Chapter 12

It's (still) ALIVE.

Haven't updated in a while. So apologies. Been reading through everything I've written so far and holy crap, the first chapter was bad, guys. How did anyone even get through it? But I'm happy to see it got a little better, and hopefully will continue to do so.

"What the hell!"

Johnny and the other RORs looked up from the picture he held.

"Ah, Ghola." Johnny greeted with a friendly smile, immediately faltering when he saw Thomas' furious expression. He shoved a few monsters from his path. Many moved out of their own accord, wary of the red and very angry monster.

Thomas stepped around the puddle of goop that lay messily upon the floor and came face to face with his fraternity brothers, all of which looked somewhat defensive.

"What the hell was that about?" He pointed to the puddle.

Johnny looked to the puddle then back to Thomas with an open jaw, eyebrows raised.

"That," he drew out, "was a prank."

Thomas' nostrils flared.

"Just calm down, buddy." Chip stepped up beside them, his hands at the ready to pull Thomas away.

"Seemed a bit excessive for a prank." Thomas seethed.

"I told you he wouldn't get in on it." Reggie chipped in from the back.

Johnny nodded a bit.
"We thought you'd handle it a bit better than this, but…" he looked around to see only a few monsters watching from around the room. Most had gone back to the party, already forgetting about the Oozmas.
"You see, we've been planning a prank on those adorable little monsters for as long as sign-ups."

Thomas' ears perked at this revelation. It was disheartening. No, it was infuriating.

"Randall isn't an adorable little monster." Thomas was calmer than before he stepped in but his fur still bristled, ears still glued to his skull.

"That's why we excluded him." Chip said quickly, looking desperate to quell any anger Thomas had. It seemed only to worsen it.

He turned his attention to Chip, glaring. He made it sound like he did him a favor.

"Especially with what I saw outside," Johnny continued, smirking a bit, "we had to make sure you two were too far away to be involved."

So he had seen them. Randall probably wouldn't be too happy about that. Although at this point Thomas doubted he'd be happy about anything that involved him. Thomas opened his mouth to remark on the irrelevance of that simple fact when Johnny spoke again.

"We had no idea you'd take it so badly." His face reflected a bit of guilt, a surprisingly rare emotion for the ROR president.
"It was just a prank, Thomas, we meant nothing else by it."

The red monster gritted his teeth. He didn't believe it. They were exactly what the stories around campus described them as: egotistical, self-centered assholes.
Thomas grabbed the picture from Johnny's hand.

"Thomas?" The demon watched as the red monster retreated, stomping out the house.

"Wow." Said Javier.

"That was the only photo." Chet lamented.

Johnny turned to the crab.
"Probably not a good idea to do the charity thing now, so it doesn't really matter. Turned into a fine mess anyways."

"They shouldn't be taking it so hard," Reggie spoke, "everyone laughed behind their backs anyway."

Chip let out an exasperated sigh and moved around the goopy mess on the floor, heading towards the front door.

"Chip?" Javier called out, "what are you doing? Let him cool off."

The horned monster threw a hand over his shoulder in a dismissive gesture.

"Well damn, maybe it wasnt such a good idea." He muttered. The RORs all watched as Chip left the house silently, the lighthearted atmosphere from before now gone. Johnny sighed as well before walking off to the kitchen.

"Johnny, where're you going?"

"To get a beer."

Thomas strode down frat row, just short of a jog. He had no idea how far away they'd be at this point but he had to try and talk to Randall again. He had to tell him he had no part in the prank, that he'd never do something like that.

Thomas realized he still held onto the photograph. He didn't want to look at it. But curiosity and a mounting need overcame him and he stopped, looking down to view it. The image disgusted him, going as far to cause nausea. He growled at it before tearing it in two clean halves. His anger only worsened as he tore at it more, shredding it into a hundred pieces.
Thomas threw it to the ground before joining it on the curb. He let out a pathetic sob.

"Everything was going so well…" He groaned, a hand running through his head fur.
His despair grew as he recalled Randall's face. He'd never seen the lizard that angry. It was like he'd become a whole other monster. But it wasn't the anger that got to him, rather the betrayal etched upon his features. Randall had trusted him with a confession he'd probably been holding onto for months, worrying over. Thomas hadn't even realized how he felt until Randall asked him out, he probably would never have figured it out. But he was happy— ecstatic about his feelings for his friend. His boyfriend.

Well he couldn't call him that yet, Randall wanted to wait until the date to make it official.
Thomas groaned again.
It was probably a date that would now never happen. Not even an hour into their relationship and Thomas had blown it. No, it was his fraternity brothers who'd blown it. He was innocent.
But not in Randall's eyes.

He had to fix it.
He quickly rose to his feet, and set off again, intent on catching up. That is until he heard a voice behind him.

