(Alternate Route) C:SOD Chapter 16 “The Twin on the Rooftop” (Patreon)

“RAY” Route

several days later,

Hermes dismissed his current class, staring at the empty seat of Mavis yet again. Ever since the death of a fifth girl, Mavis has barely been attending because of worse health conditions, and he's not telling Hermes either.

That boy... I hope he's okay. The school has been under a gloomy atmosphere and some parents pulled around seven students out to avoid the deaths. Some are forced to do mandatory therapy and there is now a Mental Health Seminar every week. Fifth kid...

"He still has a job?"

"Why is he still here..."

"Probably ráped Angela before hanging her..."

"Can't believe I even liked him back then."

Hermes Quinn has been suspected, which means Hermes is a lot more hated than he was before. At his break, he didn't even go to lunch because he was avoiding his boyfriend as well. His head is all over the place, like pieces of his brain are scattered after a shotgun to the skull.

The breeze is strong on the rooftop, not gentle and scolding him as well. Scolding him not for committing sin, but for entering Carvalle in the first place. The sky is blue, beautiful, but just like Carvalle, it hides the darkness of unknown space behind it.

All of a sudden, something plastic hit him from the head, and he yelps, grabbing the painful area and spotting a discarded BB gun bullet rolling on the floor. Hermes looks behind him cautiously, "Hey! You... R-Ray?"

A young man with a mask of a wide smile stood on the rooftop with him, BB gun in hand while his mouth is in a neutral position.

"Mr. Quinn," Ray steps forward and tilts his head, presenting a dead songbird by the feet.

Hermes widens his eyes, "Ray, what the fúck?! Put that down, don't hurt animals!"

"Oh..." Ray's hopeful little smile disappears. "So you don't like birds?"

"Uhh..." Hermes cautiously steps forward, reaching out to capture the hanging bird with both of his hands. "Ray... I like birds. I really... really like animals. So don't hurt them." Jesus fúcking Christ, this kid is scary...

"Why are you up here," Ray tilts his head to the other side again, letting Hermes have the bird and stepping around him to go play on the railings.

"Ray, don't put one leg over the railing!" Hermes puts the dead bird in a trashcan so it won't be stepped on, feeling bad for the poor thing. He then goes to supervise a very hyperactive young man. "Hey, get down from there! Where's your brother anyway?”

"He's still sad the party was canceled," Ray casually answers.

Hermes just realized another event he seemed to forget. "Shìt... uhm, Happy Birthday, Ray... I'm sorry about needing to reschedule your party to next month." It's because of the tragedy.

"You remember our birthday?" A smile creeps on Ray's exposed face. "That's so nice, Mr. Quinn. Everyone has been forgetting because of the whole suicide scandal. Even our parents forgot we existed today."

Oh no. I forgot as well. And Hermes feels so guilty because Ray's smile seems so sad.

"Hey..." in order to get the childish monkey off the railing, Hermes offers a hand to him. "It's lunchtime so... want to watch me make you a bracelet? You can decide the colors and design..."

Ray stares at him, mouth unmoving and giving Hermes an impression that he didn't like that. His blank expression was scary, especially when his mask is supposed to represent something fun.

"A bracelet...?" Ray tilts his head 90°, making his hair fall sideways. "... but, you make it?"

"Yeah, I have a loom band kit. I can get it from my dorm and we can make bracelets in the Plaza. That's the only birthday gift I can think of that's... not so expensive..."

"Birthday gift? It's a birthday gift?!" Ray hops off the railing and scared Hermes by confronting him without that much distance between them.

"Yes...? I just said it is..." thank god he's off the railings... "But promise me you won't kill any fúcking animal, alright?"

Finally, Ray's smile matches that of his mask, looming over the shorter teacher with an eerily happy expression. But, Hermes isn't afraid for some reason. It's no use living in fear; if he dies in the hands of Ray then so be it. Sooner to be with Thena, sooner to take a rest from Carvalle.

Later on,

CARVALLE PLAZA GARDENS,

"That is so pretty... can I make one too?" Ray puts his jaw against Hermes' shoulder, slightly disrupting his work of weaving a red and white loom band. But, he doesn't mind because this is the birthday boy. They are sitting on a bench after Hermes retrieved his kit, Ray obediently waiting for him at their meeting place. He seemed to be so happy at this little activity.

"You'll learn if you watch me," Hermes mumbles, focusing on weaving the bands. He needs to keep Ray busy because he's always asking Hermes dumb questions that throw him off like,

"Do you shampoo your pubes so they smell the same as your hair?"

"Do you mind not putting on perfume and not showering for three days for me please?"

"Hey Mr. Quinn, what happens if you insert smoke in the pee hole? Will the penis look like a recently shot gun?"

"Ray please..." Hermes is getting frustrated over this guy. "No, you cannot inject smoke in there. Can you maybe talk about your brother? Yeah, I really wanna know about you guys."

I just want him to talk about something other than genitalia. He's so creative... a menace.

"Oh, Rain?" Ray shyly utters out, "Rain is really nice. He makes really nice lunch boxes. I get the pretty meatloaf shapes while... Ray gets where the meatloaf came from. I wish he'll get the pretty shapes too."

"Rain makes your lunch?" Hermes finds himself smiling at the thought. He had noticed Ray always calling out to his other twin in times of distress. "That's sweet of him. Why do you depend on him so much, you're the same age?"

"That's just Rain, he's so nice to me," Ray answers with giddiness, proud of his twin brother for taking care of him. "The maids aren't so nice to me, so he doesn't trust them. He's been taking care of me since we were... uhm... really little."

"Rain..." a little boy cries out, a broken vase by his feet. "Rain, I'm gonna die... what am I gonna do?"

