A/N: Thank you to randomthingsbyme for the amazing banner! that is pretty close to how i imagined his mask to look like, only a lot more melted looking. Definetly that creepy ass smile though! 

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Even as Bradley stood in front of us, it didn’t all click into place.

Some of it made sense. He was doing this for his father, our babysitter and neighbour. Was it because of what Alex had said Roger did to him?

But then, if it was about that then it still made no sense. No one knew about what Roger had done until Bradley, formally Melt Face, forced him to tell everyone.

“Bradley?” Archie said in disbelief, blinking a few times to actually make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him.

Bradley smiled “Hello Archie my boy, It’s been a long time hey?”

It had been a long time. I haven’t seen Bradley in years. When Roger died, he was put into a foster home because he had no other family he could go and live with. Well, he did have a couple of Uncles but I think none of them wanted the responsibility of looking after a thirteen year old kid.

We never really kept in contact. We used to be so close when we were younger but bear in mind when he moved away; Archie and I were nine years old. How the hell were we meant to keep in contact with someone who was miles and miles away?

Even Alex was only thirteen, and he had problems of his own so I think keeping contact with the son of his tormentor was the last thing on his mind. I began to wonder if Alex ever felt bitter towards Bradley. Obviously back then, before Bradley turned into a psychotic murderer, Bradley had done nothing wrong. It was his father who made Alex’s life hell, but could he help feeling some sort of resentment towards Bradley?

Hell, did he feel resentment towards Archie and I because we weren't being put through what he was?

It was sad questions to think about, but I think on some level he felt things like that as hard as he tried not to.

Bradley hadn't changed that much. He had blossomed into his looks, his hair was longer than how he had it when he was a kid but other than that and the fact he had shot up to a good six feet in height, he still had the same face of the kid we used to hang about with for all those years.

Which is what made accepting the fact that it was him who had done this so much harder.

“You did all this?” Archie still sounded stunned, I think it was hitting him a lot harder because they were friends. They were best friends growing up.

Bradley cocked his head, shaking his hand “Sort of, had a little help.”

Archie was still shaking his head, not believing what his head and eyes were telling him. I glanced at Alex, and for the first time in what felt like hours he had a reaction to something. He was mirroring Archie’s expression, taking his attention off of the Rubik’s cube finally and looking over at the boy who had played a lot of extra attention to him throughout this whole thing.

He took a couple of steps forward, almost having to look closer to make sure what he was seeing was real. By this point he was standing in front of both me and Archie.

“You did this?” Alex asked “You did this to us?”

Bradley shook his head, his face turning angry “No, I did this to you! All of them…” Bradley gestured towards Archie and I, I guess meaning the others that had hopped into the Harry mobile and driven off to freedom as well “…They were collateral damage. All of the bodies hanging about the school, it was all collateral damage. I wanted you. Just you.”

Alex had no emotion showing on his face. He didn’t seem angry; he didn’t seem puzzled as to why Bradley wanted to do this to him. He looked like he felt nothing. I saw him slip the Rubik's cube into the pocket of his cardigan, his attention clearly on something else now.

“So you killed all these kids because you wanted to get to me?” As Alex spoke, I suddenly realised he did feel something. Judging by the sound of his voice, he felt guilty.

Bradley smirked maliciously, nodding his head slowly “Yep, all of these people’s lives are on you. They are all dead because of you.”

“No you f*cking psycho they’re dead because of you!” Archie screamed, taking a step closer and once again looking like he was about to lunge at Bradley. Alex held his arm out stopping Archie in his tracks. He didn’t look at Archie; he kept his eyes on Bradley as he pushed Archie behind him.

Even Archie looked startled at this movement. It was almost protective, and as I’ve made clear many times Archie was the one who protected Alex, it was rarely the other way around. Alex wasn’t stable enough to protect himself, let alone anyone else.

“Why not just kill me then? Why go through all of this?” Alex questioned, before letting out a laugh “You could have slit my throat at any point during the last week that I’ve been out, so why didn’t you?”

Bradley never broke the eye contact with Alex “Because I didn’t want to just kill you. I wanted you to tell the truth. I wanted everyone to know what a sick, psychotic boy you actually are. Everyone thinks that I'm the crazy one? Compared to you I’m the picture of sanity.”

