Talking It Out

Who: Peyton and Kavin
When: Shortly after 3
Where: Outside the hospital

Kavin set the alarm on his phone to vibrate just before he needed to be at the hospital to pick up Peyton. Nate was still conked out when he woke up and he wasn't about to make the kid get up. He hadn't been getting much sleep and he knew that. Far be it for him to wake the boy up now. So he left a note on his pillow letting him know that he went to get Peyton and that he'd be back soon, then drove off to the hospital.

He got there right on time and parked out in front, turning the car off and waiting for her to emerge from the building. The entire way over he kept thinking he was seeing things. Little flashes. Sparks. Flickers of something or someone out of the corner of his eye. He leaned back now against the seat and shook his head. "Please God don't let something else fucked up happen. We just had damn werewolves. And I've got drama enough for the whole town. Don't let there be ghosts too."

Peyton caught sight of Kavin's car from where she was inside waiting, and she thumbed a quick text to Tyler and her dad letting her know where she would be. Both of them tended to worry more about those kinds of things, after what had happened in the hospital. She grabbed her bag and slipped it over her shoulder before walking out into the chilly air to his car. It actually felt pretty good, given her entire body felt flushed more often than not lately. Opening the passenger side door, she slipped into the seat and set her bag down between her legs. "Hey," she greeted with a small smile. "Thanks for picking me up. I'm not too big a fan of walking in the winter. Fall. Whatever it is."

He smiled at her when she climbed in the car and nodded. "No problem." he told her, brushing a hand through his hair and pushing it away from his forehead. He didn't start the car up just yet, it was still warm inside and he figured maybe they could talk for a minute. "You okay?" he asked her. "I mean, really?" Her texts hadn't made her sound okay, not in the slightest. He knew she was taking Chrissy's death hard, maybe harder than she thought she should given they weren't exactly the best of friends. But she had seen the girls mangled body. Kavin figured that could get to anyone. It got to him.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, leaning back against the seat and staring out the windshield. She hadn't slept very well since that night, had sworn she'd seen things - which apparently she had. To say she lost her appetite was an understatement. "Maybe. I feel sort of stupid about bringing it up again," she admitted with a brief glance in his direction. "I mean, I wasn't friends with her. I didn't really care for her all that much. But I've never... seen that before. I've never seen a werewolf before either." But she had, when one had jumped out and attacked Kavin while she stood there like a useless idiot.

He nodded. "I know what you mean." he admitted with a brief little sigh. "I hated her. Hated her with a passion. Couldn't stand her or the way she treated people and then now... as much as I despised her... I feel guilty. Like I should have gotten there sooner or did something more or something and maybe she'd still be here. Fucking hell." he muttered. Kavin leaned back against the seat of his car and shrugged. "So yeah, you're not alone. I get it."

"That wasn't the first time you've ever seen a dead body, was it?" He had seemed calm, and had known what to do where Peyton had just panicked. It was hard seeing the body of someone you knew, but when you saw them all the time - or even just more than once - then maybe it dulled some of the shock and disgust that came along with it.

He shook his head. "No." he told her. "It's not. It's the first time I've seen a body of someone I've known as long as I've known Chrissy though. First time a dead body has made me wanna heave."

And she had heaved. Maybe she would have felt better about that part if Kavin had been puking too. "I guess... the thing is," she began, shifting in her seat as she tried to think of the best way to explain what was happening inside of her head. "I feel completely useless to people. Like, I don't want to be some damsel in distress in this town. What happened to Chrissy, I doubt I could have stopped, you know? But... when we were in the hospital? You knew what you were doing, and you were armed, but even when that werewolf jumped out at you and knocked you down, I just stood there." Peyton paused, self disgust flashing briefly across her face. "I just stood there ans shrieked like a fricking baby and you could have died."

"Peyton..." he said, eyes flickering up to look at her. "It was a werewolf. There was nothing anyone could have done unless they knew what they were dealing with. I didn't expect you to just jump out and save me, you shouldn't have had to. You shouldn't have had to see that in the first place. And you're not a damsel in distress either. You got me to take you to the hospital when I didn't want to. You're a stubborn little thing ya know that? Definitely not a damsel in distress." He didn't like that she felt so... guilty maybe? About him. She felt bad because she hadn't helped him. "Not everyone is equipped to deal with that kinda shit Peyton. I wouldn't be if I hadn't like... had it plastered in my brain since I was sixteen. And I still fuck up. It got me down. Scratched fuck from me. It's not... you're not useless." he finally settled for.

