RUNEMASTER
Rating 》 T-M for Profanity, Adult Situations, Violence and Sexual Content
Pairing 》 Major Reid/OC & Minor Tyler/OC
Disclaimer 》 Fandoms, canons, music, references and source material are not mine, but this plot is. No monetary profit made.
Author's Note 》 For fanart, fanmixes and fanvids, go to hapadoll,wixsite,com/hapadoll (replace , with . )
2. The Witch Ain't Out Tonight
The cut over his eye was nasty, but at least it finally stopped bleeding. He just needed to touch it to check for himself if it was actually as bad as it looked in the mirror. It was hard to tell beneath the blood that had dried over the side of his face. It improved with a little soap and water, followed by some topical antiseptic and bacitracin ointment. Reid winced like he had a sudden migraine. The cleaning process hurt like a bitch—more than the impact of the wound itself. Fortunately, Aaron hit like a bitch. It must have been the bastard's ring that caught him.
The distinctive clicking sound of the front door unlocking halted his movements in mid-air for a moment. Then there was the sound of it opening, and slamming again followed by sharp, angry footsteps.
From the bathroom doorway, Tyler spares him a glance with a pointed expression that sends the message really loud and clear without needing to say a word. Reid had a splitting headache to match his lovely mood. And by his expression, it was obvious that he was already one-hundred percent over the conversation before it began, but Tyler either didn't seem to notice or he didn't give a shit.
"You look like a panda."
Reid tried his best to smirk off the weak attempt at an insult, but the fluorescent vanity lights illuminated his injuries, highlighting how shit he really looked.
"I've had worse, and so have you," Reid dismissed as he went to pick everything up and haphazardly shove them back in the already clustered medicine cabinet, lacking any sort of organization.
The younger of the pair remained relentless in his pursuit, refusing to back down tonight. He had a bone to pick with Reid... and he intended to pick. Tyler grills him with a stare that challenges him to try and ignore him, and Reid knows exactly what discussion is about to take place. It's one that he does not care to have now or ever. It was too much to ask for the subject to be dropped and that they simply move on from it. It was astonishing how after all these years Tyler still underestimated his ability to sidestep unwanted conversation, but he chose to bite the bullet on this one. Like a bandage. Just get it over with before Tyler's face got stuck that way. Lord knows Baby Boy had enough difficulty getting women as it was.
"Problem?" Reid's voice dripped with false concern.
His hot-tempered defensiveness ever ready to goad someone into a fight.
"Hell yes..." Tyler didn't know where to begin. "Your level of attention seeking is too damn high. And your egotistical way of making sure everything revolves around you and your timing, even if it has nothing to do with you in the first place is really starting to get old. You're a narcissist, I get that. And that's fine, that's who you are. That's one of the many 'charms' of Reid."
Tyler used air-quotes to get his sarcastic point across. He continued his tirade without missing a beat, surprising himself that he was fully calling Reid out on his bullshit for once. However, not actually saying anything he felt was untrue or unfair.
"But when it starts interfering in other people's lives, that's where I draw the line," Tyler finished.
Reid squared himself back into a position where he could meet Tyler's eye level in the reflection. He tilted his head slowly, with those astonishingly blue eyes locked on his brothers'. They matched each other in color and intensity. Though Reid's expression now was almost emotionless, except for his tensed jaw. A tell-tale sign that he was growing more annoyed though he fought to keep his poker face.
"Feel better now?"
Reid's even voice was so nonchalant—almost condescending, it was cringeworthy. It seemed as though Reid thought Tyler was the foolish one to overreact with no rightful justification to do so. As if Tyler were a petulant child he was allowing throw a tantrum until it was out of his system.
"I won't say I feel worse, but I definitely don't feel any better."
Tyler hadn't visibly relaxed. The tongue-lashing he'd just given his friend was supposed to make him feel better but it hadn't. Best case scenario: he had gone into it hoping to change Reid's perspective but that was a lot to hope for. At the very least he expected some kind of a response.
The most frustrating element of Reid was his sheer lack of accountability in all things self created, but what Tyler didn't recognize was that a person will not feel remorse for something they do not feel responsible for. Especially if he genuinely believes that he has done nothing wrong, such as in this case.
Reid was more self-aware than Tyler gave him credit for. It was the wrong timing, obviously, and maybe he went about it the wrong way, but he did what he believed was a necessary evil and he stood by it one-hundred percent. The last thing he would do was backpedal on something he believed in. Sure, maybe his execution was flawed, but the reasoning behind it was just and selfless. It was meant to be helpful. And he wouldn't apologize for the fact that Tyler's lack of initiative forced him to intervene on his behalf. Tyler wouldn't see it now, but what he did was for his and believe it or not, Gabi's benefit.
