Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“There’s a girl in town and words gone around — she’s just fine.” (Our Love : Curtis Harding, Jazmine Sullivan)

The young boy, only 11 years of age, fiddled with his book.

"As I looked upon my sister’s grave, a great sadness came over me. Only to be burned away by a sudden rage that swelled within my heart." — Megan Holmes (House of the Wretched)

“Steph, sweet-face, do Daddy a favor will you?” A balding man kneeled before his daughter. “Go talk to that young man and give him some real good company, go on.”

The girl with dark purple hair turned to look at the young boy. He was thin and tall, and his hair was a gelled mess. With no hesitance, Stephanie Holmes staggered her way towards the small boy.

She gripped her crutch as she lowered herself to the boy’s level.

“You’re a funny lookin’ fella,” she giggled, her braid bouncing as she spoke.

“You’re a funny walkin’ smella,” the boy snickered.

“You aren’t very nice are you?” Stephanie carefully questioned.

“I’m plenty nice, you just don’t know it yet,” the boy folded his arms.

“Then we should get to talkin’, Daddy says your father is a good man.”

“…”

“Do you not think he’s a good man?” Stephanie asked.

“I think you should keep my father’s name out of your mouth,” the boy stood up.

With a sigh, Stephanie lifted herself up.

“Stephanie Holmes,” she extended her hand.

“Okay, Stephanie —“ The boy took her hand, “I’m Travis Phelps.”

“It sure is nice to meet you, Travis.” Stephanie smiled. “How old are ya?”

“Seven,” Travis coughed.

“Me too!”

“I don’t give two shits—“

“Travis Cain Phelps!” Stephanie laughed as a woman, seemingly Travis’ mother, scolded him.

Travis’ face grew beet red. “Sorry..” He muttered.

“After the service, my sister and I are going to ride on the new swing my father built us.” Stephanie held onto her braid with her free hand. “You are more than welcome to join us!”

With a final smile, Stephanie returned to her father.

Chapter Text

“I am a moth, who just wants to share your light. I’m just an insect. Trying to get out of the night.” ( All I Need : Radiohead )

Sal sighed as he flipped through a dense packet of paper. “I guess I know what we’ll be doing for the next five hours,” he laughed.

“Dude, I love that you think I can read.” Larry turned to Todd and berated him with his sarcasm.

“I do apologize, though —” Todd began to speak but was interrupted.

“No — No, don’t apologize, man.” Larry shifted on Todd’s bed to adjust his sitting position. “I just don’t have the attention span of a turtle.”

“Yeah, no, it’s fine, Todd. Really,” Sal nodded. “But, I think we should hold off on this. Just for right now.”

Larry raised an eyebrow. The three of them were looking more into The Council in hopes of getting insight on the Devourers of God. As of right now, the only member they had information on was Luke Holmes. That information alone was not much, compared to the much larger scale of it all. At the very most, they only knew the final years of Luke, plus his wife and her sidepiece. As well as only one of his daughters, that being Megan Holmes. Sal had known about the other daughter’s existence merely because of a game cartridge he had found named ‘House of the Wretched’. Despite the clear lack of information on The Council, they had a few leads. The packet handed to Sal was all of the research Todd had accumulated, though that was not all of it. Todd decided to speak up about the gateway to all his research.

“Very well, however, there is something I would like to mention.” Todd pushed his glasses further on his nose. 

“Go on,” Larry coughed. He folded his arms awkwardly. 

“Due to my work at the library, there is a woman there who could be most helpful. She often provides me with access to a large scale amount of controversies — including newspapers and books — that were removed from the public eye. The content inside is quite fascinating, I believe. She could be of utmost use to us,” Todd rambled on.

“So,” Sal started. 

“Let’s see this chick,” Larry finished.

“Very well.” Todd nodded as he began packing his belongings into his backpack.

“Wait —” Sal spoke, “Doesn’t the library close on Sundays?”

“Yes, however since it is after noon, she will be there.” Todd tossed his back onto one of his shoulders. “She visits Church in the morning, then returns to do a various amount of things. It is her family that owns the library so it makes a great deal of sense.” 

“Right, but it’s still closed?” Larry rubbed his face. “Even if she is there or not.”

“Well, it is closed for most people.” Todd smiled.

“Oh, you little nerd —” Larry started as Todd happily headed out of the room. “Of course, you made friends with a librarian.”

