Monday,
        after school...

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Elias struggled to hold the glass plate steady. It had been a little while, but he'd still remembered to return it. This was the first day back to tutoring Snow White and it was honestly strange returning. He'd almost forgotten how it felt to be on such a luxurious property. The porch alone was more welcoming than Eli's house entirely.

Evan answered the door; a smile growing on his face. "J-uh. Sam--no wait. I got it. E-El--nah. It's Philip, right?"

Eli smiled at his attempt. "Elias." He corrected.

"God d--of course." Evan shook his head, opening the door. "Good to see you again. Come on in."

Elias stepped through the door way, still amazed by their home as he was the first time.

"Cush asked for a minute before you head upstairs. I hope you don't mind waiting." Evan added. "For now you can come join me and my wife if you want--oh thank you." He took the plate from his grasp. "I almost forgot about that." He gave Elias a wink, disappearing off to the kitchen before guiding Eli inside. He was speechless as he followed Evan a bit deeper into the house. He'd never gone this far. It was bigger than he thought. They passed countless rooms before they reached the correct living room with Arlette bouncing Theo on the couch.

"Look who's here hon." Evan caught her attention.

"Elias." She smiled warmly. "Welcome back."

"Oh like you knew it off the top of your head." Evan crossed his large arms.

"Elias isn't even a tough name." She waved him off, shaking her head at the younger man beside him. "It's always a competition with him."

"Psh. Yeah alright." Evan quirked his lips in a pout.

"Darling, we've talked about this." She gave him a teasing look. "Names are not your strong suit. It's okay."

"It's okay." He mocked, earning a snicker from his wife before leaning next to Elias. "Don't let her fool you. She had to have heard you say it at the door--"

"What was that?" She rose a brow at the two men.

"Nothing love. Just telling Elias here how much of a peach you are." He patted Eli's shoulder. Elias couldn't stop the smile from stretching on his face from the action.

"Anyways." Arlette shifted her attention back to Elias. "Good to see you sweetheart."

Eli returned the greeting gesture, joining the two on the couches. Once everyone was comfortable and settled, Evan scooted to the edge of his seat towards Elias. "Okay, so do you think the United States actually landed on the moon in 1969?"

Elias rose his brows, completely puzzled. "Uhhh..."

"Really Evan?" Arlette laughed. "Don't bring him into this. It's between me and you."

"Oh come on, he's tutoring Cush, he's got to be a history buff." Evan glanced at his wife. "I'm telling you we did."

"No, we did not." She replied shaking her head.

"Yes we did!" Evan laughed, leaning on his knee.

"How if there is no wind in space and the flag was moving?" She rose both brows at him.

"It wasn't moving! There was a second metal rod to hold it up, hon."

"I don't believe it."

"Because you're stubborn." Evan said.

"You're stubborn." Arlette replied.

Elias just sat there quietly as they playfully bickered. He'd never seen adults do this before. At least not at his house. Everything seemed different here. Evan and Arlette were silly; he could tell, but there was also something about them that was so genuine. They loved each other, respected each other. They were nice people; it was apparent. It was all so refreshing and interesting to watch; it almost felt unreal for this town.

"What do you think?" They both asked Elias at the same time. He paused.

"Uhh I-I..."

It was silent for a moment before they both burst out laughing, making Elias chortled nervously.

"Sorry, sweetheart." Arlette shook her head, bouncing Theo in her arms, trying to calm herself. However, when she glanced at Evan's reddening face, she couldn't help but begin again. Elias was thrown off for a bit, but he was amused by this as well. Not the kind of amusement that made him laugh hysterically, but the kind that made him smile as you do when observing another's laughter.

Once Evan and Arlette could breathe, Evan brought his attention to Elias again. "Don't even worry about it." He waved. "We've been meaning to say thank you actually for helping out our boy."

"We know he can be a handful sometimes, but we really appreciate it." Arlette finished, kissing Theo on the forehead.

"He's being paid for it."

