?" Jonathan asked incredulously. Evan heard him try to turn the doorknob and jumped behind his closet's wall fearfully. "Evan, c'mon! Get out here before I come in and drag you out myself."
Evan swore under his breath as his fingers lost grip of his jacket. "Just hold on, Delirious! Give me a minute!" Thunder echoed outside and Evan wings suddenly pulled against the jacket excitedly on the midst of his panic. The gamer lost his balance and stumbled back into the wall. He let out a sharp cry of exclamation, and stiffened at the sound of his own voice. He hastily slapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late.
"Evan?" Delirious asked. "Jesus... What happened now?"
The Canadian inwardly kicked himself, and pulled his jacket back towards the front harshly. He gave his wings a hateful glare. and mentally threw a large slew of insults its way as he began zipping his jacket up. "... I'm fine! I just walked into something!" He sighed in relief as his jacket finally zipped up correctly. He felt the jacket's fabric feel slightly torn from the incident, but he knew he couldn't switch it out now. Besides, he had the self control to keep things under wraps.
He let out a relieved sigh and walked over to his bedside table, reaching for his glasses and phone. Evan pulled his shades over his eyes as he unlocked the bedroom door, and saw Delirious standing directly on the other side. The American had his arms crossed, and Evan could feel his seething rage phasing through the porcelain of his hockey mask.
Evan laughed nervously and closed the door behind him. "Sorry..."
Jonathan let out a disgruntled sigh and walked away from him towards the front door. "Next time, carry your goddamn phone with you. Wildcat's already pissed at you for being late, and I'm getting the short end of the stick for having to come save you ass. Again."
"Okay, I will!" Evan replied guiltily. He locked his apartment door and glanced at his close friend apologetically. "Sorry, Delirious."
Jonathan looked at him with an annoyed stare, but he nodded lightly. "Just don't do that shit again, otherwise it won't just be Wildcat who gives you hell for being late. Got it?"
Evan let a small smile grew across his features as he walked alongside his friend down the hall. "Got it."
"So, the Sleeping Beauty finally arrives!" Marcel teased as Delirious and Evan entered the bar. Evan gave a sheepish grin and shrugged.
"Did you doze off in front of your computer screen again?" Moo inquired with a coy smile.
Jonathan threw Evan an unamused glare though his mask and the gamer looked down guiltily. "Sorry... The video took way longer than I thought it would. Vegas crashed a lot and I lost track of time."
"That software can die a slow and painful death in the darkest pits of hell." Tyler muttered with a bitter tone. Brian nodded in agreement.
Nogla leaned towards Evan as Lui adjusted his position on the Irishman's shoulder. "You work way too hard, Evan." When the gamer looked down at the table nervously, the Irishman continued. "Seriously, you do! You gotta take a day off sometimes and just have some fun. Excluding the times we record games."
"I'm here with you guys now." Evan replied and he lightly gestured to the table and its eleven inhabitants.
The Irishman shook his head. "That's not what I mean; you gotta have fun, not just spend one night away from your office." He brightened as an idea struck him. "Hey, why don't you do some karaoke with us? That'd be perfect!"
Lui snickered, and the two gamers directed their attention to the small monkey sitting on Daithi's shoulder. Lui fixed a sleeve on his red hoodie and looked at Nogla coyly. "Yeah, of course you invite him to do karaoke!"
"Yeah, if Nogla does karaoke with us, we're all just gonna look like fucking babies with microphones." Marcel said flatly. David chuckled, and pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose.
"I didn't mean it like that!" Nogla nodded towards Evan, as he quickly tried to defend himself. "I meant that it'd be fun for Evan to go do something fun- probably embarrass himself- with his friends!"
Evan looked down at his glass of water as the waitress brought them over for him and Delirious. "C'mon, you guys know I can't sing." Evan said with a sheepish grin before taking a long sip of his drink.
"True..." Terroriser remarked after a moment, bearing a sly grin. "But you can dance."
Evan's eyes widened and he choked on his water, coughing. Everyone laughed at his reaction for a moment before Evan recovered with a startled look.
"No way! I'm not dancing up there while you guys sing fucking 'Bohemian Rhapsody' drunk." Everyone burst into a fit of laughter at Evan's remark, and he crossed his arms in annoyance.
"Oh my god, can we please do that? That'd be fucking awesome!" Delirious said before breaking into his iconic laughter. Evan gave him an incredulous look, and threw his hands up in the air.
"You're not helping!"
Jonathan tried to compose himself, but kept losing his control as he saw Evan's annoyed stare. The Canadian pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked at his chattering friends with slight irritation before smiling softly to himself. The rest of the evening went like that; with lots of jokes and poking fun at each other. Daithi and Craig were both keeping a close eye on everyone's alcohol intake, since the two of them opted to stay sober. Evan preferred to just have a couple shots with Delirious, since the two weren't as big on the drinking side as their friends were.
Once it started to get dark, people began clearing out as the day turned to night. The bar wasn't quite popular during the karaoke nights on Wednesdays, which led to having only one or two drunk people lingering around the booths and tables. Evan blinked back into focus as he caught on to the rest of his friend's conversation.
"I'm not resting until Mini agrees to sing that with Brian!" Tyler said flatly as a large grin stretched across his face.
Terroriser and Craig both looked at the karaoke machine and shook their heads. "Not happening." Mini replied with an annoyed glare.
"C'mon! Do it, bitch!" Luke urged.
Mini crossed his arms stubbornly. "I'm not singing Ariana Grande with Brian!"
"But you can hit the high notes!" Brian reasoned while Delirious and Marcel snickered beside them.
Craig threw his arms out and gave them all an incredulous gaze. "No, I fucking can't! Guys, I'm not doing it!"
"If you don't, then you have to sing a duet with Nogla. A love song." Moo spoke up, elongating his tone when he said 'love'. Mini turned towards him sharply and met the Irishman' gaze. Nogla gave him a toothy smile and waved at him cheerfully. The British man looked back at them begrudgingly, and crossed his arms as he slumped in his chair.
"... Fine."
"Alright!" Wildcat wooed and pumped his fist in the air. Everyone chuckled and Evan gave Lui and Delirious an amused look.
Evan nodded towards the group as they started debating what Ariana song the two had to sing. "Did any of you follow that discussion at all?" They both shook their heads and the four friends all giggled to themselves.
The group got up and began walking over towards the karaoke bar. Lui jumped on Nogla's shoulder as the Irishman followed after the majority of the group. Evan turned away and walked over towards the bar so he could get a better view. The Canadian slid into one of the bar stools, and leaned over the counter to watch them from the side. He got a clear view of Brian and Marcel both dragging a grumpy Mini Ladd onto the stage, and laughed quietly. He heard movement beside him and saw a flash of bright blue flicker into his peripheral vision on his right.
"You're really not gonna join?" Delirious asked curiously. Evan shook his head.
"Nah, I'd rather just watch from here. If I get any closer, I'm pretty sure that I would go deaf."
Jonathan chuckled and Evan smiled back at him. They watched the rest of the group passionately debate about what song they were to play before finally selecting one. Rain gently pelted against the windows of the building and the glass door leading to the parking lot in pleasant white noise.
"Okay, enough bullshit."
Evan looked at Delirious in slight surprise. Jonathan pushed his drink to the side and he looked at the younger man with a worried glance. "What's going on with you?"
The gamer in question recoiled and held up a hand defensively. "Nothing's wrong with me!" He let out a small laugh, though it sounded forced. "I'm just tired."
Delirious narrowed his eyes in suspicion. His hand twisted into a point in Evan's direction, and jabbed at his chest. "Let me tell you why that's bullshit."
Evan's heart sank, and quickly started thinking up lies to tell on - his now natural- instinct.
"You barely said anything while we were gaming and you forgot our plans. You never do either of these, so now I know something's up. If something's bothering you, I want you to feel comfortable about telling me so I can help you. So, tell me; what's going on with you?"
Evan looked away and felt guilt eat at him as he conjured an alibi. "It's... family problems. Neal has been really sick lately, and it's been keeping me up at night. It's been making me not want to talk to anyone lately. I'm sorry it's showing, but I'm so worried that he's not gonna get better..."
His stomach contorted into tight ball. Family was no joke with Delirious, and he knew exactly what he was doing as the lies slipped off his tongue like acid. Jon's intense stare softened and his anger vanished almost instantly. The older man reached out and gave Evan a small pat on his shoulder. It was a small gesture, but was reassuring nonetheless.
"Don't worry. Neal's a tough bastard; the guy could get the bubonic plague and still walk it off like it's nothing. I'm sure he'll be fine, whatever it is. Don't stress yourself out about it."
Evan nearly choked as he heard the rare, soothing tone of Jonathan's voice. It was rare that Delirious spoke in such a serious way, and fact that he had triggered it through a fake circumstance made the Canadian feel sick to his stomach. The urge to tell him the truth rose up, and Evan had to clamp his mouth shut to keep the words trapped inside his head and only his head.
Jonathan bit his lip, and looked at the younger man guiltily. "Sorry, Evan."
"It's okay, Delirious." Evan replied quickly. "You were just worried. I just need some sleep, then I think I'll be okay... I appreciate the concern, though."
Evan pulled a false smile and was relieved as Delirious smiled back at him. Jonathan didn't bring up the topic again, and the two ended up having another drink as they watched their friends make fools of themselves onstage. Evan swallowed the beer and felt his head echo from a soft urge in the back of his mind, but he pushed it back with slight annoyance. Now was not the time. He was here to be with his friends, not for his own personal desires.
Delirious led most of the conversation, but the older gamer didn't seem to mind. Or care, honestly. Evan nodded along and laughed as his friend went off of some long, vicious rant about the modern culture of horror movies, as it was a common topic with Delirious. The rest of the group were doing a good job at keeping themselves entertained up at the karaoke bar, despite the initial grouchiness of a few stray members of the gang. Though he didn't dare to admit it, Craig appeared to be having fun, and actually smiled more times than Evan knew the British lad would ever care to admit.
As Nogla and Brian argued over who got the next song, thunder echoed outside the bar. Evan and Jonathan turned to the door in soft surprise. The Canadian flinched back as he saw how heavy the rain was outside.
"Wow. The storms really not letting up." Delirious remarked in mild surprise.
Evan swallowed as the feelings from earlier returned, but looked away as his friend did. "Yeah. It's really rough out there."
Jonathan looked out the side window, and smiled. "I like it, though. Thunderstorms are cool. It reminds me of the sky back in North Carolina when we got storms."
Sky. All the previous feelings from his apartment came rushing back as Evan heard that simple word. The gamer tensed just a tad and Evan fought the urge to look up. He redirected all his thoughts towards keeping his instincts under control. "No. No, not now..." He muttered under his breath. Jonathan turned to him curiously.
"You say something, Evan?"
The gamer shook his head absentmindedly and grimaced as soon as Delirious turned away. He could tell his self control was being tested. It was a dumb decision to think that his mind was free from the lack of self control brought upon by alcohol. His mental blocks that were firmly barricading his instincts were breaking down by the brick. The voice became louder, and the alcohol in his system was already flooding into his cognitive thoughts. Evan's mind was becoming scrambled, unable to find a firm grasp on something to keep him focused. The gamer reached out and gripped the bar's edge tightly. Jonathan looked at him curiously when Evan brought a hand to his head as he felt the his self control begin to break down. His head felt like it was splitting in two from the battle raging inside his mind.
No, no... Don't do this now. Stay in control... Just stay... In control...
"Evan, what's wrong? You look sick." Delirious said worriedly.
Thunder clapped outside the bar in a loud bang. Evan jumped, and gasped as his jacket felt tight against his chest. He stiffened in horrified shock. He was losing his control, fast. Evan lowered his head in concentration as he tried to regain control of his mind. His natural instincts were fighting a violent battle in his head, and Evan could tell he was quickly losing. The red leather jacket pulled on his front from behind and Evan was finding it hard to breathe. The gamer gave a sharp intake of breath, and clenched his fists in anguish. His entire chest felt like a giant fist was crushing it into a ball, and he could feel tension building on the back of his jacket. His wings were itching to break free, and he knew it wouldn't be long before the jacket would succumb to their superior strength.
Thunder echoed outside again and Evan nearly fell back as his hidden appendages almost knocked him off the bar stool. Jonathan caught his arm to catch him before he fell. "Evan! Jesus... Hang on, let's get you outside." He pulled softly on his arm before Evan violently yanked his wrist away. He heard the fabric tear from behind him and Evan devolved into a panic.
"No!" Evan cried out, louder than he wanted to. "Don't, it's... Fine."
His teeth were about to shatter from how tightly his jaw was clenched. His breath was in short pants, and Delirious looked at him in a worried panic. Jonathan reached out again and Evan backed away in fear. He needed to get out. He needed to get out of here, before something really bad happened.
Jonathan stiffened as he noticed Evan's breathing. "Wait... Oh my fuck, can you even breathe?" He brushed the front of Evan's jacket with his outstretched fingers. "Let's get you some fresh air."
Evan knocked Jonathan's hands out of the way, and set one foot on the ground as he started to back off. "Stop! Delirious, don't touch-"
Everything happened in the fraction of a second. Thunder echoed again just as Delirious grabbed onto Evan's jacket sleeve. The gamer felt his wings lurch outwards again, but just as they moved, he yanked his arm away from Jonathan's grasp. The sound of tearing fabric rang directly in Evan's ears. Something white and yellow shot out from directly behind him and made the gamer freeze like a deer caught in the headlights. He heard Delirious scream and Evan recoiled away from his close friend. The voices behind him stopped dead in their tracks, and a piercing silence hung over the terrified gamer.
Jonathan's voice was lost as Evan's wings sprouted through his now-torn jacket. A large hole had been made on the back of his jacket, and his wings were stretched outwards like a pair of arms. They had snapped out like a rubber band and Evan could only stare in horror as Jonathan gazed at him in shock. Delirious's eyes were wide with surprise as he stared at him, too frightened to move. Evan's ears recognized the dead silence in the room and slowly turned his head. The rest of the guys were staring at him in shock. The bartender awkwardly whistled, and backed away a few steps before fainting onto the floor behind the counter
Evan glanced back at Delirious, and retracted his wings. He tucked them against his spine protectively and tried to make them seem as small as possible as he stammered to come up with an explanation. "I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't..." He whimpered, and looked away, too scared to look his friend in the eyes.