“It is a very ‘Todd’ thing to do, isn’t it?” Sal laughed, following his two friends. 

“So, what's the chick’s name?” Larry asked as the boys’ walk came to an end. Larry stopped, trying ever so desperately to catch his breath.

“Kaya,” Todd, having not broken a single sweat, had a giddy smile on his face. It was quite clear, he was excited to show this woman off.

“Do you think she could help us?” Sal, who had been trailing along behind them much slower, questioned. “Like.. I mean, really help us.”

“I think she can lead us on the right trail, she ‘knows her stuff’ as you’d put it,” Todd smirked, putting air quotes around the phrase.

“I promise you, nobody fuckin’ puts it like that,” Larry shook his head in disbelief. Sal was sure he was holding back a smile. 

Todd was unphased, his only response was a small laugh.

“Okay, okay guys. Let’s just go inside,” Sal urged.

With a nod in agreement, Todd cautiously knocked on the thick wooden door. The building played an important role in Nockfell's history, and its colonial style revealed its age. 

At first, there was nothing but the occasional sound of a squirrel dashing up, or down, telephone poles. However, a shuffle was heard from the other side of the door, which was accompanied by the sound of locks clicking.

As the door creaked open with haste, a tall middle-aged woman answered the door. Her skin was russet brown, and her hair was a shade of black so dark it seemed impossible. Small, typical librarian, glasses were hanging from her neck. As Todd has said, she had clearly just come from Church. 

Sal couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity. He felt uneasy too. Perhaps it was the building, it was pretty old after all. Maybe there were ghosts from decades — or even centuries — ago, at least that’s what Sal told himself.

“Mr. Morrison, so lovely to see you this fine morning!” The woman folded her arms as she smirked. “I received your phone call, these are your friends I assume?”

“Yes, this is Sal Fisher —” Todd spoke with confidence, “and this is Larry… er– Larry Johnson.”

Well, maybe the confidence was wearing off a bit.

“Nice to meet you boys.. Uh, boys right?” The woman seemed to tense up as she looked at Sal closely.

“Yeah,” that was all Sal said in response. No use in confusing the woman.

“Come on in, you’ll just have to ignore my kiddos, the only way I can get them to do homework is by dragging them away from all those television screens. Those things are just so addicting.” The woman, who had not yet introduced herself, began to ramble on. “If I didn’t unplug the damn thing — excuse my language — my kids’d sit by it all day!”

“Ha, I get what you mean. There’s some good stuff on there, hard not to watch, y’know?” Sal attempted to make small talk, though he wasn’t so sure it’d get him anywhere. 

As she guided them through the library, Sal heard chatter from a room behind the front desk. “Ignore ‘em, if they get too loud you boys let me know. I’ll shut ‘em up for ya.” The woman smiled with an eagerness. Her face turned cold once the smile faded, Sal could tell she was a complex one. “You’ll need the guide, my son should’ve finished it, he knows the system in the Archives well.”

“The Archives are what I was referring to earlier,” Todd turned to Sal and Larry to explain.

Larry, who had been deathly silent, finally spoke up. “I could’ve put that one together, thanks Todd.”

He pressed his lips together in a disappointed manner, Todd only shook his head. The two of them had been friends for as long as they could remember, this sort of messing around was natural for them. Despite how people viewed them, they had similar perspectives on the world — and got along alarmingly well. 

The woman slid her way behind the desk and opened the door to the back-room, chatter entered the larger section of the library as she did so. Sal listened as bickering grew louder.

“Okay, bitch. The fuck do you think this is—”

“Hey!”

“ Oh, you just have no idea do you. You don’t know half the things going on because you —”

“Hey!” 

“Maybe if you weren’t such a loser you’d have friends to go spend time with,” a girl’s voice criticized the other in the room.

“Well, maybe if you weren’t such a lowlife whore you’d actually be able to land a guy that spend more than one night with you,” a familiar voice responded to her insults.

Larry, having heard the conversation, awkwardly blew air out from his mouth.

“Travis.”

Oh.

“Cain.”

Oh no.

“Phelps.”

Oh fuck that.

Sal and Larry glanced at each other, practically reading the others mind. Todd, however, was oblivious to this interaction.

The woman’s calling of Travis’ name sent the argument to an abrupt stop. “Get your ass out there right now.” Her tone was chilling.

