Forbidden Fruit (Chapter 5)
Pairing: Tyler Galpin/Female!Reader
Summary: Tyler Galpin comes into your life unexpectedly, bringing with him an even more unexpected relationship. He is sweet and charming and makes you believe in yourself in a way you hadn't thought possible. But when certain truths come to light and you're left permanently scarred, everything changes. While everyone around you urges you to move on, you can't ignore the feelings that still fester in your chest, the pull you feel towards Tyler.
CW: Nothing really. description of reader turning into a werewolf, but its not gore-y or anything.
AN: Hello! I am back with a new chapter!
I want to apologize for being late with the update. I get taken out by a nasty tooth infection and couldn't think straight enough to write anything coherent.
For those that might not have seen the final poll results, updates will be every other week and should be on the longer side.
Also! I have a playlist on Spotify if anyone is curious. It contains songs that give the vibe of this fic.
When you wake up the next morning, it’s not to the quiet coo’s of a morning dove or the smell of coffee. It’s to the sound of the front door opening and closing rather abruptly, boots stomping heavily on old hardwood flooring, and something metal clanging against the kitchen counter.
You don’t open your eyes, refusing to acknowledge that a new day has begun and that you’ll have to deal with your mother again. You pull the blanket tighter around yourself and nuzzle your head against the pillow. The same pillow that’s still resting on Tyler’s lap… because you fell asleep on Tyler’s couch… in Tyler’s house.
You remember all of this at precisely the same moment that the newcomer to the house also seems to realize that there’s a stranger sleeping on their couch, according to the gruff, slightly bewildered “What the hell?”
You sit up and look over the back of the couch, making eye contact with, whom you can only assume is Donovan Galpin, Tyler’s father, the sheriff of Jericho. He stands in the entrance to the living room, expression equal parts surprised and irritated. Though part of you thinks the ‘irritated’ is just his default if all the stories you’ve heard are anything to go by.
“Um… hi.” You greet awkwardly. Of all the ways you thought you’d meet Tyler’s dad, waking up on his couch was not one of them.
“Tyler!” Mr. Galpin yells. Startling you and, the previously sleeping, Tyler.
“Wha- hi dad.” Tyler says around a yawn, stretching his arms. His eyes, still a little droopy from having just woken up, land on you and Tyler smiles all sleepily. And then reality seeps in. His eyes widen comically and he sits up straighter than you thought humanly possible. “Dad!”
“You have ten seconds to give me a good reason as to why you had a girl in this house while I was conveniently on patrol all night.” Mr. Galpin rests his hands on his hips, looking at Tyler expectantly. “And it better be a good reason.”
He holds up a finger, silencing you. He doesn’t even look at you for more than a second as he says, “I didn’t ask you.”
“Nothing happened. We fell asleep while watching TV.” Tyler explains, now sitting on the edge of the couch. “She had a bad day a-and needed a break.”
“That doesn’t explain why she’s here. In my house. Without permission.” Mr. Galpin bites back. You instinctively recoil, it’s slight, more of a twitch than anything, but Tyler still notices and moves to put himself slightly more in between you and his dad. Mr. Galpin starts to say something, the beginning of a sentence on the tip of his tongue, but gets cut off by his cell phone ringing on the kitchen counter.
“This isn’t over.” He says, pointing at Tyler before stomping back into the kitchen.
“I’m sorry.” You whisper to Tyler as soon as Mr. Galpin’s muffled voice starts talking to whoever called.
“What for?” Tyler asks incredulously.
“Your dad’s mad at you and it’s kind of my fault?” You respond like it’s obvious.
“That?” Tyler huffs, shrugging his shoulders. “That’s just him. He’d be mad at me for something even if you weren’t here.”
You huff out a laugh just as Mr. Galpin renters the living room.
“Just got a call from the station about a missing Nevermore student.” Mr. Galpin stares you down and you shift in your seat uncomfortably. “You wouldn’t know anything about that would you?”
You feign thinking it over before shaking your head. “Nope.”
“Really?” Mr. Galpin did not believe you one bit. “So that isn’t your uniform hanging over the back of my chair?”
“And the school knows exactly where you are right now? They okayed you spending the night off campus in someone’s house without talking to the owner of said house?”