The group on the other end of the room was speechless. Wildcat swallowed and took a nervous step towards the Canadian. "Evan, what... What the hell...?"
Evan looked back at Delirious and then to his friends. His chest tightened and he felt like he was suffocating. His fingers dug into the table as Evan struggled to find some level of calm within himself. The gamer felt a hand brush against his shoulder and he flinched away. Evan looked, and saw Jonathan hastily pull away from him before looking at Evan with cautious uncertainty. He saw the rest of the group walk closer to him from the other side of the bar from the corner of his eye, and felt unease churn in his stomach. He felt like a caged animal and the eyes piercing him from all sides was excruciatingly unsettling.
Tears stung in his eyes as uncontrolled emotions toppled him over the edge. Everything came crashing down on him from all sides at once. He was a small tin can in a trash compactor, a mere pebble at the bottom of the ocean, and Evan hated it. He was startled at the sound of his name and jumped off the bar stool as it urged him to finally move. Vanoss ran into Moo's shoulder and roughly knocked him out of the way as he ran across the nearly empty bar. His hands grabbed onto the building's doors and forced it open with a loud slam. Evan felt the rain hit his back as he ran across the parking lot, not stopping at the sound of his friends calling his name.
Evan reached the end of the lot, and let out a broken sob. He didn't know what to do now; all he wanted was to just run away to some dark corner somewhere and hide until the world ended. The hybrid bit his tongue as he struggled to make sense of his jumbled thoughts. Everything that could've gone wrong went fucking wrong. His life was falling apart all over again, just like he predicted it would. Footsteps echoed behind him, and the Canadian stiffened.
"Evan!"
Vanoss turned , and saw Delirious standing multiple feet away from him. The rest of the guys were just exiting the building behind them and Evan took a nervous step back. Jonathan looked at him with a look of confusion, and it made the gamer feel disgusted inside.
"Evan." Delirious started softly as he took a small step forward. "What's going on here? What's happening?"
Evan shook his head in a dazed shock as he backed away. He looked down at himself and held his hands out as though he had touched a hot stove. The Canadian backed away, flinching as Delirious followed after him. He quickened his pace and turned away with a tearful, pained frown. Evan had to run away. He had to leave and never come back; there was no way they'd be happy if he stayed. Evan eyes searched Jonathan's and saw betrayal in his bright blue eyes. He looked completely heartbroken.
Evan's heart rang out as realization dawned on him. He hurt Delirious. He hurt all of them. He ruined everything and once they were all sober, he knew they would never forgive him. Everything was all his fault, because he had been too stupid to know any better. Why didn't he think this wouldn't have gone wrong? It always went wrong.
Evan backed away and fought back the tears that were forming in his eyes. He did it again.
"I'm so sorry..." He whispered before turning away, and spreading his wings out behind him. Evan pushed off the ground with his feet, and let his wings carry him away from Delirious, from his friends, and his life. Delirious ran after him, and could only watch as his best friend vanished into the storming sky above.
"Evan, no! Evan, come back!" Jonathan called out, as he futilely reached up for him. The guys followed him and quickly scanned the sky for him.
"I don't see him anywhere." Tyler said, and glanced at the rest of them worriedly.
"Why does he... why does Evan even have wings in the first place?" Craig wondered. "That's impossible!" He hesitated looked at his friends in question. "... Isn't it?"
Lui shrugged, before noticing that the group was missing yet another member. He looked around and saw Jonathan at the end of the parking lot, staring up into the stormy sky. His demeanor was slumped and he was swiveling his head around relentlessly in an effort to seek out Evan. Lui stared at him worriedly, and climbed down Nogla's leg to scamper his way across the lot. He jumped onto Jonathan's back and crawled up onto his shoulder.
"Delirious, are you okay?" The masked gamer turned to him slowly and Lui could see the light reflecting off his tear-filled eyes. Delirious didn't say anything, but the small monkey read him silently. He reached out, and patted his friend's shoulder as Jonathan hesitantly turned away from the road out of the parking lot.
"We'll find him, Jon." The monkey assured, but Jonathan merely shuddered in response.
The masked gamer looked up at the dark, grey clouds in silence, though he continued his trek back towards the bar without fault. He stopped outside the building and lowered his head down. Lui stared at him in sympathy as the younger man sighed in defeat.
"... Why, Lui?" Jonathan asked quietly and Lui frowned. "Why did he never say anything?"
The small monkey lowered his eyes and looked at Jonathan's blurry, blue eyes. It seemed as though they had lost all color, although though his irises still retained the brilliant shade of blue as they always had. Lui sighed as he failed to come up with a reason to answer his friend's question.
"I don't know, Delirious. I really don't know..."
"I understand." Brock's voice was heard through the front door. Everyone stared at the apartment entrance in transfixed worry. The door clicked and opened a few inches before hesitating.
"Yes, of course... Thank you, officer. Have a nice evening."
Moo entered the apartment once again, and softly closed the door behind him. The gamer looked up and saw everyone's eyes boring into him. The young man sighed, walking towards them. "They're looking for him, but so far nothing has come up in the department. Nothing has come up at all, actually."
"We have to keep trying." Basically said quickly, earning a few nods from the others.
"He's right; Evan could be out there somewhere, dying, starving, who knows what, and we need to find him." Droidd added.
Brock nodded, and let his eyes fall onto the two older men sitting in the corner of the living room. Jonathan's head was buried in his arms and knees, and Luke had a hand wrapped over his shoulder. Cartoonz gave Moo a sympathetic look and nodded towards Delirious with the slightest movement. The man had been up all through the night making calls and trying to contact Evan in some way. He had even tried calling Rosie and Neal, but both of them had heard nothing from their adopted son. It was like he had vanished. Brock exhaled through his nose, and looked away sadly.
"Let's keep looking, and we'll see what we can find as a whole party. Us and the police combined, okay?" Everyone nodded, even Delirious and Luke. Tyler sighed and everyone's eyes flickered towards the tallest friend in their tight-knit group. Lui looked at Wildcat and nodded softly. The American pushed himself to his feet and gestured to all of them.
"Okay, let's just stop beating around the fucking bush and talk about it." A fair majority of the group looked away nervously, but no one argued.
Tyler crossed his arms and rolled on the balls of his feet silently. "Evan has wings; let's just put it out there. Our friend has bird wings attached to his spine, and they work."
"But, why does he have wings?" Mini interjected from beside him. Wildcat shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine. None of us knew."
"Why didn't he tell us? I thought he trusted us..." Nogla wondered aloud, looking hurt.
"I'm sure he had a good reason not to say anything. I mean, this is Evan were talking about here." Marcel said as he glanced over at the taller man beside him.
"That's where I'm getting confused." Lui spoke up. "Evan doesn't lie unless he has a good reason. Why didn't he say anything about him being... A hybrid, or something?"
"Exactly. Why the fuck didn't he say anything about him being part bird, when one of his closest friends isn't even human?" Tyler spat, with a glare directed at no one in particular.
Craig shifted uneasily beside Wildcat and sent a worried frown Lui's way. The small monkey reached up and brushed Tyler's hand. Wildcat tensed, but didn't pull away as Lui patted his arm in an effort to calm him.
"I'm sure had he a good reason, Tyler. You saw how he reacted; I think there's more to it than that." Moo reasoned.
"Maybe, but that doesn't explain why he kept something like this from us. Lui is not human; Evan knew that we would understand and support him. So, why didn't he tell us?" Tyler's hands clenched into tight fists.
"I don't know!" Brock snapped and he threw his hands up in exasperation. "Maybe he was scared, I don't know! I don't know what Evan was thinking, but what I do know is that our friend ran away and is alone out there, while we're sitting here doing nothing to fix that!"
The room was silent as everyone took in Moo's words. Wildcat was being stared down by Brock's darkened eyes and the younger man shuffled uneasily under his gaze. Nogla bit his lip and tapped his leg with his fingers. "Moo's got a point, ye know; we're not doing anything."
Everyone nodded and Tyler looked back down at Lui. The monkey furrowed his brow in thought, before nodding in agreement. Wildcat swallowed as he sighed in defeat. "Okay... You're right."
"Are you really that pissed at him?" Brock questioned, his tone much softer and calmer than before.
Wildcat dug his tongue into his cheek. He looked away and slowly crossed his arms to sit down beside Mini and Lui. "No... I'm not." He said earnestly, and Moo cocked his head to the side as the other gamer studied him.
"You're more worried than you are mad, aren't you?"
Wildcat's eyes lifted, and he looked over at Brock with a puzzled look. He looked unsure of something, of which Moo could probably guess what it was. Tyler's eyes flickered towards the others in slight unease and nodded his head subtly. It was a silent gesture that told Moo that he was right in every form of the word, but Tyler didn't have the guts to flat out say it. Brock gave him a patient nod, and looked away. Mini eyed his taller friend beside him, and hastily turned away as Tyler's eyes met his. Wildcat furrowed his brow, but didn't divulge any further.
"Okay, that settles it; we'll work with the police to help find him. When this all blows over, we can ask Evan directly about it." Marcel asserted with a cautious tone. He glanced at the rest of the group for confirmation. "Does that sound good for everyone?"
Everyone nodded and Basically hummed in satisfaction. Delirious raised his head and Luke abruptly pulled away in surprise, not expecting his childhood friend to do anything. Everyone turned as Jonathan cleared his throat, and said something for the first time that day.
"Let's do it."
"You need to get some sleep, Jon." Luke said sternly. "You look like shit." Cartoonz didn't bother sugarcoating it and he gave his close friend a firm scowl. The younger man looked at him with a hard glare, but the dark circles under his eyes were visible even from behind the mask.
Jonathan had been a wreck since he started searching with the others. When he wasn't recording something for his channel, he was out with the others scouring the city from top to bottom. Luke hadn't noticed it quite at first, but he could clearly see now that the endless cycle had taken a toll on Jonathan's body. Delirious was quieter, paler, and always seemed as though he never got enough sleep. Cartoonz was concerned for his health, but Delirious never seemed to pay it any mind. He was always focused on Evan, as if his health was simply a thing of the past.
Luke's thoughts were proven correct when Jonathan brushed past him as he went out to join yet another search party. "Fine, I'll go into hibernation after I know Evan's safe."
Delirious moved to walk past Cartoonz to the door, but Luke violently yanked on the fabric of his hood. The older man glared at his friend in an outburst of anger, and pinned him against the wall beside the door.
"Damn it, Jonathan! Stop acting like you're a fucking drone, and look at yourself!" Jonathan's eyes flickered to the side and he didn't turn to face Luke in the hardened silence. "You don't eat, you don't sleep; I bet you'd even forget to breathe if we weren't around!"
Delirious didn't answer and he stared at his feet. Luke clenched his teeth in frustration and shook his friend's shoulders. "Jon, fucking look at me!"
The masked gamer lifted his eyes, and gazed at Cartoonz with ice in his eyes. Luke felt his eyes sting, and he shook his head. "I know you're hurting, Jon. I know it's hard, but do you realize how much you're worrying everyone? You're scaring us almost as much as Evan is, don't you realize that? I'm fucking scared for you, man... "
Jonathan didn't reply, but his gaze seemed softer than before. Luke tightened his hold on his friend's blue sleeves. He swallowed the lump in his throat and looked up at Delirious pleadingly. "Stop doing this to yourself, Jon. Please."
Delirious gazed at his old friend in silence and the two held a long stare down as the rain outside echoed through the empty apartment. Jonathan's eyes lowered and he looked down at their feet. "Luke... You know I can't do that. He's practically my best friend; you can't expect me to just move on when he's out there all alone, maybe even hurt."
"You know that's not what I meant." Cartoonz snapped, his tone softer than before.
Delirious sighed, and slumped into the wall behind him. If it weren't for Luke holding him up by the arms, Jonathan would have collapsed to the floor right then and there. "That's how it feels to me. It feels so wrong when I'm not looking for him… Like I'm betraying him or something. Don't you understand, Luke? I can't stop; not until we find him."
"Do you think that's what Evan would have wanted? To see you do this to yourself?" Luke replied quietly, and the younger gamer looked up hastily at the question. Jonathan opened his mouth to reply, but shut it after a moment's pause. Cartoonz stared at him intensely, but without malice. "Would it?"
The gamer's eyes darkened and Luke was shaken, as he had never seen Jonathan's brilliant, blue eyes look so colorless and devoid of life. Delirious reluctantly gave a sigh so quiet, Cartoonz could barely hear it. "... No."
Luke nodded in satisfaction and promptly let go of Jonathan. He put an arm around his friend's shoulder, and guided him away from the front door. "Okay, so let's just take a break from the searching. Alright?" Jonathan turned to him sharply and was about to reply before Luke cut him off. "I know. The guys are out there as we speak, and if they find anything, we'll be the first to know."
He pushed Delirious into one of the chairs at the island counter and clapped his hands. "That being said, you in the mood for anything? I can make anything, as long as you promise to eat the whole thing."
Jonathan sighed and lifted his mask above his forehead. His pale fingers wiped the wetness away from his eyes, and he rubbed his temple tiredly. His brow furrowed and Delirious sat in silence for a few, short minutes as Luke waited patiently for a response. As long as he was cooperating, Cartoonz could wait for a century for a reply. Jonathan opened his eyes, and he gazed over to where Luke stood hesitantly.
"... Pancakes?"
Cartoonz grinned from ear to ear. "Pancakes? I can work with that! Pancakes for dinner; hell yeah!" He turned around and pointed at Jonathan sternly. "And you're going to eat them, right?"
Delirious merely nodded, and Luke gave a bright smile in victory. "Pancakes it is, but you gotta get off your lazy ass and help me! I'm not your fucking pancake waifu, bitch."