My brows furrowed in confusion as well as anger “How exactly are you turning this around for him to be the crazy sick one?” I said almost in desperation, not understanding what the hell this boy was playing at. I pointed at Bradley “Your father was the sick bastard in all of this, he was the one who did those disgusting things to a little boy, Alex has done nothing wrong. All he has done is put up for years with the abuse that your fucked up father put him through!”

Bradley stared at me for a few seconds, before turning his deadpan look back to Alex.

“I can see why you went with that story. It really put’s the victim light on you brilliantly. That was a smart move; I don’t think I could have come up with such a twisted bullshit story if I tried. Brilliant build up to cover your tracks if anyone were to find out the truth.”

“You think it’s a story?” Alex asked through gritted teeth.

“I know it’s a story.” Bradley confirmed.

“Why would I make something like that up?” Alex shook his head, not understanding how someone would actually believe a person would lie about something like this.

“You know exactly why.” Bradley stare was so intense on Alex it was almost like they were having a silent conversation. They knew something that the rest of us didn’t.

“What is he talking about man?” Archie’s voice cut through the extreme staring competition the two boys were having. Alex didn’t answer his brother’s question; instead he spoke to Bradley again.

“You are in for a harsh reality check. You and my brother suffer from the same problem.” Alex began to speak, and Archie’s face scrunched clearly not impressed by his own brother comparing him to a psychotic serial killer “You both put your parents on a pedestal so high God himself couldn’t knock them off of it.”

“Two completely different situations, your mother really was getting it stuck to her by her dad.” Bradley gestured his head towards me “The reason my father is on a pedestal is because unlike your cheating, lying parents he was a good man.”

The burst of laughter that escaped Alex’s mouth was so loud and unexpected I think everyone in the room was startled. Kevin and I actually jumped. Miss Vines eyes widened and her head shot back in surprise at his reaction.

“A good man?” Alex repeated through laughter “Jesus clearly one of us saw the Dr Jekyll and the other saw the Mr Hyde side of your father.”

Bradley’s jaw clenched together. He obviously didn’t like the disrespectful way Alex spoke of his dear old dad. Alex however was not fazed by the look on Bradley’s face, as he carried on laughing. The truly disturbing thing about it was I don’t know if he actually found anything funny.

“Everyone needs to reach the stage where they realise their parents are not the amazing people we thought they were as kids. I came upon that realisation a very long time ago, it was hard at first but I dealt with it. At the end of the day, they are still people and people are shitty. They screw you over, they let you down and sometimes…” Alex swallowed hard, and once the next sentence came out of his mouth I realised why it was so hard for him to say out loud “…They shit all over your trust by forcing themselves onto you when you’re five years old.”

I could almost hear Bradley’s teeth gritting together, his fist clenched at his side and his other hand gripping the knife tighter. Not to my surprise, Archie expression was pretty similar. Only his was because he did not want to hear about what his brother went through. What in Archie’s eyes his brother went through without being able to help him.

 “Bullsh*t.” Bradley hissed, the leather of his glove making a noise against the handle of the knife as he gripped tighter “My dad was a good man. He raised me on his own when my mum died, he took care of me and he loved me. He was a good man! He does not deserve you dragging his name through the mud just because you want something to cover your own back!”

I furrowed my brows. Everything Bradley said got me more confused.

Alex didn’t laugh this time; instead the look that was on his face was a startling one all the same. It wasn’t a confused or helpless one like it had been most of the night. It wasn’t a calm and understanding one. It was almost sadistic, like he was looking over at Bradley and internally laughing about what an absolute mug he was for believing his father really was a good man. After all, Alex of all people should know.

“Well lucky you, daddy dearest never touched you while you tried to sleep. Guess even for that sick bastard it was a little too far to do anything to his own flesh and blood.” Alex’s voice was like I had never heard it.  It was hateful and so bitter it was hard to believe it was coming from him. “Even though I would love for you to feel exactly how I have felt every single day for almost fifteen years, I’m glad he didn’t. No one should ever have to go through that. Even you.”

Bradley growled, lifting a hand and gripping the top of his hair as he screamed at Alex.

