The Monsters Inside and Out (Scott Howl x Depressed Reader)

73. Training

You explain everything to Stan and Lucien. You explain what happened the night you got shot, you explain that Scott has already tried to help, and you explain everything you saw in the dream. All they could do was watch and listen to you. The expressions on their faces are hard to read as well. They look shocked, and worried, and intrigued all at the same time. You finish by saying, "And then in study hall today, I did some research into what I can do, and there's a lot.. All I wanna do is become stronger, and more capable, and gain better control of myself so I don't break anything anymore. And the first thing I wanna do is fix this." You grab your backpack and unzip it, reaching inside for the plastic bag. You untie it and put it on the coffee table, allowing them to peek inside. You nervously scratch your arm and ask, "So, are you guys able to help me?" Stan and Lucien look at eachother. Lucien slightly shakes his head 'no'. Stan says, "Can you give us a minute to discuss it in private?" "S-Sure." Stan and Lucien stand up and exit the room, heading into the kitchen. Thinking this might have been a bad idea, the choking feeling of regret and anxiety encompasses you. You stare down at your trembling hands gripping your knees tightly. The looks in their faces told you how bad of an idea this is. A few tears build up, but just before they have a chance to spill over, Stan and Lucien reenter. You wipe away your tears with your arm, and continue to look at the floor. Stan leans down and touches your shoulder. He says, "We would be happy to help." You tear up again and say, "Thank you."

"We'll have to start with some basic techniques, and then you can work your way up," says Lucien. He grabs a remote, and turns on the TV to Channel 666 news. He continues, "Electromagnetic interference. Example." While looking straight at you, the TV suddenly turns to static, then back to the news. Lucien doesn't even bat an eye. You ask, "So what am I supposed to do?" "There are two ways you can go about this. You can either A.) Use your emotions to interfere, or B.) Just think about the interference." "Well what's the difference?" Stan chimes in, "I think you should start by using your emotions. Think of this as learning to ride a bike. Emotions are like the training wheels, they make it easier for you to ride. Eventually though, it'll end up being easier and better to be able to do it without having to think of any specific emotion, and rather just do it, like how riding a bike without the training wheels allow for faster and better travel!" Stan smiles, clearly proud of the analogy. "So what do I think about?" They think for a second, and Lucien says, "Something that shocked you in the past. Like something you never expected to happen, just happened. Something bad." You think long and hard. You juggle thoughts inside your mind. You think about when Leonard blackmailed you. Or the time you found out your aunt had been tracking you. Or the time.. Your mom shot you. The image on the TV flickered, turning to slight static, back to a clear image. Lucien puts his hands on your shoulders and adds, "You're doing great. Just think about something severe, and maybe think about it in great detail. I want you to relive the moment." You dig as deep as you can. It was a full moon night, she heard something going through the trash, she wanted you to check on it, she set it up, thinking Scott would hurt you. The voices coming from the TV are cut off and replaced with white noise. You hadn't even realized you closed your eyes, and by the time you reopen them, you see the TV screen covered in black and white shuffling around. Lucien rubs your shoulders and says, "Good job." A smile creeps on your face as you relish what you have done. That happiness seems to be short lived as tears form in your eyes again. A few fall down your face and you mutter, "Thank you.."

It becomes a more intense cry and you turn around and wrap your arms around Lucien in your moment of weakness, sobbing softly. He says, "U-Uh, hun? Help?" Stan puts a hand on your shoulder and says, "(Y/N), I'm the dad you hug." You sniffle and let go, saying, "I-I'm sorry." Your hands reach up to your eyes to catch the tears that continue to fall. Stan wraps his arms around you and says, "It's okay." Lucien joins by rubbing your head. Another few minutes go by until Stan asks, "Would you like to stay for dinner?" You nod your head. He continues, "Hun, can Dame help you make dinner tonight?" "Oh, he better." All three of you chuckle and you pull away from Stan. Lucien sets a box of tissues near you before walking down the hall, banging on Damien's bedroom door. Stan asks, "Would you like another lesson, or are you done for today?" "I wouldn't mind another lesson, if that's okay." Stan smiles wide, "Of course!" Lucien walks by, dragging a groaning Damien by the wrist, into the kitchen. You and Stan laugh again.

"Alright," says Stan as he stretches, "hand me that bag of broken glass." You grab it and hand it to him. He continues, "Alright, the first step is putting it together like a puzzle." He dumps all the pieces onto the floor. There are a lot. He looks at the pile and says, "Maybe that was a bad idea." You nod in agreement. You both sit down on the floor and start picking through the pieces. A few minutes later, you're finally able to match two pieces together. You ask, "Can we just focus on these two for now." He lets out a sigh of relief, "Yes, let's just do that." He reaches for the pieces and takes them from you. He puts them both in his left hand, puts his right hand over it, and closes his eyes, concentrating. You can see light peeking through his fingers. He separates his hands and the two pieces have fused together. "Now, fixing/healing things and people can actually be pretty simple for beginners. In a situation like this, you just gotta think about how it looked before it broke, and have the desire to fix it." He snaps it in half again and hands it back to you. You do exactly as he did. Imagine how it looked, want to fix it, and you close your eyes. Within the palms of your hand, you can feel a heat emanating. Once it disappears, you open one eye, then the other. In suspense, you open the palms of your hands, to see you did it on your first try. In excitement, you blurt out, "Hey!" Stan throws his hands up in excitement as well. Lucien walks in with an apron on, and asks, "What's going on in here?" You show him the piece of mirror, "I fixed it!" He may not have a mouth, but you can tell that Lucien would be smiling. "Well, dinner will be ready soon, could you two help set up?" You happily set up dinner to eat and have a lovely meal. Afterwards, you pack up and leave.

They drive you home like last time, and on the way, Stan asks, "Now (Y/N), is this going to be a regular thing? I don't mind if it is, but I'd like to know in advance." "I guess that would be best, since I've got no one else to learn from. Is any time more convenient for you?" "I'd say Thursdays are out least busy day of the week, so every Thursday then. So can we see you tomorrow?" "Okay, that sounds good, except I won't be able to do tomorrow. I'm only allowed to go out once a week." "Alrighty then! Next week!" After another few minutes, the car turns down your street, and Lucien speaks up, "Now (Y/N), 2 things. First of all, we're dropping you off a block away so your mom doesn't see us. 2 full ass adults in possession of someone your age would not bode over well for us or you. And secondly, this may be obvious, but you CANNOT, under ANY circumstances, tell your mom about this." "I won't. I swear." "Good." You are dropped off a block away from your house, like they said. "You have a good night now, okay?" "You too." You walk away, and they drive off. Before they're out of earshot however, you hear Stan yell, "We're proud of you!"