Jonathan chuckled quietly, and got off his chair as he placed his mask on the countertop. "Fine, I'm coming!" Luke didn't make an attempt to hide his joy that Jonathan was willingly accepting his help, but the blue eyed gamer didn't appear to notice. At least, he didn't acknowledge it. Cartoonz smiled as they managed to make small talk, temporarily forgetting the situation outside the apartment and embracing that he finally had his brother back.
"They did not just say that!" Tyler nearly yelled, in the confines of his living room. Kino jumped and ran out of the room at the sound of his masters angry voice. Mini sighed as the dog bounded over to him, and reached down to give the Dalmatian a reassuring pet before pocketing his phone.
"Tyler, you heard what they said. They haven't found a lead or any evidence that he's in the city. They had to call it off-"
"Fuck that!" Wildcat snapped bitterly. The American curled his hands into tight fists and paced back and forth. "How the fuck could they do that to us? How could they do that to Evan? How can they just give up?"
Craig walked forward and stepped into the living room. He watched Tyler pace with a small scowl. "Tyler, calm down. There's nothing we can do." Mini eased.
Tyler persisted, as if he didn't hear what Craig said. "How can they call themselves protectors of the innocent if they can't even find one goddamn person, Mini? How?"
Mini stood up from the couch, and approached his taller, older friend. "Tyler, please, just calm down."
Craig reached up, and touched Wildcat's shoulder as those words left his lips. Something changed inside Tyler's head, so violent and quick that Mini almost heard him snap. The American furiously ground his teeth together as his arm reached up to block the younger man's movement. Wildcat's fingers latched onto Craig's arm in a vice grip, digging deep into the skin of his wrist. Mini winced and looked up to meet his taller friend's eyes, seeing Tyler's blue eyes blazing with fury.
"Don't tell me to calm down, Craig." Tyler snapped viciously. His usage of his friend's real name set off every red flag in Mini's head. Craig could feel his anger seeping into the grip the older man had on his arm, and Craig could only watch as Tyler went off on a tangent.
"Evan's gone, Delirious is fucking losing it, we've found nothing, and now the police are closing the case! How the fuck can you tell me to 'calm down' after all of that?" Tyler's anger boiled through, and made him spit out every word venomously. Mini's frowned deepened, and the shorter man suddenly looked as though he'd burst. Wildcat's words kicked him off the fence and he let himself finally let out the frustration he had been trying to hold in all week.
"What the fuck else do you want me to do?" Mini cried out in a tone identical to his older friend. The volume of his voice and the exasperated tone caught Wildcat off guard for one fleeting moment, but that was enough.
"You think you're the only one who's upset about this? Fuck you, Tyler! You being an asshole isn't helping anything. It's not helping me, Evan, the guys, and especially not you. Quit taking your anger out on us and to do something helpful, if it bothers you so much. Do something, anything, but just not this because all you're doing is hurting everyone else, you fucking prick!"
Craig's voice died out, but his angered breathing could be heard across the room. Mini was shaking with fury and glared up at Wildcat with a challenging stare that didn't falter for even a second.
Wildcat narrowed his eyes and started to speak before he stopped himself. The American held his tongue down with his teeth, and kept watching the hateful look Craig was giving him. Guilt grew as he became fully aware of the situation. Tyler closed his eyes, and let out an exhausted sigh. He looked away, and the man's shoulders slumped in defeat.
Mini looked at him curiously and started to prod at him to say something more. A pained whimper escaped him instead of actual words when Wildcat's grip on his wrist worsened at the sound of his name. Tyler's eyes snapped open and he looked at Craig's wrist that he still held in his hand. He saw Mini feebly trying to free his arm and stiffened as he finally caught on to what was happening. Tyler gasped softly and dropped his younger friend's hand as if he had been badly burned.
"Oh my fuck, Mini! I..." A rushed and clumsy apology escaped Tyler. Mini rubbed his wrist, as he tried to get some feeling back into it. He could tell that it was definitely going to bruise. A low hum emitted from the shorter man as he breathed through his nose, and Wildcat bit his lip. "... I'm sorry."
"You were mad," Mini spoke softly, letting go of his wrist and lifting his head. His tone was quiet and dismissive, but Tyler could tell that he was trying hard not to break.
Mini had been angry at him before, but never quite like this and it hurt. Tyler opened his mouth to say something, but his words caught in his throat. His tongue felt like sandpaper, and he felt like he had been kicked harshly in the stomach. A cheerily ironic chirp echoed in the air and Mini looked down at his phone. He looked at it quickly, because anything was better than having to look at Wildcat at this point.
"Luke wants me to head over. I told him I'd watch over Delirious today so he can rest for the weekend." He glanced up at Tyler and failed to meet his gaze. "I gotta go." Those words sounded so forced and the distraught, crushed feelings were barely hidden by the thin curtain that was Craig's voice.
"Mini..." Wildcat started, but the younger man brushed past his shoulder in a dismissive motion.
"Goodbye, Tyler." Mini spoke coldly. Wildcat winced, but didn't retaliate. Instead, the American followed after him, and reached out for his hand.
"Mini... Craig, please!"
The younger gamer opened the door to the apartment and was halfway out the door as a hand latched onto his arm. Craig's mouth thinned out and he looked back at Tyler through clenched teeth. His eyes were glossy, making the younger man look more like a lost puppy than the suave, cheery Englishman he normally was. Tyler looked at him with a sincere, heartbroken frown. His grip on his arm wasn't tight, but firm enough to hold on to Mini's jacket sleeve.
"Craig, I'm sorry..." Wildcat spoke softly. Mini didn't reply, and his glare didn't soften. Tyler felt horrible.
"Bye, Wildcat." Craig replied quietly, almost a whisper. Tyler's blinked and unconsciously loosened his grip on Craig's arm. Mini immediately pulled away from him, and slipped through the small gap in the doorway. The younger man walked down the hall leading to the lobby, not daring to look back at him. He rounded the corner and completely vanished from view.
Wildcat stood there like a statue, his hand elevated to where it had rested moments before. Tyler lowered his eyes with a dejected sigh, and closed the door with a soft click of a lock. Wildcat let out a shaky breath, and collapsed against the door for support. Kino walked over and brushed his nose against his leg. The American looked down at his companion and exhaled a shallow breath.
Tyler let his legs fail and fell back against the door, pulling his knees to his chest. The Dalmatian restored his head on his leg, and Wildcat covered his eyes. His fingers traced past his eyes as the tall American rubbed Kino's head, frowning as the guilt filled him to the brim.
"What the fuck have I done…?"
As Luke and Craig slowly worked Jonathan back to his previous, healthy self, the late fall weather finally began to roll into Los Santos. The rain became heavier, thicker, and harsher. Searches had to be shortened considerably due to the amount of floods arising from around the alleyways and into the streets.
Mini and Marcel quickly ran inside the apartment building, soaking wet from the sudden rainfall. Craig shut the glass door behind him quickly and leaned against it as the two struggled to catch their breath. The older man looked out at the stormy sky, and glanced back at Mini worriedly. "Yup, definitely one of the worse ones we've had."
Mini nodded and pulled away from the glass door tiredly. "Do you think he's okay?"
Marcel shrugged as the two made their way to the elevator that would lead them to the apartment current housing the others. "I'm sure Evan's fine... Wherever he is."
"It's really rough out there." Moo noted, as Marcel and Craig entered the apartment. Lui looked back as the two gamers entered the room, and gestured to the TV that was currently giving a weather report. "It's supposed to get really bad in about an hour or so and only get worse from there."
Mini looked at the pouring rain outside the large, glass windows with worry. "When is it supposed to lighten up?"
"Not until after dusk, tonight." The small monkey replied hesitantly. Marcel swore under his breath, and turned away from the window. He sat down in one of the chairs and held his head in his hands sighing with frustration. Brock out a hand on his shoulder reassuringly as he passed by him. Wildcat stood by the window, his back facing the group. His shoulders were hunched and there was a brief moment where his eyes caught Craig's for just a small window of time. Mini nervously avoided his gaze and Tyler reluctantly looked back outside. Lui's mouth thinned at the two's interactions, but didn't comment.
"So, we have to cancel the search, for now?" Brock spoke aloud. The group nodded in unison and Moo frowned. His eyes lifted towards the bedroom that currently occupied one of their members. "How are we gonna tell Delirious?"
Luke raised a hand voluntarily, and walked away from the group as rain pelted against the glass windows around them. "Let me talk to him."
Craig nodded and watched as Cartoonz exited the room. He turned back to the group worriedly and eyed the weather outside in silence. His eyes met a luminescent, stormy blue for a split second before they disappeared. Wildcat didn't look back at him, and Mini bit his lip as he held back the words that threatened to escape, forcing them back down his throat. The British man walked past Wildcat and saw the taller man shift to watch him when he passed by. Brock, Marcel, and Lui exchanged knowing looks, but held back any remarks the three would have said.
"Delirious?"
Cartoonz approached the door to his friend's bedroom and strained his ear to hear a noise behind it. He repeated himself quietly before turning the knob, and entered the darkened room when he received no reply. His eyes rested on Delirious and sympathy pooled in his gut. Jon'a bedside lamp was on, and lit up the room in a dim, yellow glow. Dark shadows covered his body and the light partly outlined his resting figure. Jonathan was resting his head on his pillow and was lying on his stomach. He faced away from Luke, and was watching the rain fall outside his bedroom window quietly. Luke walked over to his friend's bed, and stood beside him in silence. His hand reached out and gently nudged Jonathan's arm as he kneeled down to be at better eye level with him.
"Jon, I'm going to be honest with you, okay?The weather has gotten really bad and we can't search anymore for today." Cartoonz saw his friend visibly stiffen, and sighed. "I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous for us to go out right now with all the traffic and floods."
Delirious exhaled and buried his head into his pillow. His bright blue orbs lifted up to met Luke's dark brown ones, and nodded quietly. "... But, what if we're really close? What if he needs our help out there?"
Luke shook his head sadly. "Jon, we can't do anymore today. I know it's early, but we can't go out and search anymore. We have to stay indoors where it's safe, until it lightens up. It'll only be for the rest of today, then we can go out again first thing tomorrow morning... Okay?"
Jonathan looked out a window again, and sighed in defeat. His eyes met Luke's again and he grimly nodded. "Okay..."
Luke gave him a reassuring nod and gestured towards the door with his head. "You know, Wildcat suggested that we all go somewhere for lunch. To clear our minds and to relax a bit, you know? You wanna come?"
Jonathan paused as he thought it over and looked back at Luke tiredly. "... I think I'll stay, if that's alright with you guys."
"Sure, man." Cartoonz replied as he patted his friend shoulder in sympathy. "You get some rest, okay?" Delirious nodded, and gave him a weak smile as he turned onto his side, away from the door. Luke waved to him as he walked out of the room and looked back at him with a gentle smile. "We'll be back in about two hours. Please, try to get some sleep and eat something while we're gone."
Jonathan gave him a thumbs up from over his shoulder, and Luke nodded in satisfaction. He shut the door behind him, and Delirious heard him walk down the hall and into the living room. He sighed, burying his head into his pillow. The gamer laid there face down until he heard the sound of the guys leaving the apartment. His head lifted as he heard the front door shut, and faintly heard the sound of their footsteps echo through the hallways outside his complex. Jonathan sat up, pulling his bed sheets off of him. He leaned out towards the window, waiting until he saw his friends exit the area in their shared, toylike truck.
Delirious sighed and pushed himself to his feet. He was going to try this time. The older man groaned as his balance wobbled, making Jonathan lean into the wall for support. Delirious sighed, and made his way over to his closet. His hand clumsily slipped off the handle, and the older man sighed irritably as he yanked the door open. Jonathan tried to make sense of his array of colorful clothes through his tired, barely-opened eyes and quickly gave up. He reached into the sea of colors, and pulled out one of the black shirts he had. He pulled it on and matched it with a pair of jeans along his blue sneakers. His iconic blue hoodie and mask were resting on hook by the door, both of which he grabbed on the way out of the room.
Jonathan stepped out into the hallway, and flipped on the lights to the kitchen and living room. Delirious glanced outside, and saw the storm raging on in the distance; it'd be on them completely in just a couple hours. He wondered what the forecast said, and turned the TV on to the weather channel. Delirious listened to the forecast as he opened the cabinet. He lifted out a box of cereal, and set it on the counter behind him.
"We're going out to the streets to meet Isaac down by Mount Chiliad to give us a live report from the eye of the storm."
"Thanks, Jennifer!" The man on the new replied. He was holding an umbrella near the road leading up to the mountain, trying not to topple over. "As you can see, people are staying off the roads to avoid being hit from the forefront of the storm."
"Except you." Jonathan muttered under his breath. "Get inside, you fucking moron." Delirious half-listened to the report as he pulled out a bowl and took a spoon from the drawer.
"The storm is on the course to lighten up by eleven thirty this evening, but it is advised to stay off the highways until we get the all-clear from Public Safety Administration."
Delirious nodded absentmindedly, and poured the cereal into his bowl. "Yeah, like people are going to listen to that bull-" He stopped as he looked up at the screen. Jonathan's arm froze, and the box hovered in the air before falling to the counter with a soft shuffle. The older man's fingers twitched and his breathing hitched when the camera cut back to the man down by the mountainside.
The metal spoon clattered to the tiled floor as Delirious ran towards the living room. Jonathan hastily grabbed the remote and pressed the pause button in a panic. A pale, thin finger brushed over the blurry, red figure in the background. Jonathan furrowed his brow, and let out a loud gasp as he made out a small clump of white directly behind the figure's back, as if it was touching it.
The cereal was forgotten as running footsteps echoed throughout the empty apartment. Keys jangled and the front door was slammed shut, the lights still on. Jonathan took the stairs two steps at the time, leaping halfway down the last flight. As he entered his reserved parking area and ran towards the nearest car, which happened to be a black two-seater, Delirious pulled his mask off of his face. He practically threw it into the passenger seat, and fastened his seatbelt in a rushed motion. Even if the quality was terrible, Delirious knew what he had seen. He could feel it in his gut and felt a smile, triggered by pure hysteria, stretch across his face.
