Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had all started out with a joke really. 

The school’s newest engagement program was an exchange program. Of course, they would never be able to afford sending kids off to other countries. They had to settle for the next best option: nearby towns. Close enough that they could get there by bus or a short car ride if need be. 

The whole idea had been prompted by one of the teachers at the Hermitville school in an attempt to get kids out of their ‘hermit’ comfort zones. Lots of the students tended to stick close together and on the rare occasion would stretch out to a few other kids in town. 

It was the town over that agreed, apparently they needed something good on their track record after the past few years. Whatever that meant…

When the students heard about it, they had taken it as a joke, there was no way they were actually doing this. A few students took up the challenge though, signing up, when asked by their classmates why on earth would they want to leave the safety of their school they only replied:

“I want to see what the other town’s like, I’ve never been outside of this one.” A sculpture-student with bright orange hair had answered.

“Like they would actually pick me!” A brunet laughed, he had a few scars running along his face and arms.

“Iskall dared me.” A boy who came to school in a suit constantly recalled.

“Gem said if I didn’t I would be a coward.” A student who wore a mask over their face said, rolling his eyes. 

“I heard they had a good theatre department.” A student with a red jacket announced. 

“I dared Mumbo to do it. He only did it if I did it, too.”

The ‘lucky’ student was chosen out of a hat at random during a small assembly. Once the name was chosen the students had a hard time believing it had been random after all. 

The closest of the students, those that didn’t completely live up to the ‘hermit’ name, gathered afterwards. 

They collectively came together discussing the program at length multiple times before they had chosen someone, and it became a routine to chat at Mumbo’s. 

“Are you sure about this, Scar?” Pearl asked, she had been extra anxious about the program since it was announced, yet, she never explained why. 

“It can’t go that badly! I don’t know why you all are so worried about it.” Scar shrugged it off.

“Because it’s you?” Bdubs said, raising an eyebrow, he was Scar’s older brother by only one year. “I’d rather not come home to a message about you dying because you did something stupid again.” Cleo nodded behind him, they looked after both of them as if she was their sister. Because she was. 

“It’s not like I’m that far away. It’s a few minutes at best!” Scar exclaimed, in a huff as he plopped down next to Mumbo who tried to balance his tea when Scar bounced the cushion. The brunet was tired of being babied by his siblings as well as their friends. He might be accident prone, consistently sick, clumsy, and repeatedly picked on but he was just as capable as his friends and family.

“But you won’t know anyone there.” Mumbo offered, internally he was quite happy it wasn’t him heading off for some other school. Mumbo had always been one of the most socially anxious of them all. He rarely spoke up when in large groups and he didn’t seem exceptionally close to anyone other than Pearl and Iskall.

“I’d make friends.” Scar scoffed, crossing his arms, unlike his friends he was plenty capable of winning people over with a smile and joke.

“I think the whole program is stupid.” Joel muttered from the corner. “We don’t need to ‘go outside of our ‘comfort zones’ that’s why they’re comfort zones!” He shouted. Joel had only recently stretched out of his own comfort zone to start talking to the hermits. He wasn’t too excited to let one of his newfound friends disappear off to some other school. 

“Let’s think on the bright side, people,” Xisuma tried to placate, hoping to calm the situation which he was plenty good at if his reelection as Student President said anything, “this might just give some new opportunities we weren’t expecting.” 

“Oh, don’t start with the therapy crap.” Joel huffed, turning on his heels into Mumbo’s kitchen to get away from the incoming Xisuma speech. The other only watched unimpressed as Joel left before continuing. 

“It’s only for what-a few weeks?” Xisuma continued. Scar shrugged.

“Scar. Where’s the packet they gave you?” Tango asked, noticing the brunet didn’t have the ‘very important papers’ he was supposed to have kept up with. Scar looked around before Mumbo kicked his bag over to him. He grabbed his backpack and pulled out the crumpled papers.

He read it for a second, “fork weeks?”

Iskall looked over his shoulder reading, “Four weeks. It’s just a trial run. They want to do four weeks and then check in to see if it goes well.”

“I can handle four weeks at a different school.” Scar decided, before anyone else could argue with him. “Besides, it’s not like I’m not going to see you guys when I come back home for the day.”

______________

He was very wrong however. 

Just four minutes into the ride on the bus over to the other school and he was nervous. 

He was the only one on the bus other than the driver and he didn’t seem up for any conversation. So he just watched the trees pass by on his way to the school. The roads were…less than ideal. They were all dirt pathed, with trees that folded over them like some horror film. You could barely see the sun through the leaves, and in certain places it looked like it was still nighttime. 

A few times, Scar thought he saw some dead animal on the side of the road, but they never looked run over. They looked mauled- or dismembered. Like there was something in the woods just waiting to attack. 

He didn’t think much of it. It was probably just some wild animal. 

The bus went into the small town, it was smaller than Hermitville. It passed by a corner store, then a few houses, a bookstore and then finally down on the last road was the school. 

It was two stories high, like a giant cinder block. There were fences out front, great big iron ones. The front of the school actually looked nice. There was some play equipment for younger kids, since the school most likely saw all grades. On the other side of the courtyard was a large tree, underneath it sat three picnic tables. 

The sidewalk leading up to the front doors was covered in chalk and paint. As Scar stepped off the bus and onto the sidewalk he noted all the different pictures drawn. As he entered the gate of the school, he saw rabbits and rainbows. The farther along he got, he saw drawings of fish, different animals, shapes and names scrawled around the ground. 

He paused on a section of the sidewalk. 

It was different from the others. 

Instead of animals, colors, and shapes it just looked like a scribbled mess. There were letters and numbers all painted in black. The letter’s looked like they were trying to make a word but couldn’t quite find a way to fit together correctly. And the few times the letters did come together to create a word it was scribbled out and crossed over as if it had been wrong in the first place. 

Gr i

Gri

A ia n

G an

An

gria

Scar stared at it for a moment, wondering what in the world he was looking at, before someone interrupted him. 

“What are you looking at?” 

Scar looked up to see a student with bright purple hair. Their hair covered half of their face but from the looks of it they also had a bandage over it. The eye that wasn’t covered was oddly bright yellow, and their face seemed calm and neutral as they inspected Scar. They wore a tan school uniform, with black tights and white gloves. 

“Oh, sorry, um-I just noticed the chalk art.” Scar admitted, looking back down to the oddly scribbled mess. 

They frowned looking back down at the chalk art. “Yeah, I remember that one.” They shook their head, “Who are you? You’re not a student here.” 

Scar smiled, “I’m the new exchange student!” he said, proudly, he stuck out his hand hoping for a good introduction. The person just stared at him confused.

“Exchange student?” They asked, their voice slow like they could’ve misheard him. 

Scar nodded, “Yup, from Hermitville.” he included, for good measure. 

“I don’t remember anything about exchange students.” They muttered, still ignoring Scar’s outstretched hand. Scar looked back at his hand before snapping it to his side and pretending to wipe his pants off. 

“Really?” He asked.

They looked back up at him, blinking unfazed, “But it isn’t unlike the school to not tell us. If you’re new you need to keep moving. Have you got your schedule yet?” They asked, standing a bit straighter than they had. 

Scar blinked, “Nope, I haven’t exactly gotten the new student treatment. Could use a helping hand.” Scar sent one of his best smiles, hoping it would get the person on his side. 

They just blinked as if it meant nothing to them, “I see you also don’t have your uniform.” They commented, looking him up and down. “This way.” They turned on their heels and started walking back down the sidewalk. They walked quite fast and Scar had to speed walk to keep up with them. 

“I didn’t catch your name?” He asked, hoping for an actual introduction. 

The person turned once again on their heels, stopping right in front of Scar and causing him to run straight into them. “Majo Ellen, everyone calls me Ellen.”

Scar blinked, happy to finally have a name, they stuck out their hand for a shake and Scar gladly obliged. He shook their hand enthusiastically, the other pulling away quickly, cringing as they looked at their hand once more. “Scar! Scar Goodtimes!”

Ellen nodded, before turning once more and walking again. 

As Ellen led him down the sidewalk, he took the chance to look at the other students that were filtering into the courtyard now. 

He saw a girl with bright pink hair walking around and talking to a boy in a white bunny hat. They looked a bit odd together and people seemed to be avoiding them on purpose. He saw students visibly flinch as they passed by and quiet their voices with whoever they were talking to. 

He also saw a prim and proper boy with brown hair speaking to another boy who was covered in dirt and ripped uniform. The scene made him a bit uncomfortable, especially with how the boy was speaking to the other as if was below him. 

What caught Scar’s attention the most was a boy sitting under the large tree he’d seen before. He hadn’t seen the kid before from the angle on the bus, but now he could see him. 

He was blond and he was the only kid out of school uniform. He seemed to stick out like a sore thumb almost. Instead of the tan school uniform he wore a bright blue shirt with black suspenders. His pants seemed a bit too big for him which made the suspenders make sense. He had unruly hair that looked like a rat's nest and two dull gray eyes that were staring straight into a book. He also had a pair of headphones on his head, though he didn’t seem to be listening to any music. 

Scar watched the boy for a second longer. 

There was just something unsettling about it all. 

He shook his head and continued to follow Ellen into the school and down the halls. They took him down a hall, then another and eventually made it to the office. Once there, they opened the door and almost shoved him inside. 

They took one look at the receptionist at the front desk and she knew what was going on. The lady pushed a stack of clothes on the desk towards them and on top was a slip of paper. She didn’t say anything else, just continued to stare at her computer screen. 

Ellen took the clothes and paper and handed them over to Scar. 

“That’s your schedule, and your uniform. Go change.” They demanded, pointing to the bathrooms across the hall. 

“Seriously?” he asked, he’d already seen someone out of uniform. And his old school never pushed a uniform or even mentioned one. 

“Yes. Go.” Ellen repeated, pointing.

Scar huffed, and went into the bathroom to quickly change. The stalls of the bathroom were vandalized with writing and drawings that resembled the chalk art outside. The doors had pencil drawings of rabbits and other animals, but the rabbits were the only ones that were still alive. 

Scar grimaced at the sight of one rabbit overlooking a dead bird. The bird’s head had been disconnected from its body and was surrounded in a pool of blood. He tried his best to not look at the walls and ignore the drawings. He focused on the clothes in this hands instead.

The clothes were odd-like they weren’t supposed to fit him or at least they didn’t. The pants were too short, the ends of them just rolling down a few inches above his ankles. The white shirt wasn’t actually white, not anymore at least, it might’ve been but now it was off-colored. The cuffs of the sleeves were drawn on and he couldn’t make out any of the scribbles or notes. It was the same for the jacket, the tan color was faded and there were places with stains. Not to mention the jacket was much too small, there was no way he’d be able to button it in the front. The tie was red, a different color than a few of the others he’d seen. It was small.

He stepped out and looked at himself in the mirror.

It just looked wrong.

He walked out of the bathroom, stuffing his own clothes into his bag. Ellen was looking over his schedule and when they noticed him, they handed it over. 

“Classes start soon. You should hurry.” They said, then they looked at the clothes and just froze. 

At first Scar thought there was something he’d done wrong. Had he put the shirt on inside out? Maybe that was why it looked weird. He looked down, seeing if he could spot what they were looking at, he saw nothing. 

“What?” He asked.

Ellen swallowed, “Nothing. Those are really the clothes they gave you?” They asked, looking him up and down.

“Yes.” Scar drew out, “You gave them to me.” His brow furrowed in confusion. 

They nodded, quickly, “Right, of course. Of course.” They repeated, but sounded unsure. They shook their head, “Your first class is on the first floor. It’s down the East hall and the rooms are numbered.”

They pointed the direction he should go. Scar followed their point, before looking back to thank them, but they were already walking away. 

“Thanks?” Scar whispered out, not really bothering if they were just going to walk away anyway.

He followed their directions, down this hallway, and then that one, and eventually to the East Hall. He hadn’t noticed that the bell must have rung, because now students were starting to enter the classrooms. They were lining up at the doors, single file and deftly quiet. 

He walked into the classroom, seeing that the teacher was still sitting at their desk. He eyed the students that were sitting in their desks waiting. Most of them weren’t talking-which was odd.

Scar had assumed that every class before it started was full of conversation. Classmates trying to catch up and tell each other jokes or what they had worked on. Maybe explain some new weird thing they found out the night before. Or maybe just listening to a story from someone. But this wasn’t what he was used to. 

This was weird. 

No one was talking…except the boy with the bunny hat and the girl with pink hair. They were sitting near the back actually, and there were a few students around them. They whispered to each other, pointed at a few students and laughed. Then they talked to each other some more and even roped in a few of the kids before cutting them off in front of the conversation completely. 

Everyone else was just sitting. 

They sat, stared straight ahead and said nothing. A few of them had their heads in a book, some drew, but most just… stared. 

Then at the center of the room on the front row was the really odd boy. The only one out of uniform. 

He was just sitting there…staring straight ahead. 

Scar looked at him a little confused as he stood at the doorway. 

He looked…sad-like his face was trying to comprehend sadness for the first time and couldn’t quite understand how. Like he was crying but there were no tears. He was frowning but at the same time he had no expression. His eyes were just…sad.

He made Scar want to cry just by looking at him.

It took a moment for Scar to realize he had just been watching the class. It was the pink haired girl who pointed it out. She poked the bunny hat boy and pointed at him. 

The boy smirked, “Take a picture, it'll last longer. Either that or move, no one likes being treated like an exhibit.” 

Scar flinched back at the sharp tone . The boy’s voice had cut through whatever tension was in the room because now everyone was staring at him. As if his voice alone had given them all permission to acknowledge his existence.  

He swallowed, “Sorry, is this…” He froze up, stumbling over his words, “I’m here for…” He met the eyes of the blond, “I’m new.” He decided on.

The bunny hatted boy got this confused expression, before looking over to the teacher to see if Scar was telling the truth. 

The teacher just stared at Scar as if they couldn’t believe he was real before jumping out of their seat and rushing over. “Yes! I almost forgot! Class, we have a new student joining us. It’s a part of the exchange program we have going on with Hermitville. Now, how about you introduce yourself to the class?”

The announcement felt last minute, as if they had in fact forgotten. Scar shrugged, looking back to the class that was now staring at him. A few had this new found look of fear, others looked intrigued and a few just looked…sad.

Scar looked at the only person he could really look at, the really sad boy. He was right in front of him. He looked-there was something in his eyes that almost looked like he was pleading with Scar. 

Scar smiled, hoping that his award-winning grin would make this boy feel a little less sad, “Hi!” He announced, he pretended he was only talking to the boy in front of him. “My name’s Scar, Scar Goodtimes.”

Once the two officially made eye contact, the sad boy darted his eyes away. 

“Right, well, go ahead and take a seat wherever you’d like and we’ll just get started with today’s lesson.” The teacher announced, as if she was trying to push Scar out of the way. 

Scar ignored her the best he could and looked around for an empty desk. There were a few, about three near the girl with pink hair and other boy. But the only one he was interested in was the empty desk right next to the sad boy. 

He stepped next to the desk and pointed, “Is this seat taken?” he asked.

The boy at first didn’t react, so Scar asked again and then the boy looked over, he was surprised. His eyes wider and mouth slightly open as if he didn’t think anyone could actually see him. 

He looked between the seat and Scar, then he pointed at himself, “You’re asking me?” He whispered, it was so quiet Scar almost couldn’t hear it. 

He nodded. 

He blinked, as if he was blinking back tears. Scar saw as the boy’s hands fisted around the desk as he was trying to ground himself in reality. “It’s free.” he forced out. 

“I- I don’t have to sit here.” he whispered back, he looked around once more, “I can go sit by them.” Scar offered, in case the boy really didn’t want to have a desk neighbor. 

However, that seemed to spur a different answer. The kid’s eyes widened again and shook his head, “No. Sit there. Sit there, please.” He begged, there was a hint of fear in his voice that made Scar stare at him differently. 

He nodded and sat down. Once he was situated the lesson seemed to go on. It was quite easy to pick up on, in fact, he was pretty sure that they had already gone over this at the Hermit’s school. The lesson was a bit boring actually, and he wondered how in the world could this class be so far behind…

It was a class for sophomores in highschool, why on earth were they learning about how to punctuate a sentence. 

He was quite sure they didn’t need to go over what an exclamation point was for the fifth time!

Yet, when he looked around no one was really paying attention.

Most students were still just sitting staring straight ahead, they hadn’t moved at all. Others were still reading, a few still drawing on the desks. The students near the boy in the bunny hat were being tormented with paper balls and poked in the back with pencils. 

Confused, Scar looked over to the boy next to him. 

He was just sitting there, silently. 

Bored of the lesson, Scar decided to just politely watch the other. 

The blond sometimes picked up his pencil and would draw around on his wrists. It was then that Scat noticed the arm warmers that the boy had on to hide his arms. Sometimes the other would turn his head and look out a window and watch for a few minutes before turning back to the board. He always seemed lost in thought. 

That was when Scar noticed the boy still had his headphones on in the middle of class. 

Scar raised an eyebrow, how was that allowed?

He looked around the class again, if no one was actually going to work, what was the harm in a little conversation. 

“Pst.” 

He didn’t get much attention with that.

“Pstt..” he tried again, this time managing to nudge the other’s desk with his foot just a tad. 

The blond snapped his attention over like a deer in headlights. He looked at Scar for a second, confused, “What?” He whispered. 

“Why are you wearing headphones?” He asked, his voice so quiet it was hard to hear himself talk. 

Still, the other heard him, “Why do you want to know?”

“Are you listening to music?” He asked.

The boy looked back and forth, even more confused, “no?”

“Then why wear them?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” he shrugged.

“Are you blocking out the noise?” Scar asked, he saw Mumbo do that sometimes. 

“No.” He whispered back.

“So why are you wearing them?” Scar asked, his curiosity too much to bear. 

The boy huffed, “Why are your shoes tied?”

That threw him for a loop, Scar blanked for a second, “Safety.” he decided on.

The boy nodded, “There’s your answer.” 

Scar blinked. 

That wasn’t an answer.

Not in his book at least.

“What?” He asked, more than just confused now.

“Shh.” Was all he was met with after that though, and the boy went back to watching the blank chalkboard. 

Scar huffed, frowning, he slumped forward leaning his head on his hand and continued to watch the weird sad looking boy. 

_______________________

The class couldn’t have ended soon enough in Scar’s opinion. He just hoped the rest of his schedule wouldn’t turn out the same way that class had. 

The bell rang and immediately the students were up and out of their seat speeding to the door. Scar took his time, collecting his books and bag, he looked at the schedule realizing he had no idea where to go next. 

He looked around hoping there was still someone in the classroom with him, but all he saw was the blue headphoned boy walking out of the room. He rushed after him, just catching the tail end of the kid before he could disappear from sight. 

“Hey!” Scar called, and the boy turned around quickly before stopping confused to look at him. “Sorry,” Scar chuckled, as he spooked the kid, “I was wondering if you knew where this next class was?” Scar asked, holding out his schedule as he juggled getting his things together with the rest. 

The boy took his paper carefully as if he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to touch it. He looked it over then nodded, he pointed down another hallway, “It’s the second door on the left.”

Scar sighed, grateful it wasn’t too far, “Okay, good, thank you. I’d thank you more formally but I don't exactly know your name.” Scar hoped that the boy would take the bait, and finally stop his roaming curiosity, giving him something to call him other than ‘sad looking boy’. 

The sad looking boy however, just frowned more and shrugged, “It’s Taurtis.” He mumbled, it wasn’t like a normal introduction where someone clearly says their name or says it so fast you just know they’re excited. It was…well about as sad as the rest of him. 

“Well, thank you very much, Taurtis!” Scar grinned with a wink, and the boy cringed after hearing his name. He nodded afterwards though, and began walking in the same direction he’d pointed for Scar to go. The brunet followed after him, easily keeping pace with him unlike Ellen. 

He took slow calculated steps, his feet never inching off of one set of tiles. His eyes were locked in with the ground and as they passed other classes Scar felt oddly-watched. It was like everyone was staring at him. 

The halls were filled with people, and he had no doubt that at least one person was watching the new kid, but this was different. He gazed around the students and saw that they were looking at him.

Except not at him .

They were looking at Taurtis. 

It was the same with the bunny hatted boy and pink haired girl, as they passed people stopped talking and just watched. This time it wasn't a look of nervousness, instead it was pity. Like everyone was in on some sob story about this kid that Scar had no clue about. They looked at him as if he was knowingly walking towards his death!

It felt rude to point out, but it also felt rude to not point out. 

“Everyone is staring at you.” Scar settled on, he only got a slow nod. 

“Just ignore it.” Taurtis replied.

“But why? Why are they staring?” Scar asked, they were closer to his next class now. This time he didn’t reply, as they passed Scar’s next class he didn’t even stop to say goodbye. He just kept walking without a look behind him to see if Scar was still with him. 

Scar stopped at his next class, walking in, he saw the same scene he’d seen at the last one. Everyone staring straight ahead and waiting, no talking. There was no bunny hatted boy or pink haired girl this time. 

He knew right then he was going to have another boring class to sit through.

__________________

The next bell rang and Scar understood why everyone bolted out of the rooms now. He was soooooo bored! The faster he could get out of this desk the happier he’d be to just have time to walk to his next class- wherever that was. 

He really wished they had someone show him around.

The next class was scratched out of his schedule, like it had been there was someone had run over it with a marker. He tried to read the name of the teacher or the subject, but it was too dark to read. 

He huffed, furrowing his eyebrows to squint, if he could see it better. 

He couldn’t. 

He roamed the hallways looking for someone who seemed at least a bit friendly looking to ask about it. He walked down a few different hallways, passing by a gym that had students running laps inside. He passed a chemistry lab. He could make out a library down one hallway and he could see where the lunchroom was. 

He passed the office for what felt like the third time before he finally found someone familiar again. 

But of course it had to be the face paced student who walked as if they constantly had to be somewhere else. 

“Ellen.” Scar asked, barely catching up to them. They turned, purple hair flying up from momentum. 

“What?” They asked, sharply, as if Scar had crossed some kind of line. 

Scar flinched, “I just wanted to ask what this class was. It’s all crossed out and I can’t make anything out.” Ellen seemed to relax once they realized who it was they were talking to. Their shoulder’s slouching and eyes calming down. 

They took the paper and nodded, “That’s because no one has that class anymore.”

Scar paused, “What do you mean?”

They shrugged, handing it back, “The teacher we had-well he quit and they don’t have anyone to replace him. So now, everyone gets one free class to do whatever they want. So long as you don’t leave the school and make it to your next class. Other than that, you’ve got free roam.” Ellen explained.

Scar blinked, “That’s silly. Why would they do that?”

Ellen shrugged, and walked off. Scar huffed, there was no getting answers out of any of the students. He’d decided that much by now. None of them were helpful. At least he could finally walk around the school and find out where things were. 

He backtracked, walking down hallways and into rooms that were completely empty. He passed the office, gym, lunchroom and labs until he found himself in front of the doors to the courtyard. 

There was still plenty of time before the next class. 

Scar pushed the doors open, entering the courtyard from that morning. He saw a few students had also taken this same opportunity to get out of the school. 

He stuck his hands into the pockets of his pants, looking around the courtyard. He smiled, when he noticed that a certain person was still sitting under the tree.

He didn’t know why but some part of him wanted to be around him. 

He was cute.

Scar pretended to start roaming around the courtyard, although really he was making his way over to the boy reading. 

Taurtis was reading some story book with the picture of a bird on the front. His eyes glancing about the book, quickly turning the pages and ignoring the rest of the world. 

Scar didn’t even ask before sitting down next to the kid, his back leaning against the tree. Taurtis didn’t seem to notice or mind that he sat down, and it wasn’t until Scar cleared his throat the other turned his head. 

The blond looked him up and down, blinking, “Is something wrong?”

“No.” Scar said, thinking quickly of something to start a conversation but as soon as the word was out of his mouth the boy had his nose back in his book. Scar frowned, he looked over the kid’s shoulder seeing that it wasn’t actually a book-it was a sketchbook. 

“You’re drawing.” Scar pointed out.

Taurtis straightened, “Yeah.” He looked over, eyeing the other as if prompting him to say something else. 

“Sorry,” Scar apologized, his voice muttering. Taurtis nodded, going back to what he was looking at. The drawing was of some kind of building, like a mansion, it was huge and spanned across two pages. It was shaded and colored in with blues, grays, and a few bright hues. Tall stairs led up from the ground all the way to large double doors. 

It was beautiful. 

“You drew that.” Scar awed, pointing at the drawing. 

“Yeah, it’s old though.” Taurtis shrugged.

“It’s amazing.” Scar stared, “It almost looks real.”

Taurtis smirked, “Architecture’s been a…” He paused, “I like drawing buildings.” He closed his sketchbook and set it down next to him on the other side away from Scar. He curled his arms around his legs to hug himself. 

“Like an architect!” Scar prompted, scooting closer with wide cheerful green eyes. Taurtis tried to smile back but it was half-hearted.

“No, I mean-I couldn’t.” He scoffed.

“Why not?” Scar asked, “I mean if all your drawings are like that and you’ve got ideas, sounds like you're halfway there, anyway!” 

Taurtis laughed, “I’m pretty sure there’s more than that.” He sighed, “Besides, I’ve never really thought about what I wanted to do.” He said, laying his chin to rest on his knees. 

“Never?” Scar repeated, earning a shake of the head. 

“Too much on my mind, I guess.” He shrugged, he paused looking back over the courtyard then back to Scar, “Why do you keep talking to me?”

“I mean, you’re the most interesting thing here. And I haven’t exactly talked to anyone else beside you and Ellen. Well she-” Scar started.

“They.” Taurtis corrected, lightly. 

Scar paused, but nodded, “Well, they seemed a bit indifferent to me.”

Taurtis smiled, “That’s Ellen for you.” He let out a breath, “but if they only acted indifferent to you, then you must be a good person.” His shoulders untensed and he fell away from his small self-hug. His legs falling down into a criss-cross shape. 

Scar raised an eyebrow, “I’d hate to see how they act to people they don’t like then.” 

Taurtis silently chuckled, nodding, “Yeah. Well then, Scar, right?” He asked, getting a nod, “What’s there to you?”

“Sorry?” Scar asked, confused. 

“Tell me about yourself.” He said as if it had been obvious.

“Oh!” Scar hummed, “Well, I’m from Hermitville, it’s a town pretty close to here! There was that whole ‘exchange student’ program and I was the lucky student chosen.” He prided, with a grin. 

Taurtis nodded, “How long is it for?” 

Scar shrugged, “Trial run is for four weeks, but I’m pretty sure I’ll get sent back sooner or later. What with my ‘accidents’ and all.” Scar laughed to himself as if he’d said a joke. Taurtis just froze, his eyes glazing over with this kind of uncertainty. Scar looked at him confused, as Taurtis darted his eyes away and his fingers twitched in the grass. 

“What-um-what kind of accidents?” He asked, nervously. 

“I’m pretty clumsy, I guess.” Scar shrugged, pulling up some grass in his hands, bored. Taurtis’s shoulders slouched once again, albeit slowly. “It’s why my friends were so sure I was chosen to do this on purpose. I mean, get rid of the kid that blew up the redstone lab by accident, the one that let the vexes loose in the lunchroom, the one that falls down the stairs about twice a day. I have never meant to do any of it, but it doesn’t stop. We have a saying there, ‘If it isn’t Scar-Safe don’t do it’!” He smiled, proudly. 

“Scar-Safe, huh?” Taurtis prompted.

“Yup.” Scar nodded, “One of these days, I’ll end up with a broken bone and the school will send me straight back where I came from.” 

Taurtis stayed silent for a moment, Scar looked over wondering if the boy was even still there. He was but he just hadn’t spoken, instead the bell rang once more and he slowly stood up. He whispered, holding out a hand for Scar, “Maybe you should take that offer.” 

He helped Scar up, and before Scar could question him he was walking off. “We have gym class next. I saw it on your schedule.” He said, nodding for the other to follow him. Scar just nodded, quietly and followed after the boy. 

They quickly got into the gym locker rooms and Taurtis was dodging in and out of people to get to the very back of the lockers. Scar quickly got stuck in the cluster of students trying to change into their gym clothes, getting lost in the noises of people talking, the smells of students moving too quickly. He didn’t even see where Taurtis had gone before he was standing by himself.

And just as quickly as the students appeared in the room, they were rushing out as if the hounds of hell were at their tails. Scar barely had time to think seeing a post-it note on a locker reading ‘new kid’. He took it by reading the lock combination on the back and opening it to find uniform gym clothes inside. 

When he got out of the locker room he was met with the sight of students lining up. They all were lined up in the middle of the gym, each student doing their own stretches. 

The students had that same dark blue shirt and black gym shorts. Scar’s own shirt fit better than his regular uniform and his shoes were tied up tighter than before. He didn’t want to risk any loose laces. He headed up the back of the line as everyone got ready. They were all looking at the long wall of the gym, each row of students had five kids and there were about seven rows. 

Scar placed himself in one of the last spots available, trying to copy the kid in front of him as best he could. He wasn’t sure what they were all preparing for, he figured it would be better to prepare himself for anything. 

As he pulled his leg back behind himself, standing only on one foot, he saw Taurtis walking out of the Coach’s office. Surprisingly, he was wearing the same uniform as everyone else for once, however he still had on the headphones and arm warmers.

Behind him, the coach, Scar assumed, walked out. The man was tall and quite bulky, he had a mustache that reminded him of the one Mumbo sometimes grew. One that curled out at the ends and was black as coal. He had dark sunglasses, and a green veteran hat perched atop his head. Unlike the students, he wore a black tank top and sweatpants. He was frowning so much, Scar wondered if Taurtis had just told him the worst news of his life. 

Taurtis rounded out the back, falling in right next to Scar. 

“You ready?” He asked, eyes for once staring directly at Scar’s green. The brunet felt himself smile at the dull purple gray eyes that watched him back. He nodded, although he wasn’t sure what he was agreeing to. 

“Good.” Taurtis said, turning to face the front and rolling his arms back to stretch. 

Scar couldn’t help but stare as he looked at Taurtis’s face. For some reason, he couldn’t help but feel like this was the first time he was actually seeing him. He was broken out of whatever trance the blond had him in, when the coach started talking-yelling.

“Alright! I hear we got a newbie in here! Where is he?” The man shouted, before noticing Scar staring at Taurtis and walked up to the two of them. The man raised an eyebrow before bringing Scar’s attention to him, “You paying attention, boy.” 

Scar’s head snapped over to the voice, he grinned, happily “yeah!” 

Taurtis couldn’t help but giggle, the coach didn’t pay any mind to him though. 

“Well, you listen here. You call me Rowan, it ain’t coach. It ain’t mister nothing. It’s Rowan.” Rowan stated, Scar nodded, “Now, just because you’re a newbie don’t mean I’m going easy on you. You’re held to the same expectation as everyone else in here. Don’t fool ‘round, do what I say, and we’ll be hunky-dorey.”

“I like the sound of that!” Scar said, rolling on his feet with a smile. Rowan just frowned, and the students watched in confusion. 

“Right.” Rowan looked the optimistic kid up and down, shaking his head, “You all know the drill, do a lap round the gym.” He blew the whistle, “Go!”

Then the kids started running. 

Scar barely had time to blink before they were all off. 

He looked around, confused, before he started moving.

“Get going, Newbie!” Rowan shouted as Scar started running. The brunet ignored it and started running after the rest of the class, trying to catch up. He couldn’t help but question what exactly was going on at this school. It all felt so off…

As he ran the first lap round the gym, he noticed that Taurtis was easily taking the lead even though he’d started in the last of the group with him. Scar, even as he ran, watched in awe as the boy ran faster than the others as if something were chasing him. He was so focused on where he was running that Scar wasn’t sure if the boy knew what exactly was going on around him. 

They came back to the start quicker than Scar had thought, and once they crossed the line they stopped. The kids caught their breath as the passed the finish line, but just as Scar managed to pass barely beating one of two of the others, the whistle blew again. 

“Again!” Rowan yelled, and the kids ran. 

There wasn’t much time between, and the kids were running after each other again. Scar tried to keep up with the rest, still watching Taurtis. Some of the front runners started to lag behind and others took their places. 

Once they were back to the start, the whistle blew. 

“Again!”

Scar huffed, his breath getting deeper and shakier as he tried to keep up. He was pumping his legs harder than he had before. It hurt but he didn’t want to be the last one among these kids. And as he watched he saw Taurtis was barely slowing down. 

“Again!”

“Seriously?” Scar muttered under his breath, as the others started up once more. He noticed Taurtis had paused for a moment, the blond looking behind him for Scar and smiling as he saw him. 

The blond picked up a jog, running at half speed to stay up with Scar. And as if to rub it even more in his face, the boy was running backwards. 

“You alright?” He asked.

“Just great!” Scar huffed, “How much longer are we going with this?” He asked, his breath running out as he tried to talk. 

Taurtis smiled, again, something akin to pity, “Depends on if you can pick up the pace.” And the boy turned back around and was once again off, albeit this time not as fast as he had been. He was obviously slowly down from exhaustion but there was something pushing him. Something was making him run. 

They came back round once again and the whistle blew, “Again.”

There was more running and once they finally came back to the start, the whistle blew and there were no more orders for another run. “Take five!” Was shouted instead and it took all of him to not fall to the ground then. 

Scar leaned against the wall, catching his breath as the others did the same. A few snuck a drink of water from their thermases or bottles. Taurtis snuck round Scar, tapping him twice on the shoulder. 

“Still doing great?” He asked, a hint of joke in his voice and Scar rolled his eyes.

He let out a huff, “How can you guys run like that?”

He shrugged, “Practice. What? Do you not run during gym?” He asked.

“I mean sure, but not like that!” Scar considered, “I mean seriously, you barely slowed up!” While Scar had meant it as a compliment and grinned as he spoke, it didn’t seem like the other took it that way. In fact, as the rest of the class heard him they all looked at him as if he’d said the wrong thing. 

Taurtis shuffled on his feet, very aware of the eyes on them, “Yeah, can’t slow down for a second. It might get ‘cha if you do that.” he joked, brushing it off and the class went back to murmuring to themselves. 

Scar nodded, “Yeah. Just tell me now, is there more running involved?” Scar asked, with a half breathed laugh. 

Taurtis smiled, “Nah, we’re done running for today.”

“What is next then?” Scar asked, worriedly. 

Taurtis hummed, “Depends on how Rowan feels. If he’s in a bad mood-well, let’s hope he’s not.”

The whistle blew once more, and suddenly Rowan was throwing colored balls into the gym from his office, “Dodgeball! Let’s go! Move it!” 

Taurtis huffed, “bad mood it is.”

“Why is this a bad mood?” Scar asked, before he was hit in the face with a bright red rubber ball. Taurtis cringed, seething through his teeth. Scar fell to the floor, blinking and wincing as he landed on his bottom. “What the heck!” He shouted.

“You’re out, Newbie!” Rowan yelled, although they had all seen him throw the ball at Scar a second ago. 

Taurtis lended a hand helping the brunet up, “Don’t take it personally. Absolute menace, he is.”

“A heads up next time might be nice.” Scar commented with a glare, and Taurtis offered a sad smile. 

It was only a few moments before they were being pelted with dodgeballs from all sides. Scar tried his best to get out of the way of most of them, but he was a terrible dodger. Taurtis got a few throws in, catching a few balls and throwing them back. It wasn’t long till he was hit in the arm, though. 

“Watch the glasses!” A boy with blue round glasses yelled, as he threw it across the court. Taurtis laughed, as the boy was hit with another ball. 

“Is this how all your gym classes go?” Scar asked, watching the boy with glasses get targeted. 

Taurtis sighed, “Just about,” He caught a ball once he was back in the game, “J duck!” He yelled, and the boy in glasses squatted down as he threw it over him. The ball got another kid out, saving J from a few hits. 

“This violent?” Scar asked, ducking out of the way of a stray ball that flew by too fast. 

“I mean what do you do?” J, apparently, spoke.

“I mean we play tag! False has been leading the softball team for a while. Or sometimes we fence, just whatever we’d like. So long as we’re moving it’s alright.” Scar yelped, moving out of the way again, “It’s never this violent!”

“That’s not gym class, that’s for babies.” J said, throwing another ball. 

“J be nice.” Taurtis chided, “I guess we’re just used to this?” He said to Scar, before looking over the brunet’s shoulder. He frowned, that same look in his eyes coming back from when Scar had first seen him. He looked back to Scar with a sad look. 

“I’ve got to go.” He whispered, dropping the ball he was holding. 

“What do you mean?” Scar asked, confused, why did he suddenly look so sad and afraid. He looked like he was having fun a second ago. Taurtis shook his head, he looked over to J, and the other boy frowned too. J’s movements slowed until he sighed, and nodded. 

“I’m sorry.” Taurtis whispered, and he was walking away. Scar rushed after him. 

“Hey, where are you going?” He asked. 

“Go back to the game, Scar, I’ve got to go.” 

“Can I come?” 

“No.”

“Why not?” Scar huffed, crossing his arms. 

Taurtis paused, he looked between Scar and the doors out to the hall. “You just can’t. I’m sorry.”

“But if you skip, you’ll get in trouble, right?” Scar asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked over Taurtis’s shoulder and out to the hall. He could see the boy with a bunny hat waiting outside, staring in. He looked mad.

“It’s complicated.” Taurtis said, and that was it. He was walking. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

Scar huffed, but he turned back. 

___________________________

He did not in fact see him at lunch. He didn’t even see him for the rest of the day. He had no idea where Taurtis had gone but he was gone. 

Scar went the rest of the day in silence, he would’ve rather had Taurtis around. The blond had a bright smile and wonderful laugh, if Scar managed to bring it out. 

The day went by slowly, until he was finally getting on the bus to go home. 

When he did he was met with Bdubs sitting on their front porch steps waiting for him. He dropped the bag next to his brother staring at him, as Bdubs took in the sight.

“When did you change clothes?” Bdubs asked, raising an eyebrow. He grabbed the brunet’s bag and started going through it looking for his old clothes. 

“Apparently, they have some uniforms.” Scar muttered, crossing his arms uncomfortable in the tight jacket. 

Bdubs snorted, “It looks like it barely fits.” He chuckled.

“They didn’t really give me any options.” Scar shrugged, he sat down next to his brother. 

“You look like you go to one of them church schools. The ones that make them wear ties and suits.” Bdubs joked, throwing the brunet’s t-shirt and brown jacket at him. “How was it anyway? What was it like?”

Scar shrugged off the tan suit jacket, dropping it on the step next to them and pulled the red tie off his shirt. “It was weird.” He decided on it after a moment.

“Weird, how?” Bdubs asked.

Scar paused, staring across the street. He stared at the townhouses that spread down the street, each one colorful and decorated for the people inside them. He stared at Joel’s front door. “It was different. I don’t know. It feels like something is wrong? Or off? Like a picture that you just can’t quite figure out what it is that makes it wrong. Everyone acted like they were hiding some kind of secret.”

“What kind of secret?” Bdubs asked, interested. 

“I haven’t figured that out yet.” Scar said, he shrugged, “I’m sure it’s just first day kind of nerves. Maybe they just didn’t know what to do around me, you know. It’ll be better tomorrow.”

Bdubs nodded, “Yeah, but you know you can always back out if you don’t like it? I’m sure they wouldn’t care.”

Scar shook his head, “Nah, besides I made a friend.”

“A friend?” Bdubs raised an eyebrow, squinting at his brother. 

“Well, not quite a friend.” Scar admitted, “More like an acquaintance.”

Bdubs nodded, “Well, he’ll fall for the good times with Scar eventually.” Bdubs prodded, before standing up, he brushed off his pants, “Now get in and change before Cleo sees that outfit. The second they see that they’ll burn it…probably.” 

Scar chuckled, standing up and heading inside.

Tomorrow would be better, he was sure.

Chapter Text

The second day Scar was up early, he wanted to get to the school before the first bell. He had seen Taurtis sitting outside in the courtyard the other morning and wondered if he’d still be there that morning. He wanted to see the other after the prior day, when he had just gone missing for half the day. 

Scar pulled on the uniform pants sliding out of his bedroom the moment Cleo was just walking out of her own, yawning. The red-head teen was just waking up, pajamas still on as they glared at Scar. 

“What are you doing?” Cleo seethed, eyes barely open as she watched Scar dance around the hallway. She saw the brunet wander into the bathroom grabbing a hairbrush quickly. “Do you have any idea how early it is?”

“Yeah?” Scar smiled, his grin crinkling the scars that showed on his cheeks. “What’s wrong?”

“It is six in the morning and you are dancing around the halls like this is some kind of nightclub! Some of us are trying to sleep!” She huffed, hands on their hips. Her pajama top had a pattern of a snake wrapping around her middle. She had never seen Scar’s ‘early bird gets the worm’ as anything more than an annoyance. 

Scar dropped the hairbrush back into the bathroom, walking past Cleo, “Got to get to school!” 

He spoke over his shoulder, grabbing the red tie from his door handle and tying it lacklusterly under his collar. He really didn’t know how to tie it, he was just going for something to stay on rather than look nice. He knew in the end it would look horrendous tied like a shoelace, but that was all he knew. 

Cleo blinked, “Scar!” They shook their head, giving up, “It’s too early for this.” They muttered, turning back to their bedroom to lay back down. Then they seemed to remember what Scar had just walked away wearing, “Wait- What the hell are you wearing!” 

“Shut up!!” Bdubs yelled from his own room where the door was closed. Cleo huffed, shutting her own door as Scar laughed on his way down the stairs. He took two steps at a time down the stairs until he came into the kitchen. He grabbed a bowl and poured himself some cereal. 

Once his breakfast was fixed, he sat down on the steps of their porch where he tended to eat breakfast everyday. As he did, he watched the early birds walk their rounds about the neighborhood. 

He waved at Pearl as she slowly left their home. She was always one of the first up, she had her little brother next to her. Pearl had a younger brother, named Jimmy, he was about ten or eleven Scar couldn’t remember. Jimmy was holding her hand as they exited their home, the two had some kind of routine together every morning. 

It was something they kept almost religiously. Scar had never understood what it was for. The most he knew was that it had something to do with their family. The more he thought the less he believed he knew. 

He knew Pearl had three siblings, she was the second oldest of all of them and Jimmy was the youngest. The oldest had gone off to university somewhere, and only came into town once and a while on holidays. Scar did know one thing about the family that he and all of the hermits thought was odd. That was that Pearl and Jimmy lived without any adults. Their parents were nowhere to be seen. 

When Xisuma had asked about it one time during a birthday party for Jimmy, Pearl shut him down. She wouldn’t answer any of his questions. All she said was that the house was under Martyn, their oldest sibling. She never spoke about it, and no one ever asked-just like no one asked about the fourth missing sibling. 

Pearl and Jimmy always claimed there were four of them: Martyn, Pearl, Jimmy and another. Yet, no one had ever met or seen this other. Whenever someone asked about the fourth, they dodged the questions and never gave straight answers. No one even knew their name. The only person that seemed to know anything about the fourth besides the family was Mumbo. And getting information out of Mumbo was like interrogating a chicken. 

Scar watched as Pearl walked down the street passing a few townhouses with Jimmy right behind her. Neither one of them looked particularly happy, Jimmy was shuffling his feet underneath him either from tiredness or being upset, Scar couldn’t tell. 

Pearl looked as if she had some kind of mission in her head, staring straight ahead. She whispered something to Jimmy and he looked up, picking up the pace to keep up with her. 

They barely noticed Scar as they walked passed, and Scar watched them turn the corner. 

As Scar continued to watch them, he didn’t notice Mumbo walking up.

“Scar?” Mumbo said, pulling his attention back. 

Scar smiled, “Oh, hey, Mumbo!” 

Mumbo sat down next to the brunet, he head turning to where Pearl and Jimmy were walking off. “You’re up early.” He said, straightening his tie, “Also what in the world are you wearing?”

“School Uniform.” Scar said with a mouthful of cereal. Mumbo cringed, but nodded, “You know that’s not how you tie a tie, right?”

Scar nodded, “Yeah, it’ll be fine.” He shrugged, “What are you doing up this early?”

Mumbo shrugged, going silent, he thought for a moment. Scar watched Mumbo argue with himself in his mind before the raven haired boy made up his mind, “I’m joining Pearl and Jimmy this morning.”

Scar’s mouth went dry, he looked over to see the two had long gone, “What for?” he asked, he knew prying would get him nowhere but he couldn’t help it. 

Mumbo hummed, “Just-it’s their stuff to talk about really. I just felt like I should join them today. Considering..” He cut himself off, he shook his head, “How’s the other school?”

Scar frowned, “You can’t really tell a lot from just one day, really.” He muttered, slightly disappointed in the missing information. 

Mumbo nodded, “Yeah,” He whispered, before putting on a smile and nudging the other, “You’ll tell us if it gets interesting, right?” He joked. 

Scar nodded, with a biteful of cereal, “Oh, absolutely. You Mumbo Jumbolio will be the first to know!”

Mumbo nodded, “I should catch up with Pearl and Jimmy. I’ll talk to you later, mate.” he waved goodbye, and he was off following the two. Scar watched him go, setting his bowl down. He sighed, he was sure there was a story at that school just like he was sure there was a story with Pearl’s family. 

_________________________

Scar walked over to the tall overhanging tree that shaded the benches. Just as he thought, Taurtis was sitting under it drawing in his sketchbook. His pencil in hand etching over the paper in light scrapes. Taurtis barely recognized the dent in the grass as he sat down next to him, he watched as the younger students played on the climbing equipment. 

“Hey.” Scar greeted, leaning closer to the blond. He looked up slightly confused, only to see Scar and his eyes to go wide as he stared at his neck. 

“Oh my goodness.” Taurtis gawked, “What is wrong with your tie!” He chuckled, quickly covering his mouth to hide his laughter. 

“Hey! It’s not that bad!” Scar said back, grabbing the tie and trying to hide it. He stuck his nose up in the air trying to pride himself on the thing while also hiding it. 

“No. No, it is really bad. Do you not know how to tie a tie?” Taurtis asked, between fits of laughter. 

“Is it tying a shoelace?” Scar asked, raising an eyebrow hopeful. 

Taurtis shook his head, sadly, “No, oh boy, just-come here.” He set his sketchbook down on the grass, the pencil falling into his hair as he pressed it behind his ear. Scar moved his hands away from the tie as Taurtis began untying the shoelace knot.

Scar watched as the blond worked quietly, he smiled as he saw the boy squint to get the knot just right. Once he began tying it, he shook his head untying it again as if he’d done it wrong. He straightened the tie to make it longer so it wouldn’t look as if Scar had some baby’s tie on any more. He stuck his tongue barely out of his mouth as he focused on making it the right length. Scar shuddered out a laugh at the sight, but Taurtis just ignored it. 

Once he was happy with it, Taurtis straightened it once and nodded, “There-that’s a lot better.” He sighed, “You should really learn how to tie those.” 

Scar rolled his eyes, “Eh, I’m not that big of a fan of them.”

Taurtis hummed, picking his sketchbook back up, “You might not be, but it’s still uniform.”

Scar huffed at the hypocrisy, there was no way this kid who didn’t even wear the uniform was lecturing him on it. 

“You’re early today.” Taurtis pointed out, flipping back to his page. 

“Yeah, figured you’d be here and I wanted to ask you a question.” Scar said, looking over to see if he’d caught the other’s mind but the blond didn’t look up, he just hummed. “Where did you go?”

Taurtis paused, “When?”

“Yesterday, during gym. You just left, and you didn’t come back. Where did you go?” Scar asked.

“I went out. I had to go do something and it took a while. Sorry, I didn’t come back.” Taurtis avoided the question. 

Scar frowned, “Where were these things and places?” He asked.

“Somewhere.”

“You’re not helping.” Scar huffed, crossing his arms, “Are you going to leave every day during gym? Do you only stay half the day?”

Taurtis shrugged, “Depends.” 

“Depends on what?” Scar pressed.

“Just depends.”

Scar huffed, “I’m so tired of people doing that.” He muttered, shaking his head to himself Taurtis looked up from his drawing, he looked at Scar with a look that actually felt apologetic. It was like he wanted to tell him but couldn’t.

“What do you mean?” Taurtis asked, brow furrowed. 

“The one word answers. Everyone is doing it, no one is telling me anything. You do it. My friends do it. My siblings do it. It’s-It’s like some kind of weird puzzle I have to figure out.” He ranted, pulling at the grass once again. 

Taurtis sighed, “Well, you're smart. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” 

“That sounded sarcastic.” Scar commented, side-eyeing the other. He wasn’t in the mood for sarcasm. 

“It wasn’t meant to be. I mean it. You’re smart. I saw you in class yesterday. Whatever puzzle you think you have to solve, you’ll solve it. You just have to think.” Taurtis said, and there was something in his voice. Something akin to excitement, like he wanted Scar to figure it out. He was encouraging him, not just a kind of encouragement that was meant to be polite but it felt like a plea. 

“I mean, look at you, even you're a puzzle!” Scar admitted, raising his arms up in the arm as if that helped his point. He saw Taurtis’s eyes widen and he smiled, nodding tinily. 

“I’m a puzzle?” he asked, prompting him to continue.

“I mean, yeah! Look at you,” He motioned to the other, “You’re the only kid who isn’t wearing the uniform. You never take those headphones off but you said that they don’t play music and you’re not blocking out sound. So why? Then there’s the whole leaving in the middle of gym thing. If anyone else had done that they would’ve gotten in trouble, but you-you just skipped like it was nothing. Rowan didn’t even say anything and I know he saw you. He looked right at you!” Taurtis nodded along, like he expected Scar to be going somewhere with this, “Then there’s the way everyone looks at you-it’s not like they’re mad it’s like they pity you,” The look on Taurtis’s face fell, his smile replaced with something like hurt and shock. “They stare at you in the halls. They stare at you in class. Yet, everyone acts like they’re your friends. Don’t you notice that? Don’t you see the way they look at you?”

Taurtis was silent, his mouth forming a tight line as his eyes lowered until he was staring at the grass. His fingers drumming along the edges of his sketchbook anxiously. 

“You’re a puzzle. There is something going on and I don’t know what it is.” Scar finished. “Not to mention-”

“Okay, how about we stop talking about me.” Taurtis snapped, interrupting him quickly. 

Scar froze, “Sorry.” He whispered, “I just-”

Taurtis shook his head “No, you want to know something.” Taurtis pointed at him, “You’re the puzzle. You’re the one that just showed up out of nowhere. You’re the one that doesn’t fit.”

“Are you talking about my clothes?” Scar asked, looking down at the mismatched and unfit uniform. 

Taurtis scoffed, “No!” he huffed, “You show up out of nowhere. You come in the middle of the semester and act like that’s normal!”

“Well the exchange program-” Scar tried, brow furrowing.

“There is no exchange program. No one knows what you’re talking about!” Taurtis shouted, almost pulling his blond hair out. 

“What?” Scar muttered, confused, but before he could continue his question the bell rang. Taurtis flinched, looking back towards the school. 

He sighed, “We should get to class.” He stood up quickly, stuffing his sketchbook into his bag and rushing inside, his head down towards the ground leaving Scar to walk by himself to the class. 

_____________

Taurtis did not talk to Scar during their first class. In fact the blond didn’t even acknowledge the other’s presence. His mind was consistently pressed to the drawing he was making on his desk or the blank space on his arms. Scar could see doodles of stick figures and animals appearing on his papers. 

Just as yesterday, the class had Scar wanted to sleep from boredom. He would’ve rather listened to Tango rant about redstone over whatever in the world this was. His eyes were constantly fighting to stay closed as he tried to stay awake during the drawn out lecture about periods and apostrophes. 

The class went on slowly until the bell screamed for the end of class and everyone ran out of the classroom. Scar tried to follow the avalanche of students as everyone went on to the next period. 

He really just wanted to get the day over with. 

He hadn’t meant to make Taurtis upset, and in complete honesty, he wasn’t sure what he’d said to make the boy so upset. He had only pointed out what he thought was obvious. They couldn’t seriously think this school was normal in any sense of the word. 

He sat down in his seat. 

He spent the class ignoring the lecture, and was only pulled from his thoughts when someone tapped on his desk. 

He looked over to see the person sitting next to him was a brown haired girl. She had a strand of turquoise colored hair that was tucked behind her ears. She smiled, politely, and when Scar didn’t say anything she spoke up. 

“You weren’t listening were you?” She asked, sighing. 

Scar blinked, “Not exactly.” He muttered, shyly. 

She shook her head, “It’s alright. Not a lot of people listen anyway. To catch you up, we’re partners in the next assignment. I’m Salex.” She introduced, sticking out her hand. Scar took it. So far, Salex had been the most normal introduction to someone he’d had at this school. 

“What exactly is this assignment-because if it’s on addition and subtraction I’m just going to walk out of that door.” Scar joked, pointing to the classroom door. 

Salex sighed, sadly, “it’s an investigation project. We’re supposed to choose something to research and present it to the class in a few weeks. It can be just about anything, we just have to make sure everything is factual and that we present our findings with a specific conclusion.” She explained, “Everything else is up to us.”

Scar nodded, that left a lot up to imagination. 