“It’s what? A funny story?” Mr. Galpin deadpans. “You can fill me in on the way to the station. Grab your things, let’s go.”
“What?! The station? Come on Dad, I know she snuck out and everything but-“ Tyler starts trying to reason with his dad while you stand and grab your school uniform, heading to the bathroom to change.
“Calm down!” You hear Mr. Galpin say. “Her parents are there. I’m just taking her to them.”
Great. Not only do you have to sit in a car with Tyler’s dad, but you’ll have a whole car ride with your mom and no way to avoid her nagging.
Today was turning out great.
The ride to the station turned out better than you expected. No interrogating questions or smart remarks. No wayward comments or opinions. Just quiet. Sure it was a little awkward, but you’d take that over what was awaiting you on the ride back to Nevermore.
Mr. Galpin pushes the entrance door open and holds it for you to walk in before him. Probably trying to make sure you didn’t sprint the other way. And with how tense every muscle in your body felt, you can understand why he’d take the precaution.
You can hear your mother before you see her, berating whichever poor officer got in her way or told her to do something.
“I will not quiet down.” Her shrill voice mocks, reverberating down the hallway as you approach. “My daughter is missing!” You round the corner just in time to see her whirl around on her heel and jab a perfectly manicured nail into the officer's chest. “And another thing-“
“Mom!” You call, effectively freezing her in place. “Enough… I’m fine.”
She doesn’t move right away, simply staring at you with her finger still jabbing against the officer and her mouth parted mid word. But once she does move, it’s exaggerated, over the top rushing to you and pulling you into her arms. To anyone else, it would look like a distressed mother finally embracing her missing child, but the not-so-subtle dig of your mothers claws into your skin tells you her true feelings.
Over her shoulder you spot your father. He’s quite not exactly looking at you, just in your general direction. While he doesn’t look angry and isn’t giving the same performance that your mother is, you can tell from the subtle tick in his jaw that he is less than pleased. And that’s the thing that plants a ball of guilt into your stomach.
Tyler’s dad greets your parents, introducing himself as the town sheriff. He extends his hand and your father shakes it amicably, but when he holds it out for your mother, she scoffs as she lets you out of the hug but still keeps a bruising grip on your arm.
“Sheriff?” She sneers, “Your son is the cause of this?” The judgement was practically coming off of her in waves.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mr. Galpin asks warily.
“My daughter has never acted out before. She meets your son and now suddenly she’s sneaking off campus and spending the night at some boys house. And you just what, was okay with that?!”
“Hush.” Your mother shushes you, squeezing your arm harder.
“I’m not okay with it. And had I not been patrolling all night I never would have let it happen.” Mr. Galpin seems to catch his slip up the second your mother does.
“You weren’t even there? Your son,” she jabs a finger into the sheriffs chest, “had my daughter,” she shakes your arm, “alone in your house all night!?”
“Nothing happened!” You loudly say, exasperated. “We fell asleep on the couch. That’s it.”
Your mother levels her glare at you, a scowl etched onto her face. She’s quiet for a moment as she stares you down, then speaks to Mr. Galpin again. “Keep your son away from my daughter.” It’s said evenly, with as much malice as she can muster. Which you know from experience, is a lot.
“Likewise.” The sheriff spits back.
It takes another grueling hour before you’re sitting in the backseat of your parent’s car and driving back to Nevermore.
“What were you thinking?” Your mother demands not even a second after the car doors are shut and locked. She turns around in her seat to face you as your father silently starts up the car and begins driving. “Sneaking out?”
“I already told you… nothing happened. I just needed to clear my head.”
“And that’s supposed to make things okay?” Your mom laughs, it’s cold, condescending. “I never should have let you come to this school. We’re pulling you out the second we get back.”
Your blood runs cold and you stutter out a breathy, “What? No you can’t!”
“I can and I will. It’s obvious that you can’t be left without supervision. My supervision. This is for your own good. Trust me, sweetie.” Your mother reaches a hand back and pats your knee, her smile sending bile up your throat. “If I let you stay here, you’d get corrupted beyond repair. And then who would want you?” She sits back in her seat normally, folding her hands in her lap as he locks eyes with you through the rearview mirror. “You’ll thank me one day.”
“I’m sorry,” Principal Weems says. “But we simply cannot allow you to pull your daughter from Nevermore this far into the year.” Her expression is one of soft remorse, but her tone is nothing short of finite power, leaving no room for arguments.