“You didn’t say your lady was Travis Phelps’ fuckin’ mom,” Larry whispered to Todd, having to lean in to close the distance.

“I did not think that would matter,” Todd turned to face Larry, eyebrows scrunched.

“It’s all good,” Sal, also whispering, chimed in. “She is still useful to us. Travis’ mother or not.” Sal noticed the nameplate on the desk, Kaya Phelps.

Kaya, Sal repeated back to himself as he read it.

The woman’s name was Kaya.

Sal listened as the conversation was now tense and quiet, shortly after footsteps thudded their way to the desk. 

In all his glory, Travis Phelps. His hair wasn’t gelled back as it normally was. It was messy, revealing the true length of his hair. It was much longer than Sal expected it to be. However, it was no surprise that under the intense pressure of being a preacher’s son that he’d have to keep his hair tamed. He wasn’t wearing Church clothes either. He had on a tightly fitted white shirt, paired with a pair of loose jeans. This was a much more casual version of Travis that Sal had ever seen.

When he walked out, Larry felt a pit form in his stomach. This asshole. Larry wanted to think about beating this guy’s ass, but what the tight shirt revealed to Larry proved this goal impossible. The shirt accentuated the slight muscle in his arms, it was clear Travis would put up a hell of a fight, if not beat him to a pulp. Larry stood no chance. Maybe he was looking at this wrong, maybe he should feel something else. But all Larry wanted to do was punch the shit out of Travis, and that was a fact.

That’s at least how Larry saw it.

“This is like a fucking joke right?” Travis lifted his arms in disbelief, looking to his mother for reassurance. 

“Why would it be a joke?” It was clear Kaya was not informed about the fights Travis picks.  

“I —” Travis scrunched his eyebrows together, he had very expressive eyebrows. “Whatthefuck,” He mumbled.

“Enough, go help them get what they need like I explained to you earlier,” Kaya shooed him with her hand.

“Whatever makes this go by quicker, I guess.” Travis shrugged, holding two sheets of paper in his hand. “Let’s go.”

The three boys were gathered around the table. Sal was trying to piece together the full story and build a timeline, while Todd found staple pieces of evidence. Larry, on the other hand, was doing lots of staring. He found himself fixated on Travis’ every movement. Larry watched as he put books away, carefully. He watched as Travis knew exactly where each one went. This guy probably spends all his fucking time here, Larry tried desperately to insult him. Deep down, however, Larry was just trying to pick the guy apart. Larry was sure that he probably wasn’t that bad, but something inside him just wanted to bruise his ego… and honestly, actually bruise him too. This wasn’t right, though, and he knew it. Sal would never let that happen — or be okay with it for that matter. Larry didn’t have any choice but to try and accept Travis’ place in his life. 

Was this even hate? Did Larry really want to hurt him? Or was it something else he desired. 

Whatever. 

He has bigger problems then Travis Phelps.

“What?”

What?

Larry was snapped out of his daydream by Travis staring back at him. 

Shiiiit..

“Huh —” 

“Why the fuck are you staring at me, you freak?” Travis’ mouth twisted as the words spilt out.

“I wasn’t staring at you . I just dazed off, bite me.” Larry shook his head and forced his attention back on Todd and Sal who were glaring at him. “Jeez, guys. What?”

“Larry, please don’t pick a fight with him. Not right now.” Sal shook his head.

“Good god, I wasn’t I just —” 

“It’s fine, we’re letting it go, just please.” Sal sat back in his seat, resting the papers he was previously holding on the table. 

“What are you defending him so much for? I just don’t get it, after everything he’s done —”

“Larry!” 

…

“Sorry.” Larry blinked, averting his gaze to the floor as he sat back in his chair.

Todd stared, trying to figure the situation out in his head.

“Listen, Larry. You’re my friend, and if someone said something bad about you, you know I’d defend you,” Sal explained. “It’s the same with Travis. He’s my friend too.”

How the fuck is he your friend?

That’s what Larry wanted to say, but he didn’t. He know how upset it would make Sal. Larry could tell he was on edge and he was only making it worse.

“I’m sorry, Sal.” Larry nodded.

“It’s okay, really. Let’s just work on this a little longer than we can head back to the apartments, okay?”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Larry leaned back enough in his seat till he had eyes on Travis again.

“Maybe once we get back we can watch that movie you like again,” Sal smiled.