"Okay, guess we're having this conversation right now," Reid complained to nobody in particular and braced himself for the hurricane that was about to make landfall.
He turns around to face his roommate, mutters "real fuckin' talk time", and lets him have it. "You were the one constantly whining to me about how shitty your relationship was. Not that everybody couldn't already see it. It was obvious as the balls on a Beagle," he spat and Tyler frowned.
Reid continued, "You were becoming a miserable, unbearable son of a bitch to be around. And this isn't just coming from me. The guys noticed. Of course the nosy ass girls noticed. You weren't you. Neither of you were happy or having fun anymore, so what was the point? It's a fucking high school relationship, bro. You'll both get over it. You just can't see past the end of your dick right now. If you're looking for an apology, then I'm sorry for having the balls to do what you were too pussy to do yourself, Baby Boy. Somebody had to man up and get it done."
Tyler's facial expressions didn't bother to hide the fact that he didn't particularly care for the blond's unapologetic speech. He quickly shot back, calling him selfish. Reid fired back with his own response. As the conversation developed and escalated, they were both getting angrier and ended up throwing a lot of curses back and forth. Tyler felt as though his entire body were on fire now.
"Screw you, Reid! The idea wasn't wrong, your execution was. That's what I'm trying to say and you just don't get it! There's a thing called tact. There's a time and place for everything and you went about it in all the wrong ways. It wasn't appropriate to do it there. What the fuck don't you get about that?!"
"If not now, when?" Reid challenged, laying a reality check the naiveity Tyler displayed. "Because you had plenty of opportunities before tonight, my friend. You kept pussying out and putting it off because it was too hard. You didn't want to deal with it. You didn't want to upset her. It wasn't fair to her at this point. That's all on you."
Tyler's blue eyes widened and his mouth dropped open like a character in a cartoon strip. Sort of gawking at Reid in disbelief. He almost sputtered through his next couple of words.
"Not fair to her? I'm sorry, when did you become king of morality? Because I've never seen you give two shits about a girl's feelings."
"Well she was our friend..." Reid shrugged, knowing that Tyler and Gabi's breakup would affect the friendship she had within their group, if not completely destroy it.
It wouldn't devestate him, but he did consider her a genuine friend. The same as Kate and Sarah.
"If you're so worried about her feelings, then maybe putting her on the spot in front of an audience of gossiping bitches wasn't the best approach, yeah?" Tyler demanded.
It was the tequila.
Reid would never openly admit to his part in the mess that night and instead he pushed past his friend, shrugging on the nearest light jacket, dark in color like his mood.
When he saw that Tyler was not going to make a move to stop or question him further, he started for the door, muttering, "I'm done with this back and forth bullshit. I'm not having this conversation anymore".
It was probably wise to remove himself from the equation and he was glad that Tyler had enough sense to not try to stop him. They both needed time away from each other to cool off. Tyler was grateful for a little space—he hated fighting amongst his brothers. It unsettled his stomach in a way that brought him to a physical sickness. Reid usually fed off of confrontation, but he knew in this instance it was smarter to walk away.
He left Tyler with one final piece of advice before disappearing behind the door. Something he firmly believed in, harsh as it came across.
"Don't shit where you eat, little brother."
As Reid stormed down the hallway, he could hear the sounds of their room being torn apart from the inside accompanied by the familiar sense of energy emitting from it and from Tyler.
Great. She knew what that bag contained.
"You're not seriously going to do rubbings right now," complained Gabi, judgingly eyeing the cloth satchel her sister kept in the trunk for a very specific purpose.
It contained a small block of wax—worn down from the uses it's seen—masking tape and two sheets of lightly wrinked rice paper. A pretty typical starter kit for beginners or weekend hobbyists like Kemp. There was a real interest in history—something that must have been inherited—but she hadn't decided she wanted to pursue a full-fledged career out of it like their mother had when she moved them to Ipswich two years ago.
Winona Berzin had been a homemaker as long as they'd been alive up until recent when she announced she was going back to school, got a bachelor's degree in history, became a professional historian and bought property out there. It was meant to be her first project before she got actual work. A real fixer-upper, nearly two centuries old. Her mid-life crisis as Kemp referred to it.
Kemp grabbed the tactical flashlight their dad had left for her next to the emergency roadside safety kit. He'd always said a good quality light can serve a variety of purposes. His reasonings were centered mainly around self-defence. On strobe function, it could temporarily blind an attacker, work as a signaling device to call for help if lost, or straight-up used as a striking tool or baton.
"Well, I didn't originally plan my night to involve any of this, Gabi," she answered pointedly, reminding her why they were there in the first place. "I haven't been to this cemetery before, so maybe... if I see an interesting gravestone. I just want to have it on hand in case."
With a groan, Gabi muttered "fine" and followed the path illuminated by the light as they moved together through the heavily wooded and overgrown area until they came to a small clearing up ahead.