“I mean, I was thinking about doing something about why Manga isn’t as popular as its counterparts.” Salex said, motioning to her stack of manga books on the corner of their desk. “But I’m all for another idea?”

Scar blinked, “Um, I don’t know. I hadn’t exactly thought about it?” He tried to answer, Salex’s smile didn’t waver. They nodded. 

“Well, we don’t have to come up with anything today, so how about you think about it and see what pops up tomorrow?” She offered, blowing a brown strand of hair out of her face. 

Scar nodded, his head resting on his hand. He looked around the room and saw everyone had met with their respective pairs and were talking about this upcoming project. The teacher had sat back down at their desk ignoring the students and typing something on their computer. 

Salex turned back to their own desk, pulling one of their books from the stack and beginning to read. Scar barely managed to recollect his thoughts on whatever had passed through his mind moments before, when Salex spoke again. 

She spoke without looking up from her book, “You’re the new kid, right?”

Scar cleared his throat, “Yeah, Scar.” 

She nodded, “Taurtis was telling me about you.” She flipped a page going back to her book. Scar snapped his head over, the boredom gone and replaced with something else. 

“Really?” He asked, “Um, what did he say?”

Salex smirked, her eyes never leaving what she was reading, “He just said you were nice. That he spent most of the day talking to you. He doesn’t do that with a lot of people.”

Scar felt his face break into a grin at the thought of Taurtis talking about him like that. There was something giddy in his stomach at the thought-like he’d swallowed a bucket of butterflies. Salex seemed to notice the melted smile on Scar face because they giggled to themself, “He’s sweet, isn’t he?”

Scar blinked, trying to wipe the look of his face that he was sure the other was looking at. He cleared his throat, straightening himself, “He’s nice, I guess.”

She nodded, “Mhm, cute too, hm?” She pressed, eyes squinted suspiciously towards Scar. 

Scar’s face flushed of color as a bright pink rose to his cheeks. He stammered, “I-I mean sure. He’s nice. I-Why would you say that?”

She laughed, “I was just saying he’s cute. You either agree or you don’t.”

Scar eyed the other girl, confusion rising in his mind as she continued to read. The bell erupted again interrupting his thoughts. Salex looked up, closing her book and stowing her things away. Scar was stuck frozen as she picked up her bag and began to walk away. Not before looking back with a smirk, “Just keep your hands to yourself.”

And she was gone.

___________________

Scar was roaming the hallways during his period without any class. 

He would’ve gone to find Taurtis in the courtyard but he had a feeling the blond didn’t want to see him at the moment. So instead, Scar found himself roaming the school, mapping the whole place out in his mind just in case he ever needed to know where things were. 

He passed by Ellen once, but before he could start up a conversation they darted behind a wall and by the time Scar had looked they’d completely disappeared. 

Most of the halls were filled with classrooms and labs. There was a teacher breakroom down one, and each hallway had its own bathroom set. He found the computer lab once again, the library, and on his way down one hallway he hadn’t seen before he found something else. 

He found a door that was taped off.

Not just taped off with a ‘do not disturb’ sign, but caution taped off. The door had lines after lines of caution tape until the thing looked more yellow than the original brown wood. 

There was barely anything else down the hallway, none of the other classrooms were holding any classes. Scar hadn’t seen any teachers or students come down this way. 

The door handle was gone, leaving a gaping hole in the door. 

Beside the door was a number plate and sign that had the old teacher's name on it. 

Room 57

Mr. Gareth

Scar’s brow furrowed as he read the sign. Right above the little plaque was another sign.

Warning!

Room Condemned

No Entry

“What the-?” Scar muttered, why was one of the old classroom’s condemned? And where was that teacher? He hadn’t heard that name spoken at all so far. 

He hummed, standing on his toes to try and see over the caution tape and into the window on the door. 

The room looked exactly the same as every other classroom did. Sure, it was dark and the desks looked old and rotten. But there were still papers on the desks. There was still writing on the chalkboard as if the room had been left in the middle of class. 

The chairs were still there and the teacher’s chair looked well-used. 

Before Scar could investigate the room any further the bell rang and he had no choice but to head to gym class and face Taurtis once again. 

_________________

Scar knocked on the bright yellow door of his friend’s house. He wasn’t ready to head back home just yet, what with Cleo still at their after school sculpture class and Bdubs’ club meeting. He’d much rather visit his friends then go home to a silent house and wait for either one to arrive. Especially, not with the questions that were plaguing his mind ever since he’d explored more of the school. 

He knocked three times on the door expecting someone to open it by the second, and was pleasantly met with Impulse’s face as the door swung open. Impulse smiled once he saw the burnet, and motioned for him to come inside. 

Scar could immediately hear Skizz and Tango arguing about something but it sounded lighthearted. Scar followed Impulse into the living room to see that the two were playing a game of Mario Kart together. From the looks of it Skizz was far behind Tango, and the redhead was poking the other to go faster. 

“Scar’s here!” Impulse called jumping over the back of his couch to continue to watch the game going on.

Tango looked up from the game, waving and offering a quick greeting before Skizz overtook him. Skizz barely looked up from the game, nodding at Scar. 

“What’re you doing over here?” Gem asked, Scar only then realized she had been lounging on one of the chairs. 

Scar shrugged, “Just got back from the bus ride.” he sat down next to Impulse watching the game unfold. 

“Oh man, I forgot about that!” Zedaph piped up from where he was hiding behind Gem’s chair. Gem looked over to the brunet as if she expected him to continue. 

“So what’s it been like?” Impulse asked, leaning against the back of the couch. 

Scar shrugged, he didn’t have the words to describe it just yet. All he had were questions. None of his questions had answers. He didn’t say anything, hoping the others would take that as a warning to not question it. However, his silence only made the others more concerned. 

“Scar?” Impulse asked, the brunet always had something to say. He was always talking about something either some random topic or what had happened that day. He wasn’t quiet. Scar was not made to be quiet. They had all learned that after knowing him for so long. 

Scar didn’t say anything again, sighing, thinking about what he could say to quell Impulse’s worry. But his hesitance only got more attention from the other. 

Impulse nudged Tango, the redhead looked up from the game sending a glance over to Scar before pausing the race between him and Skizz. Skizz paused, looking between the game and Tango before realizing. 

Gem and Zedaph looked over, Gem speaking up, “Scar, what happened?”

Scar frowned, “I don’t know.” 

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Tango asked, turning to listen to the other. “Spell it out for us.”

Scar huffed, “I mean it’s a weird place.” He thought for a moment, “It’s hard to find just one place to start.” 

“Then start with the uniform? What’s up with the tie? And…well…the rest?” Skizz asked, motioning to Scar’s outfit. Scar rolled his eyes, as if Skizz had any room to talk about the tie, the guy wore a t-shirt with a tuxedo printed on it. 

Scar tugged the tie off, throwing it to the side. “They have this school uniform, they gave it to me when I got there yesterday. But as you can see…” He stood up to show his friends, “It doesn’t exactly fit right.”

“Did you ask for one that did?” Gem asked, head rolling to the side so she was nearly upside down. 

“That’s the weird part,” Scar mentioned, “They don’t have any more. They’re reused. Once someone graduates they just reuse them for the next year. They just get stuck with whatever is left over.” Scar held up his arm so the others could see the cuff of his sleeve, “And the prior owner of this was a scribbler.”

Skizz chuckled, while Impulse spoke, “I mean if it bothers you, I’m sure you could get Cleo to help.”

Scar hummed, “She'd probably end up cutting it into pieces and burning it.” Scar shrugged, “Besides apparently not everyone has to follow it anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Zedaph asked, resting his arms on the chair Gem sat in. 

“I mean everyone wears the uniform except for one kid.” Scar said, holding up one finger. 

“Ah, nepotism.” Tango nodded in understanding, turning back to the game. 

“No,” Scar said quickly, “It’s not nepotism. It can’t be.” Tango turned back around, confused. Scar continued, “It’s not like the teachers don’t like him…just that they barely notice he’s there. Sometimes it feels like the teachers just don’t even notice the students around them. It’s the same with the other kids there, they acknowledge his existence but they steer clear of him like he's infected with something.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t follow rules?” Zedaph offered, raising an eyebrow.

Scar shook his head, “It's more like the rules just don’t apply to him. He doesn’t wear a uniform. He leaves in the middle of class and no one bothers to say anything.”

“Could be something medical.” Impulse proposed, with a shrug.

“Maybe.” Scar muttered, “There’s more though.” He continued, and the others waited for him to go on, “I was exploring the school today during my break period-which is a whole other thing. Everyone in the grade or a few grades just don't have a class. It’s like there’s a whole period just missing from everyone’s schedules. We’re just allowed to freely roam around, because they haven’t replaced a teacher who quit-”

“I wish we had a free period.” Zedaph huffed, crossing his arms, “Imagine all the experiments I could get done!” He exclaimed.

“Yeah, and imagine all the poor rats that would have to go through that.” Gem joked, nudging the blond with her foot. Zedaph rolled his eyes.

“What did you find, Scar?” Impulse asked, getting back onto the topic. 

“There’s this hallway where people don’t go down. It’s just empty-no classes, no lockers, nothing. So today I went down there to see what the big deal was and there’s-there’s this room. A classroom-’cept it’s locked off. It’s taped off with caution tape and there’s a sign on the door. It’s just condemned.” Scar explained, imagining the door in front of him and the room inside he could barely see. He tried to remember what was inside it. He tried to remember the number on the plaque outside. He stared out the window of Impulse’s home trying to remember.

Impulse and Tango both sent a confused glance at each other, “I mean, maybe it’s just an old section of the building.” Tango said.

“It looks exactly the same as the rest of the school.” Scar argued.

“Sometimes stuff doesn’t look old but it is. Maybe it’s just got some mold or chemical spill and they can’t have people inside.” Impulse tried.

“Wouldn’t they have tried to clean that, though? Why just leave it there? Why block off only one room in the whole hallway, but then make sure no one has any reason to go down there anyway?” Scar asked questions neither Impulse nor he could answer.

“I’m sure it's nothing to worry about, Scar.” Impulse shrugged.

“Yeah, listen to dad.” Gem grinned, the redhead re-braiding her hair to have something to do with her hands. Impulse rolled his eyes, before grabbing a pillow from the couch and throwing it at Gem’s head. 

Zedaph ducked behind Gem’s chair once again, as she was hit in the head with a pillow. The blond giggling as Gem started sputtering, “Impulse! Why would you-”

Impulse laughed, gaining smiles from Skizz and Tango who turned back to their game in front of them. Tango unpaused, and the two were back into bickering over who was cheating and who was losing. Impulse and Gem continued to smart off at each other until it ended up in a one sided pillow fight, as Gem berated the older in fluffy throw-pillows.

Scar sat quietly. 

Normally, Impulse’s advice calmed his nerves. Impulse, Tango and Zedaph gave good advice when it came down to it. But for some reason there was something throwing him off about this whole thing. 

He sat there, thinking about the things he’d seen and the things his friends had spoken. He didn’t notice Zedaph moving to sit next to him. As silent as a mouse, Zedaph moved next to him and whispered.

“You know I did some research about that school before you went.” Zedaph whispered to Scar. The brunet jumped once he heard the other next to him. He hadn’t even noticed him sitting down. 

“Okay?” Scar whispered back.

Zedaph nodded, “I think you’re right. There’s barely anything about it online. I wouldn’t trust it.” 

“But you don’t trust anything.” Scar said, knowing the guy’s paranoia ran quite deep. He’d once been confident that a herd of sheep were watching him because he was using their cousins in a school experiment.

Zedaph frowned, “Well, trust me this one time. That school is suspicious.”

And trusting the most paranoid person Scar knew sounded like the best idea yet.

Chapter Text

Scar had a plan for today. 

Number one: He was going to apologize to Taurtis, whatever he said yesterday had upset him and he wasn’t about to let that ruin a friendship in the making. 

Number two: He was going to ask about the taped off room.

Number three: He was going to eat biscuits when he got home.

He jumped off the bus, walking through the gate, and immediately looking for Taurtis underneath his tree. He checked the picnic benches and even the limbs of the tree to see if the other had climbed up, but he couldn’t find a single piece of the blond. 

He walked past the tree following the rest of the students into the building. The hallways looked longer than he remembered them, as if they had grown extra inches in the time he’d left the school. The walls were bare of any kind of decoration, only white bricks of cinder blocks encased the walkways.

Walking down the hallways, the windows looked more like jail bars with how thick the lines between the panes were. Even before classes the students were sticking close to the walls, heads down and voices low. No one was walking in the middle of the hallway, bar Scar himself. 

He poked his head into the classroom to see if Taurtis had managed to sneak his way in there before the bell, only to find the classroom empty. He sighed, turning back to the rest of the hall, when he heard shouting that made everyone in the hallway flinch. 

“Look, man, just tell me the truth! What’s going on?” Someone shouted, while Scar was sure those words could’ve been a part of some calm conversation, the voice had an edge to it that made his hair stick up. 

Scar searched the hallway for the voice, but found that there was no one there shouting. The people that were passing through hadn’t even seemed to notice it. They flinched at the voice but fell back into their conversations, if not being even quieter.  Scar stopped in his tracks looking around asstudent pushed past him in a rush. 

“This isn’t funny! You’re supposed to be my friend! You are my best friend, right?” The shouting continued, this time there was a threatening lilt in the ending question. Scar looked around the hallway, confused at what he was hearing. 

The students started rushing out of the hallway then. They pushed past one another trying to get into the restrooms or classrooms. Others just turned tail and went the opposite way. Scar watched as the kids panicked trying to run away from something that Scar couldn’t even see. 

The brunet ignored the warning signs and walked towards the directions all the students were running from. 

He made it a few more steps before he saw students running from one hallway into the next. He turned looking down the hallway, to see a sight that took his breath away.

He froze, eyes wide as he stared at what was certainly something he wanted to run from. 

Taurtis was pushed up against a wall, there were hands on his suspenders holding him an inch above the ground. Scar could see tears welled up in the boy’s eyes as he stared at his offender. The blond already had a red mark on his face, right between his cheek and jawbone. His headphones were barely perched on his head, halfway falling off his ears. His hands were shaking as they tried to grab the hands that were on him. 

The person holding him against the wall was the bunny hatted boy Scar had seen. He finally managed to get a better look at him now as he threatened the other. He had bright red eyes, and brown hair that was most certainly dyed. Scar could see the pieces of white that stuck out in his curls. 

The boy had a sharp glare on him, his right eye twitching, as his grimace grew. His hands were tightening around the other’s suspenders and Scar could barely make out something glinting in his right hand. It looked reflective, a tiny light shining off of whatever it was. 

“I don’t-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Taurtis whispered, he was blinking so much trying to get rid of the tears. 

The boy silently growled, “You want to explain to me one more time why I keep seeing you ‘round that kid.” 

Taurtis shook his head, desperately. Scar gripped the corner of the wall as he watched his somewhat-friend. His mouth slightly opened as he gaped at the sight in front of him. He was just about to call out to Taurtis when the other boy slammed him against the wall. 

Taurtis let out a yell, crumbling in on himself as he was slammed against the brick wall. 

Scar looked behind him, someone had to be hearing this! A teacher! Someone! They couldn’t just let this happen, right? He moved his foot about to run off and find someone, but then Taurtis was muttering. 

“Sam. Sam. Sam, I promise, you’re my friend. Okay? You’re my friend. My only friend.” He swore, patting his ‘friends’ arms as if it was some kind of comfort. 

“Do you know how hard it is to be your friend? You know that, right, Taurtis?” Sam laughed, “I mean, seriously, I don’t know how I put up with it. How do I put up with it?” Sam said with a grin, it was like a switch had flipped. He dropped his hold on the suspenders and Taurtis fell to the ground. 

Scar flinched, wanting badly to rush to his side and make sure the other was alright, but he stayed put. 

Taurtis shook his head “I don’t know. You’re a good person.” He whispered, and Scar had to disagree. Sam let out a chuckling breath.

“Well, know that that’s settled.” And he slipped whatever he’d been holding back into his inside pocket of his school jacket. Taurtis hadn’t moved from the floor, he just pushed himself up so he was sitting down. He crossed his legs looking up at Sam as the other hummed to himself. “We should get some breakfast! We’ll get you some toritos and-”

Taurtis flinched at the mention of the food, his fingers snaking together. “Sam, I don’t want to play this game anymore.” He whispered, and Scar’s anger softened at the sound of the voice. He sounded so…desperate. His voice wavering like it was paper thin and anything could kick it over and crumple up his wishes. 

Sam tensed, turning back around to face Taurtis. His face screwed up, going all wrong again, “You-We are not playing a game, Taur-tus.” He stretched out the name, and spat it out like a curse.

“I don’t want to-” Taurtis tried again but Sam cut him off. 

“Need I remind you the only reason you are anywhere near this school is because of me! The only reason you are anywhere is because of me! If it wasn’t for me you’d be just a rotting piece of shit on the side of the road!” Sam fumed, pointing a finger at the blond who barely flinched. “You think I wanted to end up with a friend like you? Some weird blond freak! Since when has anyone asked you what you wanted? Since when do you get to decide anything! You are my best friend, and I get to decide-”

Scar had had enough of the boy now. His own anger was brewing in his stomach as he kept going, and Taurtis wasn’t even standing up for himself! He was literally just sitting and taking it! He took one last look to see if anyone had cared enough to show up and stop the fight, but there was no one.

He huffed, stomping his way down the hallway. He went unnoticed by both of the students. Halfway down his stomps turned into a more manageable calm gate. He let out a breath before stepping right beside Sam, spooking poor Taurtis to death. 

Scar cleared his throat, cutting Sam off from calling Taurtis any more names. Sam spun around, brow furrowed, “What the hell do you want?”

Scar bit back a few choice words, but ignored the boy completely, he turned to face Taurtis with a careful smile. He could now see the growing black eye the boy had on the other side of his face. There were still tears on his cheeks and Scar couldn’t help but wince. 

“Rowan wanted to talk to you.” Scar said, kindly, hoping the lie would hold up long enough to give Taurtis an out. The blond looked at him in fear, stuck still, he looked to Sam for permission.

“You heard him. Go.” Sam fumed, pointing in the direction of the gym. 

Taurtis wasted no time. He shot off the floor, fleeing down the hallway and from the sound of his footsteps the moment he was out of sight he was running. 

Sam huffed, his fist clenching at his sides. Scar watched, glaring himself at the boy. He really wanted to snatch the hat off of him and push him down himself. Give him a taste of his own medicine. Let him know how it felt to get bullied.

“You’re a right jerk, you know that.” Scar managed to say with as much fury as he could.

Sam glared at him, before turning on his heels and walking away. Scar didn’t go after him, instead he went after Taurtis hoping to catch him before he actually made it to the gym. 

He managed to grab the blond just before he opened the door to the gym. He was huffing having to run after him to catch up, seemingly, the gym practices were paying off.

Taurtis stared at him in confusion, blinking and still trying to wipe away tears. “What do you want?”

“Sorry.” Scar breathed out, “Rowan didn’t actually need you.” He let out quickly, bending over to try and catch his breath. Taurtis stared at him, a part of Scar thought he almost looked sad. 

“He didn’t?” He whispered.

“No.” Scar sighed, “I just wanted to get you away from him.”

Taurtis flinched, “Who?”

Scar raised an eyebrow, “Sam? Is that his name? The guy who was literally just holding you against a wall?”

Taurtis shifted on his feet, “You saw that?” His eyes wide as he wiped his face again. He winced when he had to touch his bruised eye. 

Scar frowned, “Yeah, I-Are you okay?” He asked, worry clear as he held out his hands in case he might be able to help, “Do you want to go to the nurse? We could get some ice for your eye-and cheek. Did he-did he actually hit you?”

Taurtis’s eyes widened more, “No! No, that-we don’t have to do that. I’m okay. The nurse-she-they won’t do much. Sam-He just got a little frustrated. He got a little mad is all.” He placated, trying to shut Scar’s help down. 

Scar shook his head, “No, that-we should still get you some ice. That wasn’t just mad.”

Taurtis laughed, “Yeah, it was! He’ll apologize before the day is over. We’re friends.”

“Friends don’t hit each other.” Scar said blatantly. 

Taurtis smiled, “Of course they do. He just got a little too rough today. He’ll apologize, I promise.”

“Even if he did, you don’t have to accept it, you know.” Scar supplied, hoping the other would take the advice. Taurtis just smiled, innocently. 

“But I want to?”

Scar frowned, “Taurtis, please.” Scar begged, grabbing the blond’s wrist and trying his best to offer comfort and safety. “You can talk to me.”

Taurtis stared at him, there was confusion all over his face but in his eyes Scar could see a bit of fear. He could see a twinge of tears still leftover and threatening to fall anew. He shook his head, “I’m okay.” 

Scar’s grip loosened in surprise at how earnest the notion was, Taurtis used it as a moment to get away. The blond moving away to head back to class. Scar was stuck still for a moment, before he remembered his first task of the day. 

“Wait, Taurtis!” He called, catching the other just before he turned the corner.

“Yeah?” He asked, quietly. 

“I’m sorry.” Scar said, “For yesterday,” He clarified, “If I said anything that hurt your feelings, I didn’t mean to. I swear. I’m sorry.” Then he remembered the conversation they’d just been having, “And you don’t have to accept my apology if you don’t want to.” He tacked on for safety measures. 

Taurtis chuckled, “I accept your apology, Scar.” He smiled, good-naturedly. 

Scar sighed, “Let me walk you to class then?” he asked, hoping the other would say yes. If not to soothe Scar’s anxiety of if he ran back into Sam but just to keep company. 

Taurtis froze for a moment, “Why?”

“We’re going to the same class, and it would make me feel better for what all happened earlier..” Scar answered, before a second thought could enter his mind. 

Taurtis smiled and nodded,“Okay.”

__________________________

Surprisingly, Taurtis didn’t insist on sitting outside during their break between class and gym. Taurtis was even waiting just outside his class once the bell rang. Scar pulled his bag over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow as he watched Taurtis nod and offer shaky smiles to everyone as they left. 

As Scar walked out, Taurtis stepped closer following in his footsteps. 

“What’s up?” Scar smiled.

Taurtis glanced over looking a tad confused, “What?”

“You just don’t normally meet me here?” Scar asked. Taurtis had his hands around his backpack handles, his shoulders tensed together. 

“I don’t know,” He shrugged, “I just-I thought…” He stumbled over his words. Scar watched the other’s face contort as if he was trying to think of something to say but couldn’t quite figure it out. Scar chuckled as they made it to the doors leading to the courtyard. He pushed the doors open and saw Taurtis pause before he could step outside. 

Scar looked him over to ask a question, before he noticed someone standing near the tree Taurtis was always by. Sam was standing underneath the tree, his arms crossed as he tapped his foot on the ground. His eyes were watching the surroundings searching for something. 

Scar paused himself, his hands still on the door. He frowned, looking back at Taurtis who was staring at the ground. Scar looked between the boy standing under the tree, and Taurtis’ odd arrival outside of his class, “Do you want to walk around with me?”

Taurtis nodded, shakily. 

Scar smiled, “Come on.” He chirped, grabbing the boy’s wrist and tugging him lightly along before Sam could see them. 

Before the two could get very far Scar stopped, “Are you sure you don’t want to get some ice for your eye? It’s looking swollen.” He asked. Taurtis smiled sadly.

“I’ll be okay.”

Scar frowned, but nodded and they kept going. Scar continued to try and keep up the conversation but Taurtis didn’t seem too interested in whatever he was talking about. Any time he tried to talk about things he thought everyone liked: Star Wars, Disney, space. Taurtis would only nod along and give simple answers. 

And when Scar asked if he’d ever seen those movies, Taurtis shook his head with a frown. Scar swore to introduce the blond to the franchise at some point, rather than spoil any of the movies. He started talking about space only to find that Taurtis wasn’t exactly caught up on that either. Apparently the boy didn’t have a lot of knowledge of what was happening outside of the school itself. His knowledge completely revolved around the little town and school. Anything outside of that was completely lost on him. 

They passed a trophy case and Scar took a moment scanning through the photos and trophies that filled it. He even recognized a few of the names of competitions. He pointed one out to the other. “You guys competed in a building competition?”

Taurtis stopped looking at the trophy and nodded, “It was a while ago. We didn’t do very well, either.” 

Scar looked back at the trophy, “But you guys got second place? That seems pretty good to me.”

Taurtis shrugged, “They don’t even have those competitions anymore,” He sighed, “They stopped those building competitions the year after we went.”

Scar scoffed, “No they didn’t.” he placed his hands on his hips, smirking at the other. “We compete every year! Just this last year, my brother, Bdubs, won first place in city-building.” He prided, with a large grin, “Oh, and my friend Joel, placed in fast-paced building with the randomly assigned prompts!”

Taurtis seemed to shrink upon hearing that, sighing,“Well, we haven’t competed in any competitions in years.” Taurtis said, “Competitions mean leaving the school. Leaving the school means dealing with other communities…and it just turns into a whole thing. I guess we just stopped.”

“Why?” Scar asked, scanning through the photographs again. 

“We just did…” Taurtis paused, “I don’t know why.” he whispered, “It’s why we were so surprised to get you.” Scar looked back to the blond, “We haven’t had contact with other schools in…forever.”

Scar looked back to the trophy case, frowning now, “Don’t you think you’d like another school better? Have you ever thought about transferring?”

Taurtis shook his head, “I can’t leave Sam. I can’t leave everyone here.” He said, sighing deeply, “But I can’t say I haven’t dreamt.” Scar was about to say something else before Taurtis cut him off, “Come on, don’t want to stay in one place too long.”

Taurtis walked off, and Scar cast a short glance back to the case before running off to catch up with him. They walked down a few hallways, Scar speaking about his friends at his old school. A part of him thought that if he convinced Taurtis about his own friends he’d want to meet them. 

Taurtis actually seemed interested in talking about his old classmates, asking questions and commenting about their traits. 

“Oh, and then there’s Impulse! He really acts like a dad to a lot of us, he’s always making sure we don’t end up flooding the school or something. He normally just hangs out with Zed, Tango and Skizz though. It's really hard to separate those four, they’re like best friends.” Scar described, chuckling to himself. 

“Do you normally flood the school?” Taurtis asked, a bit of fear in his eyes as he chuckled. 

“Well, no,” Scar rubbed the back of his neck, “I mean, I have ruined a few redstone projects before. Do not recommend it. Don’t touch Doc’s stuff.” Taurtis snorted, “but Imp’s normally watching out for us. And Skizz gives the best hugs!” Taurtis nodded along, “A little bone crushing but he shows up for literally everybody. I don’t think he’s missed one hermits’ competition, speech, game, or presentation.”

“Why do you call yourselves Hermits?” Taurtis asked.

Scar thought for a moment, “I guess it started out like a joke. Xisuma, he started it, said we never got out of our comfort zones with people. We were all just hermits. After that, no one stopped calling us Hermits.” 

“So this must have been way out of your comfort zone.” Taurtis pointed out, Scar nodded for him to continue, “I mean you transferred schools from one you knew literally everyone to here. That’s a bit of a leap for a … Hermit.”

Scar shrugged, “I guess, but I like meeting new people so long as they're nice. And you're nice so I think it worked out.” He nodded to himself, as if he was agreeing with what he just said. They stopped at the end of one hallway, and Taurtis smiled to himself. 

“Good.” He whispered, almost like he didn’t want Scar to hear him. The blond turned around, ignoring the next hallway they could walk down and started back the way they came. Scar looked to the hallway that they could’ve entered and saw exactly which one it was.

He froze. 

Taurtis just fully avoided it. He didn’t even acknowledge the hallway’s existence. He didn’t look at it or take a step near it. He just turned around. 

Scar looked back to Taurtis who was walking away silently, Scar sighed. Time for step two, “Why does no one go down that hallway?”

Taurtis froze, turning back to Scar, there was a tiny smile on his face but it looked nervous, “What?”

“No one goes down there.” Scar pointed down the hallway, “There’s no classes. There’s a room down there that-it’s taped off in caution tape. Why? Why can’t you go down there?”

Taurtis took a step forward looking down the hallway himself, “We just-we don’t like it.”

“That’s not an answer.” Scar demanded, “What happened in that room?”

Taurtis bit his lip, eyes dancing between the hallway and Scar, “It was an old chemical spill. That’s it.”

“But why not clean it up?” Scar pressed further. 

“We just didn’t.” Taurtis relented, silently asking the other to shut up. Scar didn’t listen. 

“Why won’t you tell me the truth?” Scar asked, firmly. 

Taurtis paused, he swallowed. The blond looked him up and down, sighing, “You won’t believe me.”

“Try me.” 

Taurtis stayed silent a moment longer, before, “Do you believe in ghosts?” Scar blinked, stammering a bit, but Taurtis shook his head and started walking away quickly, embarrassed, “I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“No wait,” Scar stopped him, “I’ve-” Taurtis paused from walking away, looking back at Scar, “I’ve never thought about it. I mean Skizz and Impulse go ghost hunting sometimes and they’ll invite me but we never found anything really good. But there’s always a possibility, right?”

Taurtis wrung his hands together, he looked down the hallway, whispering, “That halls haunted.”

“What? Why?” Scar asked, taking a step closer to the blond. Taurtis shook his head, but motioned for the other to follow him. Scar stayed close by the other’s footsteps as they entered the hallway. 

Taurtis stopped a few steps into the hallway, pointing out a golden plaque on the wall. Scar hadn’t noticed it before, but now he couldn’t unsee it. 

In memory of beloved teacher Gareth,

Gareth took his own life in his classroom halfway through the school year. 

The school will forever remember his contributions to education.

He leaves behind his classroom, students, friends and family.

And below it was a birth and death date. Scar gasped as he read it, he looked back to the taped off room. “He-”

“Yeah.” Taurtis whispered, shrugging. He was staring at his feet again, that terrible sad expression pressed against his features. “He was a good guy.”

“When-that was last year…” Scar pointed out.

Taurtis nodded, “Mhm.”

“Oh god,” Scar muttered, “Who-Who found him?”

Taurtis paused, looking back to the door himself, “We did.”

Scar snapped his head over to the blond, “What?”

“The students, we came to first period and…found him.” Taurtis whispered, his fingers shaking around his suspenders now. His voice was wavering and Scar could vaguely see a glaze moving over his eyes. “He was-um-he was just swaying back and forth. He had this-this look on his face…it was so-” Taurtis shook his head, “It just looked wrong. I mean we were going to have a pop quiz that day, but he was just han-”

“Okay, okay, I get it!” Scar stammered, clamping his hands over his ears so he couldn’t hear the description. He shook his head, shutting his eyes tight. He couldn’t imagine how terrible it would be to just find someone-to just see that. 

“Sorry.” Taurtis apologized, shifting on his feet. 

Scar frowned, letting go of his ears, “No, I-I didn’t realize. I’m so sorry. We should,” He paused looking once more at the taped off room, “we should go.” he said, barely pushing Taurtis out of the hallway so he couldn’t see the haunted room any longer. Even if it wasn’t ghostly haunted-there was something there that even Scar never wanted to feel again.

_______________________________________

Scar was walking through the lunch line after a rough gym class. He pushed his tray on the counter, pressing all his weight on the counter so his legs could get a break. He shook his head, taking a deep breath. 

He did not understand why Rowan pushed his students so much. Why did the guy stress running so much? He forced them all to run up to ten laps around the gym and wouldn’t let them stop running for anything. And even after the laps, it was either dodgeball or more laps. Although from what he’d heard from some students there was always the chance he chose a class on self-defense was needed instead. 

Scar grabbed a bottle of water from the opened package set on the counter. He plated his food, ignoring the bustling students behind him. He’d much rather take his time and go slow rather than force his legs to work any more than they had. 

He grimaced at the look of some of the food. That was one thing he really couldn’t get used to. The food at the Hermit’s high school was well made and even featured some of their culinary students' creations from that morning. Here it felt more like prison food and rations they found in a bunker. 

Scar grabbed the spoon offered to him, digging out the smallest amount he could pass with from the container. He plopped it onto his tray, trying not to cringe at the noise it made. 

As he did he felt someone slide beside him. 

He turned his head to see Ellen sliding their plate over and grabbing their own water bottle. He hadn’t seen Ellen since his first day, the student was a mystery to him. They just appeared and disappeared randomly. 

“Scar.” They said in greeting, taking the serving spoon from him quickly. 

“Hi?” He offered, nervously.

“I see you’ve met Taurtis.” Ellen said, their voice quiet as if their conversation was meant to be secret. 

Scar nodded, moving down the line to the next container of food. He nodded, “Yeah. You know him?” He asked, before the serving utensil was shoved in his direction. 

“Of course I do.” Ellen scoffed, “The question is how much do you know him?”

“Uh,” Scar paused, “I don’t know? I mean I just met the guy like two days ago.”

“Right, but he trusts you enough.” Ellen said, as if it were a statement rather than a question. They sighed, turning away from their plate; they stared at Scar for a moment. When the brunet noticed he looked over and locked eyes with them, for some reason he couldn’t look away from their eyes. He tried to offer a smile, but he didn’t really understand why Ellen was staring at him. 

“What’s going on?” He asked.

Ellen didn’t stop staring, their eyes moving as if they were reading a book and keeping up with the words. Then they stopped and stared at him in the eyes, “The school’s weird, right?”

Scar laughed, “Not as weird as you’re acting.” he smirked, hoping to get a laugh from the other, but they just stared at him more. He quieted his laugh, picking up his tray and moving to leave the kitchen and head into the actual lunchroom. 

Ellen grabbed their own plate and followed after him, “But you do think it’s different.”

Ellen rushed up to his side, Scar furrowed his brow as Ellen turned forcing him to turn as well since they blocked his path. Scar turned, as Ellen started walking faster towards a certain table. “Yeah, I mean there’s some odd parts.”

“Good.” Ellen stated, as they drove Scar towards a table. Scar absentmindedly sat down at the table expecting Ellen to sit next to him. He set his plate down, there was no one else at the table. 

Ellen, however, didn’t sit down. Instead, they kept walking leaving Scar to sit at the table by himself. Scar watched them leave, his confusion growing as he watched them pass a table that sat Taurtis, Sam and the girl with pink hair. He never managed to sit with them, mainly because he wanted nothing to do with Sam, but the look Taurtis gave him every time he walked passed drove him away. 

Scar huffed, looking at his lonely table and horrid food. He grabbed his fork, laying his head in his unused hand as he played with the food in front of him. His eyes casted to the side and he saw something laying in the seat next to him. 

There was a folded up newspaper next to his seat, one that hadn’t been there a moment ago. He looked around, thinking someone must have dropped it but no one had passed by except Ellen. 

Scar dropped his fork and picked up the newspaper. He looked closer and saw that in black ink was the school’s logo, underneath was a list of names that were the writers. Ellen’s name stuck out to him under one of the co-writers. 

He opened the newspaper, finding the article that was written by Ellen. He gasped at the headline,

Teacher dead in classroom; Found yesterday morning !

Scar blinked, shoving his plate out of his way he laid the paper against the table. He traced his finger along the words as he read, 

Mr. Gareth was found yesterday morning in his own classroom. He had taken his own life the night before. A note was found on his desk thanking his friends and family for all they had done. It specifically mentions his wife and Coach Rowan. Students found Mr. Gareth just before entering their first period class. A quote has been taken by one student who was there at the time he was found:

“He was just laying limp in the air-oh god-I-He had a plan. He-There was a mark on his face, like he’d been hit with something. There was blood underneath him. I didn’t-I wanted to- I can’t do this, Ellen.” 

-Anonymous. 

The school has closed off the hallway for the time being with no statement of when classes will resume down there. For the foreseeable future, though, Mr. Gareth’s room will be under lock down and no classes will be taken inside. The nurse is offering counseling to anyone who wishes to seek them out. 

As for the cause of death, Mr. Gareth is said to have killed himself. However some students are disagreeing with this and spreading rumors of foul play. 

“There was blood on the floor. It was puddled all around the room, not just where he was. That doesn’t make sense. Not to mention the marks on his skin. We all saw it when we went in there. He had bruises, cuts-he didn’t just kill himself. I’m almost sure of it.”

-Anonymous.

“I don’t trust it. We walked in there and we didn’t see what they described in the autopsy.” Can you describe what you saw? “It was like the rope had been the afterthought. The chairs were all topsy-turvy and the desk thrown about. There was even a broken window.”

-Anonymous. 

For now there are no answers to the rumors, as usual the students shall remain anonymous.

Scar stared at the article. “What?” He muttered, he looked over to see Taurtis slowly eating and listening to Sam ramble. That wasn’t what Taurtis had described at all. “What in the world?”

It wasn’t even what the plaque on the wall described. There was a lie somewhere, Scar knew it. Someone wasn’t telling the truth, but who? 

A school haunted by the teacher who died in their own classroom after hours and no one knew the reason why. A school where everyone ran away at the sound of a boy with rabbit ears yelling. A school where everyone had to wear the same uniform except for one boy. A school that had an exchange program with another district even though the school wasn’t supposed to have connections outside. A school where an exchange program was kept secret from others. A school where the only option in gym class was to run or learn self-defense. A school where the students were years behind where they should be in classes. 

There was nothing normal about this school. There was no way he was overthinking this. Impulse had to be wrong. They just hadn’t seen what he’d seen, heard what he heard. 

Scar needed answers, and he wasn’t going to get them from Ellen or Taurtis. 

There was only one other person mentioned in the article: Rowan.

Chapter Text

“What are you reading?” Taurtis asked once Scar sat down next to him. It was just a few minutes until the first bell rang, and Scar didn’t feel like entering the building just yet. Taurtis had noticed the newspaper that hung from Scar’s hands as he wrestled with his backpack. The blond looking up from his sketchbook to ask.

Scar looked back to the newspaper away from his bag, “Oh, just something I found.” He muttered, barely flashing the title before starting to shove it into his bag. 

Taurtis smirked, “No. No, I want to know.” He chuckled, shifting to face the other and trying to grab his bag from him. “What is it?” He asked, smiling as he pulled on the bag to get a better look at the paper. 

“It’s nothing.” Scar huffed.

Taurtis visibly deflated, frowning, “Right. Sorry.” He apologized, letting go of the bag and shifting to sit back down. Scar bit the inside of his cheek, regretting his tone as Taurtis looked back to his own sketchbook. 

“I didn’t mean it like that-” Scar clarified, he sighed. “I’m researching something.” He nodded to himself, “It’s-It’s for a project. I’ve got to research something and the newspaper is one of my first stops, you know? Just a really boring topic, really.”

Taurtis watched as Scar spoke, his eyes staring into him as if trying to find the lie. He didn’t question him anymore, though, instead nodding and sinking deeper into the tree behind them. He picked up his pencil, darkening a line he’d already made. “Sounds like a fun project.” The boy rolled his eyes.

Scar smirked, “Group projects are normally like that.” 

“It’s a group project?” Taurtis asked, his back stiffening as he looked away from his drawing. “Who-Who’s your partner?” His voice breaking at the start. 

Scar raised an eyebrow, “Salex. I think that’s their name.”

Taurtis relaxed again, “Salex.” He muttered, before flinching, “Salex?”

Scar nodded, slowly, confusion crossing his brow. Then he remembered the conversation he had with Salex not too long ago. She seemed nice. If he looked past the empty threat to keep his hands to himself-which was quite rude! He couldn’t even imagine what she was implying with that!

“Is there something wrong?” Scar asked.

“N-No.” Taurtis whispered, burying his face into his sketchbook. His knees curled up into his chest, as he tightened his shoulders. He looked like he was trying to hide in a ball. Scar could barely make out the darting glances Taurtis was sending the grass between his feet. “She’s nice.”

Scar chuckled, “Yeah,” he looked away from Taurtis, “She talked about you some, you know.”

Taurtis flinched a little. Scar ignored the twitching fingers on his sketchbook as Taurtis tried to focus on his drawing. “She-She did? Why?”

“She only said you had been talking about me.” Scar shrugged, Taurtis seemed to relax before Scar finished, “Then she called you cute.”

Taurtis' full body flinched, “She did what!” 

Scar burst into a fit of laughter as Taurtis’ face filled with a bright red around his cheeks and nose. He looked a mixture of mad and embarrassed. Scar couldn’t tell which was better. Taurtis shoved his sketchbook away, crossing his arms as Scar laughed. 

“Stop laughing! It’s not funny!” He complained, shoving the brunet in the shoulder. 

Scar smirked, “She complimented you, why are you so mad?” He gasped, a bit theatrically, “Oh, do you like her?!” 

Taurtis’ eyes widened, “What? No!” He stammered, “Where-Where did you get that idea?”

Scar hummed, “I don’t know. The way you lit up like a Christmas tree was pretty telling.” Scar teased, pointing to the blond’s cheeks that were still a rosy red. His eyes got wide once more and the blond grabbed his sketchbook, and buried his face into the pages to hide. 

He looked over the edge of the book, glaring at the brunet, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He murmured. 

Scar laughed, poking the other in the side, “Come on, it’s nothing bad.”

Taurtis rolled his eyes, swatting the other’s hand away. The two didn’t notice the two sets of footsteps coming up to them. Scar teased the other as he buried his nose into his drawing, trying to ignore Scar’s ignorant comments. 

“So…do you like her?” Scar asked, poking the boy in the side. Taurtis huffed, shifting to look away from the other. 

“She’s fine.” He shrugged, frowning.

Scar huffed, rolling his head back, “That’s not what I asked!” He chuckled, “Do you like her?”

“Does Taurtis like who?”

Scar snapped his head over to see the two people he’d been absentmindedly avoiding since moving to the school. On one side, there was Sam. He still wore the weird bunny eared hat that covered his brown hair. He wore a well-fitted school uniform but there was still something off about it and how it fit. It more just hung off his body, as if even the clothes were trying to escape him. On the other side of him, there was the pink-haired girl. She was never too far away from Sam. If there was anyone on the school’s grounds who had well fitted clothes it was her- and only her. 

Taurtis seemed to curl deeper into himself once he’d noticed the two. He shifted in his spot, moving to tap his pencil against his paper as if he was thinking. He looked away from Scar, promptly ignoring his existence. 

“Hi, Sam.” Taurtis greeted, quietly. 

“Hey buddy!” Sam giggled, before falling right between Scar and Taurtis to sit down between them. He shuffled up against the tree, forcing Scar to make room for him. “Still working on those dumb drawings?”

Scar scoffed, he’d seen Taurtis’ art. It was wonderful. “They’re not dumb.” Scar defended quickly. All three students looked back to Scar, he could see the moment Sam’s face twitched from confusion to anger. 

“Was I talking to you?” Sam scoffed, looking back to Taurtis, “I’ve told you. Taurtis shouldn’t draw.” Sam said, sternly, the way he said the boy’s name sent a shiver down Scar’s spine. It felt off coming from his mouth. As if he was reciting something rather than calling out someone’s name. 

Scar frowned, no one should tell anyone what they can and can’t do. 

“I like drawing.” Taurtis muttered, his attempt at standing up for himself felt like someone building a tower out of cards.

Sam rolled his eyes before glancing back to the pink haired girl. The girl barely moved an inch, before the book in Taurtis’ hand was kicked away. The sketchbook went flying out of the boy’s hands as he brought them to his chest for protection. 

“Hey!” Scar shouted, watching as the girl moved quickly over to where the book had fallen into a puddle of mud from the night’s rain. Scar pushed himself up, shouting as the girl stomped the book into the ground. “Hey! What the heck is wrong with you!”

“Yuki!” Taurtis shouted once but his voice died at the end. Scar didn’t see why his voice died out, or why he didn’t try and stop her. He was too concerned about the girl ruining Taurtis’ hard work. 

Scar grabbed the girl’s jacket, pulling her away from the mud with all of his strength. The girl, Yuki, didn’t take kindly to it. She brought a quick fist up, throwing a punch at the brunet. Scar gasped, before the fist met his face and he was sent backwards. Scar covered his eye with one hand, glaring at the girl with the other. 

He let out a shallow breath, fisting his hand before someone tugged his arm and turned him around. He was just about to send a punch back before Sam was in front of him and talking, “I don’t think we’ve officially met! I’m Sam!”

Sam stuck out a hand for a shake, and Scar could barely muster a string of confused questions and curses before Sam was talking again. This guy went from engaging in a fight to being polite in split seconds. 

“And that’s Yuki. We haven’t gotten the chance to meet you, yet. A shame really, I love meeting new people. Same with Taurtis, there,” Sam shrugged, motioning to Taurtis who was sitting quietly beside the tree. He had curled in on himself some, and wasn’t watching the conversation anymore. Instead, he was focused on grabbing his book back from the mud. His fingers barely brushed against the cover as he picked it up. 

“Probably why he’s been bothering you so much. He’s just a bit clingy, isn’t he?” Sam laughed, Scar didn’t find anything about this funny. 

“He actually hasn’t bothered me once.” Scar snapped, glaring at the brunet. 

Sam’s smile faltered, but it came back just as strong, “He’ll wear on you eventually. Anyway! Yuki and I just wanted to introduce ourselves! In fact, since you’re already such great friends with Taurtis, why don’t you join us for lunch!”

Scar swallowed at the look he was suddenly giving from Sam, a sharp glare atop a burning smile. Scar looked over to Taurtis, whose face had drained of color upon the invitation. 

“I-I don’t know.” Scar dropped his hand away from his face, brushing his pants. “You going to punch me if I say no?” He squinted. 

Sam’s smile twitched, and he let out an audible breath, “Of course not! Yuki only did that because you scared her! She’s got some great reflexes.”

Scar frowned, looking back to where Yuki was standing over Taurtis. Every time Taurtis tried to reach for the book Yuki raised her leg just enough to make the other flinch as if she was going to kick him. Taurtis eventually shrunk in on himself more, leaving the book as Yuki glared over him never letting him leave her watch. Scar looked back to Sam, fuming “Sure. I’ll be there.”

Sam clapped his hands, “Great!” Then he snapped back to Taurtis, “Hey, Taurtis! Don’t let him forget.” Then Sam was walking away with Yuki, leaving both Taurtis and Scar in silence. 

Taurtis was quickly moving, once the two were out of his sight. “Oh my-oh my gods, are you okay? She-She punched you!” Taurtis rushed, pushing himself up and running over to Scar. His hands floated above Scar’s face as if he was trying to convince himself it was okay to check for injuries, “You’re not hurt, are you? How bad is it?”

Scar smiled, chuckling, “I’m fine. I have an older brother, it’s not the first time I’ve been punched.” He shrugged, Taurtis paused before nodding to himself. He then smacked Scar in the arm with the back of his hand.

“What were you thinking!” He shouted, huffing and moving past Scar. He picked up his sketchbook, brushing off the cover. “That was so stupid! Never-Never get in Yuki’s way.” He warned, with a kind of severity in his tone that Scar didn’t like. 

“You can’t just let them walk over you.” Scar huffed, motioning to the two. “Seriously, you shouldn’t just go along with this. He’s not your friend.”

“He is my friend.” Taurtis argued, flipping through his book.

“Friends don’t ruin each other’s work.” Scar pointed to the sketchbook, “Friends don’t punch each other!” He pointed to his one darkening bruised eye and then to the bruises that painted Taurtis’s skin as well. 

Taurtis frowned, sighing, “Let it go, Scar.”

“No! Why would I let that go? Why does everyone just seem to let it go?” Scar asked, loudly.

Taurtis huffed, rubbing his head, “Well, you’ll figure it out eventually, right? Seeing as you just decided lunch plans were the best option!”

“You eat with them.” Scar scoffed.

Taurtis paused, opening his mouth to speak before shutting it. He sighed, “Don’t-Don’t be like me.” He muttered, before turning on his heels and walking away to the building. 

Scar huffed, watching as Taurtis walked away with a ruined sketchbook and slouched back. He looked back to his own book bag, seeing that it had been tipped over. Most of the contents had fallen over and out into the muddy ground, he sighed. He flipped the bag over, trying to save whatever he could before he noticed something missing. 

The newspaper was gone.

Scar looked back to the muddy ground but he found nothing. 

He looked back to where he’d been with Taurtis, Sam and Yuki. The only people close enough to his bag were those three. One of them had stolen the newspaper? Why? Why steal a school newspaper they could’ve easily gotten themselves? Why take a newspaper that talked about something they already knew about? Why steal it if they had been so sure there was a conspiracy with the death anyway? Wouldn’t they have wanted people to know? 

Scar froze.

Unless one of them had something to hide.

_____________________________________________

Scar had come to both dread and love the gym class. While he despised the way Rowan ran the students until they either passed out or broke something, Scar enjoyed having the option of doing something for once rather than sitting in a boring class. And at the same time, he was able to speak to the other students freely without constant shushes and glaring looks. 

So even if he hated the actual class itself, there was also the plus of Rowan. Rowan who seemed to be one of the only competent teachers Scar had met. Even if that was only judged through the sparse conversations Rowan had with students. 

It wasn’t like the guy was exactly a chatter-box, especially not with the students, who Scar learned he continued to refer to as ‘maggots’.

Still, Scar had no better options. Rowan was the only person in the newspaper that was listed under this Gareth person’s name. Whoever they were, Rowan knew them. And if Scar wanted to learn about Taurtis that meant he had to learn about Gareth-which meant he had to learn about Rowan.

And in all fairness, Scar never claimed to be a detective. He never even claimed to be the best student. Cub often helped with science-y and math-y topics when it came down to it. And Cleo was the best option when difficulties arose in english. But he’d always managed. 

He had no doubt that he could manage this, too. While Taurtis may not like to be referred to as it, but the whole situation was just a puzzle. It was a story that Scar was putting together piece by piece. 

Whether people liked it or not.

Scar walked into the gym just in time to see the students huddling into the locker rooms before Rowan could make it out of his office. He snuck past a few students changing quickly, before rushing out of the locker room before anyone could speak to him.

He had more important things to figure out.

He made his way across the gym to the closed office door. He raised his hand above the dark wood about to knock when he heard voices. 

“How are you?” Scar didn’t recognize the voice. It sounded familiar but there was a change, softer spoken and quieter. 

“I’m fine.” Scar recognized that one. It was Taurtis. 

“I want a real answer.” Scar paused, that was Rowan. Why were they talking in his office? And why did he sound so different? 

“It was a real answer.”

“How is Sam then?” Rowan asked. Scar could hear shuffling on the other side of the door stop. It was muted as if it had been far away, but then it stopped all together. Scar didn’t like how Rowan asked about Sam. The way he spat out the name as if it was a curse. 

“He’s Sam.” Taurtis answered, simply.

Rowan made a noise of agreement and the shuffling went back to work. “You know my offer still stands.” He sounded…sad.

There was silence and Scar wondered if the two were done and would leave. He didn’t want to be caught eavesdropping, but he couldn’t move from his spot. His feet felt stuck to the floor. 

“And say what? Do what? Where would I go?” Taurtis said, there was a sharpness to his voice. It sounded like he was snapping at the man, but from what Scar had seen he was much too timid for that. Then Taurtis’ voice got low, “He’s all I have left.”

“You know I would help.” 

“I’m not risking that.” Taurtis disagreed, the shuffling came to an end and his voice got clearer and louder. He was closer to the door now. “What about Silly? And Okami? What would they do if something happened? I can’t do that.”

“They would understand and you know that.” Rowan huffed.

“Just-can we stop talking about this.” Taurtis muttered. Scar winced from behind the door at the sound his voice made as it cracked. 

“Alright. Alright.” Rowan sighed, “How is he?”

“Who?” 

“The new kid.” Rowan clarified, “What’s he like?”

Scar froze, was-were they talking about him? He pressed his ear to the door to hear better. Taurtis was talking about him?

Taurtis didn’t say anything for a moment, then, “Why do you want to know?”

“You’ve been around him a lot. A lot more than you normally stick to people.”

Scar smiled to himself before Taurtis voice, “He’s an idiot.” Scar frowned, his stomach dropping as he felt his body freeze, “But he’s sweet.”

And then instead of the ice cold feeling there was a burning across his cheeks.

“Part of me wishes he wasn’t here.” Taurtis continued, “He doesn’t deserve to be. I mean seriously, which one of you guys thought it was a good idea for an exchange program! He should be back home with his friends and family not…here. Here he’s…he’s easy pickings. I mean you should see him, I swear if I wasn’t by him making sure he didn’t do something stupid, he’d already be in a ditch somewhere!” Taurtis ranted, but his voice was filtered with laughter and soft pauses. It sounded like he was smiling. 

“And the other part of me,” He continued, “Is just selfish enough to want him to stay.” 

Scar pressed closer to the door. He heard as Rowan hummed for Taurtis to continue. 

“I haven’t laughed this much in…months. I haven’t smiled this much…I’m smiling right now!” Taurtis shouted, and Scar didn’t feel quite too bad with eavesdropping if Taurtis was going to be that loud. Still he shifted his feet, pride in his chest and smile on his face as he listened, “He’s so so nice. Just…nice. He listened and he didn’t laugh at my drawings. He sat by me in classes. He’s…he stood up against Sam.”

“I heard.” Rowan finally interrupted.

Scar took in a breath, wondering what would be said next. 

“He’s going to get himself killed and I don’t know if I can handle that.” Taurtis whispered. Scar furrowed his brow. It was an odd figure of speech. He was perfectly fine and dandy. A bit dramatic on Taurtis’ part. 

