The Raven Cycle Short Stories

Before

Emperor's New Clothes, Panic! At The Disco

Noah Czerny came back from his swim practice to find his roommate, Barrington Whelk, sitting at his small desk studying a map of the small Henrietta area. Whelk had told Noah about his plan to wake the great Owain Glyndŵr. It was like a treasure hunt to the boy. To wake the king, one must first awaken the Ley Lines lurking underneath the Virginia town.

"Hey Whelk," Noah said, closing the door.

"Sup Czerny," Barrington replied.

"Not much," The blonde boy said, setting his bag down. "I'm gonna take a quick drive. I'll be back by sundown though."

"Sounds good," Whelk returned. "I'll be here, like always."

"Yeah," Noah joked, grabbing his car keys. "You should really get out more Barry."

"Haha, very funny Czerny," The dark haired boy finally turned around in his chair, shaking his head at his roommate. "You know I hate it when you call me that."

"I know, that's why I do it," Czerny shrugs. Walking backwards towards the door, he does a two-fingered salute to his friend. "Later..." he says, and the door makes a resounding thud as it closes.

Noah's mustang roared to life as he turned the key. Pulling out of the school's parking lot, he turns onto the highway and rolls his windows all the way down, the wind blowing through and ruffling his hair.

As he drives down the nearly empty highway, he cranks up the radio. On the radio was some sort of eclectic music. Varying instruments and voices were making a slightly harsh sound in his ears, but the boy decided that it suited his insides quite nicely. The day had been long and slightly stressful, but hopefully a small trip away would be just the right remedy.

Turning off at a random exit, Noah's car rumbled a bit as he casually took turns down unknown roads. Unknown to him, that is. Down one of the streets, he passes by a bright blue house. Fox Way, the Czerny boy muses, What an interesting name for a street.

Roaring past the odd house, the blonde decides that he needs to find his way back to the school. The drive wasn't that long, but it helped calm his mind. As well as the music that was still blasting throughout the car.

The Czerny boy pulled into the Aglionby parking lot and circled around to a parking spot near his dorm. He grabbed his sweater and pulled it on before locking his car and walking towards the entrance. The distance from the lot to his room was all of five minutes, so the chill hadn't settled into his bones quite yet by the time he got inside.

Entering into his dorm room, Noah saw Whelk sitting on his bed, face buried in his hands, his back heaving with deep breaths. The blonde boy threw his keys into the cup on his desk, eyeing his roommate wearily.

"Everything ok, Whelk?" Noah questions. The boy raised his head up, face red, stained with tear tracks.

He nods. Then shakes his head, in disbelief. "No, I just got a call," he says. "From my mother. My dad, uh... He just got arrested. Turns out he had some bad dealings. Tax fraud, I'm being told. So, basically, we've got no money, and I have to leave school."

The blonde boy stares at the boy he's come to know over the last few years in confusion. "What?" He asks.

Whelk gives him a look, not wanting to rehash it. "Yeah, I don't know what I'm going to do."

Noah sighs, running his hand through his hair. "I mean, there's nothing to do is there?" He throws back.

The dark haired boy shakes his head. "I mean... no. That's silly," Barrington responds. His roommate glances at him curiously. "The legend. It's a possibility. Right?" He asks. Whelk knows what would need to be done. He would need a sacrifice. But how would that work out? He couldn't kill someone. "No... I can't."

He hadn't told Czerny about everything. He couldn't. Because it wasn't serious. Until now. But now... to get that prize... Maybe... just maybe... Could he?

Hey! Thanks for reading. Sorry for any mistakes. This is just for fun, but I tried. I know it's probably not completely true to cannon, but I kinda wanted my own spin on it.

-Jess