Make Me
Chapter THIRTY-TWO

Jude's POV:

They have waited a week or so before making their next move, which gave him enough time to settle and plan everything ahead.

For their next target, they were forced to go back to Seth's old middle school, which would've been all fine and dandy for Jude, but he could tell the boy wasn't ready, despite him stating he was. But when did Seth ever confess, his emotional vulnerability? Never.

Since it was a waste to try and stop him, Jude found a hotel and obliged with his impatient match, trying to be there for him as much as it was possible. His nightmares had returned, worse, and without Lucifer this time, though the boy wasn't willing to speak of what he had seen.

After Jude found him crying one night, Seth threw a vase at him, and two books, while hysterically shouting at him to leave, so he decided that he'll leave the matter alone for now, despite having a hard time enduring that his lover had to suffer alone, because of his damn stupid pride. He also noticed small changes in Seth's demeanour, but mostly minor things. He was more protective and easier to anger, more on edge to put it that way.

They rented a car and drove down to Seth's hometown, and as time passed by, it became clearer and clearer for the demon, what kind of life the boy led before going to college. The colours of the houses slowly all faded to a flat, boring grey, and the smaller and smaller gardens began resembling a landfill much more, than an actual front-lawn.

And these were the more put-together houses.

The boy was silent the entire way there, fidgeting with his cane ever so often while he sat in the car, staring blankly at the by-passing landscapes, but Jude noticed the small glances he got from his match.

Seth was obviously eager and worried to see his reaction to his hometown, and it made him wonder, what did he think will happen?

There was nothing here to be ashamed of, but Jude didn't play to say that out loud, at least not like that, especially because he wasn't sure he'd be right. After all, he wasn't ashamed of most anything, not murder, or anything else that he was supposed to be guilty for, so maybe he is not the right one to decide this.

They arrived at the not luxurious by any means, but decent hotel, and carried their stuff up, settling in.

"I've never been in here" the boy broke the silence, when they entered the average room, with a queen-sized bed and a few cabinets here and there to fake comfort.

Jude watched carefully as the other paced around, borderline admiring his soon-to-be-pet. Those forever-messy brown locks, and soft pale skin... Seth had a look that always suggested that he was ill, but he somehow made it attractive, and it was well beyond Jude to understand how. His figure somewhere between thin and athletic, yet his shirt always outlined the muscles he had deliciously. Delicacy in his face, cut-throat madness in his eyes, a sharp contrast that made him more beautiful, and he could feel the demon side of him growl with impatient hunger when thinking about all the ways he'll make Seth his, and his only. He knew all the wrongs the boy did and all the terrible things he wanted to do, and he wanted to own it all and help him during every sin he plans to commit. All his twistedness, and all his chaos.

It was evident, nothing else would satisfy him, anyhow.

"It seems a little silly to rent a room in your own hometown, I suppose that's why" he retorted after all, so Seth wouldn't turn around and catch his darkening gaze that he soon began controlling, so it didn't resemble all the urges that ate him from the inside.

"You might be right... I'll change and we can go to the school, just to check the environment."

"Won't it be weird for two grown men to just walk into a middle-school?" the demon questioned half-heartedly because he wasn't worried about the matter. There are always other solutions, but he was interested in what had Seth made up, especially after seeing that slowly a small smirk plastered on the other's face.

"I have connections"

"Connections" he repeated, with a small, mocking smile, and Seth nodded to ensure him.

"I was the nurse's favourite... or well, the only kid who went down enough for her to remember" he announced, straightening up with a childish grin "I hope Penny still works there because if not, I don't have any other plan... so you'll have to pretend you are the father of one of the kids"

Jude just furrowed his brows lightly, not very surprised that Seth was a troublemaker as a child, but a little lost in his thoughts... Penny... a nurse named Penny... Something in the back of his mind begged to be remembered, but he just couldn't quite make it out, so he shook the thought away, and nodded in agreement. "Let's go then."