“He’s a good kid.” Rowan said, his voice getting louder as he got closer to the door. “You both are. And you’ll both figure it out, G-” 

“Don’t.” Taurtis snapped.

“Taurtis.” Rowan sighed, before there was a hand on the doorknob and Scar could hear it clicking open. “Now get out there with the rest of the maggots before someone thinks something they shouldn’t about why you’re in my office.”

The door opened, and Scar had just enough time to move out of the way enough to look as if he’d been waiting patiently instead of eavesdropping. He pulled both of his hands behind his back, rolling on his feet innocently. He gave the two a smile.

Taurtis looked shocked to see him, his eyes wide and there was a bright red shine on his face that wasn’t there before. He was in his gym clothes now having changed in Rowan’s office apparently. He blinked once he saw Scar, and his hands shook as he gripped the end of his shirt.

“S-Scar?” Taurtis muttered out, mouth trying to twitch into a smile.

Rowan didn’t seem too surprised. Instead, he was just glaring at Scar, standing over Taurtis with his hand on the doorknob. He squinted his eyes looking the brunet up and down. 

“What are you doing, newbie?” Rowan asked, as Taurtis ducked away from the office door and out into the gym. 

“How long have you been standing there?” Taurtis asked, worriedly. 

“Not long.” Scar answered, quickly, albeit nervously. Then he turned back to Rowan, “I-I just wanted to have a chat with you!”

Taurtis looked between the two before he scurried off to join the rest of the class that were now coming out of the locker rooms. 

“I don’t chat with students.” Rowan glared.

“Then what was that?” Scar asked, pointing behind him to Taurtis who was walking away quickly with his head down. Rowan followed his line before turning back to him. 

“None of your business.” He snapped. 

Scar frowned, “If you can make time to talk to him, you can talk to me, right?”

“He’s a special case.” Rowan glowered, crossing his arms. 

“So you treat students differently based on preference?” Scar asked, smirking, and raising an eyebrow. Rowan frowned, and Scar could see his nose twitch slightly. 

“I treat him differently.” Rowan stated, “Hate to break it to you but none of you are special. Don’t give yourself too much credit, you’ll end up in the same place as the rest of those maggots one day.” Rowan went to close the door, but Scar placed his foot between the doorframe to stop it from closing. 

He wasn’t sure where the extra sense of courage came from but he needed answers. Rowan seemed to be the only person with them and also able to give them to him. Rowan glared at the kid, waiting for him to say something. 

Scar let out a quiet breath, surprising himself with how shaky it was, “I know about Sam.” Was all he could manage to get out, he wasn’t sure if that would mean anything to Rowan. He wasn’t even sure if he knew anything about Sam, but there was something off about him and that was enough for Scar to think there was more to the whole school than what they were letting on. 

Rowan’s glare faltered for only a second, as he looked over Scar once again. The older looked behind Scar to where Taurtis was sitting with a few other students. The group of students stared at the two, before going back to whispering with each other. Taurtis ignored the whispering, still staring at the two. 

Scar tried to offer a smile to Taurtis, before turning back to Rowan. “I’ve got questions. You have answers. And you’re the only person I think is willing to give them to me.”

Rowan frowned, before opening the door more. He shuffled out of the doorway, motioning for Scar to get in quickly. Scar grinned, rushing in before the man could change his mind. Rowan looked back over to the rest of the students who had paused their whispering to watch once more. 

“Alright, maggots, get to running! You know the drill!” Rowan shouted, before blowing the whistle around his neck. He pointed to the rest of the gym, as the kids struggled to get up fast enough and start running. 

Scar watched as the kids fell into the routine of running in circles around the gym. He could see as a few still managed to continue their whispering conversations while running. Scar's main attention was Taurtis who had fallen behind from where he normally placed himself. Rather than running at the front of the crowd, he was firmly in the middle of the crowd, his eyes darting between where he was running and Scar.

Once Rowan was happy with their pace, he nodded to himself, turning to face Scar. He closed the door behind him as he reentered his office. Rowan walked back around his desk, sitting down. He rested his head into one of his hands, huffing, “I’m not answering all your questions, got it? There’s some shit I can’t repeat and you’re not getting it out of me. Got it? I decide what questions get answers.”

Scar stared at the coach, nodding, absentmindedly, “Got it.”

Rowan waved a hand, “Alright, get on with it.”

Scar let out a breath, he was finally getting answers. He was almost shaking with excitement. He rounded the chair in front of the desk, happily, sitting down quickly. He sat on the edge of the seat, leg bouncing as he thought over his questions. He had so many questions it was hard to just ask one. He couldn’t seem to choose, there was too much confusion, he didn’t even know how to ask a question. “Why was Taurtis in your office?”

“Not answering.” Rowan said, quickly. He hadn’t even thought about it. The words came out like a reflex as if he’d been asked that question before. Scar deflated a bit, wondering if this was how every question would go. 

“Okay…” Scar sighed, “Why did you just let Taurtis leave in the middle of class?”

Rowan stayed silent, he raised an eyebrow. He sat back in his seat, staying quiet. Scar sighed, realizing he wasn’t getting that answer either. “Alright,” Scar muttered, rolling his eyes, “Why doesn’t Taurtis wear the uniform?”

Rowan sat forward again, staring at Scar in the eyes, “Do you want to ask me questions or do you want to ask Taurtis?”

Scar paused, thinking it over. He rolled the idea in his head, sighing, “You won’t answer anything about him?”

“Nope.” Rowan said, easily. “Did you really think I was going to just spill that kids shit to you? No. You want to know that crap you ask him. If he don’t tell you the truth, that's not my problem-and don’t take it as yours either.”

“But-But I know about Sam…” Scar mumbled. 

“Kid.” Rowan grumbled. Scar looked up from his hands to see Rowan’s eyes darken. He leaned forward in his chair till he was pushed against his desk and right in Scar’s eye line. “You don’t know a fucking thing about Sam.”

Scar froze, fingers flinching, “Wh-What?”

Rowan sat back in his chair, situating himself to be comfortable again. He crossed his legs, looking blankly at Scar. Not a single remnant of their conversation was shown on his face. 

“Okay.” Scar mumbled, “You knew Gareth, right?” 

Rowan shifted in his seat, “I knew Mr. Gareth, yes. How do you know about him?” Rowan asked, eyes squinting, questioning.

Scar swallowed, “I saw the hallway. I saw the room…Taurtis told me some.” He muttered the last part before shaking his head and sighing, “You’re mentioned in the school newspaper article about it. Why?”

Rowan nodded, “We were friends, even before we were colleagues. Where did you find a school newspaper?” Rowan asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Scar straightened, feeling as though he was the one getting interrogated and not the other way around. “Well-I- I found it at lunch. It was on a table.”

“A newspaper from a year ago was just laying on a random lunch table and you just decided to pick it up? Just decided to read it?” Rowan scoffed. 

“I’m not lying.” Scar said, quickly, “I don’t-I don’t have the newspaper anymore, but I’m not lying. It said that he-that he did that to himself, but there were student quotes. They didn’t sound convinced. What do you think happened to him?”

“Don’t go trying to solve a murder where there wasn’t one, kid. The police took care of it. There’s nothing for you to worry about.” Rowan sighed, rubbing his head. 

Scar frowned, “So you think he did it himself.”

“I never said that.” Rowan stated.

“You said there was no mur-”

“Do you really think a man who finally had what he’d been wanting for years would end his own life? Do you think someone would choose to do that in a classroom? For their last moments to be in a room filled with you pests.” Rowan snarked, lips twitching something angry. 

“Then what do you think happened?” Scar asked, breathlessly.

“You want to know what I think? I think you need to leave this alone. You won’t get some trophy for carrying out some dead man’s wish. Do yourself a favor, kid, get out while you can. Don’t go near those kids.” Rowan stood up, his hands laying flat on the desk. He pointed to the door where the rest of the class was still running laps. “Stay. Away. From. Them. If you want to go home to your little town, with all your friends and family then stay away from them. Leave while you still have the chance, boy.” 

Scar stared at the man blankly. He looked over his shoulder to the door, before turning back to the coach, “What about Taurtis?”

Rowan sighed, as if he was disappointed in his choice. He shook his head, “Get out of my office.” 

“What?”

“You want to help Taurtis,” Rowan said, glaring at Scar, “Start running.” He raised the whistle to his lips again, purging the room with an awful scream. Scar cringed, before the coach was pointing to the door. Scar quickly ran out of the room getting back in line with the rest of the students running laps outside. 

“You’re going to have to be faster than that if you want to help him.” Rowan mumbled to himself, blowing the whistle again, as he exited his office, shouting, “Another lap!”

Scar huffed, trying to catch up with the rest of the herd of kids. He couldn’t make out any of the faces of the students while they were running. He couldn’t even manage to recognize the few people he knew were in the class.

He was halfway through a second lap, when he heard someone’s voice next to him. 

“What were you talking to him about?” Taurtis asked, breathing heavily as he tried to keep a good pace. Scar could see the boy’s chest heaving as he tried to keep up with the laps. Scar looked him over, seeing the dark black eye that still painted his face. Two careful, racing black eyes were staring at him.

Scar paused, thinking of some lie, “I just had questions.” Scar let out in one breath as he ran, leaving himself out of air. 

“Oh,” Taurtis mumbled, he was quiet for a little moment before looking back to Scar, “You-” He let out a heavy breath, “You didn’t hear anything we were talking about right?”

Scar slowed down, trying to figure out if he would come clean or not. Taurtis swallowed, waiting for his answer. Taurtis slowed his pace to try and keep up with Scar, until eventually they weren’t running anymore and the rest of the herd was moving on without them. 

“I-” Scar started.

“Yeah?” Taurtis asked, wringing his hands together anxiously. 

“Newbie! Taurtis!” Rowan shouted, blowing the whistle again causing all the students to groan. Taurtis winced as he looked over to the coach. Scar stared wide eyed at the man, forgetting they hadn’t been running, “Extra laps for both of you!” 

Scar groaned, nearly folding over himself at the pain in his side. Taurtis only nodded, sighing. “Sorry,” Taurtis mumbled, before leaving Scar behind as he caught up with the rest of the students. 

_________________________________

Scar followed Taurtis as he walked away from the lunch line. The blond continued to give nervous looks casted towards Scar. Scar held his tray close, taking each step with Taurtis to see where he’d sit down. 

Taurtis stopped at a table in the right corner of the lunch room. He slowly placed his tray down on the table, eyes glancing up at Scar. 

“What are you doing?” Taurtis asked, not yet sitting down. Scar stared blankly at him, his tray of food still held in his hands. 

“I’m sitting with you at lunch?” Scar reminded, “I said I would.” 

“No. You told Sam you’d sit with us.” Taurtis said, “Which you shouldn’t have done in the first place. Go before he sees you.”  Taurtis nodded for the boy to leave. 

“What if I want to sit by you?” Scar asked, already setting his tray down next to Taurtis’. 

“I’d ask if you were crazy, then I’d tell you to go find somewhere Sam won’t see you to eat lunch. I’ll cover for you, say you had somewhere to be, but do not sit here.” Taurtis said.

Scar frowned, “You want me to go eat in the bathroom or something?”

“Yes!” Taurtis said as if that was a wonderful idea. 

“No!” Scar gaped, disgusted, “I’m not going to eat in a bathroom. Do you have any idea how gross that is? How unhygienic that is? Please, tell me you haven’t done that.” Scar asked, nearly pleading for him to say he hadn’t. Taurtis looked away, staring at the floor with a shrug. 

Before Scar could even begin to lecture his new friend about the importance of hygiene, they were interrupted. 

“Well, if it isn’t my two buddies!” Sam announced, happily as he slammed his lunch tray down on the table in a seat right in front of Taurtis. Right behind him was the pink haired girl who seemed to follow Sam around just everywhere. She placed her tray down next to Taurtis on the other side, sliding into her seat silently. 

“Hi Sam.” Taurtis muttered, lowering himself into his seat. Scar paused, for a moment he thought about leaving, he thought about lying his way out of lunch with this guy-but then.

“Don’t be shy,” Sam laughed, before his face fell flat, “Sit down.”

Scar looked between Taurtis, who hadn’t lifted his head, to Sam. He sighed, sitting down. He nudged Taurtis’ foot with his own, catching the blond’s attention for a second. He couldn’t manage to say anything but he sent as best a smile as he could, only for a pitiful frown to meet him. 

“So, Scar!” Sam started, grinning. He nudged the food on his plate with his fork, looking at Scar like he was some kind of prize. “Scar. Scar. Scar.” He repeated, “That’s got a nice ring to it! How’d you get the name? Is it a nickname or did your parents just hate you?”

Scar grimaced at the nature of the statement. Sam sounded so happy as he asked it, like he was participating in some game. 

“It’s a nickname.” Scar said, finding more interest in the school food than Sam. 

“So do you just not like to use your real name?” Sam asked, never looking away. 

Scar shrugged, “I guess it just caught on and I like it.” Scar said, boredly. 

“Makes sense. I know lots of people who hate using their real names.” Sam chuckled.

“I know a few people who would also like to use their name.” Taurtis mumbled, he hadn’t touched his food. He simply stared at the tray in front of him, never looking up. 

Sam frowned, his nose twitching, “No one asked you, Taurtis.” He snapped, glaring at the blond, before looking back to Scar. 

Scar flinched internally at the sharpness, he huffed, turning towards Taurtis instead of Sam. “I’d actually like to hear what you mean.” Scar smiled, knowing he’d aggravated the brunet. 

Sam glared at him, without the attention on him he shifted in his seat. Taurtis blinked, “Well, I-”

“So how’d you get the name?” Sam interrupted again, staring at Scar through his eyelids. “Did it have anything to do with that mess on your face?”

This time Scar looked over at Sam, a glare prominent on his face. He knew what the boy meant. He knew exactly what he was talking about. Scar had several marks and remnants of accidents and surgeries littered on his body. Many of them were on his face. A scar across his eye matched the one that marked his cheek. A burn on shoulder matched the scar across his nose. And now they all tied together with a growing bruise given to him by the girl they sat by. 

“Sam!” Taurtis reprimanded, quickly. His eyes glanced between the two nervously, “You can’t say that.” 

“No. No, it’s fine.”  Scar smirked, laughing it off. He hoped that if he acted as if the comment hadn’t bothered him it would both unnerve Sam and ease Taurtis’ panic. 

“Oh, really? Cause I mean, dude, it’s pretty bad.” Sam chuckled, “Ever thought about covering them up?”

“It’s my face.” Scar said, politely, “If I did, people wouldn’t be able to see my wonderful smirk.” Scar grinned, winking at Taurtis who shook his head. 

“We’ve all got Scar, mate.” Sam huffed, motioning around the table, “No need to brag about them.”

Scar rolled his eyes, “I’m not bragging. I didn’t even bring them up.” 

“You named yourself after them.” Sam shrugged, finally taking a bite out of his food. He smiled, he seemed satisfied with himself, tilting his head slightly like an innocent child. 

“Sam, just get off of it.” Taurtis groaned.

“Alright, alright, no need to be such a stick in the mud.” Sam huffed, stabbing his fork into the mashed potatoes. “Did you see J and Dom are fighting again? Also something up with those two,” Sam rolled his eyes, “Taurtis, how much do you want to bet their making out in the bathroom.”

Taurtis shifted, “Sam, I don’t want to make a bet with you.” Then he paused, frowning, “Why are they fighting?” Scar looked between Sam and Taurtis, listening to their conversation now felt forced. It felt like he was watching something he shouldn’t be seeing but couldn’t look away. Sam shrugged.

“I don’t fucking know, Taurtis!” Sam huffed, then he simmered down, “But I do know,” He chuckled, pointing a finger at Scar, “It was about you.” 

“Me?” Scar wondered.

“Yeah!” Sam grinned, “Only here for three days and you're already causing shit.” 

Scar frowned, he didn’t want to be the reason two people got into any argument. He wasn’t even sure if he’d met either one of them. He definitely hadn’t heard anyone by the name of Dom, and J…well he could only remember him from gym. “Why? J. Taurtis isn’t he one of the people in our gym class?”

Taurtis looked up, nodding slowly. 

“Wait,” Sam paused, “You two share a gym class?” He asked, pointing his fork at the two of them. His eyes shifting from Taurtis to Scar. “You never said you shared so many classes, Taurtis.”

“It didn’t seem important to mention.” Taurtis whispered.

Sam rolled his eyes, huffing, “Course it didn’t to you. You two share a lot of classes then.”

“I guess you could say that.” Scar muttered.

“So you two are becoming pretty good friends then.” Sam said, though there was something darker in his voice. His eyes glaring at Taurtis, although his mouth was upturned into a slight smirk. His fingers tapping along the edge of his fork and knife. “Well, if that’s the case, how about we play a little game! Like friends.”

Scar shifted in his seat, a game sounded nice. He played word games with Cub, Iskall and Mumbo during lunch before. Tango, Skizz, Impulse, and Zedaph loved game nights and often invited tons of people over for a few rounds of games each week. “Yeah, sure. What game? Like a guessing game or?”

“Sam, maybe now isn’t the best time.” Taurtis tried, not looking up from his hands. “Scar’s not really a game person.” He said, trying his best to offer a smile to Sam that seemed sincere. 

“What?” Scar laughed, not catching on to Taurtis’ tone. “I love games.”

“See, Taurtis, you’re being a party pooper.” Sam huffed, he sat up straighter looking around the cafeteria. He hummed to himself, “Well, go on then, Scarface. Pick someone.” 

Scar cringed. Skizz often called him that same nickname, but with him it was normal. Skizz had names for all of their friends and they were all based off of a long time friendship. Skizz had personally asked him if he wanted him to even stop using the name, but Scar found it endearing. But this time, coming from Sam’s mouth, it felt less…it felt insulting. 

Still, he looked around the cafeteria like Sam had been, “Pick someone?” He repeated, “Why? What am I picking someone for?”

“Because I said so.” Sam said, flatly, “It’s the game. You need to pick someone.” 

Scar frowned, “I don’t want to pick someone without knowing why. I might choose the wrong person! That wouldn’t be fair.”

“He doesn’t want to play.” Taurtis said, quickly. 

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Sam snapped. Scar could see Taurtis flinch and raise his legs from underneath the table. He rubbed his ankle as if something had hit it, before shifting so his feet were no longer under the table. Scar frowned, watching Taurtis carefully twist himself so he was farther away from Sam, only to get closer to Yuki who had yet to say anything. “Now, pick someone.”

“I-I don’t know. How about we do something different? You know, my friend made up this fun-”

“I said pick someone!” Sam shouted, snapping out of his seat and slamming his fists down on the table. It shook the table they sat at, causing bottles to fall over and for Taurtis to fumble trying to keep things straight. Sam’s breathing was quick, his chest rising and falling as he gripped the table in a white-knuckle grip. 

Scar stared wide eyed at the other boy, he could see how everyone in the cafeteria had frozen. He looked around seeing how tense the room had gotten. No one was moving except for Taurtis trying to straighten up their table. 

People had frozen mid bite or mid conversation at their table. It was like the world had frozen in time as they waited for Sam to calm down. 

“No.” Scar said, startling Taurtis and what felt like half the room. It had become so silent that all Scar could hear was his own voice. He could only hear the echo of his decline. Taurtis turned looking at Scar wide eyed and fearful, his face paler than normal as he stammered to pick up Scar’s pieces. 

“He-He doesn’t mean that Sam. He-He just doesn’t want to play this game. We can play something else.” Taurtis replied, stumbling over his words. He stood up, shakily cleaning up Sam’s side of the table. He leaned over the table fixing Sam’s tray and mess. Even when the table was clean and exactly as it had been before his outburst, Taurtis continued to fumble around his fingers twitching as he tried to find something to do. 

Scar saw as Sam’s jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed in on him. He was glaring at the other brunet now, scanning him over as if he was some glitch in a system. 

Still, Scar didn’t see a reason to back down. He wasn’t just going to pick someone out of random without knowing why or what he was picking for. Especially not for this guy. “I said pick someone.” Sam seethed. 

“And I said no.” Scar stayed firm. 

“Sam, please, it’ll be fine. Just leave it.” Taurtis tried, but Scar saw as he tried to calm the situation Yuki moved. She grabbed hold of the boy’s hand, gripping his wrist tightly. Taurtis squeaked as she grabbed his hand, holding him still. Scar looked between Taurtis’ trapped hand and Sam’s fuming stance. 

“Stay out of this, Taurtis.” Sam growled out. 

“Scar. Just pick someone, anyone. You can even pick me.” Taurtis rambled, quickly.

Scar stared at the blond in awe and confusion. Sam had a different reaction to his plea, though, shouting, “Shut up! Taurtis!”

Taurtis snapped still, flinching, trying to pull his hand out of Yuki’s grip. 

“No. I’m not picking anyone.” Scar said, with a tiny huff. Why wasn’t anyone else stepping into this? Where were all the teachers? Why was everyone just waiting for Sam to finish whatever this was before they continued on with their lives. 

Sam seethed, “Fine! Taurtis, pick someone!” He fumed, glaring at Taurtis. 

Taurtis froze, if Yuki didn’t have a death grip on his arm, he would’ve fallen into his seat. He gasped, “Okay, Okay, Ellen. I pick Ellen.”

“Finally, someone listens!” Sam sighed, exasperated, he turned to face the rest of the cafeteria. The students all had turned now, Scar saw, they were all watching the commotion. They watched as Sam scanned the crowd of students before his eyes landed on Ellen. He grinned, “Ellen!” He shouted. 

Ellen was one of the very few students who hadn’t turned to watch it all unfold. They were still sitting staring at their own food, sitting next to a young girl Scar recognized as Salex. Salex had been watching them, her eyes wide and worried. Ellen didn’t pay any attention to Sam shouting their name, instead continuing to eat their own food unbothered. 

It was Salex who tapped them on the shoulder, catching their attention and pointing over to the group of four. When Ellen’s eyes met Taurtis’, Scar could almost see the silent exchange between them. 

Taurtis was staring, his fingers twitching at his sides, his eyes wide and apologetic. He bowed his head at them, as Ellen stared back blankly. It looked as though they were a disappointed parent getting on to their child. Ellen sighed, standing up from their seat and walked over to their table. 

They didn’t waver on the way over, continuing to look at Taurtis until they were right next to Sam. Even then, they didn’t cower or shrink as Sam tried to make himself look taller than them. They crossed their arms. 

“What do you want, Sam?” Ellen asked. 

Sam smiled, “Taurtis chose you to have the pleasure to sit with us.” Sam said, still standing over his chair.

Ellen looked between Taurtis and Sam, before shaking their head. Taurtis had finally sunk into their seat, their head bowed in their hands muttering to themself. Scar couldn’t understand what he was saying but what he could make out was the constant string of apologies. Scar frowned, wanting to interrupt the obviously uncomfortable conversation. 

“I don’t want to.” Ellen said, flatly. 

“Sit down.” Sam said, eyeing the chair next to him. Ellen stood strong, crossed arms and glare still showing proudly. “Sit.” Sam snapped, again, pointing to the chair. 

Ellen sighed, rolling their eyes. They slumped into the chair next to Sam, leaning their head on one of their hands tiredly. They sat in front of Yuki, waiting. 

“Great! Now, you’ve met Scar, right Ellen?” Sam asked, kindly. He slipped back into his own chair, his shoulders relaxing. He looked between Scar and Ellen waiting for one of them to speak up. 

“I’ve seen him a few times.” Ellen said, coldly. Scar shifted in his seat, Ellen’s words felt targeted towards him as if they weren’t already staring him down across the table. “We haven’t spoken much.” 

“Aw…” Sam cooed, as if it was something pitiful, “Oh, well that just has to change, now doesn’t it? Let’s introduce Scar to you then, shall we?” Sam grinned, wrapping an arm around Ellen’s shoulder. Scar watched as Ellen tried to scoot away from him. He also saw Taurtis clenched his hair as he sat beside him. 

Taurtis looked up from his food, his hands still latched onto his hair. He bit his lip, about to say something before Sam interrupted him.

“Scar, this here is Ellen. She’s a bit of a freak but we like to keep her around anyway. Ain’t that right?” Sam said, his hand grasping Ellen’s shoulder tightly so they couldn’t leave. “If there was one person in this school that could win the creepiest award it’d be her!” He laughed, as if he’d told some wonderful joke. 

“Sam, leave them alone.” Taurtis cut him off, “It’s not funny.” Scar smiled, glad Taurtis was standing up for who he assumed was his friend. Only, his pride was cut short once Yuki elbowed the boy in the side. Taurtis winced, grabbing his side and he quieted. 

“You should get along pretty well with Ellen, Scar, you both got some fucked up faces!” Sam chuckled, poking Ellen’s face with his other hand that wasn’t holding them in place. Scar saw as Ellen’s uncovered eye twitched. 

He honestly wasn’t bothered by Sam’s constant, relentlessly comments on his scars but seeing him do it to others felt different. Scar was used to banter between friends, he had plenty of experience in lunch room chatter with the hermits, but this…Sam had pulled Ellen over to do this. 

Sam had forced Taurtis to choose someone to do this to. Sam was going to make him choose. This was the game Sam played? Choose a random person for him to berate and torment for fun? It was aggravating. Scar couldn’t imagine sitting through it for more than one day. He couldn’t imagine Taurtis sitting here everyday listening to him ramble on. 

“It’s going to take more than that, Sam.” Ellen grumbled, finally shrugging his hand off their shoulder. 

Sam’s smile faltered, as he huffed, he turned back to Scar, “I just mean, Ellen here’s got a pretty nasty eye, hurts like hell, I’ve heard.” He giggled, patting a hand on the table.

“I’m sorry.” Scar said, it was the only thing he could think to say as the information was dumped onto him. “How-How did that happen?”

“I’m fine.” Ellen clarified quickly, as Taurtis winced beside him. “It was an accident.” 

Scar nodded, recognizing the signal to stop talking about it. Sam, however, didn’t take the hint. He continued, “Right, accident. Bad things always happen by accident.” Sam clicked his tongue as he remembered something, he smiled kindly, “Like your dad’s death.”

Scar saw as both Taurtis and Ellen flinched at that. Ellen was glaring at Sam, as if daring him to go farther, and Taurtis was quickly burying himself deeper and deeper into his ball of apologies. 

Scar grimaced, “That’s too far.” 

Sam looked back to Scar, his smile buzzing with something new, “What did you say?”

“You’re a jerk, you know that, right? I mean seriously, look at yourself. You’re just sitting here saying crap about people then acting like it’s funny. It’s not. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I don’t think anyone actually wants to be near you. And if you’re sitting wondering why that is, I’ll tell you it’s definitely got something to do with your definition of comedy. Because nothing you have said has been funny or in any way decent. You’re just making people go along with what you think is okay, which apparently just means making others feel terrible for your own enjoyment. It’s-It’s sadistic.” Scar fumed, watching as Sam’s smile retreated into growing frustration. 

Taurtis looked up from his ball of apologies staring at Scar with these large dark eyes. His eyes darted between Scar and Sam. Ellen stared at Scar. There was something in their eyes that Scar couldn’t make out, some emotion they were hiding but failing at the same time. 

Sam stayed silent for a moment, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “You misunderstood. We’re all friends here. I’m just giving Ellen a hard time. She’s fine with it, right Ellen?”

“ They ’re not. And you know that.” Someone said. 

Scar looked over, hearing Taurtis’ voice stand up against Sam.

Chapter Text

Scar was typically a heavy sleeper. Coming from a family made up of one person who had a strict nighttime routine, and very specific time to head to bed, and a separate someone who hated being woken up even a minute earlier; Scar was nearly genetically assured to have some kind of odd relationship with sleep.

Either way, he tended to be a deep sleeper and a very early waker. Only that was only assured when he actually got sleep. Something that wasn’t happening tonight.

It was already 2 in the morning and he’d barely gotten a wink. He was too busy thinking of the earlier events of the day.

After Taurtis stood up to Sam, the rest of the lunch period was spent in a tense silence. Scar couldn’t tell which of the two were angerier. He didn’t even manage to catch Taurtis after lunch, the blond disappearing somewhere. Scar had stayed by his tree a little longer after the last bell screeched. Only Taurtis never showed up, and just as Scar thought that was odd he didn’t see any other students on his way home.

The last bell rang and it almost seemed that the students all just disappeared, and rather than waiting out in the courtyard as they had the past few days. They were nowhere to be seen.

Scar had ridden on the bus, silently, only offering the driver a nod as he came and left. He spent most of the time trying to find a way to explain to Cleo and Bdubs why he was nursing a new black eye.

The more he looked at his eye the worse it looked. After the morning encounter with Yuki and Sam, his eye had gotten progressively darker with purple and red painting over his upper cheek. There was a slight throbbing in his eye that he could vaguely ignore so long as he didn’t touch his face.

Still there was no way he was going to be able to hide it from his siblings. He wasn’t even going to be able to keep it a secret from the other hermits. He’d have to come up with some kind of excuse for the injury, rather than explain the truth.

He knew what would happen if he did explain what had happened. Sure, he’d expressed his concern about how ‘weird’ the school was, or how odd the kid’s acted. But he hadn’t expressed the danger of other students…because honestly, he didn’t think there was any. If he did explain to his friends that he’d been punched in the face upon trying to help another student from someone ruining their work, well…he wouldn’t be seeing Taurtis any time soon.

Between Cub, Doc, Mumbo and Tango’s redstone expertise, False, Gem, Cleo, and Etho’s physical prowess, and Pearl, Iskall, Stress and Ren’s ability to not get caught he didn’t stand much chance. Not to mention Skizz, Xisuma and Bdubs would be a mess to deal with, with how worried they’d get.

Luckily, coming up with some kind of lie would be quite easy with his track record.

Only, he hadn’t expected his siblings to have people over when he arrived home.

Bdubs had invited Xisuma, Cub and Xisuma’s brother over to work on something together. So when Scar entered their home, expecting to only have to dodge his brother and sister, he immediately ran into his cousin.

“Scar?” Cub asked, he was carrying two cups from the kitchen. He smiled once he recognized his cousin, before his eyes scanned over him and noticed the dark spot on his face. His face fell, eyebrow’s furrowing as his eyes widened.

“What happened to your eye?” He said, quickly, shoving the cups onto a counter.

Scar felt his stomach drop. This was not what he’d counted on. This was not in his plan at all. The shorter of the two grabbed the other’s face, twisting it so he could see the boy’s eye better. “Hey, Cub…” Scar muttered, trying to push the other way.

“When did you get a black eye?” Cub deadpanned, letting go of his face to stare at Scar properly.

“Oh, you know, just clumsy old me..” Scar smirked with a tired chuckle, raising a hand to cover his injured eye before someone else called attention to it.

“‘Clumsy ol’ you’ gets a bruise every once and a while, not a black eye. When did you even bruise it? I don’t remember you having one last time I saw you.” Cub asked again, crossing his arms.

Scar sighed, rolling his eyes, “This morning.”

Cub frowned, Scar could see as his jaw clenched. He grabbed the brunet’s hand that wasn’t hiding his face and pulled him into the living room where Bdubs and the Voidwalker siblings were.

As Cub pulled Scar into the room, the taller sighed realizing he’d already been defeated in trying to hide. Cub pushed the taller onto the couch next to Bdubs, before walking out of the room once again and back into the kitchen.

“Scar!” Bdubs shouted once he noticed his brother, “I need your help at getting Joel back!” Bdubs huffed, as Scar was made to sit next to him.

The red-clad twin looked Scar over curiously, about to comment on the uniform before his twin interrupted him.

“Hello, my friend.” Xisuma greeted, politely. Xisuma had always had a keen sense of professionalism, his word choices proper and calm. It was why he’d been reelected student council president so many times over, no matter how many times his brother tried to steal the campaign out from under him.

Scar waved at Xisuma with his free hand, causing the green-clad twin to comment on it, “Why are you hiding your face?”

“He made paper mache horse heads and left them in my locker!” Bdubs continued, ignoring Xisuma’s inquiry. Bdubs fell against the couch, crossing his arms, with a faux frown but Scar could hear the laugh in his voice.

“It’s nothing.” Scar shrugged, waving it off to Xisuma. The student council president raised an eyebrow concerned, before Cleo’s voice echoed through the hallway.

“Scar!” Cleo shouted, rounding the corner into the living room, Cub right behind them with a first aid kit in his hands, “You dumbass, show me your eye.”

Cleo stared at Scar from the doorway, eyeing how he still tried to hide the injury. They looked like they had just come from working on some project. Their hands covered in tried clay and an apron covering their clothes. She had a ball of clay in their hands that she was itching to throw at her brother if he didn’t reveal the injury.

Scar tried to give his older sibling a smile, but they only sighed. Their resolve of throwing the clay breaking. Both Voidwalker twins looked back over to Scar from Cleo. Bdubs’ faux smile dropped immediately as he sat up from his lounging position to look at his brother. “Wait what?”

“It’s nothing, Cleo.” Scar shifted.

“Then move your hand.” Cleo glared as Cub grabbed an ice pack from the kit. The raven haired boy sat down beside Scar, searching through the first aid kit for materials.

Scar stammered, “Uh, no.”

Cub huffed, grabbing the other’s hand and pulling it away from his eye, revealing the purple and red bruise. Xisuma and Xander both cringed, wincing at the bruise that painted over his eye and upper cheek.

“Woah! Scar!” Bdubs gawked, “What-What happened?”

“I’d also like to know.” Cleo asked, tapping their foot on the ground like a disappointed mother.

“You look like you got punched, dude.” Xander joked, snickering into his mug as Xisuma elbowed him in the gut. The two quickly engaged into a arguing whisper battle over the proper etiquette for when someone was injured.

Scar nearly scoffed a laugh, as Xander guessed correctly, instead he only shrugged, “I tripped.”

“You tripped?” Cub asked, looking at Scar’s eyes to spot the lie.

“Yeah, you know me…” Scar huffed, crossing his arms as Cub handed him the ice pack, after he’d successfully broken it in to chill. Scar reluctantly took the ice pack, raising it to his eye. “Just tripping all over the place.”

“Don’t say that.” Bdubs interrupted, quickly, before his brother said something he’d regret.

“You tripped and ended up with a black eye?” Cleo asked, eyeing Scar for lies herself.

Scar swallowed, “Yup, concrete.”

Cub and Cleo exchanged a glance, before the shorter looked back to Scar, “I should probably check you for a concussion then.”

“What? Why?” Scar asked, quickly, as Cub started moving.

“Falling and hitting your head often ends with a concussion, Scar.” Cub said, then Cub paused looking away from the kit and to Scar with an inquiry in his eyes. He wondered, “Unless you didn’t fall?”

Scar crossed his arms, “I’m not lying. I don’t have a concussion.”

“How do you know?” Cub asked, he crossed his arms believing he’d caught the other in his lie. He smiled, proudly as Scar stammered out a response.

“Because,” Scar paused, thinking on his feet. He needed to find a reason that could fool his friends, only he had three people currently listening that were incredible at finding his lies. Cub and Cleo had known him since he was a child. His cousin spending many days at their home and his sibling constantly looked out for them. Not even just them, but Xisuma was practiced in the tells of all the different hermits. He knew everyone, and prided himself on it too,“Because, I already checked!” He answered, proudly.

“You checked?” Bdubs repeated, confused.

“Yes, the nurse checked.” Scar said, confidently.

“And they didn’t send you home?” Cleo asked, raising an eyebrow. Her fingers pressing deeper into the clay they held, as they rolled it around in their hands.

“Why would they? I’m fine!” Scar laughed it off, as Cub glared at him.

“That’s not an excuse, Scar.” Cleo muttered, tapping their fingers along the clay ball as they sighed, “Don’t you think this has gone on long enough? The school got their headline, ‘Hermitville High Exchange Program improves Social skills’.” They mocked, “Can we just go back to normal now?”

Scar’s brow furrowed, why was Cleo questioning this? “I can’t quit now.” Scar claimed, “It’s only been a week.”

“It is just the trail run.” Xisuma added, “You could if you wanted to.” He took a sip of his drink as his brother intervened.

“Of course, then you’d be a coward.” Xander muttered, earning a quick glare from his twin.

“You would not be a coward, Scar.” Xisuma stated, firmly, never looking away from his twin. He sighed, turning back to Scar, “Didn’t you mention to Impulse you thought the school was odd?”

He hugged his mug in his hands, looking over to Cleo, concerned eyes watching the family debacle. Cleo looked back to Scar again, waiting for his answer.

Scar swallowed, he shrugged, “Well, I only meant…I only meant that it’s different. That doesn’t mean it’s bad.”

“You have a black eye.” Xander deadpanned, raising an eyebrow.

“That was my own fault, not the schools.” Scar defended, “It’s not like I wouldn’t do the same here.” Scar chuckled, “I mean, you guys have seen me. I’m just clumsy. One black eye is nothing.” Scar waved it off.

“But at least here you have people.” Bdubs sighed, “We know what to look for, and we know how to help too. Over there you're just…you.” Bdubs shrugged, trying his best to break the news to his brother easily. He didn’t seem too keen on either side, having enjoyed his brother's stories afterschool. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling in his stomach as he looked at the purple shaping Scar’s eye.

Scar shook his head, as Bdubs had the completely wrong answer. “That’s not at all right.” Scar huffed, leaning back into the couch, “I have plenty of friends over there.”

None of his friends said anything, waiting for him to elaborate. Xander blinked, boredly while Xisuma smiled nervously looking between Cleo and Cub. The two were staring at Scar waiting for him to continue while Bdubs tried his best to look anywhere but his brother.

“What?” Scar asked, once he finally recognized the silence. Then he huffed, once he realized, “You don’t believe me, do you?”

“It’s not that we don’t believe you.” Xisuma tried to placate, keeping one hand on his warm mug while the other moved as he spoke. “It’s just…”

“You’ve only gone a few days.” Cub interpreted, he sighed, “That’s not a lot of time to get to know anyone.”

“While we’ve known you for years.” Cleo added, calmly.

“So wouldn’t it make more sense to just go back to what you’re used to?” Bdubs sighed, pulling his legs up onto the couch to turn towards the other.

“They don’t believe you.” Xander translated, not looking up from his own cup.

Scar huffed, rolling his eyes. “Just because you guys don’t feel comfortable stepping outside of this town doesn’t mean I’m the same way. If I want to go I’m going to go. I got picked for the program and I get to decide whether or not I want to continue it!” Scar argued, “One screw up isn’t about to change my whole life, or anyone else’s.”

“It’s a trial run, nothing is permanent.” Xisuma said, whether it was supposed to help one argument or the other no one could tell.

“Permanent or not. I don’t think you should go anymore.” Cleo decided, looking away from Scar as they spoke.

“What?” Scar gawked, “No!” He argued, “Cleo, it’s my decision. I tripped, so what? I’m going to trip anywhere!”

“But at least here there are people we know and a school that actually tells people when things happen!” Cleo motioned, before crossing their arms. The ball of clay in their hand being squeezed tightly, as it erupted in their hands

The idea of leaving Taurtis alone to deal with Sam was enough to make Scar feel sick in his stomach. He couldn’t just let this go. If he didn’t figure out what was going on he would regret it for the rest of his life. He knew he would. He’d never be sure what happened to the blond boy with a crazed friend that controlled him. He’d never know what happened to that teacher, or why everyone was so scared of something that seemed invisible. He’d never forget it and he’d always regret it.

“Cleo, whether you like it or not-I,” Scar paused, he took a breath recollecting himself so his voice wouldn’t waver as he spoke, “I’m going back. You’re going to need more than one black eye to prove to me that there’s a reason to walk away.”

Cleo frowned, as everyone waited for their reaction. They sighed, “Fine. But one more time and this is over…” Cleo sighed, looking back to Cub, “Cub, fix his eye.”

And that was where the conversation was left. It was very obvious Cleo was still set in the idea of him leaving the program, she kept making off hand comments for the rest of the night. Each time met with a quick comment from Scar that left Bdubs and Cub silently waiting for their argument to finish.

Xisuma and Xander left later into the night, claiming that Keralis had asked for some help. The four knew it was truly because they couldn’t stand to sit through another passive aggressive argument between Cleo and Scar.

Sleep was still evading Scar, he couldn’t relax, too worried about the possibility of leaving Taurtis to deal with Sam all alone. He’d laid down but his thoughts continued to pester him as he was pestered with images of Taurtis and Ellen.

He couldn’t seem to wipe the memory of Taurtis’ face as Sam told Scar to pick someone. The whole ordeal was engraved in his mind, replaying and reminding him of things he could’ve done.

He had so many questions. What was going on between Sam and Taurtis? Why did Taurtis allow everyone to walk over him? What had Sam meant when he claimed Taurtis was only there because of him? Why was Rowan so obsessed with keeping things quiet? Why did Taurtis hide in Rowan’s office? What was that knocking on his window?

Scar looked over from his bed to the dormer window of their house. “What?” He muttered to himself, pulling himself out of his bed.

He pulled the curtain away to see a hand knocking against his window frame. Scar’s eyes widened as he looked through the corners of the window to see whoever it was that had managed to climb the roof of their two story home.

Scar nearly shouted when he saw who it was, quickly opening up the latch of his window and poking his head out to tell them off, “Cub! What-What are you doing? It’s like 2 in the morning!”

Cub still had on his regular lab coat, the ends covered and splattered with stains of substances Scar had no clue of. His lab coat was a multicolored mess of pinks, reds, blues, yellows and greens. Underneath, he wore his regular pajamas proving once again to Scar that Cub had grabbed the coat as a means to keep himself warm in the chill night air rather than actual scientific work. Cub rolled his eyes, “Two in the morning and you’re not asleep, well that’s a surprise. Something got you up?”

“Yes! You!” Scar gaped, “What are you doing?” He whisper-shouted.

“You sure it’s not the lie you told?” Cub muttered, “Now will you get out here, before you wake up Cleo and Bdubs. I don’t want to get turned into a statue.” Cub grimaced, worriedly looking in the direction of Cleo’s room.

“I didn’t lie.” Scar scoffed, crossing his arms.

“Liar liar,” Cub mocked, “pants on fire.”

Scar glared, pointing a finger at his cousin, “You take that back.”

Cub smirked, “Get out here and make me.”

Scar sighed, climbing onto the window sill and crawling out of the window onto the roof. His feet slid on the slanted roof, until he balanced himself on the corner of the dormer window. Cub carefully made his way up to the flattest part of the roof above Bdubs’ room. Scar followed after him, his mind slowly remembering the way from when they were younger and did this a lot more often.

Cub used to climb onto their roof in the middle of the night during the school year when they were in middle and elementary school.

“It’s like two in the morning, can this wait until later, Cub.” Scar huffed, rubbing his eyes to try and stay awake. No matter how tired he was though, he couldn’t sleep.

“You didn’t seem that keen on sleeping earlier.” Cub chuckled, looking back to his cousin with a smirk. “Will you just admit it?”

“Admit what?” Scar crossed his arms, squinting at the other to see where he was going with this. “I have nothing to admit.” Scar raised his chin proudly.

“Oh, please, you can’t sleep because you know you lied. I know you lied. So just admit it. You can never sleep when you're lying about something important.” Cub pointed out, raising a finger to point at the other.

Scar scoffed, nervously, “That’s not true!”

“You couldn’t sleep for a week after lying to Mumbo about what happened to his science project. He wasn’t even upset!” Cub huffed, motioning off the side of the roof as if Mumbo was in fact standing below. Scar had to look below them to make sure their tall friend wasn’t. But of course, Mumbo was having a perfectly fine night sleeping in his own bed.

Scar groaned, running a hand through his hair, “Cub, let it go. I’m fine.”

“It’s not like anyone’s going to be upset, man! No one’s going to care if you ran into a door or got hit in the head with a baseball. But really? Falling down the stairs?” Cub sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “You only have a black eye, nothing else is bruised like you fell.”

“People can land on their face.” Scar defended, immediately regretting speaking once he heard his choice.

Cub stared at him blankly, before finally sighing, “You never mentioned anything about stairs, Scar. I made that up.” Cub crossed his arms, shifting on his feet.

Scar internally cursed himself, “Darn it.”

“Just tell me what happened. It’s not like you got punched or something.” Cub exaggerated, shrugging his shoulders.

Scar frowned, “I did get punched.” He muttered, before sitting down on the flattened roof edge. He curled his arms around his knees as Cub processed the information.

Cub froze, his arms falling to his side. He stared straight ahead. Cub had known Scar for a very long time, the two were inseparable as children. Sure they were no stranger to the sparse bullies or older kids that liked to pick on them, but never had either had to deal with anything physical. Anything that could’ve ended in a punched eye or kicked gut was quickly resolved by either Cleo, teachers, even Skizz and Impulse had lent a hand.

Cub blinked unsure of what to do, he wasn’t the person people went to for comfort. Even after bad days or rough nights Scar hadn’t gone to him for help. The brunet often sought out Impulse, Skizz or Tango seeing as they were close friends. But even then, Cub was mostly right there with Scar on those days, whatever one went through the other did to.

To be the first person Scar had told, he didn’t know what to do, until he finally looked back down to Scar. “What?”

“I got punched.” Scar huffed, sadly. Cub sat down beside his cousin, staring up at the constellations and night sky that the two would stare at for hours on end when they were kids. Their shared love of space led them to constant conversations that went long into the night.

Cub’s mouth felt dry as he spoke, “What happened? Why-Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

Scar shrugged, “I kind of deserved it.”

Cub scoffed, “Scar, there is no way I would think you’d deserve to get punched.” Scar didn’t look convinced when Cub looked at him. Cub sighed, nudging his cousin in the arm, “What happened, man?”

Scar smiled, sadly, “There’s-” Scar sighed, “there’s this guy. He’s really sweet…and funny. When he lets himself at least. Anyway, he’s just really nice. He’s blond, has this funny way of tilting his head when he talks-”

“Scar, where are you going with this?” Cub asked, squinting in confusion as Scar rambled. He raised an eyebrow at the other, waiting for the statement he believed would be coming from the other any moment.

Scar caught the look. Cub was one of the very few people Scar had been open with. Cub had managed to get the truth out of him after one to many lies of meeting some girl. It wasn’t like he minded either, but Cub was constantly assuming things whenever Scar made friends outside of their normal circle of Hermits.

Scar punched the shorter in the arm, “Not like that!” He muttered, huffing before continuing as Cub snickered beside him. “Look, he was-we were talking and his friends came up to us. One of them stole his sketchbook and threw it in the mud.”

Cub’s laugh came to a sudden stop, as he eyed Scar curiously.

“His friends?” Cub asked, confused.

Scar nodded, “I tried to get his book back but one of them punched me before I got the chance. They had a pretty good swing too,” Scar tried to chuckle, rubbing his swollen eye gently. He sighed, “I was just trying to help him, I got in the way and well…”

“So you stepped in the way of someone getting picked on and think you deserved to get punched?” Cub asked, trying to follow the train of thought.

“Well, not so much as deserved, I should have seen it coming, really. It’s my fault. I just didn’t really think someone would go for a punch so quickly.” Scar shrugged, hugging his knees.

“Yeah,” Cub huffed, “People suck.”

Scar scoffed, “You really can’t tell Cleo or anyone, you know that right?”

Cub frowned, tugging on his lab coat against the night chill, “Why? I think they’d want to know. I mean, maybe they were right, man. Maybe it is better to be here rather than…there. I mean what do you think ‘Suma would think? He’d probably say something like ‘Scar, you should be taking care of yourself. You need to think rationally, here. Where would you be safer and happier?’ or some shit like that.”

“Cub!” Scar gawked, appalled at his impersonation of their beloved student council president. “But seriously, I don’t want anyone to know that happened.”

“Why?” Cub asked.

“Because! You heard what Cleo said! You guys already think I can’t handle it. If I tell them I got punched, they won’t let me anywhere near that place. They won’t let me out of their sight…probably. They already don’t trust that school, so why should I give them any more reason?” Scar muttered.

“Scar, do you think that any of us would have had a different reaction if it-let’s say-had been Iskall who went?” Cub asked.

“Well, yeah, I mean Iskall’s a pretty competent guy.” Scar shrugged.

“No.” Cub laughed, “Yeah, no. If Iskall had come back claiming the school was weird, or that the students were off-putting-I think we’d have a bigger problem on our hands. Iskall’s a weird guy, if he thinks something’s off it probably is.” Cub shook his head, “My point is, it doesn’t matter that you’re the one who got picked for the program. I promise you no one is questioning your capabilities. Cleo, Bdubs, X, Impulse are not questioning this because they think you can’t handle it. They’re questioning it because of what you’ve said.”

Scar sighed, staring off down the road and watching the neighborhood homes. He saw Mumbo's home down the road, the light in his bedroom still on, oddly. Mumbo was always asleep by this time, why was his light on? Scar shook his head pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he couldn’t worry about Mumbo’s habits right now.

“What have I said?” Scar asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well for starters, you told Imp, Skizz, Gem and Tango about how you weren’t sure about the people or the school itself. Add on the fact that you come back in a weird uniform that none of us have ever seen before. Plus what you’ve told me now? And don’t think I’ve forgotten what you’ve shared with Dubs.” Cub pointed out, he sighed when Scar didn’t say anything. “Scar, you are one of the most understanding and comforting people I know. You may pretend to be oblivious most of the time but I know you’ve got a brain in that head of yours. You figured out Xisuma was doing too much of the work for the student council. When Pearl had that awful week, she went to you. You distracted Tango from overworking when he had to get Decked Out finished before the deadline. When Jim was getting picked on, he went to you. Scar, whatever you think you’re seeing, you’re seeing it. Don’t second guess yourself now.”

“It’s different, Cub. If I get this wrong…”Scar muttered.

“But if you get it right?” Cub finished. Scar frowned, not looking Cub in the eye. “Look, I know you like this guy-”

“Cub.” Scar warned.

“Just give me a sec. I know you care about him, but you can’t help someone out of a hole by burying yourself with them.” Cub continued.

“You want me to leave.” Scar clarified, disappointed.

“I want you safe.” Cub was silent a moment later. “Did Zedaph tell you what he found on that school?” He asked, quietly.

Scar furrowed his brow, “He said there wasn’t a lot about it.”

Cub nodded, “He had to dig pretty deep. He told me to tell you about it. Most everything about that school, every article or whatever he could find, it’s all been wiped. Just deleted off the internet, he had to backtrack to find anything about it. And what he found was-just…jeez man.”

Scar looked up, his face falling as he thought about what Cub and Zed could have potentially found. His eyes softened as Cub looked worriedly off into the distance. Scar noticed he was looking in the direction of the town over. Scar could see the line that sectioned off their own town from the other. He could see where the trees darkened and the forest grew thicker. He could see that the farther they got from Hermitville the darker the forest became. The sun rose of the hermits but it had set over the other town, leaving it constantly casted in darkness.

“What did he find?” Scar asked, nervously. He didn’t know if he really wanted that information.

“Violence reports. Lots of violence reports. Kids beat up and sent home. Fights breaking out between students and teachers. They had to replace the principal twice in one year. Missing kids and equipment. These aren’t even that old, it’s all stuff that happened in the past two years!” Cub stressed, “Zed said they were deleted only a few weeks after being published.”

“Was there anything about deaths?” Scar asked, quickly. He didn’t look at Cub, his eyes scanning at the shingles of the roof rather. Cub took in a breath, gripping his pajamas pants.

“What? Why-”

“I’m serious. Was there anything about someone dying?” Scar asked, again.

Cub shook his head, “Only missing people-students and teachers. There weren't any…there weren’t any obituaries from what we saw.”

Scar nodded, “okay.”

“Scar, how much are you not telling us?” Cub asked, eyes darkening with worry as he looked back to his dear cousin.

“I need Zed to get me those articles.” Scar ignored Cub’s question. He stood up, pulling himself from the roof where they sat. He stumbled some, standing on the slanted roof, as Cub stammered.

“Scar-how much? How much have you hidden? What the hell is going on?” Cub called out to him, shoving himself up, not caring about being silent anymore so they wouldn’t wake Bdubs.

Scar ran a hand through his hair, “I don’t know, but I know I’m not leaving that school until I figure it out.” Scar pointed off to where the sun had set over a darkening town swallowed by trees and cliffs.

________________________________________________________

Scar stepped off the bus back onto the gray sidewalk that was colored with chalk paintings. He gripped the straps of his backpack, as he took a step away from the bus stop. He heard as the bus started to pull out, closing the escape from the encampment of imposing pine trees and gray buildings.

He’d spent the past night, after his conversation with Cub, trying to plan. He was trying to solve a mystery that was still unfolding in front of him. He could tell that morning that both Cleo and Bdubs had noticed his lack of sleep. Cleo’s comments about leaving the program had subsided for questions of if he was alright. Bdubs had tried to convince him to take the day off, to stay home and give himself a break.

Neither one of them got any words out of him.

He had stayed quiet that morning, his brain still working to formulate some kind of plan to solve the questions he had.

He glared at the school in front of him, he saw it less as something confusing and exciting everyday. All he could imagine now was the frustration of solving some problem only to get it wrong everytime.

Scar walked into the courtyard, straying off the path of sidewalk that the other students were mingling and whispering on. He trudged up to the benches under the tree. Taurtus was already standing waiting from what Scar could see.

