This chapter contains: Slight mentions of homophobic and abusive behavior, but nothing explicit.

"...authorities are still looking for 14 year old Rachel Gardner and serial killer Isaac Foster-"

The broadcast was interrupted as the channel was changed, followed by a soft sigh.

Garry drummed his fingers against the steering wheel as he waited for the light to turn green, the radio playing some grungy sounding music that filled the silence in his father's old dingy pick-up truck. His nerves were begging him to light up a cigarette, but he just chewed on his candy harder, snuffing out the demand for nicotine by drowning his taste buds with the taste of citrus.

"Hey," His friend asked from the passenger side, and Garry's dark eyes slid over to acknowledge him. "You seem off today, Gare. You okay?"

Garry contemplated the question, letting his eyes trail back over to watch the traffic lights. "Well, you know. Dad just being a jerk."

"Did he yell at you again?" His friend questioned, frowning. "You know you can crash at my place so you don't have to deal with him."

"Yeah, I know, Theo." Garry said, turning his head to look at his friend and give him a reassuring smile. "I can handle him, though. It's not a big deal."

He felt bad for how easy the lie slipped past his lips, but as long as his friend bought it, he would be fine.

Theo didn't look particularly convinced, but he dropped it, much to Garry's relief. "Well... if you're sure, bud."

When Garry looked back at the road, he saw the light turn green, and he eased his foot down against the gas.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Wanna grab some lunch before we head to the gallery?" He asked, knowing that if they did so, they would most certainly be late.

Theo shook his head, rolling the window down and sticking his arm out to feel the breeze. "Nah, not hungry right now. Let's just get this assignment over with."

Garry just nodded his head, and he followed the road down to Park street and turned, already seeing their destination as his truck rounded the corner. It was admittedly, a very plain looking building on the outside, but slapped all over the front of it were signs that all read the same thing.

The Guertena Art Exhibition.

As Garry pulled the truck into the parking lot, Theo turned in his seat and reached into the mess scattered across the back seat, grabbing ahold of his book bag out of the sea of junk that Garry's father called his things. "Hey, uh. Gare."

"Yeah?"

"Did you forget your bag? I don't see it back here." Theo said as he sat back down, setting his bag on his lap.

Garry paused in the action of putting his truck in reverse, and he felt the blood drain from his face. He thought back on his morning, scanning his memories carefully for where he placed his book bag. "I... fuck."

"Yeah?" Theo asked, frowning as he watched Garry's expression twist in contempt.

"Left it by the kitchen table." Garry grumbled, hitting his forehead against the top of the steering wheel. "I was trying to get out too fast to avoid dad waking up."

"Do you wanna head back for it? I can go with you." Theo offered, and his frown deepened as Garry shook his head, purple hair falling into his eyes.

"Nah. I can get it myself, I'll just be late." He replied, lifting his head and looking at his friend. "You go on ahead."

"...Actually, how about I let you use my stuff first?" Theo suddenly offered, opening his bag as Garry blinked.

"What? Theo-"

Pulling a sketchbook and pencil out from his book bag, Theo handed them to Garry with a smile. "I won't mind, we have to be here for a couple hours anyways. You do your assignment first, and then I'll do mine."

Garry stared at Theo for a long moment, confliction in his eyes. At seeing the earnest look in his friend's eyes, Garry could only sigh as he accepted the items. "Fine... If you're sure."

Theo looked relieved as Garry finally pulled into the parking spot, parking the truck and then turning it off. The two of them got out, and Garry took a moment to take in the sight of the building, moving forward as Theo grabbed his coat sleeve and pulled him along with him.

The interior of the art exhibit looked and felt sterile- white covered the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling, and the smell of citrus and cleaning solutions met his nose and made it burn a bit. By the front door was a desk made of dark oak wood, and behind the counter stood an employee, who had short, dark hair slicked back neatly. His eyes were a warm brown color, and he wore a black vest over a nice white dress shirt. Pinned to the left side of his vest was a name tag, that read the name "Charlie". He smiled as Theo and Garry approached.

"Welcome to the Guertena Art Exhibition! How may I help you today?" Charlie asked, resting his hands on the counter. His eyes lingered on Garry for a moment.

Theo took the lead, pulling his student ID out from his wallet, and he showed it to the man. "Hey, we're art students from the college here on a trip. I think the others are already in?"

"Ah, of course!" He says, and he turns his attention to his papers. "Your names should be on the guest list?" He looked at them expectantly, eyes trailing over to G.

"Theodore." Theo replied, grinning, and when the employee looked at Garry, he gave him a small smile.

"Garry." He said quietly, nodding his head politely before he looked off towards the exhibits that could be seen from the front desk. He did not miss Charlie's cheeks turning a soft pink.

Nodding, Charlie smiled as he ran his finger down a sheet of paper. "Yes, there you are! Here," He reached under the counter, pulling out two guest ID cards on lanyards, and he set them down. "Enjoy your visit!"