***

It was rare that he had such a chance to peek into Seth's past so... authentically. He'd never read him. He wanted to know these things because Seth decided to show him but given that he was a very closed-up person, it wasn't the easiest task to get the boy to tell him about these sorts of things.

Watching as the boy passed through the neighbourhood, knowing it like an old song he used to listen to, left him feeling a sort of bittersweet warmth.

It was evident, that everything around Seth had a huge impact on him emotionally, judging from the gloomy expression he wore, but he kept himself together quite well.

They didn't enter on the front gates of the school, rather they went around, and stopped a small, white door at the very back of the building.

Seth hesitated for a moment, but then knocked hiding the unsureness from his movements, or at least the boy must've thought he did.

They waited there for a few seconds in silence, but soon enough the small white backdoor opened before them, and a, roughly 40 years old, women revealed herself to them, standing in a white lab-coat, and small glasses.

Jude was so shocked; he could not even catch a glimpse of his smiling match. He knew this woman... He had seen her before, he was sure, but he just couldn't recall where. Penny. Penny. Penny.

He had heard this name before too... like a vivid dream, he remembered something that was well lost in his mind until' now, but just couldn't put two and two together.

"How can I help you?" the women asked a tad unsure, but polite nonetheless, as her eyes flickered between Seth and Jude.

"I have a few drawings to share" the boy flashed a charming, childish smile, which was enough for Jude to suddenly replace him incredibly adorable, but he tried not to show it too much, given they had company. Penny's face slowly changed from confused, to shocked, to happy, and she stepped ahead and hugged the boy tightly, tears of joy already sparkling in her eyes.

"Seth! I cannot believe it's really you! Such a fine young man you became!" she breathed, astonished while cupping the boy's face with her palms, obviously making Seth uncomfortable, but Jude didn't plan to rescue him, for he was overly amused with the situation. The women acted rather motherly towards him, and that was such a foreign sight for the demon that he wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

"You are just acting like a grandma now!" Seth chuckled, backing away ever so slightly. Only then, did Penny's attention once again focus on Jude, sending a curious look towards him.

"And the gentleman is...?" she questioned softly, and before Seth could've answered, Jude let a confident smirk spread across his face, and stepped closer hooking his hand around Seth's waist casually.

"His boyfriend, Jude, I'm so glad to meet you, Seth told me a lot about you" he explained, suppressing his sinister grin as he heard his match choke on air, and tense under his fingers, his face becoming all flustered. Penny looked at them with a little bit of shock for a while, before returning the cheeky smirk, and shaking her head with fake disapproval.

"Oh, how sweet. Seth Darling, you should've introduced him yourself!" her tender scolding seemed to relax the boy, despite Jude not letting go of him, and not even planning to. Now he had a great excuse to hold Seth's hand the entire time they were here and annoy him with small couple-things, like calling him honey and being overly affectionate... He knew that kindness and love were so alien to Seth, that he usually had a brain-freeze whenever Jude just gave him a more adoring look, and as tragic as that was, it urged him to do it more often.

"How come you've returned?" Penny asked, leading both inside the small, but way too clean and white room.

Jude felt unnerved, smelling all the chemicals, and seeing all this unnecessary, almost glowing white, but kept his expression reserved not wanting to be rude. He had no problem with Penny after all, but this... this place was uncomfortable, to say the least.

"I just wanted to show Jude around in my hometown and couldn't help but drop in here" he heard Seth lying smoothly, sitting own in the bed as if he owned the place.

"What happened with your leg dear? Don't tell me you still get in fights?" Penny's eyes were now drawn to the cane with the silver handle, examining the piece for a few seconds. Seth smiled gently, which was an odd sight on the boy, but maybe just for Jude.

"Dancing accident. I'll be fine, the cane is mostly for the athletics."