Evan was still in Los Santos.
"We're back, bitch!" Wildcat called as the front door opened. Lui shook himself dry and grinned as Daithi gave him an annoyed glare as his face got drenched. Luke glanced at the bedroom door and smiled as he saw the door was slightly ajar.
"Thank fuck, you actually got up!" He walked over towards his friend's door. "Did you miss us, honey?" No sound came from his room and Cartoonz's lips stretched into a grin. He reached out and gently pushed the door all the way open.
"C'mon, Delirious! I know you're fucking awa-"
He stopped as he saw the room was empty. A sudden sinking feeling came over Luke and the gamer felt his blood freeze. "Delirious?" He stepped in and saw his closet door open. Cartoonz walked over stiffening as he saw his childhood friend's hoodie was missing.
"Jonathan..?"
Luke's eyes rested on his bedside table and saw his friend's missing phone and the unmade bedsheets in sudden realization. He felt like something was staring through his back and bit back the urge to turn around, as he knew what it was. Cartoonz clenched his fists nearly breaking his jaw from how tightly he was gritting his teeth. He didn't want to look; he knew what it meant if what he was imagining was true. With a sharp inhale, Luke turned around and looked at the silver hook right beside the bedroom door. His chest tightened and he cried out in horror as he saw the empty hook beside the door. Delirious never went anywhere without his mask.
"Guys!" Luke screamed as he ran from the room, past the empty hook. "Delirious is gone!"
Evan felt lost.
The Canadian looked behind him at the distant, dim lights of the city. They were fading into the mist of the woods and empty roads, winding through the downward slope to the rushing highway below. The soft rain pelted against his already-soaked hair, making it cling to the back of his neck. Evan's phone was long-since dead, but he knew in his gut that the influx of messages and missed calls hadn't stopped for even a minute. The trees encircled the side of Chiliad the young man was currently residing on. They cast a deep shadow above him and successfully shrouded him in the darkness below.
The winged man drew his eyes away from the distant city and redirected them to the steep incline behind him. Even through the thick fog, Evan could easily make out the empty warehouse he had made his nest in, far up above his soaked head. The sharp feeling of desire resurfaced. Evan bit his lip as he debated going back up to his hideaway. There wasn't a reason for him to be down here anyway. He had already collected enough energy bars and water from the nearby gas station to last him another day or two. Luckily, he had checked the weather before his phone had died. It had said that the storm was supposed to finally pass tomorrow, and the young man prayed the forecast hadn't changed over the course of the week.
Evan let out a long, exhausted sigh. His hands lifted to his face and dragged his fingers lightly over his eyelids. He looked down at himself again, inspecting his own appearance. His normally tan skin had noticeably paled, and his body was definitely showing that it was struggling from the lack of proper nutrients. His black pants were caked with dried mud everywhere below the knees, along with the hem and lower back part of his jacket. The Canadian couldn't even tell that his sneakers were red from all the black dirt that were lining his entire shoe. Even his wings had seen better days; the appendages were matted together in soaked clumps, because the lack of combing and care they had always required.
Vanoss grimaced at the sight of him, and looked up to give the city a final glance. He was ready to go back; he had watched for long enough.
As he turned away, the winged man picked up a small sound to his far left. His head turned slightly at the barely audible sound, but he heard it plain as day. Footsteps. Evan's throat tightened as he got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He had a hunch that those were the footsteps of someone he didn't want to see. The young man hastily turned away and ran away from the sound. He ducked into a dark, shadowed area of the woods and waited there.
He'd wait for them to pass, then he'd book it back to his nest.
Jonathan pushed a branch out of the way as he made his way up the steep hill. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out in an innocent sliver of hope that it was Evan. His hope diminished as he saw the caller was another one of his friends and he sighed as he sent it to voicemail. They would just try to bring him home, and they were so close to finding him; he couldn't give up now. Jonathan glanced at the city behind him and looked up at the mountain before him. He sighed and continued his trek across the dark forest floor with desperate determination.
"Evan!" He called out, though his voice barely carried over the howling winds that slithered between the tree branches.
Delirious cried out his name again and looked around frantically for a even a glimpse of his friend. Jonathan looked under every rock, every branch, and even inside some of the small caves surrounding Mount Chiliad. His phone went off repeatedly in his pocket and it seemed as though the ringtones got louder with every passing call. He almost considered throwing it off into the woods, but Delirious knew better. He knew that if he came home without any news, Luke would practically kill him for lying to him.
Jonathan tried to think of a positive outcome for that scenario, but couldn't come up with any. Everyone would be pissed off at him no matter what he chose and Jonathan didn't see any chance of a positive outcome from any part of the situation. Unless, he found Evan. However, that was most likely not going to happen; he had searched for days now, and hadn't found anything from any point on the island. They'd never trust Delirious alone again after this, Jonathan knew that for a fact. There was no way that they would let him leave the building again without a chaperone. This was his last attempt. If he didn't find something during this last search, he was done. Forever.
Jonathan cried out in frustration as he discovered yet another empty ditch and clenched his jaw. He turned away, and slammed his fist into a tree with a loud, sickening crack. Delirious leaned his forehead into the bark as he struggled to calm his temper as it skyrocketed. His pale, thin fingers reached up, and caressed the back of his head as Jonathan shakily exhaled. His breathing could barely be heard by even the forest life as he brushed his short, soft patch of black hair between his fingers in an effort to calm himself. He felt his eyes water from the frustration and tears built up inside him, but Delirious blinked them away. He closed his eyes and let his entire weight lean against the tree as he stood there quietly. Jonathan quietly let out a pained sigh of defeat and gritted his teeth as he stood there, sinking in his own failure.
His prickled as he picked up the faint sound of a twig snapping, a short distance from where he stood. Delirious pulled away and slowly turned towards the sound. He gazed at the forest around him skeptically, and furrowed his brow. Nothing move and no sound occurred in any way, shape, or form. Jonathan looked at at the ground and turned away in disappointment.
"Fucking animals..." He muttered under his breath, far below a whisper in volume.
A small sound resounded from the bushes to his right. Jonathan furrowed his brow as it sounded exactly like an intake of breath. Bushes rustled, and he turned to his head to the right to catch sight of whatever animal decided to run away from him.
Delirious felt his heart leap into his throat, as he saw a large figure dash out from the bushes besides him. His chest tightened and he stood there, frozen in shock as he watched it vanish from view. Jonathan's blood temperature dropped to absolute zero and his lips parted as he let out a choked exclamation of shock. Jon watched it run away from him, and heard its steps echo as it ran farther and farther away from his area. It moved faster than he could even think of traveling, but Delirious could recognize the blood red, leather jacket from miles away.
"Evan!"
Jonathan's legs moved out from under him before he even registered that he had started running. The gamer ran through the dense thicket after his friend, and repeatedly called his name. He saw the figure run further away and finally take off into the sky. The red jacket could be clearly seen even from the distance, and Delirious saw something fall off of him, and hit the ground dozens of yards away. He slowed as he couldn't follow them any further and glanced down at what had fell. The American knelt down and gasped as he lifted the object into his hands, recognizing it as a pair of sunglasses. He turned them over and saw the distinctive, silver letters etched into the side.
"Vanoss Gaming"
Jonathan let out a crazed laugh and relief washed over him like a fresh bucket of ice. He found Evan. Delirious looked up, and saw the small form that was his friend fly further and further away from him. It veered sharply to the left and he saw it vanish at the top of the mountain. Jonathan's eyes widened in realization, and he hastily stood up. Of course. How hadn't he realized it sooner? Out of every place they looked, they never thought to look in one of the most visited spots on the island; Mount Chiliad itself.
Delirious broke into a run and sprinted through the woods after him. His soaked arms and hands pushed small branches out of the way as he made his way through the thicket. Jonathan was forcibly pulled back as he felt something tug on his hood. The gamer glanced back in surprise. A tall branch behind him had caught onto the back of his hood. Delirious sighed in frustration and reached back towards his hood. He took a firm hold of it, and yanked his entire body forward. A piece of the hood tore off and Delirious cried out as he fell multiple feet forward. He slipped on the muddy, forest floor and stumbled to the ground. His arm shoot out and he dug his fingers into the crevices of the nearby boulder, catching himself at the last second.
The American pulled his feet under him and groaned as he lifted himself up. He winced as the icy wind bit the back of his neck, and he dug his fingers into the grooves of the large rock beside him. Jonathan raised his head, and gazed up at the trail a fair ways into the distance. The sight of the gravel trail gave him a small burst of encouragement to push himself off of the rock. Delirious worked his way around the slippery earth, keeping to the edges where there wasn't as much in the path of the incoming streams.
His hoodie clung to his skin like glue, and the icy winds prickled the back of his neck. The path beckoned him to come closer and entranced him in its silent, siren song. His mind become blank and all he could think about now was his friend at the top of the mountain. Delirious pushed off the tree's base, and stumbled his way to the edge of the path. The slight ditch surrounding the gravel path knocked him to his knees, and Jonathan dug his fingers into the ground to keep himself from slipping down the hill. His ocean blue sneakers drove into the earth as he pushed himself onto the firm pathway beside him. Jonathan swallowed, and clenched his teeth as he began his trek up the hill.
Jonathan's sneakers dragged across the gravel path up the mountain, and he felt himself grow nervous with every passing moment. The top of the mountain came into view, and his chest tightened. Jonathan knew he was up there; he could feel it in his core. His head peeked over the edge of the hill and Delirious saw the large, flat plain that was the top of the mountain. His bright, blue eyes scanned the area for his friend, but he didn't see any sign of him. His eyes lingered over the smaller buildings and scattered ramps before landing on the warehouse. The warehouse he and his friends used to jump off of with parachutes and try to see who could go the furthest across the island. Jonathan saw a small shadow twitch within it, and his heart jumped.
Delirious walked across the flat plain, slipping a little on some heavily soaked areas of the area. The American looked up at the warehouse as he neared it. He stopped just outside the door, suddenly feeling like he was being watched. Jonathan swallowed nervously. He felt like he was walking into the lion's den and he suddenly felt terrified. Delirious touched the side of the warehouse entrance with a thin, pale hand, and chewed his lip. His shoes slapped against the concrete flooring, and the sound resounded throughout the empty building.
Jonathan glanced around and strained his eyes to make out forms in the dark. His voice caught in his throat, and Delirious made his way across the warehouse. The light outside gradually faded over the floor and Jonathan made his slow descent into the shadows of the warehouse. He looked out at the dark silhouette of the parachute ramp. Delirious turned back, and stared at the rest of the warehouse nervously.
"... Evan? Are you in here?"
Delirious called out his best friend's name softly as he felt himself being watched from all around him. Nothing replied, except for the loud thunder outside, and the relentless pattering of rain against the warehouse's shingled roof. He stiffened as he heard the soft sound of wings flutter over his head and Jonathan looked up frantically. He narrowed his eyes in confusion when he saw nothing in the rafters above him.
A small flicker of light caught his eye. Delirious turned to the right, and noticed a small area in the corner of the warehouse had been modified. Wooden pallets and crates were arranged in a small tent-shaped square. Jonathan's stomach sank as he approached the makeshift hut. Pallets adjourned the ceiling, and gave the small room a tiny roof. He saw a small plastic bag in the corner, filled with energy bars and bottles of water. A small mess of blankets were arranged in a sort of nest, covering the cold, cement flooring. A single, candlelit lantern was positioned in the opposite corner, giving the small nest an eerie glow.
A chill went up Jonathan's spine. Did someone live here?
As hunches and theories threaded their way into his mind, Delirious didn't even realize he was backing into the shadows until something brushed against his arm. Delirious let out a loud gasp as something grabbed him from behind. A hand latched onto his mask and swiftly lifted it up to expose his face. It then covered his mouth and muffled his cries as Jonathan was forcibly pulled back into the shadows. The other hand caught his wrist as he attempted to swing at his attacker, and he was harshly yanked backwards to the ground. The masked gamer tried to pry their hand off of his mouth with his one free hand and let out a muffled scream. Jonathan pushed himself away using his legs and the two stumbled towards the warehouse's archway. Delirious kicked at them, feeling victorious when he heard his foot connect with their ankle. The gamer heard his attacker gasp in pain, and felt his blood turn to ice as he recognized their voice.
Jonathan looked up and froze as the dim light caught his attacker in the act. Ocean blue eyes crashed into deep pools of brown, and Delirious went limp from the shock. His hand loosened around his attacker's wrist and he felt the hand over his mouth do the same. The masked gamer looked at the unruly black hair and tanned skin in awe. The blood-red jacket was soaking from the rain and he could see the familiar, faded white logo on the black shirt beneath. A pair of white wings were resting against his back and fluttered quietly behind him. Delirious swallowed and gently pulled away their hand, but the figure didn't make a move to stop him.
"Evan..." He spoke incredulously, barely above a whisper.
The Canadian stared at him in mild surprise, but he didn't move. His face looked pale, his eyes sunken with dark circles surrounding them. Evan looked at him silently, and blinked in confusion.
"... What are you doing here?" His voice was dry and hoarse, like he hadn't spoken in weeks.
Evan let go of Jonathan and the American got to his feet. Delirious looked at him incredulously, as if to silently question Evan's mental grasp on the situation. "Looking for you." The Canadian furrowed his brow and backed away into the dim light. Jonathan could see his whole body, and his eyes lingered over the wings sprouting from his back.
Evan crossed his arms and tucked his hands under his sides. The Canadian bit his lip and hesitantly looked over to where Jonathan was standing. "I… I guess I owe you an explanation."
Delirious scoffed and tossed his head to the side. "Yeah, you do."
The shorter man rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, and nervously peered down at his feet. "Delirious, I'm sorry… I made a mistake."
"No, shit." Jonathan commented, and he had a hard time holding back the bitterness in his voice.
