FIXated

Predators: Apology

There he was, seated on the bench, arms tied behind his back, wrapped in thick ropes. A black strip of duct tape held his mouth shut, breathing heavily through his nose. Despite the sun settling gently on the horizon, beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, neck, and chest from being kept in the same position, drenching his disheveled shirt, with the top buttons undone, displaying the cuts and bruises all over his pale skin.

Hang in there, Raphael. This will take a short while.

As her gaze turned towards the two men standing still behind the camera, a smile curved out from her lips, awaiting their response.

"Sheesh, chat. Thought you would not believe me for a sec.” Mikey spoke up, still addressing the audience during his livestream. “Those who lose the bet, better pay up now.”

“Remember, pay up by scanning this QR code here, or get banned. You made a deal, aight?” Flipper, in a threatening tone, eyes brimming with excitement, looked through the flood of messages in the chat. Usernames had been called at the same time in an announcement. As if on cue, streams of pings popped up on screen as donations poured in, paid upfront as promised.

Flipper nodded in satisfaction as it kept on appearing. “Good, good. Keep it coming.”

Sylvia only watched them, shaking her head in disbelief. These two were almost too preoccupied with their stream as she remained in that spot, shifting her weight to the side. Her eyes wandered once more, watching the nail polish on her fingertips, while waiting for them to finish their silly little interactions online.

“Well… well…Sylvia. You came as expected.” Mikey finally returned his attention towards her as if sensing the boredom and irritation on her face. He beckoned at her. “Why don’t you come a little closer so the chat can see you better?”

Sylvia took a deep breath before responding. “Sure, as you wish.”

She took a few more steps forward as the soles of her shoes crushed the gravel and pebbles littered on the path. Once Mikey held his hand to a stop, she halted as Flipper adjusted the camera once more, perfectly capturing her within the frame.

“That’s better.” Mikey nodded. “You are more compliant than I thought.”

Sylvia rolled her eyes to the side before speaking up. "Lemme guess…it's just the two of you, here then?"

Flipper scoffed. "Hah?! What do you mean? It's always us."

Sylvia tilted her head to the side, her orange locks cascading along her shoulder. Her expression raised a brow as she assumed. "Oh? Thought it would be another surprise."

"Let's cut to the chase." Mikey began, dropping the act as his charming smile disappeared and his eyes squinted. "I'll ask you several questions. All you gotta do is be honest."

"And... What if I don't?"

With a wave of his hand, Mikey gestured towards his man, Flipper, who stepped back, moving towards Raphael, still seated a few inches behind them. His hand was stuffed to the side, fishing deep into his pocket before pulling out a small item resembling a Swiss pocket knife. A wicked smile appeared on his face as the knife flicked open, pointing the blade’s sharpened edge an inch to Raphael's pulsating neck.

Raphael grunted, muffling his desperate defiance, and his body scooted away for safety. However, Flipper pressed on, pinning him against the bench and the blade against his skin in a threat.

"You know what happens.... It's as simple as it seems, right?” Mikey addressed her in confidence with his arms crossed. “Just needed your honesty. Nothing else."

"Fine. Go ahead." Sylvia obliged with a frustrated sigh. Her shoulders dropped to the side, giving in to their request. "Ask all you want."

He cleared his throat before beginning his questions. "Did you or did you not provoke us by using Adrian?"

She raised a brow, snorting in disbelief. "No."

"Don't you own him as a pet?"

"Not at all.” She firmly denied. “He does not belong to me.”

“Bold of you to say,” Mikey remarked. "Then, will you confess to the crimes you have done?"

"Crimes?" Sylvia leaned closer to the camera, bending forward with her hands on her knees, enough to tease the audience behind the camera as her top slid down, revealing her round sets. She tucked her locks behind her ear.

Spoiler

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"What do you think, chat... “

She paused for a second before continuing. “…Am I guilty?"

The unmistakable reaction on Mikey’s face—eyes rolled to the side, his breath huffed— was enough for her to gauge the chat’s situation on the other side.

“Aw, come on, chat. Why y’all arguing?” He was disappointed, as if seeing his chat box filled with messages getting riled up and splitting them into two sides over whether she was guilty or not.

He begged. “Don’t fuckin’ betray me over this bitch.”

She let out a small chuckle, hiding it behind the back of her hand. That was easy.

"You know what…That does not matter." Mikey dismissed the chat, not bothering to read their responses. Then, he beckoned to Flipper once more, who pressed the knife further into Raphael’s neck, leaving a small dent against his skin but not deep enough for a cut.

