and i love her ▸ tate langdon ✓

12. pretty on the inside

Is she pretty on the inside?
Is she pretty from the back?

-

The halls had cleared out quickly after the first shots were fired. Kids scattered like scared rats at the noise of the gun.

Tate's steps echo through the halls, his shotgun heavy in hand as he peers into classrooms that he passes. It felt good. He had this weird satisfaction he got when he saw fear register on people's faces.

Sometimes he thought he should kill the people he liked. He would be saving them. Other times, he wanted to kill his enemies. Bobby, Ryan, that bitch Lily. But he decided against it. They deserve to suffer on earth.

Death is peace. To be dead is to be at peace. You leave your needs and wants behind and you experience nothing. Some people deserved to be at peace like that.

Marceline, for one.

She didn't deserve anything bad. She was the best person he had met in years. It killed him to see her anything but happy. Good people always get raw deals. It's the shit people who make out in life.

He locates the library and kicks open the door, the door flying open and slamming against the wall, the hinges creaking loudly.

His eyes scan the empty room, and he soon hears soft whimpers. Following the muffled noises, he finds Marceline huddled against an aisle of books. She nervously looks up to him, her red-rimmed eyes widening when she sees Tate clad in skull makeup and loosely slicked back hair,

"T-Tate?" she sobs, her voice shaking. His face softens as he crouches in front of her, touching her vulnerable face. She flinches from his touch, the shotgun in his other hand glaringly obvious. "Mars, baby..."

His thumb wipes a tear from her red cheeks, trying to comfort her. "Why are you doing this?" she asks him through sobs. He shakes his head, his eyes captivating her. "I'm doing this for us, Mars. For our love," he tells her, his voice softened.

"I don't wanna die, Tate," she says, fresh tears streaming down her face. "It's not a fearful thing. We'll be together soon enough," he replies, standing back up and extending out his shotgun so the tip made contact with her forehead.

Marceline inhales sharply, her eyes pleading for him to let her live. "I love you," he says before pulling the trigger.

A loud gasp leaves his lips as Tate sits up in his bed, his alarm clock beeping angrily. Calming himself, he turns off his alarm clock and runs his hands down his face that began to sweat.

What was wrong with him?

-

Marceline and Tate meet up at lunch break, ready to go over their thoughts about how to get Lily off of Marceline's back.

"We just need to find something to lure her to your house with," Marceline states, taking one final drag on her cigarette before tossing it onto the concrete and stepping on it. "Unless you want a shiner, I suggest you find something she likes," Tate comments.

Marceline side-eyes him, huffing as she tries to think of something. "You don't think I'd win?" she replies, his comment catching up to her. Tate gives her a 'really?' look and she sighs, her head falling back in exasperation.

"She like drugs?" he asks.

"I don't know. Maybe," Marceline shrugs.

"She looks like she could be into weed. Something softcore,"

"How would we get weed?"

"It's not the point. You say you have drugs when you don't. Say they're at your friend's house- my house- and get her to come here. She'll be met with me. And no drugs," Tate explains.

"What're you gonna do to her?" Marceline asks.

Tate looks her in the eyes, something about the smirk on his lips borderline sinister. "Whatever you want me to do," he replies. Marceline bites the inside of her cheek nervously, having doubts about this whole thing.

"You're just going to scare her, Tate. Nothing else," Marceline instructs. Tate nods obediently, bringing his cigarette up to his lips and inhaling. "Whatever you want,"

The bell rings and the two split ways to go to their next classes. Marceline shouldn't feel guilty about this whole thing. Lily was threatening to beat her up. This is pre-self defense. Tate didn't feel guilty at all. Why would he? She deserved it.

-

It was difficult to convince Lily to come to Tate's house to get her some drugs. She clearly wanted the discount price that Marceline offered.

At Tate's house, Marceline leads Lily downstairs into the basement that was dark and unfinished. "I hope this isn't some Silence of the Lambs bullshit," Lily comments, making Marceline roll her eyes.

Marceline leads her into the room where Tate is, hearing Lily gasp softly when she sees him. "Speak of the devil," he comments, leaning back in his chair as he smirks.

"Who the hell are you? This isn't amusing," Lily says, turning to face Marceline who stands just outside the doorway of the room. Tate's eyes meet Marceline's, a silent nod to tell her to turn off the lights for whatever reason.

The room goes dark and a low, inhuman growl is all that is heard for a moment. Soft scratching echoes through the room as Marceline hears Tate chuckle.

"This is freaky. I'm leaving," Lily says, about to leave the room when she gets snatched to the ground, screaming in panic. Thaddeus, an old ghost of a baby boy who was killed and mutilated only to be somehow resurrected by his father, Charles Montgomery, in the twenties, uses his sharp teeth to tear into the skin of LIly's forearm.

On the ground, Lily cries out for help. Thaddeus takes his tasks seriously. If Tate says to do something, Thaddeus would be on it immediately.

The lights that were off begin to flicker, giving Marceline brief flashes of what was truly happening. She felt panic spread through her body like wildfire. Tate always said that she would be safe, but she didn't feel safe.

Not at all.

"Tate!" Marceline yells, the room loud with growling and snarling. Tate begins laughing, his laughing only making Thaddeus more brutal on Lily.

His claws scratch her skin, blood building on the cuts. They weren't horribly deep, per Tate's instruction. Just deep enough to sting. Marceline didn't know what Thaddeus was. She just knew that it wasn't human.

"Stop it! You're killing her!" Marceline continues to protest, afraid that if she left, Lily would be dead. Tate continues his maniacal laughing, only to stop abruptly. The lights go back on by themselves, and Marceline sees Lily laying on the ground, screaming in pain.

Tate sits on his chair, a calm indifference in his demeanor. Lily quickly stands from the ground, rushing out of the room still panting and crying. Marceline stares at Tate, shock painting her face.

He stands from his chair and Marceline quickly steps back from him. Thaddeus was gone and part of Marceline thought Tate was the one attacking Lily.

Tate's smile falls into a frown as he notices her retreat, his dark eyes wide in confusion. "Mars," he tries, taking another step forward only to have Marceline continue stepping back in response. "I said to scare her, Tate. Not damn near kill her," she says.

"I was protecting you, Marceline," he replies, his voice softened. Marceline shakes her head, staring at Tate. "That isn't protection, Tate. Just... stay away from me," she says, turning around and going to leave his basement through the backdoor.

"You can't just walk away! I did this for you! All of it!" Tate yells after her, his voice echoing menacingly throughout the basement. Marceline leaves through the door, leaving the property and walking down the sidewalk to return home.

Something was wrong with Tate.

i figure before Tate did this for Violet, he did it for Marceline. You know, the og.

anyway, I'm probably going to switch my updating schedule to Mondays and Fridays only because I've been working on two things so its been a little overwhelming.

have a good day and see yall on Friday <3