"But it's not just werewolves. It's vampires, and demons and shadows... I have to hide inside every single time this stuff happens. I know people are out there helping. You were. It doesn't feel right to me to be locked away in my bedroom, hiding under the blankets." Peyton released a breath and turned in the seat to look at him. "I want to know that if I leave my house the next time something bad happens, I'll be able to take care of myself. Or help someone else. I want to be able to have that chance. I don't want to have to stand there again and watch someone get hurt. I mean, you could have died, Kavin. Just like Chrissy. If you hadn't had a knife... and it would have been my fault." Yes, maybe she was feeling a little guilty over what had happened to Kavin. He was alive, sure, but ever since then, Peyton's mind had been on a rollercoaster of morbid 'what if's'.

"Peyton..." he began again, carefully. "You're a normal teenage girl, you're supposed hide when crazy shit happens. You're not supposed to have to be a vigilante or something, okay? Hiding doesn't make you weak. Makes you fucking smart. You know you don't know how to deal with some shit, so you do what you know how to do. Hide and make sure you don't get killed. I think that's a little better than running the risk of dying. Even if you did know what to do." He sighed and pushed his hair from his face again. "I'm fine. Okay? And you did help. If I wasn't trying to make sure you didn't get hurt, maybe I wouldn't have been able to kill the werewolf. Every think about it like that? Maybe just you being there helped. Helps now. I can't talk to anyone else about all this mess."

Peyton stared at Kavin for a few seconds before she snorted and managed a smile. "I guess you have a point. It's not like I'm Buffy the Vampire Slayer or anything. I don't have super strength, or any real skill. I guess it's just, I don't like hiding. It makes me feel guilty for all the people who aren't." She felt a little better, but it still didn't fix everything she felt was wrong. Resting her head back on the seat, she studied him before managing to tease him a bit. "I think you just stayed alive and killed that werewolf to show off. Guys do that. Can't get mauled and killed in front of a girl, now can you? Your ego would never be able to handle it. But than again, your ego wouldn't care, since you'd be dead and..." Shut up! Flushing, Peyton smiled faintly. "Anyway, yeah... I guess I can't talk to anyone else either. I mean, there's Isaac, but I really don't want him to worry about me when he has his sister and Thom to worry about." She and Leija didn't talk all that often, and Geo was gone. That didn't leave a lot of close friends for her to vent to when she needed it. "I really appreciate you listening though."

"An ego thing, huh?" he chuckled. "I've never had it thought about in quite that way, but yes, dying in front of you would have been a horrible blow to my ego. Glad we didn't have to go down that road." He shook his head a little. "And I don't mind listening." he told her. "I'm always around to lend an ear if you need it, you know that." He understood about Isaac. The kid must have been going through some shit himself. Girlfriend out running about in the werewolf shit, Best friend's chick dies and girlfriend sees her dead body. Sister's enemy is no more, but also happens to be best friend's girl. Boy was he glad he wasn't Isaac.

She laughed a bit and shook her head. "Sorry... sometimes my mouth keeps talking when my brain has long since given up. But thanks. If you ever need to talk too... I mean I know you have Jeri and your other friends but, the offer is there." Peyton released a slow breath. "This'll pass soon, right? The guilt and everything."

"I know Jeri and Nate and hell Isaac's there..." he told her. "But you were there ya know? It's different. You understand it more or something." Kavin sighed and the thought of Isaac. "I still have to talk to Isaac about everything. I actually think I might go over there when I drop you off." he said. "Have you guys talked about any of the stuff that night yet? The werewolf?" he questioned.

It was different. She didn't know why, but she felt better that Kavin had been there. Peyton wouldn't have known what to do had she stumbled across Chrissy's body on her own. She plucked a bit at the material of her sleeve, shaking her head at his question. "Not really about the werewolf. I called him the night of and told him about Chrissy, and how you helped me find my dad and brother. I haven't really wanted to talk about it again since then. I mean, he's there for me," Peyton was quick to say. "He's always there for me when I need him to be. I just feel... guilty, there's that word again, dumping all this stuff on him. Like I said, he's got enough to worry about, and other people to take care. Will you not tell him I said that if you see him? Because I think it'll make him feel bad and I don't want that."

