Chapter Text
The group stared at Jasmine in stunned silence.
What did Jasmine mean by that? Tyler wondered, chewing on his cheek. Is that why we’ve been having more of those impulses lately?
Everyone else in the group seemed to be wondering the same thing. “Do you know how long we have?” Mike asked, his hands fidgeting with his shirt slightly. This was the first time Tyler had ever seen him nervous, it scared the shit out of him.
“I don’t know or care,” Jasmine said, leaning back. “I’m done answering questions, and I don’t know about you but I feel like taking a nap.”
And just like that Jasmine rolled on her side and laid her head on the ground.
“We’re not going to get anything else out of her,” Mike sighed, shaking his head. “Well we still have two more people to question.”
“You talking about me?” The man, who Mike said name was Charlie said, pointing at himself. “‘Cause thanks for getting me out and all, but I want no help with this damn thing. It sounds like a bunch of psycho-talk to me.”
“You said earlier that you knew Jasmine?” Taylor asked, head cocked. “How did that happen?”
“Oh she’s my crazy ex,” Charlie said, shaking his head. “We used to work together but then she and her brother started believing in this damn cult shit and then when I tried to end it and get her help she put me in a cell.”
“What?” Tyler asked, his voice cracking a little.
“You know that kinda tracks with her,” Logan said, shrugging. “She did try to sacrifice some kids on a school trip.”
“God you guys believe this bull too?” Charlie said, shaking his head. “Did I get saved by more psychos?”
“You know we can hear you right?” Ashlyn asked, her tone flat, like she was already tired of him.
“Yeah, yeah whatever,” Charlie said, rolling his eyes. “I’m going to go hitchhiking bye.” And with that Charlie stood up and walked to the road. Tyler hoped that would be the last time they ever saw him, he was kind of annoying.
“Well that was interesting,” Taylor said, standing up. “Can we talk to Mr. Thomas now. We don’t have that much time before we go to the phantom realm.”
All eyes turned to Mr. Thomas who sat by Emma, looking nervous.
Suddenly a barrage of questions began coming out of everyone’s mouths. “I thought you were Maverick?”
“Are you Ben’s English teacher?”
“How do we know you’re not Maverick in disguise?”
“Were you ever our history teacher?”
“Why were you in that cell?”
“Is it true you’re gay?”
Tyler jerked his head to the van. Inside was Aiden lying on his back, his head turned to the group. His eyes looked glassy and the way Aiden gritted his teeth it was clear he was in pain, but he had still managed to make a joke. Despite it all.
“Umm, can we ask it all one at a time,” Mr. Thomas said, looking around nervously.
“Okay,” Mike said, standing up in front of him. “Please explain why you were in a cell, and how you’re not Maverick.”
“We still don’t know that,” Daniel yelled, from the van, sitting next to Aiden.
“Yeah, let’s pull off his wig,” Aiden yelled. Although he sounded like he was trying to use his normal energy when speaking Tyler knew his voice was strained. Aiden was still weak, even if he didn’t want to show it.
Mike gently walked up to Mr. Thomas and pulled at his hair. Nothing came up. “Did you dye your hair?”
“No, I’m not Maverick,” Mr. Thomas said, slightly disgruntled. “I don’t know what happened. One day I was teaching then a bunch of men came and took me captive. They threw me in that cell and I was there for several weeks, I only got out when Mike and Emma saved me.”
The teenagers shared looks. Could they trust him? Tyler thought back to the little time he had spent in Mr. Thomas’s class awake, he seemed like their teacher.
“So do you know anything about the phantom realm?” Ashlyn asked hesitantly.
“Not really,” Mr. Thomas said, shaking his head. “But I do believe you about it. The way you kids have been acting after that class trip to Savanna proves it.”
“See Mr. Thomas cares,” Aiden said, waving his finger at Ashlyn. “Our ship can still stand.”
“No,” Ashlyn said, glaring at Aiden. “We’re not going to discuss Maverick X Mr. Thomas while you are on a deathbed.”
“What?” Tyler spluttered. When had they had the time to come up with that ship? Which made no sense in the first place.
“To cheer me up Ashlyn and I started writing real person fanfiction. Best best-friend.”
“We have two minutes left,” Logan said, looking at his watch. “Any last words for Mr. Thomas?”
“Nah we’re good,” Mike said, nodding his head. He walked over to Emma and sat down next to her, speaking quietly to her. The group began to dissolve into small units. Tyler began walking over to his mom but Taylor shot him a look.
I don’t want to do it right now, he tried to convey in another look. Taylor did not understand, the limits of twins.
