i'll be there | cyan [c]

♕ | demon

A/N: completely unrelated to the story but, i've been binge watching Shadowhunters (and i plan to read the books soon) so can we just take a second to gush over how cute my dads are bc;

CAN YOU HEAR MY SHRIEKING? I AM DECEASED AT THIS POINT. I LOVE THEM MORE THAT I LOVE MYSELF. ANYWAY;
———

     "Do you have any human friends?" Ryan asked me from where he was sitting on the floor, thumbing through one of the books I hadn't yet placed back on the shelf. I almost snorted at his question. Chuckling, I reached down to grab another book off of the stack. "All of them are." I said.

     Ryan grinned a goofy grin. "Come on! I'm being serious!" He said. I had to roll my eyes at his little joke, saying, "I'm being serious, little one. All of my friends are human."

     He frowned at me. "Nuh uh. The short one with the brown hair is sorta like me- and the one with all the tattoos.." He trailed off. I laughed. "How's Vinny like you?" I inquired before he could say anything else.

     Ryan looked at me like I was insane. "Hybrid. Kind of. I'm a kitsune- a fox He's.. well.. sorta like a.. well.. dog..? What are they called.. Werewolves! Yep. They've got a smell, kinda like pine trees. You'd expect a dog to smell like one, but he smelled like pine trees and iron. Blood, probably. You couldn't tell? An' the sharp teeth," He droned on.

     I mean.. I suppose I could see Vinny as a werewolf. He does act like a dog at times. But I haven't the slightest clue what Ricky could be. He seems normal enough..

     "And Ricky?" I asked, "What's he?"

     "Demon." Ryan told me. "I thought you knew, considering the horns an' tail, an' the black eyes.. sharp teeth 'n stuff.." He listed. But I didn't know what the fuck he was talking about. Ricky's eyes are blue. He doesn't have a tail, and he certainly doesn't have horns. His teeth have never looked sharp to me, either. I shook my head and put my glasses on to better read the small print on the spine of the book I was holding.

     "Little one, I think you're mistaken. Ricky will be here any minute." I stated gently. Ryan shook his head, "I'm telling you the truth." He told me.

     I sighed.

     "Do you usually wear glasses?" He asked me after a moment. I quirked an eyebrow. "When I'm reading, yes." "Have you ever worn them around your friends..?" He quizzed, setting the book in his lap aside when he grew bored of it.

     I thought for a moment. I never did wear my glasses around my friends. If I did, they were only on briefly, to read something. They tended to screw my vision up in regards to looking more than a foot away from my face, since, you know, they're reading glasses; they aren't meant for distance.

     "Keep them on when Ricky gets here," He told me. I decided to listen. What's the worst that could happen? A headache?

———

     "Chris," Ricky called as he walked into the library. "Sorry I'm late. Traffic was shit," He grumbled as he walked up the few steps to the first floor, slipping his jacket off and setting it over the back of his chair at his desk.

     "No problem," I said, looking up from the book in my hands and dropping it immediately. "Fucking-.." I trailed off. Sure, shit was blurry, but I could certainly make out the too-obvious horns that curled backward and looped around Ricky's ears, and the barbed tail that was hooked over his shoulder.

     He just looked at me, confused. "You look like you've seen a ghost. What's up?"

     Ryan spoke up, seeming a little sad. "Why'd you hide who you are the whole time..? He wouldn't have hated you for it, you know."

     Ricky's nose twitched. "Hide who I am? I don't know what you're talking about," He spoke quietly, striding off to get to work. Ryan sighed. "He can see you. I guess he just needed his glasses to do that, but he can see what you are," He murmured shyly.

     Ricky froze up where he was standing, and I slipped my glasses off; my head hurt, at that point.

     "Are you pissed?" He asked, not looking at me. I shook my head. "No.. Just a little.. I dunno. Why would you hide something so.. so dumb, from me? And Vinny?" "And Angelo, and Devin, and Mike, and pretty much everyone else?" Ricky continued, folding his arms over his chest.

     I winced at the sound of bones cracking, and Ricky turned around. His eyes were like coal, now, teeth sharp, horns curled and tail still curled over his shoulder. "We did it for your sake. You're a magnet and you always have been, for some reason. Supernatural creatures are drawn to you like a moth to a flame- and that's not a good thing. Not now, anyway," Ricky told me. "We all agreed it'd be best to keep it hidden. If hiding who we are meant keeping you alive, well," He shrugged, "We figured it'd be worth it.."

     I pursed my lips. "Vinny's a werewolf, huh..? And what about everyone else? Is it obvious? Am I just oblivious, because Ryan had a damn easy time figuring things out. Then again, he can see what you are when you hide it from me.." I said. I shouldn't be angry- he did say they did it to keep me safe or whatever..

     I just don't like being lied to.

     "It's.. It's not my place to tell you. It should be their choice. The best I can do is inform them that you're well aware of what we are." He told me.

     "Call them up, then.. I don't want to put this off if I can help it." I said, seeping a sigh. It was going to be a long day.