DEAD MAN!
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE.
the disappointment of the family.

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NOW, ADRIAN MARTIN HAD GOTTEN INTO TROUBLE A LOT OF TIMES IN HIS LIFE, RECEIVING MORE PUNISHMENTS THAN THE AVERAGE TEENAGER DID. The boy accepted that very early on in his life and he could openly admit that. The Martin boy was so sure he had received every punishment except a restraining order . . . until now.

"You will not go within fifty feet of Jackson Whittemore. You will not speak to him. You will not approach him. You will not assault or harass him physically or psychologically." Sheriff Stilinski read out to the three teenagers currently sitting across from him, Melissa McCall and Natalie Martin right behind them.

Adrian was yet to look at his mother, he didn't need to. He knew exactly what look would be placed on her face when he turned round, he had seen it so many times in his life now it was a given. Plus, he could practically feel her glare burning holes into the back of his head.

Scott avoided eye contact as the two boys beside him looked ashamed, the Martin boy looking the most calm in the situation before them. Stiles was first to break the heavy silence filling the room. "What about school?"

"You can attended classes while attempting to maintain a fifty foot distance." The Sheriff replied, not in the mood to hear his son's questions.

"Okay, what if we both have to have to use the bathroom at the same time and there's only two stalls available and they're only right next to each other?" He made hand motions, Adrian finding it hard to tell if he was being genuine or not in his questions.

When Mr Whittemore huffed, Noah folded his arms in disappointment as Melissa sighed behind the boys loudly. Stiles looked between them. "I'll just hold it."

❚ ❚ ❚

"I cannot believe you, Adrian Martin! I mean, I know you have a certain attachment to trouble but even this is low for you!" Stiles and Scott winced as they watched the boy get shouted at by his mother, feeling helpless.

Adrian just bit his lip and stared at the floor, not even defending himself like he usually did. This time, he just took the hits. He knew this was a losing fight. "I know." He muttered.

"You promised me you would try and get your grades up and stop getting detentions! I mean, it's like you want to me yell at you!" Natalie frustratedly looked at her son.

"Well, I don't." The boy spoke with the same low voice, not meeting the woman's eyes.

Mrs Martin didn't look impressed. "Well, you should've thought about that before you got a restraining order!" She screamed, the whole department most likely hearing her by now. "You know how stressed I have been looking after Lydia after what happened at the dance!"

"Yeah, seems as if you keep forgetting that you have another child." Adrian bitterly spat before he could stop himself, thinking his mother wouldn't hear him . . . but she did.

"What did you just say to me?" That was the boy's breaking point.

"I said, it seems like you keep forgetting that you have another child to take care of! That you have me! This whole time, not once have you ever asked me how I was after the night of the formal! I was in hospital too!" He set a hand on his chest, letting it all fall out.

Both Martins knew this was no place to be having this conversation, but the trigger was already pulled and there was no turning back.

"Is that what all this is about?" Natalie calmed down, her shoulders slumping at the words of her son. "Have I not given you enough attention that you felt the need to get a restraining order?!"

"No! that's not it!" The boy frustratedly denied, shaking his head as anger coursed through him. Why couldn't she just understand? He thought.

"Then what? What is it?" His mother's voice got higher again, making his rise too.

"I can't tell you that!"

"God, you are just like your father!" The lady screamed before something cleared in her eyes, looking down with a dazed look as a small gasp escaped.

Adrian furrowed his eyebrows when the woman didn't speak to him, the boy stepping forward. "What do you mean by that?" His voice was quieter, but it was probably the most intimidating one so far.

Natalie Martin seemed to snap out of whatever had happened due to her words, shaking her head. "Nothing. Nothing at all." She mumbled, swallowing thickly.

For the sake of saving the possibility of a new and bigger argument, Adrian left it. Instead, a new sadness filled his eyes. "Look, I know I'm the disappointment of the family, all right? I know that I don't get good enough grades and often find myself in trouble, but it's never intentional. When I tell you I'm trying, I'm really trying, mum . . . but I'm not like Lydia."

There it was, silence filling in the station. Everyone didn't seem to move in that moment after the boy's words, not even Natalie Martin.

Eventually grew the words and she spoke again, lips wobbling as she looked past her son. "Get in the car. You're grounded."

The woman walked out without another word, leaving Stiles, Scott and even their parents to stare at him with looks of sympathy. The redhead didn't meet any of their gazes as he turned his back. "See you at school." And with that, the Martin pair were gone.

Stiles watched his boyfriend leave, his heart aching to go after him. Sadly, he couldn't- not with his dad there.

He wanted to go. He wanted to go after him so badly and hold him until he knew that he was no disappointment- far from it actually. The defeated look on Adrian's face got to him, and would continue to plague him for the rest of the night.

❚ ❚ ❚

Allison and Adrian walked side by side into the school library together, trying their best to ignore the camera that was obviously following them down the hall.

