Song: Young Heretics - I Know I'm a Wolf

The side glances Craig had been offering in Kenny's direction didn't go unnoticed. Kenny had been well aware of them ever since the project he had to work on with him at his place. Part of him couldn't help but wonder if Craig knew that he found the box. Despite not yet saying anything to him on the matter.

Still though, this didn't help calm his nerves. All he wanted was to not think about Craig for a day or two, and let his mind be at ease. His gaze wanders his room, till it lands on the discarded pile of purple shaded clothes. They still reminded him of those terrible events, while at the same time not. They were his freedom, but his prison as well. There's a long silence, thought filled, before he stands. They weigh heavy and cold in his hands when he picks them up, the fabric rough under his fingers. He closes his eyes in thought again, debating, till he comes to a conclusion.

"This needs a wash…"

It's listless, like the thoughts he wanted to surpass. But doing this, would help him escape the events of the present.

If only for a short while.

…

A few days later, Kenny arrives late to gym class and the teacher promptly informs him that he needs to run extra laps for it, once it's done. And since it's the last class of the day, Kenny can't give any excuses not to.

Once the day is over and he has run the extra laps, he makes his way to the locker room and grabs a towel. Since no one but himself was now there, he figures he'd take the chance to have a warm shower. A rare one for him, since home heating seemed to be almost nonexistent. He enters into the open space of the shower room. Dozens of showerheads lining its walls, he picks one and makes his way to it, placing the towel on the sidebar before turning the water on.

It's a welcoming relief for his aching muscles since getting back into his prior nightly routine. Closing his eyes, he lets the water run over his face. It's calming and he takes it in. Everything around him in that moment is serene, the warmth of the water consuming him, the sound of it hitting the tiled floor and echoing off the walls. Peace felt like it finally found him.

But in an instant it shatters.

A second shower head hisses to life, drawing his attention to it. A chill runs through him despite the warm droplets that quickly fall across his skin. Goosebumps forming in an instant, the moment his gaze finds Craig's figure now standing under the showerhead next to his. Why? his thoughts echoed, Why is he here? Why hasn't he gone home like everyone else? Something about it unsettled him deeply. Especially while he was so vulnerable too.

Craig glances over at him.

Quickly, Kenny goes to shut the water off, ignoring the gaze that lingered on his body. He manages to turn it off, before a sudden force shoves him forward into the metal pipes of the shower. His breath is sharp the moment he distinctively feels two hands grip his ass. A pair of thumbs run along the underside of his cheeks and spread them. Immediate panic sets in when one of the thumbs runs along the underside of a cheek, and dangerously close to his hole. Tugging gently at the muscle there. With all he can muster, he shoves off the wall and manages to get out of the grip on him. Unfortunately, he comes face to face with Craig, who's standing much too close for his liking. There's a look in his eyes that makes Kenny shudder.

"Wh-what is wrong with you?!" Kenny exclaims.

"Sorry. Thought I saw a bug," Craig replies, monotone. Kenny quickly grabs his towel and takes off with it, wanting to get away from him. "Oh and by the way," he adds as Kenny makes it halfway through the shower room. "Cute mole."

Kenny freezes in place, and against his better judgment, glances back at Craig. Craig's gaze pierces him, keeping him frozen in place. The only thing that eventually gets him to move again, is the need to breathe. Quickly he looks away and takes off in heart pounding terror.

He knows.

…

One week passes by after that incident in the shower room. Nothing has happened since then, but it brings no comfort to Kenny. Craig may have been silent and made no further attempts to try something, but knowing what he knew, it was unlikely that he'd let him be forever. He thought he should be thankful for the week of peace, but all it brought was anxiety while waiting for the unknown to happen.

"Kenny?"

"Huh?"

Kenny looks up at Stan, who's waiting for a response to a question he didn't hear.

"You going to go to the party tonight?"

"Oh, uh right, sure I guess…"

"Dude you okay?" Stan asks, corking a brow, "You've been kind of out of it for a while now."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

There's a very poor attempt at a smile that Kenny offers. And for a few seconds Stan watches him, then opens his mouth to speak, but doesn't get the chance to.

