***Trigger warning for panic attacks.***

Start the song. It's Nature Boy (Cover) by AURORA.

The stranger blinked as he stared at Tyler, and Tyler couldn't look away. "Jenna," the stranger whispered, pointing across the tiny room in the cellar. "Who is that?"

Jenna turned her head and met Tyler's eyes. She immediately looked sympathetic to the anxiety he was clearly feeling after watching his girlfriend be fucked by a complete stranger on the floor of the cellar.

The strange boy's eyes suddenly looked hazy as Jenna stood up, pulling her nightgown back down as she approached Tyler. Tyler could just barely smell a whiff of pomegranate, a smell he'd come to both love and hate. His dark eyes followed her warily. Tyler almost stood up from his chair to help the boy on the floor when he suddenly looked pale and sickly like he was about to pass out, but Tyler was too afraid to move.

"Jenna?" The stranger asked anxiously as he tried to get up. He couldn't though. He fell back against the floor, his eyelids droopy and his eyes unfocused. He tried to speak again, but he couldn't get the words out.

Tyler was distracted by Jenna as she blocked his line of vision, offering him a soft smile that made his insides turn to putty. He felt safer with her here. He knew he could trust her. Well, usually he could. Why had she let another boy fuck her though?

"You're safe," she told Tyler gently. "I won't let him hurt you. Gefjon picked him, but he broke the rules."

Tyler looked anxiously at the strange boy about to pass out on the floor, remembering his own experiences with Gefjon. She wasn't to be trifled with. Sometimes, Tyler was convinced she was some sort of omen designed to destroy the lives of vulnerable people. Jenna trusted her though, so Tyler did too.

Jenna smiled warmly, easing Tyler's legs down from where he'd been hugging them to his chest so his feet rested on the floor before climbing into his lap. She held him, letting him bury his face against her chest and draw in a shaky breath that Tyler feared was only the prelude to a complete mental breakdown. The faint scent of pomegranate crept into his lungs though, calming him slightly.

The stranger's eyes were shut when Tyler glanced fearfully at him again. He was falling asleep. Tyler was afraid for him. He wanted to drag the boy out of the cellar, throw him over his shoulder, and run him away to safety before coming back to Jenna. His thoughts were disrupted by Jenna once again as she wiped at the tears he hadn't realized were on his cheeks.

"Don't worry, honey," Jenna soothed gently as she guided his head back to rest safely between her breasts. "You're still my favourite. I didn't replace you. He could never replace you. You're still my favourite. You're the only boy I'll ever love. I promise."

Tyler couldn't help but wrap his arms around her waist and shrink against her. Jenna was the center of his universe. She was his childhood friend, his most trusted companion, his main source of comfort, his girlfriend. He'd loved her long before the scent of pomegranate lured him into her bed, and he loved her now that she no longer used it on him. He was free to choose now, and he chose her again and again with every passing day.

Despite all of the terrible things Tyler had been forced to live through in his life, he always knew that he could count on Jenna and her friends. They trusted him too. That was why they kept him safely tucked away beneath the ground where Gefjon couldn't see him anymore. She'd taken enough from him before the girls had stashed him away in this cellar.

"I promise you, I didn't know he was coming here. Gefjon sent him. He's going to wake up soon though, and I'm afraid he'll be mad about what she's made me do. I don't want him to hurt either of us," Jenna told Tyler quietly, stroking her fingers through his messy hair as she looked at the naked boy unconscious on the floor. When Tyler tilted his head up to look at her, she timidly asked him, "Help me?"

Tyler kissed her softly before shifting her out of his lap. Dressing the unconscious boy was much harder than getting him into the other chair in the cellar. The stranger sagged in his chair, nearly falling out of it.

Thankfully, Jenna brought over some rope from her father's tool shelf. Tyler tied the boy's wrists to the arms of the chair to keep him from falling. He wrapped an additional loop around the boy's chest to help him sit upright.

"That's perfect. Thank you, Ty. I love how strong and supportive you are," Jenna praised him quietly, blushing just as much as he did at the words. "Get some sleep, okay? You seem exhausted. I'll make your bed."

Tyler was too tired to argue or even to politely decline, instead just watching her pull out an old camping cot and set it up beside his armchair. She got blankets and pillows out of the same trunk he fished them out of on a nightly basis. He'd had to give up a few creature comforts in exchange for his safety, but the lack of a real bed or having real food immediately available to him was nothing compared to what Gefjon would have done to him if the girls hadn't been so quick to protect him.

"I would lie with you until you fall asleep, but my dad is home, and I'm already late getting back inside with that fruit my mom wanted. I'll come back in the morning though, okay? Solána is going to bring you breakfast, and since Bea brought you lunch today, Ashley will tomorrow. Is that okay?" Jenna proposed, putting no pressure on Tyler to agree to anything he didn't want to.

