Scapegoat (SetoSolace)

Scapegoat

One: Your City

"Seto!"

The cry sends me running towards the park in the center of Our City. That was Brice's voice, and, if the past is anything to go by, he's likely gotten himself in a whole lot of unnecessary trouble. I know Seto will be next to Brice in practically no time at all (that man is utterly whipped, and when he's not focusing on being a doting boyfriend, he doubles as a savage guard dog), but I still want to make sure he's okay.

"W-Wait up!" shout a couple of squeaky voices from behind me, and soon Louis and Danielle are running by my side.

We skid around a corner and speed into the park, and I let out a breath as my eyes focus in on Brice, who is perfectly unharmed.

"Seto," he whimpers, and the alarm bells reinstate themselves.

I get down on my knees beside Brice, who is kneeling next to a collapsed Seto. "What happened?" I ask, frantically checking his neck and wrist for a pulse.

"I don't know!" Brice replies, looking toward me with wide, terrified eyes. "He just kind of... fell over? And then he kind of curled in on himself, and- I don't know!"

"Bloody tea crumpets," Danielle whispers, dropping down next to us. "What happened?"

Brice looks like he's about to explode, so I just shake my head. "We don't know." I look down to find myself chewing on my nails again. Notch dang it. "What can we do to help him?"

"I've tried at least three healing spells," Brice mutters, which is saying something since Brice is the second-best sorcerer in Our City at this point.

"Good holy ghast," breathes a blonde teenager whom I know very well. Payten narrows their eyes at Seto as they lower themselves to the ground. "It almost looks like a really, really bad crash."

"Oh no," Brice says, almost inaudibly. "Oh, no, it does."

"We'll get Michael!" Danielle says shakily, and she and Louis jump to their feet and run off.

"'M fine," Seto groans, and Brice breathes a sigh of relief because at least he can talk.

"No, you're not!" Payten gapes, buying none of his bullcrap. "Dude, you're curled up in a ball on the ground, hardly able to move."

"Can still move," Seto argues, crying out in pain when he tries to uncurl. "S-Sort of."

"Oh, Jeb," Brice groans, reaching out to hold Seto but then pulling back for fear of hurting him. "Seto, please, what's wrong?"

"Don't know," he moans. "Definitely feels like a 'really, really bad crash,' but with all of the effects focused on the physical side of things." He coughs out his last few words and curls in on himself even more. "Sucks."

"More than Brice does on Valentine's Day?" Payten asks, furrowing their eyebrows in concern.

"M-Maybe not that much," Seto laughs, but it obviously causes him pain.

Michael pops into existence next to us, and his eyes immediately lock onto Brice. "Why is your face so red?" he asks. Then his eyes flit lower. "Oh, Notch. Seto."

"We told you!" Danielle screeches as she and Louis round the corner into the park.

"Yeah," Michael breathes, "you did. What happ-"

"Don't. Ask," I growl. "We don't know."

"Have you been casting Dark magic?" Michael asks, dropping to his knees like the rest of us to be closer to Seto.