#yes that is very impressive jason knows 101 ways to murder a man with a paper clip hahahahah hal he l p m e | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

adiseaselikeyouspreads · 7 years

Text

Sidney’s got a new boyfriend. At first that’s just another whispered rumor, thrown in among all the ‘Voorhees is a fame-hungry liar who posts online so he’ll have people attack him for attention’ and ‘Voorhees is a major queer who forced Dmitri into making out with him’ bullshit he’s forced to overhear, a rumor that makes a lump grow in his throat. But then he sees her with him walking into school. Christian Lyons with his arm around Sidney’s waist.

His heart sinks into his stomach. He’d almost forgotten how much losing Sidney hurt, caught up in the excitement about Dmitri and Regan thinking he’s worthy of any attention at all.

And the excitement of the party, but he doesn’t want to dwell on that too long. He’s still unsure how much of that night was his drunken imagination, how many dances he really had, if Dmitri Morozova actually shoved his tongue down -

It really wasn’t important.

He wonders, briefly, if Sidney is doing this to emphasise she no longer cares about him. After all, it hasn’t been that long since the incident at the national park. Maybe she’s showing off her capability to move on.

(And to actually get people to like her, but that’s a different issue entirely.)

Sidney doesn’t acknowledge him when she and Christian walk by, hips pressed together, his hand in her front pocket.

Eugh. He bets they make out in the halls, too.

Okay, that was the wrong thing to think. The images of Sidney being touched by someone else make him feel...weird. Not as bad as he thought he would feel, but - not exactly jealous, but some sort of stomach-flippy anxious. Maybe envy is the right word. He wishes he had someone who would still touch him at all.

Then his mind floats back to Dmitri and Regan, and he groans.

He couldn’t exactly deny what had happened, but he could explain it. Dmitri was near-obsessed with entertaining the crowd, and sure, he hadn’t given anyone else the same treatment, but he hadn’t landed on many other people, either. And anyway, what could be more amusing than embarrassing the geeky kid? But then there was Regan, infinitely harder to read...

None of this changed the fact that Sidney had moved on.

It’s dumb, but he wishes she had talked to him. Just some sort of heads up. Hey, by the way, I’ve got a new guy I’m seeing and he’s totally cooler than you. See you Monday. As if. They hadn’t as much as exchanged a single glance since they’d both gotten back to school. Not a text, nor a snapchat, nor even a liked tweet. Sidney is probably doing what everyone else is doing and wishing he didn’t exist and cause trouble for the entire goddamn world.

Fuck, he’s not ready to face the day anymore.

He goes through his classes in a daze, barely even registering anything he writes down or is told. Third period is a rare blip on his internal radar, Mr. Beltrami’s custom “Mr. Joon-ho, good morning” earning an actual nod back from Jason. It’s the most he’s given anyone all day.

He’s so distracted that he barely even notices when Dmitri clatters loudly into the seat next to him, melodramatic sigh barely audible over the bell for passing period. Jason notices Dmitri making hand-talky motions, mocking Mr. Beltrami’s custom opening instructions, but doesn’t really register that he’s supposed to laugh until it’s over and Dmitri says, “Oh, man. Did I strike one of your Bellfarming loving nerves?”

“What?” Jason replies, refocusing his eyes on Dmitri’s face.

“I mean, you don’t even crack a smile. Gawsh.” Dmitri pulls a dramatic face, acquiring many chins in the process. “I didn’t do something, did I?”

“No,” Jason says, honestly. “I mean, I’m just…”

“Totally whacked out, bro. Did you light up before class or something?” Dmitri laughs, sharp giggles that break through the casual conversation of the rest of the students.

Jason shakes his head, curling and uncurling his fingers. He wonders if Dmitri would understand if he said my ex is moving on and I’m not ready to do the same yet as if anyone would even look at me like that because every girl thinks I’m a murder magnet and no one wants to be killer bait so to answer your question no I am not high and yes I do very much want to cry right now.

He shakes his head again, more emphatically this time.

