#ᵇʳᵘⁱˢᵉˢ ᵒⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠʳᵘⁱᵗ . ᵗᵉⁿᵈᵉʳ ᵃᵍᵉ ⁱⁿ ᵇˡᵒᵒᵐ || alive

[c0kehead]

@crimsxnidol​

“ Do you believe in ghosts ??” 

Tate lounged comfortably on the couch within Zack’s bands pad . He was completely upside down , his legs propped up on the back cushions , heels of his bare feet resting against the wall .

“ I do . My house is haunted , actually .”  He peered over , trying to read his expression .  “ Most people think I’m lying , but I’m not . I’m not talking about ... Little spirit balls , or whatever they show on shows like Ghost Hunters . I mean , I’ve seen full manifestations of dead people in the basement . Dating back all the way to the twenties , from when the house was first built .”

[c0kehead]

@gangtied said:  “  everyone leaves, eventually. either they move on or they die. they leave and i’m left behind.  ”

What was Tate to say ?? He couldn’t really relate ; He was raised in the bougie suburbs of Los Angeles where there weren’t really any murders , or even robberies . But he did remember that one time Charletta Scott had taken a few too many muscle relaxers along with a bottle of wine and had accidentally overdosed herself . That was the talk of the neighborhood for months .

He only came down to the inner cities to get his fix .

The blond ran his tongue along his teeth , searching for words that seemed to get all jumbled up in his head ; He was an empathetic child , he could feel the sorrow that radiated off of Cesar , but he couldn’t seem to come up with anything that might comfort him . It’s probably because such words didn’t even exist .

Tate bumped his leg playfully up against the other boy’s as they sat up on a part bench .  “ You got me ,”  he assured .  “ I know I’m not always around cause , you know , my ma would kill me if she found out where I was going ; She’s a real bitch , you know that ?? But uh , hey , if you wanna get away for the day cause things are getting too heated , you can always come stay with me . I got video games and stuff ... Board games .”

[c0kehead]

@wantlonger​

Checking over his shoulder once , he expertly popped the deadbolt on the cellar door . Then he looked behind him a second time , as he feared any policeman passing through and spotting his crimes , before he yanked it open and eased himself down the little latter and into the basement where he use to play as a child . The circumstances were terrible and , honestly , Tate hated that fucking house ; He hated Larry and he hated that Constance never thought about anything but her own selfishness when moving them back and forth , back and forth . But undoubtedly , Dolores would be delighted . Tate visited as often as he could but that was few and far between .

“ Dolores ,”  Tate called out into the pitch black concrete . He stepped forward , blindly searching the air until he found the cord that he knew was somewhere close by . He clicked it on , squinting at the sudden lighting change , waving his hand back and forth to disperse all the dust that had flown up from his footsteps .  “ Dolores , it’s me --- It’s Tate !! I have something to tell you !!”

[c0kehead]

@rottm​ said:  “I just kind of think maybe I love you.”

The confession caught him off guard . It was like every word he wanted to say back to her got completely caught up in his throat and all he could do was stare at her , in a crooked - brow manner as if he was expecting her to shout --- just kidding !! But it never came . Her words were honest & genuine , he could hear that in the way she tripped and trembled over them . Everything inside of his mouth suddenly tasted so dry but he tried to swallow anyway , because maybe it would clear a pathway for him to respond .

“ Uh ,”  was a bad start , but it was a start all in the same . Tate came from a family with a foundation that was wobbly at best . They were never affectionate and Tate actually couldn’t remember the last time  ( if at all )  he murmured those words about someone other than his idol Kurt Cobain .  “ I kind of think that maybe I love you too ,”  Tate finally responded , words slow and steady , and if someone didn’t know any better , they might assume that he was speaking a brand new language .  “ I’ve never ... felt this kind of connection with anyone before . I’ve never been so comfortable with another human being .”

[c0kehead]

@rottm​ said:  “I didn’t snore, did I?”

“ A little , but it was cute ,”  Tate assured .  “ Not like chainsaws , or anything .”  He actually found it quite soothing as it really set in then fact that he wasn’t so alone at the moment . From her body heat , to the way strands of black would slightly tickle his bare shoulders when she would adjust herself in her sleep .  “ Sounded like you slept well , though .”

Tate was still unsure of his boundaries and what exactly Trixi would label their duo , but he felt it was appropriate enough to leave in and kiss her on one of the sleep - flushed cheeks .  “ Do you want some coffee ??”  He offered , finger tips idly dragging up and down her forearm .  “ We’d have to share a mug . My ma would probably kill me if she found out I had a girl in my bed .”

[c0kehead]

@milkovichsmickey

[ Mickey 🐭💓 ]  schools out, can i call u ????

It had become routine anymore to call Mickey as he was walking home from school , he even sometimes took a longer route or even lingered down at the park for a bit just so they could keep talking without question ; Tate knew if he came in the house on the phone Constance would be up his ass about it . And he didn’t trust her not to check the cell phone records , she had no respect for her teenage sons privacy .

