#and cassidy is my wife i love her dearly but good christ

[arsonistslut]

Chapter 13: The Demon's Hand

Jeff didn't know what to make of any of this. Was this his form of walking to the light? Was this all a dying illusion as the stench of his burnt flesh filled the air? Or had a demon truly clawed it's way into his head?

"I'm sure you have..many questions regarding what's happening to you, but right now, that isn't the focus. The future is your focus, Jeffrey. Do you remember that boy you got into a fight with when you were 7? A boy named Cassidy, said something mean about your brother?"

The creature that stood before Woods had an inhumanly deep voice, befitting the fact that it looked like it had the power to smite the earth with a flick of it's wrist.

"Yeah..I broke his nose and knocked 2 of his teeth out with a toilet top lid, right?"

"Surprised you remembered so vividly. I'm sure, then, that you remember how good it felt to fight back? To not be a victim anymore? Well..that catharsis hasn't evaded you since then, has it? Keith Winchester should know by now. Well, there is a way you can rid yourself of all the troubles in your life, and achieve an even greater catharsis, Jeffrey."

"And that would be?"

"There is endless joy in the suffering of others, Jeff. T-"

"You want me to kill people? Are you fucking insane?! The pigs'll know who's started killing people in no time flat!"

The demon let out a chuckle and put a hand on the young adult's shoulder.

"Does it matter? You wouldn't have much else to live for otherwise. I mean..your brother hates you, your parents aren't there for you, school life is hellish..you're a victim, once again. You aren't a victim, are you? There's so much more for you in this life!"

A few seconds felt like an eternity, Jeff going through the options in his head..was he ready to truly abandon the way he lived? His family, the trip to school, the students around him he'd grown to despise..despite the misery of it all, he'd found comfort in the inevitable monotony of everything around him..but he now questioned that bleak future. Why spend his life bathed in existential misery..when he could spend it bathed in the viscera of liars that hid away who they truly were to the world? Why limit himself to a corrupt world's ever-changing definition of right or wrong? He was always the wrong one, the outcast, the freak..the monster. What was stopping him from living up to those monikers?

"Come, take my hand, Jeffrey. We"ll show those cattle the true meaning of happiness."

The demon held out a hand to Jeff, and a smile creeped it's way onto his face as he firmly grasped it's hand.

The next time he woke up, he was lying in a hospital bed. The bandages wrapped around his face burned to the touch, but he was far too weak to move, or do anything about his predicament. The IV drip in his arm did serve to numb the pain somewhat, and in some places of his body, he couldn't feel anything. In a slightly drugged haze, he was barely able to make anything out from beyond the gauze wrapped around his face, but he'd recognize the voices of his parents anywhere.

"I..I just don't understand, I thought Jeffrey would be more responsible than this!"

Carla said to her husband, who looked at his son, and then back at his wife.

"Well, be grateful..he won't be here controlling us anymore."

"But..but what about Liu? He's gonna want to see him, not just wait in the car.."

Jeff could hear his mother slide her face into her own palms..out of sorrow, out of disgust, he couldn't tell.

"Why couldn't he have just died..?" She muttered as she looked at her son, lying in a hospital bed.

"Why can't we just live our own lives...?"

"Sweetheart, don't get like that..I'll go and grab you some coffee, alright?"

"Okay.."

Jeff Sr. rose from his seat to go grab some coffee for his wife from the waiting room, leaving her alone with Jeffrey. Something new was brewing inside of him, unbeknownst to his mother..a rage unlike any other. Holding back the urge to leap out of his hospital bed and strangle the life out of Clara's lungs, staff and burns be damned, was a herculean feat. He knew he had to wait for that moment..that moment of bliss, that moment of freedom.

A week had passed since Jeff's hospitalization, and Liu's mental state was only getting worse and worse. How the hell Randy managed to get away with glassing a classmate of his because of "self defense" was beyond him, and the fact that all the other students went along with this narrative was baffling. Did they really hate Jeffrey that much...? He tightened the scarf around his neck, lost in his own thoughts until he heard the roll of a skateboard behind him. He turned around to find..Randy, of all people. The meeting was strange, because Liu never saw him skateboard..must have some hobbies.

"Randy, I know why you're here. Fuck right the hell off."

"Hey, listen..."

For once..Ellsworth seemed sincere. He glanced around, as if checking for someone else who might hear him, before looking back to Liu.

"I'm sorry. For everything. I didn't care that what I was doing was wrong, and..I should've stopped a lot earlier than I am. I'm truly, truly sorry, Liu. You don't have to forgive me, I just needed to apologize for all the shit that's happened."

The darker side of Liu would probably attacked Randy right then, but the last time that darker side came out, he nearly lost his brother, so he decided to try and see the good in Randy. Before he could skate away, Liu put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's..It's fine, Randy. It really is."

"It...It's all just..fine?"

"There's nothing we can do about it now, may as well just forgive you instead of holding onto it."

And with that, Liu continued back home. He was headed on another date with Natalie soon, so he had to go get ready for that occasion.

Chapter 14: Stargazing

Liu was secretly thanking his lucky stars that Nat had a driver's licence, because lord knows what that officer's expression would be when he found a 15 year old who looked like he belonged on Instagram selling designer clothes or something.

"This the spot, babe?"

"Yeah, you wanna lie in the grass and..stargaze or something?"

"Sure, but no tickle fights, ok?"

"I'm making no promises."

Liu got out of his girlfriend's car and lay down in the nearby grass, quickly pulling her into his arms when she sat next to him. The two sat there in silence for a good while, just..gazing into the stars together. It was one of the best things Liu could've asked for, right now. Everything just seemed so chaotic and out of control, like a whirlwind..so to just sit there in the shade with the girl he loved so dearly was a more than welcome break.

"Hey, Liu.."

"Yeah?"

"Is..everything alright? I mean this has to have been a shitass month for you.."

"Heh, I'm fine..thanks for asking, though. It means a lot."

"What sort of girlfriend would I be if I didn't worry about my baby?"

Liu could feel his worries melt away as he curled up in his lover's embrace, his face quickly turning red.

"What about you, Nat? How've you been?"

"...You're not allowed to tell anyone at school about this, ok?"

Natalie looked Liu in the eyes as she spoke, and he nodded in response. She took a breath to prepare herself, then began to speak again.

"..The rumors about my dad being a piece of shit are true. He's one of those ex-military types who's just psychotic and can't adjust to normal life. Any little problem happens and he's already screaming at me over it like a fucking drill Sargent! He did teach me how to kick people's asses, though, so there is a bit of a silver lining, but being punched over getting a lyric of the US anthem wrong..I doubt that's worth it."

"Jesus..i-is there any way I can help..?"

"Heh..kill him, I dunno."

Natalie couldn't help but crack a smile when Liu looked at her with confusion.

"Babe, I'm joking."

"Oh, right! Eheh..really though, things'll get better, ok? This'll all-"

"Liu, I'm fine. Hey, if anyone needs to hear a spiel right now, it's you. Your brother got set on fire, for Christ's sake."

"That probably isn't anything compared to what you go through..daily, I presume."

"Liu..honey..it's fine, it really is."

Nat gently combed her fingers through Liu's hair to comfort him, and watching his concern expression melt away into one of distracted joy. She didn't know how to feel seeing this..Liu being happy was always something she liked to see, but she desperately wanted to tell him that she truly wasn't ok..she felt on the cusp of losing it, but it burdened others to make them deal with her prolems, her worries...wasn't it?