𝑊𝐴𝑁𝑇 𝑇𝐻𝐼𝑆 (locke and key gabe)

22 rewritten

There was no denying that Javi's house was beautiful. In a plain, overly-modernised way, but still, it was beautiful. It wasn't the kind of house Avery wanted, it was far from the detailed and overdecorated Victorian-style home she had always envisioned, but she would never say no to living somewhere like this- that was if it wasn't crawling with demons. Since she'd been gone, Gabe and Eden had managed to turn half the town, most of whom had taken up residence in Javi's house. Avery found herself wondering about his parents, if they were amongst the crowd of Gabe's demons, or if they were somewhere across the globe, holidaying on a far less grey beach. She wondered how they'd react coming home to see what had become of the place.

Not a single surface in the kitchen was visible, save for the floor, the rest was covered by heaps upon heaps of takeout boxes. As Avery had discovered, demons liked to eat.

She was sprawled out on the couch, eyes on a rugby game she wasn't actually paying the slightest bit of attention to. She was in agony from her leg, and not one of Gabe's minions happened to be a doctor.

"How's the pain?' He asked her. Gabe was seated on another couch, choosing to keep his distance. The room was deserted save for the two of them, and she knew that he'd sent his demons to give them space.

Avery grimaced, averting her eyes from the TV screen to meet his gaze. "Not bad enough for that, Gabe, stop trying."

He knew that she was lying through her teeth, he also knew that she couldn't keep up her strong facade for much longer.

Hours prior, Gabe had offered her a remedy for her pain. He'd told her that using the demon key and only half turning it would give her the ability to heal from her injury, as well as some other perks such as the increased strength, and would only last a day at most. He knew that she didn't trust him, she had no reason too, but he also knew that she'd come round to it, just like he knew that once she'd had a taste of that feeling, she'd want more.

The descent into hell is easy, she just needed to take that first step.

And she would, eventually. By the time the rugby game had finished, and Avery lie in the master bedroom, gazing out at Matheson's miserable beach, the pain would be too much for her to bare. She would she would shout Gabe to her room, and this time the door wouldn't be locked, this time he'd come as soon as she called, and once that key had been half turned her shattered leg would heal itself and the world would fall into place. She'd fall asleep almost instantly, the exhaustion of the pain catching up with her. Gabe would smile as he left, knowing that he was winning. Knowing that each day she was getting closer to being his forever.

When Avery woke the next morning, she did so with the feeling that she had suddenly come up for air after spending her entire life drowning. The pain was gone, leaving a hollowness in its wake. She prodded at her leg, feeling for any traces of the mess it had been before she had fallen asleep. But it was as good as new, not a single scratch or scar to prove that she had even been injured to begin with.

She had so much energy, more than she had ever had even as a child. She felt as though she could run a marathon, as though she could do anything at all. The colours were brighter, more intense, as though someone had turned up the saturation of the world, even that miserable grey beach no longer appeared dull. Every sound was sharper, more intense, she felt as though she'd never seen the world until now, and that feeling was all-consuming. Grinning like a fool, Avery made her way over to the mirrored wardrobes, trying to ignore how different she looked through her new eyes. She was beautiful in ways she had never noticed, never thought possible.

Was this how Gabe saw her? Avery tried to ignore thoughts of Gabe, pushing them away as quickly as they came, but more bubbled to the surface, maybe he'd been right about this all along.

She opened the wardrobe, scouring it for something she could change into. Avery glanced down at her frumpy black shirt with a frown. When she glanced back up at the clothes, she did well to stifle a gasp.

Holy shit these are some nice clothes.

Every individual item in that wardrobe was probably more expensive then everything she had ever owned put together. Her face lit up at the sight of it, rifling through dress after dress until she had accumulated a pile to try on.

After a couple hours rifling through Javi's mums' expensive wardrobe, she settled on a flowy navy sundress with small blue irises decorating the neckline, simply because of how silky the fabric felt against her skin. It was moments later, when she was debating over changing into a white minidress that she started to feel the hunger. She had known that demons were hungry, but the pit in her stomach was big enough to swallow up the entire town. Leaving behind her room and the view that she had now decided that she liked, Avery went in search of Gabe. She was awake early, earlier than she ever had been before, so early that the hallways were deserted. She doubted Gabe would be in his room, but regardless she decided to check.

She stopped outside his door, trying to remind herself how much she hated him. he had wanted to kill her family yesterday, she despised him. But this new feeling was like a drug, and it distorted her senses more than Gabe did. The line between right and wrong grew thinner with each passing moment, and all Avery knew was that she didn't want to leave. Of course, those feelings would change once the keys power wore off, but some would always stay the same. Some feelings would stay the same from before she ever found out Gabe was Dodge.

She decided to ignore the hatred that parts of her were trying to force the rest into feeling. She decided to open the door instead.

Gabe's room was much smaller than her own. The double bed took up most of the room, save for a small wardrobe and an even smaller desk. He was sat on top of the sheets, both his hair and his bed were a mess. He was wearing only a pair of dark joggers, and Avery found her gaze trailing down his chest. "Hey Ave," He said, catching her looking. His gaze ran over her body, once, twice, his lips twisting into a smirk. "I told you it'd feel good," he told her, his tone making heat creep up her cheeks.

"How's your leg?" He asked her, his concern almost looking genuine. She could see him battling that wicked grin. He knew that he was winning.

"It's better," She told him before being reminded why she came to his room by her rumbling stomach. "I'm hungry, can we go to Phills?"

Gabe wasn't sure if he trusted her enough to take her outside yet. But he trusted her enough to leave her door unlocked and to let her roam the house alone. She could have left anytime she liked. But they both knew she couldn't, she loved her siblings too much to endanger them.

Gabe agreed despite himself.

Neither of them knew what was coming, neither of them knew the endings they would suffer at the hands of one another. But for a while they were like they used to be. Friends, in some moments more than, able to exist without hatred and the burden of reality. Once the keys power wore off Avery would go back to hating him and Gabe would go back to locking her door at night. But for a few precious hours they could live in the daydream of normalcy.

It was a shame really, that such beautiful dreams turn into nightmares when we refuse to wake up.