Chapter Text
Martyn slipped his gaze to the noticeboard on the opposite end of the cafeteria. He'd decided on around the thirtieth time he'd done that in the past 10 minutes, that waiting was quickly becoming his least favourite game. This time, however, Impulse was there.
Impulse was there .
Impulse, the music and drama teacher, was pinning a sheet of paper to the board.
Martyn jumped to his feet and rushed over. Finally. He'd auditioned two days ago for the school's rendition of Hadestown. This would be his last performance before his early graduation after he'd written his final exams in a few months time. He had given his all. Martyn had his entire future planned out for him, and all of it would be so much more possible with this musical.
He knew it all came down to this. This production would be big. The advertisements for it had already been posted on the school's website, beckoning people to save the date. 8 weeks from now, he'd be standing atop that stage, bathed in lights, music cascading across the room as he played - well… that was to be found out just as soon as he crossed the cafeteria and managed to get a look at that piece of paper.
A few paces away, Impulse gave him a sideways smile.
"I think you'll be pretty happy with my choices here." He said, giving Martyn a quick pat on the back.
He lurched forward, towards the board.
The paper stared at him as he let his eyes focus on the print.
Martyn — Eurydice
His eyes widened. He bit his lip, fighting the stupid smile that begged to make itself known. He'd snagged a starring role.
Sure, he'd expected it. Martyn liked to consider himself humble, though. He hadn't gotten his hopes up, regardless of how much Impulse had constantly showered him with words of praise throughout his entire acting career. He'd had starring roles before, but this? This was it though. He knew there'd be universities scouting the production for soon-to-be highschool graduates. Playing Eurydice would guarantee they'd at least notice him.
More theatre students began to crowd around, all discussing their roles.
Martyn couldn't take his eyes off of his own role. Pride swelled in his chest as a few people congratulated him on his casting.
"Well, my fair Eurydice, I suppose we shall be the tragedy this time around." A deep, smooth voice spoke beside him. A voice he knew pretty well by now: Ren.
Ren had been part of the school's theatre department for as long as Martyn had. They'd both signed up as soon as the opportunity had arisen back in primary school. Ren was a phenomenal actor. Martyn held a great amount of respect for him.
Despite the fact that they'd been working in close proximity for over half of their lives, they'd never engaged in conversational topics outside of the theatre club. Not that he had anything against Ren, Martyn just… stayed within the walls he'd built up.
His eyes drifted back to the casting sheet. Ren had been cast as Orpheus. The two of them would be starring as the main characters, as well as the main romantic pairing.
"Seems like it." Martyn said, turning to look at Ren, deep blue eyes focussed wholly on Martyn.
"I'm so excited for this production, dude. I'm looking forward to working with you." Ren said, smiling at him, as he ran a hand through the thick brown ponytail that had fallen over his shoulder. Martyn nodded.
"Yeah, I've been doing some digging on the musical. I gotta say, it looked pretty brilliant." Martyn said, glancing back at the casting sheet.
"I know right! And we shall be the stars of the show!" Ren said, holding his arms out. Martyn smiled, Ren was certainly made to be an actor.
"Well, I'll leave you to it! I shall see you soon, my dearest Eurydice." Ren shot Martyn another smile, before turning away to walk with his two friends, Skizz and Etho.
Both Skizz and Etho were part of the theatre department. Not as long as Ren and Martyn had been, but for a fairly long while regardless. Martyn brought his focus back to the casting sheet. Skizz would be playing Hermes, and Etho as Hades.
Now that he'd gotten his role, Martyn slipped out of the cafeteria, and into one of the empty classrooms lining the corridor as he waited for his next class to begin.
He crossed the room, sitting down against the wall in the back, crossing his legs. As he sat there in solitude, he pulled out his earbuds and decided to listen to Hadestown. It'd be good to get a headstart on knowing the lyrics he'd be singing.
He selected a random song in the lineup, 'any way the wind blows'. The music began to play, notes twisting and dancing around, melodies and voices moving in tandem. Martyn followed along, reading the lyrics.
