Chapter Text
Tyler was used to being met by fear. Frightened expressions and shocked gasps were everyday fare. Not even his father had been able to hide how scared he was, letting worry and disgust shine through every time he looked at his son. Tyler's early memories were shaded by that gaze, judging him way before he deserved to be judged.
So the reactions from the students at Nevermore Academy when he walked through the gates were nothing new. He saw them ducking behind bannisters and tables, scared he would attack. He smelled their fear as they trembled at the mere sight of him. He heard their whispers in the shadows. "Is that the Hyde?" they asked. "What is he doing here?" they wondered.
In the middle of the foyer, he stopped, glaring at the cowards from underneath unkempt curls. Their fear was nothing to him. He thrived on it. He certainly wasn't scared of them, their chuckles, and their cliques. He was scared of nothing anymore, because he'd already lost everything.
"Come on, Tyler," Capri urged him, holding the door to her office open. "No need to dilly dally."
With a last sneer toward the spectators on the stairs above, he quickened his step, escaping the looks and whispers.
"They'll come around eventually," Capri assured him, closing the door behind them. "There will, of course, be a bit of a learning curve for everyone to have you and the other rehabilitating students around, but I believe that by the end of the semester, everyone will understand the benefits of my program. Because I believe all outcasts should be included and given a chance at an education."
"Even the lost causes," Tyler muttered, inspecting the room he's been brought into. It certainly fit the gothic aesthetic of the school, with dark wood furniture crafted in another century, chandeliers that swayed in the slight draft from the windows, and a crackling fireplace resembling the mouth of a screaming giant.
"I don't believe there to be any lost causes," the principal stated with conviction in her voice. "There are only misunderstood and abused outcasts or ones that haven't been able to control their power."
"What am I?" he asked, lifting a wolf figurine from the desk and twirling it carelessly in the air.
Capri snatched the wolf statue from his grip. "You are what you want to be, Tyler," she proclaimed. "Your past does not define you."
"Tell that to the people out there..." He nodded toward the staircase outside. He could still hear the whispers through the door. "I knew this was a bad idea."
"Tell that to yourself. If you believe it, others will believe it too." She took a seat behind the big desk at the end of the room, which appeared to swallow her whole. "Sit down, and we will go through the conditions of your enrollment here."
Tyler did as he was told. Years of obeying masters made it difficult for him to rebel. He sat down on a chair opposite the desk. His stance was tentative, balancing on the edge of the seat rather than sinking into it. If anything seemed amiss about the arrangements, he was ready to bail. Where he didn't know, but anywhere away from the fearsome gasps at the sight of him.
"These are the rules all students need to abide by," Capri started, putting a paper with bullet points in front of Tyler. "And these are the additional rules for students in the rehabilitation program."
"You don't trust us?" he spat out, putting his hands on the armrest as he prepared to get the heck out of there. He didn't need more rules and chains.
"I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't trust you," Capri replied, her soothing British lilt making him lean back in his seat again. "But the other students need to learn to trust you as well. It will take time, and some guidelines for your interactions with them may be a good start."
Tyler snatched the paper from the desk, scanning the rules he would have to agree to.
"You will all live in your own dorm, and there will be a curfew between 10 pm and 6 am every day." It seemed Capri didn't trust his reading abilities as she started to recap the list.
"We'll be locked in?" His chest went tight as he remembered the clicks of the locks at the asylum.
The principal shook her head, red curls rustling against her blazer. "It will be on a trust basis," she assured him. "But if you are reported to be outside the dorms at night, there will be immediate repercussions. And the same goes for if you miss classes."
Tyler nodded, still reading through the list. He supposed the rules made sense, and it wasn't like anyone would want to hang out with him after school hours anyway. It may be nice to get eight hours of respite from the frightened looks.
"You'll of course wear the school's uniform." A neat pile of folded clothes appeared on the desk, making Tyler wonder if Capri had a stock of them underneath. There were pants, button-downs, blazers, and ties. "If they don't fit, the school has a seamstress who can adjust them for you."
