Chapter Text
Everyone here was friendly with eachother somewhat, either because they were friends before this hell or because everyone helped eachother out during rounds.
Everyone apart from Two Time.
Well the cultist helps them.
But they don’t bother to help them.
Which could be seen as unfair seemingly how Elliot had a distaste for 007n7 at first but the ex-hacker was still treated like he was apart of the team.
Two Time wasn’t.
They don’t know what they either did to anyone here. All they spoke of was of Spawn. But that couldn’t be it.
Spawn was never at fault.
So it was them themselves to blame.
Why did the others not talk to them?
Why did the others ignore them?
Were they too unlikeable?
Annoying?
Talkative?
Quiet?
Weird?
Did they disturb others boundaries?
Offend them?
Make them uncomfortable?
They didn’t know.
Because every time they enter the main cabin, those who were once speaking loudly suddenly went quiet. Didn’t even dare to look at them.
Not even a single glance.
And they’d always walk past to their designated seat in a booth across the cabin.
And then they’d hear the chatter again.
And they’d stare at the empty seat opposite them wondering what they did wrong.
Did they walk too loud?
Breathe too much?
Take too much space up?
Maybe they were just that unsettling to look at?
That’s happened many times before in the past.
They were an outcast.
Even in the commune.
They were a waste of space.
It didn’t need to be said.
It was just understood. Apart of the normal. The others socialise and live on with their lives while Two Time had to stay quiet and pretend they don’t exist.
And they were used to that by now.
Gotten accustomed to it straight away. Adapted. Fixed into a role they’ve always been in and will always be in.
And maybe it will always be like that?
Well it wasn’t.
Elliot was.. complicated to them. He’d sometimes join them in their booth, talk to them before Chance would unfortunately drag him away. And then Elliot wouldn’t speak to them for a day or two then return.
It was one of those days.
The familiar pizza guy sat down in front of them, smiling brightly as if he wasn’t ignoring them yesterday.
"Heya Two Time, how are you doing?"
They didn’t choose to respond. Silent. Staring at the wall beside them and not at the one person who will ever talk to them today. They didn’t dare to trust it anymore.
"Quiet day hm? That’s fine, I don’t mind."
Elliot hummed contentedly, glancing over at the other survivors in the main room, sat on the couches, sharing stories, warming up by the fireplace.
Something Two Time couldn’t do because they weren’t allowed to.
And seeing Elliot looking over at the others, they fully expected him to stand up and leave them to be alone.
But he didn’t.
Surprisingly.
He just placed something onto the table, what seemed to be a notebook and pen.
Opened it, flipped to a page and started writing.
Two Time glanced curiously at him, only a short look though. They weren’t allowed any longer as it was sin to even breach someone’s privacy and started to look down at their fingers tapping absentmindedly on the table.
Then Elliot pushed the notebook towards them, turning it around so they could read it.
They could only read a couple of words.
Only the ones that Amarah bothered to teach them because they were in the Spawn’s book.
##### taught them more words after they learnt they couldn’t read the letters he’d send them.
Instinctively they pressed their finger on the page, reading the words slowly trying to understand them.
— Hello Two Time if you don’t want to talk that’s okay we can write to eachother in this page instead ! :D
They looked back up at Elliot, eyes narrowing before slowly taking the pen from him and they were about to write back before the familiar face of Chance appeared.
They instantly shrunk back in their seat, hand dropping the pen as if it burned them and staring back at the wall.
"Elli! Cmon dude, we’re gonna play games you should join us!"
The gambler grinned, not once looking at Two Time. Just pretending they’re not there like usual..
"Heya Chance, I-"
Elliot paused, eyes swiping towards the cultist before looking back at the other.
"Actually- Can Timey join in too?"
And Chance’s seemingly ever lasting grin faded into a frown.
"I..err.."
Even if their sunglasses were covering up his eyes, and even if they weren’t even looking at them, Two Time could still sense the hesitance in them.
"I don’t think they wanna anyway, Elli."
Chance pressed, talking slowly.
"You didn’t even ask them.."
The healer glared at him, almost disappointed.
"Yeah yeah whatever let’s just go. It doesn’t matter, others don’t like em anyway."
"Chance-! You can’t just—"
"Cmon Elli! I’m bein’ honest. Nooby’s scared of em. The others—"
Two Time tuned out on the rest of it. They didn’t want to hear anymore.. They couldn’t bare it. The two of them were just arguing about them and acted like they weren’t there.. They didn’t want to be visible anymore. Could Elliot stop making the others see them?
Could they just stop.
"I don’t want to join."
They cut in, head turning towards the bickering two. Their eyes didn’t meet anyone’s, just the floor.
