Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A man, once just a boy, with a fascination towards videoing anything and everything at all times. This obsession kept with him all the way down the line, but it wasn't anything worrisome...

The footage on his camera mostly consisted of videos of nature, places he'd often visit, himself playing his guitar or keyboard and sometimes his friends. He was a loner mostly, albeit there were some that stuck by his side.

Some felt that his compulsion to hold his camera ceaselessly was strange and creepy, and so they kept their distance, but the few that didn't mind this unusual quality of his, appeared frequently in his recordings. Any bit of footage that would contain an individual, it would be a friend of his... for a while.

In due course, Trent began straying away from filming his friends, and unfamiliar faces started making appearances in his videos. He would follow strangers, filming them carefully, from a distance. Apart from Trent himself, nobody ever witnessed any of the alarming footage, though, so none of his friends fretted over this just yet.

His fixation grew by the day and he would begin to follow these people to their homes, often staying after dark and watching them through their windows as they got undressed, walked around and eventually went to sleep.

This stalkerish behaviour would only get more concerning from then on. The amount of videos that Trent made increased rapidly, sometimes trailing over five individuals in a day. Usually, these people would only appear once, as Trent didn't have an outright target, he'd follow anyone he liked or thought was interesting.

This infatuation of his would continue alone, for close to a year, until he met someone new...

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A man, depraved and ill-minded, one of the true abhorrences of the world. He began evil from as far as he could remember, his violent ways steered him in situations that left him wanting more.

He stalked and observed strangers the same way Trent did, only in a much worse manner, as he would go as far as entering the homes of these people, watching them up close in their slumber, pointing his wretched camera in their oblivious faces.

He felt pleasure every time he managed to slip in and away without waking the victim, treasuring the footage much more than others, in which they'd blink their tired eyes awake, leaving Nivek to retreat in dismay.

His targets also weren't reoccuring, though he mostly stalked people he used to know, highschool classmates, childhood friends, crushes.

One of these individuals were Trent.

He and Nivek used to be neighbours once, when they were both very young. To Trent, Nivek was just a kid like any other, one he never really associated with but often caught sight of. To Nivek however, Trent was a persistent memory.

As he would exhibit traits of this later worsening stalkerish behaviour so early in life, Trent was a target of his, so to say. Even as a young teen, Trent caught his eye more than anyone else, maybe because he related to him, maybe just liked his appearance, maybe not even Nivek himself knew why he chose Trent, but this fixation followed his life up until the point of Trent moving away.

He wanted to pursue his musical career and set sail to a recording studio in a different city, where he would put together an album, but had failed to garner any popularity.

Soon enough, he returned to Nivek's proximity. This marked the beginning of Trent's descent into a kind of insanity that corresponded to Nivek's.

It was only fate that would connect them by their predatorial ways.

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Nivek paced the late night streets of the city, looking for new prey, dark eyes darting from one person to another, waiting for a worthy inidividual.

As he roamed around a large park area, he spotted a familiar figure. The figure stood still, a camera in hand, pointed at something Nivek couldn't see from where he was standing. He wasn't fully sure, but he was somewhat convinced that the man he just spotted, was Trent.

Nivek pulled his own camera up, trying to zoom in on his shadowed face, even taking a few cautious steps toward the unaware target, quickly establishing the man's identity.

It was as he thought, Trent.

"Got you." He softly breathed, whispering to himself as he stalked the man. Nivek suddenly turned, eyes low, taking a stride in front of Trent, abruptly inserting himself in the view of his camera.

He stood still and with only a few miles seperating the two, he called out "Hello."

Nivek's voice, deep and raspy, left a rumble in Trent's chest, visibly taken aback by the greeting. He took a step back, eyebrows raised in unnerve as he tried to garner the strenght to reply.

"I know you..." Nivek continued, not exactly easing Trent's consternation. He urged himself closer, closing the distance between them. Trent felt rooted, sensing danger, yet also feeling a spark of interest in the shady man. Nivek extended his arm, gently gripping the side of Trent's neck.

"We used to live next to each other, remember?" Nivek spat out, tilting his head to one side. Trent nodded slowly, blinking back the dusty memories of his childhood. His mouth fell open, about to speak.

"Name's Nivek." He interrupted, leaving the gap between Trent's lips to form the breath of a quiet "oh". He remembered, and he did so, very clearly. Hearing that nickname again, the memories of the weird kid next door easily came flooding back to Trent.

His fear had subsided now, as he found himself coughing up kind thoughts of the guy. Even back then he felt sympathy for the boy everyone told him to stay away from and that didn't change for that moment.

"I know you too." Trent eventually barked out, letting a small smile spread across his face. Nivek looked satisfied.

"Let's be friends." He whispered, his grip still mild on Trent's neck. Trent couldn't help but nod, letting a breathy "okay" slip his lips.

After that night, their stories would twist together, and soon, the two of them would discover each others clandestine interests.

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With the ascertainment of their dark ways, they began committing their crimes together, stalking and recording their targets from different points of view.

Nivek videoed the victim from inside their home, carefully navigating inside, making sure to stay hidden, while Trent followed his movements from outside, soon unearthing a strange feeling of pleasure upon collecting enough footage of his mate trespassing homes.

They would continue this activity, for a while only watching, following and recording but in due course, they would start plotting to kidnap a target.

This moment promptly arrived, when the duo discovered an abandoned building along the outskirts of a nearby forest. It seemed well-waived, as the walls were empty of any graffiti or stickers.

Said part of the forest wasnt very frequented anyway, they knew for a fact, and so, they deemed this building their covert, where they would bring their victim and play out their fantasies.

Nivek carried this notion, as Trent found himself somewhat apprehensive about it. The idea of silently stalking someone surely got him off, but harming them? He felt it was far from something he could do.

