The After Kingdom: UnOrdinary (Arlo x John)

Chapter 15

REMINDER: This story was written during 2019. A lot of infos are still unknown by the time it was written

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Arlo woke up earlier than usual to make a healing tonic for John. The morning after was surprisingly calm, although John cried heavily last night, he looked at ease when he woke up. Somehow, Arlo was glad that John finally let his bottled emotions out.

"Drink this." Arlo handed him the tonic, "You wouldn't want them to see the bruises on your neck, this should get rid of the swollenness in your eyes."

John didn't say anything, he just nodded his head, taking the bottle from Arlo's hands.

Today was John's first day working at the coffee shop. The blond think that he should rest, but John insisted on going, not wanting to miss his first day working there.

After John revealed everything last night, Arlo should really be scared of what John was capable of.

On his middle school, John have beaten half of his class to death. On his time on Wellston, he've beaten up students who've hurt him and Seraphina, he pushed his father to get hit by a truck, and at that time when John arrived from his doorsteps wounded and hurt...

He destroyed powerful and dangerous criminals, he destroyed his own mother.

John revealed that his mother was Volcan. He didn't knew that she was a criminal at first, cause when he saw her, she was just a normal person. After abandoning John and refusing to see him as her own son, and when John's father was hospitalized, she refused to provide him any help.

Now, she suddenly wanted to take him back, just to make him their experiment. She planned to make him the strongest among all, an unstoppable monster. In exchange, she'll pay for his father's bills. Although it was tempting, John refused her. He hated her, and he doesn't want to become stronger than he already was, he doesn't want to become a monster.

Because of that, she set him up by having one of her underlings sleep with her son. He drugged John, and when he woke up, he was already in a chamber, chained like an animal.

They attack him with their abilities, as if they're testing something, and according to what John heard, it didn't have any effect.

His mother appeared after a few hours, and she attacked him physically at first, then she told him how much she loathes John, and how disgusting he've become. She triggered his emotions, and eventually John snapped. He was able to copy her abilities without her using it first, and he was stronger than he was, the more she attacked, the more powerful John felt.

Although their experiment was a success, their plan didn't go well. They were unable to contain John, and he really did become a monster.

John said that he lost himself. He attacked his mother until he was satisfied, until she was in a critical state, to the point where she was already unconcious. Still, it wasn't enough for John. He attacked everyone inside their headquarters, also beating them until they were brutally injured and unconscious.

He planned to burn the whole place as well, but when John made it out, it was raining really hard, and he knew that it would be pointless to do so.

No one helped John when they saw him in that state, drenched in the rain, and injured. He went to Arlo because it was the only place he knew he could go to, and Arlo really did helped him.

Normally, anyone would be afraid of John with the knowledge of everything that he did, and they'll see him as a monster. Arlo admit that he would be afraid of him too, if only he didn't knew how broken John really was inside.

Arlo really couldn't understand John before, but in the end of the day, he've never really experienced what John have been through, and now that he knew everything, he could see how much pain and guilt John have felt.

The whole day, Arlo couldn't even stop thinking about it, and he couldn't even focused properly on his job. He regretted his words more than he did before, he realized how deeper it cut through John.

When he've gotten home, John was already there, though he looked like he just arrived recently. He stared at Arlo with guilt on his eyes, and Arlo didn't really want John to feel that way.

"John, what do you want to eat?" Arlo asked him.

The dark haired man was a little taken aback by his question.

"Anything is fine..."

"We could eat outside if you want. Actually, I have something I want to tell you."

"You can tell it here." John looked down, "We don't have to go out... It's already late anyway."

"Seraphina wanted to meet up with you again." Arlo mentioned, "She said she could introduce you for a modelling job. You don't have to look for a second Job anymore-- I was actually going to tell it to you yesterday, but I missed the opportunity so I'm saying this now. "

There was a few seconds of silence before John replied.

"Arlo... You talked to Sera didn't you? Why? You knew everything that I did. Why are you still..."

John didn't know how to finish his words. He just didn't understand how Arlo could still stand him, whenever they talk, they always end up arguing. John acted terrible to him despite Arlo trying to help him, and now that he've told him everything, how can he still want to help John?

"I'm terrible with feelings." Arlo said, "But I knew I felt something for you. You wouldn't understand, because I couldn't understand either... "

The blond pulled John towards him, trapping him on his embrace. Arlo was warm, and John felt secured on his arms. He can feel Arlo's heart beating, and John couldn't help but wonder what exactly Arlo felt for him.

And what exactly he've also felt for Arlo.

John wasn't used to someone caring for him, in his whole life, it was just Seraphina and his father. Although John have kissed a lot of lips before, he've never felt anything else. Romance was out of his picture, because it never came to his mind that someone would care for him like this.

The blond used to hate him, and John hated him as well. Things would have been easier if Arlo didn't saw him at the bar, or if he continued expressing his hate to him. Arlo called him names, and told him that he was filthy and disgusting. John believed it all, but then, Arlo just declared that he didn't mean any of it, apologizing, treating him kindly, telling him that he didn't like seeing him with someone else, yet not knowing what his feelings are.

Arlo was confusing.