"Oh, I see... And tell me, dear, have you gone ho-"

"No" Seth's sharp voice made Jude glance towards him, but he didn't seem to be angry, just a little tense. Penny's expression dropped ever so slightly, and she offered a sad smile, before turning away and looking for something to give the guests, which wasn't easy in the given room.

"You still are the same, aren't you? It's insane how time passes by."

"People don't change" Seth agreed nonchalantly.

Jude noticed that Seth sunk deeper into his thoughts, so he decided to come and save the day, taking on the conversation with Penny.

He paced around the room, observing his surroundings, and the child-drawings that were put up on the walls as decorations. The paper seemed old, some even crumpled.

"Are these Seth's?" he prompted, leading his eyes through the amateur, but talented sketches for a child. Some were flowers, some the other children, but most objects were things most people wouldn't think to draw: Laid down pencils, fallen leaves, sharpeners, and chalks, probably whatever the boy could look at for enough time during classes.

A tender, warm feeling swept across Jude, watching the creations of Seth... He felt so close to him here, closer than the boy had ever let him before... He didn't fancy children all that much, but he wondered what it would be like to meet Seth when he was still very young... Probably not very different from now, maybe a little more innocent.

"Oh yes... He used to gift me most of his drawings." Penny's voice echoed behind him, and he smiled but didn't turn away from the wall, covered with the sketches.

Just before he would've led his gaze back to his companions, suddenly something stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Who is that?" he questioned a little taken-aback, cautiously reaching out and touching the paper, first of many, that contained a picture of... him.

His face wasn't clear, but he could make some of his more signature clothes out. His dark coat, on some drawings his king-blue suit that he used to wear a lot in hell, and even a dark-red scarf he owned.

"Well, he used to have a--"

"Penny! That is embarrassing!" Seth cut in a little whiney, but the women just sent her an adoring smile, before turning her attention to the astonishing demon again.

"He used to have an imaginary friend of some sort. He dreamed with him and told me things that he saw. For a while, he mainly drew him... A little dark, but that's when he really began to explore art, so I didn't mind"

A thousand thoughts ran through his head, though not much expressed on his face. He could finally remember, where had he seen the woman before. He had been in this room.

In a dream... Those strange dreams... it was such a long time ago, he had a hard time recalling them, but now that he was reminded, they became vivid and clear.

The boy... That small boy was Seth then? Why did they dream about each other almost 10 years ago?

He didn't know what to think of this newly found revolution but didn't want to confuse the other two, so he just nodded a few, and glanced back above his shoulders, to catch Seth's eyes.

"I imagine you were a brat back then too" he smirked, and the boy returned the favour, sticking his nose up in the air.

"I was an angel, wasn't I Penny?"

"Well, Lucifer is an angel too dear, so I guess so you were" Penny chuckled, and the two men shared a look, hiding their inner joke from the third person.

A small bit of silence settled for a while, and after that, they just had a pleasant conversation, also asking for permission to go through the school, since the lessons were mostly over by now, and Penny happily obliged, but she had to stay behind, finishing up some work she had.

Jude didn't mind, that only the two of them went, after all the conversation could be more intimate that way, but still, he was a little sorry they already parted way from Penny. He felt some sort of gratefulness towards the woman, knowing she took care of Seth when he didn't have the chance yet, and this earned his respect, to say the least.

As they walked out into the school hallway, he could see Seth trying to take in the experience of coming back, so he didn't disturb him for a good minute. He wanted to look around anyway. The walls were covered with all the trophies and certificates of math competitions and science projects, which he didn't pay much mind to, until' he noticed a name, and a pattern.

"This Anthony Wilson really went for it. What the hell... who likes math this much?" he spoke his mind, stepping closer to all the winnings of this one single student. He wasn't currently in the school for sure, all the dates gone back for almost 10 years, sometimes even more.

"Yeah, fucking impressive" Seth's change of attitude didn't go unnoticed, so he glanced at his match, seeing that the bitter, nonchalant tone did hide something more than he had shown.

"Whoa there, why so grumpy? You knew him?"