"Are you okay?" Allison lowly whispered to the boy, noticing his distant facial expression this morning.

Adrian Martin definitely didn't feel okay. Last night, he had encountered another dream involving watching people die. Only, this time, he knew it was the Kanima.

In his dream, there was a man and pregnant woman arguing about the trailer they were staying in. The woman obviously didn't like it, saying he promised it was only going to be for a few weeks.

When their lights flickered, Adrian remembered feeling their annoyance and fear as if he was there. It was clear they didn't have much money to their names and something else was going on with them.

When the man stepped outside, he was talking to someone; leaving the woman in the trailer. It seemed as if the conversation was just going to end normally . . . until the Kanima's tail grabbed him by the neck.

The teen could remember sharing the woman's fear for her life as the dead body of the man crashed through the trailer window and onto the table. Glass and blood covered his body, Adrian feeling every cut and prick of the wounds in his dream.

It didn't take long for the Kanima to crawl through, screeching at the lady. Adrian thought his dream would just end there like they normally had . . . but it went on.

Much to his surprise, the Kanima didn't kill her. No. It stopped and seemed to be analysing her, stopping at her swollen stomach.

Adrian gasped when the woman screaming awakened him, all pain vanishing from his body . . . but the thoughts still remained the next day.

Why didn't the Kanima kill her?

"Adrian?" Allison's voice brought him back to the present, the brunette watching him worriedly.

"Huh? No. No, I'm fine." The redhead shook it off, walking forwards a bit more as he tried his best to distract his mind by changing the subject. "So, wait, Lydia knows Latin?" He questioned beside the Argent, surprised.

Apparently while Allison was trying to translate the book, Lydia had lent a helping hand. Adrian knew his sister was smart, but he never knew she had learnt Latin at one point in her life.

Maybe she could help me learn some. The boy put the thought in the back of his mind for now, trying to focus on the task at hand.

Allison nodded to answer his question as the pair moved behind a bookshelf, the hunter pulling her tablet with the translation out of her bag. She slid it through a gap between the book, Scott from the other side grabbing it.

"It's everything that Lydia could translate." She informed the werewolf and his best friend quietly, leaning against the shelf. "And trust me, she was very confused."

"Yeah, what'd you tell her?" Scott's mumble came from the other side, him and Stiles zooming in on the tablet information.

"That we were part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures." Allison awkwardly replied with, cringing at her words.

Stiles looked up, a dead serious look on his face. "I am part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures."

"Dork." Adrian muttered as Allison pursed her lips, obviously not expecting that reply. Stiles shot the boy a playful glare in response.

"Okay, does it say how to find out who's controlling him?" The werewolf of the four questioned, looking up from the device to his girlfriend.

"Not really. The only thing I got out of it was that Stiles was right about the murders." Adrian shrugged his shoulders, Allison agreeing with him.

His boyfriend fist pumped the air in excitement. "Yes!"

"It calls the Kanima a weapon of vengeance." The Argent followed up with. "There's a story in there about this South American priest who uses the Kanima to execute murderers in his village."

"All right, see? So maybe it's not all that bad." Stiles looked at his best friend, obviously not expecting there to be more of the girl's story.

"Let her finish." Adrian pretended to scroll through a line of books to look productive, awaiting the story he had already heard from the Argent girl.

"Until the bond grew strong enough that it killed whoever he wanted to." The brunette finished.

Stiles gaped at her words. "All bad, all very, very bad." He muttered quickly.

"Here's the thing, though," Allison nodded, grabbing a book. "The Kanima's actually supposed to be a werewolf. But it can't be until-" she stopped when a random lady put a book back near them.

"Until it resolves that in its past which manifested it." Scott finished for her, reading it from the online beastiary in his hands.

"Okay, if that means that Jackson could use a few thousand hours of therapy, then I could have told you that myself." The Stilinski boy whispered, looking between the three teens.

A new thought entered Adrian's head, the boy tilting his head. "What if it has something to do with his parents? Like, his real parents?" He wondered.

Scott looked up at the boy. "Yeah, does anyone know what actually happened to them?"

The Martin shrugged. "He's never personally told me anything, but Lydia might know something." He suggested.

"What if she doesn't know anything?" The tanned boy questioned from the other side.

Allison placed her book back as she spoke. "Well, he doesn't have a restraining order against me, so . . ." She paused, looking around. "I'll talk to him myself."

"Okay, what do I do?" Scott asked, Adrian remaining silent. He obviously wasn't getting the point.

"You have a make-up exam, remember?" Allison reminded him, Stiles nodding along with her. When the boy remained quiet, the Argent slid her hand through the shelf to hold his. "Promise me."

Scott looked from their joined hands to her face. "If he does anything, you run the other way."

Letting go of his hand, the hunter stood up straighter. "I can take care of myself." She told him, a sure look in her eyes.