The blond’s back was facing him, as he stared at the school. His bag was still hung over his shoulder. He shifted on his feet, left then right, leaning against the bark of the tree and hiding his arms in front of him.

“Hey.” Scar greeted, a smile seeped from the apathy he was trying to insist on.

Taurtis flinched once he heard Scar’s voice, his shoulder’s tensing before he turned around. Scar didn’t manage to get a good view of the smaller before the other was staring wide eyed at his face.

“Oh my-! Your eye!” Taurtis gasped, his hands ghosting around looking for something to do. His hands clenched at his side.

“Is it really that bad?” Scar tried to laugh, shoving his hands into his pockets. He didn’t think it looked very terrible. Sure, having a black eye wasn’t the best thing, but it certainly wasn’t the worst bruise he might’ve had.

Taurtus seemed to take the question differently, quickly trying to pick up the peices of what he thought he’d shattered, “Oh no. No, it-it’s fine. I’ve seen worse.” Taurtis tried to play off, waving a hand to try and brush the comment away.

It was as their hand moved that Scar could see the new white bandages that were wrapped tightly around their arms. Scar’s brow furrowed as his eyes latched onto the dressings that covered the other’s arms from elbow to wrist. They weren’t clean, splotches of blood and stains were spotted on different sides. One was still bleeding sluggishly through the bandages. At the same time, Scar noticed the band aid that was stuck to Taurtis’ cheek, just under his eye.

Scar swallowed, “What-What happened to you?” He asked, pointing to what all he’d seen.

Taurtis’ jaw clenched and Scar saw how he darted his eyes away so he wouldn’t have to look Scar in the eyes. “Just a little accident.” Taurtis muttered, rubbing his hand along one of the bandages covering his arms. “Your friends…were they terribly mad?”

“My friends?” Scar asked, not understanding where the other was going with this.

Taurtis only nodded, “Yes, your friends. Didn’t you tell them about the uh…” Taurtis pointed to his own eye rather than the bruising on Scar’s face.

“Oh!” Scar realized, “No-well, I just told them I tripped. No need to worry them, you know?”

Taurtis frowned, he almost seemed disappointed that Scar hadn’t told them the truth. His eyes glancing around on the ground as if he was searching for something else to say. “Oh,” He whispered, “Of course, I hadn’t thought of that.”

Scar frowned, “Is something wrong?”

Taurtis shook his head, forgoing the frown and trying to smile, “I just hadn’t thought about it like that. I guess, there really isn’t a need to worry them for something silly, yeah? I promise Yuki didn’t mean it-well she did mean it, but…” Taurtis rambled on, as Scar slowly became lost in his tangent of trying to condone his friends actions. Taurtis sighed, “She was just startled.”

“Yeah,” Scar agreed, looking off, his voice a bit grimaced, “Startled,” he repeated snidely, but Taurtis didn’t seem to take notice. Scar shook the frustration away, looking back towards the friendly face, “What about you though? I didn’t catch you after the last bell yesterday. You didn’t run off somewhere again, did you?” Scar tried to laugh.

“Hm,” Taurtis hummed in response, shifting in his spot. He pulled his bag up higher on his shoulder, “Sorry, I was just-I had to meet up with Sam. He wanted to talk to me about something.”

Scar’s face fell, “Why didn’t you say anything? I would’ve gone with you.”

Taurtis laughed, brushing the worry away, “Oh, please, it’s not like Sam’s dangerous or anything. I’m fine! You act like he’s some kind of scary mastermind. He’s just a friend.” Taurtis smiled, tightly.

Scar’s frown didn’t fall away, “I’m not scared of him.”

“Neither am I.” Taurtis scoffed, “So, I swear, I don’t need a bodyguard to go see him.” Taurtis rolled his eyes.

Scar’s frown wavered, “Well, I wasn’t-”

“I actually kind of need to go see him now.” Taurtis interrupted, throwing a thumb behind his shoulder towards the school. Scar felt himself almost deflate at that. He had looked forward to his morning chats with Taurtis, he didn’t want to miss out on them, especially not today.

“Why?” Scar asked, sadly, “Can’t it wait?”

Taurtis smiled, sadly, “‘fraid not. He’s in a bit of a huff, right now. He just needs someone by his side. I probably won’t be able to talk to you as much anymore,” Taurtis chuckled, his words falling out of his mouth quicker and faster with each breath. It was as if he was trying to spit the words out of his mouth so he wouldn’t actually have to handle the consequences of them. “He’s just really lonely right now, so I need to be with him more than I have been. I really hope you understand, Scar. I mean, these past few days have been absolutely wonderful, but there’s no telling when things are going to slow back down again. I just really wanted you to know that,” Taurtis took a breath in and Scar realized he hadn’t actually understood anything that he’d just said.

“It’s been nice knowing you, Scar.” Taurtis whispered, sadly, his head tilted down defeated. His hands gripped the straps of his own bag as he turned slowly and began the walk towards the school entrance.

Scar was frozen still, he couldn’t wrap his mind around what he’d heard. He was trying to decipher the words when the last sentence finally caught up to him. His eyes widened, he’d heard that line plenty of times. Maybe not said directly to him, but he knew what it meant.

“Wait-what?” Scar finally stammered out, but by then Taurtis was already a bit ways away from him. Taurtis didn’t hear him, his voice too quiet as he’d muttered it under his breath. Still, Scar ran after the blond, catching him by the elbow. Taurtis nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt the light hand wrap around his elbow.

The blond turned back around, wide dark eyes staring at Scar with fear. “Scar?” He asked, swallowing something in his throat.

“What did you mean by that?” Scar asked, firmly, gazing down right at the two void-ish eyes in front of him. “What did you mean by ‘it's been nice knowing you’?”

Taurtis shrugged his arm away from the brunet, laughing to himself, “Well, you know what that means. It means I’ve enjoyed meeting you.”

“People only say that when they don’t plan on speaking to each other anymore.” Scar stated, “Are you-Why would you- If I did something to make you upset, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I might’ve said, but if you tell me I’m sure I can explain. I mean, is this like the last time where I went too far on something, or?” Scar rambled.

Taurtis frowned, Scar could see as the other shrank in on himself biting the inside of his cheek. It seemed Scar’s questions weren’t making whatever this was easier for the other. “Scar-” Taurtis quickly reconciled, “No, Scar, you’ve-you didn’t do anything. I swear.” He head out his hands trying to placate the other.

“Then why?” Scar asked.

Taurtis opened his mouth to answer, but he didn’t speak. The boy looked over his shoulder for a second, eyeing the window that was nearest to them. He looked over to the door back into the school, and sighed. Before Taurtis could look back to Scar and answer, the other had already seen what he needed to.

Just below the window on the door was a pair of bunny ears. Scar could see through the window that Sam was waiting just inside the corridor, waiting. He’d been watching the entire debacle play out. Scar couldn’t help but clench his fists and clench his jaw.

“Sam doesn’t like me.” Scar blurted out, glaring at the door over Taurtis’ hair. The blond looked back at Scar, with concerned eyes and a furrowed brow. Still, all the smaller could do was sigh, and stay silent. “Got it.” Scar finished, taking his silence as an answer.

“Scar-” Taurtis tried.

“Sam doesn’t like me, so that means you can’t be around me. Do I have that right?” Scar asked, eye twitching as he glared in the direction of the bunny hatted boy.

“Don’t-Don’t take it personally.” Taurtis whispered, “He doesn’t like a lot of people.”

“Because they don’t do whatever he tells them, or they’re not scared of him?” Scar scoffed, crossing his arms still looking over Taurtis’ head. Taurtis frowned, before stomping harshly on Scar’s foot. Scar yelped out in surprise, raising his foot from the ground and hopping on one foot to wait out the pain. “What was that for!”

Taurtis glared at him silently a moment longer, before, “Quit with the sarcasm, okay? You want to do some good,” Taurtis pointed a finger at the taller’s chest, jabbing him in the center, “Stop treating this like the puzzle on the back of your cereal box!”

“Hey!” Scar huffed, “well…” He thought quickly of some kind of comeback, “You don’t have to listen to him, you know? I mean what kind of black mail does he have on you to make you do whatever he wants? When did you let go of your free will?”

Taurtis’ eyes widened, and he took a step backwards. “I know that.” He seethed as firmly as he could, still backing away from Scar.

“Then why don’t you?”

“The same reason you tie your shoes!” Taurtis pointed out, repeated what he’d said to the taller when they first met.

Scar flinched back, remembering what had been said afterwards. He tilted his head slightly, confused, why had Taurtis used that example specifically. He didn’t say anything back, keeping his silence to himself so he could calm down.

“What? So you don’t trip and fall?” Scar asked, drawing a blank.

“So you don’t face the consequences when you step on the shoelace.” Taurtis retorted with a stiff glare on his face.

“What consequences?” Scar enunciated, “What are you so scared of?” He asked, quieter. “He’s just another guy. He wears a bunny hat for crying out loud! There is nothing he can do or say that will make me do whatever he wants and if that’s the reason he doesn’t like me then…that’s his problem! But, seriously, you can say ‘no’. He doesn’t get to decide the people you’re around or what you do. Because, as far as I’m aware I’m still your friend and you’re still my friend.” Scar pointed between the two of them.

“You don’t know what you’re getting into.” Taurtis warned, looking over his shoulder before glancing up at Scar through furrowed brows.

“And you do?” Scar challenged.

Taurtis’ face fell, his glare disintegrating into something dangerously sad. It was the same face Scar remembered seeing when he first met the other. The pitiful frown that could barely count as a frown. The eyes that looked a second away from crying, drooping like he hadn’t slept in weeks. “Yeah, Yeah I do.”

Taurtis shook his head, “Scar, whether you like it or not I’ve been here longer. I’ve seen more shit than you have and I know the crap you’re going to see if you don’t stop. You want to save your friends and family from worrying over you, then the exit is right there.” Taurtis motioned towards the open gate from the courtyard. The stern looked appearing on his face once again and overtaking the sadness. Scar followed his line of sight, until Taurtis spoke again, “I was like you once. I used to think Sam couldn’t get to me. I was above him, he didn’t scare me and he couldn’t control me! Think that all you want but he gets to you eventually! So next time you want to come argue about Sam, you remember that I was once in your jacket!”

Taurtis grabbed the lapel of his uniform’s jacket, he pulled the lapel out and Scar could see out of the corner of his eye something he hadn’t seen before. His eyes caught it for only a moment before it was gone.

As Taurtis’ hand gripped the lapel, the bands around his arms matched up to the white sleeve of Scar’s shirt. The tiny drawings matched up.

The white button up had been one of the uniform items the school had handed over upon his arrival. He’d found it odd how the uniform looked to be used, only to find out that all the uniforms had been used and reused. His just happened to be from someone who drew on the sleeves of the white shirt and jacket when they were bored.

Scar had seen Taurtis drawing on his hand the day they met, he hadn’t connected the two. Taurtis was the single person across the school that wasn’t forced to wear the same clothes everyday.

How had he not seen that sooner?

The handwriting matched almost perfectly, Taurtis’ was a bit more shaky and scratchy than the original but the curvature matched. The drawings were the same: small stick figures, birds, random letters, moons and suns.

Scar looked between the sleeves and then back up to Taurtis’ face. The other must have seen something change in Scar’s face, because the brunet could have sworn he saw a tiny smirk form on the other’s face before falling back into a frown.

Taurtis cleared his throat, dropping the lapel and patting it down where it had been. He apologized, “Sorry…just think about what you're doing. This-I’m trying to give you an out, Scar. Stop talking to me and you never have to deal with any of this again. Your life can go back to being how great it was before you ever came to this school. That exit is there and it might be the last time you can take it before something happens.” Taurtis sighed, looking back to the gate.

Scar frowned, his mind wandering back to his conversations with Zedaph, with Cub, with Cleo…with Mumbo.

“I meant what I said. As far as I’m concerned we’re still friends. Sam doesn’t get to decide that.” Scar declared, firmly.

Taurtis sighed, reaching into his pocket, “I was worried you’d say that.” He pulled his hand back out, and held it out for Scar to shake. Scar looked at his palm, confused, “At least, leave me with the dignity to say I tried?”

Scar offered a sad smile to the smaller, taking his hand in his own and offering a quick shake of goodbye.

Although, as Taurtis pulled away, he turned his hand slightly so that something fell into Scar’s palm. Scar raised an eyebrow about to ask if Taurtis had meant to drop something. Taurtis just offered a smile, pulling his hand away fully and leaving Scar with a slip of paper in his hand.

Before Scar could ask another question, Taurtis was leaving once again and this time he wasn’t stopping. Taurtis walked away and as he did Scar could see the school doors open, as Sam waved his friend over to him with a grin on his face. The two disappeared but not before Sam sent a grimace over Scar’s way. Scar didn’t offer anything back to the boy as he wrapped an arm around Taurtis’ shoulder and led him into the school.

The brunet looked down at the paper Taurtis had slipped him. It looked like he’d torn it off of his sketchbook, the same thick and coarse paper. Written on the paper in scratchy pencil were the words.

B’s Bakery and Bookstore
7:00 pm

Scar had a feeling that wouldn’t be the last time he saw Taurtis after all.

_____________________________________________________

As Scar walked into his first class he immediately noticed the empty seat right next to him. There was no bag on the chair and no book on the desk. He sat down at his own desk, assuming Taurtis still hadn’t gotten back from wherever he and Sam had gone. What he wasn’t expecting was to be pelted in the back of the head with a ball of paper.

The second bell hadn’t screeched yet, and students were still filing into the room but Scar see exactly where it had come from. Mainly, from the giggles and whispering between two people in the back of the room.

In the back corner was Sam, legs propped up on the desk as he laughed to himself. His grin grew when Scar looked back at them in confusion. He had a pile of balled up papers on his desk. Next to him was Taurtis, sitting like a perfect statue staring ahead. His eyes on the back of Yuki’s head, he barely casted a glance in Scar’s direction trying to hide from the attention Sam brought.

Sam whispered something over to Taurtis, causing the other to cringe slightly as he looked away from both of them and out the window. He rested his head in the palm of one of his hands and Scar could just barely make out the scribbles along his wrist that he’d somehow missed before.

Yuki didn’t say anything back to Sam as he whispered, only offering a quick glance before turning away again. Scar was starting to wonder how deeply Yuki was even involved in Sam’s games. She never seemed too interested in anything the other two were doing.

The bell startled Scar out of his thoughts and he turned back to the front of the room, but not before casting a sad gaze over to the empty chair beside him.

Scar was still thinking about that morning into his next class. Even in the different desk and the change of rooms, he still felt far away. His mind focusing on whatever he could piece together. His uniform must have once belonged to Taurtis. Meaning that at one point that Taurtis did abide by the rule of the uniforms. Taurtis had specifically said that he had been in his ‘Jacket’ not shoes like the normal metaphor.

That had to mean something.

Taurtis was trying to tell him something there, Scar just couldn’t figure it out. Scar frowned, his brow twisting as he tried to think. He knew he was thinking harder than anyone else in the classroom as they went over some grade school curriculum.

Scar pulled on the end of his sleeve, revealing more of the drawings and scribblings. “What were you talking about?” Scar whispered to himself.

He tried to focus on the individual drawings.

There was one on the right hand sleeve, just under the top of his hand. There were four stick figures all holding hands, or that’s what he assumed. The tallest on one end of the line had a darker band wrapped around his head. The next two were the same height, one with longer hair and the other with short hair covering over their eyes. The last was the shortest, barely reaching the others waist, they had short hair too. The odd part was the symbols drawn above each of their frowning heads. Above the tallest was a circle traced over with red. The longer haired on had what seemed to be a crescent moon above them, next to them a childish symbol of the sun. And lastly, was a tiny circle like the first only this one smaller and without any color.

He looked at another drawing see scribbles of scratched out words and phrases.

The next thing that caught his attention though was a symbol on the left sleeve. It was large enough to take up a good amount of the section. It was a simple scribble, too. Just a rectangle with broken sides. There were two dots on opposite corners and two L shapes to finish the rectangle.

Scar pulled on the sleeve eyeing the symbol, for some reason he could’ve sworn he’d seen it before. He had to have. It looked too familiar.

“Scar?”

Scar dropped the sleeve, thinking back to how Taurtis had grabbed his lapel. He pulled the inside of his jacket out looking at the tag that was sewn into the inside of the fabric. There…there was the same symbol.

“Scar.”

This time however, it was bigger and purple.

“Scar!”

Scar dropped his hold on his jacket and looked over to see Salex staring at him.

He blinked, “Yeah?”

“I’ve been calling your name for a couple minutes. Are you okay?” She asked, carefully.

Scar swallowed, shaking his head to get the thoughts he was ruminating over out, “Yeah. I’m good. I’m fine! What-uh, what did you need?”

“I was wondering if you’d thought anymore about our project?” Salex asked, however seeing as one recognition passed through Scar eyes, she continued, “You know, the research project. The one I asked you to think about?”

Scar’s eyes widened,” Oh! Oh, gosh, I-I forgot. Is-Is it today?”

Salex’s own eyes went round, “Oh no, goodness no. It’s still not due for a while, but I just think we should get started on it. Do you have any ideas? I don’t mind doing Manga, but I don’t think I’d like to reread all of my books. And I’m not even sure if you’ve ever read one before…so?”

Scar bit the inside of his cheek, he had nothing. It wasn’t that he was trying to put it all on the other, but he had so much else on his mind he never even thought about what they might investigate. He was already investigating so much that was going on around him, but he couldn't do a project with someone about their dead teacher.

“Um…” Scar looked around the room, looking for something to jog his memory into thinking of something interesting. He saw the other pairs already working together on gathering information and writing notes down. Others were only whispering to each other and talking.

“You’ve got a lot on your mind, huh?” Salex muttered, with a smirk. She chuckled to herself, rolling her eyes.

“What do you mean?” Scar asked, still racking his mind for something.

Salex shrugged, “You’ve got the same look Taurtis gets when he forgets something.”

Scar straightened, he’d also forgotten Salex knew Taurtis, and knew him well it seemed. “How-What?”

“Pinched brows, glancing around for answers, bouncing leg; it’s all there, really.” She replied, easily, “So what’s gotten into your head? I know Taurtis has a hard time focusing when something is going on behind the scenes.”

Scar swallowed. It would be good to talk to someone who wasn’t…well crazy about the things he was seeing and was also at the school. Not that Ellen was crazy, he thought to himself, but Ellen wasn’t exactly the best person to talk to. And Taurtis and Rowan were of no help, he’d decided.

“This-just isn’t what I expected to be getting into.” Scar muttered, running a hand into his hair. Salex nodded, sadly.

“Yeah, I’ll be honest. I can’t imagine being in your shoes. But, hey! You still get to go home to your friends and family!” Salex smiled, hopefully, although there was something darker past the glaze in her eyes. Scar barely saw the twitch at the end of their mouth as they smiled.

Still, Scar took the comfort, “Yeah, I do.” He sighed, “You’re friends with Taurtis-”

“Yeah… friends.” Salex huffed, running a hand over her paper as she dusted off eraser marks. Scar furrowed his brow, hoping she’d elaborate, but that was all she said.

Scar began again, “Are you worried about him?”

Salex sat back in her seat, dropping her pencil. She sighed, her shoulder’s slouching from their position of comfort to something tired and tense. “I will always be worried about him. There are a lot of things I wish I had said to him.”

Scar raised an eyebrow, “Like what? Why can’t you talk to him now?”

Salex didn’t answer his last question, “I’d tell him, what he was planning was stupid and a bad idea. I’d tell him to stay home. I’d tell him he needs to stop forcing himself to be bigger than he was. That he didn’t need to compete with him. I’d tell him that Sam was playing him like a fiddle.”

“Why don’t you tell him that?” Scar asked, he couldn’t imagine the Taurtis he knew competing against anyone. He couldn’t imagine the boy pretending to be something larger than life. He couldn’t see that blond holding that much confidence in himself from the days he knew him.

Salex didn’t answer, “Oh, he’s just so busy nowadays. I barely manage to get a few minutes with him to myself!” She laughed, like she’d told some kind of joke. She shook her head, “Really, though, a few minutes just us two…away from Sam. That’d be great. But I’m glad he’s got someone looking out for him right now, yeah?” Salex smiled at Scar, playfullying punching him in the arm.

Scar frowned, he wondered just how close Salex and Taurtis were after all. With how Salex spoke about him, they seemed exceptionally close. It almost made the pit in Scar’s stomach churn a little with a nasty feeling he couldn’t place.

He looked away from Salex as he pushed down the feeling in his stomach. He didn’t know what it was but he didn’t want to deal with it right then, that was for sure. His ears felt unnaturally hot and his fingers tapped along his desk quicker.

His eyes scanned the room, before landing on one of the bookshelves behind the teacher's desk. The teacher themself was sitting at their desk, hidden behind the screen of a computer. Scar could barely see any part of their head over the edge of it. He could imagine though, that the snoring he was hearing was coming from behind the desk.

He focused on the items on the shelf, recognizing a statue right next to a stack of books. He looked back down to the sleeve of his left arm. The symbol was still there, he held up his arm closer to match the shelf line.

They were the same.

Salex watched him in confusion, before she could ask what he was doing, he was already speaking and pointing at the object. “What is that?”

Salex followed his eye line to the statue and Scar saw as Salex’s whole body paled. Her eyes widening, as her skin grew white. She sat still, staring at the symbol in what Scar could only imagine to be fear. She swallowed, shaking her head, “It’s nothing.”

Scar looked between her and the symbol. He huffed, shoving his arm in her direction and pointing at the symbol on the sleeve, “It’s obviously not. What is it?”

Salex looked at the sleeve, their frown grew until their lip wobbled underneath. Her eyes darted around the sleeve to see the other drawings. She shook her head, “Alright, alright. It’s-It’s a symbol. Like a logo of something, their just old town superstition though.”

“Like a myth?” Scar asked, staring at the symbol.

Salex nodded, slowly, “I-I don’t know a lot about them though. It’s not something people talk about. ‘Supposed to give you bad luck or something.”

“What do you know?” Scar questioned.

“Did you not hear what I said about the bad luck?” Salex asked, with a frown.

Scar shrugged, “I’m like a walking jinx, whatever bad luck it brings will just cancel out.”

Salex blinked, “That’s not how that works.” Still, she sighed, twisting her skirt fabric in her hands as she began to speak, “I know that it was years ago…A couple years ago that they were discovered and disbanded- but basically it was a cult.”

“A cult.” Scar whispered under his breath, looking down at his sleeve.

“Yeah, a bunch of old residents of the town that lived here for years thought they were like- superior. So they all gathered together and began this weird group that drove out any newcomers. I don’t know when it turned into what it became though.” Salex shrugged, “Somewhere along the way they started acting…different. People started calling them Watchers-that-” Salex pointed at the symbol, “that was what they always left behind. It was their symbol.”

“What did they do?” Scar asked, he couldn’t imagine anything too terrible coming from a bunch of oddly recruited neighbors.

Salex shivered, “nothing good.” Her fingers twitched to find her desk to latch onto. “Once they got found out, they disbanded. Some kids still think there are some members out there. I really hope there aren’t, though.”

“If they were so bad, why put up their symbol and show it off in a classroom?” Scar wondered aloud.

Salex shrugged, “Town history, maybe?” She sighed, “I don’t know. I just know they're used as one of those monsters in the dark stories to scare kids into behaving.”

Scar nodded, his mind still reaching to combine all the information together. Somehow Taurtis was connected to this in some way. If he had drawn the symbol on his sleeve and jacket, and directly pointed out to Scar, there had to be a reason. That symbol looked too familiar to pass it up either, he knew he’d seen it somewhere. He just knew he had to have seen it before he saw the scribbles.

If Taurtis was leading him to the answers he needed to follow them as closely as he could.

“So on a lighter note…” Salex tried to laugh, “Do you know what you want to do the project on?”

Scar looked at her in the eye, internally apologizing for how uncomfortable he knew this project was going to make her. “That.”

Scar pointed to the symbol they’d been speaking about and watched as Salex’s face fell and she grew pale again.

“I-are you-no. Do you realize how much-We could get into so much trouble!” Salex gasped, hugging herself in comfort.

“They said we could do the project on whatever we wanted.” Scar reminded.

“Not them!” Salex spewed, “The Watchers, dum dum. We say one wrong thing to one person and we have a whole cult on our tails! There’s still no telling how many of them are out there. I don’t want to get caught up in that chaos.”

“Salex, please,” Scar begged, “This is important. I need to know everything I can about them, and I can only do that if I have someone who actually knows what’s going on. You’re the closest I’ve got! Either you help me with this or I’m doing it myself and I have no idea what I’m doing!” Scar laughed nervously, “If you’re worried about a cult being on your tail, imagine me running around looking for answers with no idea what or who to avoid. I’d be a walking target without your help. Please.”

Salex groaned, “You’re guilting me into this…”

Scar smirked, sadly, “You don’t grow up with two siblings without learning how to guilt people.”

Salex tried to laugh back, before nodding nervously, “Okay. Okay, fine. But we’re getting Ellen’s help.”

Scar raised an eyebrow, “Ellen? Why?”

Salex swallowed, looking away, “They-They just-It’s a precaution. If these are actually weird cult guys with magic bad luck powers, I want to be safe.”

_______________________

For the rest of the day Scar noticed Taurtis was avoiding him. The shorter sticking close to Sam and Yuki the whole day. Even during gym class he barely casted a glance at the brunet, focusing on the game of dodgeball that had been introduced. Scar didn’t make the same mistake of sitting with the trio during lunch, opting to pay a visit to both Salex and Ellen where they sat together.

The rest of the day though, Scar was thinking about the piece of paper dragging him down in his pocket. The torn paper burned in his pocket as he tried to forget about it, only to feel the coarse paper when he shoved a hand into his pocket.

Once he left the bust stop, arriving back in his own town, he headed for his cousin’s home. He didn’t plan on talking to Cleo or Bdubs about the message, but his cousin seemed a bit more level headed at the moment.

Scar knocked on the door a sign on the front warning of a biohazard inside. The yellow sign mainly served to shield away from any unwanted visitors. They weren’t called hermits for nothing.

The door opened after the second knock, revealing a messy-headed Cub. He still had his lab coat on, covered in different stains and even a few new ones. His face was covered in a bit of soot that dusted over his cheeks and forehead. His typical blue shirt was traded out for a t-shirt instead, as he tried to wipe his hands on his pants.

Scar blinked, seeing the charred edges of the others hair where the black stands turned a bit darker. “Rough day?”

Cub frowned, emotionally blank, “What does it look like?”

“Like you mixed two chemicals together and they blew up in your face.” Scar smirked.

Cub glared at him, “Ha ha, very funny. Zed’s not allowed to touch my stuff anymore.” He looked the other over, “No new bruises from what I see. So why are you here? You’re not hiding from Cleo, are you?”

Scar shrugged, “Not exactly.” He sighed, “I need some advice, Cub. And right now, you’re the only one who’s not immediately telling me to drop everything.”

“That’s not what I remember saying, but carry on-” Cub huffed, moving out of the way so Scar could walk into the house. Scar entered, throwing his bag on the ground and following Cub upstairs to his room.

The shorter had the attic room in the house, with a window open and a telescope sticking out. The rest of the room was dark, with planets and stars plastered up on the walls. A desk covered in papers and science equipment was shoved off to a corner. Cub’s work would alter from different areas in the science field but his mind was always up in the sky anyways.

Cub grabbed a towel from his chair, wiping his face to try and get some of the soot off. Scar flopped onto the bed, spreading his arms across the width to block Cub from sitting down. With Scar laid out across his bed, staring up at the ceiling Cub through the towel at him earning a shocked yelp.

“What advice could you possibly need?” Cub asked, running a hand through his hair to try and tame it.

“If, let’s say hypothetically, someone gave you a time and place to meet them would you go?” Scar asked, throwing the dirty towel off somewhere else.

Cub paused, ”What?” He looked back to his friend, “Alright, who and where? And also why?”

Scar grinned, laughing to himself calmly. “That guy I was telling you about, the nice one, Taurtis, slipped me a paper today with a place and a time on it. He didn’t say why or anything. He just walked away. Do I go?”

Cub blinked, thinking it over for a moment before shouting, “No!”

Scar sat up, having expected a different answer, “What? Why?”

“Oh, I don’t know? Maybe because you don’t know this person and going to an area you’re not familiar with is dangerous? Maybe because they didn’t give you a reason? Maybe because you were told about stranger danger as a child? Maybe because you have some common sense! Scar, why do you think ‘no’!”

“Cub, I need to do this! Have you forgotten what I told you last night?” Scar retorted, he couldn’t believe his friend wasn’t seeing how important this could be.

“Have you forgotten what I told you!” Cub shouted back, eyes wide with concern that his friend was in fact losing it. Scar blinked, unsure about what Cub was talking about. Cub huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Of course,” He grumbled, letting his hands fall to his hips, “The missing kids? Scar, I am not letting you turn into a missing poster!”

“You and Zedaph have been doing research about this place for who knows how long! Why is it such a problem when I do it?” Scar muttered, crossing his arms and pulling back from the conversation as Cub lectured.

Cub grimaced, “Because we’ve been doing it behind a screen! You want to run off to a place you don’t know to meet someone you don’t know at night!”

“I know Taurtis!” Scar defended, quickly.

“You’ve known him for a week!” Cub pointed out, “Cleo already is on the lookout for one thing to take you out of the program. If you want to stay in it you need to be more careful. That doesn’t mean finding a murderer in the middle of the night.”

“I’m not going to find a murderer-or a kidnapper. Okay? It’s fine.” Scar huffed.

“You wanted my advice,” Cub stated, pointing a finger at the brunet, “I gave it. The answer is no. You are not meeting up with someone at night alone.”

Scar blew air out of his nose, frowning as Cub turned his back to him to look back at his desk of books and equipment. Scar tapped his foot on the ground, glaring at the bed he sat on. He knew this was important. Taurtis wouldn’t risk getting caught talking to him if it wasn’t important, not now with Sam on his tail everywhere.

Scar replayed Cub’s answer in his head, trying to find a loophole in his logic. Then he grinned, looking at the back of Cub’s head with a smirk playing on his lips, “What if I wasn’t alone?”

Cub froze, he turned around, eyeing Scar carefully, “No.”

“Come on! Cub, please! I need someone to drive me there, and you’d be there, too, so if anything happens you’ll know! You’d be there to pull me out if things get bad! The note doesn’t say I can’t bring someone with me! Please, Cub, this is important, I know it is.” Scar promised, pleading with his cousin.

Cub tried not to look at Scar’s puppy eyes he was giving him. He didn’t want to get caught up in any argument between Cleo and Scar after this was over. But at the same time, no matter what Cub said, he knew Scar was going no matter what. It would at least be better if there was someone else there.

“Fine.” Cub grumbled, as Scar cheered behind him. “Be here at six thirty on the dot. Do not be late.” Cub demanded, as Scar agreed quickly.

“Love you, Cub!” Scar whooped as he left the other’s room to go home.

“You owe me!” Cub shouted back before he heard the door close.

As they drove out of town, following the same roads Scar saw in the morning, the brunet suddenly found how enclosed the roadways were. The trees curved over the road as if they were trying to swallow it up before it could get any farther. The car jerked and bumped as it hit the rocks and fallen limbs of trees.

Cub’s grip on the steering wheel was tightening the farther the escaped town. HIs knuckles almost turned white as he stared dead ahead. The car lights barely brighten the road in front of them.

Scar traced the line of the trees as they drove, trying his best to find the moon hanging over the limbs. As they crawled through the tunnels of trees and forests, they sat silently.

Cub leaned forward in his seat trying to see farther out ahead of them. They passed a sign claiming they were leaving Hermitville. The note in Scar’s pocket felt heavier once they passed the sign, it felt like a fire in his pocket burning for him to take out.

“It’s a lot creepier at night.” Scar muttered, looking at how the trees tangled together like a spider web, with animals hiding in the limbs of them like giant spiders.

“Everything is.” Cub whispered back.

“You know the way right?” Scar asked.

Cub nodded silently. They didn’t speak much after that, their attention focused on their surroundings. Scar tried to ignore how the fog that crept out of the woods changed the trees. The wind made the leaves contort and converge into monstrous shapes all moving in unison as they drove by.

As they slowly dragged along the road, Cub began to tap his fingers on the steering wheel. His eyes darted in each direction looking for any obstacles in their way.

“That’s the third dead rabbit we’ve passed.” Cub whispered after a long time. His words nearly made Scar jump from the sudden conversation. Scar laughed it off.

“Yeah, I guess it’s rabbit season?” He offered, hopeful.

Cub frowned, “I guess.” He muttered.

The sign for the next town was shaded by overgrown weeds and moss, leaving none of the words visible. The actual sign itself was possibly as old as the town, rotted and withered away. They passed by too quickly for Scar to get a good look at it, but he could’ve sworn he saw a smear of red across a section of it.

He shook his head as Cub began to pull into the town roads and off the country roads.

“You know where this place is?” Cub asked.

“212 Cobblerooms Street.” Scar answered, keeping an eye out for street signs. Cub nodded, following Scar directions as they twisted and turned down winding roads. Eventually, finding the bookstore they were looking for.

Cub pulled into a parking space, the lot was void of any cars or people. The buildings on either side of the bookstore were closed. The shadows spread across the floor like ink creating silhouettes of the buildings, except they were out of proportion and contorted in odd ways.

The bookstore itself seemed normal. A tallish two story building, a darker alleyway directly to the right. The building was made of dark wood, polished and chipped away from years of work. The lights were on inside, shining out of the two front windows and onto the concrete sidewalk.

The sign above the door read, B’s Bookstore and Bakery

“This is it.” Scar sighed, looking up at the building from the car. He smiled, nervously, “So do you just-like-want to wait in the car or?”

Cub glared at him, before shoving his door open and slamming it shut behind him.

“Come inside with me it is.” Scar muttered, rolling his eyes as he exited the car.

A bell above the door rang as they entered and they were met with the smell of old books and pastries all at once. What had seemed a horrific mess on the outside was a cozy space on the inside.

Bookshelves spread a long way back to the rest of the buildings. The floor was mainly tile with tables and chairs. The chairs were already placed atop the tables as if the workers were getting ready to go home. A counter to the side of the room held a cash register and a glass case filled with baked goods. Behind the counter were more bookshelves, a small desk, and a door.

Cub looked around the bookstore first, taking a step inside and roamed the first few tables of books. Scar took the time to look for any other customers in the store, but from the looks of it they were the only ones.

As the bell finally rang for the last time the door behind the counter opened.

Scar wondered who would own the late night bookstore. A creepy old guy that had figurines in his basement? A lady who wanted to take him to a house full of candy? A witch that was going to curse him for entering? A ghostly child that would haunt him?

What he wasn’t expecting was a kind looking man, who couldn’t have been older than 21, weaning a pink apron around his waist and blue sweater underneath.

“Hello!” He hollered once the door closed behind him, “Oh, I’m so glad to have some customers today! Anything specific I can help you look for!” The man grinned, leaning forward on his counter, “Cookies? Bread? Children’s books? Fantasy? Cakes? What’s your poison!”

Scar couldn’t help but laugh at himself internally, he smiled back at the guy. Taking a step forward about to say something when Cub cut him off.

“We’re just browsing.” Cub called over, crossed arms and glare intense.

Scar huffed, turning back to the other, “Do you work here?”

The man chuckled, “Of course I do! I own it!” He bent down reaching into the glass case and pulling out a cookie from one of the trays. He bit down on the cookie, before introducing himself, “Name’s Big B!”

Scar smiled, “Scar!” He greeted, happily. For a moment, he could’ve sworn he saw the man’s eyes widen before returning back to the way they were.

“How can I help you, Scar?” Big B asked, finishing his cookie quickly. Cub slowly made his way back to Scar, standing behind him. His eyes tracking Big B’s every move.

“I’m here to find something.” Scar said, easily, beginning to dig into his pocket.

Big B clapped his hands together, “A book, then! Yes, of course, I have plenty of them lying around. Do you have a genre you like most?” He turned his back to the two, scanning over his own bookshelves. “I have a list of every book I have here and they are all sorted into these books here by genre.”

“Actually, it’s not a book I’m looking for.” Scar pointed out, carefully, he laid the piece of paper out in front of them on the counter. Cub looked over his shoulder seeing the paper for the first time now.

Big B turned back around, promptly ignoring the note, “Oh, wonderful! A pastry, possibly? Baking has always been my main passion. The books are only a tradition, really.” He waved it off, leaning down to his glass casing.

“He means a person.” Cub stated, plainly, and quickly. “We’re looking for a person.”

Scar nudged his cousin in the gut, as Big B stood up carefully. The man straightened his apron, looking between the two, confused. “I don’t believe I will be as much help in that aspect.”

“Just-” Scar started, placing his hands flat down on either side of the note, “please, a friend of mine handed me this note today. It had this place listed down and a specific time. I’m here. Have you seen them?”

Big B blinked, “You’ll have to be a bit more specific than that.”

Scar shook his head, of course he needed to describe Taurtis! “They’re about yay-high,” Scar motioned with his hands about how tall Taurtis was. Cub was taking in the description, too, imagining this person that had managed to get Scar wrapped around their finger so quickly, “Blond, dark eyes, probably wearing a blue sweater and suspenders!”

While Cub only looked more confused by the description, about to question Scar, Big B snapped his fingers happily.

“Oh, of course, I know them!” He laughed.

“You know Taurtis?” Scar asked, hopeful.

“No.” Big B shrugged, “I know of him, though.”

“Well, they’re the person I’m looking for.” Scar explained, hoping the man would connect the dots that the person he’d described was Taurtis. “Have you seen them?”

“Oh, yes.” Big B nodded, clapping his hands together.

“Great!” Scar grinned, “Where are they?”

“Oh, I have no idea.” Big B revealed, blankly.

Cub looked between the two, his arms still crossed, “But you just said you saw them?”

Big B nodded, “I’ve seen them, yes, I have no idea where they are though.” He smiled as if he’d answered them perfectly well. Scar felt his eye twitch as he listened.

“Have you seen him today?” Scar asked, tensing his hands around the counter.

“Nope!” Big B grinned, “Can I interest either of you in a pastry? I really need to get rid of these before I lock up.” He muttered to himself, looking over the pastries he still had left in the display.

Scar ran his hands through his hair, his eyes glanced over to the clock on the far wall. He was right on time. It was 7:03. Taurtis should’ve been here. He rested his hands in his hair as he asked, “Look, has anyone come in here before us?”

Big B looked up, “You two are my first customers all day.”

Scar gaped at the man, while Cub huffed to himself, grumbling something under his breath. Scar frowned, taking a step away from the counter. “Maybe he’s just not here yet.”

Scar stared at the glass display case, before looking back to the clock on the wall. The time hadn’t changed.

“You’re welcome to wait here as long as you want.” Big B shrugged, beginning to do some work behind the counter. Cub continued to watch the older as Scar began to pace the room.

“I don’t get it.” Scar muttered to himself as Cub sat down at one of the tables, waiting. He listened to his cousin ramble. “He should’ve been here. Why isn’t he here? He meant today right? I mean there’s no date on the note, but he gave it to me this morning.”

“You sure I can’t interest you in a book while you wait!” Big B called out, scanning his bookshelves again.

“We’re fine!” Cub called, leaning his hand onto his arm as he watched Scar. “Scar, have you thought that maybe he wasn’t going to be here?”

“What do you mean?” Scar asked, as he paced back and forth, rubbing his arms.

“I mean-” Cub sighed, “is it possible that this-this was just a prank? Just to get you to come all the way out here for no reason? Just a stupid prank to waste your time?”

Scar stopped, looking over to Cub, frowning, he looked shocked that Cub would even consider it. “He wouldn’t- He wouldn’t do that.”

“How do you know, Scar? I know you think you know this person, but you don’t.” Cub reasoned, as Scar continued to shake his head and pace. “Scar, seriously,” Cub tried to interrupt the continuous ‘no’s Scar was making. “Scar, listen to me, Scar.”

“No, Cub, he wouldn’t. There has to be a reason.” Scar muttered, “There has always been a reason for everything so far.”

“Scar, look around, man!” Cub shouted, startling Big B who was dusting the bookshelf off. The man deliberately hit the edge of one corner of the black shelf with the back of the duster. “No one is going to come out here. This guy hasn’t gotten a customer all day.” Cub whispered, motioning to the man. The apron wearing shop owner was humming under his breath as he moved books from one shelf to another. “If your friend was going to meet you here, they would’ve been here. They would have talked to you about this before. They wouldn’t give you a note with no information. You fell for a prank. Just accept it man.”

Scar shook his head, “This-” He pointed a finger at his cousins, with a growing irritation in his eyes, “This is not a prank. I know Taurtis. You don’t, okay? I know him. Everything he has done was for a reason. From the shoes, to the newspaper, to Rowan, to the plaque, to the jacket, to that stupid symb-”

Scar froze.

Cub furrowed his brow, worried and confused as Scar stopped mid sentence from yelling at him. Scar blinked, he stood up straight from where he’d been leaning over Cub. He turned on his heels to look back to where Big B stood.

Cub looked over to follow his sight, to see the shopkeeper standing with his arms crossed leaning against the wall.

The baker squinted at the both of them, a slight smirk on his face. The playful glint in his eyes was replaced now with something serious. His face was mainly blank of emotion except for the smirk that cracked his lips.

Scar didn’t take another moment before he was pointing to the bookshelf the man had been messing with. “Tell me everything you know about that symbol.”

Scar was pointing at the broken rectangle symbol that stuck out like a sore thumb now on the book shelf. A bright purple rectangle with two dots broken off on the edges. Cub looked between the symbol, the shopkeeper and Scar, confusion growing.

The room felt like it had suddenly gained five pounds.

“What symbol? Scar, what are you talking about? What’s this about jackets, shoes and newspapers?” Cub asked, shooting up from his seat to try and follow after the taller.

Scar ignored him, glaring down at Big B as the man grinned more.

“What symbol?” Big B asked, although there was a knowing look in his eyes.

Scar grimaced, “That one.” He grumbled, pointing at the statue again, “The Watcher’s why do you have it up?”

Big B shrugged, “It’s good luck.” He said at the same time Cub questioned, “Watchers?”

Scar shook his head, “No. The Watchers were a cult-”

“A cult!” Cub shouted, eyes wide as he stared at his friend.

“Just talking about them can bring you bad luck. So why do you have their symbol up in your failing bookstore?” Scar asked, with a snarl on his lips, daring the man to answer his questions now.

Big B smiled, again. “He knew you’d figure it out.” He asserted, nodding. “I was worried we were making it too hard.” he laughed, “Give me a moment and I’ll grab your things from the back.” Big B said, opening the door beside him to the backroom of the shop.

Scar gripped the counter tightly, glaring into the glass, “I told you it was important.”

Cub stared at the back of Scar head, eyes looking between him and the symbol. His worry and concern turned into an angry fire that his cousin had kept this much from them after all. “When we get back-” Cub fumed, “You are telling everybody everything. And I mean everybody.”

Scar looked over to his friend to see the anger in his eyes, but also the hurt and concern that leaked from his frown and brow. Scar sighed, nodding, sadly.

Big B walked back into the storefront, holding a stack of three books. The books were old leather bound and covered in cobwebs and dust. The first was the shortest, the cover a dark blue with ruined edges where the brown of the paper could be seen. The middle was the thickest, about as large as a textbook, it was a dark purple color with the rectangular symbol extending over the front. And Scar could already see small notes and papers sticking out of the sides from between pages. The last was a red covered book barely the size of his own hand.

Big B placed the books on the counter, spreading them out so Scar and Cub could see each individually. “These books will tell you what you need to know.”

“He wants you to read?” Cub asked, raising an eyebrow at the books laid out. His attention drawn to the red covered book. He wiped the dust off the top uncovering the title.

“What is all this?” Scar asked, picking up the purple and looking over the symbol on the front He traced the symbol with his finger. “Why isn’t he here? He gave me this note. Why didn’t he come here to tell me this himself?”

Big B frowned, “I’m only supposed to give you the books.” Scar huffed, of course, no one was going to give him answers that easily. Big B shook his head, “But your note never stated that he’d be here. It only told you to come. I can tell you that if he could’ve given you this himself, he would’ve.”

Scar looked up from the cover of the purple book, “Why can’t he?” Cub seemed interested in the question, too, taking a step forward.

“He’s a busy kid.” Big B defended, quietly.

“And we’re not.” Cub said, quickly, “We had to drive here from out of town. The least the guy could do is meet us here.”

Big B sent a sharp look over to Cub, something that completely opposed his prior happy state, “While you might be busy, I can promise you he’s got a lot more on his mind.”

Scar intervened in the bickering before it got any farther, “Just,” He sighed, “What does this all mean? Why is he giving me these books? What am I supposed to do with them?”

Big B raised an eyebrow, “What do you normally do with books?”

“I mean what does Taurtis have to do with this? Why is he pointing me in this direction?” Scar asked, he pointed to the symbol on the book. “This symbol was on the sleeve of my uniform. A uniform he used to have. Why did he draw this symbol on the sleeve? And why did he point it out to me? Why did he tell me to come here to find you with the same symbol to give me a book with the same damn symbol!”

“Scar…” Cub warned, trying to calm his friend down from the panic that was turning in his stomach.

Big B didn’t even flinch at the shout, nor did he offer any sign of emotion. He stood perfectly still until after Scar was finished, “I’m only supposed to give you the books. I’m not supposed to answer your questions.”

“Why?” Scar pleaded, “Why can’t someone just answer me? Why do I have to keep getting these riddles! When am I going to actually get an answer!”

Big B raised a hand to stop him before he could continue, he sighed, “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to listen to him.”

Scar froze, his resolve diminishing as he watched Big B seem to deflate even more from the persona he pushed. His joyous, shopkeep attitude falling away for a solemn look.

“Taurtis believes he knows what he’s doing. He thinks he can put all this together and lead you to each answer. I’ll tell you…it’s all so he can stay safe. I meant it when I said the kid’s got a lot on his mind. He wants to lead you to the pond so you can see the water and decide what to do-rather than drown you in it.” Big B described, leaning forward on the display. He pushed the books closer to the two.

“If he’s in so much danger why doesn’t he just call the police?” Cub asked, skepticism clear on his features.

Big B leaned closer to Cub, staring him in the eyes as he spoke, “Do you really think he would stoop this low to reaching out to another kid before he tried that?”

Cub swallowed, taking a step back as Big B spoke, darkly.

“You don’t want him to do that?” Scar asked, ignoring Cub, “You don’t think he should be leading me there?”

Big B leaned back, straightening himself, sadly. “I think the longer this goes on the worse it gets. He won’t like me telling you what he wants you to figure out yourself, but in the end he doesn’t have to know.” Big B shrugged, “I’m only accelerating the process.”

Scar smiled, finally he was going to get some answers from a person! “You’re going to answer my questions!”

Big B smirked, “I’ll fill in the gaps I can.” he nodded, “Give me a moment. Go ahead and take a seat, would either of you care for a drink?” He offered, quickly moving to open a cabinet behind him and pulling out a mug for himself.

“No thanks.” Cub answered, watching as Big B made himself a drink. Scar could tell his cousin was still nervous about their safety.

Scar shook off his cousin's worry, nodding, “Sure.” Scar gathered the books together, carrying them over to a table that had a chair already set down from where Cub had been sitting. He sat down, laying the books back out and flipping through the largest.

Big B carried over two mugs of a steaming drink over to the table, laying on in front of Scar before sitting across from him. Cub didn’t sit down, standing over Scar’s shoulder glaring at the man watching for any subtle movements.

Big B sat down, crossing his legs and taking a sip of his drink. His eyes paying attention to Cub’s stare rather than Scar’s nervous tapping.

“What are all these books specifically?” Scar asked, placing the book back down once he’d finished flipping through, quickly.

Big B nodded, setting his drink down. He pointed to the blue book, “This is a short history of the town and its founding. The origin of Evo and it’s rise starts with the founding members of the town and goes up into the industrialization of the town that you see today.” He pointed to the purple book, “This goes into detail about the Watchers and what they became after One rose into power. It’s called The Rise of One and covers the tragedies that the cult is remembered for today.” Scar’s eyes widened as he looked back at the book, feeling the weight in his hands get heavier. Cub looked between the two books, brows furrowed as he fought the urge to grab his friend’s hand and pull him out of the bookstore. Big B motioned to the last, “This is all we know about the raid of the watchers and their demolishment. The Ender Raid is what many refer to it as today.”

“Where are you getting all this information?” Cub asked, looking between the books.

Big B glanced up at Cub,“I own a bookstore. It’s my job to know things.” He turned back to Scar, “How familiar are you with the Watchers?”

Scar sighed, deeply, “I only learned about them today. I know that they’re bad luck. I know that they disbanded, yet there are some people who think they’re still around.”

Big B nodded, “Like I said, I can only tell you what I know. I don’t have the full story.” He sighed, “I know that a long time ago when the town was founded the group of people who lived here believed themselves to be superior above any others. They lived in harmony and peace, their intelligence kept them alive. Yet, as time went on and people began to move into the town, those that the original founders deemed ‘unfit’ and ‘unruly’, the founders worked to keep themselves superior. They tried terribly hard to force the newer citizens to praise them and honor them, but you can only keep power over people for as long as they give you that power.”

“They rebelled?” Cub asked, stealing the blue book away from the table and quickly looking through it himself. His eyes scanning the papers to try and follow along with the shopkeep to see who was telling the truth.

Big B nodded, his hands cupping his mug tightly, “The town became like every other in the area. Everything seemed normal, but you can’t kill an idea. There were still people who believed they were above the newcomers, they formed what they called the Watchers. It’s-It’s here where things get a bit fuzzy…” Big B muttered, taking a sip of his drink.

“They became a cult.” Scar filled in.

Big B shook his head, “No. It took years for that to happen. No. Originally, they were simply a group of people that gathered in order to keep their community in shape, at least the shape they believed in. It became the thing we know today when One rose to power.”

“One?” Scar muttered, looking closer at the title of the purple book, noticing the golden named number.

Big B nodded, “They never revealed their name, they made everyone call them One. They believed they were the one true and pure being. Over time as they rose in power that-that was when it became a cult. As more and more civilians came to town they used their power to facilitate hate and harm towards them. That book should fill in the moment I wasn’t around for, I know One had a reign of terror long before I came into contact with any of it.”

“Moments you weren’t around for?” Cub asked, raising an eyebrow, “What does that mean?”

“Were you a part of it?” Scar asked, quietly.

“Unwillingly, but yes.” Big B stated, he sighed, “The cult was passed down through generations. To become a member was a great achievement in their eyes, but it could only be passed down to one child each generation. It was the duty of the one before them to decide who would inhabit their ideals the best. I was chosen by my family.”

“So what happened when you were ‘chosen’? Scar cringed as he spoke.

“I was taken from my siblings and mother, and placed into the care of the elders of the cult whose job was to care for newcomers. You were taught their ways and how to act like one of them until you aged out and were allowed to rejoin society as one of One’s Eyes.” Big B described.

“Scar said they were disbanded, how did they get found?” Cub asked, motionting to his cousin as he uncrossed his arms finally.

Big B frowned, shifting as he rushed through his story. He pointed to the red book, “It took years, but eventually, a raid was placed on their main hideout. Unfortunately, no one knows who led the raid or even who was involved. All we know is that someone, no one knows who, led a group of officers and officials into the sanctuary. Everyone there unwillingly was reunited with their friends and family, One disappeared, they were never captured. The others, those One left behind, were taken into custody.”

“I had someone tell me there were stories of the cult still being around.” Scar said.

“One was never captured, it is possible they are still out there. I know there were a few children and adults that were not rescued from their captors. But that’s all I know of, I couldn’t tell you if there truly was still a cult or if those victims even want to be found.” Big B shrugged, he sighed, “But I do know, your friend had some connection with it. The Watchers are a town legend, some believe in it others don’t, your friend is someone who takes the Watchers very seriously. They asked me specifically, to hold these books for you and to only give them to you after you recognized the symbol.”

“But why?” Cub asked, before Scar could. “What does he have to do with this?”

“I know at one point, he had a dear friend. I knew him as well, that boy, he was always hiding something. There was something hidden behind him that no one could pull out of him. Taurtis only learned about the Watchers from him. I’d assume that whatever Taurtis is leading you to, it’s that boy. He’d be able to help you more than I could.” Big B said, sadly.

“But what was their name?” Scar asked quickly, scooting forward in his seat.

Big B frowned, sadly, “I never learned it.”

Scar’s face fell. His one lead was gone, just like that. He sank back into the chair. Cub tensed behind him, his expression changing from concern and interest to one of frustration.

“You didn’t learn it? Are you kidding? Are you even telling the truth? You met someone who possibly had answers about a cult that you were a part of and you didn’t learn their name! Was any of what you said true? I mean seriously, I think if there was a cult we would’ve heard about it! We only live one town over and none of this-none of it-has even been uttered over there. This can’t be true, Scar. You can not believe some crazy bookstore owner over everything we know is fact. If something this big was happening it wouldn’t have happened under all of our noses.” Cub shouted, glaring at Big B. At first, he’d started to believe the man but the more he spoke the more it sounded like utter nonsense. There was no way they would have no idea about a cult kidnapping kids and taking them from their families.

