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

111. Your Progress

The next day, you meet Scott again outside before heading into school. He clings to you as you walk in the door, and doesn't separate from you until the bell rings. You and him eat lunch together, and he watches you again during gym. During the last period, Amira fills you in on the plans that have been made. After the funeral, everyone will go over to Vera's house for a little get together, maybe even a sleepover. You express some concerns you have, namely the fact that it may be insensitive to the current situation. Amira reassures you however, that it'll only happen if Scott is okay with it.

The school day finally comes to a close, and you grab the things you need from your locker. You and Scott exit the building, but you hold back. You look up at Scott and ask, "Hey, is it okay if we go to Damien's place? I wanna see his dads again.." He smiles softly and nods his head. "Yeah, of course. Do you need to talk to Damien then?" You nod your head and you and Scott stand under a tree, protecting yourselves from the rain, which is much lighter today than it's been.

You both watch as student after student pour out of the school. Before long, you notice Damien walking out and you approach him. "Uh.. Hey, Damien.. Do you know if your dads are free tonight? I... I wanted to see them." Damien raises his eyebrows and looks down at you. He says, "Uh, yeah. They should be fine.  He coming with you?" He points behind you, gesturing toward Scott. Scott looks at you two nervously. You go up to him and grab his hands. "Do you wanna come too?" His eyes look to the side, and he looks like he wants to say something, but he won't. You caress his cheek and reassure him, "You don't have to if you don't want to." He puts his hand over the hand you're using to caress him. "It's not that I don't want to.. I just need to help my cousins.. We've been going through Mawmaw's stuff in her room, so we can figure out what to do with it all.." You smile lightly. "Okay, you go do that. Tell them I say hi, alright?" He smiles back. "Okay, I will," he kisses your forehead, "I love you." "I love you too." He turns and rushes off. You ho back to Damien and he says, "Alright. Let's go." You both go to his car, and he takes you to his place.

You step into his house, and the pleasant scent of candles hit your nostrils. You hear Stan's voice from kitchen say, "Hey Dame! How was school?" Damien goes into the kitchen, saying, "It was fine, Dad." He continues to talk to Stan, but you can't hear what he's saying anymore. After a moment, Stan peeks his head out into the living room, looking at you with a big smile. He steps out, "Hey, (Y/N)! It's been awhile.. How are you doing?" He comes up to you and gives you a hug. You can't help but feel like his smile and behavior is forced. You respond, "I'm.. Okay.. Is it alright for me to be here? I don't know if.. You'd rather me not be here since.. You know.." He pulls away from you and gets on one knee, holding your hands in his own. He says, "Hey. If I didn't want you here, I wouldn't have let you come over so many times. You are always a welcome guest in this house, (Y/N)." You smile and nod, "Thank you.." "Let me go get Lucien, okay?" You nod your head, and you walk over to sit on the couch. After another minute, Lucien and Stan both come out. Lucien walks up to you and wraps you up in a warm hug. He says, "I'm so glad you're okay, (Y/N)." "Th-Thanks.. Um.. If it's alright with you.. May I have another training session?" "Oh! Yeah, of course! I'm so glad you're still determined, haha." Although he has no mouth, you can tell Lucien would be smiling. He adds, "What would you like to do?" "Could I start by showing you what I've been doing on my own?" Stan and Lucien's eyes go wide, and a big smile spreads on Stan's face.

You get up from the couch and stand in the center of the room. Stan and Lucien sit on the couch in your place, and Damien leans over the back of it, watching as well. You swallow nervously, and clap your hands together. You focus your mind on fire, which creates a fireball in your hands and you pull them apart. The ball continues to grow as you pull your hands apart, until you decide to stop. You pull one hand away and the fireball floats over your other hand. You make another quick hand motion to make the fireball go away, and it disappears into a cloud of smoke. Lucien and Stan clap in approval. You smile excitedly, then ask for a bottle of water. Damien fetches one and tosses it to you. Before you open it, you freeze it quickly, and then melt it again. In an attempt to show off, you drink it until your mouth is full, and then you spit it out as a ball of ice. Their look of approval turns into one of shock. You then decide to do something risky that you've never done before. You flip the bottle over, and let the water pour out. Before it hits any surface however, you freeze the water, and it stops, suspended in midair. The three LaVeys look amazed, and you feel happy for yourself. You put the ice down on the table, and show off the last thing you've seemed to master. You cup both of your hands together, and make a group of flowers grow. You then light the flowers on fire, and let them burn to ashes. They all clap for you, and Stan pulls you in for a tight hug. "I'm so proud of you! You've become so strong!" Lucien comes up behind you and pats your head. He says, "Yes, you've come far. But there is still plenty more to go, if you're interested in learning more." You smile and tear up a little. "Yeah, I wanna learn more. I wanna be as strong as possible!" Stan pulls away and gasps. "Hey! Lucy! Can we teach them the thing? Can we? Can we?" Lucien chuckles. "I suppose we can show them, but they must promise not to overdo it. Well? What do you say (Y/N)?" You respond, "I promise I won't overdo it." "Excellent."