RP:]] PIRATES OF THE QUEERABBEAN

<b>Title:</b> The Killer Inside [4/5]
<b>Author:</b> <lj>
<b>Fandom:</b> Avenged Sevenfold
<b>Pairing:</b> Telling would give the game away.
<b>Rating:</b> NC-17 [This chapter: violence.]
<b>Summary:</b> Five men, linked together by a musical career suffer very different fates at the hands of a mysterious, vengeful killer.
<b>Disclaimer:</b> If I owned them, I wouldn't be writing this. Actually I probably would... but they'd be sat behind me going "euw".
<b>Notes:</b> I hope you appreciate what I went through to get this chapter done. I wrote the first part and my computer deleted the damn file. So I had a 5 hour time span in which to write it all up again, edit it until I was happy, attempt to make myself presentable for tonight - tough job, eat and still find time to breathe. If I hadn't had <i>Avenged Sevenfold</i> to keep me calm, I would have put a sledgehammer through the screen.
<b>Dedication:</b> To everyone's who reviewed. Some of you are right, some of you are wrong. I'm not saying who or how many. That would give the game away.

<lj>

The Betrayed knows it's late even before he passes the oversized clock in the hallway. He spends a long moment just staring at the large piece, wondering when it was that his relationship became this. That he'd spend his life watching the time tick away while his lover lays waiting upstairs. He'd like to think it was a recent occurence, something he and The Liar could have worked out. Deep down, he knows it's been around for longer than that. Since The Addict. The Liar eases the crushing lonliness and longing for the other man, so long as The Betrayed doesn't allow himself to <i>think</i>.

He tears his eyes from the large clock and pulls his cellphone from his pocket. He brings up the phonebook and scrolls through the numbers. His finger hovers over call as the five letters of his ex-lovers name stare up at him. He doesn't know why he's suddenly so eager to speak to the man one final time. He knows it would only bring him more pain. The once beautiful voice, slurred and destroyed by the things he's throwing at himself. He knows the conversation would break him, knows hearing what The Addict has become would only tear him up even more. He turns his attentions back to the clock and hits the cancel button on the phone harder than is neccessary.

The broken man walks into the kitchen of his home, heading straight for the fridge. He pulls a bottle of imported beer out from the large stock and flips off the cap. He downs half of the drink in one fell swoop and rests the bottle on the side. He's become somewhat of an addict himself these days. He drinks more than is healthy, his once impressive physique diminished greatly because of it. As he continues drinking, The Betrayed allows his mind to drift to happier times and the more <i>extreme workouts</i> he used to have at the hands of his ex-lover. A sad smile drifts across his face and - not for the first time - he regrets leaving the other man. He doesn't allow himself to dwel for too long. He has a new life now. Besides, The Betrayed knows any renewed relationship with The Addict wouldn't last. The fantasies of steamy, shower sex are just that, fantasies. He'd be surprised if The Addict even remember what a shower looked like. It'd be an uphill struggle and the things which tore them apart would still be there.

The Betrayed knows he should just continue his relationship with The Liar. He knows he will just continue his relationship with him, despite the way it's breaking him down. He knows The Liar is cheating on him. He knows the man he's cheating with, he's seen them together, he's heard the younger man call his name as he jerks off. He wishes he had the energy or the drive to care, to confront the man about what he's been doing. He allows the man to hurt him because he's too afraid of being alone. He knows the second he's alone, he'll be back with The Addict, allowing himself to be hurt again. He laughs slightly at the thought. To look at him, no-one would expect him to be such a masochist.

The Betrayed's ears prick up as he hears a noise from upstairs. He finishes his beer and wanders towards the stairs. He calls the name of The Liar and stands looking up the stairs in silence. After a moment, he walks up the stairs, half expecting to find The Liar laids out across the bed wearing nothing but a smile.

He pushes the bedroom door open, a fake smile plastered across his face.

His jaw drops as he sees The Liar laid across the bed, chained down, a red stain covering his tattooed chest. He calls his lovers name once more, slowly approaching the bed. As the full extent of the damage becomes clear, the man turns away. His stomach lurches violently and he vomits in the corner of the room. His heart pounds rapidly as he wipes his mouth. He dares to move back to the body.

"Who the fuck did this to you?" He asks, never expecting an answer.

The Killer moves up behind The Betrayed and presses the damp rag quickly to his mouth.

"That would have been me."

The Betrayed opens his mouth to yell at the intruder but simply finds himself breathing more of the chloroform in. He falls to his knees before slumping forwards onto the bed. The final thoughts which cross his mind are spoken in the voice of The Addict.

<i>Just hold on</i>, he says,<i> we'll be together sooner than you think</i>.

*****


The first thing The Betrayed notices as he wakes up is just how little he's moved. He's been pulled slightly across the floor and is rested against one of the bed posts. He can feel cold metal around his wrists and is pretty certain he's chained up. He turns his head and tries to look up at the bed, wanting to see if The Liar is still there. All he can see from his position is part of a leg.

"Oh, he's still there." The cold, electronic voice of The Killer says.

The Betrayed turns his head back and sees The Killer in front of him, knife in hand.

"Sorry I've not made you more comfortable." He says, kneeling in front of The Betrayed, "You're not the easiest man to move."

The Betrayed stares at him, "What the fuck are you doing?"

"I'd have thought that was obvious, Betrayed." He says, gesturing up to the body on the bed.

"My name is..." The Betrayed snarls only to be cut off.

"Your name doesn't matter to me." The Killer says, "To me, you are simply The Betrayed. A man who's been screwed over by everyone he's truly cared about."

"And how would you know about that?" The Betrayed asks, smirking.

The Killer smiles behind his mask. He can see why The Addict was attracted to him, they're very similar. They face danger with a cocky attitude. Like The Addict, The Betrayed will be easily broken down in the end.

"I've seen you, Betrayed. I've saw the way The Addict chose the drugs over you. I've seen the way The Liar has been sleeping around on you. I've seen The Lover choosing to keep sleeping with your boyfriend, knowing it hurts you." The Killer says.

The Betrayed just glares at him.

"You don't notice me, but I'm always there." The Killer says, "Always watching."

"Mmm." The Betrayed says, "Like a dirty, little voyeur."

"Voyeurism implies some kind of sexual thrill." The Killer replies, "You and your friends have never aroused me."

"You'd be the first." The Betrayed says.

"Didn't stop all four of you from trying though." The Killer says.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" The Betrayed asks.

The Killer laughs, "Don't you remember, Betrayed? Of course, what am I thinking? This mask's hiding my face."

The Killer makes a move to remove the mask.

"I know who you are." The Betrayed replies, "I know exactly who you are."

The Killer brings his hands down, mask still in place, "And how would you know that?"

"Well for a start, only one person I know would be as unoriginal as you." The Betrayed says, "Cherub mask? Large knife? Dressed all in black? You could have at least chosen something a little more unique."

The Killer is fuming. The Betrayed has always done this to him. Always talked down to him. He grips his knife's handle harder. He refuses to show The Betrayed how angry he truly is.

"I always did enjoy the classic horror killers." The Killer says, through gritted teeth.

The Betrayed laughs, "No imagination."

The Killer snaps then. He knows he shouldn't, he knows he should remain calm and in control. If he snaps The Betrayed is winning. Even in death, The Betrayed will have defeated him. He lunges forward, gripping the back of The Betrayed's neck and thrusts the knife deep into his heart.

"I didn't want it to go this way, Betrayed." The Killer hisses, "I'd hoped to be able to tell you in agonising detail what I'd done to the man you're still longing for. How he asked me to kill him, how he was smiling the whole time."