Fangs Or Tails?

4 | Chapter

Should... I go to school today?

Yes.

Tobias flipped the coin into the air, a myriad of long forgotten emotions swirling inside him. Threatening to overwhelm him with the sudden intensity of simply feeling after six years of living in a cold and empty void. It was a sensory overload, and all he wanted right then was for it to stop. Being bombarded with everything was not his version of feeling again.

He preferred continuing to be apathetic than the emotional mess he was now, mind racing like a speeding bullet.

What the fuck was that yesterday? That guy... If he's not human, what is he then? How can he even be anything other than a human? The only evidence to the contrary was his unshakable grip, and even that could be overlooked.

There was nothing to point to him being non-human. Tobias shuddered to think that if he hadn't of worded the question the way he did, even he wouldn't have known.

I doubt that the only reason Felix wanted to speak to me was to return the coin... he had to have had some sort of an ulterior motive...

Yes.

Tobias glared at the piece of metal that had started this entire mess to begin with. The all-knowing inanimate object seemingly conspiring against him, when it was supposed to be his one and only guiding light in this world filled with darkness. He'd been perfectly fine with being ignorant to the fact that there are other creatures frighteningly similar to his own kind. Hidden amongst them. The knowledge did nothing but unsettle him, questioning everything that he had come to accept as reality.

But then... Tobias stared unblinkingly at the coin, a sudden thought occurring to him. Shouldn't it be easier for him to believe the absurdity of his situation when he himself possessed a bit of that impossible possibility? His thoughts spiraled increasingly downward from there.

The door to his room suddenly swung inwards on it's hinges, revealing an older man who was vaguely familiar. Tobias unconsciously buried his hand with the coin in his pocket, all his unstable emotions bunching into a tight little ball. He could feel the pressure of it in his chest, rubbing it absentmindedly with his other hand.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school, punk?" slurred the intruder, swaying where he stood. Tobias scrunched his nose at the strong smell of alcohol, face set in a blank expression.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" The words slipped out of his mouth wihtout consent, his emotionally heightened state making him lose lipped. Tobias was always in control of his body, and having that control suddenly overruled by unstable emotions was unnerving. He tried not to let it show, thankful that he was skilled, and accustomed to, adopting a straight face.

The man didn't seem to have heard Tobias' retort, instead stumbling into the room uninvited. His fragile state made him want to snap at the man, but didn't get the chance to carry it out. As the intruder tripped over his own feet and promptly fell on to the bed. Tobias had to scramble off of his bed in order to not be squashed under the entirety of a grown man's weight. The sound of snoring filled the cramped room.

You have got to be kidding me... "MIKE! GET OFF OF MY BED!"

His screaming brought unwanted attention to himself, heavy footsteps stomping their way towards the room. Tobias grimaced when his father appeared at the doorway drowsily, and looked in. "What's going on in here?"

"One of your friends fell asleep on my bed," Tobias informed, not really expecting anything to be done regarding it. As anticipated, his father swept his eyes over the room once and looked completely unbothered at the sight of a man occupying his son's bed.