This underlying concern of his caused him to mostly stay quiet and let Nivek take matters into his own hands, while he would settle with just being the cameraman.

Trent followed behind Nivek as they set out to find their first, real victim. The duo deliberately walked the city's dark streets, warily studying each individual they passed.

Trent's hands shook as he held his camera, panning back and forth between Nivek and the passerbies, his mind racing with thoughts about dropping out and leaving Nivek behind, before anything unforeseen happened.

Then again, he reminded himself that even now, it was far too late.

"Her." Nivek hissed, poiting to a woman across the road from them. The tension around Trent grew as Nivek found the victim, sweat carressed his face whilst passing the road and zeroing in on the lone woman.

He tried to keep himself together and let Nivek guide his nervous hands but the stakes were high, no mistake could be made, Trent thought.

They bent their way to follow the shadows, if anything, only the red blink of the camera could've been visible to the victim, though she didn't look to be too concerned with it.

The two of them slowly stepped behind her and with a blink exchanged, Nivek took her down with one hand on her mouth and another on her throat. A stifled scream bubbled from her throat, but only a quiet hum could escape Nivek's fingers.

Trent had taken a step back, his hands which gripped the camera still trembling.

Nivek cursed, glacing at Trent for assistance. His eyes widened, a shiver of fear running down his spine, he would've froze but time was running short and even Trent knew it'd be worse if the woman escaped.

The feisty victim had managed to tackle Nivek to the ground along with herself, kicking and hitting as he urged to hold her down. Trent had lost any common sense left in him and in a moment of uncertainty striked the woman, ultimately knocking her unconscious.

Nivek gathered himself off the ground, dragging the victim with himself as he did so, a guttural chuckle escaping his throat.

He peered at Trent, who then stood still above the scene, a splatter of blood coating his knuckles. He looked gnarly and horrified, yet Nivek found it laughable.

After a few moments of Trent trying to regain his composure, the two of them propped the knocked out girl up on their shoulders and began their hike to the building in the forest.

Their first victim had been secured, now Trent wondered what Nivek's next step would be...

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As the duo had managed to haul the victim into the cellar, which they rightfully chose to suit their practices, Nivek had gone away to retrieve a plethora of weapons to befit his defined taste, leaving Trent alone with the woman they've since restrained.

In these lonesome moments of thought, the plight warped around his brain, stabbing mental daggers of guilt and such into him.

His uneasy gaze paced around the dimly lit room, studying the dirty brick walls, the calmly flickering candles and sometimes even hovering over the victim herself. At times, he stared the girl off for a few seconds, but her cold, contorted body quickly made him turn his head in repugnance.

Nivek's absence only lasted half an hour at best, as he had already arrived, slipping quietly inside the dark, creaky building, shuffling down the stairs that led to the basement.

As Nivek appeared in the doorway, he stopped, leaning in to look around. He first peered at the victim, still unmoving and seemingly out cold...

He then shot a glance at Trent, huddled up in a corner, blinking vacantly at the shadowed doorway. Nivek cocked an eyebrow, looking confused at whatever was up with Trent.

"She talk to you, or what?" he growled, his voice dripping with condescending sarcasm while pointing at the very obviously insensible girl. Trent shook his head, now able to direct his attention away from the victim.

He watched quietly as Nivek flashed him a crooked smile and began showcasing the assortment of sharp objects he'd gone to bring earlier. Trent's face could only mirror a look of emptiness and slight worry, leaving Nivek's expression to contort into that of dissatisfaction.

"You aren't very good at this, huh?" he snobbishly teased, taking a small knife into his hand and carressing the sharp edge with his pointer finger.

"Let me give you a taste of the good stuff then, maybe that'll get'cha in the mood." he continued, his voice still gruff and animalistic, and now, given the circumstances, outright appalling.

The words halted in Trent's throat, unable to squeeze out a response, so he swallowed painfully, and with sweat beading on his forehead, he wondered what was next.

Nivek shimmied his way over to the unconscious victim, kneeling down to level with her. He taunted the girl's neck with his cold blade, pressing gently, eventually slicing into the skin and drawing blood.

His lips curled into a treacherous grin, bearing his beastly fangs as he huffed out a hoarse chuckle, getting louder as her insides turned out. Her glistening blood, still warm to touch, reached Nivek's hands, trailed all the way down his forearm, then lazily dripped off at his elbow, gathering into a small puddle on the floor.

Trent just watched, gulping fearfully every now and then.

"Aw, looks like she was already dead... I never even got to hear her scream... what a shame." Nivek murmured, now almost knuckle-deep into the victim's lifeless throat. He stopped the twiddling of his hands to look back at Trent, trying to catch his gaze, who tried equally as hard not to look Nivek in the eye.

He stormed himself off the ground, promptly grabbing Trent's chin with his blood-drenched hands and squeezing, until he looked him in the eye.

"Your turn." Nivek panted, directing Trent to take part in roughing up the girl. His green eyes, open wide, lingered on the leaking wound while Nivek placed the weapon into his hands.

Hot blood dripped from his chin, trickling down his gullet, coating the collar of his shirt in sheer ruby. He knelt, eyebrows laced together in distress as he wondered how he should do this...

An unsure glance shot to Nivek summoned him to kneel next to Trent. Slender, bloody fingers intertwined with his own as he held the knife, guiding his way around the cool skin with ease.

Trent's lips parted in astound as the oddly intimate scene played out around him... he felt delighted, for once. He bit his lip, attempting to contain himself as Nivek huffed in his ear, steering the situation into an almost erotic direction.

As Trent finally sussed out the art of cutting, Nivek abandoned his hands and instead, began roaming the rest of his body, growling carnally while tracing soft, exposed skin. Trent hummed, focusing on his task as Nivek dug his fingernails into his neck, gripping tightly, devoiding him of air, then letting go to move elsewhere.