Mikey’s voice dropped low. "Confess."

Spoiler

[collapse]

"Fine." Sylvia huffed, staring intently into the camera, crossing her arms over her chest. "Where should I start? Hmmm… Provoking…”

“Humiliation?” She tried to recall, rubbing her chin and recounting all the instances. “Coercion? Hm, it’s a lot, to be honest."

He nodded in satisfaction. “Good… keep it coming. Now, what else do you need to say?”

She clicked her tongue. She hated being told what to do, especially from him, but she had to endure just a few more seconds. That was what she needed.

"On behalf of my friends.... Who seriously need to teach their pet a lesson… and to these two men who seemed butthurt being suspended...”

She let out another sigh as if reciting a pledge. “…I… Sylvia… humbly... and sincerely… Apolo-"

Bzzzt!

A soft vibrating hum of the device came out of nowhere and disrupted Sylvia’s speech, prompting her to stop before finishing her apology. The screen glitched and flickered for a second before cutting off mid-stream.

The camera had no signal, leaving the chat on a black screen.

Sylvia blinked innocently, looking at Mikey's confused reaction. His fingers tapped on the screen, trying to check whether the device still functioned.

“Huh? What the fuck is going on?!” Mikey exclaimed. “Did Twatch bug out?”

Messages were still active online as pings came in, with a message and donation attached. But then a massive number of donations in minimum denominations came in, constantly pinging notifications, as a flood of new users with almost the same names appeared like a bunch of spam, sending the same messages waving a ban hammer emoji.

" What do you mean? "Flipper approached closer to him." Seriously man... I heard nothing about the site being on scheduled maintenance or what. "

" Why don't you refresh the app... See if it works?” Sylvia suggested.

They did not hesitate and reloaded the Twatch app. However, once the login screen appeared, they quickly logged in to their account to gain access; a mixture of reactions— confusion and outrage appeared on their faces.

“W-what?! Banned… for several days.” Flipper read the description that popped out on screen. “How did that happen?”

" Fuck no!” Mikey was still in disbelief, denying the reality of what had happened despite seeing the notification firsthand, clenching the strands of his hair. “I swear this is a mistake!”

" Could it be a mass report or something?" Flipper wondered. “…Or a frickin’ hacker?”

Sylvia laughed, unable to suppress it, as she shook her head in disbelief. "Oh my.... How unfortunate. Getting banned midstream?"

“Shut the fuck up!” Flipper roared.

Panic and desperation were etched on their faces, with their hands busy trying to regain access to their account, logging in countless times. That only did nothing but got timed out for multiple logs.

“What the—?! Fuck. fuck.” Mikey got even more frustrated, losing his composure and muttering curses under his breath. “What do you mean our accounts are getting hacked? How could that be?!"

He got himself busy, phone call after phone call, talking to his moderators for assistance, trying to salvage whatever was left that had any importance.

Sylvia only laughed at them in mockery, seeing the desperation in their eyes. “Oh? I wonder why…”

Meanwhile, Flipper shot her an intense glare, his brows furrowed as he accused her. "It's your fucking fault, isn't it? You fucking did this!"

"Me? How could that be... I am standing here doing whatever you want. Now, you're accusing me?" she scoffed. "Unbelievable."

“You— I know you planned this all along!”

Sylvia smiled at Flipper, but that only triggered him. His eyes flashed in rage as he raised his fists in the air, screaming profanity. "You motherfuckin’ bitch! If you don't want to admit to it, then take this!"

“Go on.” Sylvia challenged him, expecting him to come rushing towards her with that fist. Instead of getting closer to her, his feet pivoted, taking a full turn as he burst into a rush, going towards no one else but Raphael, still sitting over there.

It happened too fast. That hit him hard on the abdomen as Raphael recoiled in pain, unable to stay upright.

He coughed and coughed, sputtering clear liquid, leaking through the edges of the tape that sealed him shut.

Flipper had lost his mind, picking a fight over him. His hand gripped the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer to his face. "How did that feel, fucker? That's not fuckin enough, huh?!"

"Go ahead... and do it." Sylvia provoked him. “Feeling a bit tough, yeah?”

His attention turned towards her, but she held up her phone, pointing towards him, recording the scene. "Threatening a man.... Who cannot put up an even fight. Thought you guys had changed for the better...”

Sylvia scoffed, calling them out. “How hypocritical."

His grip loosened, releasing Raphael’s collar from his hands as he dropped onto the bench with a soft thud. He came forward towards her. “So, you want it then? I’ll give you a piece of shit—!”