“Stop lying! Stop making yourself sound like the helpless victim! You are not…” He took a step forward, taking his hand from his hair and lifting the hand that held the knife, pointing it directly at Alex “…you are not, you are NOT a helpless victim! You’re just as bad as me!”

I was scared. I was actually really scared as I watched him. the boy was not stable, that much was obvious but as I watched his outburst I realise he was more of a loose cannon than any of us could ever have guessed. He literally just went full on Joker on our asses.

“Bradley, calm down-“

Kevin’s trembling voice was cut off as Bradley turned around and grabbed him by the throat, pushing him up against the banister of the stairs.

“I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! Don’t you ever

f*cking tell me to calm down! You’re my employee!” Bradley screamed centimetres from Kevin’s face. Kevin turned his head and flinched with every word, the look of pure terror obvious in his face. I knew I shouldn't, but I felt sorry for him “You do as I say, when I say. You got that?” When Kevin didn’t reply, Bradley pulled him away from the banister by his throat before slamming his back onto it again “Do. You. Have. That?!”

Kevin quickly nodded his head, his voice a stutter “Y-yes…”

“Sorry?” Bradley bellowed, and this time Kevin’s voice came out louder.

“Yes I get that!” Kevin finally agreed in a way that was acceptable to Bradley, and after about a minute Bradley finally let go of his throat sharply, taking a step back. Kevin let out a gasp as his hand went to his throat, and his body was noticeably pushing itself up harder against the banister to get as far away from Bradley as possible.

“Good. Now we have established that, we can get back to the point.”

Archie shook his head, a disgusted look on his face as he took in what he just saw “What happened to you man?”

Bradley let out a loud laugh, tilting his head back as he walked forward before looking at Archie.

“Now, I can tell you a sob story. He’s not the only one who can do that.” Bradley pointed at Alex with the knife. He took another step forward, this time pouting his bottom lip with a sarcastic look on his face “When my dad died, I was shipped off to Foster care. I bounced from home to home, getting families that signed up to be a foster parent purely because of the lovely dollar it gave them each month. If I wasn’t living with a crack whore for a foster ‘mother’ I was having the crap beat out of me by my foster 'fathers' when they had one too many to drink. By the time I got sent to foster parents who were remotely decent, I no longer was. I had been so f*cked up that they actually sent me back.” He let out a burst of laughter at the memory. He looked directly at Alex, a smirk in the corner of his mouth before he pouted again “It was horrible, it was all I saw when I looked in the mirror. It was all that defined me.”

Alex swallowed hard as he heard his own words being used to mock him. Those were the things he had said to us earlier when he finally told us about the abuse.

Bradley lips turned up into an evil little smirk, never breaking the eye contact form Alex “See, you’re not the only one who can play the victim.”

“You’re f*cking disgusting do you know that?” Archie growled at Bradley, stepping from behind Alex to stand next to him. “Fair enough you went through some crappy things when your dad died, but that is not his fault. He died, he had a heart attack and he died. What happened before, what your scumbag of a father did to him has nothing to do with how your life ended up. You are crazy Bradley that is the only reason you have done all this. Not because you want the truth to come out, it’s because you are bat shit crazy. I’ve seen Batman villains with more of a stable mind set than you.”

Bradley burst out laughing again, shaking his head “Oh dear God, you clueless bastard. Alex you know what, you’re right he really does put people on a pedestal. You’re sitting up on his like a fucking King.” He stood up straight, folding one hand over the other and letting them rest in front of him. He cocked his head with a smile as he looked at Alex. “Okay, let’s try and see if we can get you off of it shall we?”

Alex stared back, swallowing hard. He didn’t say anything and just waited for what Bradley was going to do or say next. This pretty much summed up our entire Riot this year to be honest. We all waited for what he was going to do next.

“Archie why do you think your brother has not asked me once why I’ve done this?” Bradley asked Archie, his smiling expression however was still directly on Alex.

“What?” Archie asked puzzled. I felt his pain, I had no idea where he was going with this either.

“Why do you think that since I took my mask off, he hasn’t asked me once why I decided to do all of this, or why my attention was based purely on him?” He expanded his question to make it clearer.

“He has asked you, we all have.” Archie replied, the look of confusion not leaving his face.