Theo and Garry took the passes, saying farewells to the desk employee. Garry slipped his pass around his neck, and grunted as he felt Theo's elbow connect with his arm.

"Hey, watch it." He mutters, but blinked upon noticing Theo's mischievous grin. "What?"

"Seems like you might be ol' Charlie's type." He said, and he wiggled his eyebrows.

Snorting, Garry shoved Theo playfully, turning his head away. "Oh, be quiet."

"I mean you look like a mysterious anime character, so-" Theo replied.

"Stoooop. I do not."

"You literally look like Gilbert Nightray, dude."

The look of embarrassed horror that Garry gave him had Theo stifling his laughter. Pouting and cheeks pink, Garry looked away with a huff.

As the two walked further into the exhibit, they took notice of the large painting located in the middle of the floor in the main room, depicting a monstrous fish peering up from the depths of a dark, deep ocean. Garry recognized it as the painting depicted on all the ads for this gallery, and in person, he felt the empty, dark pool in place of the fish's eye send a jolt of unease through his entire being. For some reason, he felt as if he were being watched.

Walking over to the plaque set up for the piece, he turned his attention to it as Theo ooo'd and awe'd next to him, wanting something to take his attention off the piece.

"'Abyss of the Deep' is the name of this piece... how fitting." Garry commented, and at the clear sound of unease in his voice, Theo gently moved Garry away from it.

"Let's head upstairs, Gare." He said with a smile, and Garry was not going to deny the suggestion.

Upon reaching the second floor, they could see the array of paintings on the wall, and nearby, the sight of three headless mannequins dressed in different colored dresses catch Garry's gaze. He scrunched his nose at them, and he turned his head away.

"I didn't realize that Guertena was a horror artist." He joked, and Theo laughed. He brought his hand to his chin, eyeing the mannequins, before he turned to Garry.

"I bet you could pull off the dresses better than those mannequins." He teased, and Garry blushed as he laughed.

"You think so? The blue one is nice..." Garry trailed off, looking at the mannequin with the bright blue dress, and he genuinely contemplated it for a moment. He was thinking of getting a new dress maybe, but then memories of his father finding the last one flooded his mind, and he turned away.

His eyes then landed on a painting that made him grimace, yet something compelled him to come closer to it. The depiction of a forlorn man being hanged by his feet was a bit disturbing to Garry, the haunted face being portrayed rather well on the poor man in the painting, and Garry felt his gaze shift to the name engraved on the plaque beneath it.

The Hanged Man by Weiss Guertena.

"Sorta like the tarot card." Theo commented from beside him, and Garry glanced at him. "I'm pretty sure there's a deck that actually uses this design."

"Oh, really?" Garry asked, looking at the painting once again.

"I think so? I can't remember too well." Theo replied.

"Hey, you two!" A girl's voice called out, one that the duo recognized, and they turned in the direction it came from, spotting some of their classmates sitting on some benches. They were waved over, and the girl who called out smiled at them. "Wanna work on the first half of the assignment together?"

"Sure." Theo said with a grin, and Garry nodded along as he sat on the bench.

With the help of their classmates, they ended up finishing the first half of their assignment rather quick, each of them picking a painting to write about. Garry thought about it for a long moment, his eyes drifting to look at The Hanged Man. He frowned for a moment, tapping his pencil against the sketchbook page he was using for his write up. It unnerved him, but something about it intrigued him in a way, as well.

Might as well, Garry thought, putting the lead to the page as he began to write. The feedback between him and his classmates certainly helped with his writing, and as they finished, Garry flipped to a new page. His other classmates bid he and Theo a farewell as they wandered to another part of the gallery, leaving them by themselves. Garry turned his attention to the other museum guests, twirling the pencil in his hand.

"Should I grab Charlie's number for you?" Theo asked suddenly, and Garry choked on his own saliva.

Coughing, Garry covered his mouth, cheeks reddening as he looked at Theo. "Pardon?"

"The guy at the front counter. He looked into you! Maybe you could get yourself a nice boyfriend." Theo said playfully, grinning at him. Garry could have sworn he felt his face grow hotter.

"No, it's not necessary. Besides, Charlie isn't really my type." Garry said weakly, still recovering from his coughing fit as he set the pencil down.

Which was partly true. While Charlie was definitely not Garry's type, he also knew that he didn't want anyone else to experience the bigotry of his father. Garry dealt with it enough as it was, but he didn't want to expose anyone else to such hatred.

Besides, Garry thought. Small towns always gossip. If I got myself another boyfriend, word would get back to dad so fast...

"Alright, if you're sure, Gare." Theo said with a shrug, and he stood up from the bench, stretching his arms above his head. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom, so I'll be right back."

"Got it." Garry replied, giving his friend a thumbs up, and he watched Theo as he walked away, disappearing around the corner. He rubbed his face for a moment, noticing that it still felt warm, and he shook his head.