"Allison," Scott's voice was a bit more serious this time. "If you get hurt while I'm busy with some stupid test, someone's going to need to take care of me. If he does anything . . ."

"Like?"

"Anything weird or bizarre . . . anything." The boy told her, wanting her safe.

Stiles suddenly shoved his head through the shelf. "Anything evil!" He added with a hiss.

Adrian watched amusedly as Allison gave him a look and pressed her hand to his forehead, shoving him back to his side. A smile appeared on the redhead's face as the boy let out a noise and scrambled to catch the book he held in his hands. He really had some boyfriend.

❚ ❚ ❚

"Hey, Toby! I-" Adrian greeted as he approached the blonde in the hallway. As soon as his hand came in contact with the boy's shoulder, Toby reacted instantly. He pulled a sharp object out of his pocket, the redhead's eyes widening at the object held close to his chest. "Woah, it's me, man!"

The Valack boy's eyes cleared, awkwardly clearing his through as he lowered the kitchen knife he had in hand. "Adrian! I-I- oh god, I'm sorry." He was quick to put the item back in his pocket and out of sight. Thankfully, the hall was empty so no one saw the action or object.

The Martin's green eyes were wide as he looked at his best friend in disbelief. "Why did you bring a knife into school?!" He hissed quietly.

The boy's brown eyes hardened, his posture straightening up. "That's none of your business."

The lacrosse player rolled his eyes in response. "I think anyone has the right to know why someone brought a weapon into school grounds."

Toby gulped, fiddling with his bag straps. "I need it."

"Need it? For what?!"

"It's not like you care what happens in my life!" The boy's voice raised, stepping closer to the boy.

Adrian's head bowed. "Are you still mad about that incident in Gerard's office?"

"What else would I be mad about?! I reached out to you and you just shut me down!" Toby's arms waved around in gestures. "I needed you, Adrian! I still do!"

"Toby, what is all this about?" The boy was far too lost at this point. This was a new side of his best friend, and it was worrying him.

"I-I'm scared to tell you." The Valack boy whispered with shaking lips as his eyes casted downwards. When his head rose again, he softly placed his hands on the boy's shoulder so they were directly eye-to-eye. "But you need to help me find a Necromancer, Adrian. Please."

"Toby," Adrian got lost in his fearful brown eyes, trying to see his problems through them. "You have to tell me what's going on."

The pair were interrupted when Scott came rushing down the steps into the hallway, obviously just having ran out of his exam. He didn't even look at them as he bolted to the boy's locker room, busting the door open.

Somethings wrong. Adrian's mind clicked, looking to his friend quickly. "I'm sorry. I gotta go."

He followed after the boy only to find Allison on the floor with Jackson frantically pulling his lacrosse shorts up on his naked body, looking lost.

Scott looked between them and immediately assumed the worst, glaring daggers at the star player. Allison seemed to see it too. "I-I'm fine." She stuttered. "Scott. Scott, I'm fine."

The McCall boy reacted quickly, slamming Jackson into some lockers with his werewolf strength. They went down with the boy, Jackson's nostrils flaring with anger as he yelled. "I have a restraining order!"

"Trust me," Scott stepped closer to him with a glare, the look and tone of voice making him seem like a badass to Adrian. "I restrained myself."

When Jackson launched himself at Scott and a fight broke out, Adrian was quick to bend down to Allison's aid.

Meanwhile, Scott had gotten thrown into the shower area by Jackson after an attack had gone wrong. He growled at the boy, climbing back up to his feet as their fight continued, the whole locker room being destroyed.

Their fight seemed to gain some attraction as Jackson threw the werewolf so hard that he fell through the locker room door on the floor outside with a grunt. Jackson immediately got on top of him, fists ready to punch.

Together, Adrian and Erica pulled the boy away just as Stiles ran up to help his best friend. Unfortunately, just at that very moment, Mr Harris came round the corner. "What the hell's going on?" He yelled.

Adrian immediately backed away from the blonde to stand beside his boyfriend, remembering his restraining order.

Harris didn't stop his yelling there. "Hey! Enough, enough! What do you idiots think you're doing? Jackson! Calm down! Mr McCall, you wanna explain yourself? Stilinski? Martin?"

Matt held something in his hand, tapping it before walking over to them with Allison's tablet. "You dropped this."

The teacher snatched it off his hands before anyone else could get it. With a fury, he pointed at Jackson and Scott. "You and you-" his gaze looked around, stopping at Adrian. "Actually, all of you. Detention. Three o'clock."

A U T H O R. N O T E
i'm glad i got to fit a bit of toby in this chapter. i was worried my little bean wouldn't get enough chapter time.

sorry for making him bring in a kitchen knife btw, i know it's bizarre. riverdale writers, i'm coming for your brand!

GIF MADE BY ME !
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