Darkness and Love: A Wednesday x Tyler Story

Part Two: Man or Monster?

 As the words leave his mouth, I cannot find a single thing to say. I almost think I heard him wrong but the expression of sadness and pain on his face tell me otherwise. I'm about to jump up and run out the door when I realize he's crying. Small tears pour down his cheeks. He lets go of my hand and puts his head in his hands. He's truly remorseful.

"What do you mean you think you're the monster?" He looks up in surprise, unsure of why I'm still there but I look at him with my regular emotionless stare. "Well?"

He wipes his face and gets himself together. "For the last couple days I've just been feeling so tired, almost like I'm not sleeping but I remember going to bed and waking up in bed. I've also had these dreams, chained up in a cave, getting stuck with needles. A woman was talking, telling me about my mother, trying to get me to do what she wants. I only thought they were dreams. Last night I woke up in the middle of the woods, covered in blood."

My mind flashes to the Rave'N dance, my vision of the woods and...Eugene. Keeping my composure I let him continue.

He stops for a moment to catch his breath. His voice slightly shakes as he finishes talking. I've always had an affinity for knowing when people are lying. They sweat, put too much detail into what they are saying. But Tyler tells me everything and I can tell he's being truthful. We've only known each other a short time but he's always been honest with me. This time is no different. I move close to him and hug him, something I've never done with anyone, not even my parents. His body jolts in surprise but melts as his head hits my chest. My chin perches in his hair, his tears still pouring and a soft sob echoing through the crypt.

"I believe you." He looks up at me, his eyes full of surprise and disbelief.

"Y-you do?" His voice is still slightly shaking. I use one of my free hands to wipe away his tears, his bloodshot eyes still full of despair.

"Tyler, we haven't really known each other long, but the boy I've been getting to know over these last few weeks is not a monster. He is a sweet, kind, caring and compassionate guy who I've grown fond of." The sweet words surprised even me.

The next thing I did surprised the both of us. I used my hand and turned his chin up to face me. I slowly leaned in until our lips met, a small spark striking in my chest as he was surprised at first but leaned in and kissed me back. We stayed like this for a few moments until we both stopped to breathe. This time I smiled, a real genuine smile. His face changed from sad to happy almost immediately. We looked into each other's eyes and continued to smile for a bit.

"Together, we are gonna figure this out. Me and you. You are not a monster. And I'm going to prove it." My voice changed back to its emotionless state but with a sharp tone of determination mixed in. I helped Tyler cleanup everything from our date. He cleaned himself up using some water and a small towel. I ruffled his hair a little to give it back its usual curly look. He just laughed and I chuckled lightly.

"For the record-" I said, causing him to stop and look over at me. "-as first dates go, I rather enjoyed myself." This just caused him to smile and I followed suit. We eventually got everything packed up and headed back to Tyler's house.

Jericho - Tyler's House - Night

The walk was mostly quiet, the silence occasionally broken by the breaking of twigs and birds chirping. Tyler pulled the extra key from under the mat and unlocked the door, not worrying about the noise as his father was out and no one was home. I set the box down in the garage and came back inside. Before I could react a dog had run up to me and was licking my hand. I pulled it away and stared the dog down. He whimpered slightly and sat, his panting stopping, waiting for me to tell him to do something. Tyler came back after putting the rest of the stuff away.

"Sorry I hope Elvis didn't scare you." He rounded the corner and stopped, watching the dog sitting politely at my feet. "Weird. He's never been like that with a stranger before." I knelt down and gently rubbed the top of his head and behind his ears.

"I have a way with animals." Tyler just chuckled.

"Somehow you still seem to surprise me. Well, my dad's files and everything related to the case are in his office. Maybe we can find some answers about me there? But I couldn't understand why my dad wouldn't tell me about this?" His words had a small bit of anger attached to them. I walked over and slipped my hand in his, his rage dissipating almost immediately.

"Whatever it was, your dad might've had a good reason. From what I read about Hyde's, they can be really dangerous when in the wrong hands. And whoever is controlling you seems to have some kind of vendetta against the outcasts and normies. And somehow Laurel Gates fits into all this." My brows furrowed as I started thinking.

"You don't think she's still alive and is using me to hurt people do you?" His expression drops and smile fades.

"The thought crosses my mind but there's only one person who could've found out about your Hyde side and used it to her advantage." Tyler looked at me questioningly. "But I won't jump to any conclusions just yet." We continued going over who could have the means to be Laurel Gates when I came across a file marked Galpin, S.

"My mom has a file in here?" Tyler says this while peering over my shoulder. I slowly open the file and see pictures of Tyler's mother in what appears to be a hospital, strapped to a gurney and covered in wires and needles. But one word stood out more than any other. HYDE was written in big red letters next to a box labeled Condition. Tyler must've seen it the same time I did because his expression changed from curiosity to pure horror.

"M-my mom was a H-Hyde! But her and my dad never told me! My dad has kept this from me my whole life! Why would he do that!" I watched as Tyler started freaking out, pacing around the room at a fast rate, grabbing his head and starting to growl. His shirt started to rip and he grew larger. I ran to him quickly and held his hands.

"Hey! Look at me! You're okay! Don't let the monster take over. I'm right here." I held him tight as I said the last few words into his ear. I could hear his breathing slow down and heart rate begin to go back to normal. I brought him to the couch and gently laid him down. He was back to normal but his eyes still hadn't opened. I brought my head down to his chest to check his heartbeat. It was back to slow and steady.

"Wednesday?" I heard the small whisper of my name and saw Tyler's eyes open, a confused expression across his face. "What happened?"

I sat him up slowly and faced him on the couch. I stopped and was thinking about telling him the news in case it made him change again. He saw me thinking and used his hand to move a stray hair away from my face.

"All I remember was looking over your shoulder at the files and seeing my mother and then-" he stopped abruptly and I realized he remembered what happened. I held his arm quickly but he gently placed his hand over mine. "Don't worry. I'm okay. I remember." I breathed a small sigh of relief. "It was nice to know you cared though." He flashed me his signature grin and I went back to my regular deadpan stare.

"Of course I was worried. It was a professional courtesy." His face turned into a smug smile. He held my hand up to his face and kissed it gently. A small blush flashed across my face and he definitely saw it but didn't say anything.

"Of course it was. But even so, thank you for bringing me back. I don't know what I would've done if I had hurt you." His concern was genuine and I could tell he really cared about me. And I wasn't gonna tell him but I cared about him just as much. Before I knew it our heads were leaning close together and our lips met once more, the original spark igniting in my chest once again. We had only a few seconds before Tyler's phone started ringing and we both jumped back. He pulled it out and looked at it confused.

"It's Enid." I looked at him in surprise and took the phone, the FaceTime message ringing with Enid's phone number. I clicked accept and Enid's face appeared but it was frantic and tears were evident under her eyes.

"Wednesday! You have to come back!"

"Woah Enid, slow down. What's going on?"

"It's Thing! I came back to our room early after visiting Ajax, and he's been stabbed!"