"Hey guys!" Kyle greets as he meets up with them.

"Hey Kyle," Stan greets back.

"What's up?"

"We were talking about the party tonight."

"Oh, you mean the one at Bebe's house?"

"Yeah."

The conversation fades in and out for Kenny, who chooses to mainly listen, rather than talk for the remainder of it.

The events leading into that night are a blur for Kenny. He wasn't even sure about wanting to even go to the party or not, yet now found himself standing in the middle of a hot crowded room, with drunk or high teens, dancing to generic radio pop music that was on the verge of blowing his ears out. It was so obnoxiously loud.

He stood alone, red plastic cup in hand, while his friends interacted with others. He glances down at the mixed drink he held, his thoughts swirling around like the liquid in it. He shouldn't have come, he knew that, yet didn't want to be alone either. But the state of this place was starting to get overwhelming for him, there was too much going on at once, and it was suffocating. Slowly, he maneuvers his way past elbows and feet that wildly flung or kicked out from intoxicated peers, until making his way down a hall and into a vacant room. A study. The noise is cut in half almost instantly the moment he shuts the door. Only muffled music now filled the room.

He walks over to a window and leans against its sill, setting his cup down on it. Opening the widow a crack, he breathes the fresh air in with a heavy sigh.

"I should just go home…" he mumbles.

His head wasn't in the right place for this. There's another sigh that escapes him as he leans on his forearms. He rocks back and forth lightly in thought and sight lost somewhere outside for a couple minutes, before the sound of the door's slow creak to open draws him back. He half expects it to be one of his friends wondering where he'd run off to, or a couple looking for somewhere more 'private' to be. But when he turns around, he is meant with neither. All that greets him is fear.

The tall form of Craig now stood in the doorway. A faint smile tugging at his lips as the door shuts behind him. There's a long pause that falls as Craig watches him, or seemingly studies him, before he lets go of the doorknob and takes a step towards him. Kenny tenses the moment he does. He hadn't seen him once that night since arriving, so he thought he was safe. But it seemed Craig may have just been lying in wait for his chance to be alone with him again.

Another step is taken, causing Kenny's chest to tighten. His gaze darts to the door. His only escape. He hesitates, unsure if he'll make it. But the sound of another step, and the ever closing distance is enough for him to act. However, his path is blocked by Craig in an instant, as if he knew that's what he'd do.

Kenny backs away. Craig watches his fearful gaze unfazed.

"I want to talk with you," Craig says.

"About what?" Kenny asks, hesitant.

"You."

"What... What about me?"

"Oh, I'm sure that you already know what it is," Craig says, taking a step towards him. Kenny backs up until his back presses into a bookcase. There's a faint smirk that crosses Craig's face when closing the distance between them. Kenny tries to move around him, but Craig blocks the way with his arm. "I know about you."

"What do you mean?"

"I know about your secret," Craig says.

Kenny's heartbeat stops.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Kenny says, desperately trying to play dumb.

"You can't hide it. I have proof of it. I know what you do in the night. I know who you are," Craig tells him, then takes his phone out. A few taps later, he faces its screen towards him. "See?" Kenny doesn't want to, but does. Shock passes him the moment his eyes lay on an image of him in his bedroom with the Mysterion costume on, but hood and mask off. "At first I wasn't sure," Craig adds, flipping through his phone, "But I started to notice some things that seemed similar. And looked into you more, and eventually I saw this," he holds up his phone again, this time it's a video. A video in which Kenny was changing out of his Mysterion clothes, from the same spot the picture was taken. There's the faint sound of heavy breathing from the video's audio, and small lewd smirk that crosses Craig's lips, before he puts his phone away. "You're Mysterion. You're my hero."

A shiver runs up Kenny's spine at those words. The thoughts he had in the back of his head, coming to the surface.

"...What do you want from me?" Kenny asks.

"You," Craig replies, his smirk growing.

"Me?"

