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Jekyll - Hide Secrets

Chapter I - A Melody To Save

Jackson Jekyll softly let his fingers run across the electrical piano, finishing the dark notes of his favourite song, reworked for piano only…
Mad Hatter…
By Melanie Martinez…
He felt relaxed and happy, his fingers dancing across the keyboards with a glee and ease, as he softly sang along…
He knew by this point of time, every line, every syllable of the song by heart.

Two months ago, he had grown tired of insecurities brought by his coexistence with Holt Hyde, his split personality, brought forth by his ancestors experiments.
So, the shy teen had concocted a potion to split them apart, to make it so they were both free.
He had hoped the split would make his life easier…
But nothing good came from the split.
His fingers shifted, and Mad Hatter rang out, replaced by a new melody.
The room was filled with the haunting melody of Perfect, by 'My Darkest Days'.
The song itself wasn't haunting, but the melody, when played on a piano, was.
He knew his heart was being repeatedly bruised, Frankie choosing Holt, his friends hanging out less and less with him, school teachers not treating him kindly anymore, and the persistent bullying of those who saw him as an outsider.
He was being bullied even worse now, since him and Holt had split, and headmistress Bloodgood commented that, with him not being a monster, well… half monster, anymore, he might be sent to a human high school.
He was being broken, again and again, and splintered far beyond sanity.
He was nothing but shambles, and he knew it, never being good at lying to himself, at least not in a positive way.

"How could you be so perfect…" His voice softly sang, as he rose, and left his house.
The once happy, yet shy teen, passed Holt's room…
A soft, feminine moan had him freezing up.
He rushed out of the house, anger and frustration marring his mind, splintering him further.

His mind wasn't clear yet when he returned home, he was actually still unsure and very angry.
When he finally entered his home, he heard his parents yelling at Holt, confusing him greatly.
Did they walk in on Frankie and Holt?
"You don't simply sleep with a girl, then dump her! I thought you and Frankie were seriously dating! Now it seems all you cared about was a notch on your belt!" Jackson's father yelled at Holt, the blue skinned monster not caring at all, despite the parent sparking and giving off flames.
"Maybe because she was only a notch on my belt, dad."
Jackson's father was now positively livid, until his angry eyes came to rest on Jackson, and he immediately went still and silent.
Jackson was calm, but not in his shy way, as he moved closer towards his parents and once alter-ego.
His eyes were as cold as ice, nothing left of the warmth he so casually, and regularly, displayed.
Holt turned, seeing Jackson, and smiled in an uncaring manner, but that look was shot off of his face, literally.
A devastating punch sent Holt tumbling over, spewing up a large quantity of blood as his nose was broken, and he looked up to yell at Jackson.
The other teen was quicker, saying in a voice as bland as someone stating they were hungry of tired.
"I should have destroyed you, rather than split you. What a revolting bag of flesh you have become… But then, what does that say about me? After all, you came out of my flesh and mind…"
Jackson crossed the distance between them in a heartbeat, face mere inches away.
"Do something like this again…' his fist flashed out, punching into the tiled wall, cracking the tiles into fine rubble. '…and I will neuter you with my bare hands! Women are not sex toys for your personal amusement. I'll try to fix the hurt and pain you caused, and if you even so much as think about flirting with another ghoul at school, I'll break half of the bones in your body, half killing your uncaring ass, capische?"
Holt had never seen or heard Jackson like this, he was cold, ruthless and somewhat murderous, so he immediately nodded to show he understood.
"If Frankie becomes suicidal or pulls away emotionally, I'll fuse us back together, then lock you forever into the forbidden corners of my mind, where my darkest and sickest nightmares reside."
Holt, and Jackson's parents, paled at the haunting threat.
"Remember that, Holt. And also…' He again, leaned close. '…you are no brother of mine."
Holt flinched back as if struck, before looking away in shame.
Jackson slowly went to his room, wanting nothing but to rest, but something had to he done first.
"…You have reached the number of the fabulous Frankie Stein! I'm currently unavailable, but leave a message and I'll call ya back!"
Jackson had to smile at how cheery her voice sounded, he didn't think he could face her grief stricken voice.
"Hey, Frankie. Jackson here, I'm sorry for what Holt did… It seems even when I try my best, all that my decisions do, is cause more and more pain. I had the choice between splitting me and him apart, or erasing him. I never wanted my decision to hurt you, after all, no matter what, I will always care for you. I understand that you will want to never talk to me again, and I'm not angry or hurt by that. I'm sorry, Frankie, hurting you was never something I wanted or hoped for."
He hung up, and fell back into his bed, looking into the celling.
'All I know how to do, is hurt those I care for.'
He sighed, and fell asleep, nightmares riding beside him, dark and menacing.
But… then again, which nightmares aren't such…