"I'm sorry!" Evan pleaded. He broke into a pace and wrung his hands. "I thought everything would be fine if I just kept my mouth shut, but I was wrong! I ruined everything; between the guys, between my family, and between us." Delirious frowned in slight confusion, but let him continue.
"I never wanted it to come to this, I swear I didn't! … I fucked up, okay? I didn't mean to, but I fucked up everything, all because I was too wrapped up in being happy that I didn't stop to think about how bad this is for me."
"Whoa, hold on." Delirious interrupted. He caught Evan's hand, and the Canadian looked at him with glossy eyes. "How are we bad for you?"
The younger man's lip trembled, and he ducked his head down. "Delirious… Jon, I can't do this anymore. I can't keep telling you guys lies, I just can't."
Delirious tugged on his arm, and Vanoss lifted his eyes to meet his friend's soft blue irises. "Then tell me." Jonathan prodded gently, his tone making Evan crumble into the fragile glass work he truly was.
Evan exhaled shakily. "Where do I even begin?"
"Just start at the beginning." Delirious suggested, pulling him over until they were standing in the exit of the warehouse. Evan sunk down until his legs were dangling off the edge of the platform, and Jonathan followed.
"Okay… So, I wasn't born the same way you guys were. In a hospital, that is." Evan got a distant look in his eye. Delirious listened quietly watched the rain fall with his friend. "I was born in a lab. It was a facility where they were trying to create humans with superhuman capabilities. I was the eighteenth test, and am the oldest one to date. There were… There were a few others like me, but none of them lived for as long as I have."
Delirious nodded and Evan looked at him sadly. He regrettably gestured to his wings. "I've had these things since birth. Always have, and always will."
Jonathan frowned and hesitantly began to speak. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Evan choked on a shaky breath. "Oh, god, Jon… I wanted to tell you all so badly." He shuddered and twiddled his thumbs nervously. "I wanted to, but I couldn't. The last time this happened, I lost everything. I didn't want to lose that again, especially now that I have you all in my life. I didn't want to lose you guys, so I lied, I kept quiet. I was scared of losing you all… I still am."
"Then come back." Delirious urged gently.
Evan shook his head and flinched away from Jonathan's touch. "I can't."
The older man reached out as Evan rose to his feet. "Evan, please, just talk to them." He begged. Evan shook his head with sorrow.
"I'm sorry, Delirious, but I can't. If I go back then I may not be able to leave, and I need to leave. I need to do what's best for you, even if you don't think it's right." His head lowered as he blinked back tears. "I need to go. I'm sorry..."
Evan reluctantly turned his back to Delirious, and walked out towards the warehouse door. He looked up at the rain outside and his shoulders slumped as he finally accepted the path that he was choosing. Jonathan shook his head in despair, and spun around until he was standing up on the building's edge. The older man stuck out his hand and grasped for Evan's jacket as he broke into a sprint after his closest friend.
The Canadian had just barely lifted his feet off the ground before the feeling of a body impacting into his back sent him stumbling forward. Evan fell with a loud cry of exclamation, and peered over his shoulder. Jonathan wrapped his arms around his friend's shoulders and buried his head into Evan's neck, clutching at the red jacket with shaking fingers.
"Delirious, what the hell are you doing?" Evan pushed himself onto his knees and reached back to pry off his friend's arms. "Let go of me!"
The older man tightened his hold, and buried his head even deeper into Evan's shoulder. "Fuck you and your fucking logic, Evan! You're staying, even if I have to drag you home myself!"
"Stop trying to make me change my mind!" Vanoss exclaimed irritably. He spun in a circle before clumsily falling to the ground again. "I'm doing this for you own good, Delirious! All of your lives will be better without the risk of having me for a friend. Please, just trust my judgement!"
"Your judgement is shit!" Delirious yelled furiously as he grabbed onto Evan's wing for support. "Evan, stop and think about what you're trying to do here!" He kicked his legs and tried to pull Evan across the slippery ground. "We need to go back and talk to the others. Running away like this won't solve anything."
Evan stiffened and tried to crawl away from him. "No!" He struggled to move with Jonathan successfully weighing him down, just enough to keep him from flying away. "Jonathan, get off me! I can't go back there again!"
"Oh, you're going," Delirious spoke darkly as the thunder echoed above them. "I'm not letting you run away from us again!"
Evan grit his teeth and clenched his fists. Frustration boiled up inside him and Evan snapped in a fit of blind rage. "Jonathan... Get off me!"
Evan's wings lurched outwards, and slammed hard into Jonathan's abdomen. Delirious let go from the shock and got thrown off with a sharp cry of pain. The older man hit the ground, and his body rolled across the slippery, muddy ground. The hockey mask flew a feet away from its owner and clattered across the elevated plain. Delirious slowed to a stop multiple feet away and groaned as he lifted his body up from the ground. Evan turned away from him and covered his face with his hands as he stood with his back to him. Delirious clenched his fists as he felt the rain hit his back.
"Evan, you fucking di-"
The ground shifted and crumbled beneath Jon's feet, turning into a sharp drop towards the edge of the mountain. Delirious gasped as he felt himself fall backwards. His arms flew out in front of him and grappled for the ground that was rushing to meet his face. He fell onto his stomach and the older man cried out as he felt himself slip down the side of the mountain. Jonathan's fingers dug into the ground, and his sneakers tried and failed to find some stable ground to stop his descent. Delirious looked up just in time to see Evan turn his head to look back at him, and reached out futilely.
"Evan!" Jonathan called out fearfully. Delirious reached out in a desperate attempt to find something to stop his fall and grimaced as his fingers dug deep into the watery soil. As the ground fell further away from his outstretched arm, Delirious felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle at the thought of the seventy-foot drop behind him.
"Delirious!" Evan gasped as he reeled back in shock. The Canadian ran across the flattened area, and his plan to run away was completely forgotten.
Jonathan's foot slipped, and Delirious screamed as his legs fell off the side of the cliff. His fingers dug into the ground, and he came to a stop just before he fell over the side. Jonathan grit his teeth as his entire lower half slipped off, and treacherously hung over the edge of the cliff. Evan's head appeared over the top of the slanted hill and gasped as he saw how close his friend was to falling. The Canadian tucked his wings tightly against his back and he reached out towards his best friend.
"Jon, I'm coming! Just hang on!"
"Right! Like I was planning on doing anything else!" Delirious replied bitterly, but Evan could see the fear in his eyes.
Evan ignored the sarcastic comment and looked around for some stable ground. When he found none, he held onto the edge of the flattened ground and begin shuffling down the slanted path towards Delirious. He knew his wings could help him approach Delirious, but the Canadian also knew that he wouldn't be able to support them both. If Delirious fell, not even his wings would stop them both from falling to their deaths. He had to do this the old fashioned way. Evan's foot suddenly slipped on the wet cliffside, and Jonathan tightened his grip as his friend almost fell forward.
"Evan, be careful!"
The Canadian looked at his friend reassuringly as he managed to regain his footing. "I'm okay! I'm almost there, Delirious. Just don't look down!"
Jonathan already knew how far away the ground was, and he screwed his eyes shut before he tried to look again. He opened them after a few moments and saw Evan just feet away from him. The Canadian held out his hand and Delirious frantically reached an arm out towards him. His other hand slipped and Jonathan cried out as he hastily tried to find a grip on the cliff's edge. His body slipped off the edge even further, and Delirious flinched as he tried to support his entire weight from the shoulders-down by his fingertips. The blue eyed gamer looked up at Evan in terror and shook his head fearfully.
"Evan, I'm slipping! I'm gonna fall!"
"You won't fall. Take my hand, Jon!" Evan replied determinedly. Delirious shook his head and he shut his eyes tightly. The blue eyed gamer looked at him as he continued to try to hold on. He tried to move a hand, but shook his head as his arm was frozen to the spot.
"I-I can't! I can't do it!"
The Canadian shook his head. "Yes, you can! I know you can!"
"Evan, I'm scared!"
"So am I!" The Canadian replied in a frantic expression evident in his features. He leaned forwards, but stopped as he couldn't reach any further without letting go of the ground above him. Evan strained to reach any further, and looked down at his best friend pleadingly. "Jonathan, please, I know you can do it! I won't let you fall, I promise."
Delirious grit his teeth, and looked at Evan's outstretched hand nervously. His bright blue eyes flickered towards Evan the down at his arm. The Canadian was staring at him intensely, pleading concern etched across his face. Slowly, Delirious lifted his shaking hand off of the ground. Jonathan looked up and tried to pull himself up higher as he reached out towards Evan. The Canadian nodded encouragingly, and stretched himself out as far a he could without slipping.
"C'mon, reach! You're doing it, Delirious, just a bit further!"
Delirious leaned forwards and outstretched his arm to its full length. His pale, thin fingers reached out towards Evan's open palm shakily. They stopped less than an inch short, and Jonathan groaned as he tried to reach out further. He dragged himself upwards with his other hand, and felt Evan's hand clasp his tightly.
"You did it!" Evan exclaimed with relief as he began pulling Delirious back over the edge. "Don't worry, Jon, I've got you..."
The Canadian gasped as his foot slipped on the ground beneath him. The weight of them both had been too much, and Evan fell to his knees as the ground beneath him became unstable. Jonathan cried out as his fingers slipped out from Evan's grasp, and he fell over the edge of the cliff. He winced as his other arm suddenly became the only thing holding him up above the deadly fall. Delirious tried to reach up over the edge with his free arm, but let out a terrified yelp as he couldn't reach the edge.
"Evan!"
Evan let go of the ground and hastily shuffled down to the side of the cliff. He slid down towards the edge, and reached out to Jonathan frantically. "Delirious, hold on! I'm coming!"
Jonathan screamed as his fingers slipped off the edge off the cliff. He hung in midair for one terrifying moment before quickly descending towards the ground. Something tougher than steel grasped his wrist, and Delirious caught his scream in his throat as his body jerked to a harsh stop. The man looked up and choked as he was met with a pair of warm brown eyes, opened wider than Jonathan had ever seen them. Evan's entire top half was leaning over the edge of the cliff and was grasping his arm with both hands. He was shaking, and Delirious was floored at how terrified his friend looked. He had seen the Canadian get scared before, but he never seen him like this. It almost scared the man more than the fact that he had been merely seconds away from a quick, painful death.
The Canadian groaned and pulled Jonathan up, flapping his wings hard to give himself more strength. Delirious caught onto the cliff's edge and helped drag himself up onto the ledge with a small grunt. As soon as his knees touched the ground, Evan and Jonathan grappled for each other's bodies. Delirious grasped his sleeves as the younger man pulled him tight against his chest, and the two fell back until they were as far away from the drop as possible. The taller man gripped Evan's shoulders as he almost choked on his own, scattered breaths.
He felt Evan's heart pounding in his chest as the man held Jonathan's head there, hearing his friend's voice come out in exhausted, quick pants. Evan ran his hand down his back as Delirious let out a broken sob into his shoulder, burying his face into the crook of the Canadian's neck.
"Evan," He whimpered. Evan bit his lip and rubbed circles into his back as he felt his eyes begin to water.
"I've got you, Jon. I've got you…" He assured.
"Evan. Don't leave." Jonathan repeated, this time without holding back the sob that finally escaped the confines of his throat. The younger man nodded his head and held him close as Delirious began crying softly into his shoulder. "Oh, god. Please, don't leave..."
The shorter man bit his lip and a tear ran down his cheek. "Jon, I can't stay."
Delirious cried harder, and it broke Evan's heart to know that he was the one who caused all this pain in his best friend. "Why not?"
"It's not safe if I stay. The lab may not know that I still exist, but I don't want to put you all in danger on the miniscule chance that I do get found out. That's how it's always been, and that's how it should be." Evan whispered, closing his eyes as more tears fell.
Jonathan wiped his eyes and sniffled quietly to himself. He lifted his head and pulled away so he could see Evan head on. The man was looking down with his eyes shut, shaking his shoulders as he let the tears fall.
"Evan, you've been able to keep yourself hidden for years without anyone's help. You know how to hide your secret; tell us what to do and we can protect you. At the very least, let us give a good, honest try."
Evan looked hesitant, but he seemed to finally be listening. The idea didn't sound half bad. "I… I don't know." The Canadian worried, sounding hesitant.
Delirious smiled as he was finally getting through to him. "They miss you Evan, way more than being actually mad. Please, just come home."
"Home…" Vanoss repeated. Even after all this, they still wanted him to came back. They still thought that Los Santos was his home. Jonathan nodded encouragingly. Evan was finally coming around. The hybrid looked unsure for many minutes before he lifted his eyes to meet Jon's. The younger man gave a small nod of his head, and Delirious exhaled with relief.
"Thank you." The older man whispered gratefully, leaning forward and giving Evan a small hug. Vanoss rested his chin on Jonathan's shoulder, absorbing his friend's warmth eagerly as his body yearned for the contact. For the feeling of someone who cared about him, holding him and telling him that things were going to be okay.
A particularly cold gust of wind hit them from the side and Delirious shivered. Evan's wing draped over his side and made a small wall to keep the incoming cold from hitting them both. Vanoss looked over at the distant city and shivered.
"Maybe we should get inside…" Evan spoke with a small shudder. Delirious turned and met Evan's eyes with a patient smile.
"I know just the place." He replied with a knowing smile.
"He's not answering." Mini said aloud. He stared at his friend's contact with worry and read his call history, filled to the brim with failed calls.
Cartoonz groaned in frustration, and almost crushed his own phone with his fist. "Goddamn it. Where could he be?"
"He couldn't have gone far, Luke." Moo assured in an attempt to calm their friend. "Please. Try to remain calm about this."
Luke snapped his head towards Brock. "You expect me to 'remain calm', when my brother is out there? In the middle of the worst storm we've had in three years?"
"Panicking isn't going to help us find either of them. You know that." Brock replied cooly. He gave Cartoonz a stern look, and Luke sighed in defeat.
"I do..." The bearded man glanced out at the raging storm outside, and balanced himself on the balls of his feet. "We lost Evan already. I don't want to lose him too, ya know?"
"I know, Luke. We all do." Craig spoke softly, as the rest of the group joined the three in the living room. "Delirious is our friend too and so is Evan."