"That's enough." Nivek eventually purred, pulling away from Trent and taking the knife from his bloodied hands. "Lets get rid of her." he added, giving Trent's shoulder one last squeeze before leaving the room.

Chapter Text

Trent stayed in the room, still knelt beside the gutted carcass as his hands jittered inside the cold wound. He'd even gone to get his camera to record the remains of the carnage.

Nivek watched fom afar, stood behind the narrow basement door. He watched the boy's strange mannerisms, interested in how he would proceed after Nivek’s withdrawal.

He sat, camera in hand, pointed clearly at the gaping wound as his hands dug deeper into it, picking at what was left inside, just like a vulture. Nivek couldn't help but smile as he realized just how easy it was to break Trent. He thought about getting involved, or simply leaving the boy to have his own fun for once, but eventually deemed his own entertainment more important.

He carried himself down the stairs, each heavy booted footstep earning a screech from the old wooden staircase. Trent shot him a staggered glance as he noticed Nivek, his vast eyes, widened by cocked eyebrows, like a small, scared puppy. Nivek felt a smidgen of pity watching Trent, thinking how absolutely pathetic he was.

He'll carry out whatever horrible act just because he was asked to... what an inadequate creature, unable to deny, Nivek thought.

"Like having everything on camera, huh? This your little obsession?" -Nivek mocked, a noticeable hint of arrogance in his voice. Trent stammered, feeling awfully humiliated but still nodding yes.

"I'll give you something to record..."-He continued with a wretched laugh, that terrible grin still stuck to his face, already knowing his next move.

"Ever been the victim?"-He asked, starting to pace around the room, slowly making his way behind Trent. A look of unease took to Trent's face upon hearing Nivek’s words, his empty stomach twisting in a knot, sinking deeper with each footstep taken towards him.

Thoughts of death encircled his head like a wicked halo, in his mind appeared a dozen visions of himself wind up dead in a ditch. He was almost certain of dying.

Nivek shuffled behind his sitting figure and began tying his hands together, tight as he could behind his back. He took it slow, working the rope carefully around Trent's thin wists, knowing he will submit no matter what.

"Don't worry, I won’t kill you... no, not even close... just curious how you’d like the blade on your own skin." -Nivek spoke up, tightening the knot.

He knelt behind Trent, slowly beginning to unbutton his soiled shirt, sliding it past his biceps, letting it drape over the ropes. His cold hands met Trent’s neck, slowly descending to his sculpted collarbones, scratching at the shivering pale skin.

He rested his head on Trent's tense shoulder, watching his reactions carefully from above as he finally brought the blade to his stomach, tracing a thin line all the way up to his throat, stopping just below his chin.

A trail of blood followed along the wound, dripping slowly and pooling at the crotch of his jeans. Trent bit his lips shut, attempting to drown out his sounds. Nivek listened to the raspy hum scratching at the roof of his mouth, letting the breath of a small laugh meet the skin on his neck.

His lips lingered where the breath had already faded, unmoving, before sinking his teeth in the soft flesh. The bite wasn't too hard, just enough to poke the skin open.

"You look nice in red." -Nivek huffed with a grin as he traced the bitemark with his tongue, smudging the hot blood to cover Trent's throat. He hissed in pain, squeezing his eyes shut upon noticing the trail of blood fom his neck meeting the one from his stomach. Nivek’s hands slid up to Trent's face, caressing the soft leather of his cheek before speaking.

"Does the bleeding scare you? Do you wish to stop?" -He whispered, the smoke of his breathy voice nuzzling Trent’s trembling flesh. He took a breath, inhaling deeply and puffing out a sigh of relief. With his voice stuck in his throat, he just nodded, stray strands of his ashen black hair sticking to the crimson blood coating his neck.

Nivek nodded back, rewarding Trent with a small smile. His hands moved down, quickly working to untie the binding of his wrists, carefully peeling the long rope away from the swollen, red skin where it had dug in.

"Better?" -Nivek mocked with a grin as he put the ropes away.

"Yeah."-Trent hushed, tilting his head down to inspect the wounds covering his body. He wasn't sure how to feel about it, initially he would’ve even said he enjoyed it, but ending up with a rather lopsided knife wound in his stomach was quite ... depressing.

Besides that, it felt like getting branded, like Nivek leaving a mark on him, to forever know Trent belonged to him...

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There was a girl, a girl long lost in the forgetfulness of her once best friends. While they formed their intentions with her as a stranger, she looked at them with the same gaze as back in high school .

1982, the year they all united, creating memories that Valentina thought could never be forgotten... and yet when Trent and Nivek passed her by on the street that one night she found them again, she saw no redamancy.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't saddened... angered even, but she knew she was the reason for their fallout.

She was the ultimate femme fatale, a beautiful, seductive girl who always got what she wanted, no matter the cost or consequence. Her personality seemed to be set in stone, as after all those years she never left behind her willingness, her confidence that spits in your face and that god-awful need to do everything and anything.

maybe deep down she had a fear of missing out and wasting her youth. Nobody knows that though, as there wasn’t a single bone in her body that'd let her spill such vulnerable information about herself.

Nivek’s feelings changed drastically towards her; or at least that’s what she believed. He must hate how well she knows him, how easy it would be for her to tie his hands and beat that toughness out of him, and the way everything always seemed to go exactly the way she had planned... it was some kind of Godly miracle, Nivek always would say and while he used to always be so surprised about it, now it’d probably drive him insane.

An unfair competition is a bad one....

Only Nivek was adversary for Valentina; even back when they were friends, they still had that pinch of rivalry in between them, though mostly from Valentina's part.

The twist in their story was Nivek's feelings; after having known Valentina for years, he found himself “in love", or whatever that meant for a psychopath. Her beauty, her stubbornness and mostly the fights she’d put up to come out of something better than Nivek did... It all made for a worthy opponent and that delusion of love was just the need for competition.