"Yes. You," Craig repeats, "I want you to be mine."

"Wh-what?" Kenny says in disbelief.

"I want us to date."

Kenny stares at him, unable to process the request. He couldn't believe his ears, it was so absurd to him.

"You want—wha— no! " Kenny replies, almost wanting to laugh it out because of how unbelievable it was. "Why would I ever agree to that—after—after what you did to me?!"

The smirk on Craig's falls.

"Well then, I guess I could always give this evidence to the police. I'm sure they would love this. And love to lock you up for interfering with their business so much. And who knows, maybe I could do something. Say I'm an accomplice of yours, and be lucky enough to end up in the same cell." Craig says, and Kenny tenses. "Or perhaps, I should tell an enemy you may have? I'm sure they'd love to hear who Mysterion really is, and those closest to him."

Kenny glares, but doubts it comes off as strongly as he wants it to, but the fear pumping through his veins makes it hard for him to do much more than that. There was no doubt he would be thrown in prison if that evidence was submitted, for how long? He did not know. Part of him thinks to almost let Craig do it, as it would be unlikely he would end up in the same cell with him, but the other part of him feared for his friends and family more. He couldn't bear living with the thought of someone he cares for getting hurt because of his actions. They didn't have anything to do with this, nor did they deserve it.

"Well?" Craig asks, "What's your decision?"

There's a long pause, Kenny didn't want to answer, because there was no good answer. He was trapped. And Craig knew that.

"...Fine," Kenny finally says, begrudging.

He hated this. But felt there no choice.

"I'm glad," Craig says, the smirk returning. "Then from this moment onwards, we're officially dating," he pulls Kenny's hood down, then gently kisses his forehead. The action makes Kenny nauseous and he shoves Craig away, who now lets him, then heads for the door. "Remember," Craig speaks up, "you now belong to me."

But Kenny pretends to not hear it and leaves. He didn't want this, any of this. All he wanted was to be left alone, and enjoy life his own way. The music drowns his thoughts for a brief time, so he doesn't have to think anymore while maneuvering his way back through the crowd. He glances around for his friends, but all the faces mesh together in his mind. All blurred while scanning the area. He decides to give up and quickly makes a beeline for the front door, wanting to leave. Needing to breathe.

A hand grips his arm, the sudden action makes him tense instantly. He doesn't want to look back, too afraid to. But when the familiar form of his friend Stan steps into view, he calms.

Stan speaks, but the music drowns him out.

"What?!" Kenny exclaims, putting a hand up to his ear.

Stan speaks again, but to no avail. Kenny shakes his head, before Stan guides him outside, through the front door.

"I asked if you're alright," Stan says, once reaching the lawn.

"Oh, yeah, I'm totally fine," Kenny replies with a small smile, "why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you kind of disappeared for a while there, and me and Kyle wondered where you went. And now you seem…" Stan trails off, there's something that crosses his features. A hint of concern.

"I'm just a bit tired," Kenny replies, "I… went to go look for a place to rest is all. But I think it's probably better if I just head home instead."

"You want me to drive you?" Stan asks.

"No it's okay," Kenny shakes his head, "I don't want to ruin your fun."

"I don't mind."

"It's alright, really, I can walk," Kenny tells him and gives another small smile. Stan doesn't say anything, despite it seeming like he wants to. "I'm going to head home now," Kenny says, breaking the silence, "can I uh, have my arm back please?"

Kenny points to Stan's hand still wrapped around it, which causes him to quickly let go.

"Sorry," he quickly says and tucks his hand into his pocket, "Yeah, you uh, you head home and get some rest man. And I hope that you feel better."

"Thanks," Kenny nods, he gives a short wave before heading off.

There was no need to get Stan, or any of his friends involved in this. Kenny would just go about like normal around them, and figure something out. He needed to figure this out on his own, the threatening silhouette in the living room window watching him, confirmed this.

...

Nothing but dread filled Kenny the following day, when arriving at school. He still couldn't believe he agreed to such a stupid thing, and the fear of the unknown ate at him. There was no idea what Craig was planning on doing with—or to him.