Bradley shook his head “Nope, he’s asked me why I didn’t just kill him. He hasn’t asked me why this is all about him. I mean apart from the brief conversation about his little excuses, he hasn’t once tried to figure out why I have placed all my attention and devotion to destroying him.” Bradley’s smile slowly got wider before he spoke again “Because he already knows.”

I was more lost than a priest at a red light district. I had no idea what was going on anymore. I didn’t know what Bradley meant, and most of all I didn’t know why Alex wasn’t arguing with him.

“What do you know?” I found myself asking Alex, who didn’t look away from Bradley's smiling smug face.

“Yeah, what do you know Alex?” Bradley repeated with humour. Alex shook his head, pressing his lips together. When Alex didn’t reply straight away, Bradley did the thing that he knew would cause Alex to lose what little composer he had regained. He started humming that song again.

Alex shut his eyes, breathing through his nose at an attempt not to let it break him like before. Bradley’s humming got louder.

“Alex ignore him, look at me.” Archie grabbed his brother’s forearm and turned him to face him. Alex however did not open his eyes, he just stood there with his face down still shaking his head.

“Stop it.” Alex muttered.

“If you want him to tell us then shut the hell up Bradley!” I screamed at him, and the smile never left his lips. He stopped humming briefly.

“I’m doing this so he opens up. The truth always comes out easie for those who aren't as stable.” Bradley chuckled, before he began to hum the tune again “Moon river…”

Alex’s head was furiously shaking, his hands going to his ears to try and block it out. Of course, Bradley’s voice got louder.

“I couldn’t help him. I didn’t have it in me…” Alex muttered to himself. Archie grabbed his arms to try and restrain him “…He asked for help and I couldn’t help then. I wouldn’t now. I couldn’t do it!”

“Alex, what are you talking about? Look at me man.” Archie tried to pry his hands away from his ears but Alex refused to let him. The entire time this exchange was happening, Bradley was still in the background singing.

“Two drifters, off to see the world…”

“I COULDN'T DO IT!” Alex screamed, his fingers gripping his hair and almost tearing it out “He asked me to help and I couldn’t!”

My mouth fell open as I realised where I had heard those words before. Back when we found him in the medical room, when Mr Cook had been taken right in front of him. We thought he had been talking about Mr Cook asking him for help, but as I watched Alex having this breakdown now, I realised I don’t think that was entirely accurate.

When Mr Cook was taken, Alex saw the killer. He was obviously wearing a mask, but he was screaming after that it was him. At the time, I had no idea what he meant by that. Now however, it fell into place.

Bradley was the one who asked for Alex’s help. Bradley tried to get him to give a hand and push Alex completely over the edge. I guess he thought trying to recruit the one who’s not entirely mentally stable was the best move, plus it was exactly the push Alex needed for his meltdown to begin.

But he had said he couldn’t help him then, and he couldn’t now? What did he mean by then?

“Alex please for the love of God, look at me!” Archie yelled, the look of pure desperation on his face actually breaking my heart as he watched Alex. He let go of Alex’s arms, giving up on trying to snap him back to reality.

“Wherever you’re going, I’m going your way…” Bradley's constant torment continued. He smiled as he watched Alex’s reaction, happy with his work

Alex still gripped onto the side of his hair as he leaned forward and let out this blood curling scream. A gasp escaped my mouth before I covered it with my hand. I looked at Archie, and I’ve never seen him look so lost. His hands were at the back of his head as he watched Alex, shaking his head to himself as he didn’t know what do to.

“WHY SHOULD I HAVE HELPED HIM!” Alex’s screaming continued, only this time his eyes were open and he was yelling in Bradley’s direction.

Bradley didn’t flinch “Helped who?”

“YOU KNOW WHO! Why should I have helped that piece of shit after what he did to me?” Alex screamed back.

Again, Bradley watched Alex intently, the smile fading from his lips as he delivered his last question.

“What did you do though Alex?” His voice was cold, his face like stone.

Alex’s eyes scrunched together as tears fell from them. He shook his head, letting a choked sob escape from his mouth as he realised no amount of trying to shake this away was going to work.

I watched as his hands fell from his head, and he didn’t scream this time. His shoulders began shaking as he let the sobs escape from his mouth before he choked out the answer that Bradley had been after since this whole thing began.

“I killed him.”

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