"My older brother" the reply suddenly made Jude wish he had never spoken up at all... I guess he accidentally kicked a soft spot. Scanning the boy's face, he wanted to ask what exactly was going on between the two, especially because Seth had never told him, he had a brother but decided against it after all.

"Don't make this expression, it's alright. You can be impressed by him. Everyone always is" the boy shrugged, turning away and continuing his way on the hallway.

Jude sighed a little, glancing back at the trophies, still not fascinated or curious about them, but he at least began to understand something about Seth, because for once, they weren't so different.

Once a family picks a favourite brother, there is only place for the troublesome one, and Jude knew that more than anyone, but found it ironic that Seth and he encountered each other like this, and now the whole world is pissing their pants that they are going to do something bad. Neither of them really did anything to prove that they were worse than the rest of the family, yet they ended up belonging to hell.

Jude never gave it much thought... he didn't like to recall the painful memories of his brother's betrayal, or the agony that it is to have your wings cut off and fall without knowing how you are going to land. That's the last time he felt that bone-crushing fear, and sadness, and somehow by the time he touched the ground, trembling with pain, he didn't feel... anything anymore. Maybe he would've never experienced any strong emotions if not for...

...Seth.

"Dear" he called out softly, and as he anticipated, the boy stopped, and glanced back at him, trying to hide how much he urged his attention. He made his way to him, walking slowly but steadily, stopping only when he was perfectly behind Seth.

He gently reached his arms around the boy and placed one hand on his torso, and the other on his face, covering his eyes.

"These are just paper..." he whispered in his ears, glancing to his side, as he let his power slowly burn up each certificate on the wall, their small noises of destruction, music to his ear.

He slipped his hand away from Seth's eyes, to give his sight back, and the boy quickly glanced in the direction of the now almost empty wall, astonished and taken aback.

"People could've seen you doing this!" he blurted out, too flustered to even shout at Jude the way he usually does when he can't deal with his emotions, and that entertained the demon more than anything.

"Or this" Jude suggested, spinning the boy around and pushing him up against the wall, lighting a rather passionate or maybe even violent kiss between them. Seth struggled against him for a few seconds, trying to mumble out words about people and kids being around here, which, first, Jude knew, second, didn't care about especially because they haven't met one soul so far.

"S-stop" Seth managed to breathe out a decline that only sounded like an invitation and earned a smirk from the other.

"No. You obviously aren't aware how impressed I am with you... I'm showing affection until' you accept it" he informed him, barely letting him have a break between kisses, mainly not to let him make a lot of sounds, for they were in an echoey hallway. Their tongues entwined, and Jude's hands instinctively pinned his match to the wall, barely resisting the urge to undress and have him right here and now.

He only leaned away, letting Seth catch his breath when he felt the boy stopping his struggles and finally submitting to his obviously overbearing strength.

Seth's Dizzy gaze found Jude's, trying to look angry, but failing... There was a certain, and rare shining in his orbs, accompanied by a soft, almost unnoticeable smile that reached his eyes, and Jude decided to take this expression as an accepting... it was good enough for now... He had to learn slowly. For long seconds, they breathed the same air, so close to each other, yet perfectly comfortable. Before having a match, Jude could never imagine what it would be like... And even if he tried, he probably wouldn't have even come close to the reality of it all... Even just leaning close ignited the already urgent need for him to be as close to the other as possible, and to have him, and protect him in any way, shape or form. His lips trembled open with a confession wanting to escape his heart.

"I lo-" he bit his tongue, not letting himself finish what he almost told the other in the heat of the moment. The atmosphere and the small, silent stare-down seemed like a perfect time to tell him finally, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Seth would most likely not believe him, or just simply not return his feelings. He didn't have to know yet.

"What?" Seth asked, tilting his head to the side like a curious puppy, but Jude shook he head with a secretive, but tired smile.

"I'd love to get something to eat... I'm sure you know a few okay restaurants around?"