Creepy 4 >:)

[tempered-rose.livejournal.com]

Title: What Hides In Plain Sight Will Get You in the Shadows, Part 4
Characters: Martin Kelly, Andy Carroll, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Pepe Reina, Kenny Dalglish, Joe Cole, Luis Suarez, Daniel Agger/Martin Skrtel implied; Conor Coady mentioned
Summary: Martin Kelly gets teased about his tolerance for all things supernatural. But does he have good reason to be afraid?
Words: this part: 1,532; Total: 5,144
A/N: Another update! Praise the Lort! (as Madea would say lol) *ahem* Anyway. Thank you for all the lovely comments I’ve received so far on this story. I really appreciate it you guys and I thank you from the bottom of my heart <3 Y’all make the world go round for me, you really do <3 :D I hope I don’t freak you out too badly again…0:-) By the way, I wrote this particular bit while it was thundering and raining outside….not the best way to write this before bed, if you ask me! D:
Previous Parts: One | Two | Three




Kenny had given him a firm talking to after training had completed. He was paternal in the sense that he reminded Martin that being late happened sometimes, but it should never become a habit. Martin had kept his head bowed and nodded. He’d promised it wouldn’t happen again and Kenny had smiled at him. That was the end of it, on the Gaffer’s end anyway.

For the rest of the squad, he’d gotten more stick. It seemed that they hadn’t forgotten in twenty-four hours about what he had said. He had thought the teasing had been bad yesterday. But when the day brought in a thunderstorm, they had found more inspiration in their taunts.

“Careful Carra, maybe Martin wouldn’t like to go out on a dark and stormy night!” Andy teased.

“This could be true,” Carra sighed heavily, “I guess I’ll just have to make sure any get together’s round mine would have to be planned in daylight!”

Martin closed his eyes and rested his head on the locker in front of him. He wished he could be somewhere, anywhere else other than here.

“Lay off, okay?” Pepe said as he entered from the showers. Martin felt a tiny amount of burden lift from his shoulders.

“Why are you being so nice about this nonsense anyway, Pepe? It’s all just a bunch of stupid—”

“Because, Steven, some things you have to see and experience yourself. If Martin believes in those things, let him. Who are you to tell him what to believe in?” Pepe asked with a raised eyebrow. For a moment, Martin felt disappointed. Pepe didn’t believe in them after all. His heart sank just a little.

“I’m not telling him what he should or should not believe in, but come on. All of this is absurd!” Steven crossed his arms over his chest.

“Washing your hands countless times in a single day is absurd.” Pepe rolled his eyes and turned to get dressed. Steven’s mouth was agape and the other lads began to tease him in Pepe’s silence.

Martin took the opportunity of their diverted attention to look over to Pepe. The keeper was getting dressed so Martin looked away quickly to give him some privacy. It didn’t stop him from scooting closer and speaking quietly.

“So, you don’t believe in them? Ghosts and spirits I mean.” Martin asked sheepishly, barely raising his eyes a moment later.

Pepe started to button his shirt as he looked over. He shrugged a shoulder. “I believe there is something there. What that something is, I can’t say.”

Martin nodded and sighed in frustration. He really was the only one then. He started a little when he felt sudden warmth on his shoulder. His head snapped up and his eyes were caught by honest sincerity in Pepe’s.

“I believe you though. I think you know exactly what you’re talking about. Just ignore this lot. They wouldn’t know what bit them if they were to be placed in your situation.”

“My situation?”

“Believing in what you believe. You’re a good lad. If you say that you believe in ghosts or whatever, then I’m confident you have a good enough reason to think that way. If these lads,” Pepe waved his arm over the locker room, “were put into your fears, I don’t think they could handle it. I don’t know, of course, as I don’t know your fears.”

Martin let his words soak in for a moment and he nodded. Perhaps Pepe was right. “You’re very wise.”

Pepe grinned his trademark grin. “You don’t get to be a good keeper without learning a few things along the way.” Martin gave him a small smile, which was good enough for the keeper. Pepe picked up his bag and turned for the door, but not before he looked back to Martin. “I’ll see you around lad. And ignore them. They’re all pussycats at heart.”

