A/N: Long authors note incoming, sorry!

Shoutout to the nine of you who read the last chapter.

Seriously, idk if something glitched or whatever but the last chapter got like 9 views and the one before it is now at almost 70, dont know what thats about.

This chapter is very different from most other chapters because there really isn't any of Mike's POV. He's not completely absent, but he's not the main character focus. We'll see how that goes.

Thank you again to Muttlpe Mike and Kitkatkatester for the reviews. They came in before the normal views did this time. :)

Enjoy!

Even if the clock has broken, time still moves slowly forward.

There was a thick aura of tension enveloping the house the next couple days; brothers were not speaking to one another, the servant was stuck to the property like a fly on tape, and the eldest member of the household was a rare sight to behold.

Vito hadn't realized how much time he spent with Scott until he wasn't spending any with him. Being on his brother's bad side for the time being didn't feel good, not at all, but he also felt like what he'd said to him was the right thing...not that he was ever the best with words.

"I ain't that smart, but like, somethin' feels real wrong 'bout it…"

"What, you getting soft on me all of a sudden? I thought you were better than that, Vito. Guess I was wrong…"

He sure as hell wasn't going soft, aw no. That would be real bad for him, no way was Vito a softie.

Still, getting the silent treatment from Scott was starting to get to him, and he made the decision to go out for a little while, into town. Sure, he could maybe try talking to Mike, but he had a pretty good feeling that Mike wouldn't want him to. Besides, what would they even talk about?

He pondered this as he made his way down the path towards town, unaware that he had an eye on him from afar.

In a surprisingly-for-him smart move, he'd brought some money he'd had saved with him, electing to start with the buying of a snack; it was only mid-morning, and being the very strong and manly man he was, he needed his snacks...and Mike hadn't made breakfast that morning. Vito couldn't blame him for that though.

Lucky for him, the bakery in town was open, and Vito snagged a couple of rolls and an extra muffin for later, maybe.

Maybe he'd give it to someone else.

It wasn't until after he'd left, munching on one of the rolls, that he felt the gaze on his side. He looked around, confused, as there wasn't really anyone around. "Ey, musta been my imagination o somethin…" he said quietly to himself as he walked on, to a nearby bench.

He sat, swallowing the food in his mouth before casually glancing to the other side of the bench. He then proceeded to nearly jump out of his skin. "What the- when did you get 'ere?!"

"I've been here the whole time." The jump scare's voice was very clearly male, based on how low it was, and much older sounding than Vito's.

Vito blinked before narrowing his eyes. "Wouldn't I 'ave seen ya, though?"

"I doubt it. I excel at not being seen."

Damn right he did, Vito was having a hard enough time focusing on this guy. His face and body were covered by sheer darkness-otherwise known as a cloak-and it gave him a sort of shapelessness that was hard on the eyes. He was tall, that Vito knew for sure. This guy had to be taller than himself. "...uh, so whatcha talkin' ta me for?" he asked, his earlier surprise replaced with confusion. He elected not to look straight at him, since it was hurting his eyes.

"Oh, I have my reasons, I just can't tell you them…"

"That ain't helpful at all!" Vito frowned. He really didn't like it when people got all cryptic. It was hard enough to figure out what people were saying normally.

"I've seen you around here before. Usually you're not alone...I found it peculiar that you are now," the mystery guy explained.

Vito raised an eyebrow at that. "Ey yo, it ain't that crazy...gotta take some time for myself sometimes, ya know?" he claimed.

"Right, you do that…"

"Yeah!"

Silence.

"...aight so today might be the first time or whateva but who's countin'? I sure ain't!" Vito huffed, crossing his arms before taking another bite from his roll.

The guy emitted a very small, short, gravelly laugh. "So," and that's when he stopped laughing. "why are you out here by yourself?"

"...my bro ain't talkin to me right now," Vito finally admitted with a small sigh. "He got all mad 'cause o' somethin' I said 'bout our servant and now he won't look my way. I don't get his deal sometimes, yo, but I still wanna hang with him. Ya feel me?" He spared a glance at the shadow man, who had remained silent. The only sound he made was measured, careful breaths.

"Why you even askin' in the first place if ya won't respond?" Vito then asked after several seconds of silence.

"...my mistake," was all the guy said, quietly, before standing up, showcasing his staggering height in comparison to the bench. His shapelessness persisted. "So you only have one brother?..."

"Oh yeah...just the one," Vito confirmed.

"...what about that servant you mentioned?" His voice tensed considerably, as if it caused him some sort of pain or anguish. This went over Vito's head.

"Oh, him…my bro doesn't like 'im," Vito confirmed, biting his lip a little. "He got in a whole bit of trouble with my dad, looked 'bout ready to crack o' somethin'. Shakin', teary, an' all that."

"...he's afraid…" the shadow guy muttered under his breath.

Vito was only now realizing just how much he'd revealed to this very sketchy stranger about his family situation...but it had been so easy to spill it all out; it wasn't like he could talk to anyone he already knew about it. He didn't have close friends besides his brother, and Scott was his brother. He certainly couldn't talk about it with his dad, either.

If Ma was still around this wouldn'ta happened, he thought. She'd have kept us all in line.

Vito tried not to think about his mother too often; she'd been dead for years now, and it had been made very clear to him early on that it was better to shove aside the touchy feely parts of any sad or grief-filled feelings he'd had than to let it show.

He hadn't had the chance to really get to know his stepmother either, before she died too.

Now that it was on his mind he felt a weird weight in his stomach, remembering that whole ordeal, the aftermath of Kate's very sudden death. How he and Scott had reacted to the distress that Mike was in.

He felt a bit sick thinking about it.

However, just as he was coming to these realizations, he looked where the mystery guy had been standing and found him to no longer be there. "Uh...yo, am I seeing stuff now?" He rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times...nope, nothing. He didn't feel eyes on his back either.

"I ain't comin' out alone no more…" Vito decided, standing up and making his way back home.

When he did arrive he decided he was in fact not hungry for that muffin. It found itself in front of the still-closed attic door, its placement preceded by a few knocks and hurried footsteps back down to the rest of the house.

Mike opened the door carefully, spotting the baked item on the floor. Raising a slight eyebrow, he cautiously picked it up, closing the door behind him.

Alrighty then! Vito centric chapter! How we feeling? Good? I hope its good, it was way easier to write than last chapter...

Oh, I almost forgot: Noah's line that put Mike under house arrest was the one originally written for ch. 36. I'm glad I changed it and put it in later.

Please leave a review if you want. I like seeing y'all's thoughts on stuff.

Next chapter will hopefully come soon. See ya then :)