Dmitri squints at him, nods thoughtfully. “Okay, I get it. Not feelin’ it today, whatever. You had a big weekend, no big deal. Everyone needs time to recover from shit like that.” Dmitri turns back to his computer, seemingly satisfied to let Jason be for now.

And then his mind is back on the party, blending with thoughts of Sidney, wondering if she would’ve been jealous if she’d seen the way he’d played spin the bottle, if she’d be impressed by his beer pong skills. Maybe if she had seen him socialising with other human beings who weren’t reporters as if he wasn’t a freak, she’d realise that maybe the thing they’d had going was worth some sort of shot.

What is he saying? He hasn’t even tried to reach out.

Pathetic.

He should be happy for her. That she’s getting to move on and return to a relatively normal high school experience, and not almost dying every week. Sure, weathering this thing alone just kind of really sucks. But that doesn’t mean he should wish it on her, too.

The day’s only half over and he already wishes he could go to bed and never worry about getting up.

When the bell rings, he very slowly packs up to leave. Before he knows it, he’s the only kid left in the classroom, and he’s staring at his blank computer screen.

Mr. Beltrami startles him by drumming his fingers on the desk.

Jason looks up quickly, and then his eyes dart to the door, then to the clock. How long has he been spacing out?

“I hear Ms. Cunningham has a new boyfriend,” Beltrami says, clearly lacking any kind of tact or sympathy. Jason winces. Great. Yes, that’s exactly what he wants to talk about right now.

He doesn’t respond, which is the first time he’s really done anything even mildly disrespectful to Mr. Beltrami. Instead he puts his USB into his bag.

“That must be hard to deal with,” he presses, pushing his palm flat against the desk, now, leaning his hip against it. Jason looks down at his shoes.

“Yeah. I mean, it came as a surprise. We didn’t break up long ago. But...” He shrugs. There’s nothing he can do about it.

“She doesn’t know what she’s missing out on.” Beltrami states, oddly matter-of-fact.

Jason clears his throat uncomfortably. Okay? That’s weird. “I- I’m pretty sure she does. I mean. I’m all over the news, still.” He stands up and pushes in his chair, walking towards the door.

“You’re a great kid, Jason,” Beltrami says as he follows.

“T-thanks?” He doesn’t feel particularly keen on accepting that compliment. On his way out, he bumps the door stop out of place, making Beltrami have to stop to catch the door. Maybe on purpose. Just maybe.

Lunch is lonely. Dmitri and Regan are sitting with their cool friends today. Jason can’t tell if that’s because Dmitri is respecting that he’s in a bad place or if he finally shattered the illusion and Dmitri’s decided he’s not cool or fun or interesting. He wouldn’t be wrong.

Jason listens to a cheer up playlist and, unsurprisingly, fails to cheer up. So he tosses out the trash from his lunch and decides to go grab his books, early. Maybe he can sit outside his next class for the rest of lunch. It won’t be long until A lunch ends anyway.

He goes to his locker and stares blankly at the slightly rusted screws on the back surface, wondering just what they’re screwed into because it’s better than wondering about anything else right now.

Shaking off that mental fog, he reaches for one of his textbooks, only to have his locker door slammed shut. He pulls his hand back before it can get caught and yelps, bracing for a stab wound almost on instinct.

One doesn’t come. Instead he just hears someone impatiently clearing their throat.

Peeking an eye open, he sees that it’s Christian, leaning up against the locker, partially blocking him off. Jason tries to peer over his shoulder to see if there’s anyone down the hall. Being cornered and alone hasn’t exactly panned out well for him, recently.

“You’re Sidney’s ex boyfriend, right?” He asks, a crooked smirk quirking his lips. The smile doesn’t reach his eyes.

“I, uh, y- Hi?” Jason offers. Christian looks him over, like he’s appraising him, and Jason squares his shoulders, like he’s got something to prove.

“Don’t know what she saw in you,” he comments neutrally, like that’s a normal and totally polite thing to say.

“Is… this your first time introducing yourself to someone?” Jason asks, despite his better judgement.

