Dying to Breathe

pov#1, part 1

A/N: I forgot to mention, we'll be seeing different points of view every once in awhile. Guess who's first? Only my favourite boy ever.  Please listen to Blood Red by The Maine.

P.O.V #1: Part 1

RILEY ELLIOT KING

Riley Elliot King didn't dwell on things... and first and foremost, he absolutely did not get involved.

It wasn't long after his young mother took her own life, that eight-year-old Riley had his first life-changing revelation: that the weight of the King's crown was unbearable.

He didn't understand the politics at the time—something about his dead mother's shares all transferring over to his name—however, he quickly learned that without her, he had suddenly become the future successor of a bloodthirsty business empire, King Atlas. And just as quickly as he was passed the heavy crown, he was thrown into the bloody, shark infested waters that consisted of his own family members—notably, his four half brothers who were all older and far more ready to inherit the family legacy.

In their eyes, he was a target. An inconvenience on their way to the top and something to make quick work out of. Ultimately, his 'disposal' would have merely meant a means to an end for them.

With evil plots inclosing on his life, all Riley wanted to do was continue picking on the little girls who were in his class; pretend to be superheroes with his best-friend; and act like nothing else in the world mattered. He had never wanted the burdensome inheritance, so why should he be bothered with the politics of it? But when his own workaholic father refused to step in to stop the growing resentment within the estranged family (too heartbroken to even raise his own young child, let alone deny the dying wish of his beloved that their son would take over King Atlas one day), Riley swiftly accepted his situation: that the only one he could count on, was himself.

Alone in a world of blood lusting monsters, he quickly discovered how to satiate the threatening hungry beasts at his throat: by giving them complete control. Since no one wanted the burden of the crown itself (only the power that came with it), all he had to do was become the harmless crown-vessel; a fill-in; a puppet... Until even those slight movements made by him stirred up trouble between the four elder brothers' alliances. If one brother was given more control, Riley's life hung in the balance for being the distributer and for choosing sides.

Eventually—in the absence of Riley's parents—the third eldest brother took pity on the young boy. As the youngest sibling in the bloodthirsty family, he only needed one lesson, a lesson that would permanently alter his life: if he wanted to survive under the weight of the crown, he had to become even less than a puppet. He had to become someone that not just shrugged off the power, but also refused to use it or give it away. Since it was in the best interest of everyone for Riley to keep the crown (being the only brother who didn't care for the family legacy, and thus, not a threat unlike the other brothers), all Riley had to do was stay out of alliances and other politics. He had to be completely neutral... and the only way to be neutral was to act the fool that understood nothing and cared for no one or anything but silly self-indulgences.

He had to play a role that everyone—even those outside his family—would believe, and he could never stop playing it.

Thus, Riley Elliot King, became known as Elliot King; and Elliot King spent even less time dwelling on things. So much so, that ten years later, he'd forgotten the very feeling of caring for something—for anything. Parties, alcohol, drugs, and sex. The 'Elliot' act itself became the only thing he knew how to do. It became a lie warped into a truth. An act that felt more real than 'real' itself. The moment the act stopped, was the moment the target on his back would reappear—the threat of death looming over his head like a hanging sword. So, he partied, he drank, and he messed around like his life depended on it. Because it did.

And then Penelope Jones happened. And suddenly, for perhaps the first time in his life, he began to dwell on things.

End of Part 1

A/N: Shit I love this boy. His stupid family makes me so sad. Also I wanted to split his POV up because the vibes are super different. But how did you find part 1? How about the names? He didn't actually lie to her but she thinks he did ..  

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