A tired sigh escapes him as he puts his bag away, then goes about getting binders for his morning classes.

"Hey Kenny."

Kenny pauses and glances around the locker door, where Stan now stood.

"Hey," Kenny greets with a small smile.

"You feeling any better?" Stan asks, making his way around to the other side.

"Yeah, getting some rest did the trick."

"That's good," Stan says and leans against the locker next to him.

"Yup, so you don't need to worry," Kenny replies, tucking his things under his arm.

For a moment, Stan seems lost in thought before glancing at him. But whatever thought may be on his mind is lost, to the sound of a sudden bang startling them both.

Kenny's locker had been slammed shut. A hand spread flat on its metal surface. He freezes the moment he finds who it belongs to.

"Everything alright babe?"

A look of confusion crosses Stan's face as he looks at the unwanted guest. A hand is placed onto Kenny's shoulder, and massages it. But it only makes him more tense.

"You're going to be late for class if you spend all your time chatting."

The massaging stops, only to have a tight grip replace it.

"I'm fine… I was just getting ready to head over to class now," Kenny replies.

"Good. I'll walk you there then."

The hand on his shoulder moves to his back, in a gesture to guide him along.

"See you later Stan," Kenny calls back over his shoulder. Leaving behind his confused friend.

The hand moves from his back and drapes over his shoulder. The distance much too close for his liking, as Craig's tall form leans onto him.

"Stay away from him. I don't trust him."

"What? Stan has been my friend for years, I'm not going to just stop talking to him because you told me to!"

"I don't want you around him."

Craig looks at him, there's something threatening behind his gaze and Kenny can't help but tense.

"Look, I may have agreed to this with you, but I'm not going to stop talking to my friends because you told me to," Kenny glares.

"Is that so? Well, don't blame me if he happens to be in an accident sometime."

The tone in which Craig says that, sends a chill through Kenny and he falls silent.

Relief fills Kenny the moment Craig leaves his side when entering his class. Thankful that he didn't share any of the morning ones with him. So it gave him some peace of mind. Lunch however, was another thing…

Kenny wants to spend it with his friends, as usual, but Craig cuts him off before he can even reach them. Seeming to swoop in from nowhere. Kenny knew though, he'd been waiting for him, just out of sight.

"Where are you going?"

"To sit with my friends."

"Your friends? No. We're having lunch together."

"What?"

"We're dating now, remember? Couples should always eat together."

The use of Craig calling them a couple makes Kenny nauseous, wishing he'd never have to hear him refer to them as that ever again. He glances over to where his friends are seated, watching as they converse with each other, blissfully unaware of the current situation he was in.

He takes a step in their direction, but the sudden grip of Craig's hand around his bicep stops him.

"Did you not hear me?" Craig asks, his tone much lower, "I said we're going to eat together."

His grip tightens and Kenny tenses. The way it wrapped around him, he didn't like it. Didn't like it touching him. Kenny doesn't look at him, but nods, agreeing non verbally to go with him. If only so that Craig would release him. He doesn't.

"Good," Craig says, his tone returning to normal.

Kenny glances back once more at his friends as he's guided off. They're laughing about something, probably something dumb one of them said. How he wished he could be there to hear it.

Kenny is guided to a table on the far side of the lunchroom, where two other occupants, Clyde and Token, currently sat.

"Take a seat," Craig tells him, sounding more like an instruction than a request.

He lets go as Kenny slowly takes a seat. Kenny tries to keep as much distance as possible from him, but it only results in a few inches. A few inches of which, Craig quickly takes up by pressing his leg against Kenny's. Kenny tries to move away, but Craig only pushes that much harder against him, so he defaults to ignoring it.

"So uh, I see that Kenny is joining us for lunch today?" Clyde speaks up after some awkward silence.

"Yeah," Craig replies.

"Is there a reason why? Ooooooor," Clyde adds, trying to figure out the situation.

"We're dating," Craig responds simply.

