Disclaimer: This is the fifth chapter of Chances and Changes. Even though there be will no sex during the first couple of chapters, I plan to include some juicier bits about consenting teens of the same gender and about the same age. If any of that is offensive to you, stop reading. If you are younger than 18 years old, or whatever the legal age is in the country you currently reside in, stop reading this now. Any similarities between this story and real people, places or events is entirely coincidental, since this is a completely fictional story.

This story was written by me, Chris, and the only site that has a license to host this story at this time is nifty.org. Should anyone wish to host this story on another website, contact me under <christheblizzard@gmail.com> and I will reply as soon as possible. I retain all copyrights to this story.

If you have anything whatsoever to say about the story, good, bad, whatever, or simply want to chat with me, please send me an e-mail to <christheblizzard@gmail.com>

Also, if you have a penny to spare, please donate to nifty for their generous hosting!

Chances and Changes 5

<Brian>

After arriving at the hospital, things got a little hectic. The paramedics had been working on Nate to keep him stable the entire drive and had practically had to tie Sam up to get her away from Nate long enough for them to take him inside. Brian and Sam had wanted to follow them, but were told in no uncertain terms by a very unfriendly old nurse, that since they were not related to the patient they had to wait in the lounge until further notice. So they waited. The thing about hospitals you never realize, is that they are apparently some paradox time-zone where time just refuses to pass and every single second puts up a fight to the death. If someone ever told him that he only had another minute to live, Brian would make sure to go to a hospital, because it would mean the minute would last a lifetime and he would likely feel like an old man when it was over.

Since they had nothing to do and neither Brian nor Sam wanted to leave, they waited. Seconds stretched to hours and Brian could have sworn the clock was ticking slower every time, taunting them. He and Sam had tried in vain to get to see Nate, but were told off by the same nurse again. Brian was of a mind to just pester her until either her shift ended or they got to see Nate, whichever came first, but decided that she was too… battle-hardened for that to work. Sam was trying to keep it together, but he could see that she was having a very hard time processing all of this. Should he comfort her perhaps? But they were barely on speaking terms as it was and she surely remembered that he had been one of those to bother Nate. In fact, he had been one of the first.

“Brian…” he jumped a little at her voice. The hospital lounge was eerily quiet, so his ears had gotten used to the silence.

“Yeah?” he hoped his voice didn’t sound quite as raspy to her as it did to himself.

“Thank you.” She looked at him with sincerity in her eyes. Brian was suddenly overwhelmed by guilt. She was thanking him? How could she do that? Didn’t she realize that this was his fault? As he looked at her he felt himself crumble. Never in his entire life had he felt so small, so unworthy of something that was offered to him. If he could make one wish at that moment, other than saving Nate, it would be for the earth to swallow him whole, right where he stood. Nate was fighting for his life in there, while he could only sit and wait, and Sam was thanking him for it. It seemed like some kind of cosmic joke.

“What are you thanking me for, Sam? For putting Nate where he is right now? For being a worthless slug that punched anyone that was smaller than himself? For spraying his locker and making him a target?” He could feel himself start to cry, sobs racking his chest as he stood up. Brian wasn’t usually quick to cry, but the entire situation had him so on edge he just couldn’t help himself. Nervous energy forced his legs to work and he began pacing back and forth before the row of chairs he had been sitting in a moment earlier. Wiping his tears away proved to be a fruitless effort for they were replaced by fresh ones almost instantly. Since he was looking at his shoes and the ground, still waiting for it to open up below him, he didn’t see Sam stand up and pulling him into an embrace.

“Thank you for saving his life.” She whispered quietly. For a moment he froze, his brain not working until he hugged her back fiercely, producing a slight grunt.

“I’m so sorry, Sam. I’m sorry. This is all my fault! If I could take it all back I would, I swear it, but I just don’t know what to do! I should never have helped Tom bully Nate, and I should have apologized to him, but I never did. What if he doesn’t wake up, Sam? What if he dies?” All of this bubbled out of him, all the guilt, all the shame. But Sam wasn’t repulsed by it and she didn’t agree with him either.

“This is not your fault, Brian.” Her voice was laced with sadness, but compared to himself she was calm and collected.

“Nate has so much pushing on him and I don’t think it’s only what’s been happening at school, either. What you did was horrible, you are right. And you had enough chances to apologize to Nate that you should have done it by now. But you cannot hold yourself responsible for everything bad that has happened to him and you saved his life tonight, Brian. If it weren’t for you, he would be dead now. You gave him, and yourself, a second chance. I can’t tell you what is going to happen, I can only hope that Nate gets through this, but if you had not been there, we wouldn’t be waiting for him to wake up right now but for the funeral. The only thing we can do now, the only thing YOU can do now, is wait and hope, and once he wakes up… apologize.” She was patting his back lightly and he was crying into her shoulder. This entire moment felt surreal to Brian and he was sure it must have looked even stranger than it felt. Nate was her friend not his, he should be trying to comfort her, not the other way around. Still, the tall boy was leaning on the small girl for support until he had calmed down a little.

