Fanatic (G/T)

12: Punished

-now that everyone has a chapter established, let's get into some POV switches-

POV: Avery Williams

I'm tired. I can't sleep on a cold, metal surface, even if it's summer and I'm wearing soft, squishy clothes. I've been here for a week, and officially punished twice. One wasn't very bad, but the other was a big one that I wasn't prepared for.

The first one was worst. I'm not a great climber, but I tried to get to the top of the cage and hide in the bell's top. He found me, and lowered me to the bottom of the cage, and as soon as I got one hand on a bar, he let me go so I had to haul myself back up and into the cage myself. Thankfully, he stood and watched, and even opened the cage for me when I got the tips of my toes on the edge of the bottom so I could crawl back in. I almost slipped or gave out a few times, which would likely lead to my demise.

The second one was much easier. I had to ask a question about something to the others, and tried to finish up the question as fast as possible even though Kevin had already came in, and I wasn't good on timing. He rolled his eyes, came over and plucked me out of the cage, holding me between two fingers by the back of my shirt. I desperately tried to grab onto anything, but I could only hang there as he asked me, "Why do you always have to talk? I know you're excited about your new friends, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to cut you off for a little while." How lucky was I that he's wearing a shirt with a pocket? In I went.

"She'll come out in an hour." I could only hear him, but I could imagine he was smiling that evil fucking smile. I got a tiny peek out of the pocket as I saw him on his phone, typing an hour into a timer. It bothers me how much bigger the phone is than me, and he still makes it look small in his hands.

I tried to examine more, but I heard a "Hey!" from above, and I was pushed back in by his index finger. I gave up on trying from there. He was already mad, so might as well accept an easy punishment like this.

POV: Kevin Cunningham

I don't get it. She was so quiet and shy around me, but now she's all talkative. Shouldn't she have been talkative and excited before, but now introverted and obedient?  She's still scared, thankfully, but she doesn't ever shut the fuck up. I know the other humans are getting her into it, and I'll probably get around to punishing them later.

I would be lying to myself if I said I didn't enjoy giving humans what they deserve through punishments, but what's the fun if it's the same shit over and over again? I've done the cage thing with the first human, I did this pocket thing with the third one, and it takes months for anyone to understand how I want things to run! How can these people be so scared but so unwilling to listen at the same time?

I think she's asleep, she hasn't moved in a good few minutes. I need to write music; I get albums done in a year and I won't stop that streak now. God, I miss writing music with a human in my pocket. Just as I sit down and open my laptop, I hear a tiny voice coming from my chest: "What are you doing?"

I sigh intensely, refusing to admit how happy it makes me and reminds me of the past, to which she says "Never mind then, fuck me for asking." I feel her pop back into the pocket. I sigh again, but much softer and quieter.

"You can see." Did I actually say that? Too late now, she's up and interested. "It's just..." I close my eyes. "Music stuff."

"Thank fuck, I was about to suffocate probably. I know you want that since I'm the lowest form of vermin, but it'd be unfortunate to lose the latest piece to your collection after only a week."

"God damnit!" I slam the laptop shut, which I can tell startles her. I pluck her out of my pocket and hold her in one fist, probably tighter than she finds comfortable, and words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. "What's your deal? One minute, you act like I'm the scariest thing in the world and out to kill you, and then the next, you act like we're best friends. I don't know if I'm the first, but I'm definitely not the latter, and you need to learn that!" The color drains from her face. So does mine.

POV: Jason Kowalski

There's muffled screaming from Kevin outside the room, and I can only assume Avery got to him. "Do you think she's doing okay?" I ask, staring at the door.

"We'll have Missy give a diagnosis when her limp corpse is thrown in here in five minutes," replies Riley, their eyes never leaving the door, either.

"He's not going to kill her, don't be so dramatic," Missy scolds us, and we both roll our eyes and look back to the door. "Kevin killing a human is about as likely as Riley saying something relevant."

"Fair," the smug redhead replies.

POV: Avery Williams

The color drains from my face, and I take a second to regain my hearing. I was yelled at before, but never at this volume. I feel a chill run through his arm, and the grip on me loosens.

"You're not my best friend, but I still haven't gotten entirely over you being, you know, you." I say, avoiding eye contact, even though I want to look at his eyes more.

"You don't act like a pet- like a normal human," he corrects himself as though the two are synonyms. I look at him just in time to see him mouth something unmistakable: You're just like her.

I ignore it. "I actually do act like a normal human. We are literally the exact same species, you're just bigger. That's all you have on us. When has your size caused anything other than destruction and chaos? You have nothing to be proud of, you great big bastard." I make eye contact with him again, and he looks guilty. There's no hint of anger in his eyes. The grip he has on me loosens slightly more, and I pretend not to notice.

"Get in the pocket." He drops me in, and I look out to see him pull out his phone again. The timer says 34:56, the amount of time left in the hour. He clears the timer. "Your punishment is over, let me take you back." He's quieter than usual, grabbing me back out lightly and carrying me in cupped hands instead of a fist or anything else aggressive.

"But... the hour wasn't over-"

"Who cares? Your punishment is over," he tells me, not making eye contact.

"But why did you clear the timer?" I ask.

"Listen, think about how lucky you are that I'm not physically crushing you to pulp right now. If you don't shut the fuck up, this could change." He looks me dead in the eyes, and I don't reply. "Thank you."

He brings me back to the cage and closes the door quietly. Then, he slumps on the bed and just goes on his phone. The four of us sit, silent as can be.