That earns him a quick flicker of a glare. Jason holds his backpack strap like a lifeline.

“I understand you and Sidney left off pretty suddenly.”

Understatement, Jason thinks.

“So?” He asks, instead of that.

“So you might still have feelings for her. I wanted to tell you to get over them.”

“Uh?”

“She’s mine now, so don’t even think about her.”

“Uh.” He creases his brow and feels anger bubble in his chest a little. “Did Sidney send you to talk to me?”

“No. She doesn’t want me anywhere near you. I took things into my own hands.”

“You probably shouldn’t be doing things behind her back. That’s, like, relationship 101.”

The collar of his shirt gets grabbed.

“You implying I don’t know how to treat my girlfriend?”

“L...lil’ bit?”

Christian laughs, quiet, but it’s harsh on Jason’s ears anyway. Something about the way he smiles is unsettling, the way it’s more like he’s baring his teeth than anything else. “As if you would know. She dropped you so fast that you might as well have been skydiving. She was probably waiting the entire time just to dump you, waiting for some excuse so she could feel less guilty about leaving someone so pitiful alone.” Christian shoves Jason backwards so his head bangs against the locker, and he curses under his breath. That makes Christian smile again.

With some hesitation, Jason manages “I don’t think-”

“It doesn’t matter what you think,” Christian interrupts, fist pressed against Jason’s collarbone, uncomfortable proximity. “Just stay away from Sidney and out of my line of sight. Because you can be damn well certain if I even suspect your ass is looking in the direction of my girl, you’ll see me when I’m really pissed.”

“And I wouldn’t like you when you’re angry, right?” Jason says, instantly cringing at himself when Christian’s eyes go from cold to sub-arctic.

Christian scoffs and drops Jason’s collar. He wipes his knuckles off on his shirt like Jason is diseased.

“Yeah. Let’s say that.”

The bell rings, and Christian looks up to the source of the sound, indifferent. “Guess I’ll see you later, Voorhees. Try not to get yourself killed this week.”

Fuck you too, Jason thinks as he watches Christian’s back retreating, dorky-ass faux leather jacket blending into the slowly growing crowd of people flowing in from lunch. Jason curses under his breath as he opens his locker to gather his things again, half expecting some other asshole to shove him into it. But his biohazard aura is back in effect, and everyone gives him space.

He isn’t even upset about Sidney moving on anymore. He’s annoyed that she’d moved on to someone like that.

Jason spends the rest of the day mulling over what Sidney saw in this guy. He gets in trouble multiple times in English for zoning out and most of math is spent jotting down ideas for what the appeal was.

Pros:

Nice hair

Good jawline

Pretty eyes if you like murder

His fashion sense is ok i guess but he needs better pleather

Cons:

Really rude (maybe he’s nice to her?)

Possessive (like all hell)

Edgy

Violent (? or is it just me?)

Jealous (even though Sid and I haven’t talked in weeks and he should know that)

REALLY rude

Like honestly what the fuck

whatever

He thinks it’s pretty comprehensive.

When he gets home, he heads to his room without even saying hello to his parents and flops onto his bed.

A boyfriend.

Christian Lyons.

Goddamnit.

Burying his face in his pillow, he doesn’t even consider trying to do the homework that is rapidly piling up on his desk, doesn’t even begin to entertain the thought of editing his script, or even just getting up and watching some of his favourite movies. He just wants to lie here, face down, letting his breath heat his face and suffocating slowly.

He doesn’t know how long he’s been lying there when there’s a rhythmic taptaptap from the direction of his window.

It snaps him out of his stupor, making him leap up and whip his head around, searching the room for threats. Was it another killer? Someone coming to his home, this time? He hadn’t heard the window open, but could he have just missed it? Surely he would’ve noticed, would’ve been able to do something about it.

He scans his room one more time when the second taptaptap makes his head whip around to the window.

Holy fuck.

Jason walks over and opens the window, letting a bored looking Dmitri poke his head in, hands pressed flat against the windowsill.