Valentina knew this from the very first moment he unveiled his feelings and made sure to always let him know her disapproval. Nivek came to his senses eventually and even if he knew it himself that his feelings weren’t true, he resented Valentina for not enabling him and playing along. That was the moment their kinship fell into doom…and eventually obscurity.

Such a selfish dog he was, but not wrong for thinking it wouldn’t affect her. She surely didn’t take his unsaid offense to heart, otherwise she wouldn’t have gone to seek him out…

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Soft winds of early autumn weeped quietly in the night, dimly lit streetlights around dark buildings and bright billboards bled into the starless sky. Nobody’s out, Val’s the lone ranger of the city.

She walked a mile on the highway, hardwared boots weighing her feet down but she didn’t mind. She was on a mission.
She often remembered her youth, especially recently. She found herself cradling the
memories of her high school years... their high school years. But where were they now?

A couple of rumours told her the story of two killers occupying Cleveland. Some even said it was the return of the “Roxboro kids" from half a decade ago…

Roxboro high, the set of their first meeting, and, most crimes. Nivek and Val used to be classmates, it was only an accident they happened to become acquainted with each other. Then in a year, Trent began high school too. it seemed Nivek had quite the infatuation with him and soon, he also become part of their little group… although
under slightly unfair circumstances.

These three were the "Roxboro Kids". They infamously wreaked havoc upon the population of the school, earning a title from their humble mates. It seemed their little infamy stuck with the cities residents, as even after six years and the shutdown of the school, the title still remained.

Now Val was left to believe that all those missing persons, whose faces decorated every corner, telephone pole and store window were the works of, at least, Nivek.

A telephone book sat wide open on her mother’s bedside table, as Val frantically flipped through the pages, hoping to find an old home number. Her eyes skimmed over the letters, finger tracing under each line of text...

"Reznor". There was only one, and the numbers felt familiar. She jotted the number down on a nearby sticky note then dialed it.

Ring... ring... ring...

"Mrs. Reznor?… Trent’s mom...?” -Val asked hesitantly.

"That’s me, hun, indeed. Who’re you?" -She said, surprised.

"I'm Val. You know... Trent's Friend from high school. It's not important, uh, Where is he? Has he moved away or is he still here?" -Val's tone turned a little pushy.

"Oh, I see. I remember you, hun. He's got his own house ‘n all now, here in Cleveland.” -The woman replied calmly but there was a slight sense of suspicion in her voice.

"Would you mind telling me his address? I really miss him and I want to visit him..." -She asked, sounding fakely sincere.

Val had the address. She walked there, a small house in the suburbs, bordering the
forest. Two stories, painted white but a little run-down. It seemed Trent didn't take much care of the property.

Val snooped around, sneaking under the windows to study the building a bit more before making a move. Two windows on each wall, a front door and a backdoor, dark curtains draped over all the windows, making it difficult to see inside. She could see lights, but only upstairs, the bottom floors seemed completely empty. It was quiet, no music, TV or phone calls.

She made her way to the backdoor, slowly reaching out to the doorknob and rattling it slightly. It made a small clicking noise, she was able to twist the knob fully, cracking the door open. Strange, he didn’t lock it. She pushed the door open and peered inside, her eyes met with darkness and an empty kitchen.

She slowly walked across the black and white tiles and quietly ducked behind the table. The kitchen opened into the living room, brown carpet coating the floor beyond the edge of the tiles. She peered out and saw emptiness, deeming Trent to be upstairs.

She slowly began walking up the stairs, trying to minimize the creaking the old wooden steps created under her weight. Upstairs was a hallway, leading to three doors on one side and two on the other, one of them cracked slightly, orange light beaming from inside and painting the white wall infront of it. She slowly walked to the door, looking inside.

Trent sat in bed, facing away from the door. His head was tilted on his knees. Val didn't want to talk, she wanted Trent in her grip, hopeless and waiting for a saviour that will never come. She wanted to downright
kidnap the guy, so this was her chance.

She snuck up behind him, smirking as she jumped on him and covered his mouth. He was caught off guard, obviously not expecting a "visitor" this late at night but afterall, he left the door unlocked…

He thrashed around, kicking and grabbing at Val but she was stronger, more calculated and he quickly realized this fact. He was defeated. Val tied his hands and taped his mouth shut before taking him downstairs, into his own basement then disappearing for a few hours.

Trent prayed Nivek would come and find him, maybe save him from this evil woman. He knew who she was, he remembered her… whatever memories he still had left of her told him to be afraid. She's always been a beast, it seems that doesn’t change. He sat there, tied and sore, waiting for Nivek like he was some kind of hero who may never come.

But he did come.

Not on his own legs and certainly not free to do as he pleased; he arrived in Val's restraints, pushed down the stairs and made to take a seat in the chair in the middle of the room. Val happily whistled as she tied him to the chair, pulling the ropes so tight he coughed, growling at Val to loosen it.

"My, my, what a desperate boy you are when someone's got you in their grip." -Val teased with a chuckle, holding on tight to Nivek’s throat. He hissed, baring his teeth like a vicious beast. He liked to flaunt his dominance, even if he didn’t have any.

“You don’t get it, do you? No matter how hard you pretend to be the one in charge, I'm still the one towering above you right now... sometimes you have to admit these things." -She purred, hushing slightly. Nivek growled in response, sharp fangs gritting together as he stared afront, cursing the stern girl with his wet eyes. Val released his strained throat after seeing him tear up and ridiculed him with a laugh.

"Hurts? I bet it does..." -She cawed.
Nivek hung his head low, proudly keeping his voice in his throat, reckoning a response as admitting defeat.

"Tongue-tied? I haven't heard a word from you since we arrived here..." -Val questioned, playfully pulling on Nivek’s restraints.

