•:༺✦༻:•
009 : BEFORE YOU SNAP
•:༺✦༻:•
When Augustus Gaunt first met Vance Hill he was just his bestfriends older brother. After Vincent was killed, that all changed.
•:༺✦༻:•
Vincent Hill and Augustus Gaunt had been inseparable since the age of eleven. They met as most kids their age do, in school.
Both boys although seemingly having nothing in common, what with one coming from a noble background and the other from a family with a record, nobody could have predicted just how well the boys would get along.
Turns out social status, or lack thereof, was nothing in the face of pokémon cards and skateboarding for a pair of otherwise disimilar sixth grade boys.
•:༺✦༻:•
When Augustus first met Vincent's older brother he was twelve and Vance was sixteen.
He was cool, as older teenaged boys tended to be. He knew how to do tricks Augustus had never even heard of and he executed them in a way that looked effortless.
Even when Vance Hill crashed back down onto the concrete ramps in their local skatepark, he got back up and tried again until he absolutely nailed it (which he always did, eventually).
By the time Augustus and Vincent were thirteen and Vance seventeen Augustus had made it part of his after school routine to sit on the benches in the skatepark and watch the older of the Hill brothers.
•:༺✦༻:•
When Augustus turned fourteen after Vance was freshly eighteen, his childish admiration was taken advantage of and twisted into something wicked.
•:༺✦༻:•
Vance would come visit August in Juvie. He was, after all, the one to break the news of Vincent's death to him, and whilst Augustus was vulnerable and mourning the passing of his bestfriend Vance carved the hole in his grieving heart into a chasm for him to fit himself into.
Their relationship started two weeks after Vincent's funeral, it turned sour less than a month later but Augustus couldn't bring himself to leave.
Vance had told him about the Untouchables, they had members locked in there with him for much worse then aggravated assault. If Augustus broke up with Vance he would have no one left. His only friend, dead. His only known family, dead.
Vance was his crutch, his only hope, his lifeline. He couldn't let him go.
•:༺✦༻:•
Vance had been there for Augustus when he discovered his abnormal abilities. He was terrified but Vance saw potential, a way to use Augustus' newfound abilities for his own gain. And that was exactly what he did.
With no proper guidance and no trust between himself and his new guardian the secret of Augustus' abilities became a well guarded one amongst the Untouchables inner circle. After he taught himself protection charms and deflection runes the Untouchables became more than just a name, they became legendary.
Stories of a group of invulnerable boys ranging from elementary ages to young adults causing chaos in the name of "Keeping order in New Orleans" began to circulate as far out as Lafayette, Louisiana. When state troopers came out to confront them, well, let's just say that's when they really made a name for themselves.
In a chain of events so unexplainable that they weren't even written into record, ten squadrons of state troopers were reported by eyewitnesses (deemed unreliable) to have come face to face with a little boy before seizing where they were and falling to the ground in a heap of convulsing limbs and pained screams and no one in the area could remember anything after that.
The cctv cameras were checked only to be found wiped of all video surveillance from two pm until three pm. Not one trooper had any recollection of anything that had gone down in that missing hour, in fact, most did not even remember their own names.
•:༺✦༻:•
Ever since that fateful day Vance knew he had to keep Augustus under his thumb.
Augustus was his secret weapon, his trump card, his prized possession. He would never let him go. Not even over his dead body.
•:༺✦༻:•
ONE MOMENT Augustus was pinned up against the wall, feeling the life slowly leave his body and watching the darkness creep in and the next Vance was on the ground.
The younger of the two hadn't moved, he hadn't even been able to speak but suddenly his attacker was on the floor in front of him grabbing at his throat on his knees and struggling to breathe in air.
The older man continued to choke as he looked up at Augustus, almost pleading for a moment before fury crept in. August finally having recovered his breath realized it was him causing Vance his inability to breathe, and he was shocked to discover, he didn't care.
Augustus didn't feel anything at the sight of the man in front of him. The same man who he had loved, feared, and almost been killed by moments ago.
August felt vindicated. Finally this man who had caused him so much pain could understand some of what he put him through, even that familiar rage in the blond's eyes didn't cause him to falter.
He could see now. Augustus understood Vance was never truly a threat to him, a mere human man while Augustus was something else. Something different.
Vance had never been the apex predator, it had been him all along.
•:༺✦༻:•
Still cupping his sore throat in one hand August stood upright from where he had been slumped against the wall before, a new glint in his eyes that hadn't been there before.
"I'm going." He said.
"Try to stop me again and you will pay with your life."
And with those final words of farewell, Augustus turned around and walked out of the office, only releasing his hold on Vance when he had exited the building.
Now he just had to figure out how he was going to get to London.
•:༺✦༻:•
word count: 974
authors note:
honestly i could've stretched this to 1,000 words but i didn't want to drag it out too much. heyyy LMFAOOOOO i know it's been forever but ive apparently been on my fanfiction grind so here's this
like and comment! <3