Chapter Text

Prologue

My name is Rhys.

For as long as I could remember, my father was the greatest man I'd ever known.

Unlike everyone else, he didn't use his power to abuse those weaker than himself.

He used it to help those at the very bottom. To them, he was their source of hope.

He believed that everyone had something great to contribute to the world.

And he was punished for it.

The young man grit his teeth as rain pelted his body, mixing with the blood that seeped from his wounds. Any attempt to struggle would be swiftly suppressed by the much stronger man that held him onto the bloodstained pavement.

"Ugh!"

On the opposite end of the street, a man was thrown against the window display of an apparel store. Upon regaining his breath, he immediately ducked down and went into a roll, narrowly avoiding two magenta projectiles that completely shattered the window display behind him.

Before the man could close the distance between the red-eyed gunslinger, his senses flared up, warning him of immediate danger. He jumped in the air, going into a somersault as he dodged a grab from a morbidly elongated, sinewy and throbbing purple mass of an arm.
He countered by drop-kicking the limb's owner, who used his only free hand to block. The hulking, towering man was sent reeling behind another accomplice, who raised a hand enveloped in dark purple aura.

Almost immediately after the man landed on the ground, five shadowy figures surrounded him, each holding a dagger. After a short moment, they lunged at the man, who stood completely still.

"Dad!"

The five daggers stabbed into the man. Unexpectedly, he burst into a dark purple haze. The five figures, disoriented, had no chance to recover after an enlarged forearm whacked them from the side, reducing the lot of them into a large cloud of dark purple haze. Before any of the three attackers could react, the forearm then transformed into a metallic blaster, dispersing the smoke and retracting back.

Clunk!

"My Turn."

All three attackers turned their heads toward the voice. There on the other side of the street stood his dad, aiming two enlarged, enhanced blasters at them like a double-barreled shotgun. Smaller blasters sprouted from their larger counterparts and tinier blasters sprouted from those, forming a grotesque shotgun. Rhys' eyes widened. He couldn't possibly be thinking of shooting, not when he was directly behind the three.

BAM!

Rhys' eyes slowly opened. The pressure behind him was gone. He pat all over his wounded body to check for holes, luckily finding none.

"Son? Son! You okay!?"

Rhys looked behind him as he sat down. There lay the man who had injured and restrained him while his father fought with his accomplices. He had short, spiky silver hair, and he was bleeding from gunshot wounds in his shoulder and midsection.

"Yeah, dad, I'm fine!"

"Whew!"

Rhys looked up. The three assassins could be seen clear as day under the streetlights now, regardless of the storm. They no longer had the element of surprise. There was a wounded woman of average height with blasters for forearms and hands. She had flowing magenta hair and red eyes, with white crosshairs for iris'.

She must be the ranged user.

A towering, dark-skinned man stood next to her having his fair share of gunshot wounds, though his ability negated most of the damage. He had a growing bruise on his right forearm, which was caused by the drop-kick his father hit him with earlier. He had close-cropped, dirty blonde hair and murky yellow eyes.

The man who can alter the size of his limbs.

Rhys turned his head more to the side and squinted his eyes to observe the final accomplice, who stood away from the light. From what Rhys was able to see, he had dark purple hair that was tied into a ponytail, and was tall and lanky. He wore a white mask that obscured any discernable facial features and held a dagger reverse grip in his right hand. Out of the three, he was the least injured.

He must be the one who can create clones of himself.

"I'll give you one more chance to get lost! You've seen what I can do! You don't want me to hurt you more than I need to."

The three stayed silent. From Rhys' peripheral vision, someone passed him on his right side, walking toward the fight.

What the?

"Jack!"

The stranger revealed himself under the light. He was a tall man in a trench coat with a grey mop of hair that hung over his face. It seemed his father had some history with this man.

Jack's face became dead serious.
"Kai.. you must have a death wish."

Kai scoffed at the furious man.

"Don't be a hypocrite, Jack.."

"The moment you turned your back on us, you signed your death warrant!"

"Oh?"

Jack grit his teeth, jabbing a finger at the other man.
"Tell me, Kai.. did Rose deserve to die because of my choices? You know damn well that she didn't! Yet you-"

Kai cut him off, seemingly disturbed by his question.

"I had no choice, Jack! I warned you again and again, this was what it would come to.. yet you still went ahead and sided with those useless vigilantes!"