“Dude, this tree is like right next to your window. You should, like, get that fixed.” He starts trying to push his way inside, but Jason gently puts a hand on his shoulder (holy fuck he’s touching Dmitri Morozova instead of the other way around, this feels wrong, this shouldn’t be happening, why is Dmitri in his window) to stop him.

“What are you doing here? My parents -”

“What? Voorhees, you’re afraid of your parents? Aw. Every day you’re cuter. I’m here because you seemed stressed as all hell today and I think I have the perfect solution. Now let me inside so I can show you, you dingus.”

“Dmitri,” Jason says, keeping his voice measured even though he feels like he has the right to yell, “you have to realise how trying to sneak into my house looks after three murder attempts.”

Dmitri goes huh, smooths out his hair.

“Guess I didn’t think about that. Well, it’s no biggie. You can frisk me. No murder weapons on this boy.” He pats his chest and sides down with one hand to emphasise this point.

“I’ll...pass on that, thanks.”

“Seriously? I mean, the offer is always open for y-”

“Pleasejustgetinhere,” Jason says hurriedly, backing away from the window. Dmitri rolls his eyes as if Jason is being the ridiculous one and climbs through the window, surprisingly agile despite not being an athlete. Then again, theatre kids had to do some weird shit.

“Ooh, cute room,” Dmitri says, looking around admiringly. “Look at all these posters! Oh, wow, Voorhees, these are some genuine vintages! How’d you get these?”

“You...care about this stuff?” Jason asks, scratching the back of his neck nervously as Dmitri grins at him.

“Yeah! I mean, Regan mentioned it, but I like horror movies too. I mean, not as much as you - I don’t know if that’s even possible - but a lot, anyways.” He gives Jason a smug look, as if he’s incredibly proud of this fact. “It’s pretty interesting, too, to see how the cases in the movies play out versus the ones in real life, you know? But enough of that!”

Dmitri does a little hand flourish before shoving his hand into his jacket and pulling out a copy of Whispering Corridors, which Jason hadn’t been able to find anywhere except on Amazon, but his mother hadn’t let him get it unless it was with his own money, which he had approximately none of.

“You mentioned not being able to get this movie,” Dmitri says, smug look turning smugger by the second, “so I thought my endless cash and I could help you out. Yeah. We put the fun in funds.”

“Oh my God,” Jason breathes, taking the movie from Dmitri reverentially. “Dmitri, I...Seriously, thank you so much, I…”

“Shhhh.” Dmitri presses a finger to Jason’s lips. “No words now. Just set up this sweet-ass movie and we can watch it together. Oh, by the way, even though I watch a lot of horror movies, I’m like, ridiculously jumpy. So if we’re going to watch this you’re going to have to accept me choking the blood out of your arms.”

Jason nods, too amazed to consider the ramifications of his decision, and grabs his laptop off his desk. He puts the movie in and settles down on his bed. Dmitri plops next to him and leans against him ever-so-slightly.

Dmitri hadn’t been kidding when he said he was jumpy. The first time a scare chord strums, his hands fly to Jason’s arm and his body presses up against Jason in ways that are more than a little awkward. Dmitri even goes so far as to lean his head on Jason’s shoulder during a calm moment. Jason tries to focus on the movie, and usually succeeds, until something happens again and Dmitri does his little horrified gasp and grips Jason’s nonexistent biceps as hard as he can.

It turns out that’s pretty hard. Jason might not have any muscle, but he’d been right about Dmitri having at least a few.

Maybe even more than he’d expected. Seriously, he’s probably going to bruise.

When the movie ends, Dmitri lets out a shaky exhale and laughs nervously.

“Wow. That was good, but…”

“You were pretty scared,” Jason laughs back, managing not to stutter for once.

Dmitri nods, not letting go of his grip on Jason’s arm. “That’s one way to put it. Goddamn. Next time I pick the movie!”

Jason doesn’t feel like pointing out that he didn’t exactly invite Dmitri over here and just nods.

Dmitri sighs and rests his head against Jason’s shoulder again.

