Town of Sadness (RoyalChaos)

They Don't Know About Us

Trigger warning: this chapter will have some depression and relationship abuse in it. Please do not read this if it will harm you, it is not my intent to hurt my readers in any way!

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The next morning, the heavy clouds of dust and fog disappeared slightly in the sunlight, and the group of six made their way back to their temporary residences. No one talked much; they didn't want to waste their lungs saying meaningless things. Once indoors, they spared a few goodbyes and promised to eat dinner at Ze and Chilled's apartment later that night.

Steven entered their house, letting out a soft sigh and removing his makeshift towel breathing device. He looked around, once again frowning at pictures of people he didn't know and places he'd never seen. Chilled wandered in after a minute, unlacing his boots and dropping them by the door.

"Did you get that Bunsen burner working yet, Ze?" Chilled asked, wiping down his dusty face with his rag.

"No, not yet. I'll deal with it after I clean a few rooms out," he picked up one of the frames, looking at a photograph of a smiling woman with two children.

Chilled took it from him, tossing it back down on the table. "It doesn't matter, these people are all dead anyway."

"Exactly. This woman and her kids, they're no longer alive. It would be respectful to at least box these up. She would've liked that."

"Jeez, Steven, just shut up. It's fine, who cares?" Chilled rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. His exasperation was clear on his face.

"Why are you so insensitive? I care. Maybe you're a heartless asshole, but some of us are actually sad about the billions of dead people on the planet, Anthony!" Ze scowled, turning to him. He stepped towards his boyfriend, about to say more, when he felt a sudden pain on his cheek.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that again!" Anthony growled, standing tall and burly over Steven. His eyes seemed black instead of their usual puppy dog brown, his welcoming muscular body turned terrifyingly huge.

Ze stepped back, holding his face as tears welled in his eyes. "Chilled, I-"

"Shut up, you worthless garbage. Go fix the damn burner so we can have a nice dinner with our friends. Get over yourself and these people!" He picked up the framed photo and threw it, watching it explode into glass shards on the wall nearest to Ze's head. A few pieces of shrapnel rebounded and dug into Steven's face, making him whimper.

This was his baby, his Anthony! What had gotten into him? Tears flowed freely down his cheeks, intermingling with the beads of blood from his new slashes. "I'm s- sorry, baby, I didn't mean to upset you. I'll clean this up..," Steven whispered, getting down on his hands and knees. He picked up the little shards of glass, gathering them in his hands.

After a few seconds, he sensed a presence by his side. Anthony wrapped his arms around Ze, holding him against his chest. "I'm sorry, baby, you know I didn't mean it. I love you, I'll never hurt you like that again..," he murmured, squeezing him tight.

Steven sobbed openly, dropping the glass again to push his boyfriend away. "Why? Why would you do that?" He yelled, shoving and kicking, trying to escape from his grip.

Chilled dug his nails in, refusing to let go of the other. "Don't you dare try to leave me!"

"Let me go, Anthony!" Ze screeched, choking on his own tears.

The front door flew open, which only made Ze flinch and yell louder. He just wanted to be alone at this point. Steven felt his boyfriend being yanked away from him, which he gratefully allowed, he crawled away from the shattered glass and the new person, curling into a ball.

Gassy threw Chilled onto his back on the floor, screaming something Ze was too upset to make sense of. Then Max drew his weapon, turned off the safety, and fired three shots into Anthony's head.

Loud. So very loud. Who was screaming? He shut his mouth only to realize it was him. He launched himself onto Chilled's body, crying into his shirt. "How could you to this?" He cried, looking up at Gassy with a pained expression.

The man holstered his gun, shaking his head. "Come on, buddy. You wanna talk to Adam? Let's go talk to Adam." Gassy gently helped Ze stand and stumble to his apartment, where Nanners enveloped their friend in a hug. Everyone was crying.

GaLm and Smarty emerged from their apartment, surveying the scene. The open door to Chilled and Ze's home, blood and glass splattered everywhere. A sobbing Steven, Max holding a gun, Adam being the comforting and good friend he is.

Max shook his head, meeting Smarty's eyes. The look said it all. John disappeared into his own home for a moment, then reappeared with some towels and sponges.

GaLm, Smarty, and Gassy made their way into the bloody house, closing the door behind them.

Steven couldn't stop crying, just a mess in Adam's arms. "You don't know about us... You don't know, Adam!" He screeched, but one would just assume he was only picturing the good times.

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Thank you all for reading, I hope that wasn't too traumatic. :( Big thanks for almost 230 reads, even when this story is on hold! Make sure to keep looking for updates, even if they aren't always 100% on time! I hope everyone had happy holidays!

~ S.J.