[ Mickey 🐭💓 ]  today kinda sucked :/

[c0kehead]

@applesdrowned​ || foster au

Leaning outside his bedroom window , Tate was careful to wave his hand every time he blew the nicotine - laced smoke from his lungs . He didn’t want any of it wafting inside and alerting his so - called new guardians of his dirty habits ; The people at CPS hadn’t seen them as he stashed them very carefully  ( and cleverly in his opinion )  in an old Joan Jett & The Blackhearts cassette tape box . They were the only thing feeding him these past few days as Tate had refused dinner again and again . He just didn’t want to sit downstairs with them , pretend like things were all okay , or were going to be --- because they weren’t .

The filter had reached his full lips yet again until the sound of his bedroom door creaking open had yanked him from the trance that all those poisons put him in . Tate wretched back only to catch the back of his head against the open window frame ; He’d hit it so damn hard that he’d shoved it further up , only for it to drop back down hard .

“ Ah , fuck !!”  The teenager cried out , his hands automatically reached back to cradle the bowl of his skull that was throbbing without sign of letting up . Eyes were screwed shut and he turned away from Mr . Warwick , curling in on himself as a headache was setting in at lightning speed from the blow .

“ Ouch ,”  Tate whimpered , unsure if he was feeling wetness spill against his palms in the form of blood of if he was just clammy - handed in general .  “ Ouch , ouch . Why didn’t you knock ?? You scared me .”

[c0kehead]

@applesdrowned​

A few x - rays and a future appointment for a MRI later , Tate & Chad were heading home from the emergency room . He had to sit at somewhat of an awkward angle to take the pressure off his upper back ; If he wasn’t careful , sometimes it ached so damn bad that he felt he couldn’t get a proper breath in . At least they prescribed him some steroids and pain killers to tide him over until they could get a proper look at him --- The x - ray didn’t show much ; At least there was nothing wrong with his bones . That had been a big fear .

“ Can we stop and get milkshakes ??”  Tate suddenly requested , reaching out to turn the radio down a bit .  “ It might make me feel a little better .”  Cue that kicked - puppy look perfected over the years ; Those big , brown eyes of his had gotten him what he’d wanted more than once , and had also gotten him out of trouble now and again .  “ You boyfriend did almost kill me .”

[c0kehead]

@humilictedman || x

Standing up on the stool that Kai had fetched for him , Tate watched him get everything ready ; There was still no smile . He looked down at his fingers , popping a few back into his mouth a few times since he was allowed earlier to mix the batter with his bears hands .  “ Mama says Santa isn’t coming this year ,”  he shrugged .  “ She says I’ve been too bad .”  But still , he reached out to take one of the cookie cutters . Strangely enough , he wasn’t too sad about the idea of getting no presents . It wasn’t like anything else this past year had gone right ; A boy his age shouldn’t feel so much sorrow .

“ But that just means we get to eat them all , right ??”

With clumsy little hands , he stamped out some of the dough into the shape of a pine tree , then peeled it out from inside the metal lining .  “ I wanna take some up to Beau too .”  Devious little eyes glanced at Kai , noted he wasn’t looking , and popped a ball of raw chocolate chip batter into his mouth .

[c0kehead]

@eidetic187​ said:  “ it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. but it really would help if you did.”

Teeth chewed anxiously against the soft , inner skin of his bottom lip ; His leg bounced , the sole of his Converse making a soft padding sound against the tiled flooring each time his heel hit the ground . Two people dead , his mother and her boyfriend , both shot execution style through the head while they lay in bed in the midst of night . And yet , the boy didn’t shed a tear . Not one .

“ There’s nothing to talk about ,”  he repeated , this time annoyance lacing his voice .  “ I don’t know what happened . I fell asleep with my headphones in last night --- My music plays on loop . I didn’t hear a thing . Addie woke me up when she found them .”  Tate felt he had told that story again and again and again , but yet he was still at headquarters . His eyes looked around the questioning room for a clock but there wasn’t one . He was suspecting there to be a strategy to that .  “ If you’re going to keep me here for hours , can I at least get something to drink ??”

[c0kehead]

@applesdrowned​ said:  ❛ It’s four o'clock in the morning, what are you doing? ❜ 

Wrapped up in a blanket from his bedroom , after hours and restless tossing and turning , he succumbed to his insomnia and ventured downstairs to the living room . It should have counted as breaking new ground as he’d spent the majority of his two weeks with Chad & Patrick holed up in his bedroom , but he was at least starting to come down and grab a plate for dinner . He could tell that Patrick didn’t agree with him being allowed to eat upstairs , but Tate observed Chad give him a sharp look that all but killed him as a way to tell him to be quiet .

“ Watching TV ,”  he said simply .  “ I couldn’t sleep ... why’re you awake ??”  The volume was only at ten and he’d turned the subtitles on as to not disturb anyone else . He was glad though that Chad had come down and not Patrick , he seemed to be the more lenient of the two , and Tate was still incredibly timid in his new environment ; No doubt that he would have lashed out if there had been any attempt at discipline for watching a movie so , so late at night .