“Uh...Dmitri, are…” Jason swallows hard, moves his shoulder up a little, which displaces Dmitri ever so slightly. Dmitri looks up at him, eyes half-lidded, expression inquisitive. It makes Jason’s heart do a weird hopscotch routine, for whatever reason. “Are you still scared, or…?”

Dmitri’s eyes flicker down at where he’s still got his hands around Jason’s upper arm, and he makes a little noise of comprehension. “Ah...Yeah, a little. It was pretty freaky.”

“Right,” Jason agrees, throat dry when Dmitri looks at him again.

“I bet your short is going to be as good as that!” Dmitri enthuses, squeezing Jason’s arm again and giving a toothy smile. “Oh, man, I’m so excited. I bet Sellgummy is going to love it, too.” Then his expression falls and he clenches his jaw. “Unlike mine. That guy has it out for me, I swear.”

“Well...I mean...I don’t think teachers, really, actually, hate their students...Maybe he just thinks you could do better.” As Jason says that, Dmitri gives him an annoyed glare, and Jason quickly adds, “I mean obviously, I - I think your pieces are amazing. You’re amazing, Dmitri, both in front of and behind the camera, you’re…”

Dmitri mulls that over for a few seconds before nodding. A little smile plays over his lips. “You’re way too nice to me, Jason. Such a nice change of pace…”

Jason then notices how close their faces are. So close that Dmitri’s breath tickles his skin. He opens his mouth to say something, to point out that Dmitri should probably go because it’s getting late and the curfew will be in effect soon, to ask if he can read Dmitri’s script later, anything. Nothing comes out except a nervous little ‘uh’, and Dmitri seems to tilt his head slightly and press against Jason harder like he’s getting closer and Jesus Christ what the-

“Jason?” There’s a knock on the door as his mother calls his name. “You didn’t come down for dinner, so I thought I’d bring it to you. It’s your favourite, spaghetti - lots of oregano!”

“Shit,” Jason hisses, “Be right there, mom! I’m...I’m not decent!” Then he slams his laptop shut and jerks away from Dmitri, who makes an offended noise.

“You need to hide,” Jason whispers, urgent, as he puts his laptop back on his desk.

“Where?” Dmitri whispers back, awfully blasé about the entire situation, as if he’s been in it a million times before. Which, now that Jason thinks about it, is incredibly likely.

“Here,” Jason instructs quietly, opening his closet door and gesturing frantically inside. Dmitri rolls his eyes again, which he only seems to do when Jason is being reasonable, and walks inside, pushing aside coats and shirts to make space. Before Jason shuts the door, Dmitri stage whispers, “Oh, wow! This shirt is cute! Voorhees, where’d you-” but Jason cuts him off by closing the closet and knowing instantly he’s going to pay for it as soon as he can let Dmitri out.

He walks to his bedroom door and opens it. His mother is waiting patiently, even though she looks a little baffled, and holding a plate of noodles. Jason smiles politely as he takes it from her, muttering “thanks so much” as he does, but she doesn’t leave as soon as her mission is complete.

Of course not. Things would be too easy that way.

Instead, she says “Jason, honey, is your window open?” as she peers around Jason to get a look at his room.

“Uh.” Shit. “Yeah, I...Needed fresh air.”

“Close that, honey. Bugs will get in.”

“Or worse,” Jason mutters. His mother looks at him sharply.

“You can’t have that attitude, honey. All of this will pass.” But then she straightens out her shirt uneasily and adds, “But, if you’re worried, your father and I have been discussing the possibility of you staying home for college.”

He can’t believe what he’s hearing. “What? No, I...Mom, I’m a junior. It barely matters until next year anyway.”

“I know, I know. But preparing for these things is always wise.” She puts a hand on his shoulder, giving Jason a look that borders on pitying. “Especially with the rise of on-campus murders, and your...status.”

You can say it, mom. I’m sharkbait, Jason thinks, but the look on her face makes him reconsider.

“I’m thinking about it,” he assures her.

“Good. We just want what is best for you. To make sure that you are in an alright place and safe as you can be before you are far away from us.”

