Gothic: Cashton

Octo

Dedication: EssieAnyas
Calum's breathing accelerates when he feels someone else in the cage with him. He pushes himself away from the warm figure Ashton has just tossed him onto and cowers in the corner of the cage. As his eyes begin to adjust, he sees a boy in front of him with glowing yellow eyes.

"What'd you do to piss Freakshow off?" He asks. Calum wraps his slender arms around himself and shivers. Its much colder without Ashton near him.

"I- he- I" Calum stutters, unable to find the words he's looking for. The boy moves closer to him and wraps an arm around his shoulders.

"Its gonna be okay. I'm Eugene" he murmurs. Calum leans his head on Eugene's shoulder and sniffles.

"I was his favorite! It was my first show I didn't know he was gonna, it was my first show!" Calum cries. Eugene rubs his shoulder comfortingly.

"Its alright, buddy. Marina was his favorite once too." Calum looks up at him, squinting to see better.

"Who's Marina?" Calum whispers. Eugene frowns

"She dances. But not like a normal person" he explains. Calum gasps quietly.

"I remember her from when I got to watch the show! She danced right over my head" Eugene nods, barely visible.

"One day she tried to run, to go home. Then he started locking her in a cage like the rest of us, asking her each day for a month if she was done running. Marina's stubborn as all hell and she kept saying no. Eventually, he stopped asking and started treating her like the rest of us. Angel, you know her as Spider, was on her way to becoming his new favorite until you showed up. She wasn't very pleased." Eugene rambles. Calum frowns.

"Its not my fault he chose me and not her. I'm nothing special"

"Apparently you are. You must have a really special mind" Calum cocks his head to the side.

"What do you mean?"

"Freakshow. He only picks people with the right mindset. He judges everyone in the crowd based on their mind and how strong or weak it is. He likes weak minds so he can easily control them, but at the same time he likes the challenge sometimes"

"So... so that means my mind is weak?" Calum whines. Eugene gives Calum a sympathetic look through the dark.

"Either that, or you're the challenge" he says. Calum frowns

"I don't think so. When I'm with him I-I don't feel like me. I feel darker, and I don't think about my family or friends. All I can think of is him. I call him Daddy for gods sake. I dont have a daddy kink! He's, he's always right" Calum blurts, releasing everything he hasn't been allowed to think. Eugene rubs Calum's back soothingly.

"Its gonna be okay. Now that you're with us you'll find yourself thinking more freely."

Calum and Eugene sit in deafening silence until a light turns on very suddenly. Calum and Eugene flinch at the sudden exposure. Calum looks up to see Ashton walking in with a smug looking Spider on his arm. He leads her to the cage Calum and Eugene share and smirks.

"Do It" Ashton commands. Spider grins and sends a glob of spit to Calum's face. Calum jumps and wipes frantically at the saliva that's beginning to stream. Ashton laughs.

"That's what you get. Maybe next time you won't be a little shit head" Ashton hisses. Calum whimpers, feeling a familiar pull toward Ashton. He wants him, needs him, is desperate for his approval. He suddenly sits up on his knees and grips the bars of his cage in his hands.

"Daddy I'm sorry!" He cries. Ashton tsks and shakes his head.

"Should have thought of that before disrespecting me hm?"

"Please Daddy I don't wanna be here anymore! I wanna go with you, please don't make me stay!" Spider snorts.

"You're pathetic" she snears. Ashton pinches her.

"Don't speak." He snaps. Calum shakes the bars slightly.

"Daddy please!" He exclaims, beginning to cry. Ashton shakes his head.

"Not tonight. You need to learn to respect me. Now straighten up, the viewers will enter soon." He commands. Calum wipes at his tears and slumps next to Eugene who he now sees is of clear Asian descent. Perhaps Korean. As Ashton walks away, Calum feels a cherry red blush cover his cheeks.

"I-I don't know what came over me" he whispers. Eugene pats his shoulder softly.

"Freakshow came over you. You couldn't help it. He wanted you to make a fool of yourself." He explains. Calum nods somberly.

"Hey, Eugene? " he asks. Eugene hums. "Why are you in the freak show tent? You look normal to me" Eugene laughs dryly and points to his eyes.

"See how they're yellow?" Calum nods "I can breathe fire. Freakshow thought it would be funny to make me breathe fire like a dragon since I'm Asian. Its honestly more of a Japanese thing. I'm not Japanese, I'm Korean." Calum had been right.

"I'm sorry. That's stereotypical and rude! He's rude! I hate him!" Calum rants. Eugene sighs.

"We all do. But there's nothing we can do about it. He controls our minds and without our minds we have absolutely nothing." He replies. Calum holds back tears.

"I wish I could do something. Anything" he whimpers. Eugene runs a hand through his hair.

"Lets change the subject yeah? Where are you from?" He asks. Calum searches his mind but he can't think of it.

"I-I don't remember" he whispers. The corners of Eugene's mouth twitch into a slight frown.

"Its okay. I don't remember much about before either. I remember my mom, and her teaching me Korean even though we'd moved to the United States. I remember my dog Yuki and my brother Stephan, but that's it. I don't remember what state I was in, or If I was even still in the U.S. I don't remember what my house looked like or going to school, but I remember those other things and I'm not prepared to lose them. I picture my small family every day and speak in Korean to myself as often as I can. I never want to forget them." Eugene says, his voice getting quieter the longer he speaks. Calum finds himself getting emotional and he wishes he could send Eugene home so he could see his mother and speak Korean with her and pet his dog Yuki and be with his brother Stephan. It isn't fair. Nothing about it is fair.

Suddenly, the two boys hear Ashton's voice from outside the tent.

"And don't forget to check out our freak show! Enjoy!" Eugene tenses.

"Get ready"

Dedication question: which character in this story besides ashton or Calum do you like best and why?