And yet, your mother still pushes back.
“She is my child. If I want to pull her from the school I can.” Your mother sneers.
“Yes, my apologies. Let me rephrase. We strongly recommend you don’t. Your daughter is doing very well academically and is quite involved with school activities.” Principal Weems explains. “When she first came to us, she was reserved and very quiet with failing grades. You yourself expressed your concern for her future if she didn’t improve, yes?”
“I-well…yes.” Your mother stutters, seeming genuinely taken aback or caught off guard. That was a first.
“And you still have that concern?” Principal Weems continues, leading your mother into a well laid trap. You had always admired Principal Weems for her confidence, not you truly liked the woman. Simply for her ability to read your mother like a book, a feat no one else has seemingly even been able to do.
“Of course!” Your mother responds incredulously, clutching her chest as if she’d been deeply offended.
“Then allow your daughter to stay. She is clearly thriving at our school, and this is truly the best place for her.”
“Fine. I suppose you have a point. But I want her off campus privileges suspended.” Your mother concedes.
“I can arrange that.” Principal Weems smiles and when your mother looks away she casts a look at you and winks.
One layer in the knot that had been forming in your stomach all morning unravels.
The next two weeks of your life go by slowly. Each day feeling like its own week, and the weekend feeling even longer without classes as a distraction.
Each morning you wake up, begrudgingly get out of bed and go to class. Every afternoon you attend club activities and plaster on a fake smile, one that never reaches your dull eyes. And every evening you send Tyler a text that doesn’t get looked at or responded too.
A voice in the back of your mind tells you to take the hint and stop texting him. That he doesn’t want the drama that comes with continuing to see or talk to you. And at first you fought against that voice, telling yourself that it wasn’t true. But as the days went on, the voice got louder. And by the end of the second week, it was all you could hear.
A welcomed distraction from that voice came in the form of Wednesday’s birthday.
Enid insisted on throwing her “roommate”—everyone knew they were more than that—a surprise party at midnight. Which went as well as you could expect.
With Things help Enid had managed to get Wednesday to Crackstones crypt, where you, Bianca, Xavier, Ajax and a few others waited. You all jumped out and sang happy birthday, Enid presented the cake, and then Wednesday saw a clue and promptly had what looked to be a seizure. When she finally came back to consciousness, Wednesday stood and rushed back to her and Enid’s dorm.
From what Enid told you that morning before classes, she and Wednesday had had a small disagreement that had, in Enid’s words, “Totally harshed her mood.”
The rest of your Friday went by normally, you caught up on school work, finished a term paper, and read in the quad all while desperately trying to drown out the voice screaming inside your head.
Willing to take any opportunity to distract yourself, you jumped at the idea of sneaking off campus. Even if it being a full moon made you a little nervous at the risk of transforming. You hoped being preoccupied would keep the wolf at bay.
So now you’re leaning against the outside wall surrounding Nevermore, waiting for Enid and Wednesday and glaring at the ever present full moon as it slowly rises in the night sky. Luckily, you don't have to wait long before the crunching of leaves alerts you to The Wednesday and Enid’s presence.
You push off the wall, meeting them part way, pausing and cocking your head when you notice their peculiar choice of matching accessories.
“What are you wearing?” You ask, motioning to the length of fabric covering both of their heads as they come to a stop in front of you.
“They’re snoods!” Enid responds enthusiastically, grinning from ear to ear and rocking excitedly on the balls of her feet.
“Right.. snoods.” You nod, still confused but not willing to dive into that discussion at the moment. “So where are we going?”
“The Gates mansion.” Wednesday says, a menacing smirk laying on her lips.
“Okay… and how are we going to get there?”
“That’s how.” Wednesday looks behind you and motions with her head.
You turn around in time to see a car pull up with its headlights turned off. It rolls to a stop and Wednesday wastes little time getting into the passenger seat while you and Enid climb into the back. It’s then that you take note of the driver.
He looks back at you and smiles sheepishly. “Hi…”
“He’s our driver?” Enid questions as you continue to stare at Tyler.
“Yes.” Wednesday says. “Now let’s go.”
The old Gates mansion is creepy. Which you suppose is to be expected, all things considered. But still, walking into the abandoned home sent chills down your spine.
