Installation 8: The Reasons of Trust and Mistrust

Why hello there! I didn't see you at first. How are you today? Good, good. Me? Oh, I've been better. I mean, I am talking to myself right now. If that doesn't tell you how my day has gone, I don't know what will. Moving forward, it's the information that you've all been waiting for: here's the backstory between Preston and Kenny, Mitch and Rob, and Lachlan and Vik. And yes, it will be in that order. That way, it builds up in interest as the installation goes on. Also, after this, I might start going more into all their backstories, like for each character. Would you all like that? What am I doing, you can't answer me. We'll just see on my mood.

Preston and Kenny. Gosh, this story goes far, far back. It must have been shortly after they created Preston, seeing as Kenny was very young. Brigitte's book estimates he was around 6, although his exact age isn't known. That was apparently in his book, but his book is gone now. I still wonder where that went. Sorry, side-tracked. Preston and Kenny's first meeting was definitely not the happiest. The young Kenny was abnormally wobbly on his feet, and he had run away from home. It was raining, and the child was shivering from the cold. Not knowing what dangers such an action would bring, he began towards the closest heat source he could find. Kenny found himself in a dark cave, the only source of light and heat being right around the corner. Desperate for some comfort, he wildly turned the corner and felt his body being shoved away. Right where his feet were a moment before was lava, a large pool of it glimmering with light. The child nearly cried, especially when a chunk of the lava rose from where his feet were. It was oddly shaped like a human, having a black frown permanently etched onto its face. Kenny did cry, however, when the lump leaned towards him. He sobbed out, begs and pleas not to hurt him filling the cave. The lump, however, began shaking its head-shaped portion rapidly.

"No hurt."

Those had been the hybrid's first words, and they were nearly drowned out by the wailing boy. However, Kenny's small ears still perceived the noises and tried to quiet his gasping sobs. When he could finally controlling his breathing, he begged for the monster before him to promise not to hurt him. Not knowing what that word meant- he hadn't heard the word before- Preston tilted his head and tried his best to ask what it meant. Nevertheless, even with his limited vocabulary, the two developed a friendship for the history books. Kenny spent most of that night teaching Preston new words, words he hadn't heard of before. And Preston absorbed everything he said. When Kenny eventually talked himself to sleep, Preston was careful to move his new friend (one of the words Kenny taught him) away from the lava pit. Preston fell asleep amidst the heat, being awoken in the morning by rapid talking. He quickly hid himself but watched, watching as two humans worriedly looked over Kenny. He awoke from the commotion, excitement in his eyes as he saw the two people. He called them strange names, Mom and Dad, and then babbled on about his new lava friend. Deciding the young boy was simply delusional from spending a night out in the cold, they wrapped him in blankets and carried him away. Kenny made sure to call out one thing before they exited, a promise to return and teach him more English. And Kenny kept that promise. He would come over to teach his new friend tons of words. Preston went from maybe a 20 word vocabulary to hundreds of words, ranging from nouns to verbs to adjectives. Kenny also began to teach him about human life. Preston learned about televisions and video games. He never went to visit Kenny's home, despite his interest and Kenny's offers. He didn't feel safe when he left his lava patch for too long. However, the two grew a bond that they kept through Preston's time in high school.

Now, we move on to Mitch and Rob. Their story is quite interesting, to say the least. Let me begin with this question: would you believe me if I said they were once dating? It seems far-fetched, yes, but it is true. Rosie's book speaks vividly of what they once were. I am only going to give you a general idea of what once was and how it came crashing down.

Mitch was always the cool kid. Back before the bullying and the gun and all else horrible, he was the pretty popular boy. He was the heartthrob of the school (Lachlan had been a little more dorky at the time) and that meant he had a reputation to live up to. He tried so hard to do so, but someone stopped him. That someone being the very Rob we've spoken of. And it wasn't something where Rob had spilled a secret of his or started a rumor, that might have gone over better. No, Rob made a mistake worse than that. He stole Mitch's heart.

Mitch had fallen hard for the other boy, something that was not accepted at that time. Plus, Mitch was too pretty to be wasted on a guy. So, the two kept it down low. Rob liked Mitch back, and they began something like dating. They spent nights over at each other's houses and sometimes went out to dinner together. Whenever they did anything public, they would bring Rosie along. That way Mitch could use the excuse that he was only playing wingman for Rob and Rosie. Rosie hadn't ever minded, she figured they were both safer if no one from school knew about their budding romance. But, as per many young relationships, they became nearly dependent upon each other. It took so much self-control to not kiss the other in the halls or hold hands while walking. That ended up being the birth of their destruction. Because, as I'm sure you can guess, one of them fell victim to that desperation for contact. It was Rob who made the mistake; it was Rob who still paid the price, more than a year after it all happened.

It wasn't like it was all that wrong. It was just a quick peck on the lips. Rob only wanted some affection from his boyfriend, he'd had a bad day. But that little peck led to Mitch's meltdown. He pushed Rob away, scolding him and panicking over what he had done. Rob asked what was so wrong, no one had seen. But someone had, someone Rob hadn't noticed in his quick glance-over of the area. One of the other popular kids. They were quick to walk over, asking what that kiss had meant. Mitch automatically covered for himself, claiming he had no idea and he had only kissed him. He said he had no idea why Rob would ever kiss him, it's not like he was gay. Rob's eyes became misty, and he just looked down and stepped away. The other boy suggested Mitch teach that monster a lesson, and Mitch did exactly that. The worst part of the whole situation was Mitch never even seemed apologetic. Mitch just beat him with no second-thought, and he continued to beat him. Every moment he could, his fist was flying towards Rob. It was then that Mitch began bringing the gun to school, threatening anyone and everyone. The gorgeous boy crashed to a lowly delinquent with an insatiable hatred for the boy he once loved. He pretended as if they were never anything more than friends, claiming that he had only ever been Rob's wingman to try to hook him up with Rosie. He swore he had no idea that Rob was gay. Slurs and curses filled his vocabulary now and the old Mitch was consumed by his own lie.

Oh no, it seems I've run out of time! Too bad, I guess we'll have to save Lachlan and Vik's back story for another time. Oh darn. I actually still have a couple minutes but their story is definitely one I don't want to rush. It's a juicy one. Alright, I gotta pack up now. See ya next time, Peace out!