"Isaac doesn't feel like you're dumping things on him." Kavin said almost immediately. "I know Isaac and I know that he worries about you every second of every day. Just how the guy is. But, I won't tell him that, promise. But, I do think I need to tell him about the other stuff. You shouldn't have to keep that big a thing a secret ya know? I feel bad about you having to and..." he sighed. "I know not everyone I've told about the hunting thing can be trusted, but Isaac... I know I can trust him with it. And you." he added on because he knew she hadn't said anything. Part of him regretted telling Charlotte. More of him regretted telling Gabe. But Peyton? He didn't regret that. Hunting might suck, but hunting saved her life. At least as far as he was concerned. The werewolf could have killed her had she been going it alone. And that's when he made his decision. He couldn't quit hunting. Not and risk not being there for one of his friends.

Deep down she knew Isaac wouldn't see it as her dumping on him. In fact, he would probably prefer it if she came to him with stuff like this. But it was just difficult when she knew he was always so worried about Kaysen and Thom. "You can trust him with the hunting thing," Peyton agreed. "Isaac is one of the most trustworthy people I know. Maybe it's a nosy question on my part, but how did you get... started? I mean, why did you decide to start hunting things?"

"I didn't really decide." he told her honestly. "It's a family thing. Grandfather did it. Father did it. I do it. Just the way it's always been. Reid men hunt. Runs in the family. Just like my son'll probably do it if I have one... if I decide to let the tradition keep going." he shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes I wanna quit. Like now... because it's dangerous and it's a big fucking secret and it complicates everything, but if I wasn't what I am... what would have happened to you that night?" he said softly, eyes finding hers. "Things happen for a reason and sometimes it really blows, but I'm glad I was at the right place at the right time for you, even if I wasn't for Chrissy."

"I'm glad you were too," she admitted with a small smile. She hadn't really thought about it like that. She had just been thinking of Chrissy dying, and Kavin potentially dying because of her. Peyton hadn't really considered that if she hadn't run into Kavin, she probably would have been dead too. Because she would have gone to the hospital alone, and she would have opened those doors... unarmed. Tears welled in her eyes unexpectedly and she lifted her hands to wipe them away impatiently, embarrassed with herself. "You shouldn't stop being what you are. You're good at it. And you help people." Peyton took a deep breath to steady her voice. "Complications make you stronger, I think. And it helps you figure out who you are, and who your friends are. So... I think this town needs hunters more than ever."

He hadn't meant to make her cry. He wasn't sure if it was what he said, or her own thoughts running away with her brain that caused the tears to form, but he felt horrible nonetheless. He unhooked his seatbelt while she was talking and reached over to lightly run his hand across her back as comfortingly as he could. Then he pulled her into a hug because, well, she looked like she needed one. "I don't think that I'll stop..." he told her. "Not when stopping could make me end up losing the people that are important to me. Better to have the complications and know you guys'll be safe, yeah?"

Her face flushed a dull pink when he leaned over to hug her. She felt embarrassed for getting emotional, since she preferred to do it in the privacy of her bedroom - alone. But lack of sleep and some major exhaustion sort of tore down those particular walls at the moment. Peyton hugged him back, thankful for the comfort. It helped. "Yeah," she agreed before sniffling. She didn't want to get his shirt wet, so she pulled back and forced a small smile again. "If you ever need any help with anything... I mean, I'm not a hunter, but I can, well, do something."

"I'll remember that." he smiled, reaching up to wipe his thumbs across her cheeks. "So long as you don't get annoyed when I come blabbing all my annoyances to you." Kavin said. "You might have just become my living diary."

That earned him a soft laugh and she reached up to brush her hair behind her ears. "Surprisingly, I don't mind. It's nice to have someone to vent to about certain things. Most of the people I had for that are... gone, I guess." And no, she wasn't going to start feeling sorry for herself. Glancing out the window, she stared into the parking lot for a few minutes before realizing he still had a friend waiting for him at home. "I'm keeping your from your friend... he's not going to be pissed, is he?"

"He's sleeping. Well, was sleeping, probably still sleeping. I left him a note but I probably should get back to him eventually." he shrugged. "I wanna make a stop by Isaac's first so when I drop you off I'm running by there and then it'll be back to Nate. And if he's not awake by then I'm waking his ass up." Kavin smiled. "So, what happened to the people you used to confide in?"