"You’re putting up a decent fight here, huh? Well, it's as expected from man like yourself. But oh, you'll lose that screwed-up pride of yours once l begin cutting you up." -Nivek spat at her words.

"You’re so fuckin, full o’ yourself, ain’t ya?” - He finally snarled, deeming this backbite a worthy reason to admit defeat… at least on the terms of staying quiet. Val grinned, the snarky remark bouncing right off, as if Nivek hadn’t even spoke. Her confidence was just something else, so overwhelming it seemed nothing could affect her. This quality of her’s really stripped Nivek of any last trace of a bite left in him, reducing him to mere bark.

"Ugh.” -He huffed, rolling his eyes with irk. Not only was Val perfectly degloving him of his rough character, but also annoying the life out of him — such was a deadly combo when it came to Nivek and his seemingly never-ending condescendence.

Trent, aware of this, hissed at their exchange, afraid of what might become of Nivek if Val kept this up. As for her, she’d surely be in deep trouble if she wasn’t so skilled at keping a dog chained. The situation stood stagnant for a while, Val and Nivek taking turns spitting on each other with Trent being the humble spectator, but Val grew bored of it fast.

"This yours?" -She chimed suddenly, spinning a familiar blade on her fingertips. Nivek’s knife, strapped to the leather belt adorning his hips attracted the attention of Val's unjust, empty hands.

"Gonna split me in half using my own knife? How original." -Nivek sighed in response, unable to put up much of a physical fight and letting Val's frail figure corner him.

"Let's see...." -She murmured, studying Nivek’s body as if he was but a piece of meat, before deciding to wait a bit more first.

'Will you talk?" -She dropped a question, fidgeting with the point of the Knife before looking back at him.

"Say what?" -Nivek bit back. Val shrugged and begun to walk around him in a circle, studying his muscular upper body. She traced his exposed shoulders with her fingerstips, eyes fixated on his black tank that left very little to the imagination. She hummed, arriving to face him.

“Do you remember me?” -She inquired, staring into his eyes. She had a unique look, that awfully long red hair, those eyes of green and hazel and that long velvet scar decorating her left cheek. The way she dressed stood out too, she loved her leathers, big boots, those reds and
blacks, she was a character you truly couldn’t miss;

but Nivek had more to remember her from. What happened to his brother 5 years ago had a whole lot to do with her.

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1983, Cleveland, OH

Nivek arrives to their hideout, he opens the front door, slightly, just enough to see if anyone’s inside. Val stands in the kitchen, rummaging through cabinets. As Nivek notices her, his tense shoulders drop low and he carries himself across the doorframe with tired footsteps, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Hi." -He groans, slugging over to Val and hopping up on the table. She waves, closing the last cabinet in the row and making her way over to Nivek.

“You smell awful! The hell have you been doin’?" -She asks, grabbing at his shirt collar and wiping up a blood clot onto her thumb.

"That. Hell.” -He replies, looking off into the distance, his eyes dark and losing focus.
"I killed Rave." -He adds.

"Oh my..." -Val reacts, her hands still holding onto Nivek by his cuff. He’d been plotting to murder his brother, Rave for a while now, for a broken promise. He left to Toronto, promising a better life for Nivek
when he returns... but after all those years, he returned empty-handed, looking to borrow heroin from their parents, only to find that they've long been dead to Nivek’s own hands.

He woved to reap the life from many a ruiner, including now, Rave.

"So, what are you gunna do now?" -Val asks, voice hushed to the point even she could barely hear herself. Nivek just shakes his head. He looks helpless, pathetic, like no killer should... but Val feels his pain. She knows that Nivek loved his brother, despite deeming him the same piece of trash as his parents... but killing a loved one takes a toll on you. He was now sitting there, with that exact toll taken.

Val hugs him, hands tenderly tracing circles into the large of his back, his filthy clothes staining her but she doesn’t care. She might look like a heartless beast but when it comes to Nivek, her only true friend, she can’t help turning soft. With a past like her's, it was hard not to cling onto kinship.

"It's alright, Niv, I'll take care of it." -She offers, receiving a small nod from him.
Val would never play janitor willingly, only this time it felt like an apology. She spent the past few months unapologetically denying Nivek’s feelings and jokingly leading him on with no particular goal in mind. She started to feel bad, so she'll do the dirty work.

"I’ll take you home. You'll be my roommate for a while." -She declares, leaving no
room for argument... not that Nivek has much left in him to put up a fight anyway.
He just nods. The way home is slow
and quiet, Val keeps a steady grip on Nivek’s back, as he carries himself with a sluggish speed. She guides him, making sure he won't trip over his messy shoelaces or pass out from exhaustion.

Val lived with a woman. When she and her friend Rodya first arrived in Cleveland, he looked for somebody to take the young Val in. He wanted to get rid of her, he couldn’t keep going with his life if he had to look out for a child. A woman took her in, one who was lonely and had dreamt of raising a baby girl... that wasn’t exactly what she received but regardless, the woman loved Val more than anyone ever and kept her without much strictness.

As the two of them arrive home, bursting lousily through the door, the woman comes over to check the commotion. She hesitantly greets Val and her friend but lets them go after having received nothing more than a silent glance from Val. They slowly inch up the stairs to Val's room, where she attempts to scoop up some of the clutter from her bed and threw a handful of items on the floor to clear some space for Nivek. She sits him down, carefully tucking a pillow between his back and the wall before bolting back down to the kitchen.

“Sorry ‘bout that, mama, poor guy ain’t doin' so good.” -She says to the woman as she reaches the carpeted kitchen floor. The woman just nods and returns to reading her book. Val hurries to yank the fidge open, looking for something to give to Nivek. She runs back up with a can of coke and a messily made ham sandwich.