So Tyler begrudgingly walked over to the van where Ashlyn and Ben were sitting next to Aiden.
Ashlyn and Ben shared a look before going off to hang out with Taylor and Logan. Some friends. Couldn't even be there while he gave his big epic apology.
Actually as Tyler began to clear his throat he decided it was better that they weren’t there, this was a little embarrassing.
“Hey,” Tyler said, sitting next to Aiden who was laying down on his side now.
“You here to insult me more?” Aiden asked, rolling his eyes.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” Tyler grumbled, crossing his arms. Why did Aiden have to make this so hard?
“You are?” Aiden asked, a slight bit of hope in his voice.
“Yeah, I didn’t mean to call you a psycho, and I didn’t mean what I said,” Tyler said, looking away from Aiden.
“Then why did you say it?” Aiden asked, his voice soft.
“Like hell I know,” Tyler said, throwing his hands in the air. “I’m a dumb teenage boy who didn’t realize I was gay till a week ago.”
“Understandable,” Aiden said, nodding his head. “So what do we do now that you’re not a total jerk.”
Tyler thumped him over the head.
“What was that for?” Aiden asked, fake crying.
“For putting yourself in danger to protect me from an infected. Why would you even do that?”
“To protect you,” Aiden said, looking up at Tyler with bright shiny eyes.
Tyler froze. No one had ever done that for him before. They all expected him to be the stronger older brother, the man of the house. Not Tyler the weak person.
“I don’t need you to protect me,” Tyler said, his voice small. “And you’re not protecting me if you get yourself hurt.”
Aiden’s eyes went wide. “I just don’t want to see you hurt like that,” Aiden said, weakly reaching his hand out to hold Tyler’s.
Tyler squeezed Aiden’s hand gently. “I don’t want to see you hurt either.”
“Well I guess we’re just going to have to protect each other,” Aiden said with a wet laugh.
Now that Tyler thought about it Aiden had been protecting him. Through it all. He had comforted Tyler, and gone to the door first when the phantom was there, and most importantly he was there for Tyler. When Tyler just wanted to talk, or just wanted to be silent Aiden was there. It never felt like he was doing anything for someone else when he was with Aiden.
“We’re fools,” Tyler said, leaning forward, closer to Aiden’s face.
“Was I right earlier when I heard you didn’t mean what you said?” Aiden asked with a sly grin on his face.
Tyler rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah I have a crush on Aiden Clark.”
Aiden grinned and broke the distance between them.
Taylor sat next to Ashlyn. Her hair was back in its short bob since they were in the phantom realm. Not that Taylor minded, she liked Ashlyn’s hair both ways.
They sat with their backs against a tree facing the fire. Taylor had her arm wrapped around Ashlyn’s shoulder, while Ashlyn rested her head on Taylor’s.
This was their first moment alone since they had interrogated Jasmine. And although it was twenty minutes later the thoughts still weighed heavily on her.
“What are we going to do?” Taylor asked, looking up at the red sky. How were they expected to stay human? If the only way was to kill the phantoms, but when Taylor did that it only made her feel less human, more animalistic.
“I know what we’re going to do,” Ashlyn said with a small smile. “We’re going to make a base for us. To stay safe. We have our parents now, we can figure something out where we have a phantom and cult proof base.”
Taylor smiled. “I like that. But what if that doesn’t help, we could still become phantoms.”
Ashlyn stared forwards for a second, thinking. “Then we’re going to go find that goddamn demon king. We’ll figure out how to stop him, and maybe we can go back to our normal lives if that’s what you want.”
Taylor thought about that for a moment. When was the last time she had done math homework? Or had read a book? Those things seemed so mundane compared to her stealing cars and jumping onto trains.
“I think we’re a little too different to go back to an ordinary life,” Taylor said, grinning. “I mean what would we tell our teachers, ‘Oh yeah we had to take a gap year because my brother and our friends got kidnapped and we went to save them.’”
Ashlyn smiled, looking up at Taylor’s face. “Yeah I guess, but I’m serious about the Demon king thing. If this gets too bad we can do it.”
“Ashlyn Banner, are you really suggesting six queer teens and their parents can kill a demon king?”
Ashlyn laughed. “Hey, we have my parents who are former military and Logan’s grandparents are in the mob, we can do it.”
“I’d follow you to hell and back you know that Ashlyn?”
Ashlyn snuggled closer to Taylor. “And I would too.”
They enjoyed that one moment of peace for a while. It might be their last, they never knew anymore. So they would enjoy it. Together.