Friends With Time ⌛ (Tyler Galpin x Reader)

Day 27

Day 27:

Desmond was a Hyde. Because of course he was.

Your father drew him, his steady hand sketching out the curves of the monster's monster form. He's bigger than your monster, presumably because Desmond was older, but he does look similar. You can tell that they are the same type of monster.

Then there's a drawing of the Bubble, which looks so similar to how it is now that it makes your chest ache. Your father saw the same surroundings you did. Maybe he spent time up on this very raft. Did he love sunsets, like you do? You wonder if he ever sat out here with his journal.

The clouds are puffy, white, afternoon clouds today. You met the other people in the Bubble again this morning, and it was surprisingly pleasant. They liked your Paris painting, and Aliyah showed you all how she does her makeup. It's also an off-day for the board meeting, so you're free until your meeting with Afua tonight.

Your eyes flicker over to the door, the wind ruffling your hair. It is chilly. Maybe it might be better to read inside.

It's been awkward with your monster since the truce ended. He opens his mouth, or waves to you with a little smile when you bring down his food, but you two don't really... talk like you did in the truce. To be honest, you're not entirely sure what to do. Are you friends now? You don't hate him, but he's still a Hyde. Besides, what if he thinks you're weird for talking to him after the truce?

You press your palms into your eyes. You wouldn't be dealing with this if you were realistic, like your mother. She never would have agreed to that truce. She never would've told him anything.

Your fingers unconsciously skim your bite mark, the little divets in the smooth skin long healed.

But your mother would've carried her scar all alone, believing she deserved it. Is it so bad that you want to believe the monster? Is it so bad to think to yourself that, even if you were weak for trusting an Outcast, maybe you didn't deserve to be bitten?

You glance down at the book, the breeze fluttering at the edges of the pages. You flip past the rest of the drawings- including one of Desmond in his usual self, with a red face, a handlebar mustache, and cowboy boots- and turn to the first entry.

It's Day One, and they've assigned me a Hyde who can't control his shifts. He shocks out, then wakes up yelling. Other times he purposefully shifts. The Commander tells me that he was conscious when he went through the village, that all of the blood is still on his head. I tried asking him about it, but he swore at me all kinds of colorful things and threw his hat at the glass.

It's been one day, but I already miss Carpie and little Y/N. I hope they don't forget about me during my year on the sea.

You set the book down. Carpie: that must've been a nickname for your mother, Carpathia L/N. No one else would dare call her something like that.

He moves on to say how he tried to become friends with the Hyde, but he would shift and yell, and there was no getting anywhere with him. So he tried a different tack.

I would try to pry information out of him about his shifting. He cursed and threw things at me, but I eventually coaxed enough out of him. We've struck a deal: I teach him how to control his shifts, and he cooperates. It's not much, but it will work for now. Never mind that I don't know how to control the shifts yet. There has to be something we can find, something we can do.

I don't think that Desmond is all bad. He's done something terrible, sure, but there are grains of goodness in him. According to the 2011 Outsider Act...

You grimace, flipping through pages and pages of failure. Your Dad's method mostly consisted of trying random things and failing. You're not sure he even figured it out at all. You keep flipping until one entry catches your eye.