Garry then turned his attention to the people who passed him by as he sat waiting for Theo to come back, one hand holding his head up, his other holding his pencil to the page. His dark eyes carefully examined every face, waiting for someone to catch his eye so he could begin his life studies. He tapped the eraser against the page, but he paused as he caught a glance of bandages, his eyes locking onto a strange figure as his eyebrows raised.

The man had to be covered, head to toe, in gauze bandages underneath his clothes, wearing a long green coat with a white fur-lined hood that he kept up above his head. Dark hair poked out from underneath the hood and hung in his face, hiding his eyes from view. He literally looks like an anime character, Garry thought, the corners of his lips twitching as a smile threatened to break out across his cheeks. What's with the bandages? Is he cosplaying, or is it for Halloween? It's a few days too early for that, though.

Tilting his head, Garry watched the strange man for a long moment, absentmindedly sketching out some shapes on his paper. He glanced back and forth between his sketch and the man, deciding that this odd fellow would be his model for the day. As his eyes took in his features, he noticed that he was tall, probably taller than himself, and he seemed to carry a muscular frame hidden under those clothes...

Blushing, Garry tore his gaze away for a moment, shifting the sketchbook in his grip. Why was he over here, checking out the strangest man he'd ever seen? Focus, idiot. He scolded himself, taking notice of how nice his sketch was turning out, and he let himself smile. This was one he felt he would clean up later on. He returned his gaze to the strange man-

A golden eye locked onto his own, and Garry felt his heart stop.

The man was looking straight at him now, a foreign intensity to his stare that unsettled Garry, as if he was being sized up. His smile dropped as he held the intimidating glare, for he felt if he looked away, it would not end well for him. He could almost feel bandaged hands circle around his throat, squeezing and constricting his air ways-

"-you okay, Gare?" Theo's voice broke him from his trance, and the tap that landed onto his shoulder made his body jolt hard. With wide eyes, Garry looked at his friend, and he noticed the concern clear in his face. Theo spoke his next words softly, hand resting on his shoulder. "Jesus Gare, you look like you saw a ghost. What happened?"

"I-I..." Garry stuttered, licking his dry lips as he glanced back in the direction of the strange man.

Any trace of the man was completely gone.

"...I'm, um, I'm okay." Garry responded shakily, looking back at Theo. "I'm gonna... go to the bathroom, too. Here." Handing Theo his sketchbook and pencil, Garry stood, and he brushed past his friend quickly.

"Uh, okay- but wait, Gare, should I come with you?" Theo called out, turning and starting to trail after Garry.

Garry shook his head, holding his hand up as he looked back towards him. "Yeah, I'll be okay! I'll be right back." His voice was thankfully more even, and without waiting for any reply, he disappeared from Theo's sight. Walking down the hallway, he kept a keen out in case he saw the strange man again, feeling sweat drip down his neck. His nerves suddenly felt shot, and as he spotted the bathroom, he ducked inside, closing the door behind him abruptly and leaning against it. He held his breath, listening for other signs of life, and when silence was the only thing that met him, he exhaled.

God, he needed a smoke.

His hand slipped into his pocket, wrapping his fingers around the pack he carried with him, and he frowned. Do I really want to set my progress back?

Sighing heavily, he let go of the pack of cigs, and instead grabbed the wrapped candy he carried on him, pulling out an orange flavored piece. He took off the foil and popped it into his mouth, sucking on it as he approached the sink. He turned on the cold water and just leaned against the counter for a moment, closing his eyes and taking the time to calm himself.

"What was with that guy...? Talk about scary..." He whispered, opening his eyes, and he cupped his hands together to gather some cold water. He splashed it against his face, feeling the coolness of it along with the orangey taste flooding his senses calm his nerves.

Garry waited a few more minutes before he turned off the sink, making himself presentable before he left the bathroom. He shot himself a small, tired smile in the mirror, before bracing himself against the bathroom door, leaving the comfort it briefly provided him-

And with the lack of sounds, Garry realized with a start, that he was suddenly alone.

AN: Almost a year later, I'm back with the second chapter for this fic! And it's a long one! I hope it was worth the wait for those of you who've come to check out this fic- I appreciate you! Hope you guys don't mind the OC's I threw into this chapter- I just wanted to make things run a bit smoother, and they aren't important to the plot.

This chapter is very Garry centric, and that's because I wanted to expand on him- we aren't given a lot of background on him in game besides that he was a smoker and that he's a gentle guy who scares easy, and outside of the game we know that he's most likely LGBTQ+, so I've chosen to expand on these aspects of his in my writing while also fleshing out his background. Given that some of the other main characters are known to have parents who were less than awful, I thought it would only be fitting if Garry also came from a toxic household and I'll most likely explore into this in the future. If that makes you uncomfortable, then I hope you will proceed with caution as I continue this fic, or pick to read something else. Put your comfort first!

And yes I AM slipping Zack/Garry into this. I have fallen into a hole in regards to shipping them, and I will be blatant about that. If you don't want to read Zack/Garry then I will say this fic won't be for you- I am indulging in a non-existent market and I will not apologize.