"Sorry it's not a lot, it's all I could find for you." -She comments as she sets the plate down next to him.

“Thank you, Val.” -He replies but shows no interest in the food.

"I’ll call Trent. We need his help." -Val says, storming to the landline phone in the hallway and dialling Trent’s home number. His mother picks up.

"Good'ay miss. Is Trent home?"
"Yes, of course he is. Want me to send him over to your house?”
“Yes please, and tell him to hurry!”

Val says and smacks the phone down, hurrying back to Nivek. She sits in the window, tapping nervously on the glass as she waits for Trent to turn up. She quickly notices his small frame and familiar black hair as he slowly approaches the house,
he tends to stand around before deciding whether to knock or ring the bell and every time, Val would see him, watching between laughs. She opens the window and leans out, throwing a crumpled up piece of paper at his head and yelling “hey”. He looks up with a smile before entering the house, already knowing his way around.

First, he greets the woman, asking how she's been, then he runs upstairs, opening the door to Val’s bedroom, slowly peeking inside. As he notices Nivek, his smile fades.

"What's going on?" -He stutters, shutting the door behind him and turning the lock.

"He killed Rave." -Val replies in a whisper, eyeing Nivek cautiously.

"His brother?" -Trent shakes, staring Val off.

"Yes. His brother." -She answers with a sigh and pulls Trent flush against her face.

"One bad word about him or his brother and you’re dead. Got it?" -She whispers a threat but Trent knew she was just trying to protect Nivek. He gives an understanding nod and directs his attention back to Nivek.

"What the hell do we do now?" -Val thinks out loud, pacing back and forth with her hands rested on her hips. Trent's since taken a seat on the floor, next to Nivek, gently wrapping his arms around his leg
and resting his head on his thigh. Nivek’s shaky hand found its way to Trent's hair, slowly tangling his fingers in it then letting go. Val stops in her tracks to watch the tender exchange, her lips slightly parted as
she tries to chase a light blush off her cheeks. "They're both homos now?" she thinks to herself.

“Boys, we have a very important task due... at least midnight. I gotta go and hide the body but I can't leave Niv alone. Trent, youre in charge tonight. Go give him a bath and make sure he's okay." -Val states, finally having thought up a plan to progress the situation.

"I'm headin’ out." -She adds, putting on her coat and storming out. As she dashes down the stairs, the woman stands in her way.

"I'm headin' out to get us some drinks, mama. Them boys are upstairs, waitin' for me, better not bother ‘em.” -She throws her the answer, smiling weakly.

Val finds herself in the fields, Rave's lifeless body lying between her legs.

"Thank the Lord the cattle ain’t got to him first, l’d be in great trouble.” -She says with a grunt as she positions the body to her shoulder and lifts it. She huffs heavily as she hauls the remains to a nearby barn and chucks it in the hay.

"God damn, he a heavy one..." -She heaves, taking a second to breathe before looking around, trying to spot some kind of knife or axe.

"The hell kinda farm is this? Ain't nothin’ sharp ‘round here?” -She ponders, walking a nervous circle. Her patience begins to slip as she runs out of ideas, only one last desperate thought looks fit to work... She'll bag the body and keep it in the garage until she finds a sensible way to lose the evidence.

The clock strikes midnight when Val finally made it home, the body is safely hidden in the garage beneath them and Val feels... anything but proud. The house is dark and quiet, a small light only emits from the window of her upstairs bedroom. She quietly slips inside the room, Trent and Nivek lying asleep, cuddled up in Val's bed. She lets out a long sigh, a small smile creeping to her face as she watches her boys look so peaceful for once.

She wastes no time slipping into bed with them, wishing the sun not to come up as she lets her tired eyes to close.
——————————————————————

"How could I not." -Nivek replied, rolling his eyes. Val laughed loudly, giving him a small smack on the forehead.

"Well so do l.” -She smiled- “And recently, you haven't been leaving my head." -She added, smile fading slightly. -"Be with me again. Please. I tried so hard to find you again.” -She moved toward Nivek, holding onto him in a pleading grip.

Nivek sighed, dropping his head, unable to say much to her request. He peered at Trent, sitting on the floor across from him, his eyes said enough for him to understand and he replied with a nod.

"Alright then. You will help us, correct?” -He said eventually, blinking at Val.

There it was, just as she had planned; Trent and Nivek were her’s again. Their stories intertwined again, just like she wanted. It seemed that everything did in fact turned out the way she always planned.

Chapter Text

Late, in the dark of night, silent paws, like that of predators approached a building. Old and run down, long unused, unisited - but tonight, it had company. Maybe not the best, maybe uninvited, but at least not completely empty.

Roxboro high school, located in the very center of Cleveland, once giving home to great memories of youth, although their recollections of this period varied. Val smashed a window in, carelessly vandalizing the property, like she used to.
She climbed over the glass, shards ripping into her heavy boots as she landed inside. The two others followed. The school was
empty and dark, all the children have long gone home — they had nothing to do there, they were all grown up now anyway.

Val and Nivek walked beside each other, Trent slowly fading into the background, following the pair. He looked around, studying the familiar walls as they paraded through the hall. He got to thinking...

Ever since Val came along, Trent had been left alone. He didn’t know why he felt the way he did; jealous, but God, that jealousy was so strong, so painful. He tried to figure out why the thing he once dreaded he now missed so much — Nivek’s attention, hostility and forcefulness, now wasted on someone else. He came to no conclusion as his train of thought was abruptly disturbed by Val's voice. He listened with a sigh. She was going on about how she missed high school, and such things Trent didn't agree with. He rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the whining but she was just so good at being unapologetically annoying.

“Why are we here again?” - He eventually barked out as a desperate attempt to shut Val up, only to recieve a response from her again

“Were just looking around. Something wrong?” -She spoke, her harsh voice shaking Trent up.