"Oh," Clyde says, taking a sip of his drink, before he almost chokes on it, "wait what !?"

"You're so loud," Craig mutters.

"I'm sorry, but—when did this happen!?" Clyde exclaims, gesturing between Craig and Kenny.

Despite the noisy atmosphere of the lunchroom, Clyde's sudden outburst can't help but draw a few people's attention.

"Christ, calm the fuck down before you burst a blood vessel," Craig says annoyed, "I just said that we're dating, it's not that big of a deal."

"Yeah but," Clyde says, lowering his tone to normal, "when the hell did this even happen?"

He looks at Kenny then for answers. For a brief moment Kenny is almost tempted to tell him the truth, but only ends up glancing off. The weight of Craig's gaze on him.

"You don't need to know every detail that goes on in my private life dumbass," Craig monotones.

"Well, that's true but…"

"Look, me and Kenny are dating now, that's all you really need to know. Got it?" Craig says then glances down at his lunch, "Why don't you eat your food, before you start complaining about it being cold, or some shit again."

Clyde falls silent and frowns somewhat, clearly not satisfied with Craig's response. He exchanges a look with Token, who is just as confused about the situation, before he decides to drop the topic completely and go about eating.

The rest of lunch is mildly awkward, but Craig acts indifferent about it, while his friends try to talk about other things.

Kenny doesn't get to breathe until reaching his next class following lunch. His only saving grace being the doorway that Craig couldn't cross and was forced to leave him. However, his relief is short-lived. As by the next class, Craig is back, waiting to walk him over to one of their shared classes. There, he takes a seat next to Kenny's. Telling the kid who usually sat there to find somewhere else to sit, because it was his now. The kid seems to want to protest at first, but Craig's intimidation is stronger, and they meekly back down to find another seat. The teacher doesn't seem to care about it either, only that all kids were present so the lesson could proceed.

Kenny is fatigued by the time gym class comes. Just wanting the day to be over with. The class warm ups pass by pretty normal and things go alright for it, until the teacher tells everyone to split into teams of two.

Quickly Kenny looks around for someone, anyone , to be his partner other than Craig.

"Kenny," comes Stan's voice. Kenny turns and is filled with relief when seeing him, "Did you want to be—"

"There you are," Craig's voice suddenly interrupts and Kenny finds a hand wrapping around his wrist, "Didn't you say that we were going to be partners today?"

"I—" Kenny starts but stops.

He freezes when the grip around his wrist tightens, almost as if threatening him to try and speak out of line and find out what happens if he does.

"Oh, really? I was going to ask if we could partner up," Stan says, looking between the two, "but it looks like…"

"I'm his partner," Craig tells him bluntly, a slight sneer making itself known on his face.

"Are you sure Ken?" Stan asks.

"He said he was going to be my partner Marsh, now get lost," Craig tells him before turning with Kenny.

Kenny catches a small glimpse of Stan's gaze on Craig's hand wrapped around his wrist, before he has to look forward to see where he's going.

Luckily, basketball is the sport for that day, which met no close contact with Craig. Just practice tosses and and passes. Eventually the teams disband and the class becomes one again. The rest of class passes by, but Craig seems to prevent Kenny from interacting with Stan again.

By the time the end of class comes, Kenny is relieved, at least until the locker room. A sense of unease starts to creep in when it comes time to change clothes and he can clearly feel Craig's eyes on him. He'd managed to change clothes while hiding behind the locker door before, but this time Craig had seemed to make sure to angle himself so that Kenny had been in full view of him.

This results in Kenny standing by his locker awkwardly, trying to ignore his gaze as best he can while changing. But try as he might, the knowledge of Craig's gaze on him, watching him undress, doesn't help. His actions must reflect how uncomfortable he is, because Stan soon approaches.

"Everything alright dude?"

"Yeah, of course, why wouldn't it be?" Kenny says looking up at him.

There's a small glimpse he catches of Craig over Stan's shoulder. The expression on his face now one of sour.