A moment of silence passed. Lightning struck, and the sound of thunder rumbled in the background.
"You'd never understand, Kai. You and the rest of those selfish, power-hungry dogs that only care about control!"

Kai's face turned dangerously dark, and he became silent.

"Hey, Jack.."

Kai's mouth stretched into an ugly, sadistic grin.

"Your boy's really grown up, hasn't he?"

Jack's eyes widened in rage.
"..bastard!"

BEAM!

Jack's eyes widened. Rhys could tell, something had just happened.

"Go to hell, Jack!"

With blinding speed, two bright magenta balls of energy homed in on his father, who could barely react in time to block. As the smoke cleared, the figure of his father was revealed, guarding his body with two burnt, enlarged arms.

This wasn't right. Moments earlier, his dad had no difficulty avoiding that woman's projectiles. Now, he looked as if he only just managed to defend himself. And that alarmed expression on his face..

Before Jack could follow up with a counterattack, the giant man with dirty blond hair was already charging at him, his enlarged, pulsating mass of a fist sailing straight to him. Jack aimed his blasters downward and shot a long beam, just in time to propel himself away from the devastating blow and towards the giant man.

"Tsk! That won't work on me again!"

A yellow glint sparked in the man's eyes as he reeled back his elongated fist with blinding speed, the force of the retraction striking Jack as he was suspended in the air.

"Augh!"

Managing to land both feet, Jack coughs out blood as his eyes glow a dangerous white. Two of his duplicates emerge from the ground and close the distance between themselves and his two assailants. With no time to rest, Jack instantly assumes a combat stance as four of the purple-haired man's own clones immediately rush him. The closest one swipes at him with a knife, but he leans back in the nick of time to minimize the damage of the cut. Quickly, he extends his blaster-arm and plunges it directly into the clone's solar plexus, sending it reeling back into the street in a disheveled haze. Redirecting his aim slightly to the side, he blows two of the clone's slower counterparts to pieces as the final clone fearlessly charges at him.

Reeling back his elongated fist like the dirty-blonde haired man did earlier, he used the force of the retraction to strike the clone, throwing it at him as he prepared his comically large blaster-fist to strike. When the opportune moment came, he threw a devastating haymaker, obliterating the clone in a single punch. Retracting his arm, Jack attempted to catch his breath as boiling hot steam began flooding out of his blaster.

Shk!

Jack's eyes widened. He'd been stabbed by a fifth clone, who managed to get the jump on him from behind.

"Dad!"

Jack threw an elbow behind him that took the clone's head off its shoulders, then peered down at his wound. Blood was seeping into his shirt at a steady pace, and Jack deduced that the purple-haired man wasn't just any knife-wielding amateur. He grit his teeth and covered his wound. As the two of his other assailants fought off his clones, Jack took the opportunity to regain his strength.

"What the hell did you do, Kai!?"

The man in question sneered.

"Just a new invention that our partner NXGen came up with.. Much has happened since you betrayed us, you know?"

Jack's sneer superseded Kai's own.
"Ability dampeners, huh! And here I thought you'd have some dignity, being the high ranking official that you are.."

Kai's eyes widened in rage, fists tightly clenched at his sides.
"Instead, you called up four of your dogs to do the fighting for you, then resorted to cheap tricks when things weren't going your way."

"Kai, you truly are pathetic.. I don't know why I ever trusted you."

Vwooom!

Jack ducked under a sweeping beam that just barely nicked his shoulder. At his side, the giant of a man morbidly expanded the size of his fist, then dug it into the ground. A moment later, his opened hand shot out of the ground, hurling projectiles of deadly rubble at his target. Almost in slow motion, Jack took in a big breath of air and steeled himself. Bringing both blaster-arms together, the contraptions immediately merged into a brand-new blaster that resembled a machine gun with a long tripod-like component jutting out from the bottom. Slamming the weapon into the ground, Jack's iris' morphs into white crosshairs.

"Eat this!"

DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA!

"Augh!"

"Ah!"

"Hng!"

The airborne rubble had been destroyed, and he'd injured all three of his combatants. But he was reaching his limit. The dampener's effect on him was impeding on his ability to fight at his normal pace. A panting Jack withdrew the machine gun, steam hissing out of both arm-blasters like broken pipes. Blood from his stab wound dripped onto the floor at a steady pace, despite the fact that he was putting pressure on the wound and his vision began to blur.