Big B’s face screwed up a second after Cub began. The more the lab coat clad boy spoke the more he looked ready to throw Cub out. His fingers clenching around his mug as he glared over Scar’s head up to Cub, who was pacing.

Scar looked between the two unsure of who to believe.

Big B slammed his mug down after Cub was finishing his last sentence. The man stood up from his chair, laying both hands flat on the table. He glared down at Cub as he steamed, “You want to know why you haven’t heard anything about this? You don’t get the name Hermits for nothing, now do you? Look at you, it took one of your own changing schools to even recognize the idea that there was another town right next door. You hermits, couldn’t care less about what’s happening around you. All you lot care about is the happy, rainbow filled world you live in. You live your lives in this comfort bubble wrapped up warm and cozy while there are others suffering just outside of your borders.”

Cub flinched away from the fuming words. His eyes widened as Big B spoke, and all Scar could do was sit silently, listening to the rant that was slowly making more and more sense to him. It had taken him leaving and exchanging schools for him to even see the problems that were staring at him in the face.

Scar had never paid much attention to Pearl, or Jimmy, or even Mumbo until this past week. He hadn’t seen how sad Mumbo looked that morning, or how tired he was. He knew Pearl and her family had always been an odd one, but he never saw it to the extent of what he was coming to realize as he watched her and Jimmy leave their home every morning together.

But not only that Taurtis, Sam, Yuki, Ellen, Salex, everyone and everything at that school. It was something he’d never seen before, but not because it was hidden. He’d just never thought to look.

He looked over to Cub who stared at Big B with eyes that seemed to be realizing the exact same thing Scar was. It was like Cub was looking around for the first time, as he saw the bookstore around them. Cub’s eyes laid down on the books in front of Scar, his mouth slightly open as if he was trying to retaliate against Big B’s words.

“If you don’t want to listen. If you don’t want to see the world around you, then I implore you to go back home. Go back to your bubble wrapped city where you can live happily ever after, but know. There are people who aren’t as lucky as you. And you had the chance to change that.” Big B fumed.

“I-” Cub started, but Big B cut him off again.

“Get out.” Big B pointed to the door.

“What?” Cub sputtered, “Scar-I”

“Get out.” Big B repeated.

Scar turned back to his cousin, wondering what they should do next.

“I’m not leaving Scar alone.” Cub said, sternly.

“Cub, I’ll be fine. I’ll be out in a second.” Scar whispered, before nodding to the door. Cub shifted on his feet, before nodding himself and walking out the door. Scar could see him just outside the glass door. He didn’t get back into the car, he stood outside the door waiting.

Scar looked back at Big B, a bit shaken up by the shouting match he’d witnessed. Big B sunk back into his seat in front of Scar.

Big B took a few breaths, before sighing. He took a moment and simply stared at Scar, eying him up and down as Scar shifted in his seat.

“Kid,” Big B sighed, “You realize you’re opening a can of worms, right?”

Scar swallowed, “I mean, yeah. I know there’s something going on-”

“But you don’t know how big you’re getting. I know, I just got onto your friend for it but I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to go back home. I won’t blame you for turning around now and leaving this behind you. You take these home, you keep digging, you’ll find something, I’m just not sure it’s going to be what you want.” Big B warned, “I don’t think you know how deep you're going.”

“I need to know. I can’t go back to not knowing.” Scar whispered, staring at the books.

“But are you willing to go that far?” Big B asked.

“For Taurtis?” Scar muttered, “Absolutely.”

Chapter Text

Even on the weekends it was quite normal for Scar to get up early. His siblings still asleep as he sat out on their porch eating breakfast and watching as his neighbors and friends began their days off. 

He was enjoying the silence a bit more today than he normally did. He was finally able to have a moment to just think, to mull over the thoughts and clues that were all swimming in his brain until it all felt like mush. 

He wasn’t eating a lot of his breakfast, he instead opted to spin the cereal around in the milk of his bowl. His spoon poked the colorful cereal as he tried to connect the pieces of a puzzle. 

What he’d forgotten about was the fact that today was Saturday. The day Pearl came around with the newspaper. 

He felt something hit in the head. As he looked up he saw Pearl smiling down at him, her mail cap on and satchel around her shoulder. Pearl had been running the newspaper routes for years, something about extra money. 

Although, she frowned once Scar looked up at her, “Hey, what’s gotcha so down?”

Scar sighed, shrugging, before looking back into his cereal. Pearl’s frown deepened, and she sat down beside him. He could see her satchel was still full of newspapers all rolled up and filled to the brim. 

“Seriously, mate, what’s got into your head?” She asked again, “You’ve normally told me some random fact about Jellie by now.”

Scar smiled thinking about the stray cat he took care of. Jellie was one of the cats that liked to follow Scar around the highschool. The strays tended to like him because he came to school with cat food for them and gave it to them every morning and afternoon. Scar hadn’t seen Jellie in a while now, he hoped the little cat was doing alright. 

“She misses you by the way.” Pearl added, “Always looking around for you and waiting outside your classes. It'd be quite funny if it wasn’t so sad.” She said, moving to tie her boot laces. 

“Is someone feeding her?” Scar asked, “And Mr. Finnigan and Katy Bee?”

Pearl smiled, “We take turns. Bdubs does it on Mondays. Tango on Tuesdays. Impulse on Wednesday. I do it on Thursday. And then Gem on Friday. I think Skizz even goes by on the weekends.” Pearl laughed. 

Scar smiled, “Thanks.” 

“Scar, what’s wrong?” Pearl asked, carefully. 

“Pearl, do you ever think there’s something out there bigger than you are and that you’ll never be able to match it?” Scar asked, staring into his cereal. 

“Um…what?” Pearl chuckled, eyeing Scar up and down as they laughed. “What are you talking about?”

Scar frowned, “Like there’s something going on and everyone knows it except you. And when you try to figure it out you just feel…small? Like you’re not good enough to figure it out. As if you learning about it would only make it worse so that’s why people hide it from you?” Scar explained, setting his cereal bowl down in front of him. He expected Pearl to scoff and tell Scar he was being weirdly specific, but Pearl stayed quiet. 

Scar expected to hear some kind of mockery from the other, just a playful joke like they normally would but Pearl wasn’t saying anything. Scar looked up and saw Pearl was looking off down the road. Her eyes glazed over with a thin layer of distraction. Her fingers ran over the fabric of her satchel as she rubbed the soft leather. 

She tried to smile over to Scar, but the boy could see the sadness leaking from it as if she wasn’t sure about it herself. 

“Yeah.” She whispered, “Yeah, I do.” Scar’s brow furrowed in confusion as he waited for her to continue. “When Martyn was still in town, he would always hide things from me and Jimmy. I never knew why, but I knew he was lying. He spent years working on something, there was always a kind of tension in the air around him. It only simmered down when he was with me and Jimmy and helping us with school.”

Scar nodded. He remembered when Martyn had still lived with Pearl and Jimmy, before going off to college that he was always with the two of them. Martyn at twelve years old had spent more time at talent shows, parent-teacher conferences,and school functions. Martyn quickly became a normal person to have around when Pearl would go over to Gem’s, Impulse’s, Mumbo’s, or anyone’s. And once Jimmy started going to school, and Martyn was exiting highschool, Pearl had picked up in his place.  

Pearl sighed, “But eventually, he did tell me… and golly, I wasn’t sure if I was ready. I didn’t know what to do or anything. I didn’t even know if he’d made the right decision in telling me…but I didn’t really get that choice anymore. I knew and I had to do something. It might have felt big and really…” She shivered, laughing to herself, “really scary, but there was something more important than that. It didn’t matter if I made it worse or better, I could sit around and let it continue after I knew.” 

Scar opened his mouth to say something, but nothing felt right to tell her. He didn’t even know the full context of what she was talking about. Pearl and her family had always been so secretive. 

Pearl shook her head, smiling at Scar again, “I don’t know if that was any help, but I know what you mean.”

“No. No,” Scar stopped her, “It-It was helpful. Really, thanks.” He tried, quickly, as Pearl began to pick her bag back up. Pearl smiled, stopping her efforts to leave quickly. 

“I haven’t heard a lot about that school-at least not from you. Gem can’t stop mentioning how odd you’ve been acting and Cleo can’t stop worrying about that black eye.” Pearl pointed out, poking Scar in the cheek as she did. He chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Have they really been telling everyone?” Scar asked, rubbing his eye with the back of his sleeve as if he could wipe the bruise away. 

“They only do it because they care, mate. And no, I think it was just me and Stress. She wanted to know if there was anything she could do to help, so she got Stress to look into it.” Pearl said, shrugging, “Guess that’s one good thing about having a friend going into nursing, you always have a first aid manual at the ready.”

Scar laughed fully at that, running a hand through his hair. “It’s-It’s been alright, I think. Not as interesting as listening to Doc debate the teachers. Or Cub exploding the labs. Not as cool as playing Tango’s newest games and updates. And definitely not as interesting as seeing Joel, Gem and Etho battle it out in the halls…but it’s alright.”

Pearl nodded, “You’ll have to tell me about it sometime.” She nudged him in the arm, as she gathered her satchel and stood up. 

“I could tell you about it at the hermit meeting tonight?” Scar offered, looking up at the girl as she straightened her jacket. 

Pearl shook her head, “Can’t. I’m going to Jimmy’s history fair tonight. He’s supposed to be some sort of famous sheriff. He’s been practicing his speech for weeks trying to remember what he’s supposed to say.”

Scar frowned, “Oh, well, tell the little guy I wish him good luck.”

Pearl smiled, nodding, “Thanks, I will.” Pearl hopped off of the porch, taking a few steps down the road before turning back around to look back at Scar. “Hey, Scar?”

“Yeah?” Scar called back.

“Jimmy’s birthday is coming up, do you think you could come by? And-And maybe get the hermits to come too? I’d ask them myself, but…everythings gotten pretty busy right now. Jim’s just in a rough patch right now and I think it’d be nice to have everyone over for him again.”

Scar smiled, sadly nodding. “Of course. I’ll say something about it tonight.”

Pearl nodded, sighing in relief, “Thank you.”

______________________________________________________

Scar didn’t pay much attention to whatever game was being played in the center of the living room. All he knew was that Skizz was losing and Tango wasn’t far behind him. He could also tell Gem was winning by the way she and Etho continued to laugh each turn. 

Just about all the hermits had met up at Xisuma’s house for the week’s meeting. It never really was much of a meeting, and more just a get together to talk about the past and upcoming week. There was a routine to whose home they met at, always following the same pattern of Pearl, Xisuma, Impulse and Keralis. 

Scar had considered skipping the meeting, but between promising Pearl to talk to the hermits that morning and Cub pushing him to come along he didn’t have much choice. Not to mention his siblings wouldn’t miss the get together, and wouldn’t be able to answer anyone’s questions about his absence. 

So now, he was curled up on Xisuma’s couch reading through the first book Big B had given him. His bomber jacket still on his shoulders, rather than being hung up on the coat rack like the rest. He could feel the odd looks he was getting from his friends as they continued on with the night’s activities. 

It was odd seeing Scar curled up on the couch reading rather than joining in on some game that was being played. Impulse had even tried to get him to join them in their game of candyland. It was an odd choice of game, but it was the one Impulse had brought. 

Gem, Etho, Skizz, Impulse, Tango, Zedaph, Joel, and False were all enjoying the game together, circled around the board on the floor. False continued to be distracted in the game by Ren and Iskall pulling her attention away with their bickering. While Joel argued with Bdubs about his girlfriend’s existence. The living room was a mess of conversations and laughter as jokes were made. 

Cub was sitting across the room from Scar, while he pretended to watch the game, Scar knew the boy was glaring at him. Cub wanted him to explain everything to the hermits, he’d been asking him all day if he would say anything that night. Scar just wasn’t sure how to explain it all or even how to start. So he sat quietly, ignoring the looks his cousin sent him and blocking out the noise of his friends. 

Cleo, Xisuma, Xander, Keralis and Stress were all helping out in the kitchen getting dinner ready. They always offered food during meetings so there were always hands in the kitchen helping out. Scar could hear Stress telling Xander off for stealing some of her sweets she’d prepared. 

A crash interrupted Scar’s reading, he flinched. It was quickly met with laughter, as they all realized it was simply Wels hitting the side of the house with a football he’d kicked in the backyard. Hypno, Xb and Beef had all joined Wels outside as they practiced outside. While Scar’s friends laughed it off, with a slight call from Xisuma to not break anything, Scar couldn’t help but freeze.

He’d flinched. 

He was with his friends. He was in possibly the safest place he could ever be…and he’d flinched? That didn’t make sense. All it was was a stupid soccer ball hitting the window, or football as some of his friends insisted. Why had he flinched?

Before Scar could question himself more, he felt someone sit next to him on the couch. He looked over, already smelling the coffee tinted suit. Mumbo was always a quiet addition to the nights. He didn’t speak to a lot of the hermits, as far as Scar was aware Iskall was his closest friend. And even then the two barely spoke now. Over the years, it had seemed Mumbo slowly disappeared from all of their lives. 

Mumbo used to be one of their biggest supporters, to each of them. Scar couldn’t remember one building competition that Mumbo hadn’t gone to, even though he claimed he wasn’t a builder. He’d shown up to each of Doc, Tango and Impulse’s redstone exhibits. He’d offered advice to lots of them over the years, but slowly he pulled back. 

All of them had noticed, it was hard not to. There was constantly an empty chair. Constantly a missing voice in the background. And while they tried to bring the suited boy back, he pushed them away harder every time. 

Xisuma had tried once to talk to him about it, Mumbo claimed nothing had changed and that he just hadn’t been feeling well. Impulse had tried a week afterwards, he was only rewarded with a shrug and a smile. 

Still, Scar was glad to see the raven haired boy had come to the meeting. Scar smiled, noticing how Mumbo held his cup of tea with both hands. His fingers tapping along the base, nervously. 

“Hey?” Scar began, earning a nod from the other. 

“What are you reading?” Mumbo asked, the game of candyland in front of them quieting down as Mumbo spoke. 

Scar looked back to his book, mumbling to himself, “Oh, um,” He cleared his throat, “It’s just some general history about stuff.”

“I didn’t take you as a history nerd, Scar.” Gem added in. 

Scar rolled his eyes, “I can have hobbies.” 

“Yeah, but not history.” False concluded.

“If anything you would be reading the history of Disney!” Joel said, motioning in the air with his hands and spreading his fingers apart widely. He giggled to himself afterwards. Scar rolled his eyes as Joel retrieved his jazz hands. 

“Or history of space travel.” Tango inputted, moving his piece on the board. 

“Star wars.” Ren said, plainly, shifting in his seat so he was laying across the chair rather than sitting in it. 

“Give me a break.” Scar muttered, rolling his eyes as he laid his head into one of his hands, propped up on the arm of the couch. 

“All we’re saying is it’s odd to see you reading what? The General history of Evo?” Impulse said, reading the title of the book as he crooked his head to see it. “Evo? What even is that?”

“Like evolution?” Zedaph asked, moving his piece on the board now. “Evo?”

“Why exactly are we talking about that old town?” Xisuma asked, as he walked into the living room carrying a platter of snacks and food. He set it down on the middle table in the living room so everyone could reach it. Just behind them was Xander, eyeing around the room in confusion. Stress walked in behind the twins, settling down beside Iskall on the arm of the chair he sat on. 

“What old town?” Iskall asked, trying to shove Stress away from him. 

“Evo.” Xander said, “That town literally right next to Hermitville? Least that’s what it used to be called.” He shrugged. 

Scar nearly dropped his book, his head snapped up to look at the twins, “You knew it was called Evo?”

“Of course we did.” Xander huffed, placing his hands on his hips as if he was offended Scar could think they wouldn’t have known. Xisuma waved his brother’s attitude off. 

“Yeah, we knew. Why?” He asked.

“Scar, just reading about the general history.” Mumbo shrugged, taking a sip of his drink, before continuing, “For some reason.”

Xisuma blinked, “What’s gotten you interested in that?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Before Scar could answer Cub quickly, cleared his throat, sending a cold look his way. Scar rolled his eyes. 

“Well, I mean, I’m going to school there. I might as well know a bit about it, you know?” Scar shrugged. 

Xander dropped onto the other side of Mumbo on the couch, making the suited boy try and stabilize his cup of tea. “Don’t know why you’ve decided to stay there anyway. That place is freaking weird.”

Scar paused, closing the book fully now so he could put his full attention on Xander and Xisuma. “You think it’s weird?”

“He just means different.” Xisuma clarified, trying to calm the waters his brother stirred. He sent a stern look towards his brother, before smiling again, “I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“How do you two know anything about it anyways?” Cub asked.

“We used to live there, dumbass.” Xander scoffed, crossing his arms.

“Xander!” Xisuma chided, while Cub completely ignored the insult. Xisuma sighed, “Yes, we used to live there. We didn’t stay long though, truly.”

Scar’s eyes widened, “Why didn’t you tell me!” He shouted, scooting to the edge of his seat. 

Xisuma’s own eyes widened at the shout, “We didn’t-I didn’t want to sway you one way or the other one whether you wanted to go or not.”

Scar huffed, “Why didn’t you guys live there longer?”

Xisuma shrugged, “Well, our parents' job was here.And the town wasn’t too friendly or welcoming. When a chance came up we just decided to move closer. Hermitville was a wonderful change.” He smiled kindly at their friends. 

“That’s an understatement.” Xander muttered, “Town was full of creeps and weirdos. Absolutely hated it. They hated us once we moved in.” 

Xisuma waved it off again, “Xander’s just a pessimist, it wasn’t that bad.”

Scar shook his head, “They didn’t want you there?” He asked, he could see where this was going now. He grabbed his book from the side of the couch, flipping through the pages again. “Did they ever do things to make you want to leave?”

“Scar, why are you so concerned about it?” Xisuma laughed, “It was really nothing bad.” 

“What? Did they not invite you guys to birthday parties?” Doc muttered, rolling his eyes earning a laugh from Ren, Joel and a few others. 

“Picked last in for the baseball team?” Joel added, another laugh rounded the group, even earning a chuckle from Xisuma. Xander stayed quiet, tapping his foot on the ground. Xisuma laughed, shaking his head with a smile. 

“Did they make a bad pie?” Stress asked, “I’m sure I could loan a couple recipes.” She added with a grin. 

“Oh, oh, yeah, one bad pie and that was the last straw!” Iskall continued, laughing. 

“I’m glad you like it here better, X.” Impulse said, as the others continued to poke fun and make small meaningless jabs getting laughter from each other. Xisuma smiled, nodding as he sat on the ground next to the other. 

“Me too, my friend.” Xisuma agreed. 

Scar grimaced, his fingers trying to find the right pages as he listened to his friends laugh. Their laughter grated his ears as he knew exactly what Xander was talking about. He knew what they were laughing about and it was nothing to joke about. His friend’s jokes felt like nails on a chalkboard as they kept talking, his fingers moving faster and faster as he tried to find the right pages. 

He was sure to get paper cuts later from how fast he was flipping through the pages, until finally he found the right one. 

“Here!” He shouted, cutting off everyone’s humorous conversation. Everyone paused, sharply, looking up at him as he jumped up from his seat. “Did-Did anything that happened-Did it ever have this symbol?” 

Xisuma looked over his shoulder to Scar with a confused brow. He frowned, “Scar, it was so long ago, I really doubt I could remember whatever symbol-” Xisuma stopped, once Scar showed him the picture on the page. 

Xander raised an eyebrow, standing up and joining his brother in looking at the page. Both of them stared at the page silently, eyes tracing over the rectangular symbol. The hermits all stared confused, watching as the twins looked on with just confliction. The last crumbs of chuckling and laughter died. 

Scar could see how Xander’s jaw clenched and his fists tightened, at the same time Xisuma’s eyes widened and the color seemed to leave his face. Xisuma shifted only slightly, rolling his shoulder’s back before standing back up straighter than before. He shook his head, “No, I’m afraid I can’t remember ever seeing that symbol.”

Xander looked over to his brother, glaring, before sighing, “No idea.”

Scar frowned, having seen the two’s reaction. He sat back down, defeated as Xisuma and Xander fell back into the comfortable conversation that picked up afterwards. Still Scar felt something uneasy about their reactions, how quiet they both had gotten until Xisuma faked his response. 

However, none of the hermits seemed to notice anything odd about Xander or Xisuma’s response.

Scar pulled the book back to himself, looking over the cover before he felt someone tap on his shoulder. As the rest of his friends finished up their game, and began debating over what to play next, Cub had silently made his way behind the couch. The lab coated boy tapped Scar, and nodded for him to follow. Scar swallowed, standing up quietly and following his cousin into the kitchen. 

As the two entered the kitchen they passed Cleo and Keralis leaving with drinks in hand to give out. Cub nodded for Scar to follow him until they were inside the kitchen together. With the counter between the two of them, Cub laid his laid out on the table, “When are you going to say something?”

“Cub…” Scar sighed.

“You said you would.” Cub pointed out, before Scar could come up with an excuse. 

“What do you want me to say! It’s not a very easy subject to talk about!” Scar huffed, crossing his arms. “Everyone’s having fun, can’t it wait for another night? Maybe when I won’t ruin the mood.”

“Scar, this is serious!” Cub fumed, quietly.

“I know that.” Scar snapped, “I’m just saying, none of them want to hear about this right now! You saw Xisuma and Xander, they brushed it off like it was nothing.” 

“And they won’t when you explain.” Cub pushed further, “Xisuma is smart, he knows when things are serious. You need to take this seriously.”

“I am!” Scar snapped back, “In fact, I’d say I’ve been taking this a whole lot more serious than you! You only started believing me when I took you to see it for yourself. And even then, you tried to brush it off, well, guess what, now you can’t brush it off can you? And pushing it onto others isn’t going to help, okay?”

“I’m not saying push it off onto the others, I’m saying you need help.” Cub clarified, squinting his eyes at his cousin. 

“Why are you so worried about it now? You weren’t this concerned earlier when I told you about Taurtis!” Scar grimaced, gripping the edge of the counter. 

“I didn’t know how much danger you were in then!” Cub deployed, “I thought you were just dealing with a regular-joe bully…not some cult-invested town full of psychopaths!” Cub sighed, calming himself down as he tapped his fingers on the counter, “I just think it would be better, if you talked to the hermits about it. If you told everyone, we could help.”

Scar frowned, glaring at the other, “You don’t think I can do it.” 

“That is not what I said.” Cub defended, quickly, through gritted teeth. 

“But it’s the truth, right?” Scar asked, “You don’t think I can handle it. You didn’t think I could handle going to a different school, and now you think I can’t handle this.” He took a step away from his friend.

Cub scoffed, crossing his arms before Scar frowned more. His glare deepened as Cub kept his silence up. Cub shifted on his feet, eventually sighing, “Have you seen what you’re up against? Of course, I’m worried!”

Scar’s jaw clenched, as his fingers fisted the fabric of his jacket. “Well, guess what, Cub. I’m the one who’s going to this school. I’m the one who got picked. Not you and not the hermits. I will deal with it how I see fit. It’s my decision what I do, not yours. I’m a lot more capable than what you lot give me credit for.”

Cub winced as Scar shouted, he could see the hurt and anger in his friend’s eyes. He hadn’t meant to hurt his cousin in such a way. He only wanted to keep him safe. 

“I can’t believe you don’t trust me.” Scar muttered to himself. 

“Scar-”

“Uh, guys?” Joel interrupted, looking into the kitchen from the doorway. Both boys quickly looked over to see that almost all of the hermits had filtered into the doorway and were all looking over each other’s shoulders to get a view. Scar and Cub nearly jumped when they saw the group staring at them wide eyed and open mouthed. 

“Are you two okay?” Impulse asked, his brow furrowed and eyes filled with worry. 

“Yeah, you two haven’t had a fight like that in forever.” Ren added, barely peeking through the door frame as if he was too scared to get involved. 

“Not since Scar got into Cub’s firework chemicals.” Doc said, crossing his arms as he stared between the two. 

“We’re fine.” Scar muttered quickly, before Cub could disagree. 

Cub snapped his head over to look at his cousin, confusedly, “‘Fine?’ This is so not fine.  When are you going to tell them?”

“Tell us what?” Bdubs asked, poking his head over Iskall’s shoulder. 

“Nothing.” Scar muttered, looking away from his friends.

“You said you’d tell them.” Cub accused. “Or would you rather end up with another black eye?”

“I can do it by myself.” Scar crossed his arm, grimacing. “And that’s a low blow!” He defended.

“Scar, what does this have to do with that?” Cleo asked. 

“I thought you said you got the black eye from tripping?” Ren pointed out quietly. 

“He told me he ran into a door, again.” Impulse added, looking from Ren back to Scar. “Scar?”

“No. He got hit with a softball.” False inputted, her hands on her hips as if the two boys were lying on Scar’s behalf. 

“I thought it was a soccer ball?” Tango questioned, beside False. 

He earned a smack to the back of the head from Joel, “It’s called football.”

All of the hermits stood turned towards Scar, waiting for him to say who had the correct explanation for the black and blue bruise around his eye. Scar swallowed as he tried to think of a way out of the predicament.

“Now you have to tell them.” Cub sighed.

“Yeah, I know!” Scar snapped, but Cub didn’t flinch. He wasn’t even phased as his cousin accepted defeat. “Fine!” Scar threw his hands up in the air, “I’ll tell you! But we’re not playing any more games. No more games. No more funny stories. I'll tell you what’s going on and things get serious.”

“Scar,” Gem interrupted, “It’s you. I’m sure it’s not that serious.” She chuckled, earning a laugh from a few of the other hermits. Cub only frowned, not joining in on the laughter when Iskall tried to nudge him into it. Scar frowned, pushing past his friends and out into the living room again.

Scar grabbed his books from the corner of the couch, laying them out on the coffee table. As he grumbled to himself as his friends continued to joke around, Mumbo walked up to him. The suited boy had a frown plastered to his face, and was carefully and slowly walking up to Scar. Almost like he was some wild animal. 

Scar threw the last book down, before Mumbo tapped him on the shoulder. Scar snapped around to the other, causing the raven haired one to startle. 

Mumbo took a breath, “Are you alright, mate?”

“I’m fine.” Scar muttered.

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.” Mumbo said, softly. 

“No. No!” Scar huffed, “If this is that important for everyone to know, I’ll tell it!”

Mumbo frowned, taking a step backwards. He nodded, sighing, before sitting back down in his seat. The other hermits filtered back into the room, taking their seats and offering comments and laughter between them all. 

Scar waited for them all to quiet down, before he finally started talking. His arms crossed, and foot tapping anxiously on the floor as he explained what had happened on his first day of the new school. He explained the uniform, the quiet classrooms, the oddly dressed boy that turned out to be Taurtis, the gym class, and the boring lectures that droned on.

When he finished the hermits seemed unphased, still all smiles and comfort. Scar shifted, the warmth his friends put off suddenly felt cold and unnerving. 

“I bet you’re just overthinking it.” Stress waved it off with a smile, “School’s have uniforms all the time.”

“But reused ones?” Scar clarified. 

Stress shrugged, “Some schools have to reuse them if they're in low socio-economy areas.”

Scar frowned, huffing to himself, “What about the gym class? Or the lectures?”

“Just because it’s different from ours doesn’t mean anything.” Tango shrugged, leaning back into the couch behind him. 

Scar’s jaw clenched, his fingers gripping his jacket sleeves. He described the next day finding the condemned room. He tried his best to explain the hallway he’d found it down, only to be interrupted by Impulse.

“Dude, you told us about this.” Impulse said, “It’s probably just a chemical spill.”

Gem nodded, “Yeah, remember, they’re probably just too lazy to clean it up. Nothing to worry about.”

“But it’s not.” Scar stated, quickly. 

“How do you know?” Gem smirked, playfully.

“Because I saw why it was! Taurtis told me.” Scar claimed, loudly, “Taurtis showed me that classroom. There’s a plaque right next to the door. One of the teachers died there!” Scar revealed, his fingers tightening around his jacket sleeves. He was rambling now repeating everything he knew. He wondered if the hermits were having half the reaction he had had when he found out. He didn’t pay attention to expression on their faces, instead deciding to continue, “One of the teachers committed suicide in there. That’s why it’s condemned. But-But the kids-they don’t think it was a suicide.” Scar began to pace, back and forth, “There was a newspaper on my lunch seat. It talked about all of it! It had quotes from the students. They didn’t think it was suicide. The students think it was murder. They said there was too much blood! I mean they actually saw it! They saw him in there…”

Scar finally stopped himself from continuing, he turned back to face the hermits waiting to see their horrified looks. He just knew that none of them would want him to go back to the school after learning about this. He knew that Cleo had said just one more wrong thing, but he didn’t care. Not anymore…he needed someone else to know about the insanity. The hermits would be disgusted. They’d want to help. They’d believe him.

Scar looked back to the hermits. 

And they were…

Completely fine.

A few of the hermits looked at each other, before turning back to Scar. Iskall shifted in his seat, “And-uh-do you have this newspaper?” 

“I-” Scar stammered, “No. No, I don’t.”

“Why not?” Doc asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Someone stole it.” Scar muttered, and the hermits nodded slowly. 

“Scar, no offense, buddy, but you don’t really have proof of this.” Ren said, carefully. “Don’t you think this is a little…far fetched?” Scar stared at Ren for a moment, eyes wide as he tried to think of something to say in response. Scar looked over to Cub, expecting the boy to defend him. Cub was staring just as wide-eyed and unbelieving as Scar was. 

“I don't think they would let students see that, Scar.” Skizz whispered, sadly, “Even if it did happen, I wouldn’t trust what those kids are saying without question. For all you know they could just be making it up.”

“Taurtis would not make that up!” Scar shouted, quickly coming to his friend's defense. His eyes were burning now. His friends didn’t believe him. Cub didn’t believe in him and his friends didn’t believe him at all. 

“Okay, okay,” Skizz backtracked, “Sorry, it’s just…how well do you actually know this Taurtis guy?”

“He’s my friend.” Scar seethed. 

“You’ve only known him for a week.” Joel added, not even feeling the tiniest remorse for his statement. 

“He isn't lying!” Scar shouted, “I talked to one of the teachers! He was best friends with the guy. Even he-Even he was talking about it! They aren’t making it up! He would’ve said something. Why would they lock up a whole hallway if it wasn’t true!”

“Scar, did he think it was murder though?” Doc said, being one of the few hermits who had the guts to question it all. 

Scar paused, “Well…not exactly. He never said those exact words-”

“Then maybe…” Iskall tried.

“No! Taurtis wouldn’t lie about that.” Scar fumed, “He-ugh!” Scar groaned, trying his best to explain, “There’s this guy-he’s always wearing this stupid bunny hat! And he walks around constantly with this pink haired girl. They're always together and they are just absolute jerks!”

“A bunny hat?” Gem questioned.

“Yes!” Scar shouted back, “I was talking to Taurtis and they started messing with him. They took his sketchbook and started calling him names and saying all this terrible stuff. When I tried to help-I tried to get him his sketchbook back…that’s how I got the black eye. The girl punched me! She punched me in the face. And-and you should see the bruises on Taurtis. The bruises and bandages they’re just everywhere.” Scar continued, as he desperately tried to get them to believe him. The hermits looked at each other as Scar talked about the black eye. A few seemed to actually believe him at that, their easy smiles turning into concern. Others still didn’t seem convinced. 

“You got punched?” Xisuma asked, concerned.

“I knew it!” Xander cheered, earning a hit from Keralis beside him. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Cleo asked, quickly, shocked. 

“You don’t have to make up a story to hide the fact you ran into a door.” Doc added, quietly. 

“Doc!” Stress gasped, telling the taller off. 

“Is no one going to pay attention to what I just said?!” Scar fumed, stomping his foot on the ground. His shout cut off the other hermits.  “They’re bullying him! And-And I think they’re actively hurting him, too!”

“Scar, kids-I mean-yeah, people bully each other. That happens. I don’t think it’s something you should worry this much about. I’m sure Taurtis will get help soon. He’ll probably talk to a teacher or something.” Stress said. 

“What you should be worried about is the fact you got punched in the face.” Tango added in, getting a nod from both Skizz and Impulse.

“Are you kidding me! I’m telling you this kid could possibly be in a scary situation and you're all worried about me getting punched once!” Scar held up a finger as if it helped his case. 

“It’ll work itself out, Scar.” False placated.

“‘Work itself out?’ I’m not going to just sit by and watch this happen.” Scar fumed, “I-The classes! They don’t teach. They’re so far behind compared to us. They’ve been going over the same things for days now. And the gym class…it’s…they just run. They run constantly. And it’s only after like ten laps that the coach decides they can do something else. And it’s either dodgeball or more running! Apparently they also do self defense training too, but like, that’s weird right?”

“Schools have different curriculums. They could just be a little behind. It’s nothing bad, look on the bright side at least you’re ahead of the curve!” Gem claimed, happily. 

Scar wasn’t convinced, his hands fisted at his side. “Sam, the bunny hat kid, made me choose someone at lunch. He said it was a game. And when I wouldn’t pick someone without knowing what was going on they just got mad.” Scar continued, pacing faster and faster as his friends continued to look on with concern and confusion. If only that concern was comforting to Scar, instead it was making the whole situation worse. They weren’t worried about Taurtis. No, they were worried about Scar.

“When I didn’t pick someone Sam made Taurtis pick someone. He yelled at him, and when he finally picked someone, Sam just-Sam berated them. He just insulted them, and-and…ugh!” Scar couldn’t find the words to describe the situation. He couldn’t understand how to explain that Sam knew exactly what to say to get under Ellen’s skin. He knew exactly what to do to make them uncomfortable. 

“Scar, have you thought that maybe Taurtis isn’t the greatest person to be around?” Ren asked, carefully, in case Scar reacted badly. 

“What?” Scar snapped. 

“Ren’s right.” Iskall shrugged, “If he’s hanging around this Sam guy, he’s got to see what’s happening. If you truly think this guy is bullying people, Taurtis is probably helping him. People like that stick together. They like…feed off of each other…” Iskall cringed, crossing his arms, “Taurtis is probably just trying to get close to you to mess with you.” 

“No.” Scar seethed, “No. I know that isn’t true. I-I-” Scar was at a loss. How could he prove to them what he was seeing? How could he make them understand? Big B was right, Scar realized. The hermits were so caught up in their own lives they’d never looked outside of them. They couldn’t even imagine someone being hurt outside of their own circles. “Fine! You want proof, I’ll give you proof!”

Scar paused his pacing, grabbing his bag that had been laid against the couch. He snatched it away and dumped the contents onto the floor, right over where the board game had been set out. The three books fell out crushing the board game and cards below. Scar knelt down picking up one of the books. He shoved it into Impulse’s hands, as his friends began to crowd around the other to see. 

“Taurtis told me he couldn’t be friends with me anymore, because of Sam. He gave me a time and place on a torn piece of paper to meet him. It was a bookstore! Cub!” Scar turned over to his cousin who was sitting frozen as he watched the hermits mull over the news. The hermits looked up at Cub. “Cub, you went with me! Tell them!” He pointed at his friends. 

Cub stammered looking between the hermits and Scar, “I-You guys really don’t believe him?

The hermits looked back to the book in Impulse’s hands. “Scar, what is this?” Impulse asked, turning the book over and over again. The red book looked innocent in his hands. 

Scar clenched his jaw, “The owner gave me three books. He said Taurtis had left them for me. They’re about the Watchers. Just-Just look at my jacket-” Scar looked down at himself, before realizing he wasn’t wearing his uniform anymore. “I mean…I don’t have it on me, but-but there’s a drawn symbol on it. It’s this symbol!” He picked up the purple book showing it to them. “It’s the symbol of the Watchers.”

Scar saw how both Xisuma and Xander flinched once he uttered the name of the cult. However, neither made any motion to confirm or deny whatever Scar said. 

“Watchers?” Bdubs chuckled, “What are they like a club?”

“They’re a cult.” Scar deadpanned.

The hermits froze, staring at the book in Impulse’s hands. In fact, Impulse flinched as Scar spoke, the book falling out of his hands and into his lap.

“A cult?” Joel muttered, unconvinced. 

“Yes! These three books are about the rise and fall of them.” His friends let out a sigh of relief. 

“Oh, Scar, you had us worried there!” Gem laughed with a smile.

“Yeah, buddy, you should’ve said they were disbanded.” Skizz sighed.

“But-But some of the kids still believe it's around!” Scar said, quickly, but his words were too late and the hermits were already back in denial.

“Scar, if there was a raid on this cult, I’m sure it'd be gone for a long time.” Stress placated, taking the book from Impulse and handing it back to Scar. “I’m sure there’s nothing for you to worry about, love.”

Scar frowned, as he took the book back, “None of you believe me.” He looked around his friends hoping to find just one of them to believe his story. He saw as Cub shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with how the explanation had gone. Cub couldn’t seem to believe the hermits any more than Scar could. 

Zed seemed to have backed away into a corner, watching the whole debacle. His foot tapped anxiously, while he watched his friends ignore Scar’s pleas for help. 

Xisuma and Xander, who hadn’t believed the other any more than the other hermits before seeing the books, seemed to be having a silent conversation between the two of them. 

Mumbo had curled in on himself, hiding away behind his knees and holding his mug in two hands. The boy’s gaze was glancing around as he tried to keep tabs on all of his friends' emotions. 

Scar fumed, shaking his head. “I’m done.” He muttered, turning to Cub, “I did what you wanted. It’s not my fault they don’t care about anything outside of rainbows and puppies.” Scar seethed, stuffing his books back into his bag.

A round of scoffs and indigent notions came from the hermits, as Scar packed his things. 

“Hey!” Gem, False and Tango all called, offendedly. 

“Scar, where are you going?” Cleo asked, seeing her brother storm off.

“Home.” Scar muttered.

“We didn’t mean it like that, love.” Stress sighed. 

“But we’ve still got a whole night?” Impulse asked, motioning around to the games and food. 

“This can’t be that serious.” Iskall huffed.

Scar ignored all of them, walking past his friends and opening the door. He stood in the doorway, looking back at his friends, “You made your choice. Live with it.” 

He slammed the door behind him as he began his walk home. 

“I didn’t think he’d get that upset.” Xisuma whispered.

“Really?” Cub scoffed, “He just told you shit that’s been bothering him all week and you played it off like it was nothing. You didn’t believe damn near anything he said! Of course, he storms off! That stuff has been plaguing him all week!” Cub shouted, shooting up to defend his cousin. A few of the hermits shrunk in on themselves while others stood completely still. “Oh, at least have the decency to look a little upset!” 

Cub huffed, grabbing his own things before following Scar footsteps. 

“Where are you going?” Bdubs asked, meekly. 

“To go find your brother before he does something he regrets.” Cub snapped, slamming the front door behind him. 

Once the door shut, another voice spoke up for the first time that night. 

“There’s a lot more truth to what he said than what you gave him credit for.” Zedaph muttered from the corner. The hermits all turned to look back at their friend who had hidden himself away in the corner. The blond was glaring at the ground rather than looking at his friends. 

“Zed?” Impulse asked, confused.

“I did some research about that school before Scar went.” Zed continued, ignoring them. “There’s absolutely nothing about it online. No website. No news. Nothing. I backtracked a few websites, and found articles about it. Tons of newspaper articles…just deleted. As if someone was trying to cover something up. Reports of violence, harsh punishment, even death all of it was there just hidden underneath layers upon layers of protections. You don’t have to believe him, but the least you could do was treat it as serious as he thinks it is.” Zed muttered, pushing himself off of the wall and walking towards the door. “And if any of you don’t believe me. I can show you everything I found.” 

He walked out of the home before anyone would ask for the proof. He closed the door softly behind him, leaving the hermits in silence. 

“Right.” Mumbo sighed, setting his mug down on the table next to him. “This has been fun but I need to head out now.” 

“What why?” Gem asked, “You’re not mad at us too, are you?”

Mumbo’s eyes widened, “Oh no! No, I just-Well, I promised Jimmy I would come see his history fair tonight. And well, it's getting late and I don’t want to miss any more than I already have.” Mumbo rambled on, shuffling out of the room as he continued to mumble to himself, “he’s been working so hard on the speeches and so…since Martyn couldn’t be there…well I told Pearl I would come…” Mumbo was out the door before he could finish the last sentence. 

Leaving the rest of the hermits in an awkward silence for the rest of the night. 

________________________________________________________________

Sunday morning was an assembly line of silence between the siblings. Scar hadn’t spoken more than singular words to either of his siblings. Oddly, both Cleo and Bdubs had managed to wake earlier than they normally would have to join Scar for breakfast. 

There was a silent conversation shared between Cleo and Bdubs as they argued with nothing more than their eyes over the table. Scar ignored them both, staring into his breakfast. He pushed the food across the plate, rolling his eyes at the two next to him. 

Neither one was saying anything motioning for the other to speak. 

Scar quickly finished his breakfast, before placing his dishes away and walking out of the room. 

Cleo huffed, scrambling to get out of their seat as Scar left, “Scar! About last night-”

“I’m not talking about it, Cleo.” Scar called already halfway up the stairs. 

“You can’t blame us for being skeptical, man,” Bdubs hollered back, although he sounded just as concerned as Cleo had. He’d run out of the kitchen joining Cleo at the bottom of the stairs. Bdubs sighed, frowning, “It’s just-Do you really think that stuffs happening? I mean-Aren’t things nice?”

Scar frowned back, glancing over his shoulder to his brother, “Things are only as nice as you see them to be.” He huffed, turning back to the stairs and disappearing into his room once again. 

Cleo sighed, “Nice going.” tapping Bdubs in the back of the head as they walked back to the kitchen.

“Hey!” Bdubs huffed, “You weren’t much help either!”

It was hours later before either one of them saw Scar again. The boy hadn’t come back down for lunch, and had stayed in his room for the entire morning. What he was doing neither sibling could tell. 

Bdubs tried to ask if his brother was interested in a game of Ravager Rush but he received no response. Cleo had offered up a movie marathon but still got nothing. 

Cleo was about to ask Cub over for help when they heard a knock on the door. Bdubs poked his head around from the corner where he’d been watching t.v. “Did we have someone coming over?”

Cleo’s brow furrowed, “Not that I was aware of.” Cleo made their way over to the front door, opening it up to see someone their age waiting on the other side. The person was rolling on the balls of their feet, staring off to the other homes down the street in awe. 

Cleo’s confusion grew when she didn’t immediately recognize the girl standing in front of them. 

“Hello?” Cleo asked, looking the girl over again. 

She had brown hair with a strand of blue framing the side of her face. Her hair was a mess, jagged cuts and bangs covered their face. They were in need of a hairbrush. Oddly, she was wearing what seemed to be the female version of whatever uniform Scar had come back with. The tan jacket covering a white shirt, with the red ribbon tied into a bow. Her skirt was torn and covered in random stains that Cleo couldn’t decide was red paint or something else. 

“Oh!” She yelped, realizing the door had been opened. She twisted her fingers together, looking around, “I’m so sorry. I might have the wrong house. I’m-I’m looking for a Scar?” 

“Scar?” Cleo muttered to themself looking the other up and down again, as Bdubs began to sneak around to see. He’d heard the conversation enough to get interested in whoever was at the door. 

“Yes!” She smiled, nervously. “He uh-He asked me to come over this weekend. Do-Do I have the wrong house? Sorry, I’ve just-I’ve never been here before.” She whispered like it was a secret. She hiked her bag up closer to her shoulder as she waited as Cleo and Bdubs’ starstruck faces reverted back. 

“I-” Cleo paused.

“Salex!” Scar shouted, from the top of the stairs, before rushing down and pushing past his brother and sibling. “You made it!” 

Salex smiled, “Yeah, I was sure I’d made a wrong turn somewhere along the way.” They laughed, “You-You didn’t tell me you had…siblings?” They asked pointing to Cleo and Bdubs, who stared between the two confused. 

Scar barely gave his siblings any attention, ignoring the two. He waved it off, “Eh, not important.”

Salex cringed a tad, waving at the two, “Well, I-Do you still want to work on the project?”

Scar nodded, “I’ve got some books to show you! I need your help figuring out what’s important and what’s not. You know more about this stuff than I do anyway.” He shrugged, motioning for Salex to follow him. She gave a quiet look back to Cleo and Bdubs, smiling as kindly as she could. 

Cleo could help but catch sight of the stains etched onto the fabric of her knee high socks. It was dark red, spreading sluggishly across the sock. Cleo’s eyes locked onto the sight, never leaving as she watched Salex follow Scar up the steps. They noticed how the other put barely any weight onto their foot, leaning onto the railing for support. 

Once the two had disappeared upstairs, Scar never offered any explanation to either sibling, Cleo turned back to her other brother. “Was that blood or paint?”

________________________________________________

“Are you and your siblings alright?” Salex asked, after a long silence had stretched over them while they were reading. Salex had in her hands the blue book of general history catching up on what Scar had already read. While Scar skimmed through the purple book, eyes trained to look for any photographs or possible leads. 

Scar looked up from the book, blankly, “What do you mean?”

“I just-well, it seemed tense downstairs.” Salex shrugged, “Are you in some kind of fight with them?”

Scar shook his head, “No. Not really, I mean…” He sighed, “In a way, yes, but we’re fine.”

Salex nodded, “Don’t let it get the best of you.” Scar looked confused as Salex continued, “I knew someone, loved his siblings dearly. He’d do anything to see them again.”

“It’s nothing that bad.” Scar rolled his eyes, “Just a spat.” He closed the book in his hands and leaned forward, “What I don’t get is why? Why did these Watchers just pop up and start messing with people.”

Salex flipped through the book in her hands, “The Watchers only became the group we know today after the rise of One. Beforehand, they were only a small community of people that lived in and founded Evo. They believed themselves to be the perfect community, their home a complete utopia. As others arrived in town, their balance was upset and they came together to keep their ideals and values alive.” Salex repeated from the book, she showed Scar the passage. 

“They just thought they were better than everyone?” Scar huffed, crossing his arms.

“Isn’t that how all wars, religions and anything else begins. Thinking you are right and everyone else is wrong?” Salex pointed out. 

“But they were there for decades!” Scar huffed, falling onto his bed so he was staring up at the ceiling. “Decades of passing down this society..and there isn’t a thing about what they actually did until whoever the heck One is shows up.”

Salex hummed, “I can’t account this to the Watchers directly, but I know that there are records of letters sent to families during the time period. There was never a return address on the letters and they contained anything from threats, blackmail or just rumors that they wanted to spread.”

Scar sat up to look at Salex who had chosen to sit on his floor to read. “Wait…really?”

Salex nodded, “Yup.” She sighed, “Where did you manage to get these books anyway?”

“The bookstore down the road from the school.” Scar shrugged. 

Salex paused, looking back up at Scar. Her eyes wide and brow furrowed, “Scar…” She muttered, “That place went out of business years ago.”

Scar stopped his reading, “What?”

Salex nodded slowly, “Big B’s went out of business when Big B died. How did you-When did you-?”

“No. No. No. No,” Scar laughed, nervously, “you’re joking.” His face fell, “Right?” Salex shook her head, “No. I went there the other night. Big B was still working there. There were still cookies and pastries made. There were books everywhere. He’d just closed up for the day, he said he hadn’t gotten any customers all day.” Scar rambled, trying to piece together the night he’d met Big B. Sure the place had looked a little worse for wear but it wasn’t abandoned. 

“Big B died years ago…” Salex continued, solemnly. “His whole family was killed by the watchers.”

Scar’s eyes went wide, he couldn’t believe it, “What?”

Salex stood up, sitting beside the brunet and holding a hand out for the book he held. Scar handed it over and Salex filed through the pages until she landed on one that was marked with a blue sticky note. She pointed to a picture in the bottom corner. 

A photo of a family of four all stood up on a wooden stage. There was a crowd of people surrounding them, all covered in robes and fabric to hide their faces and bodies. Their hands tucked into sleeves as they stood around the stage. The photo was grainy and blurry, taken in such a quick moment. Scar could see the family on the stage was horrified.

The father of the family was pleading with the crowd of people, beside him what Scar assumed to be his wife seemed almost accepting of the whole ordeal. Next to the two were two children, a boy and a girl who had huddled together in order to keep away from everything else. 

What horrified Scar the most, though, were the nooses around each of their necks. 

Scar let out a shaky breath as he stared at the photo. His fingers tracing over the figures. They were in some kind of underground cathedral. That purple symbol painted above all their heads shining down on them like hellfire. 

“That’s Big B.” Salex pointed to the father of the group. “His family was marked as traitors to the Watchers. He, his wife and two of his children were killed.”

Scar took the book back, skimming over the page. “They killed people.” He gasped.

“Anyone they deemed traitorous, unredeemable, or they couldn’t get rid of in any other way.” Salex explained, “There’s a reason I wanted to get Ellen’s blessing on this stuff. The Watcher’s were terrible. The killed, kidnapped,” As Salex explained, she flipped through the pages that were marked with notes. Pictures were on each page showing whatever she’d stated. “Burnt homes, threatened, blackmailed, anything…” She continued, “All just to please One.”

Salex finally stopped on a single page. A picture of what looked to be a painting took up the entire page. A figure as cloaked as the rest of them, in purple robes and fabrics, stood just underneath the painted symbol. Scar couldn’t make out their face, he could only see the black hole that was left behind. The edges of the painting were torn and folded inwards. 

“Who was One though? Why did they worship them so much? Why do all of this to just please some…guy?” Scar wondered.

Salex shrugged, “I don’t know, but there’s got to be something in there about it.”

“That still leaves the question of who gave me these books then?” Scar sighed, “He said his name was Big B. He said the shop was a family tradition.” 

Salex frowned, shaking her head, “I couldn’t imagine how terrified those three kids were.” She whispered to herself, looking back at the page of the family. 

Scar looked up from where he was trying to piece his mind together, he looked over to Salex confused. “Wait-three? But there’s only two in the picture.” He pointed out. 

Salex nodded, “Big B had three children. Two boys and one girl.” She pointed to the sentence in the book that said so. Everyone knows that.”

“But out of the family of five only four were killed.” Scar shot up from his bed, he grabbed the book from Salex, “Look at the picture! There’s only four! And-And look there’s only one person without a hood up, too.” Scar pointed to the crowd of Watchers, just as he’d pointed out there was only one Watcher without their hood pulled over their head. 

The Watcher was tiny, too small to be an adult and although the photo was too blurry to make out their face, Scar could see how another Watcher was holding them back. 

“Whoever I met, had to have known about the store. They had to be able to sell it to me that they were Big B.” Scar paced back and forth in his room, talking to himself.

“And they would need to know the way into the building without getting caught!” Salex added, jumping up and down. “They’d have to be familiar enough with where things are to make it look real.” 

“And he talked about it as if he’d been a part of the Watchers for a long time.” Scar claimed, “Meaning…”

“He’s the missing kid.” Salex gasped, “You weren’t talking to Big B, you were talking to Little B!” 

Scar nodded to himself, “That leaves one last question…” He picked up the last book, “What was the Ender Raid?” Scar questioned, turning the cover over, “And why does the person who led it now want to be revealed?”

Chapter Text

Returning to the school after the weekend was like being reminded of a lie you’d used for years. He couldn’t help but find a certain hatred for the courtyard and cinder block architecture. His friends still didn’t believe him, and his siblings kept trying to catch him for some kind of ‘talk’ but he didn’t want to hear the lecture they’d have. 

He walked through the courtyard, looking over to the tree that Taurtis liked to hide under. He didn’t see the blond anywhere nearby, he couldn’t even see any of the students outside of the school. It seemed everyone had decided today was an inside day. 

He followed the oddly drawn sidewalk paintings up to the front door.

Even inside the building, things felt quiet. Students pressed close to each other in small groups whispering to one another. Scar followed the same path he always took, looking through the hallways to find Taurtis. As he walked through the halls he ran into Ellen and Salex walking through the halls together.

Scar paused, catching Salex’s attention with a wave, “Hiya, Scar.” She smiled, happily, holding her books close to her chest. 

“What’s got you all rattled?” Ellen asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Rattled?” Scar asked, furrowing his brow. 

“You look nervous.” Salex translated, “everything all right?”

Scar paused, frowning, “I was just looking for Taurtis. Have either of you seen him?” Ellen looked even more confused, shifting on their feet. Scar sighed, sensing their hesitation, “last time we didn’t meet up I found…” Scar paused, was he really about to tell Ellen and Salex about what he’d seen between Sam and Taurtis. Wasn’t it their business? Was he really about to involve himself that way? 

“Found him and Sam together?” Ellen said, before Scar could even get the words out.

Scar backed up a bit, “Yeah, they were-you knew?”

Salex and Ellen looked at each other, a silent conversation between their eyes. Salex sighed, looking back to Scar, “We’ve been here longer than you, Scar.” She said, softly, “I think we’ve seen just about everything.”

Ellen rolled their eyes, “Taurtis is smart. He’ll figure it out himself. He doesn’t need a knight in shining armor every time.” Salex elbowed the other in the gut, earning a scoff and wounded puff of air. 

“Although, he always appreciates the concern.” Salex smiled, kindly. “He and Sam are just going through a little spat right now. No need to worry about him, loverboy!” Salex called, as she continued to walk past Scar towards their class. 