"Shh, shut up. You're not gonna die. Go to your room, I know what to do."

When confronting their parents, Rain took the blame, and Ray can do nothing but cry and watch as Rain kneels on salt as punishment for 'breaking the vase'.

Hermes pauses from looming while listening to Ray talk about his brother. He can't help but look at the young man, lips smiling happily as he proudly shows off Rain's achievements, while Ray barely has any.

"Ray... you're really lucky to have him," Hermes comments, smiling warmly at the boy beside him. How Rain treats his brother reminds him of... "I still don't know why you guys like to wear a mask, though..."

"Ahh..." Ray's mood suddenly falters. "You don't like the masks?"

"Well, it's cute." Hermes looks at him, staring at those big, luscious lips exposed by the cracked mask. He honestly answers with a smile, "You look really cute with it. Maybe you look even cuter without it."

Within the shadows of the masks' holes, Ray stares at that charming smile and under the clay mask, brushes intensely. But, his tone is sad upon replying, "I'm... the opposite of that."

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Hermes asks with a genuine sound of concern.

Ray looks away from him, slouching. "I'm ugly. So, so ugly. I don't even want to look at my reflection. I'm sure you won't even be friends with me if you see my face."

"Oh come on, that's not true I'm sure you'r—" Hermes remembered what Frost had told him, and stopped himself. Don't look at the twins' faces. "Well, appearance doesn't matter. Don't worry about it. As long as you be nice to me, I'll be your friend."

Ray's knees shake as an expression of his fluster. "You'll... really be my friend? I thought you don't like me?" That means he likes me, right?

"Well, not quite. You're pretty nice, and I like your smile a lot. Just... don't kill me or anything," Hermes releases a nervous laugh but stops after a second. They're still potential murderers. Ray is too... weird.

"Hermes." The name caught the teacher off guard. Ray is staring at him emotionlessly. Then, he tilts his head expectantly. "Do you think we can kill anyone?"

Hermes stares back at him, uncomfortable at the question and the innocently eerie gesture. His heart is beating wildly, as if he is in the presence of a much bigger predator. It's not far from the truth because Ray has an athletic build. Now Hermes feels unsafe.

"To be honest, Ray..." Hermes sucks just a breath, "I think you can."

Ray stays silent, and Hermes can't see what his eyes are expressing. Such cold tall young man who seemed to be disappointed by the suspicion planted on him. But, Hermes chose to be honest.

And he places a gentle hand on Ray's shoulder, which startled the young man. But, Hermes offers him a smile. "I think you are capable of doing anything you set your eyes on. You just killed a bird but... Ray, just because you're capable, doesn't mean you have to do bad stuff. I believe you can, just please don't. You can get a pet bird, just... don't hurt anything. I believe you can keep it alive."

Ray's heartbeat is steady and calm, as he is.

Hermes fears for what he thinks, but he feels like he should just be honest. Maybe he can convince Ray to be a better person, with words of truth. He proudly presents his work to the emotionless boy, "Here. A bracelet, custom made. Do you like it?"

Ray finally smiled, and it is genuine, wide; not matching the mask but instead matching the happiness in his heart upon watching Hermes put the bracelet on him. "I... I like it. It's pretty. I've... never had anyone make these for me before..."

Aww, he looks like a puppy, how cute, Hermes finds himself half smiling as well. "Happy birthday, Ray. You seem like a good boy after all... when you're not being destructive."

Ray pouts at him, "Hey, I'm 18 now. Stop with the boy, I'm a man."

"Sure you are kid," Hermes chuckles, dusting his hands and organizing his kit back to normal. "You've been 18 for less than 12 hours, but your brain has stayed 14 I think."

"Very funny Mr. Quinn, I scored 144 in an IQ test." Ray keeps trying to convince him of his maturity, "Do I need to grow facial hair? Chest hair? I have hair on my balls..."

"I'll call you a man when you finally learn how to cook on your own, okay?" Hermes taps his shoulder assuringly before standing up to leave. He says to the pouting boy, "I have class in five minutes. Don't worry, I've rescheduled your party one month from now. At least after the late Angela Smith is buried."

"Are you gonna wear a maid dress?"

"No, Ray."

"Aww, worst party ever." But, Ray grabs him back by the hand, confusing Hermes when looking back at him. He starts to get nervous, but Ray just removes the watch off his wrist and puts it on Hermes.

"Ray, what is this?"

"I'm giving you a gift," says the young man, trying to fix his watch on Hermes' wrist. The teacher looks at him with a slight smile on his face, because Ray is acting so pure right now gifting Hermes his own belonging.

"Isn't it your birthday?"

"I don't want you to forget about giving me a gift," Ray looks up at him, appreciating the fact that Hermes is letting them hold hands. "I'm giving one back... so you won't stop giving me stuff, too. Hehe, it's not new because... well, your gift isn't bought either. But, I really like this watch. Rain gave it to me back when... when uhh... uhm... when I was really sad."

Oh. This kid... doesn't seem to be so bad after all... The watch seems to be really sentimental to him. Ray is smiling while caressing the watch on Hermes' lips.

“I’m giving it to you because you’ve been sad, too. I hope it makes you a little happy.”

"This is sweet, Ray..." I can't complain, it's a Rolex. It seems as if Ray is projecting. His parents don't give him gifts, and now he wants Hermes to fill the void. Aside from trying to get on Ray's good side, Hermes genuinely feels bad for him. "Don't worry, I'll take care of this, Ray. It's really nice. I feel better now because you’re with me.”

The student smiles happily at him, before souring Hermes' mood with, "I'll buy you a brand new watch if you wear the maid costume."