Even though you couldn’t see it because of the mask, Larry could hear in his voice he was.

“I’d like that,” Larry decided he could glare at Travis another time. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

“Okay.”

Chapter Text

“Sometimes if I shout

It's not what's intended

These words just come out

With no cross to bear,” ( The Promise : When In Rome)

Larry stood at his locker, waiting for Sal and the others to meet him there. As he fiddled with a strand of hair, he noticed Travis Phelps stomping his way through the hallway.

Larry scoffed, look at this moron. He thought to himself as he rolled his eyes, unapprovingly. Larry found himself meeting eye contact with Travis, who only shook his head and continued on his path. Larry glared at his agonizingly, watching at he lifted a piece of paper to the bulletin board.

For the last year, the bulletin board was completely littered with missing persons posters. Sal and the others had discovered this was the doing of Mrs. Packerton, with the Devourers of God being the root cause of it. Larry felt a wave a sadness and anger rush over him as he thought about the people who had been turned to lunch meat . Larry had to blink twice as he watched Travis staple a Phelps Ministry flier right on top of one of the missing persons posters.

Are you fucking kidding me?

Larry felt his fists turning white. The nerve this asshole had, how could you do something so cruel? Only someone who lacked all humanity and compassion could do something so unjust. Larry thought about his previous statement.

“It’s inhuman.”

“Maybe he’s an alien?”

“Hah, that’s all we need.”

Travis Phelps really was an alien. 

Or at least thats what Larry thought until he saw guilt flicker through Travis’ eyes. Leaving not another second, Travis quickly ripped down the flier and crumpled it up. Larry couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

He watched in awe as Travis tossed the flier into the trashcan and began his descent back down the hallway, stapler in hand.

With astute timing, Sal and the others arrived at Larry’s locker.

“Hey man, are you okay?” Sal asked carefully. “Your eyes sort of twitching.”

“I’m,” Larry started. “I’m fine.”

Shaking his head, Larry folded his arms and leaned back against the locker in hopes of looking more composed.

“Did you and Travis have a run-in or something?” Ashley questioned, a concerned look splattered across her face. 

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Larry sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was anger Sal, especially after last time. 

“Larry, if something happened you can tell us,” Sal assured him.

“Like I said, I'm fine. Don’t sweat it.” Larry scratched the back of his neck, his fingers getting caught in his tangled hair.

“If you insist,” Todd nodded.

Larry found that the two of them got along more than anyone else in the group. And of course all things considered, Larry and Sal were the closest. Their relationship wasn’t as smooth as Larry and Todd’s though. Larry and Todd agreed on a lot of things, this was most likely a result of how much time they spent together during adolescence. The two found comfort in each other, despite being interested in very different things. Todd would read books on the occult and paranormal, while Larry watched concerts on the TV. Todd would listen to rap and electronic music, while Larry blasted his metal. Their appearances couldn’t be more different either. Todd’s proper clothes and overall cleanliness, versus Larry’s ratty hair and disheveled clothing. However, this didn’t change the fact they shared a mind. Maybe Todd had a higher intellectual ability, but it didn’t change the fact they thought in the same manner.

“Yeah, so are we gonna head to Pixel’s now?” Larry groaned.

“Yes! I’m so ready to crush you guys in Galaga!” Sal cheered.

“Dude, nobody even plays that anymore,” Larry laughed. “It’s like ten years old.”

“Well—” Sal’s face burned red as he noticed the smile on Ash’s face. “ I still play it, and I think its pretty good.”

“Okay, whatever you say Sally.” 

After a few hours at their local arcade, Nockfell Pixel Palace, Chug and Sal found themselves completely wiped from all the games they had played.

“I don’t know how the heck you do it, Sally Face!” Chug shoved chips into his mouth as he walked. “You’re like a god when it comes to video games.”

“I just play them a lot, so, I get a lot of practice in. I mean, I think I’d die without my gear boy,” Sal laughed.

“I get that,” Chug nodded. 

“Travis! Travis!” Mary laughed. “Come on push us!”

Mary Phelps and Megan Holmes laughed happily on their swing. The two young girls were so small compared to the giant tree next to them. Travis sighed, getting up from his place on the blanket. 

“Fine, but only five pushes,” Travis groaned.

“No— Wait! Do ten, ten pushes!” Mary begged.

“Yeah! Travis, give us ten really big pushes,” Megan pleaded.