"people turn on you just like the wind
everybody is a fair weather friend
in the end, youre better off alone
any way the wind blows"
Martyn couldn't help but snicker as Eurydice proclaimed solitude. It felt ironic, and rather pointed. He supposed it might be easier to acquaint himself with her character than one might imagine.
The room around him was still, unmoving, as the music cascaded through his mind, Eurydice's words finding home in Martyn, Martyn finding home in her words.
The stillness was suddenly interrupted by the door of the classroom flinging open. Two figures stood in the doorway, scanning the room, focus landing on him.
Martyn took out his earbuds as Grian and Pearl sped over to him, dropping down to their knees in front of him.
"Mate! You got a main role, right?" Grian asked, giddy. Martyn smiled at him, finally allowing his true excitement to filter through the neutrality he'd previously been attempting to cling onto.
"I did, yeah."
"I'm so proud of you!" Pearl said, resting a hand on Martyn's knee, her smile bright and genuine.
"I don't care how, but we're watching at least one of your shows. I genuinely do not care about the repercussions. It's happening." Grian clasped his hands together as he spoke. Martyn's heart dropped. Just like that, his excitement had fizzled into sheer anxiety. He didn't want to be the reason something happened to the two of them.
"I- just... be careful, yeah? I know you won't let me stop you. But, at least think about it closer to the ti-"
"We'll make a plan." Pearl's voice left zero room for Martyn's attempts at protecting his siblings. He knew the fear would eat away at him. It wouldn't cease its ravenous gnawing until the moment he'd returned to the house after the final night of the production. He let out a rather shaky exhale.
He'd trusted the two of them ever since he was thrown into the foster home the two biological siblings had already been sharing. He knew they were strong, capable people, but it wasn't them he was worried about. It wasn't inherently them that kept him awake at night. He'd never be fearful of them. Fearful for them? Yeah, that was a whole other thing.
Just the mere thought had the previous excitement crumble in his chest, the debris simmering into something ugly and afraid.
Neutral. Brave face on.
Martyn was an actor, after all.
"When's the show?" Grian asked, pulling Martyn back into the present.
"About eight weeks from now." He said, quickly carding a hand through blond waves.
"See? We got loads of time to figure something out." Grian stood up. "Gotta get back to the boys. See you guys later."
Once their youngest sibling had left the room, Pearl gently took Martyn's hand.
"I know, Martyn. I'll get us out. You don't have to worry, okay? I'll get us all out. Hang on for just a little bit longer." Pearl whispered softly, though it seemed more for her own sake. She held eye contact as she spoke.
"Yeah, I trust you, I promise. I really do. Just... I don't want..." He trailed off, unable to convey the complicated feelings that had intertwined with the veins in his body. He shook his head harshly.
"You don't want..?" Pearl coaxed. He forced air into his lungs, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
"Nevermind. Yeah. You will get us out." Martyn smiled at her. He smiled at her through the doubt and fear creeping up from beneath him, trying to bite and tear at his throat as he spoke. He didn't say how he knew she'd manage to get Grian out. He didn't say that he knew he'd be stuck until his 18Th birthday because he wasn't biologically related to her. He'd never tell her. She'd just feel guilty, feel more afraid and anxious than she already was. He couldn't possibly drop that upon her already aching shoulders.
He'd manage on his own. He always had.
⭐︎ ☆ ~ 🌑 ~ 🎶 ~ ☆ ⭐︎
Getting home to an empty house was always a massive relief. Turning the corner and seeing no cars parked outside of the house gave Martyn's lungs the breath they'd so sorely needed.
He didn't know where his foster parents were, nor did he care. Pearl had art club after school, and Grian had band.
Martyn didn't need to listen with bated breath for the shouts, ready to step in and take the brunt of the violence and cruelty in place of his siblings.
He was the odd one out of the three that had been condemned to this house. In any other place in the world, Grian and Pearl would be the weird ones. They'd be shunned, they'd be killed, they'd have unspeakable things done to them.