There was a long silence amongst the nine of them. None of the young friends wanted to anything to each other, partially because none of them knew what to say. Tyler opened his mouth to say something after a minute or two, but quickly shut it after noticing Mini's demeanor from across the room. Tyler eyed the rest of his friends in silent contemplation and decided to keep his mouth shut, too afraid that he would say something that he'd later regret. The older man looked down at his feet in silence, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. The sound of the rain outside echoed in all of their eardrums. It deafened them, even in the dead silence of the room they were all standing in.
The cheerful sound of a phone receiving a message made everyone jump, getting painfully slapped back to reality. All the men's heads swiveled in Cartoonz direction as the bearded man fumbled to unlock his phone. Luke's brown eyes flew across his screen as he stiffened. His phone slipped out from between his fingers, and landed on the carpeted floor with a resounding clatter.
"Luke...?" Brian said worriedly. Cartoonz stood there like a statue, his eyes staring out the window as if he were in a trance. He looked back at them silently and everyone choked on their tongues as he finally found his voice.
"Delirious found Evan..."
"What are you doing?" Evan said, hardly above a whisper. Delirious glanced up from his phone as he finished typing in his message. He focused on the streets ahead as he pulled out of the parking spot and began to drive the two of them back to the apartment building.
"I'm letting the guys know where I had vanished off to: to find you." Evan furrowed his brow as he processed what Jonathan had said, and blinked in realization.
"Wait... You mean you didn't tell them that you were gone?" Delirious nodded gravely. "... Why?"
Jonathan shrugged. "Because they wouldn't have let me go otherwise. I was kinda banned from looking for you."
Vanoss looked even more confused after Delirious explained it to him. The young man's eyes looked at Jonathan with a certain tinge of worry. Evan looked at Jonathan's face, except this time he really looked. Delirious had noticeably paled and Evan noticed how dark the area under his eyes had become. The Canadian reached out, and stiffened as realization spread across his face. Jonathan noticed and lifted his eyes in slight surprise. He looked at Evan with an unclear expression, as the gamer gave Jonathan one of heartbreak.
"What? What's wrong?" Delirious asked quickly. Evan heard the worry in his voice, and he only felt more concerned at the sheer care his friend was showing him. He wondered how long Delirious had been like this, praying that that he was thinking wasn't true. The young man eyed Jonathan as they drove through the misty street.
"... You didn't take care of yourself while I was missing, did you?" He asked hesitantly.
Jonathan stiffened as his face turned to one of a slight panic. His blue eyes looked away, and the unmasked gamer refused to look Evan in the eye. Tears brimmed his eyes as the Canadian felt his chest contort into a churning storm of guilt. A sharp inhaled escaped the confines of his throat, and Delirious looked over at him in a moment of brief surprise.
"Hey, I'm okay now. Evan, it's okay!" He assured hastily. "It was just some sleep deprivation and I didn't eat a lot. It's fine!"
"No, it's not!" Evan cried, finally letting his tears fall. He looked at Delirious with a pitiful expression of heartbreak and guilt. "I did this to you! I made you do this to yourself! This is all my fault..."
"Evan!" His friends stern voice made Evan stop his rambling. Jonathan didn't look over because he was driving, but was frowning deeply.
"Don't beat yourself up about it. It was my choice to do that. Granted, it was a fucking stupid one, but it was still my choice. Everyone else managed to take care of themselves, but I didn't and decided to just sit there every day and be miserable. I chose not to take care of myself. Don't ever think that you were the sole reason that happened. I could've been fine, but I found it easier to be miserable instead of taking care of myself, unlike the others who just as worried as me, but still manage to do just fine on their own. It was my own, conscious decision, and I'd take it all back if I could."
Evan looked at him, still clearly upset. He appeared to have understand, but didn't look any more relieved. The Canadian looked up at the distant apartment building that contained the remaining members of his friends. A sickening feeling settled in his gut. Jonathan noticed the change, and reached over the empty space to brush his fingers against his hand. Evan took a tight hold of Jonathan's hand and didn't let go. Delirious didn't appear bothered by it, and continued driving as the two slowly approached Jonathan's complex.
"What do you mean, 'Delirious found Evan'?" Brock exclaimed, his eyes the size of saucers.
"What the hell do you think?" Luke replied as he reclaimed his phone from the carpeted floor. "I said it five times already! I mean Delirious found Evan!"
"Well, where is he then? Where are they?" Marcel prodded worriedly. Luke looked back at his phone, and stammered as he tried to come up with something.
"I-I don't know! He didn't say anything else."
"Well, what do we do now?" Mini started to say, but got cut off by the sound of Luke's phone ringing. Cartoonz looked down and tensed up as he saw the caller ID.
"It's Delirious." Everyone stiffened and watched as Luke answered the phone. He brought it to his ear almost instantly, and growled like an angry dog. "Jon, what the hell were you thinking? You son of a bitch!"
Luke paused, and everyone watched as his expression softened. Cartoonz got a worried look in his eye and he brushed past Moo to enter the kitchen. "How bad is it?"
That got everyone worried, and the group shared nervous glances as they tried to hear the other half of the conversation. Luke frowned as his friend said something on the other end and looked up at the group.
"You sure?" The other man replied with something intelligible and Cartoonz shrugged, hesitantly pulling his phone away from his ear. "Okay…"
He put the phone on speaker and everyone heard Jonathan's voice. "Guys, can you hear me? Is everyone there?"
"We're all here, Delirious." Brock confirmed, looking at the phone worriedly. "How's Evan?"
Jonathan paused and they heard shuffling on the other end. "He's here. He's cold as fuck, but safe."
"Can we talk to him?" Nogla asked, and everyone nodded. Delirious sighed on the other end before speaking up.
"Not yet. There's something I have to tell you guys before I come up there. When I found Evan, he told me some things about his condition, and I need to ask you all to do something for me..."
As Jonathan was explaining the situation to his friends, Evan slowly backed away from him. The large apartment lobby was empty, but the tense air was suffocating him. The thought that some of his closest friends were merely a few floors above his head was enough for Vanoss to break down on the spot. He didn't like how nervous he was, or how jumpy this was making him. He wasn't ready to face them, not like this.
Evan spun on his heel and briskly walked away from Delirious. He covered his mouth as the panic began to settle in, and he started falling off the deep end once more.
"They know." Delirious announced, as he locked his phone, and put it back in his pocket. "We can head up now." There was no reply, and Delirious looked up, startled to find that his friend was absent. "Evan?"
Something moved out of the corner of his eye, and Jonathan turned to view the other half of the apartment lobby. A flash of red vanished behind the bamboo wall that blocked off the emergency stairwell. Delirious frowned and began his slow journey across the room. As he neared the wall, he heard small sobs carry from the other side. Delirious stopped and decided against walking around the corner. Instead, the older man stepped until he was directly beside Evan from the other side of the wall and pressed his ear against the plant.
"Evan…?"
The quiet sniffles stopped, and Jonathan could see movement through the small cracks between the sticks of bamboo. A shadow moved in front of him, and Delirious knew that Evan was mirroring his actions on the other side.
"Delirious, I-I'm..." Evan whispered out, but couldn't conjure the strength to finish his statement without breaking. "I'm scared. I'm so fucking scared..."
Delirious frowned and decided that now was the appropriate time to reveal himself. The older man quietly walked around the corner and strode in Evan's protective bubble with a determined, but patient mindset. Evan's shoulders were hunched and his wings were folded tight against his back. The Canadian covered his eyes and was very clearly on the verge of digressing into a panic.
Jonathan eyed him and reached out to him in a kind, welcoming gesture. Vanoss peered at him from between his fingers and slumped his shoulders as he broke. The younger man strode forward and Jonathan enveloped him in a warm hug. Delirious rubbed his back and shushed Evan as he struggled to hold back tears.
"You know they're not mad, right?" Delirious prodded, quietly listening as Evan's breathing hiccuped and made his whole body tremble.
The Canadian closed his eyes and hesitantly hummed in confirmation. "I'm scared to look them in the eyes, Jon. The last time something like this happened, it didn't end well…" He remembered the yelling, the cursing, the punch that had given him a black eye, and the voices swearing to never see him again like it was yesterday. The looks of pure hatred and malice still haunted Evan to this day, and he was terrified of the thought that he could be moments away from it happening again. He didn't want it to happen again; he loved this life more than anything.
Jonathan pulled away to take his friend's hand. "I'll be with you the whole time. They'll listen."
Evan exhaled shakily and met his gentle, brotherly gaze. "You promise?"
Delirious frowned and after a few moments to think, he shook his head. "I can't promise, but I know they'll listen. Remember who you're talking about, Evan; they love you and I know they'll wait as long as they have to, if it means that we can have you back again."
That seemed to finally set Evan's mind at ease and the Canadian let himself be led to the elevator by Delirious. As the older man pressed the button to take them to his floor, Vanoss took a deep breath, balling his hands into fists.
There was no screen to hide behind from here on out.
"How are we gonna do this?" Brian asked, resting his hands over his mouth. They had all suddenly become extremely nervous.
"I mean… I don't know. I guess we just make sure to let Evan know that we're not mad at him; We were just worried." Mini replied, who had been sparing a glance at the door every minute or so.
"I just want him to explain what's going on. I feel bad not knowing anything..." Nogla remarked with a soft frown. Brock nudged him.
"He can tell us when he feels ready. We shouldn't rush him into explaining something if he doesn't want to." Moo explained, and Daithi nodded hesitantly in agreement.
The sound of a door unlocking resounded from behind the group. Everyone turned and watched intensely as the front door was pushed open, and familiar face entered the apartment. Jonathan caught eyes with his friends, and he smiled shyly as he entered his apartment. Luke was the first one to move and he ran right up to Delirious until the two were standing in front of each other. The older man glared at him, and suddenly lurched forward to give Delirious a curt slap across his cheek. Everyone winced at the loud sound of his hand connecting his Jon's face and nervously watched as Delirious straightened to glare at his friend.
"Luke, what the fuck?" Delirious yelled, fuming as he pressed his hand to the side of his face. Cartoonz narrowed his eyes and thrust his arms out, taking tight handfuls of Jonathan's hoodie. His pulled him across the few feet of space between them, and trapped the younger man in a tight hug. The younger gamer tensed, but relaxed once he realized what Luke was doing.
"Jon, you son of a bitch." Cartoonz hissed, clutching the fabric of Jonathan's soaked jacket. "You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack."
Delirious brought his arms up and pulled his brother closer with an affectionate smile. "Sorry."
The rest of the group of friends approached the door, smiling as they reunited with one of their friends. "Are you okay?" Mini asked as he gave Jonathan a brief once-over, noting his muddy, soaked clothes and paled exterior.
Delirious nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. We're both fine." Jonathan looked beside him, and tensed when he saw that Evan wasn't beside him. He sighed and pulled away from the group to stand in the front door's entrance. "Evan…"
The group of friends heard a soft, indecipherable whisper, and Jonathan breathed out through his nose. Delirious vanished and they heard two hushed voices exchange just outside the door. There was a small pause, then another whisper. Jonathan said something quietly, and two pairs of footsteps began to echo outside the apartment's door. The cluster of friends held their breath as Delirious stepped into view, his arm reaching around the corner and out of view. He tugged at something, and they saw a familiar figure quietly step into the dimly-lit archway of the door.
"Evan!" Nogla exclaimed happily. Vanoss looked up almost instantly, and shrunk under the nine pairs of eyes that were locked onto him. His wings ruffled nervously behind his back, and the group shifted their gaze towards his appendages curiously. Evan ducked his head down and hesitantly stepped into the apartment, staying close to Jonathan's side.
Craig strode over to where they were standing, and didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around Evan to embrace his friend. The British man felt the Canadian freeze up at his touch, and frowned despite his overwhelming sense of happiness. Evan's body was rigid as he half-expected Mini to start yelling at him, but nothing of the sort was even attempted. Craig pulled away and looked at him worriedly.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" The British man asked with gentle concern, and Evan shook his head, visibly shaken.
"N-No, I'm fine…" Vanoss choked out. Mini bobbed his head, and visually relaxed. His calmness seemed to snap everyone else out of their frozen stupor, and Nogla and Moo were the next people to step forward. Evan tensed when they got closer and the two friends stopped, still a dozen feet away. Delirious gave him a soft nudge, and nodded towards them encouragingly.
Evan glanced up at him with a pleading look. He was terrified, Delirious could tell. The older man gently ushered Evan forward and turned around to close the door behind them. Craig didn't leave Evan's side and watched him warily for any sign of panic. Vanoss seemed to be gradually calming down, but he still looked scared out of his wits. Delirious and Mini shared a knowing look, and worked together on either side of the Canadian to lead him towards the awaiting group of friends at the bottom of the stairs.
Evan rubbed his bicep nervously and lowered his eyes as he finally broke into the small bubble that was his friends. The air was thick and had two varying auras; one was relieved and filled with joy, while the other was much lesser and was giving off pure, raw fear in waves. Jonathan gently nudged his shoulder and Evan bit his lip, hesitantly lifting his gaze. He knew what he had to do now, but that didn't mean that he wasn't terrified. Vanoss exhaled shakily and took a small step forward to meet the gaze of the ten people in front of him.
The Canadian panned across the room, meeting the eyes of every one of his closest friends; Craig, Nogla, Lui, Arlan, Marcel, Brian, Brock, Luke, Tyler, and Jonathan. They were all giving him either a worried, scrutinizing stare, or looked happy beyond relief. Even if they were smiling, Evan could still see the hurt in their eyes. They had all been hurt by his actions, not just Delirious. The realization struck him hard and it didn't take much time before Evan's feelings toppled over the edge.
"Guys, I'm so sorry…" Evan apologized, and he choked up halfway through. Delirious lightly patted his shoulder, but Vanoss didn't even pay it any mind, as he was quickly spilling out words before he could comprehended what he was saying.