Scar flinched, ears burning up, “What?” He shouted back, but Salex had already made their way through the herd of students. Scar turned back to Ellen, who stood smirking at him happily. “What did they mean by that? What did she mean?”

Ellen shrugged, “You tell me, or did Cupid miss your brain.” They brushed past Scar following after Salex, leaving Scar stunned still. 

Scar shook his head, pushing the interaction away. He walked up to the classroom, peeking inside to see Taurtis’ desk empty. He frowned, walking inside and setting his things down. He looked up only when he felt something pelt against his back. He heard snickers from behind him. 

He frowned seeing Sam leaning against the back wall. The brunet had a sick smile growing on his face as he held out his hand for another ball of crumpled paper. Scar couldn’t get over the fact that the boy’s clothes always looked like they were trying to run away from him.

Next to Sam was Yuki, sitting perfectly straight and ignoring him. She seemed uninterested in Sam’s snickers and their grip on their pencil was so tight Scar thought she might break it. Surprisingly, though, on the other side of Sam, where there had once been three empty seats. There were now only two. One was now being held hostage by Taurtis, who had a pile of crumpled papers on his desk. 

Taurtis looked away once he saw Scar, eyes darting downwards to his hands as he handed another paper ball over to Sam. 

Scar grimaced, shoving himself into his seat. Scar could see out of the corner of his eye as Sam became more irritated with the fact Scar was ignoring him. Scar felt another paper ball hit him in the back of the head, as Sam giggled more. 

Once the bell had finally rung and class was supposed to begin, Scar noticed that the teacher stayed perfectly still at their desk. The silent classroom was only filled with laughter and a few whispers for the next hour. 

Scar continued to be pelted with paper balls, his fists gripping his desk. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he listened to Sam’s laughter. 

Halfway through the class, he could hear Taurtis’ small voice pick up. “Sam, I think that’s enough.”

“Shut up, Taurtis!” Sam snapped at the other boy. Scar spun around in his chair to see the two, Taurtis had shrunk down in his seat. Scar’s jaw clenched, as he glared at Sam who he could see was twitching in his seat anxiously. 

“I don’t have any more paper, though…” Taurtis whispered again, motioning to his blank notebook. 

Sam’s nose twitched, and the edge of his mouth quirked up only a tad. “Get more then!” Sam shouted again, barely even waking the teacher from their slumber. This time more than just Taurtis flinched, the whole class seemed to fall into their seats some. Some hide their faces in their books and others try to cover their ears with their hands. 

Scar grimaced, “No need.” He fumed, loud enough for the two in the back to hear him. He grabbed one of the paperballs and threw it right back at Sam. After learning a good bit of softball from False, his throws were a whole lot better than Sam’s. He managed to hit the boy right in the face, with as much force as he could muster up.

“In fact,” Scar continued, gathering up all the paper balls that had been thrown at him. He stood up from his seat, the pile rising up in his arms. He walked through the aisle of desks, catching the gaze of the other students who had been trying to hide. He stood in front of Sam’s desk, before dropping all the paperballs at his feet. “You can have all of these back.”

Scar could barely see the boy’s eyes as he glared through his eyelids up at the other brunet. Sam hadn’t lifted his head to glare at him, rather staring at the pile below him. He sneered, his mouth twitching as he tried to hide away the fuming rage he was holding back. 

Scar smiled to himself, turning back to his desk and sitting down. It wasn’t long before he felt the next hit of a paper ball hit him in the back of the head again, but this time he felt a bit more satisfied with himself. 

Scar expected to be able to get a word in with Taurtis once the class ended, however as soon as the bell rang, Sam was up and grabbing his wrist. Sam pulled Taurtis out of the classroom before Scar could even manage to get out of his desk. 

The crowd of students pushed him farther and farther away from the two until he couldn’t even make out the white bunny eared hat in the background. He ignored his next class, barely paying any attention to what Salex said. 

He was too caught up in his plan to talk to Taurtis. He didn’t like how controlling Sam was being. He didn’t even let Taurtis walk to class himself today.

During his free period, Scar spent the time roaming around the school grounds hoping he’d come across the duo. Still he couldn’t find a single hair of either of them. He’d checked the condemned hallway, Taurtis’ tree, the classrooms and the lunchroom. He didn’t know where else they might’ve gone, but he wasn’t entirely sure where anything else was in the school either. 

Scar managed to find his way back to the gym once the bell had rung. He knew that if there was any way of talking to Taurtis he’d have to do it during gym. It was the only class the two shared that didn’t have Sam or Yuki involved. 

He quickly threw on his gym clothes rushing out of the locker rooms to see if Taurtis was out of Rowan’s office yet. He still had no idea why the boy spent so much time in the coach’s office when it seemed the coach hated every student he came in contact with. 

Once he was out, he could already see a few students stretching before their runs. The different rows of students lining up to prepare for the strenuous exercise. After a week of running, Scar was still no better off than he had been. He stuck towards the back of the herd, managing to catch up with some middle runners halfway through. 

Scar waited anxiously as Rowan and Taurtis walked out of the office. Once again, Taurtis was wearing the same gym uniform as everyone else except for the headphones that still adorned his head. Taurtis barely locked eyes with Scar before looking away and placing himself right next to J. 

Scar frowned, as Rowan took up his own spot. He didn’t understand why Taurtis was being so careful. Why was Taurtis so worried about being around him, especially if Sam wasn’t even there.  

Rowan raised the whistle to his lips, shouting out, “Go!” before blowing out a sharp noise. 

Just like every other day, Taurtis managed to lead the stray, running faster than any of the other students. 

He’d have to take a break eventually, Scar told himself. There was no way Taurtis could run constantly without slowing down. Scar ignored the problem of reaching Taurtis and focused on pushing his legs as much as he could to try and keep up with the others. 

“Pick up the pace!” Rowan shouted, over the ragged breaths of students. “You gonna let him win?” Rowan shouted, “Taurtis is beating all of you!” 

Scar huffed, of course Taurtis was beating them, the blond didn’t stop for anything. He never slowed. He never paused. He never broke away from the top five.

Rowan clapped as the students rounded the corner finishing the second lap. His clapping wasn’t so much congratulatory and more trying to set a pace of how quickly they should be running. 

“Keep going! Don’t stop! You stop, he catches you!” Rowan shouted over the crowd, and Scar’s brian short circuited. 

Wait, what?

Scar snapped his head over to Rowan as he continued to berate the students as they ran. His face was completely serious. 

“Do you want to end up like them, Maggots!” Rowan called out again, and Scar could just barely see ahead of him as Taurtis and others began to push themselves harder. Scar slowed himself down, confused as the other continued to run past him. He needed to stop and think, and catch his breath. His legs felt like jelly beneath him, and he couldn’t seem to keep air in his lung long enough. 

He stared at the back of the crowd of students, as they ran past him. As he stared he couldn’t help but see the similarities between the kids and a herd of animals. They all ran together in a tight group, some of them even took the chance of looking over their shoulders. 

Scar looked up at the walls of the gym, seeing something he hadn’t noticed before. The walls were decorated with banners and tapestries of animals.  However as Scar looked closer each animal banner was torn, shredded and painted over in something red. 

One was a turtle the red paint plotted against the belly of the creature. The edges of the banner were torn, tears spreaded up to the animal. 

Another was a picture of a squirrel, only the squirrel had the same red paint spreading across its neck. The body was torn apart from the head of the animal, as if something had bitten into the neck of the animal.

A cat banner was placed next to the squirrel. The cat had a patch of red covering over one of the eyes. The rest of the banner was torn apart and shredded at the bottom. 

The last one Scar could make out was the picture of a bird. He couldn’t tell what kind of bird it was with the giant red X that covered over the entire banner. 

Scar stared at the banners, confusion overtaking him as he looked between the herd of children and the banners of prey. He took a step back, only to hear the hammering footfalls of the rest of his class coming up behind him. 

“Newbie! Start moving before you become roadkill!” Rowan yelled, but Scar couldn’t tell whether he’d become roadkill from being trampled or from whatever had happened to the poor animals along the walls. 

The crowd started to separate as they neared him, making sure they didn’t trample or run him over. Scar caught a glance of how Taurtis looked back, worriedly, without missing a single step. 

Too caught up in what was happening he didn’t recognize the moment someone grabbed his wrist and started pulling him along to join in with them. Scar moved his legs, beginning to run to keep up with whoever had a hold on his hand. 

Scar followed the hand to see J had grabbed him, J tried to offer a sad smile. “Sorry, mate! Didn’t want you to get left behind!” He called over the kids. 

“What is going on?” Scar asked, quickly, “What is the real reason for why we’re running?” He puffed out, losing his breath halfway through. 

“Don’t want to be roadkill do you?” J asked back. 

Scar pointed to the banners, “Banners, why?” He huffed. 

J followed his gaze, his sad smile falling, he shook his head, “Don’t end up like them.” J demanded. “Stay inside, and you’re fine.”

Rowan blew his whistle once again, “Fall out!” As if a string had been cut almost all the students fell. Some bent over catching their breath, others fell all the way to the floor letting the tile cool them off. 

Scar wanted to join in but all he could focus on was the banners above his head. He saw as Taurtis finally came to a stop, the boy fell onto one of the bleachers, coughing to himself. 

J himself was out of breath, taking a silent seat on the bleachers, staring at Scar. “I get…I get you care about Taurtis, mate…” He puffed out, exhausted, “But you gotta remember…we’ve been here long…together. You hurt him…you mess with us…Do not hurt him.” J threatened. 

Scar paused, watching as J stood up and walked away towards the rest of the class. Scar was stuck in place, confused. First Salex and Ellen, now J. What exactly were they thinking he was doing?

“We’re doing self defense today!” Rowan called, blowing his whistle, “Red team, blue team, let's go.

Scar watched as the students separated into two separate sides. The students with blue shirts falling to the right and those with red ones falling to the left. Scar looked down, seeing himself in a red shirt. He followed J to their respective side, and watched as Rowan began to sent what looked to be a large circle up. 

On the floor there was a large white circle, two short lines on the outside of it were in front of each team. 

Rowan took his own spot at the front of the circle. “Alright, you maggots know the rules. First one to pin the other down gets the point. First team to ten points wins. And the losing team runs an extra five laps. Got it?” 

He didn’t actually wait in case everyone nodded, before blowing his whistle. It felt as if he was blowing it just to annoy Scar. The sharp noise cutting through the thin air each time. 

“Dom. J. You’re up first.” Rowan said, as J stepped up the line. Scar saw as another student, who was grinning, stepped up to the other side. 

Scar watched from over someone’s shoulder as once again, Rowan blew the whistle and the two ran into the circle. What Scar expected to be a short wrestling match quickly turned into a full on fist fight. 

Dom was quick to throw a punch right at J’s jaw earning a collective wince from the audience. Only J then managed to throw a punch to the other guy before he could dodge away. 

“Keep that up J and you might manage to move to the blue team.” Rowan praised, before turning to Dom, “You going to let him do that?”

Dom grimaced, kicking the J feet out from under him. “Low blow, Dom.” J admonished, kicking the other in the stomach from his spot on the ground. 

Scar watched in horror as the two began to bruise each other, Rowan never intervened between the two, letting them hit hard and low. By the time Dom’s nose was bleeding and J had two scraped knees and bruises around his face, Dom got one last elbow to the nose on the other. J tripped over his feet, trying to cover up his nose from the onslaught. Dom kicked the other’s knees out, before landing a foot onto his back. 

Rowan nodded, “Dom wins. Point to the Red team.” 

Scar gasped, as J shoved himself off the ground by himself. J wiped his face, muttering to himself as he backed himself behind Scar.

“Are you alright?” Scar asked, quickly, hands fluttering around as if he could help the other boy somehow. “Is-is there a first aid kit?”

“I don’t need first aid. I’m fine.” J snapped, “I’d be even better if I’d won.” He grumbled, Scar flinched away from the boy, sensing his frustration. 

“Taurtis! Newbie! You’re up!” Rowan shouted.

Scar snapped over to the circle where he could see Taurtis was already making his way to the mark. The boy was stretching his arms and cracking his fists. He stood on his mark ignoring the whispers that came from behind him in his group.  

Scar felt himself getting shoved and pushed forward by his teammates. He was quickly moved to the front of the group, standing on the white line. He managed to look Taurtis in the eye once before the other darted his eyes away. 

“No. I don’t want-I don’t want to fight him.” Scar said, trying to reason with the coach. “I don’t want to fight anybody.”

“Doesn’t look like you’ve got a choice. You either defend yourself or you run.” Rowan sneered, “Get in position, both of you.”

Scar shifted on his feet, as Taurtis rolled his shoulders back. Scar tried to read the other’s face. He looked sad still, but there was something trying to work its way onto his face. He was trying to offer something to Scar, some kind of olive branch between the two. 

“Go!” Rowan whistled. 

Taurtis raised his fists towards the other, keeping his feet separate. He squinted at the other as Scar tried to mimic his movements. The two circled each other, feet never exiting the white circle. It was clear to Scar that the other wasn’t sure about his own movements as J or Dom had been. He hesitated between each movement, a flinch made it clear just how hard he was finding it to throw the first punch. 

“I don’t want to fight you.” Scar whispered. 

“Come on, Maggots! Throw a punch!” Rowan shouted right next to Scar. 

Scar grimaced, but the shout seemed to take Taurtis out of whatever trance he was in, because the next second Scar felt a strong hit pelt him in the side. He doubled over, staring up at Taurtis who was looking at him with wide eyes. 

“Ten more times, Taurtis, and you might win.” Rowan admonished, shoving the smaller forward towards the inner circle. Taurtis tripped over his feet trying to keep himself up. 

As Taurtis tripped he leaned over to meet Scar’s double over form, “I’m sorry.” He whispered, before he slung another fist into Scar’s forehead, sending him backwards. 

Scar heaved to himself, swallowing, as he looked back towards Taurtis. “Why? Why are we doing this?”

“Do something, mate!” He heard J shout from the back. 

“It’s self defense.” Taurtis answered, quickly.

“It’s not self defense, it’s a fist fight. Why are we fighting? Aren’t we friends?” Scar continued, words moving too fast for his mind to keep up. 

Taurtis sighed, “I told you, I can’t be your friend.”

“Friends turn against each other, Newbie. You’ll learn that fast enough.” Rowan advised, “At a time like this, all that matters is your survival. So what’s going to happen, eh? You going to end up like the animals on the side of the road, or are you going to fight for yourself when the world pushes you back down.” 

Scar looked from Rowan back to Taurtis. His eyes glanced over to the circling students, they all moved to get a better look. They looked on like spectators at a game. 

“They want a fight, Scar.” Taurtis reminded, raising his fists once more. 

Scar heaved once again, catching his breath. He felt someone push him forward into the circle more. He suddenly felt surrounded, enclosed in a trap. The students stood like sentinels, each with the ability to punch or push him back into the trap he’d fallen into. 

A poke and prod to make him move the way they wanted him to. 

Like Cacti they surrounded him, trapping him into a fight with Taurtis. 

He raised his fists, swallowing and blinking back the anxiety that grew. 

He threw a punch at the other.

Taurtis dodged it easily, moving out of the way and grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward. Scar was yanked forward onto the ground, tripping over his feet as he skidded to the ground. Taurtis didn’t pin him, though, he stood above him waiting for him to stand. 

Scar looked over his shoulder, pushing himself up from the ground. He tried again, aiming lower this time, and Taurtis grabbed his hand before he could even hit the other in the stomach. “You’re going to need to hit harder than that, mate.”

Taurtis twisted his hands, offering a burn to Scar’s arm causing him to yelp and pull himself away. He cradled his arm to his chest, staring at Taurtis confused. 

Taurtis nodded at him, motioning for him to hit him again, “Come on. Get mad.” He tried to advise. 

Scar huffed, trying to work up the anger in himself that would let him actually hit someone. He fisted his hands at his side, for a second imagining the instead of Taurtis in front of him it was Sam. Sam, he could hit and kick and berate for all the terrible things he’d said and done to Taurtis. Sam, he could fight for making his friends doubt him. Sam, he could blame for his past week and confusion. He had plenty of anger towards that bunny hatted boy, and working up that rage he threw a single hard lung at Taurtis landing a hit right to the side of the boy’s temple. 

Taurtis backed away, holding his face carefully, and Scar’s face fell. He could see the trail of blood running down from his temple and staining his fingers. His hands shook as he stared, backing away from the other. “I-I’m so sorry…”

Taurtis sighed, moving his fingers away from his temple to show the cut across his forehead. He nodded to himself, wiping the blood on his shorts. 

“Okay.” He muttered, before swiftly kicking Scar’s legs out from underneath him. He grabbed the other's arm, pulling it tightly behind him and dragging him to the floor in a tight pin. 

Rowan whistled, “Taurtis wins!” He announced as the blue team cheered. “Point to blue. Pick it up red.” 

Taurtis shoved himself off of Scar quickly, before offering a hand to help the other up. Scar just stared at the hand. His mind running a mile a minute. His anger was still boiling up. He’d just punched Taurtis for no reason! He’d just had to punch someone! For this stupid class! This wasn’t self defense! This was just beating each other up until there was only one standing!

“What the heck is wrong with you!” Scar screamed once he was on his feet, ignoring Taurtis outstretched hand. Taurtis flinched back, as the rest of the class gasped and backed away. Scar saw as Dom reached forward and grabbed Taurtis pulling him into the huddle of students. 

Scar glared at them all, before he heard the heavy footsteps of Rowan behind him. He slowly turned, seeing the taller behind him, “You want to say that again, boy?”

Scar huffed, wiping his face off again, “This-this isn’t normal!” Scar shouted, motioning around him. “This-it’s terrible. You’re forcing kids to fight each other! I didn’t want to hit him! I never wanted to hit him and you made me! You haven’t even checked to see if Dom or J or Taurtis are okay! They’re still bleeding for crying out loud!” Scar yelled, glaring up at the coach, standing stiffly as he heaved. 

He seethed as he waited for Rowan’s response. Rowan glared back at him, before pointing towards his office. “My office. Now.” 

Scar huffed, stomping his foot down and stormed over to the office leaving his classmates stunned. 

He heard Rowan whistle and shout at the students behind him, “Maggots! You two, up next. Go!”

Scar ignored it, plopping himself down in the chair in front of the coach’s desk. He heard Rowan close the door behind him, making his way round the desk he glared at Scar. “You want to explain what that was, Newbie?”

Scar leaned forward, arms crossed, “I could ask you the same thing. How many people know this is happening? Do their parents know? Does the school know? Your colleagues? The principal?”

Rowan laughed, something condescending and scoff-like, “You want to talk to the principal, be my guest. See where it gets you, kid. But I want you to understand. I’m doing this for your own good.” 

“What good?” Scar snapped, “They’re fighting.”

“You don’t think you’ll be fighting?” Rowan asked.

“I would never fight anyone!” Scar gasped, offended. 

“Who were you thinking of?” Rowan pressed forward. 

“What?”

“When you punched Taurtis. Who were you thinking of? You said you didn’t want to hurt him, but you did. You were thinking of someone else. Someone you would hurt. So don’t you dare look at me right now and tell me you don’t think you’ll be fighting anyone. Who were you thinking of?” Rowan seethed. 

Scar paused, shifting in his seat uncomfortably, “Sam.” he muttered. 

Rowan nodded, “You either end up running or fighting, kid. It’s fight or flight for a reason. I’m preparing you for both. Get used to it and the better you’ll do.” Rowan finished, leaving his desk and moving back towards his door. “Now get out.”

________________________________________________________

Scar slammed the door behind him as he entered his home. Bdubs jumped from his spot on the couch, the noise startling him. Scar ignored his brother, huffing to himself as he threw his bag to the ground beside the door. 

“Scar? Is that you?” Cleo asked from the top of the stairs, they started walking down the steps, “Me and Bdubs wanted to talk to you.” They explained quickly. 

Scar rolled his eyes, he knew exactly what it was going to be about. Scar, wouldn’t you rather come back to our school? Scar, do you want to quit? Isn’t it just a terrible place to be? Why would you want to stay there?

He didn’t want to hear any of that. 

“I’m not in the mood, Cleo.” He muttered, brushing past her and Bdubs who’d joined their side. He’d had enough of people’s nonsense for one day. Between Salex, J, Rowan and Taurtis he’d had enough on his plate to think about besides his siblings' insistence for him to back out. 

“But-Scar we really do need to-” Bdubs tried to deter. 

“I said I’m not in the mood.” Scar repeated, halfway up their stairs. He stomped his way up the rest, slamming his own bedroom door behind him as he disappeared from sight. 

Cleo sighed, “He's still really upset, isn’t he?”

“It’s not like we had any idea it was real, I mean it still could be not real, right?” Bdubs tried to chuckle, “All we saw was a little bit of blood on someone’s sock that doesn’t mean anything, right? They could’ve tripped. Or maybe scrapped it on something.”

“I still feel like we should say something to him.” Cleo whispered, hugging themself, “Just so he knows we don’t not believe him anymore.”

“He doesn’t feel like he wants to hear it though.” Bdubs whispered, complaining. 

“It’s only because he doesn’t know what we’re trying to say.” Cleo defended, placing her hands on her hips. 

Bdubs huffed, “Fine, yeah, I guess.” He shrugged, shuffling his way back to the living room to sketch more. 

Scar didn’t come downstairs for the rest of the afternoon. Nor did he come down for dinner. Or when Cleo tried to drag him out of his room to eat something. Or when bdubs tried to get him to explain star wars for the fiftieth time. Or when Cleo offered to take him up to the school to see Jellie, Mr. Finney, and Katy Bee. 

Nothing was seeming to bring him downstairs, and after hours of trying, the two had resigned to letting him mope upstairs. Now, though, that left Cleo with the awful task of trying to figure out what to do next. She tried to distract herself from it with sculpture, using their dining room as a miniature studio to work. From there she had an easy view of the living room where Bdubs was sketching still, and the stairwell. 

She rolled out the clay in her hands, working quietly with the stand next to them. It had turned dark outside, the moon rising over the neighborhood. Outside their windows it was almost pitch black, too difficult to see if there was any person creeping up on them. The moon would not light the path someone would take up to their front door. 

There was no way to hear someone stepping over the flowerbeds and grass patches over the music Bdubs had playing in the second room. 

Which is why it was so odd when there was a loud, struggling knock at their door. It banged three times, each one harder and louder than the last.

Bdubs and Cleo startled up, snapping their heads over to the door. Cleo could see how wide their brother’s eyes had gone. His pencil nearly being thrown across the room in fear. Cleo furrowed their brow, wiping their hands on the apron to get the excess clay off. 

“Did you have someone coming over tonight?” Bdubs asked, quietly, shuffling to look through the window behind the couch. “I can’t see anyone out there.”

“No. Did you?” Cleo asked, walking from the dining room into the stairwell where the front door was. 

“Why would I ask you if I did?” Bdubs asked, curiously, scoffing. 

Cleo rolled their eyes, before they could crack the door open or look through the window themself, a letter slid through the mail gap. Bdubs saw it first, eyes widening as he pointed it out. 

“Cleo.” He whispered, pointing to the folding up piece of paper. Cleo looked down, seeing the tri folded paper. Cleo looked out the window finding nothing but their empty porch. 

Bdubs picked up the paper, reading it to himself, as he did Cleo watched as his brow furrowed and eyes widened. He swallowed, showing the letter to Cleo. “It’s for Scar.”

Cleo shuddered, sighing tightly, before taking the letter from him carefully like it would bite them. They both ventured up the stairs until they were in front of Scar’s door. Bdubs looked over Cleo’s shoulder, standing on his toes to reread the note. 

Cleo knocked lightly on the boy’s door, “Scar?”

“Cleo, seriously, I don’t care-” Scar called out, but Cleo cut him off.

“Scar, I’m serious, open the door.” They deadpanned. 

“I don’t want to hear it, Cleo.” Scar huffed.

“We believe you, man!” Bdubs shouted through the door, tired of the back and forth between the two. There was a moment of silence on the other side of the door, before it opened slightly to reveal Scar staring confused at his siblings.

“What?”

Cleo nodded, “We believe you. We’ve been trying to tell you that this entire time. We’ve believed you since that girl came over. We saw the blood on her sock. You’re right, something is going on and we shouldn’t have just brushed it off. We’re sorry about that, but you really need to see this.” Cleo said, pushing the letter into the boy’s hands. 

Scar took the letter carefully, as if he expected it to shock him as he touched it. He looked between his siblings and the letter, “What is this?”

“It was slipped under the door.” Bdubs answered.

Scar looked back down at the loopy handwriting that covered the lines of the torn paper. The ends of the words looked scratchy as if they’d been written in a hurry. The ink stained the paper and dripped down the edges. 

Scar read the letter to himself.

Scar,

If you truly want to help. If you truly want to know. You need to listen-to see. The woods near the town sign. Evolution Street. Go tonight. 40 paces into the woods northeast. There’s a shed. You’ll know it when you see it. Be careful…but please go. 

Scar swallowed, looking back up to his siblings. His eyes wider than they had been, “Who?”

“We don’t know.” Cleo answered, quickly, “There was no one outside.”

Scar’s fingers flinched along the edges of the paper, he nodded, “I need to go get Cub.” He muttered, brushing past and in between his siblings. 

“Woah, woah, where do you think you’re going?” Bdubs stopped him, grabbing his wrist and forcing him to pause. 

Scar blinked, “Did you not see the ‘tonight’ part! I need to go. This is my next clue. I need to follow it, this is serious!” Scar yanked his hand away from his brother. Bdubs huffed, looking back at Cleo hoping they would stop him. 

“Scar-there is no way you are going out in the middle of the woods at night-!” Cleo shouted, as Scar raced down the stairs taking two at a time. The boy snatched his coat from the wall next to the door. 

“Cleo-I don’t have time-”

“Alone.” Cleo finished, firmly. Bdubs blinked, staring wide eyes at their sibling. 

“What?” Bdubs gaped. 

Cleo went down the stairs, hand on the railing but moving quickly enough to meet Scar before he’d made it out the door. Scar paused, looking at his sister confusedly, his hand resting on his boots. 

Cleol let out a short breath, she grabbed her keys from the counter next to them, “Get in the car. Bdubs, go get flashlights.”

“What? Are you insane! Are you crazy!” Bdubs shouted, gripping his hair as he paced at the top of the stairs. “We-that’s a death trap! We are not walking into the middle of the woods when it’s pitch black outside!”

“That’s why we need flashlights.” Cleo muttered, sternly, as Scar stared at them with a new hope growing in his eyes. 

“Cleo! You can’t just be okay with this!” Bdubs argued, trying to reason with them. Fear easily being read off the way he paced back and forth, rubbing his hands along his arms. 

“Fine. You can stay in the car!” Cleo huffed, “But you are not staying here. You’ll spill the news to everyone before we even get back…” She whispered to herself. Bdubs scoffed, offended, before huffing and walking off to grab flashlights. He came down the stairs slowly and worriedly, before grabbing his coat and boots glaring at both his siblings. 

“If I die. It’s on you two.” He muttered, shoving his boots on as Scar grinned wider. 

“Let’s go!” Scar cheered, before rushing out of the front door to the car. 

“You better know where we’re going, Scar.” Cleo announced, getting into the driver’s seat. Scar sat next to them as he relooked over the shakily written note. He nodded. Bdubs shuffled himself into the backseat, three flashlights beside him. Cleo turned around to look at both of their brothers, “And no one tells our parents about this.” 

Both boys nodded at the silent threat, before Cleo pulled out of their driveway. 

The drive out of town mimicked the one Scar remembered taking with Cub. There was a silence over the car ride, no one wanted to speak in case it might jinx their night. Scar watched as Cleo drove the same way Cub had, fists clenched against the wheel and eyes darting back and forth along the road. 

The forest extended too far up into the sky, covering the moon’s light from the road. The leaves seemed sharper the more Scar looked, the points of where the trees met the sky seemed sharp and dangerous. 

Scar spent his time pointing directions out to Cleo, telling her which roads to take and which ones to avoid. It was left to Bdubs to stare out the window watched the brushes and plants that were closest to him. 

It was his boredom and anxiety that led him to seeing it. 

A small blot in his vision as they raced by, but he knew immediately what he’d seen. The pool of red around it had been too vibrant to ignore.

A dead squirrel lying beside two flowering chrysanthemums.  

Bdubs snapped his head back to the road in front of them, trying to ignore the view. He shook his head, listening to Scar’s voice call out a turn Cleo needed to make coming up. 

It was fine. Animals die, Bdubs told himself. The squirrel probably just fell from the trees. He glanced out the window again, forcing himself to look at the height of the trees and just seemed to keep growing and stretching. Of course, the trees were tall, they were almost too tall. 

That had to have been it. He told himself, nothing more. 

“Turn here.” Scar pointed out to Cleo, who mutely nodded. 

Bdubs looked out the window as they turned, seeing another thing that made his stomach curl. 

Another squirrel…only this time the body was separated in two. 

He felt his stomach churn as nausea overcame him. He couldn’t get the sight out of his mind quick enough. The way the body of the squirrel was severed at its stomach, the length of a tire isolating each half. The blood was streaked on either side of the body, staining the ground to mimic the marks of tire tracks. There were darker burns on the road where the tires had indented and torn at the concrete, allowing blood to seep into the ground below. The tire tracks were repetitive, splintering off in either direction as if someone had been lost trying to backtrack their way through the road to find their correct exit. 

Bdubs swallowed, hoping he wouldn’t throw up in the back of his sister’s car. He leaned forward, grabbing the back of Scar’s seat to speak to his siblings, “Uh…how much further?”

Scar looked across the road, glancing around for landmarks he remembered, “We’re close.” He whispered. Cleo nodded, the lights of the car shining two circles intersecting on the ground in front of them. Eventually the lights brightened the road enough to see the town sign just a few paces away. 

Cleo turned off the road, pulling to the side of the street and parking. She kept the lights on illuminating the square sign that rose from the ground like a gravestone. The supports lean to one side, as if the wind had pushed it too hard bending it beyond repair. The sign itself was covered by vines and overgrowth, obscuring the words that once would’ve alerted any newcomers. 

Cleo let out a sigh, looking over to Scar, “Last chance to back out.” She whispered.

Scar shook his head, “Last chance to back out was four chances ago.” He opened the car door, stepping out into the night, his boots hitting the muddy puddles.

Cleo sighed, turning around to grab the flashlights from Bdubs. Bdubs, who had a tint of green on his face that she hadn’t seen before, “What’s wrong?”

Bdubs frowned, staring at the sign directly ahead of them. He swallowed, before saying anything he opened the car door and stepped out with his brother. 

Scar turned around hearing the other exit the car, “I thought you were going to stay in the car?” He asked, confused. 

Bdubs didn’t answer him, walking in front of him and up to the sign. He took quiet steps, slowly making his way hoping he could recognize whatever it was he saw before getting too close. He was only three paces away from the sign, when he stopped. 

Cleo got out of the car, walking up to Scar and handing him a flashlight. “What is it?” Cleo called to their brother. 

Bdubs stood still, never saying a word, until Scar slowly joined his side. 

Bdubs finally took the last few steps in front of his brother once he was by his side. His eyes still eye and face still tinted with a color of sickness, he brushed the overgrowth away propping it up against the corner of the sign. 

It revealed the words written long ago on the sign that had been up since the founding of the town. The image and words were all faded, but they could still make out the large word ‘EVO’ on it. And next to it a spray painted purple image of an eye. 

But what Bdubs had been staring at was not the words or the eye…but the blood.

Just over the edge of the E was a dripping, streaking stream of blood. It seeped out of its host, whose stomach had been impaled with a knife. The poor thing was hung upside down held against the board by the knife, its eyes still wide open. The bird’s feathers were molted and broken, clumps of grime and dirt tethered into the wings giving it no chance of flying away. It was a beautiful little red finch, whose color was mutated and muted by the vibrant red of its own blood that smeared the welcoming sign. 

“Holy-” Cleo stopped themself before they got the whole curse out. Bdubs took a step away from the board, the overgrowth falling back over the corpse. “Scar-”

Scar swallowed, he turned on his flashlight, shining it over into the woods. He looked back to the note in his hands, rereading the letter. “40 paces northeast.” 

“Scar, please, this isn’t-” Bdubs reasoned, but his voice died out before he could continue. Would it be wrong for them to stop now? Would they have no choice but to investigate? 

Scar took a few steps towards the woods, about to enter the thicket before Cleo stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. 

“Wait.” They snapped, she sighed, “We go in there, we do not leave each other’s side, alright? No one goes anywhere alone. You keep your flashlight on. You do not talk or go near anyone if we see someone. And you scream until the rest of the hermits hear you if something happens, got it?”

Scar nodded, sharply, and Bdubs maneuvered his head up and down concerned. The shorter’s hands shook as he held his flashlight up against the cavern of trees. Scar let out a breath, before counting his first step into the thicket. 

“One.” He muttered to himself, followed after by, “Two. Three.”

Cleo followed behind him, nodding along with each step, and scanning the surroundings with their own flashlight. Her eyes never stayed in one place for too long. Behind her Bdubs carefully took each step, keeping his ears out about him. He jumped at every twig snap and leaf crunch under their feet. 

“Four. Five. Six.” Scar whispered, focusing on the ground.

“How do we know we’re going Northeast?” Bdubs whispered to Cleo.

“The sun sets in the west. Which means we go the opposite and that road,” Cleo nodded behind them, “runs south to north.” 

Bdubs nodded, mutely.

“Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.” Scar muttered, before he paused. He stopped in his tracks, causing Cleo and Bdubs to bump into him from behind. “Shit.” He cursed, shining his own flashlight over to the side where he saw it. 

His siblings looked up to see, covered in leaves and bushes a semicircle of cold cast iron and metal. It stuck straight up from the ground, clamped together, sharp teeth grinding into the skin of the dead animal it had caught. A bear trap…laid out innocently among the fall leaves and flowers. The unfortunate bunny trapped inside had long since been dead. The animal barely kept the hide on its back any longer. The blood had stained the leaves around it, seemingly having been left to rot in the middle of the woods. 

“Bear traps.” Cleo muttered, she looked around them, filtering the ground with their flashlight. “We need to be careful.” 

Scar nodded, looking around shakily, before grabbing a large stick from the forest floor. He held it out in front of him like a walking cane, carefully testing the ground in front of them before continuing. 

They all three tried to ignore the way the teeth of the trap reflected the lights of their flashlights, how it called their attention back to the poor animal left behind.

Shakily, and scared, Scar continued on, “eleven. Twelve. Thirteen.” 

It was around twenty four paces, Scar pressed the stick in front of them and the forest floor snapped back at him. The teeth of a bear traps crushing the end of the stick and splintering the wood. The reaction was so quick it earned a jump from Cleo and two twin yelps from the boys. The three stayed still, waiting for more traps to go off, for someone to come running at them from the shadows of the trees. Only nothing came. 

Scar swallowed, pressing his boot against the top of the bear trap and pulling the stick away from the crack. He continued on, counting paces and waiting a second longer before stepping forward. 

“Thirty seven. Thirty eight. Thirty nine. Forty.” Scar muttered, looking up from the ground with his siblings to see their surroundings. The forest had gotten darker. There was no longer any lights from the street or their car, the only thing to illuminate their path was the moon hiding between the tree limbs. 

The three took turns looking around, keeping an eye on each direction until Cleo saw something. Through the thickest area of trees, was a small clearing where the grass turned to char and dirt. The trees began to recede away from the clearing, leaving only fallen limbs and trunks cracked in the middle in their place.

There was a large dirt road that led up to the clearing, and back out of the thicket before disappearing into the dark. At the other end of the dirt road was a shed, just as the letter had described. 

Cleo gasped, grabbing their brother’s arms and yanking them down to the ground beside them. They quickly sunk into the bushes, hiding behind the overgrowth. Both Bdubs and Cleo could feel their hearts racing, as they quietly hyperventilated beside one another. Their eyes darting around them in case of an emergency, marking their exits and how fast they would need to run. 

Scar could only focus on what was in front of him, though, his heart still thundering against his chest. He felt the need to see more. He was already here. He needed more. He needed to know. He swallowed his breath, trying to bring himself back to a level headed mind. 

He turned onto his knees, peeking over the top of the bush, earning a disgruntled noise from Bdubs. He looked over the leaves to see the shed still had a light on. 

The shed was nothing impressive. The small square space had long since been abandoned, only recently being used. The paneling on the sides was rusted over years of rain and wear, the green blending into the dark leaves of the forest. There was one door on the shorter wall facing the trail out of the woods. The door was framed by two barrels, one tipped over expelling contents over the ground. The ground was a mess of trash: plastic, paper, newspapers, old food, wrappings of chips and candy bars. There was a window facing the three siblings, the single light flickering on and off against the charred earth. 

On the other side of the shed, from what Scar could see was a truck. The truck was parked, halfway so it could hide behind the shed and partly so it stuck out in case of an escape. There were stains on the tires, and the old pain was chipping off the sides. The back of the truck was covered by a tarp, tied down tightly so nothing could be seen underneath. 

Cleo and Bdubs dared to look over the bush, trying to spot whatever had their brother enraptured. 

“There’s someone in there.” Scar whispered to them both, staring at the flickering light. 

“We need to run.” Bdubs whispered back.

“We run now and we run into a bear trap.” Cleo snapped back, quietly as the door to the shed swung open. The three siblings ducked behind the bush quickly, shuffling the leaves around them. 

They held perfectly still, waiting to hear if whoever had exited the shed had noticed. They held their breath, listening. 

“Oh-you-” There was a tiny giggle, “You can’t run…hm..” They laughed again, “This’ll be fun!” They called as they exited the shed, voice loud enough for the three to hear. Scar flinched at the sound of the voice. He knew that voice. He’d heard that voice. Cleo and Bdubs looked over to their brother once he flinched, the two worried. 

He shook his head at them, as the person continued to gallivant. 

“Well, let's just see how long you can finally sit still…” They hummed to themself, as the three could hear the person getting farther away. 

Scar needed to know. He needed to know if he was just hearing things. He let out a shaky breath, moving slowly and quietly back to his knees to look over the bush. He saw both his siblings silently scolding him as he did so. But he couldn’t waste his chance. He looked over the bush, seeing as the figure opened their truck door and slammed it behind them. 

Scar didn’t see much, but he did see the two white tips of their hat before the door slammed. 

The truck turned on after a few turns, before struggling up the dirt path. 

In seconds, the truck and person were gone.

“What the actual hell.” Bdubs muttered, as Scar stood up completely. 

“Scar, what are you doing!” Cleo whisper-shouted as Scar chucked the stick off to the side. 

“Come on!” He called, after the two, “We need to see that shed!” He was already running towards the square building, his siblings scolding hot on his tail. Cleo gawked, struggling to push themself off the ground, hands slipping on the leaves that had piled up underneath them. 

Scar was rushing towards the shed, his light turned off as he neared it. He stopped just before breaching the doorway, staring at the entrance. Up close the shed looked older, more run down and broken than it had moments ago. Scar could see the roof was caving in, and the walls were covered in newer wooden paneling in some places to patch up holes. 

Scar also could see the stains on the doorframe. The doorframe was mutilated with bloody stains and chemical burns as if someone had tried to clean it once before. The window on the other side of the door was boarded off with newspapers covering the rest of it. A lantern hung from the frame of the roof, the candle burnt down to the size of a quarter. 

Cleo came up behind her brother, eyes dancing around the shed and the surrounding woods in case. “Scar, what-what if they come back?” 

“We need to be quick.” Scar whispered, as Bdubs finally joined them. He took a step forward, grasping the doorknob and trying to open the door. He pulled, only to find the door fought against him. “Locked.” 

“Oh, great. We’ll just leave this here.” Bdubs laughed nervously, pulling on Cleo’s shirt sleeve. 

Scar shook his head, whispering to himself, “Key. Key. We need a key. Where would he hide a key?” Scar knelt down to the dirt and char ground, his hands sliding across the floor of the forest. There had to be something. 

“Scar-” Cleo snapped, quietly, “What are you doing?”

“Key.” He started back, he flicked his flashlight back on, shining it to the ground. His hands trailed over stones and pebbles that made the doorway. He picked up one of the largest, running a finger along the top. There was something about the texture of the rock that felt different from the rest. 

“They probably have it on them.” Bdubs whispered, continuing to look behind them towards the dirt road. 

“They wouldn’t risk getting caught with a key, though.” Scar muttered, picking up a second rock and rolling it in his hand. He shined the flashlight onto the pebble, seeing a slightly reflective coating around the pebble. A splotch different from the rest of the dusty pebble. His fingers traced over the rock again, recognizing the texture at once. 

It was paint. There was paint on the rocks. 

Scar dropped the rock, floating his hands around the rest of the pebbles and shining his light frantically to spot more of the reflective surfaces. It was the same type of paint he used at home. The same type in their small studio that the three siblings shared. The light hit onto one larger  rock, and Scar grabbed it. It was the same size as his hand, and he could tell it had been painted completely in a flat gray color to try and match the rest of the rocks. 

Only there were places where the rock had been split open, on either side it opened up into the middle where it was hollow. As Scar ran a finger over the top of the rock, he found indentions almost in a perfect pattern of squares. 

It wasn’t a rock at all, it was a turtle’s shell.

Scar’s eyes widened as he flipped the shell to the side, hearing something rattle on the inside. Both his siblings snapped over to him confused, “What are you doing? What is that?” Cleo asked. 

Scar maneuvered the shell until whatever had been inside fell out onto his hand: A key. 

Scar lifted the key into Cleo’s light, revealing the gold and silver encrusted key. At the top of the key was the sculpture of a bird. The engraving was rusted away and barely visible, but Scar could just see the wings, the beak and the eyes of the creature. “Key.”

“Well, open the damn door before they come back!” Cleo shouted, quickly. 

“Oh now you want to go in!” Scar huffed, rolling his eyes, as he stood up and entered the key into the lock. He twisted the key and shoved against the rusted door. It took a few times to get the thing open, but eventually it gave way. 

The door swung open, and the Bdubs pushed the other two inside and then himself, shutting the door behind them. His breath heavy and he pressed his back against the door as if to keep anyone from coming in after them. 

The shorter did not give himself time to react to what was actually inside the shed before shoving his siblings in. Once he did see the interior he gave out a quick screech, as Cleo jumped, eyes blown wide as they back away closer to the door their own hand covering a scream.  

Scar stood still staring at the room in front of him. 

The room was dark inside, even with the flickering light illuminating most of it. The walls were covered in pins, frames of dead butterflies and bugs hung up like prizes, other animals were attached to the walls brutally. 

A desk was pushed against the very back wall, a window above it covered in newspapers to block out any view. There was a tiny broken wooden chair next to the desk, halfway pushed out as if someone left in a hurry. A sleeping bag was unrolled against the floor, as if innocently waiting for a slumber party. Just above the sleeping bag was a wall filled with bear traps, racks of knives, and cases of hunting supplies. A storage bin laid to their left, one that none of the siblings wanted to look into. 

The walls were covered in seeping blood, making the room smell of iron and waste. It was burning Scar’s nose, the air stinging his eyes or maybe that was the tears he wasn’t sure. There was so much around them. 

Just on the right wall were four birds hung like trophies each set up in their own cages. A yellow canary sitting on a branch, dead eyes staring straight ahead with its beak snapped in half. Another red finch was right next to the yellow one, blood leaching from its belly as it laid on the floor of its cage unmoving. The blood had slowly made its way out of the cage, leaking onto the animals below it. Beside the laying bird was a purple finch, hung upside down from the top of its cage, with bald patches along the wings. Lastly, among them was an evening grosbeak, its wings raised above its head unnaturally as if surrendering to something unknown. 

Below the cages of birds were more frames of bugs, butterflies, moths and other insects all pinned. On shelves below them were animals that matched those they had seen just outside the shed. Squirrels, chipmunks, turtles, birds, even cats had their spots along the shelving of the shed. Each one more brutally dismembered and tortured than the last. 

“I’m going to throw up-” Bdubs gagged, nearly sending himself over the storage bin beside him, only to remind himself not to look inside the rotten smelling container. “Oh, god, I’m gonna throw up!”

“Scar! Who the hell sent that letter!” Cleo shouted, forgetting about her prior want of being quiet. 

Scar shook his head, looking back to the letter that was crumpled in his pocket. “I-I don’t know-I don’t know-why? Why would any of this-why is this here? Who-Why did they do this?” He rambled, wanting to pace the room but feeling himself stuck in one place so he wouldn’t venture any farther into something he didn’t want to see. 

“You don’t know!” Cleo shouted back, as Bdubs gagged and squirmed behind her. “No. No. No, no, we need to leave. We are leaving now!” Cleo ranted, grabbing Bdubs by the arm. 

“No!” Scar shouted, before the two could leave the shed, “I haven’t-I need to know why they sent the letter. Why was I supposed to come here? I don’t have an answer. What’s here that i need to know?”

“That someone is a psychopath!” Cleo snapped.

“More specific than that!” Scar shouted back, before spinning on his heels to look around the shed quickly. His eyes landed on the newspapers that covered the window. He took a few steps forwards, snatching one down. He recognized them. They were the school newspapers. He bit his lips skimming over the headlines. Nothing stood out to him, they were all normal, school headlines. 

His hands shook as he slammed the newspaper down onto the desk, breathing harshly. The pencil on the table rattled, and made Scar notice the only other thing on the desk. A book, old bound in leather and torn.

Scar left the newspaper grabbing the book, and placing it in the middle of the desk. He flipped it open quickly ignoring Cleo and Bdub’s words.

“What are you doing now!” Bdubs grumbled, trying to keep his eyes shut but also open. 

“Scar, we need to leave.” Cleo demanded.

“Just wait a second.” He called over his shoulder, flipping through the pages. Each page had a small paragraph at the very top, with a date in the corner. Underneath the paragraph was a list. Scar chose a day and began to read quickly to himself. He scanned through the pages. 

“Taurtis made me mad today. He wouldn’t play the game with me. It wasn’t fair. Then Ellen took his side telling me I needed to leave him alone. I hate them. I hate them both. I’ll show them.” Scar read, his fingers tracing the words to help him focus on making sure he got them right. He looked down to the list below, “3 birds. 1 cat.” 

“What?” Cleo shuddered.

“It’s what it says.” Scar puffed out, he flipped a few more pages. This time he chose one with a longer paragraph and a longer list. “ I can’t believe this. I can’t believe they took him away from me. All I was trying to do was play a game with Yuki and Taurtis and Rowan got mad at me. He made me leave Taurtis alone. Well, when I did Taurtis ran off and when I found him, he was hiding! Hiding! From me! His best friend! So I did what any great friend would do and reminded him what good friends we are! Only then he went and found Dom and J! Those two aren’t even supposed to like each other! But they both handled it quite well in giving me a hard time for wanting to have a talk with my best buddy. The person who ever makes sense is Yuki, they at least helped me get Taurtis to be reasonable… it keeps going like that.” Scar muttered, he traced his finger down to the list below, “There’s more here though. Nine birds. Three weasels. Two hedgehogs. A squirrel. A turtle. A raccoon. ”

“Great! Glad to have that information burned in my brain! What does that have to do with anything!” Bdubs shouted at his brother, fuming. 

Scar flinched, hands hovering over the book anxiously, “Just-Just give me a second! I’ll figure it out!”  He flipped pages, until he came across a date he recognized, “This is the date I joined the school!”

Cleo looked between Scar and out the window to the dirt road, “Okay, and?”

Scar was muttering something to himself, “Here!” He shouted, turning to his siblings, holding the book in his hand and tracing a line, “ The new kid is a problem. I don’t like him. ” Scar looked down to the end of the page, “ Three birds. Five chipmunks.”

“Not following here, Scar!” Cleo shouted back. 

“Okay, okay!” Scar huffed, “Um…here! The day Taurtis stood up against Sam!” He said, finding the list below the paragraph explaining the events of the day in Sam’s twisted words. “ Six birds. Five chipmunk. A cat. A weasel. And two squirrels. He’s killing things to get out his anger.” 

“What!” Both of his siblings snapped.

“Can’t he just, I don’t know, get a hobby!” Bdubs gawked. 

Scar shook his head, ignoring them, “Here’s today.” He muttered to himself, there was no paragraph at the top of the page. There was only a short list, the words scratched and running together as if they were written quickly. Scar read aloud, “ Thirteen squirrels.”

“Why so many?” Cleo asked, “Oh, what am I saying! What the hell is there any number there at all!” 

“I saw those on the way here!” Bdubs recounted, quickly, eyes blown wide, “I thought-I didn’t think it was-”

Scar shook his head, “There’s no paragraph to explain why though.” He mumbled, “Why is he killing so many squirrels? What happened that made him so mad at the squirrels?” Scar whispered, looking around the shed. The many animals all on display, some even had small labels underneath with dates carved in them. Scar felt the crumpled letter settle in his pocket and things suddenly clicked together in his mind. “Unless, the squirrels aren’t what he’s mad at.”

“What?” Cleo asked. 

“He’s not mad at the squirrels.” Scar repeated, pulling out the letter from his pocket and flattening against the desk. “He’s mad at who it represents! Who is the one person who knows where we live!” He asked, quickly, spinning around to stare at his siblings. 

Cleo and Bdubs eyes widened, as they both looked at each other, “That girl.” Cleo whispered.

“Salex.” Scar said, nodding, he looked back at the book. He flipped a few pages, “And look, every time he’s mad at Salex in other recountings he lists squirrels too. So…he knows Salex came to us.” Scar whispered to himself, he looked back to the letter laying on the desk. “And he hasn’t written down the day yet…” Scar gasped, eyes widening as he realized, “We need to leave now!”

“Finally!” Bdubs shouted, about to yank the door open behind him before a light illuminated the room from the outside. Two twin circles shining down the dirt road coming back from the pitch black forest that had once swallowed them whole. “He’s back.” 

Cleo’s eyes widened as she looked back at Scar. The color had drained from his face, going paler than normal, his hands shook at their sides. Cleo waited for Scar to make some move, to say something but the more he stood frozen the longer the other was getting closer. Cleo cursed under their breath, before grabbing both of her brother’s wrists and pulling them along, “Out the window now!”

She shouted at them, opening the back window and nearly shoving Bdubs onto the desk to get him out of the shed. Bdubs crawled out of the window and landed, without any grace onto the ground. He scurried to hide against the wall of the shed so he wouldn’t be seen by the headlights. Scar landed next to him, the other boy rushing to his side to hide away as well. 

The both held their breath before Cleo dropped down beside them and the three were huddled against the back of the shed as Sam exited his truck. The other was whistling something to himself happily, slamming the door behind him. 

All Scar could feel around him was the tight air, and guilt of getting his siblings into this mess. He’d led his siblings somewhere dangerous. Sam knew they were coming! Sam knew they had that letter! Sam knew the entire time! He’d let his siblings into a possible death trap, and even then he’d nearly gotten a foot taken off a couple of times just walking through the woods. And now he was huddled up against a wall, begging with himself to leave the thicket and go back to hermitville. To just go back to safety. 

His chest heaved as Sam entered his shed, the boy didn’t say anything immediately, still humming and whistling to himself. 

The three didn’t say a word, keeping their breathing to a minimum. Bdubs held his hand over his mouth to limit sound. Cleo was busy trying to find a way to defend the three of them if it came down to it. But Scar, Scar was struck still with the guilt of it all. 

He had bitten off way more than he could chew.

None of the siblings were sure when, but eventually Sam exited his little shed. He got back into this truck and left without a word, giggling, whistling and humming to himself the entire time. When the siblings could no longer hear the noises of the car of Sam’s rustling pencil for more than ten minutes they moved. 

Cleo was the first to stand, hands still held tightly around a large stick they had found. They weren’t letting go of it, holding it out in front of them as a weapon. She looked around before motioning for the other two to follow her. Bdubs stood up quickly, happy with the idea of finally going home. 

It took both of the siblings to get Scar to stand again, the other stuck in his own head as he continued to think about all that had happened. Bdubs pulled his brother along in silence behind Cleo as they walked out of the forest. They didn’t go back the same way, instead taking the dirt road knowing there wouldn’t be any bear traps where Sam had to drive his truck through.

Once they were out of the thicket, and able to find their way back to the car, Bdubs helped his brother into the backseat of the car. The three of them drove back home in silence, but one more dark and threatening than the one they arrived in. 

Chapter Text

“Scar…” 

“Scar, you’re going to be late.” Cleo scolded from the side of her brother’s bed. Her hands on her hips as she watched Scar lay in his bed, wide awake and unmoving. The boy rolled his eyes, turning to the side so he couldn’t see her anymore. Cleo shook his shoulder, “Come on, since when do you stay in bed late?”

“Cleo-I don’t-” Scar huffed.

“Nope. Nope, we’re not doing this.” Cleo interrupted him, “I had enough of it last night. Get up, stop wallowing in your own pity and get up.” She yanked the blankets off of him, earning a sharp glare from the other. 

Scar sat up, “What am I going to do?” He hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, staying awake only slipping into a rest every hour or so. His mind was too preoccupied with replaying the events of the night. He was trying to plan what would happen when he walked into the school, but all he could imagine was seeing Sam and Taurtis again. 

How would he even be able to stand up against Sam again, having seen what he’d seen. Did Taurtis even know? Or did he already know and that’s why he was so wary of Sam? Scar really didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know anymore. His curiosity was suddenly draining dry as he imagined the answers that laid underneath all his questions. They might not be the ones he wanted to find.