“No, just... wondering... why i'm here, actually…" -He stated, voice going quiet as it caught up to his words. Val just laughed in response, turning back to bore Nivek instead. Trent wanted to scream, beat Val until her last muscle stops twitching. He hated everything about her now, but he kept it all in — he had to. He didn’t want Nivek to think his obedience could be thrown away for such a bland cause. He kept walking, head low.

“I know you hate me." -Val suddenly spoke up, sounding like the smile had long drained from her face. Trent raised an eyebrow, lips parting slightly in confusion.

"The way you clench your fists when I speak, your annoyed sighs, those eyes that used to look up at me with appreciation now stare me down. I don't get it, Trent, don’t you remember how we used to be? I saved you, Trent… so why?" -Val began to rant, words falling off her limp tongue. It sounded almost like a confession, like there might've been some true emotion behind it... but Trent knew this all too well, he won’t commit the mistake of falling for her little performances now. He peered at Nivek, then Val, then at the floor.

“Val, we all know he's got a reason for thinking of you like that." -Nivek chimed in, seeing Trent's defeated look.

“I apologized! I don’t deserve to be hated for that any-“

“It’s not that!” -Trent ripped into her words. “You ruined everything! I suffered so much to earn my place by Nivek’s side and you… you came to us, forced yourself into our lives and took the only thing that gave me a purpose!” -he frantically yelled, anger burning his throat after each word spoken.

“Enough. Trent and I will talk while you go calm yourself down.” -Nivek interfered, separating the two and tossing a cigarette to Val before dragging Trent away. The small boy heaved like a dog, trying to pry Nivek’s hand off his wrist. Nivek watched in a strange awe as Trent retaliated for the first time.

“Hey.” -He breathed, lowering his head, moving his hand up to the smaller boy’s forehead. He spoke carefully, keeping his voice just barely above a whisper.

“You know she’ll never take your place, right?” -He addressed a question, not really expecting an answer, just hoping his words get to Trent’s head. He finally sighed, letting go of Nivek’s hand.

“You’re not lying… are you?” -He squeaked, transforming from predator to prey. In a way, Nivek felt relieved that Trent’s innocence hasn’t been lost. He shook his head in response, staring in his eyes just a moment too long. It was deep, like a connection they’ve never had before and it drew them both in. Their eyes, so focused on one another, as if something really was between them…

“You guys done?” -Val yelled, rudely interrupting the moment. She seemed to have already forgotten about their little argument. Trent and Nivek raised their heads to her.

“Better get goin’ then!” -She exclaimed, waiting for the two boys to get up and walk over to her. As Trent passed her by, she flicked her cigarette butt onto his head, watching with a mean smile as the remaining ash toppled off his hair, falling down his back and staining his clothes before reaching the floor. He shook his head, huffing.

That night, Trent realized he had the power to rebel, he didn’t always need to bow down and if he did it just right, Nivek might look into his eyes in such a way again…

Chapter Text

It had been about a month since Val begun treading alongside Trent and Nivek again and what could this call for, if not a celebration? In Val's book, at least...

Trent had felt somewhat at peace while this whole snipe hunt between them and Val was going down. There had been no new victims since but soon, it would all come crashing down again. Trent’s been doing well, going to the store, sleeping in his own bed, even visiting his mother. Him, Val and Nivek felt more like a friend group than an unfortunate twist of fate... until Val once again started an avalanche of regrettable events.

"Isn't this fun? It's like we’re all friends again." -Val said, smiling, as she walked around Trent's room, tapping her fingers along the dark wooden cabinet in the corner.

"Shouldn’t we be celebrating this? Hmm?" -She added, humming indicatively. The
two boys, sitting on the carpeted floor exchanged a glance, unsure of what Val might call a "celebration".

“How should we-“ -Nivek eventually tried to ask, but Val urged to shut him up with a quite poorly coordinated kiss, her elbow landing directly in Trent's eye socket as she swiftly tumbled down to the floor. Nivek didn’t quite appreciate her strange gesture either as he promptly turned to push her off of himself, sending her stumbling over Trent's sitting figure and landing on his bed. A long period of silence followed before Val spoke again.

"I thought you liked me.” -She groaned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah. In high school." -Nivek replied, not even bothering to look at her.

“And you were a total asshole about it." -Trent quietly added, rubbing his eye.

"Yeah." -Nivek murmured, petting Trent's head.

"You guys hate me." -Val sighed, unable to produce anything better to say after embarrassing herself. She ultimately decided to simply up and leave, deeming the conversation unsalvageable. Trent and Nivek stayed in the room alone, listening to Val slam all the doors in her way as she paraded through the house.

"Are you okay?" -Nivek asked, staring at Trent's now bruised left eye. He nodded in response, smiling weakly. He wondered when Nivek became so caring, even bothering to ask if he was fine after getting
hurt... it left a pleasant feeling within him.

"Why don't you use your camera anymore?" -He spoke again, posing an unexpected question. Trent didn’t even know what to say, he himself didn’t know why he abandoned a thing once so important to him.

"I guess l just havent had the time to record anything." -He shrugged, the answer wasn’t right but he had nothing better to say.

"We’ve been busy, yeah." -Nivek agreed, his gaze lingering for a heartbeat too long. Trent caught on, feeling vaguely like he did back at the school. He didn't want to let it go, he wanted to keep looking, see what would happen if they held the moment for long enough.

"Val is so annoying. I like you better." -Nivek said, still staring into Trent's eyes. He swallowed slowly, cautiously blinking, not to miss even the slightest movement of Nivek’s.

“I like you too." -He eventually replied, stammering a little. Nivek couldn’t help but smile at him. It wasn’t the kind of smile that belonged in the setting but Trent saw real feelings behind it. He felt happy, although he couldn’t quite understand why his feelings changed so greatly towards Nivek... maybe he was changing, maybe what Trent saw was all that brutality fading. It all could’ve just been wishful thinking, but he chose to run with it anyway. He liked it that way.