"You can be such a weirdo," groused Gabi. "I will never understand your morbid obsession."
"It's not like I exclusively rub graves," Kemp defended.
She wasn't ashamed. She was just feeling awkward to open up about her hobby when she knew how different they were from each other. It was actually a pretty common pastime, but it was also a bit nerdy and not considered "normal" within her age demographic. For all other intents and purposes, she was a typical teenage girl who likes to look pretty, experiment with her looks, dance around in her bedroom to loud music, hang out with her friends and is slightly detached from her family.
Kemp continued in her explanation, "I like all old carvings. Bronze or brass or stone like petroglyphs even. There's so much intricate detail and unique patterns you don't see today where things are just generic and boring. Nothing's one of a kind anymore. You can't go to the mall without seeing another girl wearing the same top from Forever21."
"I guess so."
"Graves are interesting because they tell a story about the person. A person who was living and breathing at one point long before we were even a thought. Living life like we are—different but not really. They still had the same basic human instincts we have. Family, love, the will to live. And now they're laying here, long gone while a whole new generation of people are living in the same world without them in it, thinking we're untouchable because we're here now. It's hard enough to even imagine thirty year old us. Fast forward one-hundred years and we'll be laying there while people who aren't even born yet are living their lives. It's a crazy thought."
Every gravestone told somebody's story. It wasn't about being macabre. It was a historic artifact first, and second, a piece of art.
Gabi pondered over her sister's words long and deeply before she responded, "You know, I start to understand your point of view and then you say things like that, that bring everything down. Sometimes your outlook on life is really dark and depressing."
"I know it is!" said Kemp. "I'm not trying to be that way, but that's reality. It's not like I focus on negative things, but I am aware to them."
Sometimes she'd overthink life and existence to the point of anxiety. When the world continued spinning with or without her control, it gave her a sense of unease. She wasn't as afraid of death as she was not doing anything with her life while she was still alive. Regrets were the things that terrified her most.
It was just after three in the morning, but sleep wasn't on his mind. He'd exhausted himself physically after such a long, rough night, but he couldn't turn off his brain. His body was tired but his mind was racing. Fists doubled, blond hair blowing, he covered ground like a gazelle on the run with his long strides towards no specific destination.
Reid longed for a secret go-to spot for some solitude. Somewhere none of his brothers could find him when he wanted to be left alone with his thoughts, but he didn't have that. The closeness of their four families was both a blessing and a curse. He was grateful to have people in his life who unconditionally cared for him despite the numerous times he let them down, but they rarely respected his space. They poked, they pushed, they pried. They were always in each other's business. Sometimes he just wanted to be as physically alone as he felt and they didn't understand that.
At least Reid had enough sense in him to know that he had to get the hell out of there before things escalated further or he and Tyler would show up to school sporting matching bruises. It wouldn't be anything they couldn't overcome after a week or two of ignoring each other until things blew over, but he preferred to avoid fighting with his best friend altogether if he could help it. Even if Baby Boy was being an ungrateful dick and deserved to have some sense knocked into him.
Not until he heard the sound of water flowing over small obstacles did he notice he'd ended up at the riverfront in the center of town. Usually, he was more aware of his surroundings, but he couldn't think past the cyclone in his head. Reid rested his forearms on the rail and leaned forward, taking a look below. Water. That's what he needed right now. It always calmed him.
That nagging voice of Caleb's in his head prodded him and he discreetly did a 360 to make sure no one was within eye-shot. All was deserted at such a late hour, as expected. He lowered his head a moment and lifted it back up after he harnessed the power coursing through his body. It, in and of itself almost made everything feel better. He rotated his arms, facing his palms up as he enjoyed the feeling for a few moments longer than he should have. Unfortunately, Mr. Killjoy himself would undoubtedly have something to say about a use of this magnitude. It was just that, he didn't give a shit what he had to say about it.
"Kiss my ass, Caleb," he said to the dark, readying himself for teleportation.
Reid closed his black eyes and opened them to the ocean. There was something so beautiful about the way the change of scenery unfolded in front of him. Even he had to stop and take it all in. He could only imagine how well it would go over with the ladies if he showed them something like this. But he wasn't allowed to. Not even Pogue was, though he'd been with Kate for two years. Only Caleb could do whatever he wanted for Sarah after she'd been around for all of twenty minutes.
The cold water looked very tempting. He walked towards it. As if the ocean as a whole was a siren, luring him into its depths with its beauty and tranquility. When he reached the flat shorebreak, he quickly removed all his clothes and jumped in the water. The icy temperature stung in a good way. The way it rushed over his aching muscles refreshed him and made him feel as if all his problems and worries went away with it. Swimming when using was incredible and nearly indescribable. It heightened every sense. He could feel every bead, every drop, every molecule.
