Chapter 5 Dark Tidings.
Eighteen years later, the year 2544 of the Mythos calendar.
Inside a dimly lit bedroom a lone figure sat hunched over a desk. A desk light lit up the study guides littered across the wooden surface. The young man leaned back in his chair, the hinges creaking at the movement as he let out a groan and rubbed his hands through his long black curls. Studying should not be this difficult! He only had a few more finals to go through tomorrow, it was the home stretch. The only problem was he had his worst subjects tomorrow.
He let out a long yawn as he rubbed his eyes, his muscles in his lower back burned and ached as he leaned back. His legs cramped as he stretched them out in front of him for a moment. All I want is just ten hours of uninterrupted sleep, is that too much to ask for? He let out a sigh in defeat, his momentary break was over and it was time to continue the nonstop grind. Four weeks of cramming was almost to an end. Just one final day of grueling tests and he would be free for the summer.
He looked around his room in mild irritation. I really need to clean this crap up. He grumbled to himself about the soda cans and energy drinks in his overfilled trash can by his desk. The mountain of clean laundry on one half of his bed that he hadn't bothered putting away, and the piles of dirty clothes on the floor he still had to run through the wash. His room as bad. At least a certain someone hadn't been over to see the chaos.
The only reason he let his room get to this point was the desperation to pass his finals with the required grades to get into the Magical Academy of Allario. The most renowned institution for those seeking a future with magic. Gavin was fascinated by the concept of learning magic, and the Allario academy had a reputation for being the best, and the hardest to get into.
"Hey Gavin, how's studying going?" A soft feminine voice came from behind the door as it opened slowly. The faint scent of lavender and lilac filled the room as Gavin jumped in surprise as he was pulled from his thoughts. He turned his chair around to see the source of the voice. Great, she chooses now to visit, when my room is an absolute disaster.
Although he really didn't want her to see his room, the sight of her never failed to put a smile on Gavin's face. He grinned at her as he blushed while she took in the state of his room.
Erza lifted one eyebrow in surprise as she opened Gavin's door. I knew he'd been cramming nonstop for weeks, but I didn't realize it was this bad in here. She turned her head as she noticed the mountain of clothes on the bed which left just enough room for someone small enough to sleep on the other side. The room smelled like teenage boy; body spray, bad body odor, and plenty of trash.
"Please, don't start. I know it's bad. I've been focusing on my studies and haven't had the time or energy to worry much about the room." Gavin's voice was quiet and almost bashful as he spoke. He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around the room.
She laughed at his actions while she shook her head. She strode into the room and helped kick the piles of clothes over to one side with him. Her laugh was soft amusement as she looked over at him. "Burning the candle at both ends, aren't you?" Her voice was filled with mirth as she walked over to his desk and looked at which study guides, he had out.
"Yeah I know. I'm going to be so glad when four p.m. arrives tomorrow. Then I'll be done with all this studying and the freaking tests." He yawned again as he sat back down at his desk with a huff. He stretched his arms above his head, hearing his joints snap and crack.
Erza chuckled. "Yeah, so glad I'm not you this week." She commented as she sat on the edge of his bed. "I do not miss finals week at all."
"Just because you took your finals three years ago, doesn't mean you can rub it in, you know." Gavin complained as he turned to face her.
"Maaaan, I'm getting hammered this week. Any chance you want to take these tests for me this year?" Gavin bowed his head and held his hands out in a prayer gesture towards her. I bet I know the answer, but hey, never hurts to try right?
A soft melodic laughter filled the room and relaxed his weary mind. "You know I can't, dude. I barely passed my own at the time and as you pointed out it's been three years. You really think I'd do any better now?" Her laughter was like music to his ears. He would swear he could l feel his body relax and the stiff muscles stop aching whenever she laughed or was near.
She leaned over and handed him a bottle. The scent of her body wash and shampoo filled his head like a drug. "Here is some sugar for your grind," she said as she looked over his current paperwork laid out on the desk. He had half a dozen books open on his desk, and various study guides next to them. She shook her head at the chaotic way he studied, she always more organized in her own chaotic way.