He nodded sleepily before climbing into his makeshift bed. A yawn left his lips as Jenna kissed his cheek and then his forehead. She tucked him in gently before pressing a lingering kiss to his lips.

"You'll always be my favourite," Jenna promised him again. "I love you."

He kissed her again before rolling over on the cot, pulling the blankets up over himself better to shield his body from the frigid temperatures within the cellar. His eyelids were already heavy, and he didn't have to ask her to help him fall asleep this time. Having Solána, Bea, and Jenna down here today had tired him out immensely. He was ready to drift off, even if it meant having to see Gefjon from a distance.

"I'm going to leave this lamp on for you, okay? I'll just turn it down a little," Jenna informed Tyler as she turned the knob on the little lantern to make the glow in the room a bit more hazy. "Don't untie him until I come back, okay? I don't want him to freak out and hurt you."

Tyler nodded tiredly once again, but kept his eyes closed. He waited until he heard the cellar doors close and lock before he forced himself to climb out of the warmth of his cot and pad back over to the trunk. He pulled out two more quilts before walking over to the stranger that was still unconscious in his chair. Tyler spread one of the blankets across the stranger's lap, and laid the other across his shoulders, shifting both the blankets and the boy to make sure he was properly protected from the cold that could only be produced by living underground during October in Ohio.

When Tyler was certain that the boy would be warm enough, he went back to his cot and climbed beneath the covers. He kept his tired eyes on the boy across the room.

Was this boy dangerous? Would Jenna really bring a dangerous person into the cellar? Did the other girls know he was here? Would this boy serve the same purpose as Tyler did in the girls' ceaseless quest to please the girl who lived inside of the scarecrow in the middle of town? Tyler didn't know. He didn't have any answers, and that only fuelled his anxiety. He fell asleep still facing the unconscious boy, waking up alone in an open field of corn.

He remained lying in the dirt for a moment, wary of moving and causing any noise. He stood carefully though, trudging as quietly as he could through the corn field. He stopped when he saw Hayley and Gefjon walking through the rows. Hayley met his gaze briefly, but made no move to alert Gefjon of his presence. They both knew she couldn't see him while he was underground, but she'd still take notice if Hayley pointed him out.

"Solána has defied me in the same way that Jenna did," Gefjon told Hayley solemnly, her fingertips brushing against the cornstalks they passed. "Unfortunately, it was Jenna who removed the boy this time. Solána should have done it herself. She will never get over him now."

"Solána slept with Josh?" Hayley asked, looking surprised. "I thought Jenna was the one he was relying on most."

A sick feeling grew in Tyler's stomach as he thought about Jenna letting the other boy in the basement touch her more than just the time Tyler had been there to witness it. Was he really still her favourite? Was he any different from all of the other boys Gefjon led the girls to bewitch?

"Solána was sneaking in through his window at night, feeding him and sleeping naked in his bed. She touched him in that bed as well. Her ability to determine right from wrong in the face of evil is diminishing because of him. Boys are evil, my love. You must remember that," Gefjon insisted.

Hayley nodded, taking Gefjon's free hand. "I know. You don't have to worry about me doing something stupid like that though. Something about me is different from the other girls. I never even feel tempted by the boys. I only feel tempted by...." She trailed off, blushing deeply.

"By Ashley?" Gefjon asked with a small knowing smile.

Tyler carefully moved out of the way when Hayley and Gefjon passed him. Hayley didn't look at him except out of the corner of her eye. She knew she could trust him with this information. It wasn't anything he didn't already know.

"And you," Hayley replied, making Gefjon smile and stop walking.

She turned to face Hayley, her seemingly blind eyes searching Hayley's before she took the girl's face in her hands and kissed her softly. Hayley melted into it, holding onto the front of Gefjon's dress as the kiss deepened. Tyler looked away to give Hayley privacy, knowing full well how many times she'd dreamed of this.

It was Gefjon who broke the kiss, keeping her hands on Hayley's cheeks and stroking them gently with her thumbs as she softly said, "I will always love you, Hayley. I will never leave you or betray you. You are precious to me."

Hayley blushed, her dark almond eyes searching Gefjon's. "I love you too. I want to make you proud."

"You do, my love," Gefjon assured her. "You always do."

Hayley smiled, resting her forehead against Gefjon's. "I want to give you what you want most. Please let me."

Gefjon chuckled. "Perhaps in time, my love. For now, let us walk together. I will keep you company until morning comes."

Hayley smiled, allowing Gefjon to lead her through the cornstalks. Tyler didn't follow though, suddenly being snapped away from the cornfield and back into the cellar.

He blinked his eyes blearily, trying to figure out why he was awake right now if it wasn't morning yet. Then he heard it. The boy was awake, and he was hyperventilating.

"Oh god. Oh god. Oh god," the boy sobbed out as he yanked at the ropes hooking his wrists to the chair.