"Well it's just that today in gym class when—"

"Hey uh, why don't we talk later?" Kenny quickly says, noticing Craig pushing off the locker he was leaning against. Kenny takes the chance to swiftly change into his pants, while Stan's body blocked his view of him.

"Oh, uh sure, I guess, but you just seem like—"

"Stan. We'll talk later, or I'll text you or something, alright?" Kenny suggests as Craig's figure draws near.

Stan pauses, as if there's more to say, but just gives a small nod.

"Alright man, I'll see you after school then?"

"Not today."

"Why not?"

"I'm busy."

"Oh, well I'll see you around then?"

"Yeah," Kenny nods.

Stan takes his leave then, just as Craig reaches them. There's a brief side glance exchanged as Stan passes him, before Craig focuses back on Kenny.

"What were you talking about?" Craig asks.

"Nothing," Kenny replies.

"Nothing?" Craig repeats.

"Yeah, it was nothing. So no need to get all high strung about it."

Craig silently watches Kenny fold his gym clothes. It unsettles Kenny, just how silent he was being.

"I'm walking you home today," Craig informs, before taking his leave.

Kenny doesn't reply. He doesn't even want to acknowledge it. But knows that regardless of what he may want, Craig would make it happen.

And just as he said he would, Craig finds and walks Kenny home. Kenny didn't want him to see where he lived, but recalls the video that he had used to blackmail him with, and knows it wouldn't matter anyway.

The walk is long and quiet till they reach his house.

"We're here," Craig says. Kenny ignores him and tries to unlock the front door fast, so that he can escape him. "I should escort you inside." Kenny freezes, and his gut drops. It was only now did he know why Craig wanted to walk him home. "What's wrong, is it stuck?" Craig asks, his eyes watching Kenny's hands fumble with the house key and doorknob.

This wasn't like how it was at school, when he walked him everywhere, so that he couldn't get near his friends. No, this was—

"Why don't I do it for you?"

Craig leans over Kenny and just about grabs the key from his hand, before Kenny comes back to reality and jerks it out of his grasp.

"You can't come in!" Kenny exclaims.

"Why can't I?" Craig asks, moving closer to him.

He was trying to intimidate him, Kenny knew this, but it didn't stop the fact that it was working. Especially with what he knew he was capable of.

"My parents will be home soon, so you can't come inside!"

"Oh can't I?"

Craig presses against Kenny, prompting him to shove the key in the lock and turn it. He falls immediately when the door swings open, landing on the floor. Craig remains standing, towering over him from the doorway. There's a look on his face, one of mild amusement. His foot moves to step forward, and Kenny instantly gets up to shut the door.

It doesn't close all the way, Craig's foot was keeping it wedged open.

"Are you really not going to let me in?" Craig asks from the other side.

"No!" Kenny yells, trying with all his might to shut it.

"How cold of you, to not allow your boyfriend inside."

"Leave!"

There's a small sound to that of a laugh, then the sound of something metallic moving.

"By the way, you forgot this," Craig says and the end of something metallic protrudes from the small opened space of the door. His house key. Kenny grabs it from Craig's grasp. There's another small laugh. "Not that I'd need it anyways."

Those words make Kenny's heartbeat stop. What had he meant? He was much too afraid to know.

"Alright then, I'll let you be for now. I've had my fill for the day," Craig says, then removes his foot from the door. It slams shut immediately from Kenny's weight, and he locks it the moment it does. "See you tomorrow… my hero," Craig's now more muffled voice says from the other side.

For a few seconds Kenny doesn't move, uncertain if he had actually gone or not, until checking the peephole. But when he finds that he's no longer there, he lets out a deep sigh and slides to the floor. He thought he should be glad he was gone, but his words unsettled him. Along with knowing why he wanted to walk him home.

Craig had wanted to get him alone. Somewhere no one had eyes on them. Or the things he'd most likely do to him. And he knew that the moment Craig would've stepped through the front door and shut it, there'd be no escape. But he'd let him go for some reason, not that he cared, he was just glad he was gone. And could have some small semblance of peace.

At least for the time being…