The four of you slowly explore the first level. Tyler walks alongside you, trying to continue as if he hasn’t been ignoring you all week. It confuses you and makes your heart sting in your chest. The voice in your head tells you he’s playing games with you but your heart thinks otherwise.
Each time he tries to talk to you, you direct the conversation back to the investigation. You ask Wednesday a question or point out a suspicious object. And that plan seemed to be working just fine.
Until Wednesday suggested splitting up into groups. Her and Enid. You and Tyler.
“Why are you ignoring me?” Tyler asks the moment you two are alone. “Did I do something wrong?”
You don’t answer him, opting instead to turn your back to him and sift through dusty items. He calls your name and again you ignore him. Then there’s a hand closing around your elbow and he spins you to face him.
“What happened? I-I thought things were going well?” Tyler’s eyes bore into yours. Soft and big and doe-eyed, but scared.
“Thought things were going well?” You copy back incredulously. “Tyler, you’ve been ghosting me for two weeks! Not a single text. Or call. Hell, not even a letter. Nothing.”
“I’m sorry,” Tyler apologizes, but you're not done yet. Not completely.
“You ignored me for two weeks! Do you have any idea what that did to me? After what happened the last time I saw you?” Tyler hangs his head, his grip on your elbow loosening slightly. “At first I just wrote it off.. maybe you were busy.. but the longer it went on? I was terrified that my mom had driven you away or threatened you.. and then I was just hurt, Tyler. Now you just show up and act like nothing happened?”
You pull your arm free from Tyler’s grasp, your heart hammering in your chest as you fight back the surge of emotions threatening not only to spill over, but to cause a shift.
Remain calm. You repeat the words in your mind like a mantra.
Your name weakly falls from Tyler’s lips, “I-I’m so sorry.. my dad grounded me, he took my phone. I only just got it back earlier today.. I didn’t mean to hurt you, I promise..”
He moves to grab your hand and you flinch away more harshly than you mean. The hurt that flashes in his eyes pains you, even if you are upset with him.
“I-I just need a minute… I have to calm down..” You say as an explanation. Thankfully, Tyler just nods, the motion small and barely noticeable in the dim lighting of your flashlights, and you rush out of the mansion.
Outside the cold bites at your cheeks. A welcome change from the burning heat that currently resides under your skin. You’re panting, sucking down air like you’ve just finished a marathon.
The full moon hangs above you in the sky, taunting you. Its light dances over your skin, your wolf tingling with the desire to shift. You glare at the moon, groaning dramatically before falling to a crouch and dropping your head into your hands.
You curse your mother. You curse your own inability to control your emotions. You curse Tyler. And, for good measure, you curse the moon.
Then something in the air changes. The woods around you become deathly still. No wind rustles the leaves, no cricket makes a chirp, nothing. And then, Tyler yells.
“Guys! Get out! It’s here!” Before a monstrous roar is heard accompanied by Tyler screaming.
The jolt of panic that runs up your spine is enough of a break in what little control you had for the wolf to take over. Your bones crack and shift uncomfortably as arms and legs elongate and become animalistic. Your spine bends, your shoulder blades twist , and long claws replace fingernails. Your nose and mouth jut out from your face as your skull shifts, creating a muzzle. Lastly, your canines sharpen and grow, hanging past your lips.
You shake your head, clearing the fog that clouds your mind, and send your own roar into the night sky. An answer and a warning to the beast lurking within the abandoned mansion.
Your steps are quiet as you stalk through the entrance of the Gates Mansion. Your ears swivel back and forth, listening for any signs of where the beast was located. You lift your head, sniffing the air.
Fear has always left a bad taste in your mouth, like rotten fruit. The smell of it is no better. It coils around your nose like thick acrid smoke as Enid's muffled screams reach your ears.
You find the beast peering through the clawed door of a dumbwaiter. Inside sit a frightened Wednesday and Enid. You growl, the sound vibrating low in your chest, and the creature’s head whips around to look at you. Saliva drips from sharp, jagged teeth. Wide eyes stare back at you as it slowly turns the rest of its large disproportionate body in your direction. You snarl, baring your teeth and the beast roars back. The sound is so loud the house seems to shake. It sniffs the air, and something in the creature changes. It’s small and almost unnoticeable, almost as if it recognizes you. It eyes you curiously, taking a slow deliberate step towards you, lowering its head. As if submitting to you.