"Kai.. Fight me like a goddamn man!"
He spat, blood dripping from his mouth.

The man in question grits his teeth, his gaze averted to the side as he clenched his fists tightly at his sides.

Wham!

Jack stumbles a few steps to his side as he is struck across the face. Putting up his guard, he steels himself against the silver-haired man who had recovered enough to join the fight. Jack doubles over, spitting blood as a body-shot and an uppercut slip past his guard.

That man.. is using boxing!

After blocking a heavy left hook with an enlarged arm, Jack shoots a beam out of his free palm to propel himself away from the silver-haired man.

But why do his punches get heavier the more they land?

"Tsk!"

Jack's eyes widen as the silver-haired man grabs his Achilles' heel before he can completely escape. Suddenly, the man pulls Jack towards him and prepares a haymaker. Jack immediately goes into a cross-guard.

Pow!

An audible crack is heard as Jack blocks the impact with his arms. Blood floods out of Jack's mouth as he is sent flying into the window of a bakery.

Crash!

"D-dad..!"

Rhys attempts to stand, but the pain was too much to bear. He opted to lie in the rain, observing the bakery for any sort of movement. Finally, Kai tentatively stepped towards the building. Upon reaching its entrance, Kai picked up a glass shard off the floor. Suddenly, Jack burst through the doors of the establishment and threw a haymaker at Kai, who easily grabbed his arm.

Shk!

Jack's eyes widened as he coughed out more blood, staining Kai's left shoulder. Kai pulled the makeshift knife from his old friend's midsection.
"Unf!"

"Dad!"

Almost gently, Kai laid Jack onto the pavement and wall of the bakery. Slowly standing upright, he looked down at his former partner with an expression betraying no emotion.

"I never wanted it to come to this.. you brought this upon yourself."

Jack, bleeding profusely, looked up at his old friend as the rain pelted his bloodstained face. Making an effort to breathe through the pain, Jack opened his trembling mouth and spoke with a tone barely above a whisper.

"..my son."

Jack grabbed Kai's leg.
"spare.. my son."

Kai, gritting his teeth, activated his ability. His eyes glowing a dark, ominous red, he placed an aura-coated hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Goodbye, Jack."

Almost immediately, his father's body went limp. Kai slowly retracted his hand and placed it into the pocket of his trench coat, letting out a sigh.

...

"You bastard!"

For a split second, Rhys' anger overcame his pain. He began to limp towards Kai, who watched almost pitifully. Losing his breath, the young man fell onto his knees before he even got close.

Slash!

The boy's eyes widened; his pupils dilated. A sharp, unbearable pain cascaded throughout his back as he choked out blood, his body falling into a limp. Behind him stood the purple-haired man, wielding a sword with deadly intent. Lifting the blade in the air, he prepared to take the boy's head off his shoulders.

"Enough, Shin."

Upon hearing his superior speak, the masked man paused his strike, lowering the blade. As Rhys fell onto his stomach, unable to stay upright, Kai slowly walked towards the duo. He stopped directly in-front of the boy, and knelt down. Activating his ability, he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. For a moment, something sparked in his eyes.

"The hell r' you doing, Kai? Boy's a cripple, didn't you read the file?"

His female accomplice pointed out from his side, an incredulous expression growing on her face.

Kai slowly stood up.

"..suppose so."

His other silver haired accomplice piped up, growing impatient.

"So why the hell did you stop Shin? Don't tell me after all that, you're just going to let him go."

Kai put his hands in his pockets, looking directly into his subordinate's emerald eyes.

"..I am."

The dark-skinned man with short, dirty blonde hair crossed his arms. He looked down at the boy as if he was a pest that was meant to be crushed.

"Hey, 15 years you've chased this man. It's time to end it, Kai. Him and his pitiful offspring."

The three of them were predators, ready to pounce on the injured, vulnerable prey that lay helpless on the ground. But just before they could, Kai activated his ability.

"Driscoll."

"Brock."

"Harlow."

The three assassins began to tremble. A pressure weighed heavily on their shoulders and for a moment, It felt as if their very being was bursting at the seams with pain. Suddenly, as quickly as the terrible feeling began, it had completely disappeared. When the three of them snapped out of their daze, they found that they were on their knees, the residual crimson glow of Kai's ability fading away.

"Never question my motives again."

They stood up, bowing at Kai as a gesture of repentance. Hands in his trench coat's pockets, Kai began to stroll away.