So they sat there, staring at each other as the static from the finished VHS tape softly buzzed in the background. Nivek creeped closer, his large hand finding its way to the back of Trent's palm. He shook a little, unsure why Nivek did what he did.

“Don't be scared." -He whispered, bending his calloused fingers to intertwine with Trent's. He just nodded in response, watching silently. Nivek suddenly sighed, heavily, as if something had been weighing down on him for a long time.

“I missed you… since high school. Remember when Val went to bury Rave? That night… we slept together. In her bed. You cared about me while she went to clean up my mess to “say sorry”… when what I needed the most was someone to be there with me...” -He slowly started to talk, revealing emotions Trent had no idea existed. — "You gave me a bath, fed me and put me to bed. I hugged you… willingly. I wanted it. It felt good." -He continued, breaking the eye contact and looking down.

Trent was taken quite aback, he didn’t even know what could’ve been the appropriate thing to say. He stuttered a few words before deciding it was best to stay quiet. Instead of words, his free hand steadily inched up Nivek’s back, tracing a few small circles down his spine. He growled, not in dissatisfaction, just letting Trent know it was okay. He slowly lowered his head onto Trent, snuggling up in the space between his neck and his shoulder.

"You smell good" -He growled, pulling on Trent's hoodie to urge him closer.

That night, they slept together but Nivek’s vulnerability only lasted so long. By the crack of dawn, he was gone fom the house. Trent awoke in the morning, quite late, he turned to his back, extending his arm to look for Nivek but he coued only grab at the empty sheets next to him. He groaned, disappointed but not surprised.

The phone began ringing next to him, he kicked his blanket off, rubbing his eyes as he picked up and raised the phone to his ear.

"Good moning boys!" -Val's cheery voice
crackled across the line, hinting to a three way call between all three of them. Trent quietly whined, still a bit groggy.

“You both are expected at the house at noon today, I’ve got something important to tell you! If one of you’s ‘ll be a no-show, you’re both dead! Got it?" -She continued, shrieking into the phone as if she were a banshee, aching to incite some kind of disheartened rejoinder. Trent sighed as he put the phone down and let the silence overtake him again. Seemed to him Val had already forgotten about whatever fit she pretended to throw the night before.

He walked downstairs, staring at the dirty footprints Nivek’s boots left as he made his way to the kitchen. He stood still in front of the fridge, thinking little before looking around. He stared at the counter, a few knives had been removed from the drawer below it and now laid assorted across the black and white marble.

He shook his head, thinking of Nivek.

He looked at the back door, then the muddy doormat that had been stirred from door to under the shoe rack next to it. He sighed again and finally directed his attention back to the fridge. He opened it, peered inside and closed it back shut after seeing there were only a few beers left inside.

“I’ve just been to the store..." -He quietly remarked to himself before going back upstairs and taking a shower.

Noon arived. Trent waited outside the house, not really knowing what he was waiting for but upon noticing Nivek marching between the trees, fighting with the tall grass, he hurried inside. Val was already there, sitting lousily on the velvet couch she dragged in there, as a sort of ornamentation effort. Nivek had also seemed to win the fight with the wild weeds outside and was now standing beside Trent, silently towering over him.

"Finally! I had doubts about you two coming..." -Val greeted, peering at the boys. They stood still, side by side under the empty doorframe.

“What do you want?" -Nivek inquired, strong arms crossed in annoyance. Val rolled her eyes.

“Well… guess what's next week? Halloween! And quess what? There’s gonna be a party! -She informed, holding up a tattered poster
she ripped from a telephone pole, probably. In big, bold letters the paper read "COSTUME PARTY", the address on it belonged to a mostly abandoned hangar where local teens often arranged parties.

Nivek blinked at the proposition, rubbing his forehead in frustration while Trent just stared, unable to make much sense of why Val would want such a thing.

“So, we’re all going! You two have a week to find a costume.” -Val added after receiving essentially no response. The task had been given and the boys had no choice but to submit.

“Where the fuck are we gonna find a costume?” -Nivek queried, voice muffled by the cigarette he was preparing to light. Trent took a moment to think, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so.

“We should go to Goodwill.” -He finally said, coming to the conclusion that their best bet was the thrift store. Not like they could afford much else.

“Right.” -Nivek replied, taking a long drag of his now lit cigarette.

The two boys soon found themselves between the stacked shelves of their local Goodwill, standing bewildered at the amount of choices now presented to them. All that was left was to figure out who they wanted to dress as. They both figured Val would pick something… indecent that left little to the imagination and strived not to follow that theme.

“Seen Nightmare on Elm Street?” -Nivek struck up, quizzing the other boy on his film knowledge, to which he nodded, a small smile creeping to his face.

“Good. I’m gonna be Freddy.” -Nivek declared, wandering off to search for a striped sweater. Trent stayed alone, taking a moment to think up his own costume. He’s seen a few films but none really stood out to him enough to pick a character from… he decided to just go with being a vampire.

He toured the seemingly endless aisles of clothing, looking out for anything remotely vampire-looking. After about an hour of searching, he ended up with a deep red, frilly button up shirt, a long leather trench coat and a few rings he found in the jewellery section. He met Nivek at the checkout, who also found the sweater he was looking for.

“What’s that supposed to be?” -He asked, pointing at the pile of clothes hanging on Trent’s arm.

“Uh… a vampire.” -Trent hesitantly retorted, eyes darting between the garments and Nivek.

“Boring.” -He replied, placing the sweater on the conveyor belt and reaching in his pocket to retrieve his wallet.

They’ve completed Val’s homework, now only the party was left to survive with her around…