“I… If worst comes to worst, I’ll just go to community college for a year or something.” He really hates the idea of it. His parents are nice enough, most of the time, but he feels smothered. And after everything, he really would rather not stay in this town for longer than necessary.

“Sounds like a plan. Now eat up, before it gets cold, habibi.” She kisses the top of his head and he sighs. Closing the door behind her is a great relief and he slumps against it for a second.

Then he hears a somewhat agitated, “Can I come out now?” from inside the closet.

“Shit,” Jason murmurs to himself as he sets his plate down on his desk and frees Dmitri. “Sorry about that.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Dmitri says, despite still seeming a little put off, now. “It gave me a chance to come out of the closet,” he laughs, raising his hands over his head and all but twirling around Jason. Jason laughs, a little, more forced than anything.

“My mom can be a little-”

“She sounded nice!” Dmitri interjects, headed for the window. “But I should go now. Getting late and I need my beauty sleep.” He grins, wide, half climbing out when he pauses. “Oh, and keep the DVD! You can think of me when you watch it!” Another lightning quick wink before he’s scaling down the tree outside the window.

Friday comes and goes, much less eventful. He sees Sidney and Christian in the hallway a few times and does his best not to tear himself up over it. It doesn’t go great. At least no one else seems as intent on torturing him by talking about it when he’s around.

Saturday morning, his mom and dad both head to work and Jason spends the majority of the afternoon sitting on the couch with his laptop, trying to find the will to work on his script. That doesn’t go so great, either. His brain seems intent on sticking him in a creative slump.

After dinner, which consists of a handful of chips, he gives up and decides to watch television.

And has to skip over a million murder programs before deciding on some cheesy ghost show. It’s all goofy and fake, but he can use a little goofy and fake. He treats himself to a couple cheap boxed brownies and lets himself be whisked away to ghostland.

A good hour into the marathon, this Overreacting Camera Trio is in a new location when Jason starts to hear murmured conversation. He figures it’s some gimmick. They’ll notice, or play back the recording and freak out any second now. Bring out the spirit box!

Except, they don’t. The moment passes and they move on to some other room, but the talking’s still happening.

Oh.

Jason mutes the T.V.

Yep, that’s definitely voices coming from upstairs. Two of them. He swallows and stands, trying not to make any noise. They sound like they might be arguing. He hears some shuffling and the upper level creaks, a door opens.

If he called the cops, would they even come? Would they wait, to give the killer a chance?

Maybe it’s just Dmitri again. But he has his phone number. And who would the second person be?

Either way, he’s grabbing a knife from the kitchen. He holds the handle in his hand, then slowly makes for the front door.

Footsteps from the stairway, between the kitchen and the door, start down, fast. Jason curses under his breath and dives back into the kitchen, behind the counter.

He hears whoever it is jump the last flight and grunt as they land, hard.

“I know you’re here, Voorhees,” comes Christian’s voice. “I heard your stupid show.”

Another set of footsteps comes down the stairs, slower.

“Christian, let’s just go,” Sidney says, sounding nervous. “You probably scared him already. Maybe he left.”

“I didn’t hear any doors open.” Jason hears Christian pull open the shoe closet as he talks. “He’s just hiding.”

“We- we should just go. Come on.”

“Come on out, Jason. I just wanna talk.”

Okay. Okay, so his ex-girlfriend and her new, aggressive boyfriend broke into his house.

He stays tucked behind the counter, mind racing. What could they want? Sidney wants to go. She didn’t want to come here. Christian’s idea. Did he just want to threaten him more?

He takes a slow, deep breath, and thinks. Did he do anything to prompt this? Was it the looking at Sidney in the hallway, yesterday? That’s bullshit. He wonders if he could make it to the back door without being spotted.

He tries, sneaking, keeping low to the ground. The old tile floor squeaks and in a split second a gunshot goes off. Jason’s ears are ringing. Sidney yells. There’s a few seconds of silence. The bullet’s in the floor.

“Relax, babe, they’re just blanks,” Christian states, after seemingly taking a moment to even himself out. Jason is just staring and shaking. Christian comes over and hauls Jason up off the floor. Jason barely has the energy to struggle, but grips Christian’s wrist regardless.