"Collect Jack."

Shin took the initiative of grabbing Jack's body. The other three immediately fled the scene, easily escaping through the low-tier districts desolate rooftops, as Kai left the boy bleeding in the rain.

"You.. piece of shit!"

A small voice shouted from behind Kai, whose eyes widened. Blinded by rage, Rhys begins to slowly crawl towards his father's killer, his blood painting the road.

"Don't you dare walk away!"

Kai continued to walk, as if he hadn't heard a thing. Lifting a cigarette pack and a lighter out of his trench coat in a well-practiced motion, he placed a stick in his mouth and lit it.

"Come here.. and finish it!"

Pinching the cigarette in his mouth, he inhaled deeply, feeling the smoke numb his guilt ever so slightly, drowning out the enraged cries of his best friend's son.

Kid.. you have the potential to go far. Farther than me. And even your dad.

Take your revenge. I'll be waiting.

Kai blows a huge puff of smoke out of his mouth. For an instant, a memory of himself, Jack, his wife and the newborn kid surfaces through the haze. But as quickly as it appears, it disperses, being washed away by the rain.

"You fucking..bastard! I'll kill you..! I'll.."

Kai disappears into the storm. Rhys' anger begins to dissipate, and a bone-deep tiredness rapidly rises in its place. Rhys can no longer find the strength in him to crawl or even move.

"Damn it.."

Black dots dance around the edges of Rhys' blurred vision. An incessant ringing fills his ears, and an all-encompassing numbness grips his body like a vice. Rhys uses his remaining reserves of strength to keep his eyes open.

Is this.. where I die?

...

[Your potential has been recognised. Congratulations, Rhys, you have been chosen.]

[Welcome, Gamer.]

The UnOrdinary Gamer

Chapter Text

An almost overwhelmingly sweet floral aroma permeated the air of the room Rhys was currently resting in and a soft, fur-like texture embraced his injured body from every angle. As much as he wanted to fall back asleep, his gut told him to get up, and he wasn't one to ignore his gut.

With great effort, Rhys managed to pry his eyes open and lift his head up. Golden orbs darting from side to side, he then attempted to discern his immediate surroundings. However, a blinking, light-blue text box hovering a few inches adjacent to the front of his face made it nearly impossible to do so.

{Slept in a bed}
[Buff Applied:
+25% HP
+100% SP]

On instinct, Rhys lifted up a weary hand to try and swat it away, but was shocked when his hand simply phased through it, as if it had no physical form.

"Uhm? What the fuck?"

Rhys immediately sat up on the bed, disregarding the pain the action brought as he blinked consecutively. He tried attacking the textbox with an actual punch this time, but alas. His hand phased through the light blue text box again. Before he could react, however, the text box responded by shifting into a more ominous red, the words morphing into a different message.

{Hungry}
[Debuff Applied:
-30% HP Regeneration
-30% SP Regeneration]

Rhys' eyes widened as he gripped the fluffy bedsheets tightly, his breathing beginning to quicken into a rapid pace as the room began to swirl.
"N-No freaking way.."

{Activated - Talent: Gamer's Mind}

All of the sudden, everything became tranquil. The textboxes minimized themselves into mere icons resting at the left side of his peripheral vision as Rhys relaxed his grip on the sheets. He took another look around his surroundings with a clear view this time, and realized that he was in his room. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Okay.. so I may need to get my head checked at the hospital once I recover.

[Hello, Gamer.]

Rhys nearly jolted back at the sudden voice that entered his ears. A monotonous, robotic female voice. Confused, Rhys' eyes darted around the room to find its owner, but he could not pinpoint her position in his room. Logically deducing that there was nobody else in the room except him, which seemed impossible due to the proximity of his ears to the sound, Rhys sat up straight and addressed this person calmly.

"..who are you?"

[I am your guide.]

Rhys raised an eyebrow, exasperated.

Intruder, you mean.

He'd cooperate with this mysterious woman for now. She had the element of surprise, after all. Once he could pinpoint her location, then he'd decide on his next move.

Rhys calmed himself down, and said the very first thing on his mind.
"You gonna explain these nonsensical blinking textboxes then?"

[They are status effects.]

"Okay, but what-"

Rhys did a double take.

Status effects? Like.. in a video game?

"But that doesn't make any sense."

[Status effects are an integral part of your system, Gamer.]

.