"Ya don’t?"
Chance’s eyes widened before getting out of the moment stupor and grinning again.
"Okay okay great, cya then, cmon Ells!"
The gambler grasped Elliot’s arm and dragged him away.
Two Time just sighed, the side of their head resting against the table. They sat back up after a second, realising the notebook was still here.
They could at least draw for a bit.. right?
Grabbing the previously abandoned pen, they pressed it onto the page of the notepad.
They started producing soft curved lines upon the paper, then thin lines.
The drawing eventually became a being. A person they don’t remember.
Two Time paused, glaring down at the page, pen halted at the face. Currently, just being a white space only marked with the lines of the page.
…What did his face look like again?..
Brows furrowing, they gripped onto the pen tighter, as if it was going to fall out of their grasp.
It wasnt.
Hesitantly, they started drawing eyes, then a nose, and a mouth. Curved. Smiling.
They sat back, analysing the face once more.
This wasn’t his face was it..?
In irritation they scribbled it out, the thick black ink ripping a hole in the page, leaving a unrecognisable
thing staring back at them.
This wasn’t #####.
This wasn’t their eyes.
This wasn’t their lips
This wasn’t their face
..
The only thought that occurred in their mind was,
Did I forget what my beloved looks like?
And that thought stuck to the roof of their skull.
They forgot what ##### looks like.
They forgot.
Two Time’s eyes widened. Breaths exhaled too quickly for them to stifle. Their lungs burned, their clothes pressed against their skin uncomfortably. Grief was trying to crawl out their throat and splatter into the table. And that was evident from how their empty stomach churned sickly, anxiety eating away at their only coherent thoughts in their brain.
Their nails dug into the pen tightly as if it was the only thing that could ground them. But it didn’t stop the soft sob exiting their mouth. And as quickly as the sound was made, it stopped. They dropped the pen, curling up into a ball. Legs pressed against their chest as they curled up against the booth’s cushioning, a pathetic attempt of hiding away from the world outside their racing head.
Their free hands reached up to grasp and tug at their messy unkempt hair, in a desperate aim to ground themself.
Quiet whimpers and cries were pressed against their knees, as they tried their hardest to not disturb the others with their issues.
After a few long minutes that felt like hours, someone came over to them.
Someone that they wished was Elliot.
Someone that they wished would give them undeserved kindness.
But it was someone who wasn’t any of those.
"Dude.. Really?"
The familiar huff from Chance echoed in their ears. And they didn’t dare to look up.
"Hellooooo? Earth to weird-Cultist??"
Two Time let out a grumble at the prod against their side.
"okay.. Whatever then, i was gonna ask ya if you wanted to join or anythin but I guess if ya gonna be rude then I’m not gonna bother!"
"Chance where did you go?"
Elliot called, walking over to them.
"I was gonna ask twoie if they wanna join again but they’re bein mean soooo…"
Elliot blinked, before looking at Two Time curled up into a ball in the corner of the booth. His eyes furrowed before sighing,
"Chance, just leave them be.."
"Anddd why should I? They’re not bothered or anythin? They’re jus bein rudeee!"
"Chance just leave them be for telamon’s sake…"
Two Time grasped at their ears in attempt to block out the argument.
Their tail curled around their ankle, pressing into their skin awkwardly.
Then a hand touched their back, and instantly they flinched back, knocking their head against the wall. The hand attempted to touch them again, and they thrashed out. Leaping at the person and pinning them to the cabin floor, hands grasped around their neck, Two Time panted irritably.
Before their eyes widened as their vision cleared to see Elliot underneath them, struggling to breathe, scratching at their arms, eyes wide, desperate..
They paused, releasing their grip just the tiniest bit, only for who they assumed was Chance to push them away from the healer.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING??"
Chance yelled at them, standing in front of Elliot and glaring down at Two Time on the floor.
The others came into the room at the commotion.
Eyes staring down at them, judging.
And they didn’t dare to get up.
They could feel the looks burning into their back.
"C-Chance it’s fine.. don’t worry about it.."
A voice murmured.
Unrecognisable noises swarmed their ears as they continued to stare down at the floorboards.
Eventually voices melted into unidentifiable sounds, static hummed in their ears, as their vision darkened for a few seconds before someone forced them up onto their trembling legs..
"I-.."
They started, looking up at the other survivors’ expressions.
They stepped back, looking down at the floor.
Oh spawn..
Someone was talking but they couldn’t hear anything. Sound no longer reached their ears, the shapes of the survivors shifted and merged unpredictably. Eventually they just pushed past them all and ran outside towards their lone living cabin.
And slammed the door shut.
Letting the outside world disappear as their own thoughts swallowed them whole.