Peyton almost told Kavin to take her to Isaac's with him. That way she could cling to her boyfriend for awhile. But she knew Kavin had things to tell Isaac, and it was probably that they talk in private or something. "The guy must be wore out if he's been sleeping all this time," Peyton said with a soft smile. She went back to tugging at the hem of her sleeve. "I don't know. I mean, I didn't have that many close friends to begin with. Caleb and I don't really talk anymore. I don't even see him at school half the time. Leija's sort of... I don't know. She's dealing with a lot of her own stuff, and I don't know if she really needs my stuff on top of it. And Geo had to leave town to be with his brother. I have friends," she said, thinking that she suddenly sounded like a total loser. "Just none that are close enough that I can say these things too. If that makes sense."

"Nate's been having trouble getting sleep lately." he explained. Which wasn't hard to believe with everything going on around town, even if there was more to it. "I just felt bad waking him up when he was actually getting some rest for once." Kavin shrugged. He leaned back into his seat and gave her a little smile. "I know what you mean about people being close enough. I mean... I have Jeri, but she's got a lot of her own stuff that she's dealing with. And I have Nate, and he gets a ton of my blabbing. And you and Isaac. So I guess I'm not doing too bad in the people I can talk to section." he smiled. "Kinda makes me feel better when I think about it that way."

Good, she wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping. Made her feel kind of better. Kind of. "I think if you at least have someone, you're probably better off than some people." And wasn't it funny how a traumatizing event could have two people talk more than they had before? Which was another reason she was glad he'd been there with her. "How is Jeri anyway?" The two were dating, or something, so she felt the need to ask.

"She's..." Flashes went through his brain about the things that had been going down with her. He'd not even let her spend the night at her parents since the incident with her father. He hadn't known what else to do. Hadn't known what to say, or who to talk to. He wondered briefly if he should tell Peyton, if they could talk about it. She wouldn't tell, but he knew it wasn't his secret to tell. "She's okay. Fighting with her dad some." he shrugged, wondering if Peyton would believe that and not question it further.

"That's too bad." Peyton frowned. "Normal teenage problems with the parents, or is it something worse?" She always considered herself lucky in the parents department. Sure her parents had fought all the time, but only with each other. Her mom and dad had always been loving and supportive of Peyton and her siblings.

Kavin bit his lip and shook his head. "Not normal problems." he said softly. "Just stuff... I don't know if I should tell anyone or not. I don't know what I'm supposed to do really. It's all... just crazy confusing."

Peyton knew it wasn't her place to push if Kavin felt it wasn't his place to tell. So she simply stared at him for a moment, working through her response in her head. Not normal problems could be a lot of things. Supernatural problems - funny that would be the first thought in her head - abuse, violence... there was a lot Peyton wouldn't consider normal. "If her dad's a danger to her, then I think you should tell someone. That's not really something you should risk, you know?"

"Who am I supposed to tell?" he questioned. "It's not like I can do much of anything. I tell and he does something worse than what he's already done? I've been keeping her away from him, letting her stay at my place but... I just... I don't know what to do Peyton and I don't know who to talk to about it... I haven't even told Nate. He's like, my best friend and I haven't told him and... I probably shouldn't have even told you. It's not my business, but I don't want her to get hurt. He... Sometimes I just want to kill him." he muttered, mostly under his breath. He couldn't stand the thought of Jeri's father raising his hand to her. She was his daughter not a punching bag. She was a girl. She wasn't able to fight back. He'd like to see the guy try and mess with him. Someone that could defend themselves.

"He can't do something worse if the proper authorities are told," Peyton argued. "I mean, if you don't say anything, then he still gets to do whatever it is he's doing. I think it's great that you're letting her stay at your place and everything, but is that going to last forever?" She reached over to place her hand on his arm. "I'm not going to tell anyone, and I won't tell her that you told me. But if you care about her, then I think the right thing to do would be to help her by making sure he can't hurt her anymore, you know? Otherwise what you're doing is just like... like a temporary fix or something. I think it is your business. You're her boyfriend, aren't you? I mean, if not that, you're her friend. That makes it your business."

"She's my girlfriend." he nodded. "But I just... I don't know. I don't want her to get taken away and moved across the damn state for it either, ya know. And I know it'd suck if we broke up or whatever..." If she found out about Nate that could very well be a possibility. "But I don't know. I feel like she doesn't want me to tell anyone. She's afraid of him..."