"I'm sorry that I never told any of you about me, what I really am. Not a day went by where I didn't hate myself for not fessing up to you. You all deserved to know the truth, you still do, and I couldn't get past my own fears to actually go out and just say it. I liked the way things were, and I was scared of telling you because I was afraid that it would ruin everything. I didn't want to change anything, even when I knew that it was the right thing to do. But it wasn't just about me being scared; I… I wanted to protect you from myself. You all mean so much to me and I didn't want to put any of you in danger, even if it meant lying to your faces every single day, even if it meant that I would end up hating myself knowing that I was a horrible friend, and even when I knew that it could only end in heartbreak. And it did."
Evan choked on a sob and tears welled up in his eyes. He looked down and buried his head in his hands, looking like he was about to collapse to the ground into a sobbing mess. "I ended up ruining it all, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry, guys. I'm so fucking sorry…"
The Canadian's shoulders shook as he turned away, biting down on his fist. There it was. He fessed up, and now all he could do was wait for them to respond. Evan could already feel his heart snapping in two; he knew that this wasn't going to end well for him. It never had before.
He heard footsteps behind him, and Vanoss could see a brown boot behind him in his peripheral vision. Evan swallowed and mentally prepared himself for the worst, already aware of who the person standing behind him was. Tyler.
Evan hesitantly turned around and met bold gaze of his taller friend. Wildcat was observing him in complete silence, and Vanoss held his breath in his throat, waiting for him to act. Tyler frowned and clenched his fist tightly against his side. The action didn't go unseen for the shorter man, and Evan screwed his eyes shut. He looked away with his shoulders hunched up, waiting for Tyler to land a blow on him. He kept his arms tightly pinned to his sides, refusing to fight back.
Wildcat shook his head before thrusting out a hand, grasping the lapels of Evan's jacket. The Canadian's breath hitched, but he didn't fight it as Wildcat pulled him across the small gap between them. The hybrid did, however, get caught off guard when he was pressed against something warm and felt two arms wrap around his back. Evan opened his eyes, and knitted his brow as Tyler held him tight against his chest, shaking.
He was confused; why wasn't Tyler fighting him, or yelling? Evan looked up and met Wildcat's gaze, stiffening in surprise when he saw fresh tears brimming his taller friends eyes.
"Don't ever scare us like that again." Wildcat ordered firmly.
Evan frowned in confusion before blinking as he analyzed his friend's words. The Canadian nodded nervously and Tyler released a heavy sigh. He let go and lightly brushed Evan's arms before stepping back. The Canadian stiffened as he saw that his other friends had moved closer. Vanoss shrunk under their intense gaze, and took a nervous step back, clearly still expecting for them to attack him in some form. Tyler reached out and calmly caught his shoulder, gently yanking Evan forward. The hybrid gasped quietly as his friends rushed forward, and stumbled back as they all smothered him a giant, messy hug.
Everyone mumbled soft apologies and warm words of encouragement as Evan was buried in a massive eleven-person group hug. The Canadian shook with surprise, and looked around at his friends in genuine confusion.
"Guys… What are you doing?" He inquired. The group broke apart, and Evan was surrounded by smiling friends from all directions.
"Evan, we get that you were scared. Granted, it hurt our feelings a little knowing that you lied, but you did it for a good reason; to protect us." Brock replied calmly.
"We're just happy you're okay." Marcel added, sending the Canadian a soft smile.
The hybrid shuddered a heavy breath, and furiously wiped at the tears cascading down his face. He bit down on his lip, pressing a hand against his skull as Evan tried to hold back another sob. Brock and Nogla lightly guided him towards the living room, where Evan sat down on the couch between Delirious and Craig. He exhaled shakily, and pulled his hands away from his face as the guys all sat around him like he was about to tell them a Christmas story.
"I guess now would be a good time to fess up to everything." Evan whispered.
"Only if you want to, Evan." Brian eased.
"Yeah, don't rush yourself if you're not ready. We can wait."
"No," Evan spoke firmly. He sat up and wrung his hands. "I have to get this off my chest, before I lose the strength to bring it up again."
And so he told them. He explained how he was born, where he was raised, and how he met Rosie and Neal. He explained the process of his birth, and how he escaped from the lab to live out the rest of his life in Canada, his real home. Everyone managed to stay relatively quiet, but a couple questions arose here and there that Evan was happy to answer. There were moments where Evan had to step away for a few minutes because he crying so much, and one or two of the guys always followed him to help calm him down before he came back to continue the story. Delirious stayed close by the entire time, watching Evan and even holding his hand when he got too nervous to keep still.
"... After I dropped out, I moved here, and the rest is history." Evan finished hesitantly. He clasped his hands together and rested his chin on top of them.
There was a short period of silence before Droidd let a long whistle. "Damn, Evan. I just… Wow."
"I don't blame you for not telling us, Evan." Brock remarked. "If I was in your place, I wouldn't have wanted to confess either."
Evan rubbed his shoulder and nodded shyly. "So, that's why you're so scared? Because you think we would react the same way those assholes did?" Tyler inquiry. Evan frowned, and hesitantly nodded without saying anything.
"Well, lucky for you, you don't have a bunch of dickbags as friends." Daithi assured.
Lui snickered. "Yeah, you have actually decent human beings instead… And Brian, too, I guess."
"Hey, fuck you!" Brian snapped defensively, flipping Lui off from across the room. Everyone snickered and Evan laughed, quietly and genuinely. Jonathan grinned from ear to ear, and watched as Evan bit his lip.
"Guys… I'm really sorry for lying to you."
"Evan, you've apologized nearly twenty times already, stop saying you're sorry!" Craig urged. He bumped Evan's shoulder gently. The Canadian looked down guiltily, but didn't argue.
"Evan, we accepted your apology a while ago, it's okay." Jonathan reassured. The Canadian looked at them all pensively and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards into a hesitant smile.
"... Thank you." Evan wiped away a stray tear. "What did I do to deserve you guys?"
Craig gave Evan a sympathetic grin and pulled his friend closer. "C'mere, buddy." Evan let Mini embrace him, taking in large gulps of air to steady the pounding of his heart. Craig ran his hand down the older man's back and patiently listened to his fragile breathing.
Evan pulled away and leaned back into the couch, playing with the edge of his wings with his fingers. "Do… Do you guys wanna do something? Something fun?"
Lui perked up. "We can steal all of Jon's blankets and raid his crappy movie collection."
Delirious tensed and shot the monkey an icy glare. "Excuse me? They're not crappy!"
"I'm sold!" Brian remarked, getting up and running out of the living room. Lui scampered after him, and Marcel followed. "Get some popcorn while we get the shittiest movies he has!"
Jonathan grunted and flipped himself over the backside of the couch. "You bitches are not touching the 'Wall of Cinema'!" He landed on his feet and ran out of the room, stomping over to his office. Evan and Craig snickered as Nogla got up, gesturing for him to follow.
"Mini, you wanna help me get some snacks?" He asked. Tyler gave Craig a quick side glance but the younger man didn't appear to notice, but if he did he didn't care. The British man shrugged and stood, joining Nogla as the two scavenged through Jonathan's monstrous sugary stash. Tyler and Brock shuffled closer to Evan, giving him affectionate smiles as they listened to Delirious chew their friends out from the other room over.
The Canadian was beaming, if not looking a little bit nervous, as Lui came back out carrying a DVD case of Gamera and old school sci-fi films, so old that they were in black and white. He was laughing as Marcel and Brian dropped fifty pounds worth of pillows and blankets on top of Tyler, collapsing on top of the heap as the giant angrily swore for them to get off him. His heart was fluttering when the guys all got comfortable on the makeshift nest they made after Craig and Nogla tossed a massive bag of M&Ms at the group and surrounded Evan at almost every angle.
Delirious swung over the back of the couch and plopped down beside Evan with an exhausted sigh. He lulled his head back and Evan smirked as everyone fell into a comfortable silence. There wasn't much verbally spoken once the film started, but once Evan gave a small comment on one of the scenes, the room was quickly filled with snarky commentary and riffing as the film continued. The plot was completely forgotten as the spacious apartment was filled with laughter and joyous smiles.
"Whoa, tits!" Brian screamed as he turned away sharply and covered the side of his face with his hand. "What the fuck is this movie?"
"This is 'Airplane', Terroriser." Marcel spoke and the grin on his face as evident through his voice.
"Damn… Can we watch that scene again?" Nogla remarked. Lui snorted from on top of his back and the Irishman was given judgmental looks.
Craig exhaled as he took another drink of his Monster. The exhaustion was finally getting to him and all the chaos around him had him begging for some space. He pushed himself to his feet and carried his drink away as he stepped over the multiple legs of his friends. "I'll be back in a bit."
"Where are you going?" Arlan asked curiously.
Craig shrugged and nodded his head towards the balcony door. "I'm just gonna get some air. You guys are giving me a fucking headache with all the yelling."
Droidd shrugged and turned away as the group talked about something obnoxious taking place in the movie. Mini felt the cold air outside calling to him and the young man briskly strode towards the door, his friends politely letting him take a breather as they continued the film.
Little did Craig know that another pair of eyes had watched him leave. Tyler's eyes followed Mini as he watched the youngest member of their group quietly step outside and shut the glass door behind him. Mini glanced back, and Tyler averted his eyes so his friend wouldn't realize that he was being watched. Craig walked down the balcony a little ways before sitting down at the outdoor swing situated against the window. He ducked his head down, and Wildcat could tell that he was definitely not in a great mood to talk.
"You should talk to him."
Wildcat stiffened, and turned towards the voice behind him. Lui crawled on the armrest of his chair, and sat up so he could face Tyler head-on. The monkey cocked his head expectantly and the taller man bit his lip. He looked out at his friend outside and let out a disappointed sigh.
"He doesn't want to talk to me, Lui."
The monkey scoffed. "Doesn't want to- Are you serious? Dude, he's practically begging for you to say something!"
Tyler bit back an edgy come back and sighed. "Maybe... But after what we said to each other the last time we talked...? I doubt he wants to talk to anyone right now."
"Yeah, because he only wants to talk to you, Tyler!" Lui replied, gesturing wildly in Craig's direction. Lui smacked Wildcat's bare arm with his tail, and the giant winced from the sting. Lui crawled up his shirt, and leaned his forehead into Tyler's, getting in the taller man's face.
"I don't know what exactly happened between you two, but it's been worrying everybody all week. You guys are as close as Evan and Delirious, and frankly, this silence is scaring the shit out of us. Get your ass out there and talk to your best friend, because you two have been upset about this for long enough."
Tyler swallowed and Lui backed out until he was looking back up at Wildcat. "Go to talk to him, Tyler." The small monkey gave him one last glance before leaping off and climbing onto the couch, where he sat firmly in the spot Craig had previously taken up.
The American's eyes drifted in Craig's direction, and Tyler bit his lip in contemplation. He brought his drink to his lips, and took a hefty swig for luck. Wildcat sighed and quietly got up from his seat. Tyler saw Lui wave at him from the couch, and felt his body tense up as he made his way towards the balcony doors. He didn't want to do this. The American would prefer to avoid having this confrontation altogether, but as he watched how dejected and exhausted Mini looked outside in the chilled air, he knew that it was his only option. The two couldn't go back to being friends unless this conversation happened, as much as Tyler didn't want it to.
Craig sighed as he watched the city below him with a forlorn gaze. The miniscule cars and people rushed about many stories below him and Mini felt himself growing envious of them. He envied their privilege of being able to blend into the crowd, to hide in plain sight. He knew the guys probably didn't even notice he left, but a nagging thought in the back of mind suggested that at least one of them had.
His anger had long since subsided, but Mini couldn't bring himself to walk up to Tyler and go back to speaking terms. They both knew that it would happen eventually, the confrontation, but Craig felt nervous whenever he brought himself to say anything. With Tyler, apologies were a hit and miss; his reactions were unpredictable and the man's true feelings were nearly impossible to picked up on. He was a stoic guy, and this was one of the rare times that Mini was actually intimidated by that.
Craig suddenly became aware that he was being watched and flinched as he heard a click of a door unlocking. He have to didn't look up to tell that someone had followed him onto the balcony.
"Hey."
Mini stiffened and glanced up at the gentle giant standing directly to his left. Tyler was looking down at him with an uneasy expression, as if he wasn't sure if he should even be out there. Mini didn't see any malice or ill-will in his demeanor, and for some reason that bothered Craig more. The way the two were staring at each other brought Mini back to the argument they had mere days ago. The anger the young man had held resurfaced, but only for a fleeting moment, suspended in the crowded thoughts of Craig's mind. As much as he wanted to be angry with him, the events that occurred that evening left Craig with nothing
"Hey." Mini replied moments later, in a somber tone with a frown to match.
Tyler nodded, and let his fingers lazily play against the side of his drink. He tilted his head vaguely to the seat beside Craig with an apprehensive smile. "Do you mind if I...?"
Mini shook his head and shrugged lightly. "Go ahead."
Wildcat's mood brightened ever so slightly and the taller gamer sat down beside Craig. Tyler shuffled in the cushioned bench as he looked at Mini, but frowned when he saw that the British man was avoiding his gaze. Mini looked everywhere except at Tyler, and drummed his fingers on his knee absentmindedly. The American looked up at the sky, praying to find some solution hidden amongst the stars. He found none. Wildcat exhaled and placed his drink beside him with a gentle clink.
Wildcat bit his lip, and let his gaze drift towards his younger friend sitting silently beside him. He struggled to find the words and finally concluded to keep them simple, so he wouldn't stumble. A decisive sigh escaped him, and Tyler lifted his head up to the sky.
"I'm… I'm so sorry, Mini. You were right." He saw Craig stiffen from his peripheral vision, but Tyler didn't turn his head. American ducked his head down and twiddled his thumbs as he continued.
"You're always right. I've been an asshole this entire time, and I took my anger out everyone who didn't deserve it. I'm a walking time bomb that goes off on whoever happens to be closest, even if they don't deserve it. It's not fair to Delirious, the guys, and especially you. I don't think before I speak and I hurt you, because I didn't stop to think about what could happen if I said what I said. I'm sorry for that. Words can't describe how sorry I am."
