Chapter Text
When Taylor texts the "Phantom Burster Club!!" gc one day that Tyler's sick and she can't take care of him because she's got a mech club meeting, Aiden doesn't waste the opportunity to go piss him off. Twenty minutes later, he's at the twins' front door, with Taylor thanking him again as she rushes out to grab her bike. The lights were off in the whole apartment, so of course the blonde boy connects the dots. Tyler must have a headache, soooo he's gonna be more grumpy than usual, soooo it's gonna be easier to piss him off!
He starts by turning on all the lights, then opens the window to let the nice, cold air get in, then turns on the TV at full volume in the living room. He could've kept going like this for hours just to get Tyler to walk out of his room, probably wrapped in a blanket, and scowl him. To this, he'd play innocent and pretend he thought the cold air would help him, or that he couldn't see with the lights off, or that he was bored and wanted to watch some TV.
Tyler would get frustrated and try to kick him out, but he'd never leave. He'd stay there for hours, maybe tell Taylor to stay over at Ashlyn's house to have a girls night, make Tyler some disgusting food and act hurt when the Mexican would refuse to eat. He'd put on music he knows the other boy hates, use all the warm water in the shower, chew with his mouth open, crack all his fingers, scratch his nails against Tyler's door, walk and breathe loudly near him, just to piss him off.
He'd smirk and make smartass comments when Tyler rolled his eyes, something like "oh, am I bothering you Tyty?~", or reply "Your fever is so high you're acting hysterical!" when the tanned boy tried to kick him out.
He'd use all his knowledge about the idiot to make his day a living hell.
He's sick and dying from a headache?
Best news he's heard in years.
He sits down on the couch of the living room, watching whatever TV show was playing with a powerful smirk on his face. In a few minutes, Tyler would come in and shit would get interesting.
But Tyler never came out of his room.
Aiden was actually getting bored here, ain't no way he came all the way from the other side of the city and gave up on his Netflix marathon just to sulk around in the mold-smelling Hernandez house.
"Maybe if I pretend to vacuum the house he'll emerge from his stinky cave."
He gets up from the couch and rummages loudly in the closet under the stairs, which he had grown accustomed to when he had hidden in it for two hours just to scare the shit out of the Mexican boy. Turns out Tyler hits people when he's scared. And when Aiden had jumped out of the closet, he had earned a black eye.
Anyways, he finds the vacuum and plugs it in the kitchen, then turns it on and leaves it here. He wasn't actually going to clean the house for free, duh. Just turn it on and let the loud noise fill the kitchen.
A few minutes later, Tyler still wasn't out. He groans and unplugs the vacuum, then goes upstairs and plugs it back in, right next to the twins' room. He walks back to the living room and lays down on the floor, counting the seconds in his head.
"Goddamnit, what is this halfwit doing?? Is he actually dead or what?? I bet his ears are so hairy that it filters the noise. Ugh, I'm gonna go wake his ugly ass up."
So, he goes upstairs and barges into the twins' room, kicking the door open and stomping to the bed where Tyler was resting.
The bedroom was quite simple, with a bunk bed (he knew for a fact that Taylor fought for her life to sleep in the upper bed when the twins were 10), two desks, the first one covered in random metallic and plastic pieces, with pictures of the group and Pinterest-worthy drawings on the wall, while the other one was tidied, a few books, a baseball cap, a dead plant and an old family picture resting on it. The twins' mom and dad were smiling while hugging their kids, who were showing out their school bags. Probably their first day of elementary school, judging by their missing teeth and excited grins. They were 6 or 7, if he remembers correctly.
Aiden had figured that the Hernandez father had left at some point or that their parents were divorced, though he never really asked or cared. He had noticed that their father was a touchy subject, so he made sure to place "your dad" jokes all the time.
"Hey idiot, why did you tell Tay that I kissed Barron?? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" The Mexican yelled as he grabbed Aiden's collar with both hands.