A whiff of lilac-scented fabric softener tickled his nose when he lifted the pile from the desk. The plaid fabric of the blazer was smooth against his fingers, making him briefly remember gently touching a shoulder clad in it before diving in for a kiss. He pushed the memory away before it could hurt him. He would truly look like one of them now, even if they wouldn't accept him. "I'm sure they'll be fine," he mumbled, wondering if the seamstress would be able to mend items ripped if his inner Hyde broke loose.
"And there are also these." A pair of metal cuffs clanked onto the desk. Capri looked wide-eyed at Tyler, waiting for him to react.
"You said no more chains," he growled, because that's what she'd promised him when he'd left the Hyde tribe to come with her to Nevermore. She'd promised him freedom and community. He'd agreed for those reasons and more.
"These are not chains," she explained, showcasing one of the circular objects to him. "The cuffs will pick up your position at all times and also monitor your vitals, so that we can catch any signs of you transforming, which would put your fellow students at risk."
"Sounds a lot like chains to me." Tyler rose, picking up the remaining cuff. He didn't possess the full strength of the Hyde in his human form, but if he wanted to, the metal would be easily squashed between his fingers.
"It's for your own safety," Capri argued in vain. "So that you won't get accused of anything. If that happens, I can check your records."
"But you won't check the data otherwise?" he asked, bouncing the cuff against the desk.
"I won't, I promise."
He wasn't sure he believed her. He wanted to, but he'd believed in maternal figures before and been let down.
Holding up the metal ring to the light, he inspected the construction. "There are no... shock effects involved?" he asked cautiously, remembering the collar they put on him to hinder his transformations.
"No shocks or other punishment. It's only a safety measurement. And you can remove them at any time."
He exhaled, giving in because any other decision meant giving up. "I suppose I have no other option," he said, unclasping the lock and threading the ring across his left wrist before snatching the remaining cuff out of Capri's grip. After donning that device as well, he declared, "Done," and held up both hands in the air in an act of surrender.
"I'm glad you agree to follow our rules. I understand it will be a lot for you to begin with, but I'm assured you will acclimatise shortly."
Tyler scoffed. He wasn't as sure as she was. He didn't believe he would ever be one of them. But except for with the tribe, he would be an outcast anywhere he went. Here, he would at least be an outcast among outcasts.
"Are we done here?" he asked, tired of having rules dictated to him.
She nodded, lighting up into an encouraging smile. He didn't return it. He didn't remember the last time he smiled. "Let's go meet your mentor, a fellow student who will show you around and act as a support system for you. He'll start by showing you to the dorms."
Great, another babysitter. "Sounds lovely..." Tyler muttered.
Walking ahead of him, Capri held the door open. She nodded toward someone waiting outside. "I'll be with you shortly, Miss Sinclair," she said. "And we'll go through the conditions of the rehabilitation program."
Peaking outside, Tyler spotted familiar streaks of rainbow-colored hair. She didn't acknowledge him, staring at the floor as if she was ashamed of being there. What could Enid possibly have done to end up in the lost cause program along with him?
When she lifted her gaze, she gaped widely as she recognized him. "Tyler..." she growled, her werewolf side making itself known. "What are you doing here? It's your damn fault I'm ever here!"
When claws came out, ready to slice him into beef stew, Capri ushered Enid into her office. "I'll check on you later, Mr Galpin," she assured him with a hand on his shoulder. "Your mentor should be here shortly."
Not quite knowing what to do or how to act, Tyler surveyed the staircase around him. He could smell a couple of students hiding behind the bannister. Brave enough not to run at the sight of him, but not brave enough to face him. They smelled of beeswax and roadkill. He knew who they were. They'd both been victims of his crimes. He'd spared them, but not on purpose.
As he approached their hiding place, hurried steps echoed as the boys skittered across the thick carpet. He supposed it would only be a matter of time before she—the one who'd spared him, on purpose or not—would be told of his arrival.