“Oy, we’ll see who is a pussycat!” Carra called as he followed Pepe out of the door.

Martin shook his head, smile easier on his face now, and reached down to pick up his showering supplies. He’d done a few laps as punishment from Kenny and that was why he’d been late back inside.

“Have a good night lad.” Steven nodded and gave him a small smile on his way by towards the door. “You know we’re only teasing.”

Martin nodded slowly. He didn’t like their teasing but he knew they didn’t really mean anything by it. And Pepe was right. Maybe if they believed in what he did, they wouldn’t have thought that way.

He sighed as Steven left. There were several others still loitering in the changing rooms. Coley was trying to talk to Luis in broken, very broken, Spanish. Andy was laughing with Dan about something or other. The other Martin was patiently waiting on his boyfriend by listening to his IPod.

For a minute, Martin watched the easy-going nature of Skrtel as he waited for Dan. He was almost jealous of that nature. He wished, if only for a moment, that he and Conor could have that. Then Martin quickly shook his head.

That was a ridiculous thought.

Martin picked up his things and started for the showers. The steam from the others’ showers had dissipated so it the air was fresh and cool, not hot and steamy. That was good, he thought before his mind switched back to Conor. They weren’t anything other than best friends. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself. Besides, Conor was just a kid. He still wasn’t even out of his teenage years yet!

He turned the water on, mostly hot with only a little cold to make it bearable. He stepped under the spray without waiting for it to adjust and let the water fall over his skin. He’d showered once already today—with Conor—but he hadn’t really gotten as clean as he would’ve liked.

Conor was only supposed to be a friend, nothing else. But they hadn’t really been just friends for a long time, Martin sighed. It had happened on accident, he reflected as he began to wash himself off. They’d been in the reserves and had hung out a little. Not much, as he was older than Conor by a few years, but enough to realize they had a lot in common. Conor had come over for video games along with several of the other lads. He’d stayed until after they’d gone to help clean up. They had only kissed that night, but it was still enough to let Martin know there was something more there.

He sighed. He liked Conor, a whole hell of a lot, but he was younger. Martin knew he wouldn’t want to keep Conor tied down like that or perhaps put either of their careers in jeopardy. They’d done so well in the academy and the reserves. He didn’t want to put all that time, effort, passion, not to mention devotion, to waste.

Martin was conflicted. He didn’t want to break up with Conor, but they weren’t exactly in a relationship to begin with. He sighed again. He was confused and unwilling to make a hard decision. He knew that if they were to stop sleeping together, then it could become very awkward very fast and he didn’t want things to be awkward. He wasn’t sure how Conor would feel about that either. He didn’t want to hurt the lad’s feelings. For that reason, he remained silent on the issue and just let Conor sneak over whenever he wanted. That was probably a bad decision on his part, he admitted. But he wasn’t sure what he wanted.

He rested his head against the tiled wall and let the water fall over his back. Fortunately, the whole one-sided drama with Conor didn’t affect his football much. That was a blessing at least, he thought as he straightened and turned off the water.

Martin attempted to steer his mind away from his worries over Conor and decided to put them towards what he would have for dinner that night. Perhaps he and Macsen should take a little drive around and stop off to see his mum. She certainly wouldn’t mind that, he thought, wrapping a towel around his waist.

He was almost out of the shower room when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye on one of the mirrors near the door. Frowning, he looked over to see something written in the steam. He came to a stop and looked back towards the door. He could hear a few quiet laughs from just beyond the door. He swallowed and looked back at the mirror. There was something definitely written on it.

Forcing himself to take a few steps forward, Martin moved closer to the mirror. He stopped when he was close enough to make the words out clearly. When he read them, a cold chill ran across his spine. His eyes widened and his breathing stopped.

Written on the mirror was a very short sentence. It was only two words, but they caused Martin Kelly, Liverpool’s youngest and brightest defending prospect, to be arrested in complete fear.

I’m back.