Everyone looked at the pale, gloomy sounding boy behind them. Cush entered the room with his head held low, until his eyes slowly raised, sluggishly watching them. "He's no saint."

"Mr. Young was paid." Arlette said.

"And so was Ms. Richardson." Evan added. "And Mrs. Daniels, and Mr. Smith-I mean the list can go on buddy." Evan chuckled, looking at his son. "No matter the case, we appreciate it, and you should too."

"Still." Cush mumbled. "No saint." His dull eyes drifted over to Elias. "I'm ready. We can start now."

"You don't want to join us for a bit?" Arlette asked him.

"No."

"Cush never wants to join us does he bud?" Evan leaned over tickling Theo as he cooed, "He's so mean. Can you say that? Say big meany. What a big meany weeny--"

"Evan." Alrette swatted him.

"I'm not mean." Cush grumbled, completely unamused. "Elias and I have things to do." Eli took this as a hint standing to his feet, joining him.

"I'll bring you boys some snacks later then." Arlette added.

Cush groaned. "Please don't."

~*~

Their session began rather quickly; with Elias reading and explaining the major points straight from the book and Cush supposedly taking notes. They'd done it this way so many times already, Elias was able to talk on the subject while simultaneously being lost in his own thoughts.

With the warm welcoming of the Possolos' still fresh in his mind, of course, he was thinking about his father. Was he having a good day? Perhaps, if the answer was yes, he could try to have a conversation with him. Maybe he'd be less irritated by the sight of Eli's face and allow him to ask the simple question himself. He couldn't help but to compare:

Why was Evan more approachable than his own father? Granted, he couldn't quite get his name right, however, he was still less of a stranger than Mike. A pang of jealousy struck him. Elias would have loved a family like this. Not because of their wealth, but rather their apparent love and bond to one another.

"...and that created the division of labor." Elias flipped the page of his text book. "Introducing the ideas of specialization and unskilled jobs. Beginning on page-"

Scruff-scruff-scruff-scruff

Elias paused at the noise. He could never forget that sound. Letting his eyes settle on the boy in front of him, he tightly furrowed his brows. He was sketching shamelessly in his face.

What a waste that this life was given to someone as unappreciative as Cush.

Loving parents, a successful future, and even attention was given to him without request, and yet he had the nerve to take it for granted. What people like Elias and Sunshine would give to have even an ounce of what Cush possessed. His jaw clenched as he struggled to hold his tongue. He barely spoke to his parents, always waving them off as if annoyed by their presence. Sunshine would never do that. He so easily passed up the opportunity to speak with his father. Elias wouldn't dare. Not only did he squander everything Elias dreamed of having, but he was even wasting Eli's time.

Elias slammed his textbook shut. Cush gradually broke away from his drawing, making eye contact with the heated boy.

"Why do I even bother..." Elias pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're  just wasting my time. You know if I had it, I'd pay you double just to fucking quit."

Elias grew angrier at the pale boy's indifferent, blank stare.

"Just another spoiled rich kid who feels like everyone is beneath him. Step on your parents, your teachers, I mean all this help you're getting and you don't even try!?" He grabbed Cush's papers wedged in between his textbook, tossing it at his feet. "What is this? A joke?"

Cush remained still, watching Elias as he stood from his chair and leaned on the desk in front of the large picture of the eyes. It was silent for a moment as Elias tried to control his sudden rage, until the crackle of paper reached his ears as Cush picked them up from the ground.

"It took me a week to write this." Cush's monotonous voice caused Elias to tightly grasp the edges of the desk. "Though I was pleased with it then, I must admit, looking at it now, it does look quite sloppy. However, even if it were legible, I still wouldn't know what any of it meant."

Elias couldn't drown out his voice, so he tried to distract himself with the pictures carved into the wall. There he was again faced with the bloody eyes. A large sketch, taking up majority of the space on the wall; the only one of it's kind. Elias hated that it was in such high quality. It didn't make any sense. Why did he have this, of all drawings in his room, dilated to this scale? Better yet, how could someone who draws with such valuable esteem have abhorrent hand writing? If anything, Cush should have had the best penmanship anyone has ever seen. It must have been to mock Elias. The only other reason would be that Cush couldn't even make out letters and that's-

Eli's breath hitched in his throat.

