I Wanna Be Yours; Tyler Galpin

5: Bird Talk

"It's not that hard if you put your back into it," Xavier laughed as Victoria tugged on the bow in her arms.

She'd spent the past four hours trying out every club, but Xavier had purposely redirected her when they encountered the choir club located in the Quad. She tried beekeeping, which was not her cup of tea. Bat-minton–which was full of the most hardcore and trained students, swim club–mostly sirens and she couldn't swim to save her life anyway, the band club–she could read notes, but didn't have an instrument (besides for the unused piano in her room that she was too afraid to touch), and more she had lost track of.

So her last choice on the elimination list was to stick with archery until she had a change of heart. After all, she had until after the Poe Cup event to decide.

"That's easy for you to say, you've been doing this for years," Victoria said, exasperated. "Can we give it a break? I'm not feeling well."

She was being honest. The food that Enid had bought her was beginning to make her stomach churn uncomfortably.

"I'll give you ten minutes," Xavier said, his eyes trailing off of her. "I'm expecting short company soon anyway."

She nodded and left, passing Wednesday as she walked by. She made her way inside to the nearest girl's restroom. The restrooms have showers and toilets with enough privacy for each of the outcast students. She found herself over a toilet bowl again. It was her first time throwing up since the Harvest Festival incident, which was only a few days ago. Otherwise, she had been doing well.

She just couldn't help it.

It was her act of redemption.

She rinsed her mouth with water before leaving the restroom to meet Xavier again with an unhappy expression on his face while Wednesday interrogated him. She then threw an apple into the air and shot an arrow, perfectly hitting the bullseye of the target.

"Pretty and perfect," Victoria thought. "Unbelievable."

The same feeling grew, but a ripple of relief died it down, as Tyler wasn't there to make her feel more aware. To make her feel more conscious. Whether they knew it or not, he fueled her actions.

Wednesday then turned her heel and slowly came to a stop by Victoria's shoulders, taking Victoria by a little surprise. She had never spoken with Wednesday, so what would she want to discuss now?

"You were friends with Rowan," Wednesday said.

"Yeah, I suppose," Victoria said. "But not close enough for him to let me know he was leaving the school, I guess... but a little bird told me you think he died."

"Hm," Wednesday hummed curiously. "And what of the little bird's message? I couldn't care less if you believe me or not."

Victoria inhaled. "As a matter of fact, I believe you. I was there when it happened."

Wednesday seemed to be taken aback by this. "I thought- I was told you don't remember anything? But I suppose you don't want to sound like a nut job."

"I didn't tell Sheriff Galpin anything because there was no evidence of his murder yet. I just hadn't had time to focus on what happened. The monster's still out there, but the attack seemed personal, considering it kept both of us alive," Victoria noted, then remembered a very important fact. "Wait, his wallet!"

"What about his wallet?" Wednesday asked.

"Rowan dropped it and I was going to return it to him, but-" she paused. Every atom in her body didn't want to bring Tyler into the conversation. Or rather, give Wednesday more of a motive to be in Tyler's presence. "-He disappeared before I got a chance."