[c0kehead]

witheriingsouls said:  ‘ legend says , her spirit still haunts this place , and every halloween she comes out and eats the souls of those who dare step foot in her home . ’ / from violet

“ Woah , seriously ??”  Tate’s brows knitted down as he stared back at the house that sat abandoned on the edge of town . Most people avoided it , he’d even seen children get told to cross the street before passing it by ; He always stared into the windows of it , hoping to see this so - called spirit that haunted it’s halls . She had died inside and no one had found her corpse for years --- Or , at least , that’s the story he heard . The blond swallowed , eyes shifting from one end to the other end of all that rotting wood . There was something about the place that made the hairs on his arms stand up .  “ --- Well , let’s go !!”  Tate took Violet by the hand , a sudden perky mood in his smile as he lead the way into the overgrown lawn .  “ We’re both pretty soulless so the bitch’ll starve .”

[c0kehead]

@billy-hargrxve || sc

It seemed like for the first month or so , Billy and Tate could do nothing but butt - heads over this new living situation ; He was a creature of seclusion , he appreciated his privacy more than anything else and now suddenly having to share a room  ( albeit , a fairly sizable one )  with someone as loud as Billy Hargrove really through him off . He sometimes sat in the empty bathtub of their bathroom for a few hours just to be completely alone --- And of course , that had the other boy bitching too .

But things were getting better . Perhaps both of them had just grown weary of arguing all the damn time .  “ You look confused ,”  he pointed out . Calloused fingers of the guitarist gestured out to the physics book that Billy had opened in his lap and a completely bare work sheet next to him ; Though Tate could have sworn he’d gotten it out an hour ago .  “ You want help ??”

[c0kehead]

@thishorror​ said:  ❝Why is the room spinning?❞  from vicky

An amused smile crossed Tate’s face , one eyebrow quirking upwards .  “ That tends to happen when you’re drunk ,”  he gestured to the bottle of scotch that he’d broken out of the liquor case for her ; Constance and Larry had gone for the weekend , something about a show out of town , he wasn’t listening when she explained to him her expectations of him while he was alone . But he was sure he already missed the mark on that . Inviting a girl over for company , stealing her expensive booze --- Tate himself was just drinking some soda but he was smoking cigarette after cigarette inside the house , which was usually forbidden for him .

“ Maybe you’ve had enough .”  The bottle wasn’t entirely full when he’d grabbed snatched it for her , but the thing was almost empty now .  “ I need to put it back inside the case anyway . I’m sure she’ll notice , but this way I can always claim her alcoholic ass just doesn’t remember drinking it .”  An argument would ensue but she would probably be too ashamed of that possibility of being true for her to investigate further .  “ I hate to be a square but I’m cutting you off . Give it over .”  Tate leaned over her to grab the Scotch back .

[c0kehead]

@applesdrowned​ said:  “I’ll be over here when you’re ready.”

Arms were crossed tight around Tate’s chest . He hadn’t said a word when Chad picked him up from the Harmon’s household , hadn’t said a word in the car , no matter what the other said . About the situation or not , Tate’s lips were sealed tight and he stared out the car window in a dreary haze . And things weren’t any different when they got home . The teen was silent still but he hurried out of the car , up the stoop of their home and inside . He heard Chad call to him with patience but it was ignored as he stomped up the whirling staircase to hide away in his bedroom.

And hours passed .

Tate had taken a short nap and read a little before finally emerging , feeling only the slightest bit better about what went down . But he felt the need to defend himself to Chad . Vintage wood creaked and he found his guardian in his study room and lingered in the doorway .  “ We weren’t doing anything inappropriate ,”  was the first thing that Tate said . No way to break the ice .

“ We weren’t even next to one another . I was sitting on her floor and she was up on her bed . We were listening to music together . Talking about Morrissey from The Smiths and Ben barged in , flipped out on me . Saying I was wrong for --- For talking to his daughter , or whatever . I don’t get why he was so mad at me .”  Tate thought Ben liked him , even if Tate had given this therapy thing a true shot and spilled his darkest fantasies to him .  “ I don’t think he wants me to come back anymore .”

[c0kehead]

@santosborn said:  “Don’t worry, I’m really good at romance.”

“ I thought we were getting a Wendy’s four for four ,”  Tate questioned . That’s what he had suggested and he genuinely meant it when he said that was good enough for him ; Tate wasn’t hard to please . He wasn’t expecting high - end gifts and expensive dates --- Not from Cesar , not from anyone . In fact , he would probably be a little uncomfortable if someone spent too much money on him . He didn’t feel he was worth it . But he trusted Cesar not to make a spectacle of things so he followed along , one arm outstretched to hold onto the other boys bicep to lead him , the other hand covering his eyes as apparently this date was a surprise .

“ Surprises just make me nervous , if you want me to be honest ,”  he admitted .  “ But I trust you --- I do . If I didn’t , I wouldn’t be allowing you to do this in the first place .”  Two fingers slipped apart and Tate peaked out on his surroundings for just a moment before blinding himself yet again .  “ I’m a very anxious person , Cesar . It’s not you , don’t think it’s you . I trust you .”