{TW: blo0d} Chapter 8 - Skizz The car was completely silent as Skizz drove down the street. This silence, unfortunately, was not the wonderfully content kind one encounters after a large meal. Or even the kind when everyone is so invested in their thoughts to pay much attention to everyone else. No, this kind of silence was quite uncomfortable, with animosity so thick you could have cut it with a butter knife. Heck, it was so thick that the butter knife would probably break. Skizz gripped the wheel harder. It wasn’t his brother’s fault that his car had broken down. Skizz didn’t care about that, his own car broke down all the time. What was Etho’s fault was all the pain that he had caused. Tango sat in the passenger seat with Etho and Bdubs in the back. Skizz was glad, he didn’t think he would be able to drive with Etho sitting next to him. “So, how’s your summer been Bdubs?” Tango asked, trying to spark some friendly conversation to chase away Skizz’s anger. Bdubs looked away from the car window where he’d been staring at some horses. “Pretty good, other than Scar’s birthday a few days ago, nothing much has really been happening.” He paused, glancing at his dad. “Well nothing out of the ordinary anyway.” He looked back out the window, trying to watch the horses as they faded into the distance. Skizz felt terrible for Bdubs and Scar. Etho had really taken a toll on the two, especially Scar. The boy barely interacted with anyone anymore. He spent more time with his friends than at his own house, Skizz didn’t blame him. He had barely even been at his own birthday party, spending most of the day inside his room with Jellie. Scar’s bitterness toward his father seemed to match Skizz’s own. As for Bdubs, he definitely seemed less angry than the rest of the family. Skizz suspected that a great portion of his cheerful demeanor was faking. Though he seemed much less angry than he did just… sad. Cleo thankfully seemed to be doing fairly well for someone who had effectively been broken up with. Skizz made a point to check on her often. Etho was his brother after all, and- at least as Skizz saw it- partly his responsibility. Though he was definitely concerned about Cleo, it was truly his nephews that he worried about most. Tango sighed and leaned back in his chair. His attempts at getting everyone to talk peacefully had failed. Deep down Skizz still appreciated his little brother’s effort, ineffective as it may have been. Etho hadn’t said almost one word to either of his brothers since getting in the car. A good choice. They finally reached the intersection that led to Etho’s apartment. Skizz could almost hear Tango sigh in relief. Tango didn’t hate their big brother with the passion that Skizz did but he definitely didn’t enjoy Etho’s company as much as he used to. Skizz quickly dropped off his brother and nephew at the curb near the apartment building, Waving goodbye to Bdubs and pointedly ignoring Etho. Then going back to their original path before finding Etho and Bdubs stranded. vv Continued in N&C vv
vv continued vv Tango started talking about some new donut place he’d heard about, this time with Skizz actually joining in. Their conversion slid towards several different restaurants and drink places before finally settling into a much more comfortable silence than the previous. At first neither of them noticed anything wrong. Skizz was leaning against the window, one hand on the steering wheel, with Tango chewing on some gum he’d found in the side doors. Nothing was wrong. Not until Skizz glanced over at his brother. It took a double take for it to actually set in. “OH MY- TOP, YOUR HAIR IS ON FIRE!” “WHAT?” Tango looked up, scrambling out of the car as Skizz pulled it to a stop on the side of the road. Tango did some equivalent of stop drop and roll, while Skizz emptied almost the entirety of the car’s water bottle supply on Tango’s head. Nothing worked. After a while the two brothers got back in the car, exhausted. The fire on Tango’s hair still blazed cheerfully, unaware of their attempts to put it out. Thankfully, it hadn’t spread anywhere else. Despite it being, well, fire. Skizz had to admit that it did suit him. Tango’s blonde hair matched the orange tones of the flames quite well. With his eyes already having been tinted red from all the redstone he did at work, he kind of reminded Skizz of some type of creature from the Nether. A few more turns and they had finally arrived at the apartment. Skizz looked around for his usual parking space, but found it taken. “What’s Impulse doing here?” Tango asked. “Probably practicing with Gemstone and Scott.” Skizz still felt slightly offended that Gem had asked his twin to be in her band instead of him. She had said that she couldn’t have him in it because it was ‘too embarrassing’ to have her dad in the band. “And anyway,” she pointed out, “you don’t fit the name.” As they walked up the steps, Skizz did spot Scott’s car sitting next to- Was that Joel’s car as well? Tango shrugged when Skizz pointed it out, suggesting that he was probably here to listen to them practice. Something was definitely off. No music came from behind the door when they approached. The entire area felt eerily silent. Skizz unlocked the door, at the same time noticing a little yellow feather on the ground. He picked it up. What looked like blood covered the tip. Skizz dropped it to the ground and pushed into the apartment. Gem’s worried face filled with relief as the door opened. “Dad!” She stopped pacing and hugged him, the large blue hat she wore blocking most of his vision for a moment. “Thank goodness you're here. We’ve got some problems.” Skizz ushered Tango inside, and closed the door. “Do any of them involve fire?” He gestured at his little brother’s still flaming hair. “Well, no,” She said then glanced at her uncle, her eyes widening. “I guess they do now.” Gem cleared her throat. “Dad, I’d like you to meet someone.” Gem stepped back to reveal an unfamiliar boy in a red sweater sitting at their kitchen counter, eating a waffle slathered in strawberry jam. Skizz raised an eyebrow. “Dad this is Grian, Grian this is my dad.” The boy- Grian- gave a tired wave, and returned to his waffle. “I sort of found him on the beach yesterday. He was unconscious, and really banged up, so I kinda brought him home with me.” “I can see that.” Skizz looked around the small apartment, noticing Impulse sleeping on the couch. “Where’s Scott and Joel, we noticed their cars outside.” “Lizzie called Joel a little while ago so he’s in my room talking to her, and Scott went to the bathroom a few moments before you got here.” Skizz nodded, “Do you know what caused that? It sounded like you might.” He pointed over at Tango, who had sat in an armchair next to the couch. “Well, all I know is that it’s got something to do with him.” She pointed over her shoulder at that Grian kid. Gem hesitated then walked over to him, with Skizz right behind her. She smiled, “you look like you’re doing better. How’s the waffle?” Grian mumbled something incomprehensible through his food and gave a thumbs up. He chewed a moment more, then swallowed as Gem sat on the stool next to him. << continued in project (press space or click) << First: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1059153057 Previous: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1102111989 Next: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1115590816