The following day was better, as everyone had heard what Holt had dare pull, leading to everyone being against the blue skinned monster.
Jackson didn't care for this, as he snuck his way into the schools dark and secretive catacombs, that lay underneath the light and inviting surface.
He moved deep into the streams of tunnels and rooms, his gait sure and steady, as he finally opened a door.
The glasses wearing human entered a room, in which stood a lone, soft white piano.
Left from the music class once held here, the piano was now a memory of the past, though still well preserved, still beautiful.
Jackson softly sat on the chair, using his hand to wipe the minuscule amount of dust, that had accumulated since his last visit.
His fingers moved over the keyboard, whilst still not touching, then they descended.
The soft melody of 'Apologize', rang across the room, as he poured every ounce of his suffering into the sad melody.
His entire body swayed, his smile sad and grieving, as he felt the song in his every cell.
The song spoke to him, as it was too late to apologize, he had ruined his somewhat steady life, just because he didn't want to suffer, and now the suffering was shared by others.

He knew the melody was one of truth, and in his case, a confession.
He stopped, and switched to a new song, one he knew held so much…
He had created it, but it still lacked true lyrics and understanding, currently nothing more than a simple melody, a bunch of tones with no reason, held together by rhythm and beauty.
'Salvation song' was the name, and hopefully, it would sound great once the finished project stood.

"I was standing, in the midst of my life Nothing but a wreck, a failure in all Tell me, do you know how to mend scars from sins As I am lost, unsure what to do…"

He blinked in surprise, unsure how to feel about the lyrics from nowhere, but then pulled out a small notebook, and wrote them in.
"Sounds good, but it's just the start." He rose, stashing his notebook, and checking the time.
Time for class, and he knew Frankie didn't come to school today, which made him unsure of whether he should be relieved or sad…
'One day at a time? That should work, right?' He idly thought, as he walked to his classroom.

Jackson had taken to carrying homemade lunches, since nobody sat with him anymore, since shortly after splitting from Holt.
He counted it as a hidden blessing, as he snuck into the small room, and sitting at the piano.
His hand caressed the sleek, ivory surface.
Jackson felt much better, free as he was, alone as he was.
His fingers moved with the practice and warmth of his many hours, Beethoven always sounded beautiful, when your mind is being plagued.
He smiled softly, knowing many would be surprised by his talent in music…
Holt needed to get them from somewhere, eh?
Not like he ever practiced, the lazy slob.

His fingers froze, as he saw a shadow pass the high window, and he immediately listened in.
"Please, let us go." Meowlody said, in a trembling voice, full of fear.
"Yeah, we won't tell anybody!" Purrsephone added to her sister's quaking voice.
"No need to be so shy, kitten, we are gonna have some good fun!"
Jackson saw red, no… It wasn't red, it was black…
A veil of darkness as he walked up the steps, and towards the door, not noticing his iris shift to an off white color before returning to normal.