Martyn was the 'normal' one.
In this house? Their foster parents held zero fear for him. They could hurt him, they could make him bleed, make his skin black and blue, touch him in whatever manner they wanted, and what could be done about it? He was sixteen. The two of them were fully grown men.
His siblings usually escaped physically unscathed because, somewhere, deep down, concealed by arrogance and sociopathy, their 'caretakers' were afraid of Grian and Pearl.
Martyn knew his siblings, though. They weren't stronger than a regular human.
No one else had to know that, though.
He'd shoulder that secret if it guaranteed that the only people to ever offer solace to him didn't get beaten and torn apart by the same cruel, violent hands that had hurt him countless times.
Grian and Pearl were forced to harbour most of the verbal abuse. Martyn thought that the words thrown at them, contorted by rage and hatred were far worse than anything he'd ever had to endure.
His body would heal. The bruises would fade, the wounds would scab over. But nothing could soothe the punches thrown to the heart. No one could wrap them up in a bandage, nor ice them until the pain numbed.
He saw what it did to them. He saw the aftermaths, the shut-downs.
His siblings were so much stronger than they should have had to be.
He'd seen the way Pearl turned the hurt and anger into determination. He'd seen how, after each fight, each vile insult thrown her direction, the way she'd twist it into fuel to get the three of them out. Every fight was coal to the fire that burned within her kind, brave heart.
He'd seen the way the sadness and suffering imposed upon Grian had turned him cold. Martyn noticed how every word tossed carelessly at Grian made his heart freeze over more and more. The hurt was snow brewing within thunderclouds, and any time anyone got close, lightning would rain down upon them.
Where'd that leave Martyn? Alone, mostly. He didn't get any form of cover-up or determination. All it gave him was fear, concealed by solitude.
If no one got too close, no one would see the residing fear within his eyes. If nobody ever tried to touch him, nobody would see the manner in which he'd flinch away.
He didn't necessarily feel lonely. How could he if he never actually felt the need for companionship? He had his siblings, but they had their own lives and friends. Which was good. He was still a tie to this house, a knot of painful, agonising memories. They needed to exist outside of each other's bounds.
Martyn was content as long as he could bear the burden of the hurt and distress in place of Grian and Pearl as much as possible. That's all he needed. That's all he wanted.
He sat upon the white sheets of his twin-bed, the beige painted walls pressing in on him, as he opened his laptop.
He continued to make his way through the Hadestown soundtrack. He'd already began to feel connected to Eurydice's character when he first listened to 'any way the wind blows'. Martyn was growing closer and closer to drawing the conclusion that he could embody her pretty easily, slip into her role without much hassle. The connection only grew as he made his way through the tracks.
He knew she had a tragic ending.
He wondered just how much in common they truly had.
⭐︎ ☆ ~ 🌑 ~ 🎶 ~ ☆ ⭐︎
Ren was rendered speechless as he reached the final song in the musical. He sat on his bed, blanket draped across his shoulders, eyes wide.
When he'd auditioned, he'd known who Orpheus was. Now? Well, now, he doubted he'd ever manage to find a role he'd feel more connected to.
Ren couldn't wait for this production. He could not wait to stand upon the stage, bathed in all the meticulously placed spotlights, music rising and falling in his wake as he sang as Orpheus. He vowed to himself that he'd do Orpheus' character justice.
Aside from doing right by Orpheus' story, he also knew that this was a wonderful opportunity. Impulse had told him there would be universities scouting for possible candidates. Ren knew he needed to carry this lifelong passion into a career, and he'd gotten the perfect role. His tail twitched beside him as he pictured his life, a life bathed in poetry, light and music. He couldn't wait.
He'd been working so hard. He was graduating a year earlier than most of his classmates, as he'd pushed and decided to write all of his final exams later that year.
Then, life could truly begin. No more being hindered by things that didn't matter. He wanted to make a difference. Ren wanted to impact lives the way the actors he'd seen when he was younger did.
He'd be making a life for himself by being anyone other than him.