Before Travis could complain, he saw Stephanie’s expression.

“Travis, I think they’d like it if you gave them ten big pushes on the swing,” Stepanie smiled. 

Who was Travis to say no to her? After the kindness she showed him, it wasn’t right for him to not to this for her. 

“Fine, ten pushes. But, that’s it. No more, don’t ask for any more after the ten,” Travis scolded, holding a finger to them as he grabbed onto the rope. 

Travis laid back against the soft seats on the booth, a myriad of arcade snacks strewn across the table. He was sat with his sister, his cousin, and his cousin’s friend. Lucas, that was his name. He was a weird one, Travis wouldn’t lie. But, he was one of his only real friends, because you wouldn’t consider your sister or cousin to be one of your friends. 

“We have that stupid assembly on Monday,” Madeleine rolled her eyes.

“Oh my gosh, it’s actually so annoying,” their cousin, Kimberly, agreed. “I’m gonna kill myself if its another assembly about sex.”

“Huh,” Lucas choked out. “The fuck do you mean another ? When was the first one?”

“You might not’ve been there, but they basically just complained about all the people they caught doing it in empty classrooms. There’s apparently an epidemic of sexual intercourse.” Kimberly laughed, “It’s hilarous.”

“Why the fuck do they even care?” Lucas groomed one of his hair spikes. 

Travis could be less interested in this conversation. He didn’t even go to their school, why even bother with superficial talk?

‘Travis!” Mary panted. “Quick, I need more money for coins.”

“Seriously?” Travis chuckled in utter disbelief. “You went through the money I gave you that fucking fast?”

“Yeah, sorry. But I there’s a Hello Kitty stuffed animal in the claw machine, I really want her.” Mary begged, holding out her hand.

“How old are you, 14? You still play with stuffed animals?” Lucas laughed.

“Shut up! A cute toy is a cute toy, even if it’s just gonna collect dust on my shelf,” Mary folded her arms proudly.

“Okay, here. Please try not to blow through this. It’s real money, Mary.” Travis spoke with care in his voice and handed her a twenty.

“Thank you!” She yelled before running off.

This was a huge mistake. Mary ran completely oblivious to the people around her, all she could think about was getting that toy. She was especially oblivious to the blue-haired boy that was walking in front of her.

SMACK!

“Ow!” Mary shrieked. Grabbing at her nose, crimson liquid pooled out.

“Oh shit — Hey, are you alright?” Sal quickly asked, kneeling down to check on her. 

“Gahh, my nose,” Mary wailed. 

“I-I can g-go grab tissues, can you stand?” Sal stuttered, he reached for her shoulder. Guilt was eating away at him. He felt awful, despite the fact this wasn’t his fault. 

“No,” Mary groaned, still holding her nose. “My family is just over there, I’m fine.”

Without a second thought, Mary stood up and waddled back over to her table. Sal watched sadly, wishing he could’ve been of more help.

“Agh, Travis?” Mary whined, the pain started to hurt her head.

“Shit, what the fuck?” Travis immedietly stood up, reaching for Mary’s nose. “What the hell happened? Did someone hurt you?”

“No, I ran straight into some weird… person .. with a halloween mask,” Mary explained.

“Halloween mask?” Madeleine asked, confusedly. 

Travis knew exactly who she was talking about, he didn’t say anything though. He grabbed napkins from the table and pressed them to Mary’s nose.

“Are you okay, Mary?” He asked. “Want me to drop you off with Mom?”

“No, I still wanna get that toy.” Mary laughed, her blocked nose making her sound ridiculous.

“Mary,” Madeleine laughed.

“Is she alright?”

Travis carefully moved Mary out of the way to look at the boy speaking. Sally Face.

“She’s fine.” Travis said, sternly.

“Holy shit, she was right about the Halloween mask,” Lucas sneered.

Travis noticed that Sal’s cheek was covered with blood. Mary must’ve ran into him with a lot of force. 

“You can leave now, I’m handling it.” Travis furrowed his eyebrows.

“A… Are you sure?” Sal sighed.

“Yeah, Sally Face. Beat it.”

“Sally Face?” Kimberly folded her arms in confusion.

“She ran into me really hard— I just feel awful–”

“I said it’s fucking fine you faggot. Go away,” Travis growled. 

Sal stood there calmly. “Okay.”

That was all he said before leaving Travis to deal with his sister’s nosebleed.