Upon hearing the word 'Gamer', the memories came flooding back at full force. The sight of his father's body. The cut that had split his back wide open. That grey-haired Authority dog, Kai.. who had walked away after killing his dad!

Rage clouded Rhys' vision, immediately hoisting him up off the bed and into an unbridled tantrum.

"No, no, no.. fuck!"

The first of his victims was a bedside lamp with a beautiful flower design imprinted on the ceramic. He immediately grabbed it and threw it at the adjacent wall, shattering it into pieces.

"Fuck!"

Clumsily spinning around and mindlessly grabbing the bedside table that the lamp was initially perched on, he topples it over, its contents spilling out all over the room. Balling his right hand into a fist, he then punched the area that was nearest to him on his wall.

"Shit!"

Crack!

{-1 HP}

Rhys immediately jolted back from the sharp pain that exploded in his poorly-formed fist. Looking down at his hand and sucking in the air from his teeth, he swore under his breath when he realized that he was bleeding.

{Minor Bleeding}
[Debuff Applied:
-0.1 HP per minute]

[My point exactly.]

Rhys blew his top, looking around the room like a crazed maniac in a pathetic attempt to search for the person speaking to him. Shaking his injured fist in the air, he cursed at the top of his lungs.
"Shut the fuck up, woman! Where are you!? Show yourself! When I find you-"

{Activated - Talent: Gamer's Mind}

Rhys immediately became docile. Blinking, he looked up at the picture that he had just smashed into pieces. It was a photograph of him, Selena and his father. His only remaining family. Shaking his head, he sat down on the edge of his bed, holding his head in his hands.

That's right. Selena. How was he going to break the news to her? Rhys sniffled, his anger rapidly deteriorating and sadness rising in its place.

"I'm sorry Guide, I'm just going through a tough time right now.."

[It's quite alright, Gamer. That's what your intrinsic talent is for. To prevent you from doing stupid things in the wake of your 'tough times'.]

Rhys wiped his snotty nose, sighing as he immediately disregards her statement by thoughtlessly changing the topic.
"You know, it's a bit weird, calling you by Guide. Don't you have a name?"

[My purpose, Gamer, is to guide you. Therefore, you need not refer to me as anything else.]

Rhys looked up at nothing in particular, his elbows on his knees as he slumped down.
"Yeah? To what are you guiding me towards, exactly?"

[Power.]

Rhys' eyes widened. Power was not the proper adjective to be used in describing people like him. Cripples, at the very bottom of the societal hierarchy. Pathetic, physically and mentally. Even Rhys could admit to that. And now, this disembodied voice was propositioning it to him?
Rhys' eyes continued to remain widened in disbelief. After a moment passed, they suddenly regressed, and he released a disappointed sigh.

"Yeah, right.. that joke wasn't funny, Guide."

[It was not a joke. Don't you find it a bit off that as I am speaking to your right now, you remain calm?]

Rhys remained quiet. He could see that the woman had a point. How was it that he had calmed down so quickly, right when he was about to have a panic attack out of fear? As if reading his mind, the disembodied voice answered him almost immediately.

[It is part of the power that you currently possess. The power to achieve your goals. To avenge your father. To get back at the powers-at-be, who have led you to the miserable life that you currently lead. Deep down, it is what you want, is it not..?]

Shadows licked the edges of Rhys' eyes, and he took up a blank expression. After a moment of silence, he answered, his tone dead serious.

"How?"

[You have been given a gift from the Gods. With it, you are able to amass an impossible amount of power, which could be used to fulfil every single one of your own objectives and desires.]

Rhys looked at the picture frame that he had shattered earlier. The picture of himself, his dad and Selena. Embracing each other in a family hug.
"Power.."

"Where do I start?"

Slam!

"Jesus, Rhys, what the fuck!?"
An irritated voice exclaimed from the far right side of the room, where his door had been slammed open. There stood a disheveled Selena, who, upon deducing the situation, dropped a baseball bat that clattered onto the wooden floor.

Rhys chuckled nervously, finding it hard to look at his siblings' angry lavender eyes as she approached him.
"Selena-"

"I thought you were being attacked or something!"

Rhys held his hands out in an attempt to soothe the beast. Despite his sister's naturally soft-spoken and timid nature, she had the tendency to transform into the personification of a Chimera during the rare occasion that she became irritated.