Cleo sighed, “You’re going to gain back some of that Scar confidence and walk in there like nothing happened.” She pointed, moving to grab the boy’s uniform from where it had been thrown across the room last night. She dropped it on the edge of the bed. 

“Easy for you to say. You don’t have to go see their faces.” Scar mumbled, curling around his legs. 

“Easy for me to say?” Cleo scoffed, “I have to watch you walk out that door and join those weirdos, hoping I’ll see you this afternoon!” Cleo sighed, shoulders slouching as they forwent their frustration. 

Scar frowned, watching as Cleo sank onto the bed beside him. They sat down quietly, “Scar, you’ve got a decision to make. What are you going to do? Are you going to back out, run back to what you know or are you going to stay and fight it. That’s your choice, no one else is going to make it. I know what I want you to do, but I can’t make your choice. Not anymore…”

Scar huffed, burying his head back into his knees as he thought. 

“Scar, are you scared?”

Scar looked up, eyebrows raised and eyes confused. He nearly laughed, after what the two had seen the night before he wasn’t sure if it was possible to no longer be scared. He thought Sam was just a school bully that thought they were too big for their shoes…not…not whatever they’d seen last night. “Are you kidding?”

“Why?” Cleo asked, staring at his wall rather than looking at him. 

“Cleo-” Scar sighed, running his hands through his hair and tugging, he didn’t want to recount what they’d seen last night. 

“Scar, were you scared of Sam last week?” Cleo asked.

Scar looked back to his sibling, confused, “No.”

“What’s changed?”

“What’s changed?’ You're joking.” Scar scoffed.

“No.” Cleo shook her head, “Sam hasn’t changed Scar. You have. Sam is still the same as you saw him last week, the only thing that’s changed is what you know. So take it and use it. You’ve learned something, he hasn’t.”

“Where are you going with this?” Scar muttered.

“I’m saying get up.” Cleo deadpanned, “Get your confidence back. Where’s that ‘Scar’ smile that wins over everyone? Where’s the bravery you had last night walking through that forest in the middle of the night? Where’s the willingly obliviousness you use to get where you want? Where’s the Scar I know wouldn’t back out just because he learned something that has been happening longer than he’s known someone.”

Scar smirked, “How?”

Cleo stood up, beginning to leave the boy’s room, “You go to that school. And you own it. You’ve said it yourself. Sam only has the power you let him have. You let him know you’re scared and yeah, you’ve lost. You go and act like it doesn’t bother you at all, he’s got nothing.” Cleo seethed, pointing to the doorway. 

Scar looked back to the uniform in front of him. 

“What’s it going to be?” Cleo questioned.

Scar smiled, shining a few teeth, as he grabbed his uniform and jumped from his bed with a newfound gall. 

____________________________________________________________________________

The park was normally a quiet place in the mornings, mainly because no sane child would be playing on the playground at seven in the morning. So the park was quiet with the rare occasion of some older couples going on a morning walk. There was a nice section of trees that shaded the area near the bus stop and picnic benches. There weren’t any busy streets nearby which made it a lot easier for people to enjoy the tranquil silence. 

All this made it the perfect place to wait for the bus in the mornings. 

Scar sat on the bench at the bus stop, waiting however impatiently. He continued to check down the road in case he saw the bus coming, each time he was disappointed. He could feel his confidence draining from Cleo’s speech that morning. He settled back into his spot next to his bookbag for the fifth time after checking.

A part of him couldn’t help but wonder what all Sam had written down in that book after Scar dropped it. Had he really found Salex out? Was Salex really the one who dropped him the letter or was he connecting dots that weren’t there? He needed to see it for himself, but there was no way he was going back to the shed.

He’d just have to talk to Salex. He’d have to see what all she knew about last night. There was a pit in his stomach when he thought about that. There was something still sitting wrong about the events of the night.

If Sam knew they were getting the letter tipping them off, why did he leave?

Scar couldn’t understand it, just before Sam had left he’d said something about going to have fun. He’d been on his way to do something, but what Scar didn’t know. 

His concern for his classmates only grew the longer the bus took to get there. He tapped his foot on the ground anxiously, trying to recount the events and put things together that didn’t seem to fit. 

He planned his conversation with Salex as he waited at the bus stop, until he heard the sudden sound of a bird calling behind him. 

Scar knew the bird calls and noises he could come to expect when waiting for the bus. He knew the blue jays and hummingbirds loved the birdbaths and that the larger birds stayed higher up in the nests. Only he couldn’t place that call.

He looked up from his lap, trying to find the culprit before it disappeared. He was suddenly more worried about the bird's life than anything else. He needed to see it, he needed to make sure there was still life in its eyes, no blood running from its body and feathers perfectly aligned. As his head moved, he just barely missed getting his hair ripped out by a fast moving feathered creature. He jumped once the bird was over his head and he could now see the coloring of the falcon above him. 

One sharp breath to calm himself down, he turned around already knowing who he’d find there. 

False was a senior. She had dull blonde hair that was normally tucked back into an updo or hidden behind her ears. She was the captain of the softball team, and took her place on the team seriously. Although, the most interesting part of False came from the hard glove that was dawned on her hand that had nothing to do with softball. Instead, that glove came from her family's bird sanctuary. 

Her specialty was Falconry. She raised them, trained them, and recoperated them from traps. Scar couldn’t help but wonder if they’d even run into the traps sent up by a certain boy. He wondered if she’d ever found a bird too far gone to be saved. She loved the larger birds, but her all time favorites were Falcons. He couldn’t imagine her horror if she had seen the poor creatures terrorized how they were. 

“Watch the hair!” Scar called over to her from where she was standing with her back towards him. She turned, confused before smiling at the brunet. Even panicked and frazzled, Scar could still manage to hold himself to the same cheery attitude his friends’ knew him for. 

“Hey, Scar! Wasn’t expecting you out so early.” False said, walking over as she attached the lure to the end of her swing.

Scar huffed, leaning on the back of the bench to watch. “Waiting for the bus. I was out here all last week. Where have you been?” He asked, knowing he hadn’t seen her out beforehand.

False shrugged, “Today’s the first day I’ve come out with them for a bit. It’ll be more of a routine now.” She began swinging the lure around. She used her free hand to point a finger at Scar, as if she;d only just remembered, “bus to take you to that school, right? The spooky one.” She giggled at her own joke. 

Scarfrowned, but nodded, “Yeah. Lucky, aren’t I?” He muttered.

“Well, if this is some ploy to get me to take your place it’s not gonna work. Got enough work here.” False grinned, as she spotted her falcon coming back in. Scar didn’t notice the focused look False gave the sky, choosing to ignore the way her stance changed. Which meant he was in no way ready for the falcon to soar right above his head and catch the lure False had out. 

Scar yelped, as False let the falcon go eat. “Nice one!” She called out, praising the bird. 

“Is this what you do every morning?” Scar asked, raising an eyebrow. He knew False got up early every morning, but he didn’t think this was the reason why. He wasn’t too sure what the reason was. 

False shrugged, “Just about. When else am I gonna take these guys out for a spin?” She motioned to the falcon eating its breakfast. “Can’t take ‘em out here when all the kids get in the park. Scares the crap out of them to see a bird coming in for a landing.”

Scar nodded along. False didn’t get scared. That was just how she was. She could go up against some of the toughest, meanest creatures and still tame them-whether that was her softball team or birds it didn’t matter. False was silent but deadly, just like the birds she trained.It made Scar wonder how she would’ve reacted the night before. She wouldn’t have been scared. She’d go down to that school and give Sam a piece of her mind. Scar couldn’t be like that, he couldn’t be that brave. 

Scar looked back to the bus stop. He needed some outside advice. He needed someone who was going to be completely honest with him about what the right thing to do is. And if there was one person he could trust not to get freaked out it was False. 

“Can I get your advice on something, False?” Scar asked, trying to seem as nonchalant as he could, but it wasn’t everyday he asked for advice. More than likely he just did whatever and then came for help later. 

False frowned, “Oh no, that’s never good when you ask for advice. What did you do? Mess with Doc’s science experiment? Ruin Cleo’s sculpture project?” She sighed, before gasping, “Did you touch Xisuma’s coding work?”

“No!” Scar quickly excused, “No. No, I didn’t do anything. I just,” He huffed, “I just want to ask you a question.” He crossed his arms, as False walked closer rounding the bench to sit down next to him. “Glad to know you have so much faith in me.” He huffed. 

False rolled her eyes, “You know I only ask because those are things you have done in the past? What is it anyway?”

“If you cared about someone, but to help them you had to do something you find scary, what would you do?” Scar asked, randomly. His mouth moved before he was ready. False blinked, her face contorting from boredom to something akin to confusion and disappointment. 

“What?” 

“If you cared about someone-” Scar went to repeat.

“No, I heard what you said. Just-” False shook her head, “Where in the world did that come from?”

Scar bit the inside of his cheek, before slowly shifting in his spot. He looked away from False trying to find a way to explain, “I’m worried about someone. And I want to help them, but I’m kind of also scared…and I know I shouldn’t be the one who’s scared. I know that how I’m feeling shouldn’t matter right now-”

“Wait, now who told you that?” False interrupted, holding her arm out for the falcon to land on the hard glove. 

Scar scrunched his nose, “Well, no one, but still…I should just do it and help them but…well something’s still stopping me.” He muttered, fisting his pant legs. 

“Scar, what does this person want you to do?” False asked, suspiciously, an eyebrow raised. Their voice dipping into something threatening, that Scar was quick to nullify. 

“No. It’s-well, I don’t know what they want me to do. I don’t know if they want me to do anything, right now…Maybe it’s just me who wants to do something about it.” Scar muttered, questioning himself. 

False shook her head, “Sorry, what?” 

Scar sighed, “There's someone at this school, I’m worried about them.” He explained, leaning forward and motioning around with his hands as he described. “I’m just not sure if they’re okay .”

False paused, sitting quietly, her tense shoulders loosened, “Oh…” She whispered, sadly, “Well, um…mentally or physically?”

Scar frowned, hugging himself. He remembered seeing the bandages around Taurtis’ arms. He remembered the careful gazes he always set their surroundings. “Both.”

False nodded, “Well,” She sighed, “That’s a hard one. Do you know if they’re safe?” She asked, sitting up straight against the bench, her falcon jumping from her arm to the back of the bench. 

Scar shook his head, lacklusterly, barely holding his head up with one hand. “I don’t know.”

“And you want to help them,” False clarified, “But you're scared?” Scar nodded, slowly, “Why?”

“Well, what if something happens that I don’t want to happen? What do I do if something really is wrong? What if something ends up happening to me? Or Cleo? Or Bdubs? What if I end up setting something off that ends up snowballing into something else!” Scar rambled, pulling at his hair. 

False frowned, thinking for a moment, “Scar,” She said with a sigh, she held her hand back down for her falcon. The bird jumped back to the glove. She held the bird in front of them both, as the creature stood pridefully. Scar looked up, confused, as False showed off one of her prized friends. “One day I’m going to have to let him go.”

Scar raised an eyebrow, “Okay?” One arm dropped to lay over his lap.

False stammered, “I-sorry-my point is. I’m terrified to let him go. I’m always scared when I release them. I’ve helped them heal, raised them from babies, I’ve worked with them through illnesses, injuries and anything else you can think of. I’ve seen what can happen to them when they live out there in the world alone. And I hate sending them back out into danger, it terrifies me to let them go.”

Scar nodded, wondering where she’d end up going with this. 

“But, eventually, I realized that my fear can’t compare to my love. I love my birds. I always have and always will. So I want what is best for them, and sometimes when it goes down to it, what is best for them is to let them fly away. Is to let them live back in nature, because that’s their home. And in the end, my love wins out. I may be scared, but I want what’s best for them.” False smiled, scratching the bird's neck.

Scar watched as the bird twittered something back to False in response. He tried to smile, ignoring the gut wrenching feeling of what noises those poor birds had let out as they died. 

“Do you get what I’m saying, Scar?” False asked, after a moment. “You don’t need to ask yourself how scared you are. You should ask yourself how much do you care about this person? And well, that might not work for every situation but it works for mine.” She smiled back at the bird. 

Scar smiled to himself, looking back to his bag. How much did he care about all this? Was this worth it? As Scar sat silently thinking to himself, the bus finally trudged down the road stopping right next to the sign. The doors clambered open, with a creaking of hinges and nails. 

False looked away from her bird back to Scar and the bus stop. She frowned at the rundown, dirty bus, “Would you like me to walk you back home?”

Scar frowned, standing up, “Why would you do that?”

False blinked, “Well, I only assumed that whatever nervousness you’ve got rolling around would be enough to get you to want to come back to school with us. You know? Where everything is normal, and not spooky weird .” She chuckled, good-naturedly, waiting for Scar to join her laughter. The other only frowned. 

False paused, blinking, “You care about this kid that much, huh?”

Scar didn’t say anything in response, only choosing to look back at the bus as he grabbed his bag from the sidewalk.

Scar turned back to False, shouldering his backpack, “You wouldn’t leave a hermit behind would you?”

False’s expression softened, as she finally nodded, she looked him over once more, “I think I understand what’s going on now.”

She smiled, “I want to meet them eventually, Scar.” She called as the other started to climb the stairs of the bus. Scar scoffed, rolling his eyes as he passed the bus driver who was staring wide eyed at the falcon sitting patiently on False’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, yeah!” He shouted back at her as the door finally closed behind him. He sat down in his regular seat. False’s advice helped, more so than he thought she realized.

He cared way too much to let his fear get in the way. 

__________________________________

Something felt different when Scar stepped into the hallways. What had felt cold, clean, and system-like was full of students all crowding around each other and different rooms. 

Scar couldn’t seem to get through the mess of people that were scattered through the hallways. He couldn’t understand why everyone was so talkative today. Normally, students were always stuck in their classrooms quietly, staring ahead. And yet, now Scar wasn’t sure where he was supposed to look. 

Walking through the hallways was like trying to escape a black friday sale, except everyone was a lot happier than what Scar remembered that holiday looking like. He passed by the different hallways, barely being able to see that they all looked the same. 

He was fighting against the current of students as he tried to get to his classroom. He was getting pushed and shoved each way as people kept moving. He couldn’t find anyone he recognized from prior days, he couldn’t see a streak of turquoise hair trying to keep to the walls. He couldn’t find purple hair trying to hide away from the crowd. Nor could he find the blond boy he was hoping to find. 

He just about missed his classroom door, not recognizing the classroom without the students all sitting perfectly. 

What confused him more, was the state  of his own classroom.

A crowd of kids were surrounding a table made out of desks they’d pushed together. The kids all holding up thermoses, to someone on the top of the table who held a bottle in their hand. Two students were drawing on the face of the sleeping teacher. Two other students were fighting on top of a few desks while a third cheered them on. A few other students were drawing on the chalkboard. 

The whole class was bustling with movement, shouting, and cheering together. Scar stood at the doorway looking on in confusion. It felt like his world had just been flipped on its head. 

Scar was suddenly pushed into the room by the students outside the class. Once he was pushed inside, he fell into another student holding their thermos up for a refilling. The other student looked over confused at the intrusion, “Hey!” He shouted, “look who it is! Get in here, mate!”

Scar blinked as the student pulled him up to his feet and celebrated with the other students at his arrival. A large cheer swept the room as students noticed him. It felt like there was a song they were all hearing that was silent in Scar’s ears. He had no idea where all this energy had come from.

It was as the students began to shout over one another, that the two fighting began to pummel each other. A punch was thrown at the other boy's jaw, causing the group of children to grimace and wince in sympathy. Only the boy then twisted the two so he was on top of the other pinning the boy to the ground.

A few kids stumbled their way over to the fight rather than the table, their words slurred as they shouted at the two. The absence of the few students opened a section of the table that Scar could see. 

He slowly made his way over to the opening, finally seeing what everyone had been so enraptured with. The students were surrounding the table filled with glass bottles halfway full, and the one student on top of the table had been randomly filling everyone’s drinks with the bottles. 

Scar’s eyes widened as he saw the contents that spilled over the table. He grimaced, there was a mixture of spilled alcohol, puke, and passed out students. 

“What?” Scar whispered to himself, barely hearing himself over the sounds of the other kids. 

“Hey! What are you doing down there!” The girl standing on the table, laughed, eyes glancing at Scar but he could tell she wasn’t exactly looking at him. She motioned for him to join her, “Get up here!”

Scar’s brow knitted together, shaking his head, but the other kids behind him pushed him forward. He stumbled as they pushed, his feet tripping him so he nearly hit the desks full of shattered glass and bottles. 

The girl laughed, grabbing his wrist and pulling him up onto the desks with her. He stumbled to gain his balance on the wobbling desks. He tried not to step on any of the broken bottles or even any of the passed out children that had ended up laying against the table. 

He stepped over one student's head laying in a spot of spilled drink. The girl giggled, grabbing his wrist again and raising it up in the air while she shouted over the crowd of students. “Hey, everybody!”

As she screamed, Scar could see even a few people out in the hallways looking in with dazed eyes. “We got us a famous guy here!” 

“What?” Scar muttered, looking over at the girl confused. 

The crowd cheered, whooping and hollering over each other to see who could be the loudest. The girl filled up the thermoses that were raised up to her reach. She poured out the rest of the bottle she held before grabbing another from her table. She grinned, looking back at Scar, “This guy!” She pointed, “Has stood up to Sam two-four-seven-does anyone know?”

“Seven!” One student shouted, as another one pushed him out of the way, “It was way more than that!”

“Oh, five!” The first student said, again, earning a hit from the second student. 

“That’s less, dumbass!” 

“Oh I’ll show you smartass!” 

And before Scar could say anything to stop the two, they were tumbling to the ground as if this was another one of Rowan’s self defense classes. The two fought as if it was life or death, and the other barely noticed as they were either caught in the crossfire or pushed away. 

Scar blinked, “Shouldn’t we-” he started to say before the girl interrupted him again. 

“Don’t care!” She rolled her eyes, “Guy here has stood up to Sammy boy! So let’s celebrate this idiot before we end up in our graves!” Her speech seemed to have the opposite effect Scar would’ve thought it would, as the students began to cheer even more. 

The girl laughed, stumbled over one of the passed out students and nearly tripped on the table. She grabbed another full bottle from the table, opening it easily and shoving the full bottle into Scar’s hands. 

“Drink up, buddy!” She called, grabbing the old bottle that was now empty and throwing it against a wall. The bottle smashed, falling over one of the students who’d ended up on the floor. 

Scar looked between the drink in his hand and the crowd around him. They were no longer paying attention to him, instead moving on to being how they were before he’d even entered. Scar even saw some of the students drawing on the faces of other students that hadn’t been so lucky to stay awake. 

“Uh..” Scar muttered, nervously sniffing the bottle in his hands. He didn’t know what to do. He’d been taught about peer pressure, sure. He’d even seen it in action, sure! He’d been a victim to it, yeah! But this-this was different. This was weird.

Why were none of the teachers stopping this? 

Why was everyone suddenly so lively?

Why?

Why?

What the hell was this school?!

Scar didn’t get much of a choice in deciding what to do next as he felt someone grab him from the back of his jacket and pull him. He tumbled off the table of desk, earning laughs and cheers from the crowd as they thought he’d finally drunk something with them. 

The crowd parted as Scar fell, making him land on his back on the tile floor. He really hoped the puddle he felt next to his ankle wasn’t what he thought it was. 

He looked up, a spike of pain spreading from his back to his head as he took the brunt of the fall. He blinked, trying to get the black spots out of his eyes, before he finally made out the purple hair in front of him. 

“Ellen?” He whispered.

Ellen glared at him, hands placed on their hips. They shook their head, taking the bottle from his hands, they sniffed the drink cringing. They handed the bottle off to another student next to them, one Scar could barely recognize without better lightly. 

“Ow.” Scar whimpered.

“God, you’re stupid.” Ellen deadpanned, rolling their eyes. 

“Little harsh there.” Someone beside them said. 

Scar sat up rubbing his head, he looked over at the two confused. Beside Ellen was Dom, someone Scar hadn’t had spent much time with but knew vaguely. Dom still had the drink in his hand, even taking a swig from the bottle when Ellen wasn’t looking. 

Ellen offered a hand, Scar took it. They yanked him up to his feet quickly, but didn’t let go. Instead, they then turned and began pulling him through the crowd of students with Dom behind them. 

Ellen got between the crowd easily, dodging punches, arms and drunken children. They managed to get in between the small spaces, leading Scar through the best route past the kids rather than brute forcing it like Scar had beforehand. 

Dom was right behind him, offering small words to the students they passed and either taking another bottle or staying behind to enjoy the party a little longer. 

Ellen led Scar right to a door, swinging it open and shoving him inside. They closed the door behind them, slamming it shut with a huff. 

Scar turned around quickly, taking in the new space. 

It was a library. 

And it was the one place in the school that seemed to not be occupied by anyone at the moment. There were windows to the hallways on one wall, so Scar could see the mess of students still outside. The walls were covered in bookshelves, and tables were placed randomly throughout the room. 

There was only one other person inside the room besides Scar and Ellen. J was sitting nervously, tapping his foot as he waited at one of the tables. His head buried in one of the books.

“What is wrong with you!” Ellen huffed, dropping themself into a chair next to J. 

Scar blinked, “I don’t know! I feel like I should be asking you that! What the heck is going on out there?” He motioned towards the windows and door. 

“Hush, both of you.” J scolded, “I don’t care if there’s a rave going on outside, this is still a library.” 

Ellen glared at J, “You’re such a stickler.”

“Just because I want to at least abide by some of the normal society rules doesn’t make me a stickler.” he snapped, “You’ll see, when we get out of here, I’ll be the only one of us that actually does something. I bet the rest of you will end up underneath a bridge somewhere.”

Ellen rolled their eyes again, “Like you wouldn’t just kiss up to the person you meet first.” 

“At least I won’t be regarded as a witch.” J stated matter-of-factly. 

“You’re just mad there's nothing special about you.” Ellen snarked. 

J glared back, slamming his book down, “You’re just made you don’t have a dad.”

Scar’s eyes widened, and he took a step back. Ellen lept from their seat, slamming their hands down. Their eye darkening to glare at J, “You want to say that again.”

J smirked, “You’re just mad-”

Before J could finished the door slammed open and shut again as Dom entered. The boy's hair was a mess, his jacket halfway pulled off and eyes wide. He still had a bottle in his hand and he looked roughed up, as he’d somehow managed to get in a fight.

“Woo!” He chuckled, “They are going at it today!” He sighed, straightening his jacket back and running a hand through his hair. He walked up to the table, taking his spot next to J on the other side. He caught the glaring that was being sent between the two and sighed, looking at Scar. 

“They were fighting weren’t they?” He huffed.

Scar nodded, silently. 

Dom rolled his eyes, he snapped his fingers between the two gaining their attention away from the silent argument. “Guys. Guys!” He said, before slamming his fist on the table, “I get that we don’t have Salex here to keep things…civil but can we atleast make an effort.”

J shifted in his seat, picking his book back up, “For once Dom makes a good point.”

“That doesn’t mean start it with me, jackass.” Dom snapped.

Ellen sunk back into their seat, looking back at Scar who was still standing in the center of the library confused. “Is someone going to tell me what’s happening?”

J sighed, setting his book down, “You’re more than welcome to go join the party. We just believed you’d be more apt to stay here with us than join that ruckus.” J motioned to the students outside the window. 

“Yeah, thought you might want to keep your goody-too-shoes-ness to you. Don’t want you going home to your family drunk do ya?” Dom joked, nudging J with his elbow, “How much do you think that’d rile them up!”

“He’s saying that you can go back out there, but we like to take the day for ourselves.” Ellen translated. 

“Why is it that everytime I feel like I understand what’s going on you turn the whole place upside down?” Scar fumed, as the three students stared at him blankly from his outburst. None of them looked impressed or anxious. 

“Was that your attempt at being…mad?” Dom asked, squinting at the other. 

Scar stammered, tapping his fingers on his side. “I-well-”

“God-” Dom stared at him, before turning to the other two, “How is he still here?”

Both Ellen and J shrugged. 

“Just-” Scar huffed, “Why isn’t anyone stopping them?” Scar waved back to the door.

“It’s just how they relax, man!” Dom smiled, he stood up rounding the table so he could stand next to Scar. He wrapped an arm around the other's shoulders, “We all got a way to chill out! They all get drunk and party till they pass out. J comes in here and does-I dunno whatever the hell he does.”

J sighed, setting his book down to look up at the two of them properly, “I study up on the four main subjects to keep myself in line with the children our age. I spend the morning on history, then to literature and finally math and science as I end my day.”

“Boring!” Dom shouted over him, “Ellen, over there, meditates.” He pointed at the other, then motioned to himself, “And I get drunk and pester the both of them in here!” 

Scar worriedly looked between them all before glancing back at the party. “Why? Where are the teachers? Why had no one stopped them? I don’t understand! They shouldn’t-they can’t do this-can they?”

“Ain’t no law against it!” Dom cheered, letting go of the boy before turning on his heels to the other side of Scar. 

“Yes, there is!” J announced from where his nose was stuffed into a book. 

“Loser.” Dom insulted, grimacing at the other. 

“Criminal.” J shot back.

“Asshole.” Dom slammed his hands onto the table, standing over J. J stood up, his chair falling behind him as he stood against Dom. 

“Mother fucker.” he cursed.

“Oh, you want to know what I did with you mom last night-”

“Okay!” Ellen shouted over both of them, raising their hands in the air to stop them both. “We’re getting nowhere! So just shut up both of you!”

Scar glanced between them all, running a hand over his face, “Can one of you just tell me where Salex is?” 

The three stared at Scar, confused, before looking back at each other, a questioning look on each other's faces. None of them said anything, a silent conversation between their eyes. J was the first to look back at Scar. He said, “She’s not here.”

“She normally is.” Dom shrugged, crossing his arms, “Hates it when this happens, can’t stand the crowds. They’re normally in here reading their books or drawing.” 

Scar sighed, his stomach falling lower as he continued to think more about Salex missing. He couldn’t get the writing in that journal out of his mind. He just wanted to prove himself wrong. He just wanted to prove to himself that Salex was safe and fine. The squirrels had just been a coincidence. There was no reason to worry, Scar, no reason to worry.

“Aren’t you guys worried?” Scar asked, hating the way his voice cracked. 

Dom raised an eyebrow, “No.”

“Not really.” J shrugged, staring at the pages of his book. 

“Why?” Ellen asked, looking over their nails. 

“I-” Scar stammered, “I don’t know. I just haven’t seen them, and you said yourself that they’re normally in here. So where is she?”

Dom sighed, “Look, man, here’s the thing you really gotta know. Rule number one is that you care about yourself here, alright? None of this ‘I’m worried about so and so.’ If Salex had a problem it’s Salex’s problem. Not ours, they get in trouble, they get out of it. Don’t put yourself in a situation you don’t want to be in.” Dom instructed carefully, as if he was describing the most important life advice. 

Scar clenched his jaw, he shook his head. Dom’s words went completely against False’s earlier statements. He couldn’t tell what he was supposed to do anymore. Left was right and right was left. Up was down and red was blue. 

“Then why did you come get me?” He asked through his teeth. “If you only care about yourself, why did you get me out of there? You should’ve just left me there.”

“Because you’re different.” Ellen said without hesitation. J and Dom nodded along with them. 

Scar frowned, clenching his pant legs, “She’s your friend!” 

J burst into a fit of laughter, his book dropping to the table as he let his head fall to the table. Dom scoffed, sinking into his own seat next to J, he grabbed the bottle he’d saved from the party. Ellen raised an eyebrow, legs crossed as if they were waiting for Scar to continue so speech they were about to poke holes through. 

Scar stared at the three, “What?” He huffed, his worry and anger mixing in his stomach. “She is, isn’t she?”

Dom took a swig from his bottle, before speaking again, “Don’t know if you’ve noticed, bud, but we’re-” He motioned around the table, “not friends.” Ellen nodded along, as J gave a thumbs up as he agreed. Dom continued, “J can’t stand either me or Ellen. Ellen can’t manage a conversation longer than five minutes. And there both such sticks in the mud I can never catch a break.”

“I will be honest. Of all of you, Salex is one of the ones I can actually tolerate.” J said, as if thought for a moment between giggles. He shrugged going back to his book. 

“I can’t believe this.” Scar muttered, glaring at the three. “You three aren’t even the tiniest bit worried? You don’t have to be friends with them to care about their situation! You could just be a decent person and care about another person!” 

“Oh, we do!” Dom announced, with a smile. 

“We’re not monsters, Scar.” Ellen said, plainly. 

“Do you remember what I told you yesterday?” J asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Then why?” Scar complained, grasping at straws to talk to the three. “Why aren’t you worried about them?”

“We have an agreement, Scar.” Ellen said, “The lot of us. As Dom said, rule number one of that agreement is to only worry about yourself. Not because we’re selfish, but because no one is expected to help you out of a hole. Salex knows that.”

“Then why did you come after me?” Scar asked again, getting frustrated with the three. 

“Because you’re different.” J said again.

“Why?” Scar snapped, “Why am I different?”

The three looked at each other again, sharing silent conversation. Ellen sighed, looking back, “You’re not different because we like you. You’re different because we need you. Rule number two is to help someone. We’ve all pledged to do it. And we need your help to do that.” The muttered, disappointedly. 

“Who?” Scar asked, brow knitted together as he wondered who the three had in common enough to care about enough. 

“We may not be friends.” J said, “But there is someone we are all friends with.” 

“Taurtis?” Scar said before he really knew the answer. The three nodded. “Then why can’t you just tell me how to help him?”

“Because none of us know the whole story.” Ellen said, “We’re all missing pieces of the story. None of us here know everything except Taurtis himself. And even then I think there’s stuff that he doesn’t know. That’s why we need someone from the outside…”

“To look in.” Dom finished, earning a roll of the eyes from Ellen. “We can give you the clues, but you’ve got to fill in the blanks and figure it out.” 

“And you better make it quick.” J cut in, “Don’t know if you’ve noticed but you’ve only got four weeks. And you just left one behind, so…” 

Scar swallowed, eyes widening, “And what happens if I don’t figure it out in time?”

Ellen smiled, Scar thought for a moment he saw their eye glow in the dark library. They smiled more, something cocky and knowing, “Why don’t you go join the party and find out?”

Scar raised an eyebrow, turning back to the party he could see from the window. Just outside he could see the crowd of people surrounding someone at the center of the hallway. He couldn’t make out whoever it was, but he could tell they were pulling a crowd. All he could make out were bright pink strands of hair, swaying over the heads of students

Scar paused, turning around to face the windows. The kids seemed to be celebrating the appearance of the person whoever they were, raising drinks and hollering. Some of the boys shoving and pushing each other to get closer. 

Ellen stood up, walking over to Scar. They stood next to him, thin lipped and blank of emotion. 

Scar watched as the girl was raised onto someone’s shoulder. She was laughing along with the others, joining in on their chaos while their smile turned nervous. Scar tried to catch a glimpse of their face, it had to have been Yuki. She was the only pink haired students he’d seen, and yet, that smile looked nothing like the sneer that was present on her face most days. 

“Is that Yuki?” Scar asked.

“Why don’t you go find out?” Ellen shrugged, nudging Scar forward. Scar stumbled as he was pushed towards the doors. Ellen walked back to the table with the other two. “You’re more than welcome to join us when you’re done. But you’re not coming back here till you talk to her. So get to it, lover boy.”

Scar flinched, glaring back at the three who giggled with each other. “Stop calling me that.” 

“When you prove we’re wrong, we’ll think about it.” Dom grinned, snarky. 

Scar huffed, pushing the door open aggravatedly. He had to fight against the parade of students to open the door, before shutting it quickly behind him as if he was hiding some secret passage. He looked around the crowd, trying to make out that pink hair once again. 

It took him a moment, but he could make out the moving figure of someone dodging in and out of students. Now that he wasn’t looking through a tinted window, Scar could see that the shade of pink in their hair was lighter and faded. 

Scar frowned, following after the person quickly. He kept the same pace, trying to follow their dodging and weaving in and out of the crowd. He was caught up in the smell of it all. The smell of alcohol was so prominent in the air that he was sure he should’ve recognized it earlier. The alcohol mixed with the smells of all the students and the vomit that puddled in areas. 

He could barely hear the sounds of small conversations or even his own thoughts over the screaming, the music that blared through a few classrooms as he passed them. 

He ducked under a group of kids having a shoving contest. He managed to jump over a student sleeping on the ground. He dodged someone’s fist coming at another student's face, not realizing he’d stepped into a fight. 

After a few minutes, he finally managed to catch up with the pink hair he’d been following. The girl had taken a break in one of the classrooms, speaking to another student. Scar stood at the edge of the doorway, looking in to finally get a good look at the girl. 

Her uniform was frumpled, the shirt untucked and wrinkled. Her skirt had seen better days, from the wrinkles and tears. Her bow was practically perfect bar the cut piece of fabric that seemed to be missing from the ribbon. She had bright blue eyes and brown eyebrows, and on her wrist was a dark green ribbon tied into a knot. 

Scar entered the classroom, unsure if he’d be noticed immediately or not. It seemed close to the scene that had been in his own classroom. Students surrounding a table with someone on top pouring drinks. Only the rest of the students seemed to be playing some game rather than fighting. 

The other student the girl had been talking to left soon after to join back into the game they had left. Which left the girl alone for only a second longer. 

Scar took a step forward, “You seem to be the life of the party.”

The girl jumped, turning around with a shaky smile. She looked Scar over before relaxing some, “You know, I don’t take that as the compliment you think it is.”

“Then why? Why are you doing any of this?” Scar asked, looking around. 

She shrugged, “it’s complicated.” She rolled her shoulders back, looking him back over, “I-I definitely haven’t seen you before. I’d remember a face like that. What’s your deal?”

“What’s my deal?” Scar asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” She crossed her arms, “Where’d you come from?”

“You know you could just ask for my name like a normal person?” Scar asked, confused.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m completely normal.” She said, flatly. 

Scar sighed, “My name’s Scar. I’m the exchange student from Hermitville.”

The girl gasped, demeanor changing into something excitable and happier. “Oh! You should have said so! I’m lizzie!” She smiled, holding out her hand for a greeting. Scar stared at the hand outstretched, it was the first time he’d had a normal introduction with someone at this school he didn’t even understand what she wanted as she held out her hand. He stared at her hand for so long the girl took it back quickly after, “Oh, nevermind that. I’ve always heard about Hermitville. I’ve heard it’s just lovely. Is it? I’ve always wanted to visit!”

She grinned, bouncing on her feet as she fiddled with the green ribbon tied around her wrist. 

“It’s good.” Scar said, unsure of how to describe his home, “It’s like any other town really.”

She shook her head, “Oh no, from what I’ve heard it’s wonderful. Friendly people, nice buildings, communities, oh it’s just a dream of a place, isn’t?”

“I guess.” Scar shrugged, Lizzie smiled before frowning and grabbing his wrist. 

“I’d love to continue this conversation but we’ve got to move now!” She announced before pulling him along. She ran out of the room pulling Scar along, and leading him through the crowds as she had been doing before. Mostly the crowds parted for them, but otherwise things seemed to crowd around Lizzie. 

As they moved through the crowd Scar was started to understand and make out a few of the shouts kids were calling out. 

“Hey! Lizzie!”

“Where’s the rest of the drinks!”

“Shaun, give me back my shit!”

“Lizzie! Lizzie! Lizzie!”

“Fuck off, greg!” 

“Hey, Lizzie, how's bunny boy!”

“Lizzie, it’s your turn to spin the bottle!”

“Oh yeah, Liz! You gotta try this!”

“You just want to keep her to yourself!”

Scar heard the shouts continue to become more and more obscene as they continued. What Scar had once thought were kids trying to meet with their friend now looked like threatening hands trying to pull and grab. 

“You’re really popular.” Scar muttered, worriedly. 

“Yeah,” Lizzie breathed out, anxiously, “I know. Just keep moving.”

“Are you okay?” Scar asked, smacking a hand away from the girl’s hair. He grabbed back at another kid who’d tried to take Lizzie’s wrist. He yanked on the boy’s arm pulling him to the ground so he stumbled into a group of other boys. They began to fall into a shoving contest once one of them started to insult the other. 

“Yup. Fine.” Lizzie said, jumping over another passed out student, “Keep moving.” 

Soon Lizzie pulled Scar along, until she opened a door and shoved him inside. Scar looked around the room, finding himself stuck in a storage closet. Lizzie fell inside, slamming the door behind her, chuckling.

“Oh, that was a close one! Thanks for your help.” She smiled, shakily.

Scar stared at the girl, unbelieving, “How are you acting like this? They were? They were-did you not-how dare they even try to-”

“It’s normal.” 

“No it’s not!” Scar stomped, fuming but not at the girl in front of him. 

Lizzie frowned, “It’s just what happens.”

“Why?” He grimaced. 

“Two time prom queen, winner of last year’s most popular, and well, I have a gravitational pull of the sun so…” She joked, laughing to herself, before pushing herself back to her feet. 

“If you don’t like it, why do you go out there? There’s a space in the library that I’m sure you could stay in.” Scar asked.

Lizzie shook her head, “I can’t do that.” 

“Oh, please, there’s no reason to force yourself to endure…that.” Scar motioned, crying to himself at the door, “when you could just wait it out.”

Lizzie blinked, “Scar, there is no waiting it out. That happens no matter the day. Today just happens to be one of those times things like that are a bit more visible. A day where I’m more visible.” She said, stressing her last sentence. 

“I’m not following.” Scar whispered. 

She sighed, “What do you think is going on today?”

“A horrible try at recreating a college party at an actual school with students and teachers that should either be put in jail, a hospital or rehabilitation unit.” Scar deadpanned, wide-eyed. 

Lizzie scoffed out a laugh, shaking their head with a strained smile, “Well, that’s not untrue, but,” They paused, pulling themself back together, “What’s one thing that you’ve noticed we’re missing today?”

Scar’s brow furrowed as he thought for a moment. He tried to think of something that was missing from the school, but from how chaotic it had become outside it was hard to see what was there let alone what wasn’t. 

“A person, maybe?” Lizzie prompted. 

Scar looked up at the girl, “Salex?”

Lizzie paused, “Well, yes, I have not seen her, but no.”

“Taurtis!” Scar corrected, believing it to be the right answer.

“No.” Lizzie frowned.

Scar frowned back, sighing, “Sam?”

Lizzie nodded, “When Sam isn’t here, it’s like the school turns inside out. A full day where the sheep don’t have to worry about the wolves lurking in the woods. The sheep are going to go crazy.” Lizzie explained, turning back to the door, and leaning an ear against it to hear the parade of students outside. 

Scar shuddered as she described the other students as sheep. He had tried so hard to get the images of the prior night out of his head, but it seemed every hour he was reminded of it once again. 

“Then-well-where does that leave you? I’m still confused about that. Why does that make it visible ?” Scar asked.

Lizzie smiled, sadly, “I guess you could say Sam is one of the most important students here. There is no one that can beat him in popularity. My point being that Sam gets what he wants,” Lizzie said, moving away from the door and looking back at Scar. She pointed between the two of them, “We are nothing more than a couple dolls on his shelf he gets to play with.”

Scar grimaced, crossing his arms. 

She pointed back to herself, “And when he gets tired of one toy, he throws it out.” She waved her hand away as if she’d thrown something at the wall. “It’s not fun getting thrown away.”

“I’m sorry, are you comparing yourself to a toy? Like for a child?” Scar asked, confused as he stared blankly, blinking at her to see if he could reboot his brain to understand. Lizzie smiled, sadly. 

“In a lot of ways, Sam is a child. And children like to throw tantrums when they don’t get what they want.” She sighed, noticing the look on Scar’s face. She sighed, moving over to the side of the closet where a shelf was. 

She cleared off a space on the shelf, taking a few small items from another shelf. She placed a bottle of cleaning solution in one spot. “You see that-that is Sam’s best friend.” She explained, and then she placed a roll of toilet paper next to it, “And that-that is the spot for Sam’s lady friend.” 

Scar nodded, slowly. 

Lizzie continued, “When Sam gets tired of one of them,” She picked up the toilet paper, and tossed it behind her, “It no longer holds the place there. So he needs to replace the toy so he still has everything he needs to keep the cycle moving. So a new one comes into the role.” She placed another bottle of something in the same spot. 

“I wasn’t the first Yuki and I won’t be the last.” Lizzie finally said, clearly. 

“So you-he got rid of you?” Scar asked, clarifying. 

Lizzie nodded, “I kind of knew it was coming once Yuki came into the picture. So I took it into my own hands. As far as Sam is aware, I am no longer a problem. As long as he never sees me, I’m forgotten. I’m a living ghost of this school. Haunting the halls and classrooms, everyday, I’m there but you will never see me.” 

“That explains why I haven’t seen you before, but why now?” Scar asked, picking up the bottle of cleaning solution that was supposed to represent Sam’s best friend. 

“Because today and the days like it, are the few times Sam doesn’t come to school. These are the few days I don’t have to hide, I can come out and visit my friends and see the people I no longer get to be with.” She smiled, again, her hand wrapping around the green ribbon tied close to her wrist. 

“And the guys-” Scar pointed out, looking back to the door. 

“It’s what happens when Sam throws out something. Like imagine someone from your school, they’re really important to the ecosystem there, and they throw something they no longer need out. The rest of the ecosystem is going to try and take it to see if they can reach the same level of the hierarchy the other is in.” Lizzie explained, “That’s what happens.”

Scar frowned, he tried to think about Xisuma getting rid of some kind of coding project only for some of his friends to try and save it. The thought made absolutely no sense, much less if he thought about it as a person. 

“That’s insane.” Scar huffed.

“I know.” Lizzie shrugged, “But sometimes insanity is just where we live. That’s why I can’t stay in one place out there for too long. If too many people see me, I end up having a group following me around like lost puppies. I also run the risk of someone telling Sam, and I can’t risk that. But it’s also the only chance I get to talk to my friends.”

“I-I have one more question.” Scar said, and Lizzie nodded, “Taurtis? I-I want to help him. Could you help me?”

Lizzie smiled sadly, “I can keep an eye out for him, but I can’t do much more than that. But I’ll keep you updated with what I see.”  Lizzie turned back to the door, about to run out and go back into her state of being a forgotten poltergeist among the students. 

“Where should I go to find you? I haven’t seen you at all this past week?” Scar asked, before Lizzie could walk out of the closet. 

“I’ll find you.” Lizzie corrected, before continuing, “And you won’t have as hard a time at seeing me now that we’ve met officially.”

_____________________________________________

He was exhausted as he stepped off the bus, having spent the rest of the day settling arguments between Dom, J, and Ellen. The three couldn’t agree on anything. And each time it always resulted into throwing insults and using private information against each other. 

“It’s blue.” Dom argued.

“It’s red.” Ellen snapped.

“It’s fucking green, both of you shut up!” J shouted over the two. 

Scar had groaned, letting his head fall onto the table as he listened to them continue. “It doesn’t matter!” He threw out.

They would go from arguing about things like colors and items to hating each others guts. 

“Shouldn’t you be studying?” Dom sneered once he recognized J had been staring at him for a long while. Dom had already made his way halfway through the bottle he’d taken into the library. 

“Actually, I’m conducting an experiment. I hypothesized that you would be too drunk to recognize when someone switched out your drinks. So far we’ve reached about two hours.” J smirked.

“You-You what! Ellen! Are you hearing this! You switched my drink!” Dom shouted, shooting up from his seat and glaring at the other. 

“You’ve been drinking water for the past two hours. Have fun sobering up.” J continued to grin.

“You asshole!” Dom fumed, shoving the boy out of his chair. J fell to the floor grimacing. 

“Oh, yes, resort to violence as always.” J scoffed, as Ellen finally opened an eye from where they were meditating. 

“Will both of you shut up?” Ellen huffed, “I’m trying to focus.”

“Did you hear what he said?” Dom jabbed, standing over J who rolled his eyes. 

“It’s good for you.” He claimed. 

“You don’t get to tell me what to do!” Dom shouted back. 

“Both of you just sit down! Dom help J up, and J just give it back to him before he beats you up.” Scar shouted over both of them, earning a pleased look from Ellen after the two listened to him. 

Overall, the day had been exhausting, more than usual. Which was why Scar decided to take a break, to give himself some time before going back to his house where his siblings would no doubt want to hear about how his day had gone. And what was he going to tell them? Why would they even believe anything he said! Just going over the day in his mind made him feel insane. 

So, instead, Scar walked past the neighborhood, following the sidewalk out to the edges of their neighborhood. He stopped right where the trees started forming a tiny grove. Passing a few trees Scar could make out a dirt ridden path that looked well-trodden. Even after the night's expedition into the thicket, there was something telling him to follow the path. 

He shrugged off the awful memories of the night, hoping whatever he found would override the memories. He followed the path into the forest, where the trees hugged each other close. He could make out the bright blue sky through the leaves as they reflected across the branches. He could hear birds chirping and the sound of a woodpecker not far off. 

It felt cozy. As if he’d walked into a fairytale, where he could turn the corner and find a house made of candy and nothing else. No evil witch to ruin it this time. 

Scar wasn’t sure how far out he’d walked, but eventually he found a larger tree. One that reached higher into the sky than some of the others. It branched out as if it wanted to hold hands with the rest of the trees. What made the tree so different from the others, though, was the treehouse sat atop it. 

The treehouse was old, dilapidated and long-forgotten. Still, it was standing. A ladder was dropped out of the balcony, and led up to a large one room wooden box. Some sections of the treehouse looked painted, as if someone had tried to paint it but either ran out of paint or got bored and stopped. There were sections covered in red and some others in gray and black. Oddly, enough, some walls had paint splattered on them, with little handprints pressed against the walls. Someone had tried to paint with their hands, apparently. 

And on the trunk of the tree, were two hand prints. One a red covered hand, the color of apples or cherries, and the other a gray, the color of rocks. Underneath the hand prints were carved out names in the trunk. 

Scar leaned over trying to make out the names. He could barely make out the gray name. All he could see was the large letter M and possibly an O. The other name had long been crossed out and scratched beyond recognition. 

“M-Mu-” Scar tried to pronounce, trying to read the name. 

After a few tries Scar sighed, about to give up when he heard a crunch of a stick behind him. 

“Oh.” 

Scar spun around, to see Mumbo standing at the base of a tree looking rather confused and frightened. 

“I-uh-” Mumbo stammered, “What are you doing here?” He asked, suddenly. 

His suit looked a little darker under the trees, or maybe he’d switched it for a darker black. Scar noticed how dark the bags under his eyes had gotten and how his hair was messed up rather than the normal pressed way it was at school. In his hands was a small woven basket covered with a red fabric that hid its contents. 

“How did you find this?” Mumbo asked, carefully. 

Scar blinked, he pointed to where he’d come from, “I went on a walk. I just followed the path. I’m sorry?”

For some reason, Scar could’ve sworn he saw Mumbo’s eyes water. The other boy lowered his head trying to hide his eyes. 

“This-This is a pretty weird place for a treehouse, don’t you think?” Scar tried to joke, throwing his thumb over his shoulder. Mumbo didn’t laugh, he only flinched inwards. 

“It used to look better.” Mumbo muttered, walking up closer to the tree trunk. “The land’s still owned by my dads so it was an easy place to put it.” He shrugged. 

Scar looked between Mumbo and the gray hand on the trunk, the name that he had a hard time figuring out now sounding familiar, “This was yours?”

He nodded, “It still is.” He set the basket down next to him, kneeling onto the ground. He settled to sit on the leaves and dirt of the ground. He brushed past the fallen limbs and leaves. “You can leave now, Scar, you know.” He said after a moment. 

Scar winced, silently, “You want me to?”

Mumbo didn’t look up at the other, his eyes watering as he tried to sour his face so he wouldn’t show his emotion. He bit his lip, “It’s kind of private, mate.”

“Oh,” Scar muttered, as Mumbo wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Mumbo whispered, he was still looking for something underneath the leaves. The longer it took for him to find whatever it was the more aggravated he got. He grabbed a piece of wood that had a piece of string attached to it. “Stupid thing always falls. I’m such a spoon. Should’ve brought more.” 

Scar could barely hear the other’s rambles. Still, Scar decided to just bite the bullet and talk, “Mumbo, I’m worried about you.” 

Mumbo paused, hands hovering over the sign he’d just put up again. Scar could make out the painted crude letters that read, ‘Grumbot’. 

He looked over to Scar, confused and brow knitted together with worry. “Why?”

“Look, I know we’ve never been the greatest of friends. And I know we’ve barely talked to each other, but I know that this isn’t you, man. I mean I’ve heard what Iskall’s been saying, and Impulse, Xisuma, a lot of people are worried about you. And you-you’re not really helping your case sitting here crying at a treehouse in the middle of the woods.” Scar said, carefully, hugging himself, “So can you just, can you give me a hint? Let me know what’s going on? You don’t have to tell me everything, but-I don’t really want to leave until I know you’re alright.”

Mumbo huffed out a laugh, “Either I’ve gotten really bad, or you’ve gotten better at observing.” He smirked.

“I’d like to say I’ve been improving.” Scar claimed, pridefully. 

Mumbo nodded, smiling. He stood back up, picking his basket back up. “It’s just one of those days.”

“Do those days happen a lot?” Scar asked, frowning. 

Mumbo shook his head, “Not as much as you think. I’ll be okay.”

“Give me something to work off of.” Scar pleaded, wishing he could just fix his friend's problems. 

Mumbo sighed, “If I told you, you’d have to swear to not tell anyone. Not your siblings, not our friends, no one. No one else gets to know about this treehouse. No one else gets to hear a word, got it?” Mumbo said, finally looking over to Scar. His face stern with a serious look in his eyes that Scar wasn’t used to seeing on Mumbo. 

Scar nodded, “Okay. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Swear it on Jellie.” Mumbo stated, quicker. 

Scar paused, straightening, still he nodded, “I swear it on Jellie.”

Mumbo sighed, nodding to himself. He brushed his hand against the two handprints on the trunk. “You have to come up then. I-I can only say it if we’re up there. I don’t think-I don’t want to do it down here.”

Scar looked up at the ladder, the ropes barely hanging onto the wood of the balcony. He wasn’t sure how stable the thing was, surely not enough for both him and Mumbo. “Are you sure? Is it safe?”

“Do you want to know or not?” Mumbo asked, already grabbing hold of one of the rungs. He stepped up onto one of the rungs, testing his weight on the old piece of wood. He sighed, turning back to Scar, this time his face had softened and his stress had been replaced with a sadness Scar could see, “It’s-It’s alright. I check it once a month. It’s safe, I promise. I’ve replaced the old ones.”

Scar nodded, as Mumbo climbed up the old ladder until he was stepping onto the balcony. Scar sighed, watching Mumbo set his basket down and waiting for Scar to follow him up. He stepped onto the first piece of wood, testing it before stepping up to the next. 

It felt wrong climbing someone else’s treehouse. It felt like opening someone’s diary, walking through their bedroom without them, searching through their information. It felt invasive. And yet, Mumbo was beckoning him to come up as he stood at the top, trying not to cry more. 

Scar climbed the rest of the ladder, joining his friend at the top. The wood creaked and stressed as they walked. The actual treehouse wasn’t big enough for them to stand up in and walk around in. The hole in the wall where the door was meant to be looked like it had been made for a child. 

Mumbo still crawled through the doorway, sitting with his legs pressed against his suit inside. His basket set out in front of him. Scar peeked into the room, looking around before crawling in beside Mumbo. He sat cross-legged taking in the decorations that looked about as ruined as the outside. 

Three were two windows, both covered with fabric that seemed to be pretending to be curtains. The curtains had holes and tears, bringing in the light from the sun. The walls were barely standing together, cracks and crevices in different areas where things could be hidden. The same painting job had been done on the inside only this time the wood also had drawings across the walls made by markers and crayons. 

The odd thing about the treehouse was the wall Mumbo decided to look at. His eyes drooped, as they watered and he brushed off the dust. He looked a mixture of exhausted and too aware of the situation. 

The wall had three shelves set up crudely. The pieces of wood were held up like a stack of cards, two standing upright on either side. The middle three were taped together to the other two, leaning and lopsided. 

Atop the three shelves were baskets, woven and each better looking than the last. Each shelf had four baskets laid atop. A label placed on each, claiming it to a certain month. In each basket were a mixture of items, from packs of food to shoes. A few baskets had pieces of papers behind them, with drawings done with crayons and markers leaning against the wall. Letters written in crayon the words barely eligible were taped to the wall. 

“What is this?” Scar asked, quietly. 

“Um…gosh, I don’t know how to do this.” Mumbo fumbled, barely hiding a sob. “This-this is my treehouse. Well-you knew that-but I used to come out here when I was younger a lot. It was-it was my favorite place to come, because-because it was the only place me and my friend could meet.”

“Your friend?” Scar asked, softly. 

Mumbo nodded, “They spent a lot of time trying to get away from home.” He shook his head, “We were like five or six and I’d come out here to play while my dads worked at their shop. And then one day they were just here.” Mumbo shrugged, waiting for Scar to interrupt but Scar stayed silent. So Mumbo continued, “They were just going on a walk with their siblings but they’d gotten lost. Eventually they ended up at my treehouse and just stayed there until someone came by. We started talking and we became friends.”