The two were-cats trembled in fear, surrounded by four werewolves, only to then see Jackson.
He had taken to wearing a black jacket with hoodie, being able to conceal his face, or hide his expression, like now.
The two were-cats were shocked to see him, and especially to see him approach so fearlessly, being a normie.
"Look, boys! We got ourselves a hero!" The lead werewolf spoke, cocky and brash.
Jackson took immediate notice of that, his entire posture relaxed and yet threatening.
He tilted his head, looking at how they stood, one to his left, one to his right, and two were in front of him.
None from his back, probably their pride as wolves making them stand in his field of vision.
Rookie mistake, one Jackson would soon have them pay, but first…
"This right here, is the reason so many humans get their dogs 'fixed'."
His voice was the same one he used when talking to Holt, cold and uncaring, only focused on the task at hand.
The leader of the small 'pack', huffed in anger, still attempting to intimidate with alpha behavior.
Jackson ignored him, obviously, and planned, using his brain in a way he hadn't for years, as he combined all he needed.
'Left werewolf relaxed, opening for knee, strike to break…' his eyes then wandered to the one on his right, before he thought on '…shock, strike throat, then use liver blow to neutralize.' His eyes focused forward, and he easily took in posture and muscle tone. 'First one, counter swipe, kick at knee, then elbow jaw and top of skull.' He looked at the leader, his focus simple. 'Kick to groin, palm thrust into throat, axe kick to temple.'
He took one, deep breath, then softly whispered out.
"Now."
He exploded into movement, his heel blasting into the first werewolf's knee, shattering it, before twisting around, striking with his foot at the second ones throat, finishing with an up close liver punch.
He moved back, looking at the last two, and moved to counter, as number three went for a claw swipe, which he easily blocked with his elbow, before kicking the knee and then using a swift elbow to the jaw and top of the head, knocking him out.
He faced the leader, eyes cold and direct, almost able to cut.
"Care to try your own luck, now that the 'boys' are resting, boss?"
He casually shifted his weight, and waited.
The werewolf charged, sure he was faster, but blinding agony erupted from his crotch, and next he knew, he couldn't breathe, before something struck him across the head, and he was out.
With a deep breath, Jackson relaxed, looking at the downed wolves, before focusing on the two were-cats.
He immediately crossed the distance, worry now in his, somewhat, warm eyes.
"Are you two alright? They didn't hurt you, did they?"
The were-cats shook their heads no, while looking at their savior in awe, as he slowly helped them up.
"Thank you, Jackson, you saved us." They exclaimed in, this time almost, unison towards him.
Jackson smiled, though it felt horrendously wrong to them, and led them back to the school.
"Let's get Headmistress Bloodgood here, those idiots aren't going anywhere for a while, after the trashing I gave them."
The human lead the were-cats to the principals office, before explaining to her, everything.
Bloodgood seemed genuinely surprised, and even somewhat guilty, as she commended him, saying how the idea of his relocation to a human school had been denied, as he was such an exemplary student in all monster classes, even volunteering for the tutoring program.
Jackson gave another smile, though even Bloodgood frowned at it, so he dropped it rather quickly.
"You do not need to return to classes for the day, and we will call you when you need to testify."
He gave a smooth nod, and walked away, after having made sure the twins were picked up by their parents.
Immediately, the twins mother grabbed Jackson in a tight hug (secretly using it check what he hid under his clothes, and approving) while thanking him.
Jackson calmly told her it was something anyone would have done, as the twins were beautiful girls who didn't deserve to be mistreated or plagued by such traumatic events.
The twins blushed, clearly visible by the twitching ears and tails, at hearing that.
Their mother knew she would get some good teasing mileage out of this one, but didn't do so in front of the charming normie, choosing to rather wait.
Of course, Jackson couldn't have known his deed of goodness would come back to haunt him.
After all, no good deed goes unpunished.

Frankie Stein felt horrible, her head hurt, her throat was dry and her lips parched.
She had spent three days, crying and then sleeping after exhausting herself, since Holt used her and stole her precious first time.
Her father had wanted to kill the boy, and from what she understood, the Jekyll family wasn't too far behind on wanting the same.
Everyone had at this point seen and heard of Jackson's resentment towards his once other half, having nearly punched him when he approached.
She wanted to believe this was a long time brewing, but knew that Jackson had been always supportive of his brother, so he must have been incredibly angry at what the blue skinned monster had done.
She decided to finally call Clawdeen and Draculaura, hoping that talking to them, would calm her down some.
She lifted her iCoffin, only to see it flash with a voice-mail, she wondered who had sent it.
The voice that came, surprised her, especially because it sounded so broken and hollow, Jackson sounded as terrible as she felt.
He said he was sorry he hadn't simply gotten rid of Holt, how he never wanted her hurt, and how he wasn't angry that she and him would never talk again, he understood.
But his words didn't have an apologetic effect on Frankie, rather, those words made her realize she had abandoned the perfect guy for a player!
And she wanted her perfect guy back… But she knew she couldn't rush, after all, she didn't want him to think that he was being used as a recurve.
She needed to plan and understand, so she called her friends, as well as Lagoona, to help her out in this issue.
She would fight for Jackson's heart, for his love, but she would come to realize in time, she wasn't the only one chasing after it.

The basement area of the Jekyll household was a training area with many devices, ranging from treadmills, down to punching bags.
A necessity when half the household were fire monsters, while the other half was dual personality conflicted…
And prone to anger management issues, his mother held the proof, having lost control and thrown her boss through a wall.

Jackson was downstairs, releasing some tension, as he swiftly delivered punches and kicks to the heavy bag.
Many wanted to believe when you're not popular, you suck at sports, but to be perfectly honest, that isn't the truth, as martial arts moves don't need a partner to be practiced and perfected.
While still living amongst monsters since he was little, being neighbors with Draculaura and her family, he had visited many human run gyms, training and learning martial arts, hoping the discipline and physical training would prevent his blackouts.
It didn't help, but at least now it was an excellent way to get rid of stress, as well as clear his mind.
Helping Purrsephone and Meowlody had given him an unusual warm feeling, and hearing from Ms Bloodgood that he wasn't being relocated to another school, made his restless mind ease up a bit.
He stretched his muscles to cool them down, before making his way to shower, as he had to show up and help tutor Cleo De Nile, whose mad science class grade had been suffering, probably linked to her dating issues with Deuce, the gorgon always being able to make a perfect thing complicated.
He really didn't feel like tutoring, but he never was one to abandon a duty, and Cleo needed the help desperately.
If he knew one thing, it was how to distract, and that would do her a world of good.