Aiden giggled and shrugged, "I didn't do it, I don't know what you're talking about!~"
"Yeah sure like I'm gonna believe that! If you didn't, then who the hell spread that rumor??" He had tightened his grip on the blonde's shirt, now shaking him like an apple tree.
"Your dad—" He got cut off by a slap on his cheek. He grinned and shoved his hand in Tyler's face, his usual psycho-look now in his eyes.
"Aw, did I hit a nerve, Tyty?? Is it the daddy issues or the gay allegations??" He had kicked the brunette's stomach and gotten a punch in the jaw, which only made him laugh more.
"For the last time, you don't get to talk about my father you asshole!" Tyler tried to punch him again, but Ben was now holding him back, his strong arms wrapped around his shoulders.
"Whatcha gonna do, huh?? Go ahead, fight me, halfwit!" He steps closer, towering over the other teen, who was struggling against Ben's grip.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you—"
"Tyler! Stop, this is ridiculous!" Taylor had gotten between them and was scowling her brother, but he was too focused on glaring at the blonde to actually listen.
He feels a pair of brown eyes watching him as he crouches down to the sick boy's level with a grin.
"Ah, so you're awake! Guess who sacrificed himself to take care of your sorry ass!~"
"... just get out already..." Tyler mumbles, his voice raspy as he turns around to have his back facing the blonde.
"Awh, that's not a way to thank your knight in shining armor!"
"Stop yelling in my ears..." He shrinks under the blanket and tries to close his eyes and fall back asleep.
"Huh? What did you say?? I couldn't hear with all that mumbling!!"
"Aiden please... I don't know what Taylor told you but I'm not in the mood for your shit..." Did his voice just break? Aw, so he gets emotional when he's exhausted~
"Well she told me you were sick and that you begged for me to come and cuddle you!"
"No she didn't."
"Eh, who knows? It's nice of you to beg for my attention, tho! Come here, I'll give you a hug!"
"Aiden no!" He jolts up and tries to push the blonde away before he could come any closer, but it was pointless. The two scarred arms find their way around his shoulders, and as Aiden's body wraps itself around Tyler, the tanned boy's breath hitches. His pupils dilate, he feels his mouth going dry and his fingers dig into Aiden's back. If the blonde noticed, he didn't mention it, just pulling the sick boy closer in an attempt to piss him off.
"Aw, are you too shy to ask for a hug?~ Want a magic kiss too, sweet cheeks?~" He smirks and kisses Tyler's cheek, then licks the skin from his jaw to his eyebrow.
"What the hell— Ew! Let me go!" Tyler's arms were still tight around Aiden's back, which made no sense due to what he just said.
"You're the one who's not letting me go, Tyty!" He giggles, waiting for the other to try and push him away. As if he was gonna let him get away with that.
"Aiden I swear to God get away from me!" Hm, there was a hint of fear in his tone that Aiden loved. He was going to savor the moment when he'd snap.
"Or what, you gonna cry and go get your daddy?~" That would piss him off for sure.
But feeling two sharp fangs biting his shoulders wasn't what he had expected. He was usually the one biting people.
He gasps, his breathing becoming shallower and his vision blurring with tears from the sudden pain. What the hell is going on? Why does he feel so lightheaded and weak??
Tyler pushes him down on the bed and pins him there, his mouth still on his shoulder. Aiden manages to catch a glimpse of the blood staining his shirt, and the same blood all over Tyler's lips and.... vampire fangs. "What the fuck??", he thinks, trying to push the stronger teen off him.
He couldn't move. Could barely think clearly. He couldn't even feel his fingers as he tries to pull on Tyler's hair. His head was nodding off, his eyes were closing, he was going to die.
The room changed from being too cold to too hot, then switched again. He was sweating bullets, the mattress underneath him was wet with blood and he felt as if the bed sheets were about to swallow him down.
As if death was taunting him, he watches his life pass before his eyes.
