A Touch of Courage (Troyler AU)

Chapter 1: Bright Star

"I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days - three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain." 

― John Keats, Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne

Troye's POV

Troye glanced up at the glass building looming before him.  The building was a skyscraper that looked as though it had dozens of floors.  Although there were buildings in the city that were taller, this one was massive in its girth.  The windows were black and reflective and there were no signs designating the name of the building, or even its address.  Although Troye had never been here before, he knew instinctively he was in the right place.  It fit his father perfectly.  Mentally preparing himself, he breathed in deeply and walked in.

As the door slid close noiselessly behind him, Troye glanced around, taking in the elegant décor, the guards spread out discreetly around the floor, and the woman at reception smiling warmly at him.  Troye walked over to her and her smile widened in welcome.

"Good morning sir, how can I help you?"

"I'm here to see my father," Troye said tonelessly.  The woman had a nametag but Troye didn't bother to read what was written there, continuing to stare ahead blankly at a spot just beyond the woman's right shoulder.  The woman nodded and her hands moved quickly on the keyboard in front of her.

"Alright, what's your father's name?"

"Shaun Mellet."

For some reason the name caused the woman to look up in surprise and study him more closely, for the first time fully noting Troye's empty expression.  Troye shifted his gaze to look at her and the woman flushed, as if embarrassed to be caught staring.

"I'm sorry," she said, sounding slightly flustered.  "I just wasn't aware that Mr. Mellet had a son." 

Troye said nothing.  He wasn't surprised that his father did not advertise the fact of his existence.  He just stood there, waiting for the woman to say something else.  The woman cleared her throat and her professional smile slid back into place smoothly. 

"May I see some I.D. please?"

Without a word Troye held out his driver's license.  The woman took it, scanned it briefly, and handed it back to him.

"Thank you." 

She gestured briefly to someone behind Troye and soon a guard had walked over.  Troye went back to staring at the wall, not bothering to listen to the conversation between the two, not noticing when the guard disappeared briefly and returned with a handheld metal detector.  He ran the detector up and down Troye's body and it emitted a quiet beeping sound when it passed over Troye's belt and pockets.  Without waiting to be asked, Troye emptied his pockets and took off his belt, placing them carelessly on the counter in front of him.  The metal detector was quiet the second time around and Troye silently put his belt back on and retrieved the contents of his pocket.

The guard handed him a white visitor's pass with the day's date written on it in black marker as he said, "You're good to go.  An escort will be here shortly to take you to Mr. Mellet's office." 

Troye clipped the visitor's pass onto his shirt wordlessly and waited for something else to happen. 

Soon, another guard arrived and grabbed hold of Troye's arm, intending to lead him towards the elevator.  The touch caused a drastic change in the quiet boy.  Consciousness returned to his eyes with dizzying speed and he jerked his arm away from the guard violently, whirling away from him.  The guard stared at him and his hand continued to hover in the air in front of him.  He looked completely taken aback by Troye's reaction and glanced at the receptionist with a 'what the hell?" expression.  The receptionist merely shook her head and shrugged, not knowing what to make of the reaction either.  Turning back to the boy, the guard saw that he had relaxed but had not moved any closer.