He passed his father, who smiled happily at his son, making him smile genuinely back, before continuing to the shower.
He also wondered when he'd continue his work on the melody, he was working on, deciding he'd do it tomorrow, since his two Hiss-tory classes were canceled, leading to two free classes he had to blow.
Jackson Jekyll was being pretty sure in rebuilding his life, though he didn't realize that his decision to be a nice guy, would finally reward him, it may be as the last, but it would be big and it would be flashy.

Cleo was irritated and unhappy, as she was waiting for her tutor, Jackson Jekyll.
She did admit, though, it would be nice to talk to the normie after all that had happened in his life.
She of course didn't expect to hear her sisters voice, as she immediately dashed to save the unfortunate Jackson, but was stopped by the scene she saw.
Her sister had stopped in front of Jackson, who had a drastically different clothing style, his shirt and straight pants were replaced with a white/navy blue nylon hooded jacket and blue pants with golden flame designs. The pants had pocket lines on both sides, while also wearing a gray undershirt with red sneakers with white soles. He also had strong fight type gauntlets, color matching the sneakers.
He looked stunning, as he stood before her sister.
"You are Cleo's tutor? Where were you when I needed a tutor, cutie?"
Jackson responded without missing a beat, voice sounding so uninterested, he was threatening to fall asleep.
"Probably had anything better to do." Cleo nearly snorted in laughter at the quick and dry response Jackson gave.
"Why you…" Her sister immediately tried to appear more threatening, only to receive a glacial glare from the normie, tainted with something darker.
"I am not here to waste time on something rotten…' He faced a butler, a deadly calm about him, and spoke calmly '…could you please find Ms Cleo and tell her I have arrived."
Cleo nearly burst into guffaws, observing as Nefera nearly burst into flames in anger.
Nefera was absolutely livid, angered the normie spoke to her that way, and so she, with vitriol, bit off more than she could possibly ever chew.
"Quite the big head, given how rejected you are by everyone." She grinned maliciously, hopping for him to be hurt.
Jackson smiled at her, in a way that made Nefera's heart flutter, before he crossed the distance between them, caressing her cheek softly.
"There must be so much loneliness in your heart, when it has wrapped itself into so much defense and sharp wit. It makes me feel pity and sadness, that it has caused such a tainted beauty."
Nefera was nervous under Jackson's caring gaze, and immediately turned, dashing away, still feeling his caring gaze on her back.
Cleo was shocked as her sister ran, conflict and grief on her face, Jackson had hit the bullseye, it seemed.

"Jackson! Sorry, I took way too long. I hope Nefera wasn't causing you any trouble?"
Jackson smiled softly at the mummy ghoul, making her fidget, before he unzipped his new jacket more.
"So, where will we be doing the tutoring? And could I maybe get some water, feeling a bit thirsty."
Removing his jacket, he revealed more of the form fitting, gray muscle shirt, which didn't hide a surprisingly cut physique.
Cleo nearly audibly gulped, not really having seen this much muscle on a boy, this up close, Deuce not really being the muscular type of guy.
She quickly tried regaining her composure, something many ghouls were having issues with, before leading him to her room.
Whilst walking towards it, she kept sneaking glances at the brown and gold haired teen, still admiring his appearance.
She then, immediately and harshly, told herself she had a boyfriend and was happily dating said boy.
Her minds response was a simple want to touch those muscles, feel that seeming hardness, and she cursed, almost, out loud.

"Alright, Cleo, let's start your tutoring." Jackson said with a warm grin, making Cleo squirm.
'Damn that hotness of yours, Jackson Jekyll.' She cursed in her mind.
What the mummy ghoul didn't realize, and neither did Jackson, that the same curse would be thought, and said, quite often in the coming months, by many, many ghouls.
All that was needed, was some time.

HEEEEEEELLLLLLOOOOOOO! No, this doesn't mean I am giving up on my other work, those will be updated soon... very SSOOOONN! OH OH OH! And a shout-out to Hoguie, for the 'gushing' that made my heart melt, I shall strive to make my writing even better!

Your Friendly Neighborhood writer, Nicholai Black.

Peace-Out!