Scar nodded.

Mumbo smiled, “Well, since we became friends, they would come by a lot. We met up at least three times a week. When I introduced him to my parents, they got worried about them. I didn’t know why then, but there were a lot of times they’d send me out of the room to talk to them privately. They’d invite them over for dinner and lunch, there were days that they stayed over all day at our house.”

“That’s nice.” Scar smiled, encouragingly. 

“I figured out what was going on a little while later. They’d come out here-there were spaces in here where-” Mumbo huffed, wiping his eyes again. He clenched his pant legs tightly, he hid another sob. “I was cleaning up before they came over one time. And-And I found this spot-it was-it was just hidden behind a loose board. They’d been hiding food in the hole. There were cans, packs of chips, candy, bread and sandwiches. I-I didn’t know why it was there.”

Scar frowned, scooting closer to the other boy as he held his head in his hands. He sat silently, waiting for Mumbo to continue. 

“When I kept looking, there were more. He’d been hiding things behind floorboards, leaves, boxes I didn’t remember leaving here. And all of them-all of them just full of clothes, sleeping bags, food, toys, things I had given them as presents. They were hiding it. I didn’t know what was going on-I thought-I had gotten mad at them. Gosh-I was such a spoon-I should’ve known. They didn’t deserve that.” Mumbo cried.

Scar frowned, offering out his hand to the other. Mumbo tried to smile, holding the other hand tightly as he continued. “Why were they hiding it?”

“I thought they were trying to get rid of the stuff. That they hadn’t wanted it, so they were just leaving it. I was so wrong-so so wrong.” Mumbo shook his head, tears falling from his eyes as he stared at the baskets in front of him. “I got mad at them, they told me that they just wanted a safe place to put their things. They trusted me.” Mumbo sighed, sniffling, “I told my parents that night and they panicked, they explained to me that they were going through something and I was offering a safe place for them. That my treehouse was the place they could keep the things they cared about.”

Scar frowned, sadly, “What happened to them?”

“After that, my dads tried to talk to their parents. I think it was too late at that point, though.” Mumbo sighed, sneering as he mentioned his friend’s parents. “They were gone by the next week.”

Scar’s stomach dropped, “Gone?”

Mumbo nodded, “I don’t know where they are now. They never came back to the treehouse. I tried to talk to their siblings but they had no idea where they were either. They were gone-missing. My parents tried to find them, sent up missing posters, and talked to police but they were just gone. I haven’t seen them in years.” 

“I-” Scar paused, his stomach felt like a pit as he realized everything he’d missed. Why Mumbo was so pulled away from their friends. Why Mumbo kept to himself. Why he never liked to get into arguments. Why he hated saying goodbye. Why he was so careful with people’s privacy. “I had no idea. I’m so sorry. Why-Why didn’t you-Why have you never said anything?”

Mumbo shrugged, “It was years ago, Scar. There’s not a lot more that can be done at this point.” 

“Then what-What’s all this?” Scar asked, squeezing the other’s hand comfortingly. 

Mumbo smiled, taking his hand back, “It’s kind of like a memorial, I guess. I come here every month to leave them things they might need. If they do decide one day to come back, I want them to have what they need. So every month I refill it. Sometimes I bring them food, shoes, clothes, blankets, water, just anything I can think of to help. I’ve-They’ve never come back for any of it as far as I’m aware. The most it actually helps is probably just the squirrels and birds.” Mumbo chuckled, darkly to himself. Scar could see where the food had been pecked up and animals had begun to eat out of the bags and bread slices. 

“I know it’s stupid to spend my money on this. All I’m doing is wasting things, but it makes me feel better to think that if they really do need something, they have it here. That even after all these years, this could still be their safe space. It helps the guilt.” Mumbo whispered to himself. 

Scar frowned, “Why are you guilty?”

“I can’t help but think that if I hadn’t gotten so mad at them-if I had just taken the time to think about it-maybe they’d still be here.” Mumbo sighed, he rubbed the handle of the basket he’d brought, “Maybe I’m the reason they left.”

Scar felt his own heart break, “No.”

“No?” Mumbo asked.

“No. That can not be true. After everything you’ve told me. And what I know about you, you don’t get to blame yourself for that. You-You’ve done everything you can Mumbo.” Scar comforted, as Mumbo cried to himself. “I’m really sorry about all of this. I-None of us knew.”

Mumbo nodded, “I know.” He sniffled again, wiping his face, “just please keep it like that.”

“You don’t want them to know?” Scar asked, “We could help. Maybe we could try and find them. You know Doc, Tango and Cub are great at breaking into things. Oh, and I bet Xisuma would be able to organize something!”

“Scar-” Mumbo interrupted, sadly, “I’m glad you want to help. But it’s not my choice to make.”

Scar frowned, “What do you mean?”

Mumbo smiled, sadly, “That’s not my business to share, Scar.”

“But-But you want to find them right?” Scar asked, as Mumbo began to uncover his basket. 

“Of course I do, but I don’t make that choice.” Mumbo shook his head, beginning to take things out of the basket and place it into the month’s basket on the shelf, taking out the older things and placing the trash back into the basket he carried. “I’ve wanted to find them for years, and it isn’t for lack of trying, mate. But there’s a reason no one knows about this place, and there’s a reason no one knows about them. So just…leave it.”

Scar frowned, watching Mumbo place a new pair of shoes into the basket. A blanket was placed along the back of the shelf, a bag of candy and two water bottles were tuckered into the basket. Lastly, Mumbo tucked a tiny slip of paper folded up into a square underneath the basket. 

Scar nodded, as Mumbo sat back down beside him. Mumbo let out a breath, as if he finally could breath easier now that it was finished. 

“Will you tell me more about them?” Scar asked, looking at the drawings and letters that were scattered around the place. 

Mumbo blinked, “You-Why? You want to know about them?”

Scar shrugged, “There’s a lot I’m realizing I don’t know. There’s a lot I’ve been ignoring. I don’t want to ignore it anymore. If you will talk, I’ll listen. I’m done blocking the problems out. It hasn’t helped anyone, I think it’s only hurt them more.” He whispered to himself. 

Mumbo smiled, sadly, “Thank you. Uh-well- you’ve probably noticed the paint job…” He laughed to himself, “We did it together, couldn’t agree on a color though…”

And Scar listened as Mumbo told him the story of how the two actually met.

Chapter Text

“Oh! Cookies!” Bdubs grinned, once he’d made it into the kitchen. There was a pile of plastic baggies full of different kinds of cookies. Bdubs tried to grab one of the bags before Scar managed to catch his hand and hit his fingers away.

“They’re not for you!” Scar defended, shooing his brother away from the cookies. 

Bdubs huffed, scooting over to the bar seats to sit next to his sister. Cleo just chuckled, rolling their eyes and looking back to their plate in front of them. 

“Who’d you stay up all night making cookies for this time?” Cleo asked, pushing bits of egg around their plate. 

Bdubs crossed his arms, “And why do they get them and not us?”

“They’re for Mumbo.” Scar said, placing a basket on the counter. He ignored the odd look from his siblings, turning away from them to grab something else from the counter. “And I didn’t stay up making them.” He muttered.

Cleo raised an eyebrow, “What about the other stuff?”

“What other stuff?” Bdubs asked, before Cleo pointed behind Scar where he’d stashed the rest of the things he was packing into the basket. 

Scar huffed, tucking a towel into the bottom of the basket. It was old, he knew they wouldn’t miss the towel, but it was new enough to give away. He turned back to his pile, picking up the blanket he’d bought on the way home the day before. It was the softest he could find, which he hoped Mumbo’s friend would like. He folded it up, tucking it into the side of the basket so only some of it stuck out. 

He knew logically that Mumbo’s friend would never see any of the things he’d be giving them. But that didn’t stop Scar from feeling the need to offer something to the boy who’d cried himself dry the day before. 

He packed away a box of bandages he’d gotten after Mumbo told him about the hidden first aide in their treehouse. He placed away the old stuffed cat toy he’d also bought before hand setting it inside. 

“But why?” Bdubs asked again. 

“I’m just being nice.” Scar shrugged, knowing better than to spread Mumbo’s business to his siblings, even if it hurt to keep it a secret. “Guy’s been a bit sad lately, thought this might cheer him up, you’ve seen it right?”

“He’s been pretty Mumbo-normal to me.” Cleo shrugged, “As normal as a Mumbo can be.” 

“Scar, I don’t think Mumbo needs a stuffed animal.” Bdubs added, as Scar tried to find the perfect spot in the basket for the toy. Scar waved his comment off. 

“I know what I’m doing.” He commented, he went over grabbing the cookie bags and decorating the basket with them. “What do you think? Am I missing anything?” 

“A couple of brain cells, but that’s about it.” Cleo added in, standing up and throwing away their food and setting it inside the sink. Scar glared at the other as they passed. 

“Wow, thanks.” Scar huffed, rolling his eyes as he grabbed the pen and card he’d made. 

“Since when were you and Mumbo all buddy buddy?” Bdubs asked, sneaking up behind his brother to try and grab a bag of cookies. As Scar leaned over to write in the card, Bdubs reached over to grab a baggie. 

Scar shrugged, pretending he didn’t notice Bdubs’ poor attempt at stealing. “We were just talking yesterday. Thought he could use it.” 

Bdubs hummed, managing to take one bag before Scar kicked out his leg tripping the other. Bdubs yelped, tumbling to the ground and dropping the bag of cookies. “Nice try.” 

Bdubs glared, shrugging himself off the floor and going back upstairs to get dressed for school. Scar ignored his brother, placing the broken cookies that had been dropped to the side. He wasn’t giving Mumbo broken cookies, but he certainly wasn’t about to let Bdubs have them after that show.

He turned back to his handmade card and wrote the note inside. His writing was messy, nowhere near the curves and perfect strokes Mumbo’s was like. Still he had a lot to say to the man, he couldn’t get it all out on one note, but only so much could be said in one note.

Mumbo,

I didn’t mean to impair-implement- impede on your time yesterday. But I’m still glad you told me about it all! I thought about it on the way home and picked up a few things I thought your friend might like. I also made a couple cookies-different types didn’t know what they’re favorite was or what their allergies were-hopefully there’s something in there for them. Some for you too, if you want! Next time you head out there you can take this to them. And if you ever want some company out there, I’d be glad to join you! You could tell me more of your stories, from what you said they sounded like a great person.

-Scar

Scar wasn’t sure if the note was sincere enough, or even if Mumbo would take the time to read it but he felt better writing it. He signed his name at the end, folding the card and tucking it safely inside the basket. 

He grabbed the basket, picking it up and sauntering his way into their little hallway. He grabbed his boots slipping into them as Cleo came back down the stairs. They stared at Scar for a second as he grabbed his backpack, “heading out already?”

“I’m dropping this by Mumbo’s on the way.” Scar announced with a smile, as he raised the basket to show it off. “I’ll be back earlier today than yesterday. We’re babysitting Jimmy tonight, right?”

“Yup, be careful.” Cleo said, sternly, before turning back into the living room, “Do not come back here with another black eye. I will not be explaining that to an eleven year old.”

“Very funny.” Scar rolled his eyes, as he walked out the door. He sighed once the door closed, jumping down the steps of their porch and making his way to the sidewalk. 

As he stepped out onto the sidewalk, he noticed Pearl and Jimmy walking out of their own home. Every weekday, the two walked out of their home right at 7:00 on the dot. 

Jimmy jumped along the sidewalk, making sure he never stepped on the cracks, as Pearl was fiddling with her phone. Something had her attention so much so that she wasn’t paying much attention to her little brother. Her eyes locked on whatever she was reading on her phone. Scar watched as she started typing something furiously. 

Jimmy tried to point something out to the older, only to be met with silence as Pearl stayed staring at the phone in front of her. 

The two kept walking down the street, Scar was tempted to interrupt the two, just in case it would lower the tension he could feel coming off the two. The most he could manage was a wave at the younger as they passed each other. 

Jimmy grinned, waving back happily, shouting at the older, “Hey Scar!”

Scar smiled, as Pearl finally looked up from their phone frowning. Whatever had her so frustrated dissipated into a look of concern when she looked over to the other. She sighed, eyes dropping whispering a hello, before grabbing Jimmy’s wrist and continued walking. The two had a schedule to keep, Scar understood that, but he never could understand Pearl’s mixes of emotions. 

One minute she was smiling, laughing along with the rest of their friends and then the next she was silent, sadly staring off until someone pulled her away. But most importantly, she was incredibly protective over her little brother. 

Scar didn’t manage to respond to either of them, before they were rounding the corner. Scar sighed, continuing on his way down the street. He passed Zedaph’s home next door, the boy’s home always looked like an experiment gone wrong. Either with the smoke coming from the window or the spills on the driveway and walls that never came out no matter how much anyone cleaned. His home, affectionately called the Cave of Contraptions, was filled with random inventions that either oddly made his life easier or harder depending on the day. 

Currently, Scar could see that the inventions had chosen to make his life harder today, as he saw Zedaph fighting to get himself untangled from his bed making invention. The boy was hung upside down, his window open on the second floor for the neighborhood to see, as he tried to untie his feet from the blanket wrapped around them. 

Scar paused in front of the house, staring up at the blond, “You doing alright up there?” He called.

Zedaph looked down, taking a second to spot Scar upside down, “Oh! Hello down there!”

“Need some help?” Scar asked, laughing to himself. 

“Nah, I’m good, just got a bit tangled.” Zed called back down, trying to reach the hands of his machine that were holding him up. 

Scar nodded, “Just don’t fall! It’s a long way down!” 

“Oh, you should have seen me last tuesday! I’m well aware!” Zedaph responded, pointing to his bandaged ankle. “We’re lucky Stress is such a good nurse!”

Scar nodded, moving on as he waved up at the boy. He kept an eye on Zed just in case as he passed Gem and Etho’s home. The two siblings were already in the middle of a morning bickering. 

“Gem, leave the snail alone.” Etho said, “I want breakfast.” 

“If you want it that badly,” Gem smiled, but her tone didn’t match the expression on her face, “learn how to cook.” She looked back to where her little garden had been growing slowly. Her attention on a pair of snails that had made their way onto her plants. “Alright, little guys, you’ve gotta find somewhere else to go. ‘Cause my garden isn’t the spot for today.” 

Scar scoffed at the two from across the street, looking over to the house. The sibling’s yard was always filled with gardening tools, piles of newspapers, and other random items they’d never decided to pick up, the yard even still had toys from when the two were in elementary school. 

Etho saw Scar before Gem did, “Scar, tell Gem she needs to leave these snails alone!”

Gem looked up, picking one of the snails up, “Oh, come on it’s just a little wormy guy!” She grinned, raising one up to show Scar from across the street. 

Scar smirked, “I dunno, snails are an absolute menace, Gem.” He shrugged.

Gem rolled her eyes, “You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about, have you even tried talking to them?” She raised the snail to her eye level, “I think she’s cute. See, look, Etho!” She turned back around to her sibling.

“Nope!” Etho shouted, turning away from here so he couldn’t see the snail. “Nope. Nope. Nope. Not looking.”

“Aw, do you not like the snails?” Gem giggled, she hopped onto one of the steps so she was closer to her brother, “Oh, come on just one looksy!” 

“Gem, I am not looking at an ugly snail!” He shuddered, shaking his head and closing his eyes. 

Gem pouted, pulling the snail up to Etho’s face, “Come on, just look at her!”

“No, Gem, get that away from me!” Etho batted her hands away, trying to move away from the snail in her hands. She laughed, as the boy dodged away from her and the snail. “Gem, stop it! I’m not going near your snails!”

“Just hold her! Just for like two seconds and I’ll make breakfast!” Gem shouted back at her brother.

“No!” Etho shouted back, running inside their home as Gem followed with the snail in hand. “Gem! Take that back outside!”

Scar laughed as he heard Etho continue to yelp and shout at his sister to put the snail back. He ignored the shrieks that came from the house and the giggling he could hear from a certain redhead.

Scar rolled his eyes, passing by the last house before Mumbo’s. 

Scar nearly bumped into the boy as he passed by his home. Joel had been carrying a box out of his home and into the yard, his eyes blocked by the cardboard. Joel let out a yelp, clearing his throat before trying to redeem his scream until he recognized it as Scar and relinquished his attempt. 

“Scar.” Joel greeted, with a short nod.

“Hello, Joel.” Scar smirked, “What’s with the box?”

“What’s with the basket?” Joel asked, quickly in response rather than answering. Joel raised an eyebrow, almost tempting Scar into continuing the conversation. 

“Nothing.” Scar shrugged.

“There’s nothing in the box.” Joel huffed, nearly bumping into his fence. Whatever was inside the box rolled around the bottom as he tripped over his feet. 

“Doesn’t sound like nothing.” Scar smirked, swaying on his feet.

“Doesn’t look like nothing in your basket.” Joel commented back, eyes squinting. 

“It’s stuff for Mumbo.” Scar huffed, “You know, neighbor across the street.” Scar threw his thumb over his shoulder pointing to Mumbo’s home across the street from Joel. 

“Yes! I know my neighbor, Scar!” Joel huffed, “What do you want!”

Scar chuckled, knowing he’d successfully riled the other up enough, “I want to know what’s in the box.”

“It’s stuff for Bdubs! Now will you go! I need to get this to the school before he sees!” Joel shouted, quietly as if still trying to keep it a secret. 

Scar nodded, “Because you totally didn’t just show it to his brother.” He grinned, “What even is it this time?”

Joel rolled his eyes, “Like you would actually tell him. And for your information, you are missing out on a great deal. Going to that boring school is the worst decision you could’ve made, because I’m about to put up a giant photograph of Bdubs face over the back of the school.” Joel grinned, as if he was revealing his master plan. 

Scar blinked, “You say that like he wouldn’t love that.” 

Joel sighed, “That’s only half of it, Scar. I’m not that dumb! No. That’s where this comes in,” Joel grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over to Scar. He juggled the box and the paper in his hands before Scar could actually read it. 

“One dollar to throw a tomato at bdubs?” Scar read, “Really?”

“250 tomatoes, I’m making a profit on this one!” Joel smirked, hiking the box up to show off the food. Scar placed the paper on the top of the box.

“When did this even start? You two have been at it for a while now, think you could finish your war soon?” Scar asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Your brother’s the one who started it!” Joel huffed, “He didn’t believe me when I told everyone about my girlfriend.”

“That’s because no one believed you.” Scar blinked, plainly. 

“You want to be next to him today?” Joel threatened, raising an eyebrow. 

“Nope. No thanks, enjoy your profit!” Scar announced, turning on his heels to walk across the street. 

“You never saw me!” Joel shouted, as he made his way to his own car.

Scar walked across the street, following the tiny sidewalk path up to the front door of Mumbo’s home. Mumbo’s home was a thin, dark house with a bright red front door. The placemat outside the door read “Come on in” in silvery letters. Unlike Mumbo, his parents loved to have people over, they loved to talk and enjoyed company. 

The door opened on the second knock, surprising Scar as he looked up at Mumbo’s father. “Mr. Jumbolio!” he greeted, before the boy’s other father poked his head into the doorway, “And Mr. Jumbolio!” Scar laughed to himself, “I just wanted to say hi to Mumbo.”

The boy’s parents smiled, before one of them called the younger one down to the door. Mumbo arrived at the door a little bit later, still wearing his redstone dusted pajamas. The boy looked like he’d just woken up or rolled out of bed, but he stiffened once he saw Scar at the door. 

“Hi!” Scar greeted, happily, as Mumbo rubbed his eyes.

“Scar?” Mumbo asked, “what? Why are you here?”

Scar paused, “Well, after yesterday…”

Mumbo flinched, “Scar, if you want you can just forget about everything I said. It’s-It’s not important. Just forget what you say and what you heard…” Mumbo said, quickly, before shuffling outside and closing the door behind him. Mumbo let out a breath as the door shut behind him, he paused at the surprised face Scar had, “They-uh-they don’t know I still go out there.”

“Oh,” Scar whispered, “I wasn’t-I didn’t mean it like that. I just couldn’t get what you had talked about out of my head, so I went by and picked up a few things.” Scar raised the basket up and showed it to the other, whose eyes widened. 

“You-” Mumbo started, pointing at the basket. 

“You were really dedicated to giving them stuff up there, I thought it would only be fair if I offered some help.” Scar shrugged, “It’s not much, but I thought it might help.” He offered the basket over to Mumbo who let out a shaky breath. 

“I-” Scar looked up from the basket to see Mumbo’s eyes watering again. “Thank you.” 

Scar frowned, “You’re welcome. There’s cookies, you can always take some if you want, a blanket, some first aide-”

“Scar, it’s perfect.” Mumbo whispered, shakily. “Thank you.” The other blinked back tears, wiping his face as he held the basket. It-It means a lot.”

Scar smiled, slightly, “And I’m always up for another story-telling session if you want. Or even if you just want to come ‘round sometime. My siblings have their friends over all the time, so it won’t make much of a difference.”

Mumbo smiled, sadly, “Thank you.” He whispered, “I-I kind of expected you to stop talking to me. I didn’t think you’d want to see me after that mess.”

“Nah,” Scar waved it off, “You’re not getting rid of me that easily!” He smiled, offering a friendly punch to the arm as Mumbo tried to laugh. 

“Thank you, again, Scar.” Mumbo smiled, again, wiping his eyes. 

Scar nodded, taking a step back, “Your welcome. I’ll see you around.” He waved goodbye to the restoner, and began the walk back to the bus stop.

_______________________________________________

Scar was almost glad that when he stepped back onto the campus grounds he couldn’t hear anything. He wasn't sure if he could handle another day of partying and loud classmates trying to drown out the world. 

He followed the sidewalk, the chalk art that had once been pristine and carefully drawn out was slowly smearing across the ground. The black, blue, red and pink chalk was being washed away by the rainy nights. 

He casted a glance over to the tree that Taurtis sat by in the mornings. He couldn’t find the blond, his regular spot vacant of anyone. Scar sighed, trailing behind a group of students as he entered the building and started towards his classroom. 

He had hoped that at some point Tautis would grow old of avoiding him and seek him out. Atleast, that was what Scar thought should happen. He was so much better of a friend that Sam was, after all. Only, what Scar thought didn’t seem to matter here. He walked down the hallways, the silence and tension drawn high in the air felt nothing like yesterday's rest and relaxation. 

He stood at the doorway, wondering what exactly he’d find inside the classroom. 

He should’ve expected what he’d seen. 

His classmates staring straight ahead, quiet as ever, waiting for the day to end. In fact, it seemed a few of them were still dealing with the leftovers of a hangover. Students with their hands over their ears and covering their eyes. Others were pouring themselves another glass of water from a thermos that passed around the room. 

The only people that seemed untouched by the sickness that seemed to plague the room were the three sitting in the very back. 

Sam was humming to himself, tapping his foot along as he enjoyed the break before class. His humming was interrupted by Yuki whispering a few things to him. He whispered back, before giggling to himself and exaggerating his movements as he told some story. 

The only one Scar was interested in was the one that seemed to be trying to hide away from the class. Taurtis had sunk in his seat, his arms curled around his stomach as he tried to scoot closer to the wall than he already was. 

Scar frowned, noticing the frazzled look on Taurtis’ face as he looked around his classmates. There was something about how quickly his eyes were moving across the class, trying to find something to latch on to. His grip on his arms tightened, turning his arms red where his nails dug into skin. He’d curled himself in, pulling his legs to try and sit with them pressed against his chest in his chair. 

What aggravated Scar the most though, was how no one seemed to be bothered by the obviously panicked student. Scar had seen panic attacks before, enough that he knew what the beginning of one looked like. 

Scar clenched his fists as he set his things down next to his desk. He watched as Sam poked Taurtis’ cheek, laughing to himself before poking the boy again in the side. Taurtis tried to shuffle away barely managing to stay in his seat as he tried to get away from Sam’s prodding. Sam’s constant laughter and touches didn’t seem to be helping either, each time Taurtis would flinch away, his eyes darting around the room for something to help. 

Scar looked over to the teacher, huffing, hoping that they would step in. This had to qualify as something they should step in with. Right?

The teacher sat still, tapping their fingers on the desk as they continued to look at whatever was stuck on their computer screen. 

Scar snapped. 

He left his things at his desk, storming his way over to Sam and Taurtis. He felt the few students that weren’t too out of it look over and watch him. He stopped right in front of Taurtis’ desk, causing both Sam and Taurtis to look up at him.

Sam glared at him, pushing himself out of his desk to be on the same level as the brunet. Scar ignored him, pushing down his anger and smiling at Taurtis. He could tell the other was bothered by Sam’s purposeful ignorance. 

Taurtis looked on confused, eyes darting between Scar and Sam, before anyone could say anything. 

“Rowan wants to talk to you again.” Scar said, calmly. 

Taurtis blinked, opening his mouth to say something but Sam cut him off. “If Rowan wanted to speak to him, he could come in here and get him.”

Scar didn’t look at Sam, knowing if he had to see that awful smirk again he’d just end up punching the boy in the face. “He asked me to get him.”

“He can get him, himself. You don’t have to be an errand boy,” Sam grumbled, crossing his arms. 

“And I don’t have to listen to a kid who wears a hat with bunny ears on it like a five year old.” Scar snapped back, “Or is that what you were going for? You seem to throw tantrums enough for that.” 

Taurtis’ eyes widened, and he shot out of his seat quickly. Scar could see how his legs shook and his fingers tried to grab hold on something to stabilize himself. He stuttered over his next words, “I-I think I’m just-just going to go.” 

He rushed away from Sam, ducking behind Scar and was leaving the room before Scar could even turn around. Sam gripped his fists next to him, biting his lip as Scar smiled back at him before following Taurtis out of the room.

Scar left the room before he could get caught up in anything else, following after Taurtis as he filtered through the few stranglers of students. He caught up with the spedwalking blond, surprising the other when he spoke, “You know I was just lying again, right?”

Taurtis jumped, spooking himself, as he tried to gain his composure. He nodded, “Uh-yeah, I knew that.” His eyes still darting around the hallway, and he tried to back himself into a wall, “Wh-Why?”

“You-you looked like you needed a break.” Scar answered, as Taurtis sunk to the floor, his back against the wall. Taurtis nodded, silently, burying his head into his knees. Scar sat beside him, shuffling himself against the wall. 

They sat in silence together for a few moments before the bell screamed above them. Taurtis jumped again, flinching away from the sound. Scar grimaced, as the bell rang on seemingly trying to go until there was no breath left in the mechanics. Scar looked back down to Taurtis, the other trying to gather his breath. 

He was clawing at his shirt, running a second hand through his hair. His breath running out of him quickly, ragged and challenged. His eyes were constantly moving around, even when he shut his eyes tightly, squinting them closed so he couldn’t see the room. He was shaking, vibrating in place without control. 

“Hey, you okay?” Scar asked, quietly, wondering if he spoke loud enough if the other would shatter in place. “This is-is this-are you-” Scar tried to find the right way to speak, but the longer he took the more it seemed Taurtis was falling into a hole of his mind. His hands running through his hair and tugging on strands of blond hair. “Panic attack?”

Taurtis snapped his head over to look at the other, he looked surprised to even see him sitting there, “Is-is that what this is?”

“You don’t-You don’t know?” Scar asked, eyeing the other closely. 

Taurtis shook his head, “What’s-What’s going on? Why is the room spinning?” He asked breathlessly, eyes watering as he tried to wipe his face. 

“It’s not.” Scar muttered, looking around the room himself. “I think you’re having a panic attack?” He asked, wondering if Taurtis could even correct him. 

Taurtis blinked back more tears, his face turning red as he hyperventilated. His hands clawing at his collar again, “Make it stop!” 

Scar stammered, “I don’t-I don’t know how!” 

Taurtis whimpered, his hands moving up to his head again. Scar was certain he was going to try and pull on his hair again, only this time Taurtis grabbed the headphones and yanked them off his head. He threw the pair against the wall, nearly screaming as he did so. 

“Woah.” Scar yelped once the headphones bashed against the wall. 

It was the first time Scar had seen the other without his headphones on. And just before the other clamped his hands over his ears to drown out whatever noises he was hearing, Scar could see a scar that was pressed right under his ear. 

A burn mark, red and unruly, in the shape of the Watcher symbol. 

“I can’t-I can’t breath…” Taurtis heaved. Scar stared at the scar right underneath his ear, his mind racing with whatever it could mean before he actually heard Taurtis’ words as he pleaded. “Help-...I-”

“Okay! Okay. Um…I-I might not be the best person for this?” Scar tried, chuckling to himself, but Taurtis’ grabbed hold of his wrist cutting him off. Scar’s eyes widened as Taurtis tightened his grip on his wrist, silently telling him to be quiet. “Just…try to breathe.” 

“I’m trying!” Taurtis snapped, never letting go of Scar’s wrist. 

“Okay, okay,” Scar tried to reassure, “Just follow my breathing,” Taurtis nodded quickly, “In for four,” Taurtis shuddered a breath in, as Scar motioned for him to take a deep breath. Taurtis whimpered, shaking as the breath he had escaped him. “Try again.”

Taurtis tried a second time, the grip on Scar’s wrist tightening. He ignored the pain of short nails digging into his wrist. He laid his hand over the other boy’s grip. “Hold for three.”

Taurtis nodded, holding his breath. “Let it go for six.” 

Taurtis exhaled too quickly, trying to redeem himself by breathing back in the air he’d let out to fast. “Just try it again.” Scar continued. 

Taurtis nodded, taking in a breath and holding it. Scar tapped a finger on the back of Taurtis’ hand that was gripping his wrist as the seconds passed. 

This time Taurtis managed to time his breathing right, however shaky it was. “Good. Do it again.” Scar praised. 

Taurtis nodded following the same steps, his head leaned forward as his eyes shut. For a moment, Scar worried he’d passed out, that his breathing had become too erratic to keep up with. Scar panicked, grabbing the boy’s shoulder to keep him upright if he had passed out. Luckily, it seemed the other had only tried to rest his eyes, startling himself back up when Scar panicked. 

“What-” He stammered, looking around in case something had come up behind them. 

“Sorry.” Scar scrambled,letting out a sigh, “You’re alright. Sorry.”

Taurtis nodded, silently, closing his eyes again to keep his tears from falling any more. His face was already red, and his eyes were puffy from crying. Tear tracks had dried on his cheeks, no doubt making them sticky. He shook his head, trying to rebury himself into a ball. “God, I want to go home.” 

Scar felt like a knife had punctured his stomach at how broken the other sounded. His voice hidden by his knees and drowned out by the sounds of how fast Scar’s heart was pounding. He almost didn’t hear it. 

“I can-I can walk you there?” Scar offered, “I can walk you home.”

“No!” Taurtis snapped up, eyes wide and there was something akin to fear in his eyes. Scar frowned, brow knitting together in concern as the other tried to wipe his face more. Taurtis shook his head, “No.” He said, quieter, “I’ll be okay.” 

Scar nodded, slowly, “Okay, just-just keep breathing.”

Taurtis shivered in his curled position, his hands fluttering up to his ears again. Scar watched as two fingers traced over the scar behind his ear, almost purposefully. His fingers shook lightly, and he buried them into his hair to try and stem the shakes. 

His eyes never stopped moving, trying to keep a look out for everything that could happen around them. Scar even managed to see his ears perk up, and move as if he was trying to tell where noises were coming from. 

“Here,” Scar started, scooting around so he was facing the other but not cornering him. “Let’s try this, my-uh-my friend uses this. It helps him.”

Taurtis waited for him to continue, eyes nearly begging him to do something to stop the pain. “Do something please.” He pleaded, helplessly. 

“Okay!” Scar panicked as Taurtis shed more tears as his breathing grew quicker again, “Can you-Can you name five things you see?”

“What’s that going to do! I can see-see fine-” Taurtis nearly shouted at him, before his words tampered off as he moved his head around. It was no longer working for just his eyes to move, he needed to be aware of everything. “Why-” He whimpered, “Why is everything dark?”

“I know it seems silly, but you gotta try it-” Scar said, quickly before trying to answer the boy’s question. “I think-well I’m not sure-but panic attacks can make you have tunnel vision. I think Cub said that once. That’s why you gotta focus on what you can see. What’s actually in front of you, right now.” 

Taurtis paused, quiet before nodding along, uncaring if whatever Scar said was true. He was too scared to care anymore. “The floor, you, the walls, the door, those-those damned headphones .” 

His grip in his hair tightened and he pulled on the strands he could reach. Letting himself bury into his knees again. 

“You don’t have to look at the headphones.” Scar said, quickly, confused by the reaction to the things that were inherently Taurtis’ in the first place. 

“I hate them. I hate them so much.” Taurtis whispered to himself, “I don’t-I don’t want them.”

“You don’t have to have them, yeah?” Scar said, “They’re going to stay over there. They’re not going to come over here.” Scar reached up to his hands that still clenched his hair and tried to untangle them. He pulled his hands down away from his face, until they were laying in the middle of both him and Scar. He kept his hold on the other’s wrists just in case as he continued, “I know it’s funny, but can you name four things you can feel?”

“You’re holding my hands.” Taurtis pointed out, with a tired chuckle and tearful smirk. 

Scar smiled back, “Theoretically.”

“Floor. Shoes. Your hands. The wall.” Taurtis stated.

Scar nodded, “Good, three things you can hear,”

“Scar, this is stupid!” Taurtis pleaded, trying to take his hands back from the other, but Scar kept his hold strong. “Just make it stop!”

“I can’t. You’ve got to calm down.” Scar tried to offer, carefully. 

“I am fucking calm!” Taurtis shouted, slamming his hands down so Scar would finally let him go. His fists punched the floor, tucking his chin to his chest, before curling his arms around himself. “I’m calm. I’m calm.” 

He continued to repeat the phrase over and over again. Scar frowned, “Taur-”

“Don’t!” He shouted over him, “I’m calm! I swear I’m calm! Just leave me alone! I’m calm!” He heaved out, letting his head slam into the wall behind him as he stared up at the ceiling. 

“Just-just three things-” Scar continued to try, he didn’t want to give up. He wanted to help the other, but the more he tried to, the more he felt like he was failing. He didn’t know how Xisuma managed to calm Mumbo down, but nothing he was doing was working. “Three things, please.”

Taurtis whined, sobbing to himself, wiping his eyes over and over again. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.” Taurtis shook his head, “Fine! You-you’re stupid voice!”

Scar winced, trying not to take it to heart as Taurtis tried to claw at his own skin. 

“Me- why am I still crying?” Taurtis groaned, nails digging into his arms as he shook his head, “Footsteps. There! Happy?”

“Footsteps?” Scar whispered to himself, before he heard the tiny clicks of someone walking down the hall. He looked past Taurtis, but it seemed that Taurtis had also recognized the new sound and was panicking all over again. 

“I’m sorry.” Taurtis whispered under his breath, his eyes wide as he stared at Scar. He stared at Scar, pleading with him silently, “I’m sorry.” 

Scar opened his mouth to tell the boy that he had nothing to apologize for, when Scar saw the owner of the footsteps. 

Dom turned the corner, boredly sneaking past classrooms. He had a half eaten apple in his hands and Scar could see a new stain that had gathered on the lapel of the boy’s jacket. Dom paused at the sight in front of him, frozen in place. 

Scar glanced up at Dom, hoping the other wouldn’t just leave him alone to deal with Taurtis himself. While he wanted to help the blond he could tell he was failing at it. Dom looked between the two, before dropping his apple to the ground and falling into a squat beside Scar. 

“What’s going on? Gr-did something happen?” Dom asked, the serious look in his eyes was something Scar hadn’t seen on him before. Taurtis swallowed, rubbing his face more to try and clean himself up. 

“We were in class and he was-he was panicking so I brought him out here. Does he have panic attacks?” Scar asked, wondering if Dom had ever seen this happen before. 

Dom frowned, not looking away from Taurtis, the two having a silent conversation. Taurtis nodded, slowly and mutely to the other and Dom sighed. 

“Come on, let’s get you away from the hall before the bell rings again.” Dom whispered, softer than he had been prior. He offered the blond a hand, before he decided to just wrap an arm around the smaller’s arm and pull him off the floor. Taurtis stumbled trying to stand on his own with wobbling feet. 

Dom waited for a moment, helping Taurtis stand on his own feet, yet keeping an arm wrapped around the other’s shoulder. Dom nodded, along as Taurtis moved on his own and whispered to him so quietly Scar couldn’t hear what either of them said. 

“Is he going to be okay?” Scar asked, worriedly. 

Dom nodded, never looking away from Taurtis, “Yeah, he’ll be good. Thanks, but I’ve got it from here.”

“Are you sure?” Scar asked, “I could walk with you? Maybe he should go to the nurse? Or he could go home? He said something about that earlier.”

“Scar.” Dom interrupted him, Scar flinched backwards at the tone. Dom sighed, “I’ve got it.” 

Dom whispered something else to Taurtis, before helping him down the hallway. “Okay.” Scar whispered, watching as the two rounded the corner. Scar frowned, wishing he’d been the one to save Taurtis from whatever had him so frazzled. He wanted to be the one that comforted him. Only his attempts at doing so failed at every turn. 

He sighed, turning and walking back into his class. The teacher was unbothered by his sudden appearance, in fact the whole class hadn’t moved at all. The teacher was still sitting silently at their desk, the only thing that was missing was Taurtis. 

And Scar could feel that absence. 

He could feel it from the burning holes in the back of his head where Sam glared at him.

_______________________________________

Scar wanted to see Taurtis before the end of first period, but the boy never made it back to the classroom. Scar dodged Sam as he left the classroom, knowing the other boy would have a few choice words for him. 

He hoped to at least see Salex in his second period, hoping to see if they were alright from the prior night. He still had no idea how Salex knew about that shed in the woods, or even why they wanted him to find it. Sure it was a terrifying sight to come across but what it meant still evaded him mostly. 

Only as the next period began, Salex’s seat was still empty. Her absence made the class quiet, as if a solemn message had been given to the rest of the group and Scar was the only one without the secret. Still, Scar couldn’t pause his research into the Watchers. 

As the rest of the students drowned themselves in useless facts and random information, Scar buried himself back into the books Big B had offered him. 

He flipped through the largest of the books, ‘the rise of one’. He didn’t know what exactly he was looking for, but he was waiting for something to pop out at him. 

Halfway through the class, he finally came across something interesting. A series of poems that had been found in the raided hideout of the Watchers after the Ender raid. The poems had no authors listed, the pages they’d been found on scattered across the grounds without care.

Scar jumped down to the first poem reading to himself,

“I can see them in the corner of my eyes

Those that are true and wise

They watch me from the shadows,

My actions judged, they will bestow

The world at my feet,

With happiness I will greet

Those that show the world to me

As they have done to One, Two and Three.”

Scar looked up from the book, rolling the poem in his mind to understand whatever it meant. What caught Scar’s attention was the last couplet, the poem spoke as if Two and Three were members of the Watcher’s just as One was. Only Scar hadn’t heard of a Two or Three. Scar raised an eyebrow to himself, trailing down to the next poem. 

“We trust in One with all our minds,

But what gives us courage, that Two and Three are not lies.

Two rises from the lowest of ranks,

And to them we are supposed to give thanks.

And there lies Three, child of infidelity,

Where has gone our last integrity?

Three, small and weak, useless child,

Yet, a saint they are titled.”

Scar sighed, rereading the poem. Child of infidelity, he thought, that means cheating. Three, whoever they were, was the child of cheating parents. Scar read after the two poems searching for words like ‘Two’, ‘Three’, ‘Infidelity’, ‘One’ and others but found none. 

He shut the book, looking over to Salex’s empty seat, “What am I going to do?” He whispered, as the bell rang above.

At least he had a free period to try and find Taurtis again. 

____________________________________________________

Searching for Taurtis during his free period seemed to be harder than he thought it would be. It didn’t seem like the boy was anywhere, his normal spot by the tree empty. He’d run into Dom who seemed to be skipping class once again. 

There was something about Dom’s demeanor that had changed. He wasn’t carelessly roaming the halls, or pulling some prank on another student. He was tense, his shoulders raised as he walked through the halls searching for something. 

Scar noticed the boy looking down a hallway, hidden behind a wall, only his head peeked around the corner. Scar ran up to the other, whose fingers were tightly wrapped around the corner bricks. 

“Dom? Have you seen Taurtis? Where did you-” Scar started, wondering where Dom had taken the other. 

“Sh.” Dom shushed, hurriedly and sharply. His finger raised to his mouth as he snapped over to look at Scar. He shook his head shortly, motioning for Scar to be quiet. 

Scar raised an eyebrow, looking over Dom’s head and around the corner to see whatever he was watching. 

There down the hallway, in the empty space was Taurtis and Sam. 

Taurtis was precariously walking along the second tile of the hall, his feet stumbling and hands shaking around his suspenders. He seemed exhausted, tripping over himself and leaning against the wall for support at some points. 

Sam on the other hand was on the other side of Taurtis, cornering him between himself and the wall. His back straight, and skipping down the hall his back turned to the two. 

“For fucks sake…” Dom muttered to himself, as he watched the two walk away. 

“What?” Scar asked, quietly. 

Dom didn’t answer, only watching and listening.

“You know, last night was a ton of fun!” Sam giggled, pausing their travel, to turn to the blond. “Who knew there was so much you could do with a pair of scissors, tires and some mud.”

Taurtis froze, his arms wrapping around his stomach as he offered himself a hug. “Sam…I don’t want to talk about that.”

“Oh, come on! Don’t tell me you’re getting all soft, it’s really nothing.” He poked the other boy in the side, earning a wince from the blond, “Besides, I don’t think we’ve had that much fun together in months! It was getting a little boring don’t you think?” Sam asked, a dangerous spark in his eyes. He bounced on his feet, the ears on his hat flopping up and down. 

“I liked how things were.” Taurtis mentioned, quietly, looking at his feet. 

“Oh! Good one, Taurtis. ‘I liked how things were’,” Sam mocked, giggling to himself, “Just a good old regular Taurtis joke, yeah? Cause, we had fun last night! In fact, I think we should do it again soon.” Sam said, his voice turning darker as he spoke. “Maybe even invite errand boy next time.”

Sam’s smirk sent a shiver down Scar’s spine. He may not be scared of him, but there was something about Sam that was just off . Taurtis straightened for a moment, eyes finally meeting Sam’s. “No!” Taurtis yelped, earning a grimace from Sam, “No.” he said, quieter, “I don’t want to do that.”

Sam huffed, “Well, it’s a good thing you don’t decide what we do isn’t?” Sam chuckled, wrapping an arm around the other boy’s shoulder, his grip tight and white knuckled. “Besides, you saw Salex’s face last night! Oh, they looked so happy to see us!”

“We didn’t have to do that though.” Taurtis said, voice even and calm. He tried to shrug out of Sam’s hold, but nothing he did seemed to work. “I don’t want to do this anymore, Sam, I’m tired.”

Sam froze. Scar frowned, hoping Sam would just let it go for once. The blond had already had a rough day, and to further it any more would be nothing less than torture. Still, Sam didn’t seem to receive that message. 

The ironclad grip Sam had on the other’s shoulder was let go, but just as Taurtis let out a breath of relief, he was greeted with a strike to the side of his face. Taurtis reeled backwards, holding his cheek in his hands. The strike had been loud enough to hear down the hall as skin hit skin. 

“Sam!” Taurtis yelped, folding over as he nursed his cheek. 

Sam grabbed the boy’s shirt, the blue fabric crumbling up in his hands as he held him up. Taurtis looked at the other, eyes darting across his face to see what he was planning on doing. Sam’s grip on the collar of his shirt tightened, as he grimaced at the sight of the blond’s face as if he wasn’t expecting to see it. 

“I don’t care if this was the last thing in the world you wanted to do. You do it because I tell you. I’m doing this for you, Taurtis! You can see that right? You’re not that dumb. We’re having fun together, and if you don’t see that Taurtis, well, you’re not being a very good friend are you?” Sam threatened, as Taurtis winced. A mark on his cheek was growing from the former hit, and the slowly growing bruise would soon match the tears that billowed in the corners of his eyes. 

Scar bit down on his lip to keep himself quiet. Dom beside him, looked as if he was fighting against the idea of beating Sam to pulp then and there. In honesty, Scar would’ve had no problem with that, so long as Dom let him put in a few punches himself. 

Taurtis nodded, although the crumbling look on his face showed how much he actually meant it as agreement. His brow knitted together in pain, as he tried to keep himself from spilling tears. He patted Sam’s hands that still were taught around the collar of his shirt, the motion almost like a mother trying to comfort an inconsolable child. Only this time, it seemed that the one crying was trying to comfort the one above them. 

“I’m sorry.” Taurtis croaked out, “I-I really enjoyed last night.” He lied, eyes squinting shut. The boy couldn’t even make his words seem truthful. 

Sam cringed, dropping his hands from the other’s shirt, letting his feet hit the floor again. Taurtis sighed as he was let go, his breath entering his lungs again after it had been stolen from them. 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Sam laughed, crossing his arms. “They’re your girlfriend, Taurtis. I can’t believe you would say that,” Sam smirked, laughing darkly to himself. “Next thing you know, you’re going to tell me you had a better plan all along!”

Girlfriend?

Sam was lying right, Scar thought, Taurtis would have said that beforehand. Sam was just making that up. Salex, at least, would have said something! 

Although, Salex did like to talk about Taurtis a lot. 

And she always did seem to know more about him than anyone else. 

But that couldn’t be right, right?

Scar looked back, pushing away the pit in his stomach as he thought about that. He couldn’t focus on whatever it was at the moment that made him hate that idea so much. He didn’t want to know why he was so hurt by that concept that the two cared so much for each other. 

Even if he much rather would have been the one Taurtis chose to come to when he was dealing with Sam. Even if he wanted to be the person Taurtis spoke to at the end of the day. Even if he wanted to be the person to sit by Taurtis when he was lonely. Even if-no it didn’t matter…

Taurtis was staring at Sam, confused. He stammered for a moment, eyes glossy as he tried to find the right words. Taurtis shook his head, he never lifted his eyes from his own shoes, “I don’t know what you want me to do. Do you want me to be upset? Do you want me to be happy? What am I supposed to do Sam?”

“I don’t know!” Sam hounded, “Why should I tell you what to do? You should know what you want, Taurtis!”

“But I don’t.” Taurtis whispered, shrinking in on himself. 

“Well, I don’t fucking know!” Sam fumed, his foot thumping on the ground. The tapping of his shoe on the tile floor caused a flinch each time the sound hit Taurtis’ ears. “Figure it out, Taurtis!”

“I didn’t like it! I don’t like it! I never liked it! You made me do it! I liked Salex!” Taurtis shouted back, finally looking up at Sam. He was shorter than the other and had to stand on his toes to even reach the height of the other to scream back at him. His finger pointed at the other as if he wanted to scold him, but his hands shook so much that it only caused Sam to giggle to himself.

“Oh! Aw..you’re so shaky, Taurtis!” Sam giggled, grabbing his wrist and shaking it in front of the other’s face. Taurtis’ eyes widened as he tried to tear his hand away from the other’s grip. 

Scar felt his heart drop. Taurtis liked Salex? 

He was sure he knew that. Salex spoke about Taurtis enough for the two of them to be good friends, but the idea of Taurtis liking Salex…it hurt. What the conversation was even about, Scar couldn’t tell but the way Taurtis shook as he spoke about the girl made something in Scar break. 

“Taurtis and Salex…are they…do they?” Scar tried to ask, but he couldn’t seem to find the right words. Dom looked up from his position, his purple hat tilted oddly. His eyebrow raised in confusion. 

“What?” Dom whispered, before shaking his head, “Hush.” 

Scar didn’t get his answer, going back to watching the scene. There was some part of him that knew his care for Taurtis extended past the normal concern and worry he should’ve had for someone. But there was something that made him want to believe it was just an offer of friendship.

Oh, but the way Taurtis smiled when Scar said something that cracked his exterior. The way his freckles sprouted across his cheeks like little stars. The way his eyes danced around every room, before landing on something. The sprinkle of light in his dark eyes when he drew, when he joked, when he spoke it was enough to make him melt. 

Even now as Scar watched both Sam and Taurtis argue back and forth, he couldn’t focus on whatever words they exchanged. He was too busy finally seeing through the fog he’d made himself believe was there. 

He liked Taurtis. 

He just hated how it took him hearing Taurtis was someone else’s before he could realize that. 

Taurtis was a beautiful mystery.

An adorable anomaly.

A handsome headache.

A lovely labyrinth.

A charming-

“Will you just shut up, Taurtis!” Sam shouted over Taurtis’ words. The blond flinched backward, his back finally hitting the wall and taking Scar out of whatever trance he’d been in. “You-You’re acting crazy Taurtis! Stop acting crazy! You need to calm down! So fucking calm down!”

Taurtis braced himself against the wall, nodding aggressively along with Sam. 

Sam only got closer to the other, hands raising to his hat as he pulled on the ears. He was muttering and grumbling phrases to himself, pacing back and forth along the hall. His eyes didn’t leave the ground as he pulled on his hat. “Calm down, Taurtis. Calm down, Taurtis.”

Sam repeated it over and over again, as Taurtis slowly tried to scurry away from the corner he’d been backed into. Sam snapped his eyes over once Taurtis was too close to leaving. “Where are you going?”

“No where.” Taurtis whispered, his words barely audible at the end of the hallway. 

Sam breathed out roughly, heaving to himself. Sam paused in his pacing, staring up at the ceiling before laughing to himself. He giggled, shaking his head, “Taurtis, what are we doing? I mean us-” He motioned between the two of them, as Taurtis shrunk to the floor so he was sitting down. Scar wasn’t sure if Taurtis legs could hold him up anymore. “-I mean we’re arguing, we don’t argue! Let’s just calm down together!” He laughed, brushing himself off.

“Okay.” Taurtis whispered back, curling his legs up to his chest.

Sam held out his hands placating himself, before digging around in his jacket pocket and pulling out something. “So you just eat that and we’ll be okay!” 

He threw the item at Taurtis, causing the other to wince. Scar strained his eyes to see whatever it was that had gotten thrown at him. 

Dom grumbled something to himself, “Not again…” he muttered, before he turned on his heels and stormed off. Scar turned to try and stop Dom from running off, but the other was already rushing down the hallway. Dom didn’t go after Sam and Taurtis, storming off in the opposite direction, leaving the two at the end of the hallway.

Scar waited for Dom to turn around, for him to go after Sam and stop him from doing anything else to poor Taurtis, but Dom had other plans. The boy was too far gone down the hallway, ignoring the shouting from Sam.

Scar looked back toward Sam and Taurtis, seeing the horror. 

What had been thrown was a plastic bag of chips. Taurtis was holding the bag closely, chewing on the chips and swallowing as if it hurt. Sam paced above him, running hands through his hair as he muttered to himself. 

Scar stared frozen in place as Taurtis continued to eat the chips, his fingers shaking. Scar could see the tears that were forming in the corners of his eyes. Taurtis wiped his eyes, trying to bury himself into the corner. 

“Sam-I don’t want to finish it.” Taurtis pleaded, raising the bag to the other.

Sam bit his lip, pausing his pacing, “Does it look like I care?” He fumed.

Taurtis winced, pulling the bag back to himself. He continued to eat the rest of the chips, sobbing to himself. 

Scar didn’t understand, why?

Why was Taurtis crying from eating chips?

Why was Sam forcing him to eat them?

Why was he listening to him?

Why was Sam freaking out?

What was going on?

Every time Scar felt like he had a grip on what was happening something pulled him away from understanding. Scar didn’t know how much more he could watch as Taurtis curled up on the ground, whimpering as he ate the chips. He felt lucky when Taurtis finally raised the crumpled bag of chips to Sam, showing he’d finished the bag. 

“I’m done.” Taurtis whispered, almost prideful. 

Sam grimaced, “I don’t want the trash. I told you to finish it.” Sam snapped, glaring down at him as he kicked the other’s knees that were curled up to his chest. Taurtis winced at the kick, trying to keep himself sitting up, as Sam grabbed his wrist and shoved it closer to his face. The hand holding the bag of chips was forced into Taurtis’ face, as he tried to turn and push himself away from it. 

Sam seethed, grabbing the other boy’s face and turning him to face him. His grip on his cheeks squeezed the bruises that painted on the edges of his face. Sam took the bag from the blond’s hands shoving it into his face, as the other cried and fought against him. 

That was the last straw for Scar’s frozen feet. He didn’t care anymore about being quiet, or staying in place like Dom had seemed to care. And there was no way he was walking away from this as the other boy had. He clenched his fist, storming down the hallway as he tried to make his way close enough to Sam and Taurtis to get the other off the blond. 

“Just finish the damned thing! Stop acting like this Taurtis! Stop acting like a child. Just finish the fucking-” Sam screamed as Taurtis sobbed into himself. Torn pieces of plastic were pushed closer to the blond’s mouth until eventually Taurtis caved. 

Sobbing to himself, Taurtis pulled strings and pieces of torn plastic into his mouth, chewing it painfully and swallowing as best he could. Scar flinched back when he saw the other eating the plastic as Sam finally got off the other boy.