"So what's worse?" Peyton asked. "Having to deal with her potentially having to move away, which you don't even know is the case, or knowing she's dealing with her dad hurting her? Of course she's afraid of him, and she's going to keep living like that since nothing's being done to stop it." Peyton paused before sighing. "It's up to you, Kavin. But sometimes I think you have to sacrifice your own wants to help other people. Which actually... I think you of all people would know that."

He knew she was right. Knew that he needed to do something. Tell someone. Call the police. Something. He couldn't just keep sitting around hoping that things would get better and nothing changing. "You're right." he told her. "I can't let it keep happening... I... I think I should talk to her about it more. Tell her we have to do something. It's not right. She shouldn't have to be afraid to go home." he muttered.

"Talk to her," Peyton agreed. "I mean, she might get defensive, or beg you not to say anything, but ultimately you've got to do what's right. Otherwise you're just letting her deal with it on her own, and if he's that bad, then I doubt she can." Peyton didn't think she could sit back and be silent about something like that, if it had been one of her friends. She barely knew Jeri and a part of her wanted to help. "I don't mean to be... I don't mean to tell you what to do, Kavin. I'm just saying what I would anyway."

"I know." he told her. "I know she's going to get defensive, but I don't want to not say something and him like... really hurt her. What if he puts her in the hospital? Or worse? I'm not going to have that on my shoulders. I can't. She can get upset with me if she wants to but at the end of the day I'm not trying to be a dick. I'm trying to help her."

Peyton nodded, because that was exactly how she was seeing it as well. Sometimes you had to risk a friendship, or relationship, to do the right thing. "You're a really good friend, Kavin. And whether she sees it or not at the time, you're a good boyfriend too for wanting to help her. It would be worse if you didn't do anything at all, you know?"

"It would be worse..." he nodded. He knew that much. And maybe he was a good friend. A good boyfriend. And maybe sometimes it sucked to do the right thing, but he'd be damned if he ended up with her blood on his hands because he kept his mouth shut. "I'll talk to her."

"Good." Peyton felt some relief from that, because at least she knew he would do something about it now. She rubbed her hand over her eyes and smiled faintly at him. "It's getting late... you can take me home now if you want. I know you have other things you need to do."

Kavin looked at his watch. It was after four already and he still had to go by Isaac's before heading back to his place. "Yeah. I guess I should." he agreed, putting his seatbelt on and starting the car up. "Do I need to take down messages for Loverboy?" he asked with a little smile.

Peyton slipped her own seatbelt into place and then grinned before shaking her head and looking out the window. "No. If I gave you any of the messages in my head right now, I don't think you would be very comfortable relaying them to him, and I know Isaac wouldn't be comfortable receiving them from you. I told him I would call him tonight, so I can just tell him those things myself. But I appreciate the offer," Peyton said, flashing him a smile.

He shook his head and chuckled. "Peyton wants to hump your brains out. Gotcha." he teased, mirroring her smile with one of his own. "I'll be sure to pass that one along. And then tell ya how embarrassed and blush he gets. Cuz you totally know if I said that he'd blush for like an hour."

Staring at him open mouthed, Peyton reached over to punch him in the shoulder. "Don't you dare," she warned, though it was clear she was joking. "I don't know if he would get embarrassed, but he would probably blush. Don't go out of your way to embarrass my boyfriend, or I'm going to have to kick your butt, Kavin. Which would really sort of suck since you're kinda growing on me."

"Aww, come on! It'd be sooo much fun to torture him." he teased, grinning at her as he started the car and pulled away from the hospital. "Fine. I'll be nice. This time. But only because I gotta talk to him about everything else. Jokes'll have to be set aside this time. Now you.. you gotta wish me luck."

"I don't think knowing your girlfriend wants to do you is torture," Peyton said dryly. "Unless he's stuck talking to you instead of running over to my house. I'm wishing you luck, but I don't think you'll need it. Isaac's understanding, and he's trustworthy. And you practically saved my life, and he knows that. So I have a feeling you'll do just fine with him. I will, however, wish you luck with Jeri too. I think you'll need it more there than anything."

"Thanks, Peyton. Really. I appreciate it." he told her as they headed off in the direction of her house. Now if he could just figure out how to start up the conversation with Isaac before he got to the guys house that would be lovely.