I'm Just Septic-Eyed

Chapter 31: Tag, You're it

A/N: Thank all of you for commenting last chapter. It actually sparked some creativity for this. I'll leave it up for a bit so you guys can comment any ideas you have. :)

Sean was disappointed to find out that Mr. Morrison would be out for the remainder of the semester. That meant he would have to be around Mr. Ash until the final. With that in mind, Sean refused to have Mark tag along. They said their farewell outside the classroom and Mark was on his way. Sean sighed as he entered, but something surprised him. Mr. Ash's voice didn't greet him as it usually did. He wasn't even talking to another student. His voice just wasn't there at all, it was replaced with someone else's. "Hey," Sean caught the attention of the nearest student. "Is Mr. Ash here?"

"No," the student answered. It was a male. He had a rather smooth voice. It reminded Sean a bit of Mark. "It's some other guy. I guess he's the new sub."

Sean thanked him and found a seat. Part of him was glad that Mr. Ash was gone, but the other part was suspicious. There had to be a reason for him being absent today. Sean tried not to think about it too much, as Chica could sense his agitation. He often forgot Chica wasn't a pet. It was her job to help him with panic attacks and guiding him in unfamiliar areas. So, her sensing his panic levels rising was her job, it should be no deal. But apparently -- even if it's a dog -- Sean doesn't like being a bother.

Turned out the new sub was replacing Mr. Ash entirely. That was a cause for relief, wasn't it? Mark wouldn't have to be anywhere Mr. Ash now. Then why did Sean feel like Mark was in even bigger danger?

~~~

Felix was in his apartment when he got the call. His blood ran cold at the caller ID. He excused himself, leaving a confused Cry behind. Sam's voice certainly wasn't a welcoming one. He sounded rather pissed, if Felix had to say. But that didn't stop Felix from being in his current location. It was probably very stupid to be there, but it was even stupider to stay at home. It was a little house smack in the middle of the forest about two cities over. Felix would have said it was lovely, but he wasn't sure how it was obtained by the person living in it.

Felix tried to act brave as he knocked on the door, but his body betrayed him. His hands shook violently and his legs felt like jelly. A man answered the door. His face faintly clicked in Felix's mind. It was a substitute for one of the teachers; Felix had seen him around. The man said nothing, just moved to the side so Felix could get in. When Felix was inside, he saw Sam very calmly reading a magazine on the sofa. Felix wasn't sure he wanted to speak first. "Y'know," Sam said after what felt like hours of silence. "I really hate when my plans go wrong." Felix felt himself take a step back when Sam stood up. His voice was cool, collected, and that's what terrified Felix.

Sam smiled at Felix. It wasn't even overly sweet -- it seemed genuine. He dropped the magazine on the coffee table and walked toward Felix, who was trying not to take anymore steps back. Sam was slightly shorter than Felix, but that hardly made him less intimidating. With hardly any indication of what was happening next, Sam swung his fist at Felix. Felix stumbled back and held his cheek. He could already taste the iron in his mouth. Sam didn't give any signs that the action hurt him at all. "First off, you didn't tell me Mark was going to be late. You live right above him, don't you? Shouldn't you be able to see when he leaves?" Sam hit Felix again. The whole time his voice was steady. "But that's not all. Because of your slip-up, Taurtis escaped. And you know what happened next, Felix?"

Felix was afraid to answer.

Sam grabbed the collar of Felix's shirt and brought him down to eye-level. His voice was lowered to a deadly whisper, "I ran over Taurtis instead." Felix's eyes widened. Several thoughts ran through his head at once. Taurtis was Sam's closest friend, and had been until the very end. Despite Sam's new demeanor Taurtis had been loyal. Felix had the pleasure to meet Taurtis once, and knew he was a kind soul; an angel compared to the demon that was Sam. Taurtis tried until his very last breath to save Mark and Sean from Sam's rage, Felix knew that. He wished he could tell Mark and Sean that, he wished he could say Taurtis was a better friend than he. Sam let go of Felix. "I'm afraid to say our deal is up."

"W-what?" The first word Felix had spoke since he got there came out weak -- just like him. "What do you mean? Why? I --"

"Why?" Sam's voice rose. Felix recoiled in fear. "Because I killed Taurtis." He was livid. "I killed my best friend all because of you." Sam struck Felix the hardest he had ever been hit in his life. Blood gushed from his nose and he was pretty sure something broke on one of them.

Felix instinctively turned around in order to shield his face from anymore blows. The substitute teacher was still standing by the door. When Felix looked at him, he cast his eyes down. Sam yanked on Felix's hair to bring him kneeling on the floor. He still held on tightly as he pulled up the hapless blond. They were inches away from each other's face. "You were the one who convinced Mark to leave Aaron, weren't you?" Felix was shocked, to say the least. He didn't think that would be an issue with Sam. 

"N-no," Felix hated how his voice trembled. "I may have said some words, but I didn't convince him. If anyone 'convinced' him it would be Jack. Jack was devastated and Mark realized that. Mark truly loves him." Felix realized that he never said out loud Mark's relation with Sean. He may have hinted to it several times, but never actually said it. Maybe that's how it was for Mark.

Sam smirked and glanced at the man by the door. "Would you like to take your anger out, Aaron?" Sam pulled back Felix's head so that Felix saw Aaron upside down. Aaron didn't respond, just walked right up to them. Felix half expected him to not do anything, but he was terribly wrong. As soon as Sam let go of his hair, Aaron kicked him right in the stomach. Felix felt the air leave his body, and he doubled over. "Y'know," Sam spoke while Aaron slammed his foot onto Felix's back. He was just standing back and watching. "Getting Mark to fall for Aaron here was part of my plan. The more Mark went out, the more vulnerable Jack would be, but once again you've gotten in the way of that."

Felix cried out as Aaron stomped on the back of his knee. He wanted to scream at Sam -- say he didn't do anything wrong -- but he couldn't. Sam watched as Aaron kicked and hit Felix in any way he could. Any time Felix would try to get up or move away, Aaron stepped on his hands. Felix was trapped. "That's enough," Sam said eventually. It was like he had gotten bored of watching Felix suffer. Aaron stepped away and Felix curled up on his side. Everything hurt. Sam walked right into Felix's line of sight. Felix looked up to see his stoic expression. "I'll give you one more chance. Next time you ruin my plans, we'll go after your precious boyfriend instead."

Felix felt fear and hatred hit him at the same time. He was afraid because he didn't know what Sam would consider "ruining his plans", but he hated him for threatening Cry. Sam turned around. "I think it goes without saying that you shouldn't tell anyone about what happened or where you met me." He walked toward the door, Aaron tagging behind. They didn't even look back as they left.

Felix stared at the door. Blood was beginning to cake on his face and his knuckles were bruised and cut, but he didn't care. He didn't even care that his back ached and his leg pulsated with pain. Managing to stand up wasn't even the biggest priority. Felix had no idea how to explain this to Cry.

A/N: I'm glad I was finally able to write a chapter. And it was in a brand new perspective! Thank all of you again for helping me out. There's so many reads on this! I hope you liked this chapter :)