"Hey Man..."

Mars only frowned more.

"I know what I'm doing, maybe not as much as you do, but I'll learn," he insisted, but he softened up slightly, knowing full-well he didn't have a well thought out plan. "...I'll explain more, if and only if, you let me stay with you tonight."

Priestly turned around and started walking away without giving it a thought.

"Come on, then," he called, when he noticed Mars wasn't following, "I'm not going to make you walk to the motel."

"I got a car," Mars replied, catching up with him. "I'll just follow you."

"You can drive?" he asked, raising a brow.

"I'm eighteen. Why wouldn't I be able to?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "You think I'm some sort of baby? I should punch you." he grumbled angrily.

"But if you punch me, you don't have a place to stay," he teased, grinning. "If I were you, I'd attempt to be at least a little kind."

Mars just glared at him.

"I could afford a place, I just...don't wanna, not a big deal," he insisted. "But...whatever."

"You'll follow me in your car to the motel?" he asked, climbing into the front seat of his Elantra. "I must say, I do want to go home--I think I could use a bath. Don't you feel the same?"

Mars begrudgingly agreed. He nodded.

"A shower would be...nice. I'll follow you, alright?" he gave Priestly a small smile before he headed to his own car.

-x-

Priestly headed up to his room, sure Mars could see him. Once inside, he stripped off all his clothes and laid on the bed, sighing.

"I wonder who that rude fellow was," he mumbled to himself, playing with the skull-shaped beads on his rosary. He had a few minutes of silence to rest and think, before there was a knock at the door.

"Come on in!" he called.

Mars opened the door, putting his keys into his pocket.

"Do you mind if I--" he stopped, staring at Priestly. Mars just stared, almost unable to speak for a second. He certainly hadn't been expecting...that. Maybe he had given the wrong impression. He felt panicked, suddenly, and he backed into the door.

"I-I, I should...go." he said, swallowing.

Priestly sat up and walked to the bathroom, either ignorant or indifferent to Mars's distress.

"I'm going to shower real quick--you can once I'm done, okay?" he called, and the sound of rushing water soon followed.

Mars furrowed his eyebrows, but the residual feeling of panic was still there. Maybe he had been wrong, but he wasn't entirely sure, either way. He still felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He sat down on the bed, taking off his shoes. He also took off his shirt, simply because it would make showering easier and he wanted to shower like nobody's business. He had spent so much money on his car, he hadn't been able to afford a motel room in quite some time.

Priestly was done with shower surprisingly quickly. When he walked back into the room, he was still dripping wet; the only towel he wore was on his head.

"All free," he said brightly.

Mars pushed past him, ignoring his nudity. He held his clean clothes in one hand and put them on the counter of the bathroom. He stripped out of his clothes and took his time in the shower. It had been so damn long. He even washed his hair, which hadn't been looking very good. He took his time blowdrying it and making sure it was clean and pretty. He got dressed in fresh clothes and came out of the bathroom in a considerable better mood.

Priestly wore only jeans as he lounged on the bed; he looked up as Mars walked in.

"Hey there. We gonna talk now, or are you hungry? I know I'm starving."

"Talk," he replied bluntly, pulling up a chair in front of the bed. He sat in it, resting his feet on the footboard of the bed. "I don't know what you want to know from me, but ask away. We'll see how much I tell you."

"Okay, fair enough. How do you know this demon, firstly?"

"Trevor, I guess he calls himself, killed my parents and kidnapped my older brother. He also killed my youngest sister," Mars spoke with a certain nonchalance, the type that only comes when you've really come to terms with the events. "I'm trying to find Hershey before it's too late, but I think it already is. Trevor has some sort of past with my parents. This was his revenge, but now he's decided to play some sort of game, I guess. I don't know. Until a few months ago, I thought the only demons I had to worry about were the ones tempting me to smoke, drink and have sex."

Mars wanted to laugh and also to cry.

"That's everything I know about Trevor. Other than we've had a few run-ins. He gives me puzzle pieces, I find him, he gives me another. I don't know when it'll end. I don't know if it'll end."

He didn't look at Priestly.

"So he knows your name?" he asked, sitting up. He filled two mugs with water from the bathroom sink and placed them on his hot plate.

"Whatever this demon's end goal is, he certainly seems to be fixated with you. Any idea why that might be?"

"I wasn't home when he came for everyone," he replied. "I wonder if he figured he'd play a game afterwards. Or maybe he planned it. I don't know. I just...don't."

Mars sighed heavily.

"...is that all?" he asked, thoroughly defeated by the line of conversation.

He poured a packet of ot chocolate mix into each mug, then stirred it in slowly. He handed one mug to Mars, and sipped he other.

"I see. Well, this is quite a predicament you're in. Have you thought of seeking help?"

Mars's face darkened.

"...I did ask for help, in the beginning," he replied quietly. "...it didn't turn out well."

"How so?" he asked, sipping his hot chocolate. "Drink, would you? I've got plenty, and you look like you could use something warm."

"They didn't believe me when I said Trevor was dangerous," he replied, trying to act nonchalant as he shrugged. He took a drink of the hot chocolate, frowning at the taste. "...they're dead, now. Torn to pieces. Five hunters."

He shuddered, unable to stop himself.

"Can we talk in the morning? I'm...tired."