Ever since the first trial, Teen has been acting weird.
Sure, it could be because someone – Mrs. Hart – has just died. Agatha doesn’t get everyone’s reactions – they act like they knew her for more than a few hours. Agatha has known her the longest, and she isn’t crying like Teen is. But apparently, saying, “People die. Big deal,” wasn’t the right thing. Everyone looked at her like she just killed their puppy before huddling together and planning what to do with Mrs. Hart’s- No, Mrs. Sharon- No, Sharon’s body. Agatha watches them with disbelief. This will take time. Time, which Agatha doesn’t have. She’s sure the Salem Seven will find a way to get on the Road, and Agatha would like her purple back when it happens.
While they plan, Agatha walks around and looks for the next trial, but she sees nothing other than the leafless trees and the Road winding through the forest like veins. After a few minutes, Alice, Teen, and Jennifer lift Sharon’s body and move it to the side of the Road, letting Sharon reunite with her bag. Agatha can’t help but laugh, earning a look of disgust from Jennifer, Lilia, and Alice. And Teen.
Agatha keeps noticing these kinds of looks from him more and more and every time, she feels an uncomfortable feeling inside her stomach. Something like guilt? No, that’s not possible. Agatha doesn’t feel guilty. About anything. Nope. Nada.
She ignores the fresh memory of feeling guilty during the hallucination from a couple of minutes ago and smiles at Teen. Teen avoids her gaze and walks over to Alice. Agatha’s smile fades. She is supposed to be the one he follows around. He’s her pet, not anyone else’s.
Agatha glares at him and Alice, angry that she has no one to mock. She would rather die than talk with Jennifer or Lilia. Well, not that that's possible at the moment – both of them are silent, slowly trailing behind them with their shoulders hunched and with a glazed-over look on their faces.
Having no one to talk to, Agatha is forced to think about what happened in that beach house and that damned wine. She was smart not to drink it. Sharon wouldn't have drunk it if she was half as smart as her. But of course, she had to have two glasses to make sure she would die. Pathetic. But the others would make her drink it anyway. Like they did to Agatha. And they call her heartless.
She still has involuntary chills when she thinks about the way Teen looked at her and the way he said, "Drink," as if he was angry with her for something. And she remembers the panic she felt once Teen reached for the glass. It was almost like an instinct. She didn't even think about it – she had to stop him from drinking that wine. She would rather drink it herself than watch him go through all the things Jennifer listed. She couldn't watch him die. Not him. Not her Nicky. Not again. Never again.
————
“You lied to me.”
Teen speaks to her for the first time since the trial. Agatha turns around to face him. Where did this come from?
“You’ll have to be more specific, honey,” she says.
Teen doesn't smile. His eyes are hard and unmoving as he stares Agatha down. He's shaking—Agatha briefly wonders if he's cold. They made the fire for a reason; he should return to it and leave her looking for the next trial in peace.
“You should go back-“
“You lied to me about the child sacrifice,” Teen cuts her off.
Agatha freezes. “I- I didn’t-“ she can’t help but stutter. Why would he say something like that? Did he remember something? Is he really Nicholas?
“Jennifer told me everything.”
Agatha's hope quickly dies. Jennifer doesn't know shit about what happened. Everything she thinks she knows is rumor and gossip. Agatha feels her blood boil. How does Jennifer dare to even suggest that those nasty rumors are true to her son?
“Jennifer doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“Oh, really?”
Agatha frowns. She doesn't like the tone he's been speaking with her lately. And, of course, it's Jennifer's fault.
“Watch that tone, N- Teen. “ Agatha wants to slap herself. She almost called him Nicholas. What’s happening to her? Is the poison still in her body?
“I will speak as I want. You’re not my mother!” Teen says.
He might as well put a knife into Agatha’s chest. She’s too stunned to speak. All she manages to do is stare at Teen, at the hatred in his face, the cruel words leaving his mouth, the judging stare in his blue eyes.
Teen mistakes her silence for ignorance. He huffs and throws his hands into the air, a look of disappointment on his face. If Agatha squints, she’s sure she can see sadness, too. “The others are right about you – you are a heartless monster. You don’t deserve to be a mother.”
Agatha slaps him. Hard.
Teen yelps and falls to the ground, his hand pressed on his face. He’s looking up at her, and the tears in his eyes almost make Agatha feel sorry. Almost. She reaches out her hand to help him stand up, but he recoils from her and looks down at his dirty clothes.
“Get away from him!” Alice yells at her. She pushes Agatha away and kneels beside Teen, hugging him and letting him bury his face into her leather jacket while murmuring comforting words into his ear.
Agatha can’t look at them without wanting to strangle Alice, so she quickly returns to the campfire, where Jennifer and Lilia stare at her, their hands crossed over their chests.
“What?!” Agatha snaps.
If looks could kill, Jennifer would have killed her on the spot. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Oh, I definitely am,” Agatha smirks.
Jennifer clenches her fist and walks forward, but Lilia grabs her arm before she can punch Agatha in the face. “We need to stick together. We don’t want to have another funeral, now, do we?”
Agatha opens her mouth to say that she wouldn’t mind letting the Road absorb Jennifer’s body, but Lilia’s cold look makes her close it again. “Whatever,” she mutters and sits on the other side of the campfire, ignoring Jennifer’s stare she can feel in the back of her head.
After a few minutes, Alice and Teen appear. Alice whispers something to him, frowns, and looks in Agatha's direction. Teen smiles at her before turning his head to look at Agatha. Their eyes meet and his smile vanishes. The coldness in Teen's eyes makes Agatha want to die. Too bad she doesn't have that wine right now.
Agatha feels her eyes water. She quickly turns her back to everyone, staring into the fire and letting the tears fall.
She ruined everything.
Again.
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Something Counterfeit's Dead
FanfictionWhat if Agatha was under Wanda's spell for more than three years? Or Agnes has lost a son, and Agatha can't look at Teen without painful memories.