"Your frustration is valid." Cush added, still flipping through the pages of his work. "Though, some would argue this is my best work yet."

"Oh my god." Elias took a step back, taking in the drawing as a whole before snapping his gaze back to Cush. The entire time he'd been speaking, Elias thought he was talking about his work in the class, but he'd actually been talking about his ability to write. "Cush, are you...are you dysle-"

"Dyslexic? Yes. I'm also dysgraphic and anemic."

Cush scoffed.

"Thinks everyone is beneath him. You know what, I honestly wish I thought that. Hard to be arrogant when you're behind." Elias watched as his dull eyes stared off aimlessly as he spoke. "Work harder Cush. Talk more Cush. Why don't you smile? Pick your grades up--pick your head up. You're not trying hard enough." He glanced up at Elias. "I'm tired of being treated like there's something wrong with me. I refuse to be labled as a disabled. Not that it matters. My parents only see me for what I can't do. Always rushing me to every doctor, every therapist, trying to figure out where they went wrong. What happened? What happened to their precious son? Why can't he be like his perfect sister?"

Eli watched as his fingers clenched around the paper tightly, creating wrinkles; his face still remaining blank.

"They know I feel their judgement everyday, so they coddle me, but it only reminds me of their disappointment. So I stay away. You see it as ungrateful. I see it as the only thing keeping me sane." Elias picked up on the slight twinge of rage in his voice; his eyes glaring into Eli's. "So don't act like you have me all figured out. You know nothing about me or my life."

"I don't understand." Was the only thing Elias was able to push out. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"For what?" Cush tilted his head. "So you could treat me like everyone else?" He scowled. "The last thing I need is another person trying to help poor pitiful Cush. I can't take anymore forced conversations...no more fake smiles. I'd rather die."

Elias didn't break his gaze on the pale boy as he made his way back to his seat. Studying his dull face, Elias realized he was completely wrong about Cush and a part of him felt embarrassed. How could he have missed something so significant and how long had Cush put up with it all to be so desperate as to not let anyone else know about his problem? Eli let his face relax, letting a grin replace his frown.

"Treat you like everyone else? Why would I do that? You're implying that I care."

Cush looked up at him.

"I thought we made it pretty clear we didn't like each other, and believe me, I wouldn't waste a fake smile on you."

Elias noticed the sudden smirk appear on Cush's face, taking that as his cue to continue.

"Look, everything I planned is obviously not going to work with you."

"We'll start looking for replacements."

"I'll come up with something." Elias added.

"You don't have to-"

"You paid me. I'm not a free loader. Don't worry about it. You'll be passing in no time."

"Really. It's not your problem."

Elias sighed at Cush's persistence. He took notice of when Cush commented on death. He didn't know if he was suicidal or not, but that was just another reason why he insisted on staying.

"You may be an asshole, but I don't want you to die or kill yourself or do anything you have planned in that dark head of yours. The last thing this town needs is another dead body. So I'm all you got. I mean who else is going to put up with you?"

"Hm." Cush returned his attention back to his drawing. Elias couldn't help but to look over curiously.

"What's that?" He asked, taking a seat beside Cush on his bed. It was at this moment Elias could make out the drawing. It was the sleeping woman. It wasn't the same picture, no, but he could never forget her face. She was laying in a completely different position, but still held the same lifeless stare.

"Does she mean something to you?" Elias finally asked.

"It's a long story." Cush replied.

"We have the time. We're not doing anything else." Elias watched as the drawing gradually unfolded. It was silent for a while until Cush finally decided to speak.