Behind the beast, the dumbwaiter suddenly plummets, causing the creature to look away from you for a split second. In that split second you lunge at the beast and knock it off kilter, allowing you to circle it. You ram into it, backing the creature into an old, dust covered bedroom. The beast growls at you, a strange low mix of something between a rumble and a purr, whatever was happening before the dumbwaiter fell, any type of submission is long gone. It swipes at you with long claws, but never actually lands a blow. You slowly manage to back it further into the room until its back bumps into a window.
It looks between you and the window, as if calculating its next move, before kicking out the glass with a hind leg. It watches you for another moment for jumping from the window.
When you look past the broken glass to the ground beneath the window, the beast is nowhere to be seen.
Having not yet shifted back, you follow the scent of blood, finding Tyler hiding in a concrete archway. He’s holding a hand to his chest where blood seeps into his shirt from clawmarks. You whine, flattening your ears and lowering yourself to appear less threatening. Tyler says your name in question before tentatively reaching his hand out to you. You nuzzle against it with your nose, and he pets your head, smiling softly as he chuckles in disbelief. You lay next to him, placing your head in his lap not unlike a large, normal, dog.
The irony is not lost on you, you just can’t find it in yourself to care at the moment.
You lay there until Wednesday and Enid join the two of you. And, shockingly, Xavier. By the time it’s deemed safe enough to get back to Tyler's car and leave, the moon is low enough in the sky that you shift back and climb into the backseat with Tyler and Enid while Xavier gets behind the wheel.
Back at Tyler’s house you make quick work of grabbing the first aid kit you had seen in the bathroom the last time you were here. You instruct Tyler to sit at the dining room table and unbutton his shirt so you could clean his wounds.
Nobody spoke as you tended to Tyler, though Wednesday kept sharing this look with Enid that makes you suspect that they found something, but that someone in the room wasn’t supposed to know that. You’d have to ask them later.
You are just about done adding the last strip of medical tape on one of the deep gashes on Tyler’s chest when his father walks in.
“What the hell happened?” Mr. Galpin says, stopping in the doorway. You and Tyler both shoot to your feet, Tyler taking a step to be just slightly in front of you. “This was you wasn’t it?” He accuses Wednesday.
“Wait, dad, please. I’m fine.” Tyler rushes out, putting an arm out to stop his dad.
“Sheriff, I understand you’re upset. But there’s something you need to see.” Wednesday says. There’s an urgency to her voice and expression that you’ve never seen before. Granted, you’ve never really seen her express any emotion before. And that’s probably why Mr. Galpin resigned to let Wednesday show him whatever it was that she and Enid found.
After dropping the rest of you off at Nevermore and chatting with Principal Weems.
Before you climbed into the back of the sheriff's truck, Tyler pulled you aside and promised to reach out to you, even if it meant breaking any new punishment his dad gave him for the night's events. And for the first time in fourteen days your head was quiet.
Principal Weems talked with the sheriff for a few very long minutes, before coming to stand before you, Enid and Xavier.
“All I will say tonight is that I am extremely disappointed in the three of you.” She says, hands poised on her hips. “We will discuss your punishments in the morning. Now go to your dorms.”
As Enid and Xavier leave the main building, heads hung low, you wait for them to be out of earshot. “Principal Weems?” You call softly, getting the older woman’s attention. “Please don’t tell my mother..”
She clicks her tongue. “I thought higher of you than this…Than sneaking out.” Her words stab right through your heart. “I’ll consider not telling her. But we’ll talk more tomorrow. Goodnight.”
The walk back to your dorm feels longer than normal, and even longer still as you take the stairs with Ms. Thornhill following behind you to make sure you actually go to your room.
You flop onto your bed, not bothering to change into your pajamas, face first into your pillow. You lay there, motionless, until your phone vibrates in your pocket. You flip over and unlock it, smiling when you see it’s a text from Tyler.
My dad didn’t ground me. I think he felt bad because of the Injury.
It’s immediately followed by a second text.
Again, I am really sorry for accidentally ghosting you. Let me make it up to you?
Smirking, you respond with a simple,
@zillahvathek @lavaflow1012