Today, Selena had decided to don a simple white button-up shirt that was layered with an oversized, comfy beige cardigan. Under the collar of her shirt was a plain black ribbon that was tied in a sophisticated manner, while a bonnet of the same color laid comfortably on the top of the flowing lime green locks of hair that just barely touched her shoulders. Covering her legs was a simple pair of bleached dark blue jeans that were folded at the hems, and low-cut Dr Mertans boots.

Rhys whistled, gesturing at his siblings' nifty outfit in an attempt to douse the flames.
"Damn, Selena! Say, what's the occasion today?"

The anger that contorted Selena's beautiful features seemed to somewhat dissipate at her brother's genuine compliment. A smile tugged at the corners of her rouge lips and a tense moment passed.

"Went grocery shopping."

Rhys clasped his hands together, letting out halfhearted chuckle.
"Ah, great.. Say, you wouldn't happen to have picked up some Lidokane patches on the way there? My back's killing me!"

The smirk on Selena's face slowly disappeared as she moved closer to her brother, her eyebrows progressively furrowing on each step. Rhys leaned back onto the bed, a nervous expression growing on his face. Stopping in front of him, Selena activated her ability and placed her right hand over his own, a soothing lavender glow emanating from her soft fingertips. The injury on Rhys' fist healed in a matter of seconds, and another light-blue textbox appeared at the forefront of Rhys' vision. Somehow, he managed to will it to minimise.

{Minor Bleeding Stopped}
[Debuff(s) Negated]

"Bro. We need to talk."

Placing her hands on her hips, Selena eyed her brother with concern. After a minute of this had passed, Rhys was unable to hide his anxiety anymore, and suddenly sat up on the disheveled bed.

"W-what is it, Selena!?"

Selena's concern then shifted into annoyance, and she leaned forward until her irritated face was all that Rhys could see. He gulped.

Wrong move, jackass.

"Hey."

Here it comes.

"After Aunt Lydia called me, I came straight away. A little run to the grocery store, right? Wrong. When I found you, there was a slash the size of a tectonic fracture along the entire length of your back, and countless other minor injuries everywhere else. I immediately used up all of my energy on that single slash and managed to somewhat stop the bleeding, saving your life."

Rhys looked down, ashamed. He kept his gaze downward, tracing the outlines of the scars on his bare body for the remainder of his sister's tirade.

"After I dragged your sorry ass back home, tired as I was and covered in your blood, I pushed myself further and got to work on your other cuts, before I collapsed out of exhaustion right next to you."

Explains that girly smell stinking up my room.

Selena leaned closer as she got progressively more irritated. Now, he could smell the traces of iodine mouthwash on her breath.

"When I woke up, you were still out of it. I devoted the entire morning to close up your remaining wounds, but couldn't fully heal that scar on your back. Then after I'd expended my remaining energy, I went out of the room to get some food. But surprise! I couldn't, because the pantry wasn't stocked, because someone couldn't make a simple run to the grocery store! Even with dad by his side!"

T-that wasn't my fault.. they..

"So, hungry and tired, I go out to the shop, which is a kilometer away, since dad wasn't picking up his phone, probably busy cleaning up whatever mess you made this time! After waiting in the lines for another hour, I walk a kilometer back. I open the door, and instead of being greeted by a grateful brother, I am taken by surprise upon listening to a maniac in the middle of a psychosis episode!"

Selena jabs a finger right into Rhys' bony, bare chest, causing him to wince.

"So, don't fucking get smart with me, Rhys."

Selena, hurt and annoyed, stood back up straight. Huffing, she turned around and began to storm out of the room.

Swearing under his breath, Rhys, after poorly considering his limited options for a reply, made the split-second decision to spill what was at the forefront of his mind during her entire rant.

"Dad is dead."

His older sister stopped dead in her tracks. Rhys immediately regretted what he had exposed to her. She was already this amped up, this truth-bomb was the last thing that she needed. A tense moment of silence passed, before Selena craned her head to the side just enough to shoot him another hateful glance with her lavender orbs.

"I fucking hate you."

Slam!

"..."

Rhys held his head in his hands, basking in the regret that was the result of his poor choices. After a few minutes of wallowing in self-pity, he pathetically threw himself back onto his rumpled bed, not caring for the pain he knew the action would bring.

Wincing as a consequence, he turned his gaze over to the shattered picture frame encasing his faded family photo. Sighing, he looked away, his defeated golden stare being redirected to the ceiling.

Everything is fucked up.