"I was never one to draw rainbows and sunsets. I loved the detail in gore. There's nothing wrong with that. Well, not until she saw it. Arle--my mom found my sketch book and told my therapist it was...alarming. So for homework, she said to go try and sketch something living and bright." He almost said with disgust. "Wasn't much here, so Benson would take me to the forest just outside of town." He turned the sketchbook to the side, getting a better angle for his shading.

"I tried to sketch a squirrel...but it ran. I tried a bird. I tried a frog. I tried and I tried but--nothing satisfied me." He paused, holding the sketch up before handing it to Elias. "Until I saw her. The perfect muse. You should have seen the way she was posed. Surrounded by grass and flowers, illuminated by the sun...beautiful...silky brunette hair, pale green eyes, slightly parted lips. It was like she was waiting on me." Cush turned away.

"It wasn't until I had built up enough courage to approach her that I realized she was dead." Elias took his eyes away from the drawing, looking at the dull boy.

"Strangled." He said, shaking his head. "I didn't run though. I don't know why I wasn't scared but...instead I...I took a seat beside her. I'd never seen something so captivating in my life. Everything about her was perfect, and before I know it, I'm sketching her." A slight smile formed on his face. "Unlike the others...she didn't move. Not one bit. So I took my time. It didn't take long before night had fell and I had to leave her." Cush narrowed his eyes. "I came back the next day and she wasn't there. I searched everywhere. Turns out someone else saw her and reported it. She was La Mort Noire's first victim." He sighed, starting a new sketch.

"I never did get to finish that sketch. So here I am. Trying to recreate it from memory...but it's like the more I try, the more the details fade from my mind."

Silence flowed inside the room, the only sound coming from behind them from the cool breeze blowing in through the window. Cush suddenly looked directly at Elias, and Eli was taken back at the first time his expression had changed at all throughout their entire conversation. It was as if he was surprised Elias was sitting beside him, still holding the picture in his hand as he did at the beginning of the story.

"Why aren't you scared of me?" He asked lowly. "Don't you think I'm crazy? Why don't you run away like everyone else?"

"Maybe because you look like Snow White." Elias chuckled at himself, however when he noticed Cush still staring at him, he cleared his throat.

"You want my honest answer?" Elias thought for a moment. Why wasn't he as startled as he should be by such a story? "I don't know."

"Hm." Cush looked away. "You must have demons of your own."

"Don't we all?"

"No. Not all." Cush shook his head. "Just the forgotten ones."

It went quiet for a moment.

"Funny." Cush tilted his head in question. "You were the last one I'd think..." he returned his gaze towards Elias. "Who's forgotten you?"

Elias was startled by the sudden opening of the room door. "Oh sorry." Arlette stuttered debating with herself whether she should close the door or not. "I don't want to interrupt but Evan told me that you enjoyed my pastries and I just wanted to know if you had any request of things you'd like to take home tonight?" She smiled excitedly, making Elias grin.

"Your brownies were delicious."

"Oh, thank you sweet heart. I'll bake you some right away darling. Cush, baby, would you like anything?"

Cush didn't turn to his mother, but instead continued to watch Elias intently. "No." He said.

"Okay, sorry to bother you two. Please carry on." She smiled largely, softly closing the door. It was like the sound of the door closing was Cush's cue to break his stare, returning back to his new sketch of the woman.

"Well, hey. Since I'm not teaching you today, maybe you could teach me. How do you draw like that anyway?"

"Well..." Cush sighed. "First you start with a paper and a pencil and this thing I like to call...talent. I heard they stopped selling that in stores a while ago, and if your skills are anything like your sister's..." He gave him a look. "You're fucked."

Elias was taken back by the newfound humor. He always new Cush had a sarcastic side from their run-in at the center of town, but he was still shocked. Did Cush just make a joke?

Elias chuckled softly to himself at the thought.

"No. But six years of experience would do it." Cush added after a while. "Complete isolation and nothing better to do."

"Sounds like a plan." Elias reached inside of his bag, grabbing some lined paper and a dull pencil.

Cush let a smirk rest on his face at Eli's attempt.