Wildcat stopped as his breathing began to make to his voice tremble. His hands curled into tight fists and he forced himself to look away from Mini, hunching his shoulders. "I don't expect you to forgive me, that's not why I'm saying this. You have every right to be mad at me and I'm sorry that that's the reality of it. I'd take it all back if I could, but I can't. I hurt you; that's something that I can never fix and I'm sorry, Craig..."
Wildcat swallowed the growing lump in his throat, and didn't dare to look back at Mini. He didn't feel that he deserved to look at him. The hair on the back of his neck prickled his skin as he heard Craig shuffle beside him. Something chilling brushed his arm, and rested on top of his left shoulder blade. He shivered, partially from the contact and partially from the cold wind sending a cool breeze across his face.
"Tyler,"
Wildcat bit his lip and hesitantly turned his head to meet Mini's gaze. The younger man was looking up at him with a calming, neutral stare. Tyler could feel the moisture in his eyes worsen, and his vision blurred at the edges. He blinked them away and let out a shaky exhale. Craig frowned, and nodded lightly as he finally spoke a full sentence to Tyler for the first time in five days.
"I'm not mad at you. Not anymore, at least."
It felt like a crushing weight had been lifted off of Tyler's back. Wildcat slumped his shoulders in relief, but looked at Mini in gentle confusion. "But, Mini..."
"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been mad at you." Craig spoke softly. Tyler held his tongue, and let Mini continue. "When I said those things, I was angry. I was mad at you for a while, but I'm not anymore. All the anger, sadness, and frustration that had been building up since this clusterfuck started got out... And you just happened to be there to push me off the deep end."
Mini let out a forced laugh and slumped forward, burying his head into his hands. "I'm such a fucking hypocrite; I yelled at you for taking your feelings out on us, then I went ahead and did the same thing to you."
"No." Tyler snapped instantly. He reached over and gently pulled Mini's hands away from his face. Craig looked at him curiously and his eyes were glossy. "This is different, Mini. You never let out your anger; I do it all the fucking time. You bottle up your anger and I don't. You had every right to yell at me, and I fucking deserved it anyways."
Craig looked at him and Tyler wondered if he was processing his words. A tender, warm feeling filled him as Mini nodded after many moments of silence. Wildcat let a small smile linger across his face looking at Mini with an affectionate grin. His eyes rested on Craig's arm and his smile vanished when he caught sight of a dark mark on his friend's wrist. "What's that?"
Craig blinked and stared at him in soft inquisition at the sudden subject change. He processed his words, and stiffened as he understood what Tyler meant. The Brit tucked his arm between his legs and knitted his brow. "It's nothing."
Wildcat narrowed his eyes and Craig's eyes darted nervously as his older friend leaned closer. "You're a fucking terrible liar, Mini."
Without any warning, Tyler reached across Craig's lap and took hold of his hand. Mini inhaled sharply as Wildcat shifted so he facing Mini head-on, and brought his wrist to the space between them. Tyler held it gingerly and pulled the mauve fabric of his sleeve down past his wrist. The older man stiffened as he saw the marks of a fading bruise on his friend's hand. He could see the outline of where his thumb and forefingers had gripped the pale, sensitive skin, leaving sickly yellow and blue splotches behind. Wildcat lifted his other hand, and traced over the bruise with a gentle brush of his hand. His eyes lifted and he looked down at Mini in a brotherly yet heartbroken gaze.
"Mini..."
Craig bit his lip and turned away from Tyler, tugging his arm out of his grasp. Wildcat frowned and let go of his wrist to watch it rest against Mini's side once again. The older man sighed, and clenched his hand into a fist. His fingernails dug into his palm, but Tyler didn't care about the discomfort it brought with it. The guilt rose up once again, pushing Wildcat to stand up beside Mini. Craig jumped from beside him in response to the sudden movement, and blinked curiously.
"Wildcat..?" He asked, concern growing as Mini noted the distraught expression on his friend's face. Tyler glanced at him briefly and walked away from the bench, moving further down the balcony and away from him. Mini rose up, and slowly followed after him. "Hey..."
The American man exhaled shakily and leaned on the guardrail of the balcony. He didn't look at Craig, out of the belief that he didn't deserve the right to look his friend in the eye. Mini stopped once he was mere inches to Wildcat's right and watched him with concern. Tyler buried his head in his hands, and pulled them away after a few, shaky breaths. The older man narrowed his eyes as he stared at his hands, the fingers curling inwards. They bent into tight fists and Tyler's shoulders shook with anger. At least, Mini rightfully guessed that it was anger.
"Tyler, please don't be mad at yourself-"
"Too late." Tyler snapped, at a volume that caught Craig off guard. He hadn't expected him to turn this loud so quickly, and it almost made him back off, but Mini fought the urge and held his ground.
"Tyler, please. It was an accident-" Mini tried to say, but Wildcat's head snapped in his direction.
"Oh, right, an 'accident'." Tyler spoke coldly, his tone making Craig flinch. "Right, because that makes me hurting you totally okay, then!" He gently took Mini' hand, and gestured to it. "That makes this okay now, doesn't it? Because I 'accidentally' hurt you? Give me a fucking break, Mini! Stop pretending that you don't hate me and just yell at me already!"
He let go almost instantly, and Craig noticed how whenever Wildcat touched him, it was impossibly light; he could barely feel the contact. Tyler was purposefully avoiding any real physical contact, and Mini felt bad for him feeling this way. Tyler didn't want to hurt him to the point where he was scared of simply touching Mini.
"Tyler, I don't hate you." Craig said in a stern tone. Wildcat's brow lifted, and he gave Mini an unconvinced stare. "Really, I don't. I know you didn't mean to hurt me. I know that. It was an accident and you didn't mean to do it." He shuffled closer to the gentle giant beside him, and nudged him. "I could never hate you."
Tyler sighed and leaned on the guardrail. His arm sprawled out over the edge, and the older man slumped his shoulders. "Mini... that doesn't make what I did acceptable. Me being sorry doesn't make it okay!"
"I know it doesn't." The younger gamer replied softly. Wildcat let out an airy chortle, and looked at Mini incredulously.
"... Then why the hell are you still here?" Tyler asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Craig blinked and looked at Tyler like he had come from another planet. He reached out and lay a hand on Wildcat' shoulder. "... Because you're my friend. Friends fight all the time; it just happens because-"
"I'm an unstable mountain of relentless anger and violence?" Tyler finished for him, in a monotonous, icy voice. He pulled his arm away and Mini extended his fingers towards Tyler's retreating hand. Craig flinched, and he looked at Wildcat sympathetically.
"Because we don't think the same, and approach our feelings in different ways." The younger man clarified in a gentle tone of voice. Tyler looked away, and didn't reply. Mini bit the inside of his cheek as he tried to come up with a new tactic to put his friend at ease. He was getting nowhere with this, and needed to try something new.
Craig eyed Tyler's arm silently and hesitantly pulled his hand away from his chest. It extended out and rested on the shoulder of his taller friend. Wildcat stiffened, and Mini felt his muscles tense up under his palm. The shorter man shuffled closer to Tyler, and stopped once his own shoulder was brushing against his friend's arm. Wildcat turned to him, staring at him in a curious, cautious gaze. Mini looked up at him and gave Tyler a tentative mile. The American man exhaled, and looked down at the city below him. His left hand rose up and rested on top of Craig's hand on his shoulder, holding it in place. Whether it was done consciously or not, Craig didn't know.
"I missed you." Wildcat spoke up, as the wind sent a gentle breeze across their faces. Craig smiled, and side-glanced in Tyler's direction.
"I wasn't the one that was missing for ten days, Tyler." Mini replied, with a hint of teasing in his voice.
The older man let out a soft chuckle and Craig beamed. "You know what I fucking mean."
He nodded, and gave Tyler's shoulder an affectionate nudge. Craig sighed and relaxed his shoulder. "I missed you, too."
Wildcat looked down, and Mini saw Tyler give him a small, genuine smile. The taller man extended his arm out and pulled Craig into a tight hug. The shorter man crashed against Wildcat's body, and Mini couldn't help but stiffen in surprise. Tyler grit his teeth as he held Mini in his embrace, and shook involuntarily. Craig smiled softly and buried his face into Tyler's shoulder. The younger man's fingers curled into the soft, cotton of Wildcat' shirt, and heard the man in question mumble something under his breath. The British man rubbed circles into Tyler's back, and quietly mumbled reassurances to calm his close friend. Wildcat smiled tiredly and clung to Mini like a lifeline, the latter softly speaking soothing words into Tyler's ear.
What the two didn't realize was that the movie inside had been ignored and they currently had nine pairs of eyes watching them eagerly from inside the living room.
"Fucking finally." Marcel breathed as he fell back, sprawling his limbs across Brian's legs.
Brock shook his head and beamed like a proud mother bird as Tyler and Mini pulled apart, smiling at each other as if they had never had any ill feelings to begin with. "That was hard to watch."
Evan looked at Delirious curiously, but the older man shrugged in confusion. "Don't ask me, I have no idea."
"Tyler went off the deep end early on and Mini had chewed him the fuck out for it a couple days ago." Nogla explained. "They've been avoiding each other ever since, and we been dying for them to finally talk it out."
"They're both idiots, if you ask me." Brian remarked while taking a handful of M&Ms and tossing them into his mouth. The group laughed and collectively nodded, finally shifting their focus back to the film as the two friends made their way back inside.
Craig and Wildcat were both smiling and didn't notice the knowing grins their friends sent each other as they took a new spot on the floor, this time not bothering to separate. Mini glanced over as he took a handful of M&Ms from the massive bowl in the center, and hesitated when he caught Nogla, Lui, Droidd, and Brock all giving him coy smiles.
"What?" Craig inquired as he suddenly felt very self conscious.
Brock looked away while Nogla chewed on his bottom lip to weakly hide a smile. Lui rolled his eyes from his perch on Arlan's shoulder and nodded his head to the area behind Mini. The British man looked over his shoulder as he resumed his spot and blinked as he only saw Tyler sitting beside him. Craig blinked as he finally made the connection, and ducked his head down to try to hide the embarrassed look on his face. Brock reached down and rubbed Mini's head from the spot on the couch, which only resulted in the latter swatting at his arm until he pulled away.
Luke rolled his eyes at the whole endeavor and glanced up at Jonathan. The younger man was staying close to Evan's side, watching the movie with genuine interest. Cartoonz frowned as he took in his brother's disheveled appearance and made himself a mental note to fret over Jonathan's health for the next week. Now that the whole ordeal was over, Delirious could completely go back to his normal self. It was comforting and managed to put his mind at ease for the first time in that whole week.
As the second film got to its halfway point, Evan was beginning to feel the exhaustion start to kick in. The hybrid pulled his legs up and shuffled an inch or two closer to Delirious, resting his head on the back of the couch. His feet were chilled, despite all the warmth in the room. He shivered and pulled the blanket across his ankles quietly. His older friend caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and Jonathan looked at him with gentle curiosity.
"You cold?"
The Canadian shrugged and closed his eyes as he sighed with exhaustion. "Tired." He mumbled.
Delirious nodded, feeling a similar effect growing on him as well. Evan shuddered as he shook off a chill and felt Delirious lean into his shoulder. "It's funny, it only took me almost dying to finally convince you to come back here." He whispered, grinning softly.
Evan flicked Jonathan's arm, and the two laughed quietly to themselves. "Believe me, there's way more to it than that." The Canadian replied, trying to keep his voice down. Delirious only smiled and nodded, but the warm feeling didn't leave them both, not even for a second.
The older man slung an arm around his neck, holding him close as the Canadian wrapped his wings around them both to keep them warm. A heavy body pressed into his side and Evan looked to his right to see Brock shuffling closer to him. Moo laid his back against the younger man's side and propped his feet up by the edge of the couch, smiling at the Canadian tiredly.
Craig and Tyler looked over and grinned as they moved closer as well, sitting beside Jonathan's and Evan's feet. The British man leaned into the cushion positioned on the floor and Wildcat promptly sprawled his long limbs out as far as he possibly could. Mini rolled his eyes, but shuffled into a more comfortable position nonetheless. Nogla and Lui caught on to what they were doing, and the Irishman stood up. He walked across the small gap and laid down by Mini's feet, looking up towards the ceiling. Lui curled up into a small ball on his chest and burrowed into the soft fabric of his hoodie. Marcel, Arlan, and Brian followed suit, and soon the small nest was filled with seven tired bodies, all too exhausted to actually say anything.
Delirious yawned and his head lulled to the side until it was resting on Evan's shoulder. The hybrid smiled and looked around him was he observed what had transpired. Brock was practically on top of him, Delirious was on his left side sleeping on him, Craig was at his feet, and the back of the couch was directly behind him. The room was quickly filling with soft breathing and yawns, and within minutes a cool silence had draped across the room.
Evan didn't move, and simply watched as he slowly drank it all in. He blinked and wondered if this was all an elaborate dream. Part of him wanted to to believed that it was, but he knew deep down that it this was as real as any other day, despite how insane it had turned out.
The Canadian brought a hand to his face, and tears of joy rapidly flood the corners of his eyes. Out of all the outcomes he could have gotten, this was the one he had least expected. All his life, Evan had expected nothing but rejection and abandonment. This was the first time he had ever let people into his life who had actually refused to let him walk out the door once the curtain was drawn back. Vanoss hadn't expected them to be so accepting and desperate for him to stay, and it all seemed too good to be true. He lowered his head so it was resting on Jonathan's shoulder since Brock's dead weight was pinning him in that reclined sitting position. He closed his eyes and let out a shuddered breath.
This was how he always wished things would go, and it was finally becoming a reality for him. Evan smiled and a small tear forced itself out and slid down his cheek, but the man didn't care. He was finally at peace. No more lies, no more walls, and no more heartbreak. Vanoss let the warmth of his friends finally lull him to sleep as he truly welcomed the idea of his new life. He was finally happy. He was finally being loved for who he truly was.
Evan was finally home.