Gavin smiled softly, popped the top, and took a swig before he sat the bottle down. He let out a grateful sigh as he felt the carbonation scratch his throat. "Yeah I know. These tests just blow." He turned his chair around to look at the mountain of textbooks and study guides on his desk. I would love to just throw everything away and be done.
"I'm pretty sure that I almost failed the math final yesterday. And I'm sure the science final tomorrow is going to go just as well." He leaned forward, elbows on the desk as he rested his forehead in his hands. His voice was laced with exhaustion as he just took a moment to close his eyes. Naturally his worst subjects would be both on the same, final day.
Erza leaned over and looked at the study guide he had opened in front of him. She brushed a stray piece of long red hair back from her eyes and rubbed his back soothingly. She felt the tension in his back quickly relax as she put more pressure into the massage. He let out a groan as she found a particularly tense spot and slowly worked it free.
Gavin let out a long appreciative sigh as Erza rubbed his back. Between the gentle pressure on his back and the soft gentle scent of her shampoo and body wash Gavin could feel the exhaustion creeping up on him. If Erza continued this, Gavin knew he would end up falling asleep before he finished studying.
"Hey, I'll tell you what, if you pass your finals tomorrow, I'll take you out to a movie or dinner to your favorite restaurant, my treat." She tried to encourage him to study hard. She had noticed the tension left his body while he gave him the back rub and she smiled.
They had a unique relationship over the years. Erza learned early on whenever she was paid by the Johnson family to babysit, that Gavin was easily bribed by either food, or cringe worthy movies. She was only three years older than he was, so after a while it was easy for them to become close friends.
The coolest thing about Erza? She was a were-cat. Someone that could shift into a Humanoid were-cat. Her hearing was so sharp, Gavin could never get away with sneaking out of the house, or opening the cookie jar when she was around.
She knew how hard he had been studying. He has spent three weeks cramming everything he can into that thick head of his to the point she'd barely been able to see him.
She missed her best friend.
Gavin perked up immediately. He sat up and turned his head to look at her, a broad grin spread across his face. A movie and dinner with Erza? This would be a huge win for him. "Oh seriously? Bet! I'll pass everything then we're gonna have a great date night to celebrate!" His excited voice made her heart swell. Gavin really was like a excited kid at Christmas.
Gavin didn't think about his word usage at first. He just wanted to spend time with his best friend. It had been too long since they had a night to themselves to just relax and have fun.
In all honesty, over the last few weeks, he missed their frequent hang outs. It was like a momentary break from the stress of life whenever they hung out. Something he could really use right now.
"Oh, a date, huh?" Erza asked with a hint of mischief in her voice. She lifted an eyebrow as she looked at the back of his head with a sly grin on her face. "Why, Gavin, I didn't know you felt that way about me," she laughed at the beet-red expression on his face as he turned around to face her.
She suspected how he felt about her; it was fairly obvious all this time after all, but she didn't want to risk their friendship. What if they tried things, and it made it awkward and weird between them. His friendship meant everything to Erza, and he really was like her best friend all these years.
Her solid rock.
Her safe harbor when life came at her hard and unyielding. How many times had she gone to his house, and drowned her sorrows over a guy being a jerk, while eating tubs of ice cream together and laughing at some innocuous movie on TV?
"That's not what I meant," he stammered, as he quickly turned his back to her. His ears were burning at her teasing comments. "Leave me alone. I have studying to do," he said as he focused his attention back on his books. But deep inside, even though she was teasing him, he really hoped it might just turn into a date.
Maybe, just maybe his luck would turn.
She smiled widely as she leaned back, the bed creaking as she moved. Should she continue to tease him and lighten his mood, or just leave and give him the peace to study and focus? She sighed, gave up tormenting him for now and stood up. She ruffled his hair affectionately, her fingers tangling in his long black curls before she walked out of the room.
Before she left, she glanced back and saw his broad back bent over his desk as he moved papers around, searched for answers to the guides and made notes in his notebooks. She smiled to herself as she had every confidence he would pass his exams the following day. He always succeeded when he set his mind to something.