"Ghola."

He turned, dreading to see the last monster he wanted to at that moment.

"What do you want?" He bared his teeth at Sullivan, who stood in the middle of the road, stagnant.

The blue monster didn't move or speak for a moment. Thomas decided he wasn't interested and turned, ready to continue after the OKs.

"Why are you following them?"

"The hell do you care, Sullivan?"
Thomas stopped and turned to face the other monster, glaring intently.

He narrowed his eyes.
"The hell do I care? What do you take me for?"

"You want me to answer that?"

"Yeah."

Thomas marched up to the blue monster, fists clenched and ears flattened. He stopped right before him, getting in his face.

"A scumbag, that's what I take you for."

Sullivan growled, nose scrunching up as he glared back.

"Since we're getting this all out in the open, I'll tell you what I think of you." he poked a finger into Thomas' chest forcefully.
"A hotshot, backstabbing asshole who thinks he's better than everyone else."

"The pot calling the kettle black!" Thomas sneered.

Sullivan reciprocated the gesture.
"Takes one to know one, buddy."

Thomas shoved Sullivan hard, causing him to lumber backwards. Before he realized what he'd done or was about to do, Thomas had stepped forward and pulled back a fist. It connected with the blue monsters jaw, sending his head whipping to the side. Thomas brought his fist back again, preparing for another punch. He threw himself forward with an angry cry, only to meet air. Sullivan had sidestepped the assault and had his own punch ready, hitting Thomas right below the rib cage. The red monster wheezed as air left his lungs and he collapsed.

Sullivan stood over him, arms ready to dish out more. But after noticing Thomas laying on the ground holding his chest and sputtering uncontrollably, he relaxed.

"I forgot to add idiot." He said quietly, angrily. Thomas could only gaze up helplessly.
Sullivan touched his jaw tentatively, prodding for any injury. Satisfied that he was fine, he ran a hand through his hair before sighing, his demeanor shifting slightly.

"I didn't even come out looking for a fight. I didn't even come out looking for you," Sullivan looked about, hands on his hips, "y'know, you don't deserve to be in ROR… actually on second thought, you fit right in. You're just like them. A preppy, mightier-than-all prick."

Thomas was slowly getting air to fill his lungs again, but his limbs felt as though they were filled with lead. He could barely move. He didn't want to be here anymore.

"It's a wonder why Randall ever put up with you." Sullivan shook his head disapprovingly. Any fight Thomas once had was extinguished by that one comment. He closed his eyes to escape from Sullivan's frown.

"Enjoy the ROR life, Ghola. I'll see you around."

Thomas heard the blue monster turn and walk away. He didn't open his eyes to see where he had gone nor did he care. Tears streamed down his face in small rivers, dampening his fur. A few stray sobs sounded every so often. Pure emotion overtook him in great waves, shaking his body. He was so worked up he couldn't think straight. All he thought about was the disappointment Sullivan had gazed upon him with. It reminded him too much of his sister.
It was crushing him.

"God… what is wrong with me?" He sobbed out pitifully, trying to rub away his tears.

Thomas lay like that for some time, crying quietly to himself in the street. He didn't hear a pair of footsteps approaching until he heard a familiar voice.

"Jesus— Thomas!" Chip rushed over to the huddled red monster, crouching at his side, "what happened?"

Thomas sniffed a bit, swallowing hard.
"I… I— I started crying," he whimpered, "and now I can't stop…"

Chip wasn't sure what to do as he watched his fraternity brother break out into fresh tears. He eventually decided to get him on his feet and out of the street. He pulled the red monster up with considerable strain. Once up, he helped Thomas hobble over to the sidewalk, where they both collapsed. Chip helped stabilize Thomas on the curb.

They sat together in silence for some time, the quiet only temporarily broken by a stray sniff from Thomas. Chip busied himself watching Thomas' face whilst he waited for calm to overcome the other.

"Thomas?" He eventually gave the red monster a serious look, trying to figure the situation out.

Thomas' ears were permanently wilted now, and his face fur damp from tears. He avoided eye contact, muttering something incoherent.

"What?" Chip leaned in closer.

"Why are you here?"

"I wanted to get you to listen," The grayish monster replied with a sigh, "you left the house pissed off, it wouldn't have ended well… It didn't."

Thomas snorted.
"I did listen, that's why I'm so pissed off," he finally looked at Chip, "you guys were assholes."

Chip held his hands up and sighed.
"Yes, alright. That was an asshole thing to do and I'm sorry. So is everyone else."

"No they're not."

"No, I guess not," Chip shook his head, "but I'm sorry— and what I feel now counts more."

Thomas frowned and provided Chip with a condescending look.