Despite Jenna's warnings, Tyler couldn't help but shoot off of the cot and hurry over to the boy, untying one of his wrists carefully.

"Where am I?" The boy asked, looking around fearfully.

Tyler just kept untying the knots, looking anxiously up at the boy.

"Wait. Who are you? Why are you down here?" He pressed, letting out a sob.

Tyler freed the boy's other hand before removing the rope that was bound around his chest. The boy made no move to leave the chair, curling up into a ball on it as he continued to hyperventilate. Unsure of what else to do, Tyler lifted him off of the chair and brought him over to the cot, laying him on it and covering him with blankets. He pulled every blanket in the trunk out and spread them across the boy to put pressure on his body.

It took a while for the boy's breathing to regulate slightly and for him to simply break out into tears. Tyler sat on the floor beside him, not touching him or pushing him to be okay before he'd had time to process this.

"Who are you?" The boy asked Tyler again. When Tyler simply shook his head, the boy's eyebrows drew together about his watery hazel eyes. "You can't talk?"

Tyler shook his head, lifting his chin to show the boy his scar. A thick jagged line was drawn horizontally along his throat, clearly not having been cut by a professional. The boy started to hyperventilate again.

"Jenna did that?" He asked in complete terror.

Tyler's eyes widened as he shook his head frantically. No. No. No. Of course not. Jenna would never hurt him. She protected him. She always took care of him. She would never do anything to hurt him even slightly.

"We have to get out of here," the boy sobbed out.

Tyler shook his head, taking a chance and gently sliding his palm along the boy's buzzed hair. "Safe," he mouthed.

The boy whimpered. "How long have you been down here?" He asked.

Tyler held up two fingers.

"Two days?" The boy asked.

Tyler shook his head, pointing up.

"Two weeks?"

Tyler repeated the same action as before.

The boy looked sick all of a sudden. "Two months?" He asked in a small voice.

Tyler nodded, pulling the mound of blankets up higher over the boy. He smiled slightly, letting him know that being down here wasn't something he was being forced to do. The boy drew in a shaky breath.

"You saw the blind bitch too?" He asked, making Tyler breathe out a laugh.

Tyler's laugh used to sound stupid and embarrassing enough to him before he'd gotten his scar, but now the sound was strangled and similar to a gargle. The boy looked frightened by it. Tyler simply nodded, feeling embarrassed that he'd allowed himself to make noise in front of this stranger.

"I want to know your name, but I don't know how you could tell me," the boy whispered. "I'm Josh."

Tyler signed his name, but the boy shook his head.

"I don't know what that means," he admitted regretfully.

Tyler nodded, trying to think of a new plan. He scooted back on the concrete floor, tracing his name into the dirt and dust sitting atop it. Josh lifted his head to watch Tyler's finger spell out T-Y-L-E-R.

"Tyler," Josh whispered, taking note. He looked to Tyler. "Do they hurt you down here?"

Tyler smiled slightly as he shook his head.

The other boy was quiet for a moment. "I can't be down here. I have to take medicine, and I have a service dog, and I'm not going to be able to handle my anxiety down here without those things."

That would definitely be an issue, but maybe Jenna or one of the other girls could figure out a way to help with that. Tyler nodded, keeping that in his mind to tell Jenna in the morning.

"Okay," he mouthed.

Josh nodded, looking around timidly at the rest of the cellar. He drew in a shaky breath before looking to Tyler. "I'm scared," he admitted.

Tyler nodded again, finding Josh's hand under the surplus of blankets and squeezing it gently. He wanted to tell Josh that they were safer down here than up there. He wanted to tell him that Gefjon couldn't see him down here. He wanted to tell him that the girls would do everything in their power to care for him while he was down here. He couldn't speak though.

Instead, Tyler squeezed Josh's hand before releasing it and walking around the cellar. He found a second cot, setting it up so it was pressed against Josh's. He got more pillows out of the trunk before shifting the quilts atop Josh around until they had a makeshift double bed. Tyler climbed into his new side, tangling his fingers with Josh's below the covers.

"Are you going to sleep?" Josh asked fearfully.

Tyler nodded, rubbing Josh's thumb gently with his own. Josh nodded too, shifting closer to Tyler.

"Are you scared?" Josh asked Tyler hesitantly.

Tyler shook his head despite having been told that the boy beside him was potentially dangerous. Josh just seemed afraid to him. The boy who was no longer a stranger shifted closer to Tyler again before closing his eyes. Tyler hesitated before kissing the boy's forehead softly in a silent promise to protect him during the night.

Josh's eyes opened to meet Tyler's briefly. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Tyler nodded, wrapping his arm around Josh instead of holding his hand. His eyelids drifted shut. Before he knew it, he was lying in a cornfield again. The only difference was, this time, Josh was lying beside him.