Her phone beeped and as she pulled it out, she saw the headline come across her phone.
Just in. Bodies were found dumped in the middle of a street. Victims believed to be shifters… She angrily swiped the notification away. The last thing she wanted was to stress over something in another city.
She glanced back to see if Gavin's phone went off. If it did, he just ignored it as he hyper focused on studying. Just maybe, it was time to see where things really stood between them.
Erza turned and shut the door behind her as she walked down the hallway and said goodbye to Lucian and Evelyn Johnson, Gavin's parents. "Oh, you're leaving already, dear?" Mrs. Johnson, a short, sweet human woman asked. She barely reached five feet but had the biggest, kindest heart that Erza had ever met.
A wonderful odor reached her nose as Mrs. Johnson turned at the stove to face Erza. She always cooks amazing food, smells like her pasta. Erza's stomach grumbled since she hadn't eaten dinner yet. But she wouldn't intrude on them when they didn't plan on having her for dinner.
"Yeah, Mrs. Johnson, he's studying hard, and I guess he forgot our plans to hang out after school tonight, so I'm going to let him study in peace." She responded and waved a hand. She didn't want to interrupt her boy when he was working so hard to pass.
"Don't you want to stay for dinner?" Mr. Johnson asked, his deep voice, a soft rumble in the kitchen. She smiled as she looked between the Johnson's. They always treated her as family through all these years. They were really like a second set of parents to her.
"No, thank you, Aria and Lyla need my help for a music video project, so I have to go save the day," she said with a laugh. Her best friends were always getting over their heads on these business projects.
"Alright, be safe," Mrs. Johnson said as she was in the middle of setting a place at the table for Erza. She smiled as she watched Erza leave the kitchen and towards the front door.
As the front door shut, Mrs. Johnson looked at her husband and smiled sweetly. "Dear, when will those two finally get together?" She asked him in a hushed voice. They had been tight as thieves ever since she started coming over to watch Gavin for them when he was ten years old.
Mr. Johnson laughed good-naturedly. "Darling, I don't know. They've been thick as thieves ever since she first came to babysit for us and have been inseparable ever since." Mr. Johnson took a glass out of the cupboard and poured him some coffee before he continued.
"I've been waiting for it for a long time. But he just can't seem to get the courage to confess he likes her. I bet he will probably say something once he graduates and finals are done," he said as he took his seat at the table. The only question on most people's minds was when?
"But those extremists," Mrs. Johnson commented worriedly. She recalled the day they found Gavin. The bodies. The smell of burned flesh. "What if they find out about them and go after either one of them?" The memory of the tunnel and screams of people dying was never far from her mind.
"I'm sure things will be fine." Mr. Johnson took a deep, satisfying drink of the cold coffee. "As far as they were concerned, all their targets were dispatched, and they left no survivors." His voice was a quiet whisper as he recalled the events. He still had nightmares from the images they saw and the screams they heard that day. "We need to tell Gavin the truth, and soon," Mr. Johnson's deep voice filled her ears.
"No! He's far too young to know yet," Mrs. Johnson refused to acknowledge their secret that they'd kept hidden all these years from her precious son. "I don't think he'd ever forgive us for not telling him sooner," she whispered mournfully at the thought of his anger over finding out. What would his reaction be, after discovering his entire birth family was slaughtered and he was the sole survivor of a group that they had no idea of finding any information out on.
"Let's cross that road when we get to it, dear," Mr. Johnson said peacefully as he glanced upstairs to where Gavin was most assuredly studying his backside off, he prayed that his son didn't choose this moment to come downstairs for dinner.
"For now, let's let the boy worry about passing his finals," he proclaimed as he set his cup on the table as a breaking news story came on the TV.
This is just in. In Kuerien city, officials found the disposed bodies of several shifters and their believed partners beaten and hung under a bridge. The perpetrators are still at large and unknown currently. Anyone with information should call the authorities. A reward is being offered currently for information leading to the arrest and sentencing of the people responsible.