"Hate to break it to you, Chip, but you don't speak for the RORs, I think that space is filled by Johnny." He spat bitterly.

Chip returned the look and lazily replied, "True, but what I think matters because the prank was my idea."

Thomas gave a doubtful look.

"Just because Johnny is our fearless leader doesn't mean his lackeys can't do their own thing. I thought about it, came up with a rough plan, suggested it, helped carry it out. Worked pretty well too."

"So you came out here to apologize for something you're proud of? Thanks— really."
Thomas deadpanned, looking back out into the street.

Chip rolled his eyes and elbowed the red monster.
"I also wanted to help you find Randall and explain you had no role in the plan."

Thomas gave the grayish monster an incredulous look.
"Seriously?"

"Johnny told us about what he saw. He only told us so there's no need to worry about rumors."

"I don't care what people think," Thomas looked down.

"That much is obvious, but maybe Randall does."

Thomas balked, fresh tears pushing on the back of his eyeballs.

"Yeah…" he rubbed at his neck, "I guess."

"I'm not sure how long you two have had a thing going, I'm feeling since after the spin the bottle game?"

"No… no, we only figured things out less than an hour ago."

"Damn, alright. Then this needs to be fixed soon."

"Wait, since the spin the bottle game? That was long ago."

Chip shrugged.
"Was pretty obvious he was into you. I mean, he looked… hopeful when you were deciding how to answer his question. That and the bedroom eyes he'd always give you with were a pretty dead giveaway."

Thomas buried his face in his hands.
"God, I'm an idiot."

"Not a huge one, this came as a surprise to everyone else too, Johnny included. They didn't peg you'd swing that way."

"You did?"

Chip shrugged again.
"Still don't. You don't seem the kind to be a queer."

"Can't even be gay right," Thomas chuckled humorlessly, "no wonder it was screwed up in ten minutes."

"But it won't be for long," Chip patted Thomas' shoulder, "we'll get ahold of him and tell him how it really happened. It's kind of a shame though. We wanted to get to know him better but I guess that's not going to happen now."

Thomas furrowed his brow in a confused frown.
"What do you mean?"

"He's your friend. We're your brothers. Obviously we'd be interested. If we found out sooner about… you two, Johnny would've called off the prank. We got the two of you away from the living room so you wouldn't see it. Sorta backfired. Like I said… I'm sorry. And although I can't speak for the rest, I'm sure they're thinking about it right now."

"You guys are a bunch of douchebags." Thomas sniffed.

"You're right I guess. I hate to admit it but we get carried away sometimes. But we sort of keep each other level-headed, you know? You were the reasonable one tonight so it just shows that you belong with us," Chip gave Thomas a bit of a smile, "you need to fix this and I need to help."

Thomas looked away, staring at the road in quiet contemplation. Chip had been surprisingly open with him so far. He wasn't sure how to exactly reply. Instead he draped an arm over Chip's shoulders and shook him slightly. The other seemed to understand its meaning and gave a bit of a chuckle.

"We'll go see him tomorrow," he bumped Thomas gently before continuing, "so do you always have breakdowns in the middle of a street?"

Thomas let out a short laugh, shaking the grayish monster again.
"That wasn't a breakdown. That was Sullivan."

"Sullivan?" Chips voice went low, "wait, he attacked you?"

"I… hit him first." Thomas rubbed his fist, he hadn't noticed how hard he'd striked the blue monster.

"Idiot…" Chip chided, "I'm guessing he hit harder."

"Somewhat."

"He made you cry?"

"Shut up."

Chip chuckled.
"We'll handle that later. But for now, let's get back to the party. Pray I don't see Sullivan skulking around."

Thomas nodded tentatively, getting up alongside Chip.
"Yeah. I feel like a dick for the way I walked out now."

"Forget about it, we've sorted it out. Let's just enjoy the rest of the night."

Chip led the way back to the ROR house, providing Thomas with idle chatter along the way, who answered only occasionally. Thomas' mind was preoccupied with the events of the night. It was unbelievable how quickly everything had changed. Between Randall, his fraternity brothers and Sullivan, Thomas had a lot to think over.

But Randall would be the most pleasant to mull over. As much as Thomas wanted to be upset about the prank, he couldn't stop thinking about the conversation they'd had previous to it. The kiss they shared.

Thomas decided it was a lot better than what he'd imagined in the café during spin the bottle. He made note to tell Randall this when he went to explain. That among other things.

As Chip tried some idle chatter to distract him, the red monster allowed himself to smile. Contradictory to everything that had occurred, Thomas felt hope creeping up on him.
Accompanied by something he recognized as adoration.
Adoration for a certain purple lizard. He had a lot of subconscious swooning to catch up on.

And please don't think badly of anyone in the story, people can suck sometimes.