“What is your problem?” He squeaks out. Christian responds by turning around and pressing Jason’s back to the lower cabinets, making him easier to keep pinned.

“Christian, you’re not- you’re not going to hurt him, are you?” Sidney asks, stepping forward. Jason looks at her, sees that she’s near tears again.

“She’s got some hang ups about you, Joon-ho,” Christian states, blatantly ignoring Sidney.

“And that’s my fault?” Jason asks, voice cracking.

“Lil’ bit.”

Jason might have walked into that one.

“Christian, look,” Sidney interjects. “I can talk to him, we can work this out without all this. Just put the gun down and-”

“We’re talking. We’re being civil,” Christian insists, waving the gun around a little. “Besides, I don’t want you alone with him.”

“You have some major issues, man.” Jason cringes when his back gets pressed harder against the counter.

“The only issue I got’s you.”

“I haven’t even done anything to you!”

“You’re on the news every night. How’s my girl supposed to move on if she has to hear about you constantly? You’re pathetic anyways.”

Jason struggles in his grip, trying to break out.

“Probably shouldn’t have made it this long, really,” Christian continues. “That’s the problem with our world. Little worms like you keep making it, somehow.”

“What are you even talking about?” Jason rasps, struggling a little more. He hates that his wriggling probably proves Christian’s point, in his mind.

“At this rate it’ll be senior prom and Sidney will still be thinking about you.” Christian sounds angrier, now, looks more aggressive by the second.

“Christian, stop it!” Sidney pleads.

“Who knows why? I mean, I guess it’s true some girls like charity cases. But being near you, that’s a death sentence, huh?” Christian cocks his head, examines Jason critically.

“You’ve scared him enough, Christian! You’re scaring me! Put the gun down!” Sidney grabs his shoulder, and he shrugs her off roughly, baring his teeth.

“Fine. Okay. Take the damn thing.” He shoves the gun into her hands, then looks down at Jason’s. “I got what I need right here,” he continues, prying open Jason’s fingers to take the kitchen knife. Jason tries to push Christian’s hand away, but Christian is either alarmingly strong or Jason alarmingly weak, because his best resistance only earns him maybe a two second struggle.

“Maybe I should finish what those other guys started,” Christian murmurs, holding the knife to Jason’s throat, sharp steel, and all Jason can think is that if anyone has to see him die it shouldn’t be Sidney, she didn’t deserve everything he’d brought on her. He wants to tell Christian this, tell him to send Sidney out before he slits Jason’s throat, anything to spare her from yet another tragedy brought on by Jason merely existing.

They’d all been right. He didn’t deserve to be alive.

The edge of the blade presses into his throat and he feels blood well up and as he opens his mouth to urge Christian to wait there’s a gunshot, then another, cracking through the silence like thunder, like an earthquake, like God. Christian makes a surprised noise, somewhere between a whimper and a moan, and drops the knife to the floor with a clatter.

“You...You said they were blanks,” Sidney breathes, eyes welling with tears again.

Christian makes a wet wheezing sound as he backs away from Jason, turning from him with difficulty.

“Idiot,” Christian hisses, and Jason sees the blood leaking out of Christian’s back, down his legs. “Y...you fucking two-timing…”

“Christian, you told me they were blanks,” she insists, sniffling, hands shaking as she wipes her face. “It was...was just supposed to scare you, it was never...Christian, you said…”

“Aren’t you going to finish the job, Joon-ho?” Christian rasps, turning over his shoulder to face Jason. “G-go ahead. A...At least then you’d have done something for yourself.”

Jason shakes his head, dumbfounded.

Christian scoffs, coughs up phlegm and blood onto Jason’s kitchen floor. “Fuck, you got me good, babe. I-I didn’t think you had the balls.”

Sidney sobs, covering her mouth with one hand. Christian drops to one knee, entire body trembling.

