Freezer Burn

Chapter Three

This chapter is SFW!

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Fabius Morgans sat towards the back of the classroom, a familiar and typical sight. His hands held the lightly crumpled edges of a note, squeezing tightly as he watched the teacher give a lecture over... something he wasn't quite paying attention to. A few weeks has passed since he had seen a dead body for the first time, though there was still the occasional student who tried to talk to him about it - whether they were demanding or kind, Fabius did nothing more than completely ignore them. He did it with everyone, though, save for Malcolm on occasion. It wasn't that he didn't want to think about it, in fact, he recently found himself diving down into countless articles on the murders. Apart from all the questioning, whether it be from police or curious students, finding a body relating to a series of murders was - exhilarating. He was a part of the case now, he could read articles on a serial killer and his name would be in them. He imagined this was how people who were in newspapers felt.

Soon the bell rang, the teacher - though better known as Mr. Bonaparte - helplessly protested students as they immediately stood up and rushed off into the hallway. It was the last period of the day, which was only more reason for students rush to get out before the teacher could assign that night's homework, or before they could hear it anyways. The teacher let out a frustrated sigh and sat at his desk, ignoring the last few students in the room as they slowly began to pack up, talking calmly to each other. Fabius stuffed the crumpled note into his backpack and slung it lazily over his shoulder. It was light, but that was because he didn't keep very much inside. His phone, maybe a folder or two, and a few trinkets that weren't necessarily school-related. Everything else was shoved into his locker in a messy fashion, majority being poetry and books over murder - unsurprisingly.

As usual, Malcolm was waiting nearby to walk home with Fabius. Everything went as routine, like it had for the past few years. Malcolm asked how his day was, even if he knew it would receive no answer. He may say a few more things before they had to say goodbye, and rarely would Fabius muster a reply. Somehow they had formed a friendship that way, even if it was far from ideal. It was Wednesday. No bodies had been found since the one he found. Malcolm still showed concern about the subject, specifically if seeing such a gruesome sight troubled Fabius... it still didn't seem to. Or at least Fabius could hide it well, which he had proven to be true in the past. Malcolm knew both he and Lucius wanted to get the boy into a proper counselor, and it wasn't just because of the body. They worried about Fabius, certain habits he had, harmful ones. Despite how many times they expressed wanting to get him help, he showed an aggressive retaliation at the idea.

Before long, Fabius and Malcolm parted ways once again. Malcolm headed inside while Fabius continued his walk - though it wasn't home. Fabius instead made his way to the mall. It was the last place he would typically want to go, but much like any other teenager like him, Fabius would occasionally stop by stores like Hot Topic or Spencer's. He often hated being characterized with other people that went to those stores, as if trying to avoid stereotypes, but he had just gotten some money. Fabius usually quickly looked around and got out as soon as possible, usually buying nothing more than a shirt to sleep in with a character from a horror movie on it.

Fabius arrived at the shop, almost feeling relieved the lights were so dim. No one was really in there, besides a cashier and a group of teenagers dressed in neon and black, laughing among each other joyously as they browsed. There was a moment Fabius watched with a hidden envy, but he forced himself to look away and browse alone. Shirts lined the walls, mostly with familiar bands and characters from shows and movies that he didn't recognize. Fabius bit his lip, his hand tugging at one of his backpack straps anxiously. After a moment he decided on a shirt to buy. His parents would disapprove of it, surely, though that was why he only wore them to sleep. Fabius looked over the shirt sizes, his eyes immediately darting to the smalls and extra-smalls - but his hand went for the medium.

Fabius headed to the cashier with a silent sigh, placing the shirt onto the counter. He glanced up at the cashier before him, biting the inside of his cheek as he eyed him. It was no surprise why he had a job at such a pathetic place - the man was pierced and tattooed beyond belief. Sure, he wasn't conventionally attractive, but Fabius couldn't help but look him over a time or two. He must've been in his early thirties, tall and slender - Fabius couldn't tell if he was athletic or not. He looked extremely intimating, but that was intriguing to Fabius. His face was narrow, his jawline sharp. Both his ears were lined with piercings, sticking out pointed in every direction, piercing every bit of skin they could - even a pair of large gauges were at the lobe, stretching them.

His face was no exception - bridge piercings, nose piercings, septum, snakebites, eyebrow, medusa, dimple... some Fabius couldn't even name. Some he didn't even know existed. Even the man's hair was a sight to see, shaved on either side, though left long on the top, dyed a dark, near blackish purple. It was pulled back into a bun while he worked, but Fabius could only imagine the strange things he did to it outside of his dead-end-job. Even his eyes were hidden behind a pair of blackout contacts, like he was trying to hide his actual appearance from the world. Fabius's eyes flickered down to his name tag, 'Harvey' was written on it lazily.

The man took the shirt and scanned, a scowl adorning his face as if he just wanted the world to know how much he hated working there. Fabius couldn't help but think that made him even more captivating. As he examined him, Fabius took notice to the two leather gloves he wore, which when paired with long sleeves hid every part of his arm. He shifted his position, placing his hands on the counter as he turned his eyes away to focus on something else, anything besides the attractive cashier. After only a few more moments, the quiet ding sounded. Harvey shoved the shirt into a plastic bag and placed it onto the counter, pausing for a moment. Fabius would've expected him to be waiting for the receipt, but even when it came out the man was stilled. Because his eyes were hidden behind contacts, Fabius couldn't tell that he what he was looking at.

The cashier stared intently for a few good seconds, his breath seeming to hitch on occasion as he examined every nook and cranny of the pale boy's bony hands. They were white enough to see the blue veins underneath, skinny enough that each bone and tendon was visible through the thin skin. His wrist jutted out sharply, but it was hidden just beneath the sleeve on his sweater. Just enough to hide it. The cashier seemed entranced by them up until Fabius removed them from the counter - he didn't say anything, but the man almost seemed annoyed because of it. Without any explanation, he picked up the receipt and placed it in the bag, sliding it towards Fabius in an irked manner.

Fabius took the bag, eyeing the cashier for a moment. Whether he was put off, confused, or intrigued was a complete mystery, but he felt that it was the last. He gave him one last glance over, admiring the tattoos on his neck that were just barely visible from beneath his clothes, the piercings in his face that made him look like a human pin cushion, but in the best way possible. He figured that was who the group of girls in the store had been giggling relentlessly over, Fabius didn't really blame them. Hesitantly, he left the store, his mind dawdling over the strange encounter. He tried to brush it off for the time being. He told himself it was just how late in the day it was, the man probably needed coffee. Fabius wrapped the excess of the plastic bag tightly around his hand out of habit before continuing his walk, ignoring the slight tingle in his fingers that the bag caused. He didn't really want to go home yet - so he derailed himself to the only other place he cared to go - the cemetery, of course.