[ He's quiet for a moment, too, thinking that over, and then-- ]
You're from the future now, aren't you?
[ Maybe it should be obvious, but he wants to be sure he understands. ]
I mean, you went home and things happened.
[ Matthew doesn't have enough imagination to even begin to guess the horrifying truth, but he's not forgotten the bad things that have already happened, or that Ronan and his friends are tangled up in events much greater than Matthew's understanding of them. His brother already makes dreams real, became friends with a ghost, found a magic forest that brought their mother back, had a murderer for a Latin teacher, and probably lots of other things have happened to him that Matthew doesn't even know about.
And now, maybe, even more things Matthew doesn't know about. ]
[He's quiet for another moment, just silent and staring, as if he can continue to avoid telling Matthew everything. And maybe he can, a little. Well, not everything. But a lot. He rubs his eyes a bit and looks up, then back down.]
You need to decide if you want to know or not. Bad shit happens. And I won't tell you if you don't want me to.
[ Well, Matthew has no idea what to do. He opens his mouth, closes it again, and frowns at the table. ]
I don't know.
[ He's really worried now. Ronan said something bad happened, and Matthew doesn't want him to have to carry it around by himself. At the same time, he's too afraid to ask outright, at least for the moment. ]
But Ronan, you're okay, right?
[ He realizes something, and the next question sounds a bit fearful. ]
And Declan?
[ Declan, alone in D.C.; Declan, who got beaten up last summer and kept a gun in his car. Surely he's okay, surely he wouldn't let anything happen. But until Ronan answers Matthew looks at him with wide and anxious eyes; he knows Ronan doesn't like being asked about their older brother but in this case it's got to be allowed, right? ]
[He means that about both himself and Declan. He and Declan touched base, quickly, after the demon, to make sure he was okay. Matthew, not so much Ronan. But yes. He's fine too.]
[ That's not an answer and for a moment Matthew just continues looking at him, waiting for the actual words, before he realizes that Ronan isn't going to answer his question.
Matthew is hardly wise, he's barely even self-reflective, and he wants to make a good decision but he can't, not like this. He drops his gaze back down to the table and frowns at it, uncertain and worried and a little afraid, his thumbs fidgeting as he keeps trying to think it through. Between the two of them, he isn't the one who could possibly know if he's ready to hear what's going to happen in his future. ]
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Because he'll have to open his mouth and reveal the truth. Mom is dead.
So he just keeps his mouth shut another moment.]
Shit happened.
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You're from the future now, aren't you?
[ Maybe it should be obvious, but he wants to be sure he understands. ]
I mean, you went home and things happened.
[ Matthew doesn't have enough imagination to even begin to guess the horrifying truth, but he's not forgotten the bad things that have already happened, or that Ronan and his friends are tangled up in events much greater than Matthew's understanding of them. His brother already makes dreams real, became friends with a ghost, found a magic forest that brought their mother back, had a murderer for a Latin teacher, and probably lots of other things have happened to him that Matthew doesn't even know about.
And now, maybe, even more things Matthew doesn't know about. ]
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You need to decide if you want to know or not. Bad shit happens. And I won't tell you if you don't want me to.
But you're the one who has to choose.
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I don't know.
[ He's really worried now. Ronan said something bad happened, and Matthew doesn't want him to have to carry it around by himself. At the same time, he's too afraid to ask outright, at least for the moment. ]
But Ronan, you're okay, right?
[ He realizes something, and the next question sounds a bit fearful. ]
And Declan?
[ Declan, alone in D.C.; Declan, who got beaten up last summer and kept a gun in his car. Surely he's okay, surely he wouldn't let anything happen. But until Ronan answers Matthew looks at him with wide and anxious eyes; he knows Ronan doesn't like being asked about their older brother but in this case it's got to be allowed, right? ]
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[He means that about both himself and Declan. He and Declan touched base, quickly, after the demon, to make sure he was okay. Matthew, not so much Ronan. But yes. He's fine too.]
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Good. [ And then again, because he's so relieved. ] Good.
[ That still leaves him with no idea what could have happened, and no idea how to decide if he should ask or not. ]
Do you want to tell me?
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Matthew is hardly wise, he's barely even self-reflective, and he wants to make a good decision but he can't, not like this. He drops his gaze back down to the table and frowns at it, uncertain and worried and a little afraid, his thumbs fidgeting as he keeps trying to think it through. Between the two of them, he isn't the one who could possibly know if he's ready to hear what's going to happen in his future. ]
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For fuck's sake.
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Sorry. I don't know.
[ It's very honest, simple. He frowns a little again. ]
Can I decide later?
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And nods.]