His lonely childhood. The feeling of never being enough. His grades slowly dropping. The eyebags under his eyes growing. His hair turning from black to blonde overnight. The boy that broke his glasses when he ran away, at nine years old, and tried to make friends. His parents' surprised faces when he was brought back by the police. They hadn't noticed he was gone. When he learned about what happened to Ben. When he visited him in the hospital. When his house burnt down. When he finally had a friend. His red eyes staring at him in the mirror. The adrenaline rush when he jumped from the bridge. The guilt when he woke up. When he moved to Alto. Ashlyn's braids. Her annoyed face. The history project. The Banners' house. Savannah. The phantoms. The excitement when he pinned one against the wall. Logan's chest being slashed by the dark claws. Barron. Ben's anger. The jeep plan. The pain when he landed on the ground. Ashlyn being pulled on the roof. The air leaving his lungs when he watched her disappear. The gunshot. The jeep's keys. The flashlights blinding him. Ashlyn's smile. His self-hatred. His guilt. His pain. His tears. His medecine. His panic. His pain.
He was torn between fighting for his life and giving up. After all, who would miss him if he never came back?
Then, he loses consciousness. His head falls back on the bed, his arms slide down Tyler's back and hit the bloody blanket— is this what death feels like?
Tyler was driven by a feral, animal need to kill and hurt. The only thing he could focus on was the atrocious sound of Aiden's breath turning weaker, the mental images of tearing his chest apart and chewing on his heart, the bones breaking, the blood flowing from his cut throat, his dead eyes staring at the ceiling as he devoured his intestines and clawed at his face, the one he hated so much— he had been starving for too long. He was tired of animal blood. Tired of feeling weak. Tired of forcing himself to be a saint.
Thank God those images weren't real.
Tyler finally stops sucking away Aiden's blood, licking his shoulder one last time, and sits up. He stares at the blonde boy's unconscious form for a good minute, licking his lips over and over again, then comes back to his senses. Shit shit shit shit— he had killed a citizen!?
His eyes widen in horror and his face pales. He fights back a gag and pulls Aiden up, carrying him over to the ground. He lays him down there, where it was easier to work and see the wound clearly, then rushes out of the room and grabs bandages in the bathroom.
When he comes back, his dizziness making it difficult to walk, he kneels down and tears off the blonde's shirt, staring at his bleeding shoulder with a mixture of guilt and hunger. He shakes his blood thirst off and begins wrapping Aiden's shoulder in bandages, hoping that it will stop the bleeding.
When he stands up to look at the other boy's body, a tear leaves his eye and falls on the ground. He closes his eyes, not daring to witness the life leaving his body. Aiden didn't deserve this. He was more than just a meal. He had promised his father that he would never become like other vampires, who saw humans as snacks. And there he was. He had not only attacked a citizen, but also a friend. Tears keep falling down on the floor, but he couldn't bear to open his eyes. He lets out a quiet sob, his fists clenching. "You traitor bastard", he thinks.
He rushes over to the family picture he had spent hours looking at over the last few years, missing this time when they were all happy. He grips the frame with trembling hands, tears hitting the glass that seemed to shield the innocent smiles from the painful reality Tyler and his family were forced through, six years after a friend's mom hit the camera button.
His shoulders were trembling as he held back the sobs threatening to leave his lips. "I'm sorry, dad... Please forgive me... I wasn't thinking..." The words came out wrong. He knew he didn't deserve forgiveness. All those years of holding back, of making sure he didn't hurt anyone, of starving himself until he got sick, all those years of watching normal kids living normal childhoods, because his father's last words made him force himself to seek for the last shred of humanity he was told he had.
"Tyler, please... don't let yourself become a monster... you're strong... the strongest boy I know... don't let yourself hurt others for your own sake... promise me that you'll never kill a human..."
"I promise."
"If you believe in your ability to carry all that pain... you can prove them that they were wrong..."
"Them? Who's them? Dad?.."
...
"Tyler?.."