“S...So? You gonna call an ambulance?” Christian’s voice is wavery. He drops again, onto his chest this time, so he’s lying on the floor, crumpled in on himself. There’s so much blood, Jason is suddenly worried about the possibility that they’ll never be able to wash it away.

“No need.”

Sidney gasps and Jason whips around at the metallic voice, one Jason has grown oddly accustomed to. The Plague Doctor is in his fucking kitchen doorway. Must've snuck in using all the noise as cover.

“What’re you doing here?!” Jason cries.

“Sidney,” the Plague Doctor says, ignoring Jason entirely as they step over Christian to reach her, “hand me the gun.”

She holds it out to them, hands still trembling badly. They take it from her, turn it over in their hands, and then point it at Christian.

“Of course,” Christian growls. “And I almost thought...thought that you were lying about this fucker, Voorhees. So now what? Y-you kill me? Why? This kid has had too many fucking chances, too many close calls. He didn't deserve them then and he sure as fuck doesn’t n-now. Why even bother? S...someone will get him eventually. Is your hard-on for the twerp that b-”

The shot is sudden, through the head, an explosion of brain matter and skull pieces and blood and life, spilled onto the ceramic tiles. Christian Lyons has been opened up on Jason’s floor, all those sensitive bits encased by bone exposed, all the marrow and hopes and dreams and bloodlust there, shattered. Jason’s ears are ringing and his heart is jackrabbiting and he's vaguely aware that Sidney is crying but his focus is centred on the masked figure in front of him, so sheltered and secure in their anonymity.

Jason has never hated anyone more.

“What the fuck have you done?” he asks, hands white-knuckling the counter behind him so he doesn't fall, his knees are jelly and if he were to succumb to gravity they'd be soaked in Christian’s grey matter.

“I put him out of his misery.”

“You acted as judge and jury, that's what you did!” Jason’s voice rises in volume as he talks, entire body shaking, everything unstable. “How could you?! He hadn't killed anyone yet! He was injured! He could’ve learned his goddamn lesson, he was only seventeen, you bastard!”

The Plague Doctor stares at him. Or at least it seems that way. It's impossible to tell behind their mask.

“Tell me, Jason,” they reply, voice even. “Who the hell was going to teach him that lesson? Who was going to punish him? No one would care. He would be encouraged, subtly, told what he was doing was brave. After all, he was eliminating the competition. That's just Darwinism at work, isn't it? Tell me. Who would stop him from getting access to a gun? I’d bet you his father knew he took it, didn't care. His little boy is growing into a man. Even better that it be some loser. Go on. Tell me who would’ve made him regret what he wanted to do. Tell me who wouldn’t have fueled his revenge fantasies, who would've stopped him from climbing into your window and killing you while you slept. And why stop with you? There's a world of weaklings that deserve to get their throats slit out there. Tell me, Jason. Because if you have an answer, I really want to know what it is.”

“Fuck you,” Jason says, bordering on tears. “Fuck everything you've ever done for me. You don't get to play God, no matter how fucked everything is.”

“I’m not playing God, I’m playing exterminator.”

“Stop with the one-liners! This isn’t a fucking movie! You just shot a kid in the head in my kitchen!”

He pushes off the counter and moves into the Plague Doctor’s personal space. He should probably be afraid, but he isn’t.

The mask doesn’t flinch, obviously. Jason wishes he could see their expression.

After a few seconds of silence, they speak again.

“It’s unfortunate that we can’t see eye-to-eye.”

“That’d be a lot easier if you weren’t hiding behind the mask! You’re a coward just like the rest of them. It’s real easy to spew bullshit when you feel safe. You feel like a hero? Running around killing kids? Rushing in to ‘save the day?’ What the fuck are you doing in my house anyways?!”

“I heard gunshots.”

“What were you doing near my house?!”

A pause. “Let’s face it, Jason. You’re a murder magnet.”

“So you just-” Jason makes a frustrated noise and goes to grab the phone.

The Plague Doctor takes that as their cue to leave.

They take the gun with them.

#a disease like you spreads #adlys #chapter 4 #gif /#glitch /

35 notes · View notes