"Okay, let's set up here," said Gabi, effectively and smoothly changing the subject.
It may have been juvenile to impulsively initiate a game they hadn't played since they were kids, when they had real responsibilities in the morning, but it was deliciously nostalgic to put everything on hold for a moment to revisit their childhood. Taking them back to a time when the pace of life was slower and everything around you seemed bigger and better from a child's innocent, naive perspective.
However, some things never change and certain traits you never grow out of at any age. Typically, they'd argue first about which game in particular to start with. Then, which one got to play which role. Even when things were smooth between them, they would never outgrow their need to best the other. They settled it like children—a match to their behavior—with their feet in a circle and a counting-out rhyme until Kemp was chosen as The Witch, Gabi taking the role of The Storyteller.
"One o'clock… two o'clock… three o'clock..."
Kemp wandered off as quickly as she could safely navigate through the overgrowth and fallen leaves to find herself a decent hiding spot as Gabi remained on their designated home base, loudly continuing her count to twelve with both hands over her eyes, then finished with a shout, "Midnight! I hope I don't see the witch tonight!"
Gabi opened her eyes, but remained standing in exactly the same position. Almost frozen in place, still like another marble statue in the graveyard until adaptation to the darkness happened and night vision set in. The dilapidated cemetery was quite the sight. The spooky atmosphere a perfect representation for the night's sense of dread and foreboding.
Suddenly, she recalled things much differently. It was a lot scarier than she remembered. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea, she started thinking. Maybe there was a reason it had never been just the two of them playing. There'd always been somebody else. A neighboring kid from another floor or Sam and Anna O'Sullivan from the building across the park. Never had she been all alone. Gabi stood there questioning why she was there. It seriously crossed her mind to text her sister, calling off the game, but it'd been her idea and they were there under her insistence.
Gabi sucked it up and hastily searched within the cemetery's boundaries, hoping to end the game as quickly as possible so they could get out of there or at least be reunited into a group of two, but couldn't spot her sister anywhere and Kemp had yet to find her either. Part of the game was for the 'witch' to find a hiding spot far enough away to remain hidden and able to tag the 'storyteller' or another player before being spotted.
Gabi suspected that Kemp had hidden somewhere just beyond the tree line, because she always played dirty and out of limits. They both had their quirks and iniquities when it came to being team players. Like the amount of bragging that came out of Gabi when she won anything or excelled at something. Kemp was underhanded and Gabi was a sore winner.
Another part of the game was that the person in the role of The Storyteller had to tell a spooky story. Though she felt stupid talking to herself, Gabi generated one of the few urban legends she knew—a popular tale from right there in her home state—and narrated aloud.
"During construction of the Hoosac Tunnel in the eighteen-sixties, a demolitions expert accidentally set off an explosive too early and ended up killing two of his co-workers. He fled town. One year later to the day, his body was found at exactly the same spot where the two men died. By the marks around his neck, they determined he'd been strangled, though they found no footprints, DNA or other clues."
Gabi was so wrapped up scaring herself from her own story, she hadn't paid attention to the direction she'd walked in from. It'd only been about fifty feet that she'd gone past the tree line. She scanned the forest around her and tried to regain her bearings. There was a tall white pine that looked familiar. She tried to backtrack her steps, but it only seemed to lead her deeper into a maze.
With a total wash of terror, she realized she was not only alone and surrounded by woods, but suddenly it seemed much quieter and darker than it had before and she was beginning to panic. She wasn't like Kemp. She did not enjoy being scared. Even Kemp always preferred to be spooked in safe places with no real threat of danger.
"Kemp?!"
She continued to call out for her sister, breaking character, but the only response she received was her own echoed cries.
Gabi clung to her smartphone as a beacon of comfort. A device capable of transmitting signals and tracking locations. It calmed her to know that she was not completely cut off from the borderline of safety and the outside world that was so close yet felt so far away. There was a nearby tower and luckily she still had decent reception along with a nearly full battery. A familiar number was searched, selected and dialed.
As she waited to feel the relief wash over her at the sound of her sister's voice, she got nothing but a dial tone. That hadn't changed the next several attempts after finding her own way back to the car where she waited. Not when their mother tried after Gabi had gone home crying because it'd been hours. And not when the police stepped in after it'd been days.
Author's Note: What did you think of Reid and Tyler's explosive scene? I love highlighting a darker side to characters so I enjoyed writing this err...interaction. I tried to keep them as in-character as possible still and I think it's believable as some of the closest relationships are roller coasters! Of course they will overcome it as Reid said, but right now they want to draw dicks on each other's foreheads haha! And some mystery/creep-factor with the Berzin sisters. Their night certainly took a turn. Here is where the supernatural element will step in and connect the sisters to the boys/the Covenant. I can't wait to get into that next!
