Two Outcasts in Love || Tylorpe

Ch 1: Meet Xavier

Fuck. Xavier's painting is on fire.

Xavier's studio is filling with smoke, and he coughs as he stamps out the painting that caught itself on fire. He makes a mental note never to paint open flames in his studio again.

Xavier's magic has always been odd, even for an outcast. He's not in any official cliques like the fangs, furs, scales, or stoners. Instead, he has the power to bring his art to life. Recently, he's been painting what he sees in his dreams. The problem is, they are all coming true.

Last week he painted a dismembered hiker that he saw in a dream, and that very same hiker was in the news the next day. The Sherif said it was a bear, but Xavier's paintings would prove otherwise. Unfortunately, having a private studio filled with gruesome paintings of the dead is only good for one thing: looking like the killer.

Xavier looks down at the painting on the ground, charred beyond recognition. Luckily, he remembers he was painting Nevermore. But, unfortunately, it was on fire, and the monster was there just watching it burn.

Nevermore is his home, and to see it on fire spurs something in him.

Last year, Xavier would have been fine just being Nevermore's tortured artist forever. However, these prophetic dreams are making him choose between the life of an artist and the life of a detective.

Xavier's list of clues keeps expanding, and with this last painting, he decides it's time to step up. He can't live on the sidelines forever. So he's going to find the monster and save Nevermore.

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When Xavier returns to his dorm, he finds another version of the painting that had caught fire. A leather-bound book is open on Rowen's desk. It's the same picture, but there's a new figure on the left who looks surprisingly like Joseph Crackstone.

Xavier snaps a picture of it. Now it can't burn up.

The door slams open, and Xavier whips around. It's Rowen, looking agitated.

"Xavier, put that down." Rowen commands, "You don't know what you're dealing with."

Xavier bristles, "I know more than you think. Why did you steal this from the nightshades? What are you up to?" he asks, wary of Rowan's newfound erratic tendencies.

Rowen steps forward, staring at Xavier over his glasses, "That is my mother's prophecy. She said it's my destiny to save the school from a monster," he says with a hint of pride, "and I'm on its trail, so give my book back and get out of my way."

"This monster is way more dangerous than you think. Don't go after it," Xavier urges, "you don't even know what it is!"

Rowen laughs. "Xavier, Xavier, Xavier." he says as he steps forward, "You underestimate me," and the whites of his eyes glint with a power-hungry look.

Rowan raises a tensed hand, and Xavier takes a step back, "Woah, Rowan-"

Rowan doesn't flinch; he clenches his fist and lifts Xavier into the air by his throat, Xavier's feet dangle helplessly, and Rowan throws him against the wall with a smack.

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Xavier is officially done with Rowan's insanity, so he's holed up in his art studio until things calm down. His hair is up, and he's wearing a paint-covered apron over a t-shirt and jeans. He's been feverishly painting since this afternoon. Now it's 1 am, but he's not going to sleep until he finds another clue.

Hours later, Xavier's fingers are shaking, but he's finally found something. He leans against the wall and slides down to the floor with a groan. His whole body is worn out, and his magic feels drained. He looks up at his new painting.

Unlike his other creations, this doesn't depict the monster or dead body. Instead, it's a crumpled bag of coffee beans from the Weathervane; only it's splattered with blood.

Finally, he has a place to start investigating. He'll go to the Weathervane in the morning and check it out. But for now, a wave of relief washes over him, and he curls up on the dirty floor to sleep. Despite being surrounded by paintings of monsters, blood, and gore, he falls asleep smiling.

Because he finally has a lead.

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