"Stop! Flipper." Mikey warned him, holding him back on his shoulder before he could take another step forward. “She’s recording us.”

"Dude, I can't hold back anymore. I fuckin hate her guts!"

“Of course, I understand! I hate—"

The phone in his hand buzzed. He gritted his teeth, getting annoyed at the constant ringing that continued the next and after the other. Without a choice, he glanced to check it. In the upper section of the phone screen, a familiar caller’s name flashed.

Yana Hawliet. The vice president of the Student Council.

"What the fuck does she want right now?" he grumbled before taking the call.

Sylvia could only watch them from a distance, staring daggers at them while observing their movements. When Mikey had accepted the phone call, a voice on the other line had spoken loud and clear—enough to be heard even at this position.

"Michael Godfriede and Felipe Dominguez... Get back here this instant! Ditching your suspension? Getting on livestream? Disregarding and disrespecting the council?!”

Her voice roared, far from the calm demeanor and soothing voice that she was always perceived to have. She continued reprimanding them. “Do you want your suspension extended?!”

Mikey bit his lip, heaving a sigh before responding in the smallest voice he could muster. “N-no.”

“Then, come back right now!”

She hung up the call first.

“Looks like both of you are screwed.” Sylvia mocked them. “That’s worse, isn’t it?”

" Flipper... There's nothing we can do." Mikey muttered under his breath. “It’s useless.”

“Fuck! Every goddamn time!” Flipper just yelled in frustration, kicking rocks and pebbles before turning away and stomping his feet on the ground.

Mikey approached her, leaning in closer to her face with a glare. “Sylvia… this is not over, you hear me?”

Sylvia snorted with a grin on her face. "Say what you want. I don't care."

Mikey gritted his teeth, letting out a low grumble, but he did not press on and turned around to leave in unhurried steps, trailing right behind his friend who still shouted profanities on the way. Their figures slowly retreated into the distance, disappearing further beyond the rows of bushes and tall trees.

Sylvia let out a sigh of relief and pocketed her phone back into the sleeves of her shirt. Then, her attention redirected towards Raphael, who was still lying on his side, groaning in pain from that recent punch on the gut.

She approached him in slow, deliberate steps, stopping at the edge of the bench and leaning in closer to have a better look at him.

He looked terrible. She tilted her head to the side and asked. “Raphael, are you alright?”

Just a low grunt and a pained expression. He attempted to get up on his own, pushing himself up, but that only failed him as he stumbled back to his side.

Sylvia could not help but let out a soft chuckle. “Fine. I’ll help you.”

Her hand reached towards the ropes, pulling him up to help him sit upright. He grunted and nodded before leaning against the bench to support himself. Her fingers ran across his cheek, touching the edge of that black strip of tape that had kept him sealed from speaking, carefully ripping it off in one controlled motion. Once that was removed, his lips parted, as his warm breaths huffed and puffed from his mouth. The tension on his shoulders dropped as a sign of relief.

“S-Sylvia…” he muttered breathlessly. “…. T-thanks.”

Sylvia smiled at him in return, her thumb pressed against the edge of his lips, seeing a trace of clear spittle from the corner of his mouth mixed with what appeared to be dried blood that trickled down his chin. She wiped it with a gentle touch, smudging it on the sides.

“Hm? Fake blood?” She was mildly surprised. “You got me convinced for a second.”

His face flustered up after hearing her words. Now that all made sense as her fingers ran through his chest, having a closer inspection of the bruises, wounds, and cuts. It was nothing but dirt and eyeshadow makeup. Then, she grabbed the pocket knife left on the side, too light for a set of tools and blade. It was nothing but a metallic-looking plastic prop.

“Not gonna lie. I’m impressed.” She commended. “Were you part of this all along?”

Her eyes flickered towards him, staring intently into his red irises. As expected, he avoided eye contact. The guilt and shame had already taken over his face.

“Ah… how funny.” She sighed, followed by breathy laughter. “They left you tied up like this right in front of me.”

He did not respond as if his mouth was held shut, but that did not matter to her.

Without a second thought, Sylvia pressed her hands against his chest, as her face leaned in closer to his. He let out a gasp, and his eyes widened as if he had realized how close she had gotten to him. Finally, their eyes met, staring into each other as if in deep connection. He was too stunned to speak as the closeness between them had his cheeks flushed once more.

“You know anything could happen right at this moment…” She whispered as her fingers lifted his chin. “Am I right, Raphael?”