𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤|| 𝗧𝘆𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻'𝘀 𝗧𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝘅 𝗬/𝗻 𝗟/𝗻

𝟜𝟞.

"Part of me blames mom's death behind his behavior..."

Not expecting things between the two brothers to be this bad, I was at loss for words. "After my parents divorced, my mom and I moved to Cali for a while..." He mumbles. "Things were going fine until her death, 2 years after that." He sighs.

"I had to move back in with dad, but by that time, my powers began surfacing a little. Made me lose control of a lot of things, actually." He mumbles. "I got addicted to smoking, drinking... It landed me into a lot of fights as well. Hung out with the wrong sorts." He states.

"Until I finally got sent to this Summer Camp for Troubled Teens last year. By that time I had already read and researched a lot about my... condition, so I slowly gained control over myself." He muses. "Until one night, this kid from camp decided to test me." He scoffs.

"It was a full moon, and I was feeling more uneasy and anxious than any other moons that had passed. According to my books, it meant that I was closer to um, wolfing-out..." He explains. "Naturally, I had no one to guide me through it, so I was on my own. That kinda amplified the pressure." He admits.

"So um, I studied the process all day, and decided to chain myself up in an isolated cabin that night, in case anything would happen, y'know... Cuz you can't really control your powers on the first couple of moons. Not unless you come from a supernatural family, at least." He says.

"I took someone I trusted at that moment with me, and asked him to help me." He mumbles. "It was possibly one of the biggest mistakes I had ever committed, because the moment I was chained up, I paid the price for it." He scoffs, going all silent, looking away.

Irrespective of how sus that sounded, I decided to be serious for what seemed like the first time in my life, and waited patiently for him to go one. "What happened then?" I ask nervously, wondering if he was ready to open up yet.

"He said a couple of things. Nasty things. Kinda made me lose my mind." He replies vaguely. "I don't remember what exactly happened, my mind's still pretty foggy when it comes to that incident." He then sighs. "But uh, I wolfed-out." He shrugs.

"I broke out of the chains, and wolfed-out." He elaborates.

"The kid was taken to a hospital. He was in a coma too for a week or something..." He mumbles. "I didn't know what I had done. I just remember throwing a couple of punches at him before waking up in the middle of the woods, naked." He deadpans.

"My father took me down to the station. No charges were pressed, but I would have had to serve sometime in juvie. But that's when Larissa Weems got involved." He sighs. "She offered to take me under her wing, help me learn more about myself by attending this school, and here we are." He finishes. 

"Been here for almost 2 years now, and this place is the closest thing to home I've got." Atlas smiles softly, the gratitude visible in his oceanic eyes. "Sure, wasn't easy at first, and I never really fit in due to my father's status." He speaks coldly. 

"But it's better than being out there." He adds. "This place is supposed to be my safe haven, away from my family, and away from those wretched normies." He snaps. "No offense to you, by the way. You're great." He quickly assures.

"And the last time Tyler crossed paths with us, him and his friends assaulted Xavier, and destroyed his mural in front of him." He scoffs. "And whoever tried to stop them got into trouble with the Mayor, until Bianca and Ken managed to manipulate a way out using their powers to help us." He shrugs. 

"Tyler was the one who planned that little 'prank' of theirs. He's the one who has always caused all the trouble in my life. I thought meeting each other after all these years would change things, but they really didn't." He scoffs.

"I'm not saying I didn't give back. I've done some fucked up things too, in the past... You know, with the boy at camp." He scoffs honestly. "But I feel no remorse." He shrugs. "It may have been an accident, but if put in a similar situation, I would do it all over again." He confesses.

"However, one thing about Tyler that keeps me from cutting him out of my life completely, is that he could've done a lot worse. Especially as payback for the things I did to him." He then muses. "But he never did." He says. 

"Mom's death fucked us both up. I mean, she was the only parent I had, and to Tyler, she was the only parent he didn't have." He sighs, and I look down, realizing the depth of that simple sentence. "He was just a bitter townie that blamed everyone and everything for the shitty hand he had been dealt, and that's completely normal." He states.

"What truly matters, however, is the actions he took to turn his life around in a span of just one year." He shrugs. "As much as I hate to admit it, his heart is still in the right place, even if it may be poisoned to an extent." He adds. 

"He did terrible things. Very terrible things. But deep down, I know he's not a bad person...Just a guy with a lot of demons." He sighs. "I can't say my past has been any better, but at least it helped me realize the version of myself I REALLY want to be." He says.

"And though I am trying my best to work towards it... Things like these make it harder for me to continue that. You know, when my past catches up in the most unexpected ways. Be it flashbacks, or dreams, or recent discoveries." He rambles.

"It's like being tested for a lesson you haven't yet prepared for, to simplify things." He explains. "Who was the boy from the camp, if you don't mind me asking?" I question bluntly, wondering if I knew him or if he was one of Lucas's friends.

"Tyler..."