A moment later they heard a rather loud voice yell “Where is he?!” Brian didn’t think it was important, but Sam seemed to recognize the owner of that voice and began to move in the direction the shout had come from, so Brian followed her. They soon found a tall man with dark hair speaking to the same nurse Brian and Sam had been talking to before.

“Mr. Blythe!” Sam called out and rushed toward him. He froze, then turned around to look at Sam and Brian

“Sam! What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” He asked her, obviously surprised to see her, sparing only a quick glance for Brian.

“We…” she began, her voice momentarily faltering.

“We found Nate.” Brian finished for her.

“Please Mr. Blythe, can we go with you to see him?” Sam asked him. He regarded her for a second, seemingly looking for something in her expression. Whatever he found was apparently enough for he answered with a simple nod of his head.

“If you would follow me please, Mr. Blythe.” The cranky old nurse prompted.

“These two are my niece and nephew, they will be going with me.”

She regarded all of them for a second, knowing for a fact that it was a lie, but probably decided that it wasn’t worth the trouble, so she just turned on her heels and began down a corridor, leaving them to follow. They went after her quietly until they arrived in front of a rather large door labeled “Intensive care” in bright green lettering. She turned to regard them then said in a much softer and warmer voice than she had used before.

“Nathaniel is still heavily sedated and under the influence of the medicine and alcohol that he took. He is unresponsive, has a rather large bruise on his face and his vital sign are very unstable. Are you sure you want to see him?” She purposely ignored Sam and Brian, probably because it was against protocol for them to be there, but still spared them a sympathetic glance. Mr. Blythe only said “Yes” in a very quiet voice, while Sam and Brian nodded. She gave them one last look, then opened the door and led them inside. There were curtains around each of the beds to give the patients a semblance of privacy. She drew back the curtain of one of the beds in the back of the room to reveal a deathly pale Nate lying in a bed. Brian felt awful when he looked at him but then he made the mistake of looking at his father. He knew, that for the rest of his life, the expression on the face of Nate’s father would haunt him. The man had tears in his eyes, his face a contorted mask of pain and misery as he regarded his son. It was the most heartbreaking thing Brian could ever have imagined. Sam and Brian stood rooted to the ground as Mr. Blythe took a few steps forward and slumped on the stool next to Nate’s bed, looking utterly devastated. He took his son’s hand into his own and silently wept, shoulders shaking with grieve as he raised Nate’s hand to his face and planted a loving kiss on it. After a moment he looked up at Nate and touched the bruise with soft fingers, then pushed Nate’s hair from his forehead, his hand lingering there for a moment in a caring gesture. Brian felt like he had intruded on a moment that should have been left private, and Sam looked as though she felt the same, even as she took a tentative step forward and stood on the other side of Nate’s bed. Mr. Blythe turned his head up to regard the nurse and asked in a hauntingly desperate tone “Will he…” his voice broke “Will he get better..?”

She cleared her throat then said “I’m sorry Mr. Blythe, but there is not much I can say. The coming hours will be critical. I’ll go and call for Dr. Miller to explain everything to you. Also, since this is the intensive care unit, you cannot stay here for long, I’m afraid. Please follow me to one of the conference rooms.” Brian was surprised to see the pained expression on the nurse’s face. He would have thought her to be hardened toward things like these, given her line of work and how long she has apparently already been involved in it, but he supposed nothing could make one shut down their empathy completely. He immediately felt a surge of respect for her. Mr. Blythe took another long look at Nate and said “I love you, Nate. Please get well.” Before he stood up and turned toward the nurse. Again, all three of them found themselves walking after her, this time toward what Brian assumed would be some more private location where patients could receive the… news.

“Sam, Brian, would the two of you please wait outside for a moment?” His voice sounded exhausted and completely drained as he spoke to them.

“I know you want to know, too, but… Please just wait here for a moment.” Brian would have expected Sam to vehemently object and was preparing himself to drag her away, if necessary. Making this any harder on Mr. Blythe was not on his To-Do list. Surprisingly though, Sam had no objections; she just nodded her head slightly and sat right there on the floor, next to the door to the conference room, pulling Brian down along with her. It seemed like she was afraid he might insist on going inside and the thought almost made him smile. Like his personality was even half as forceful as hers. The door closed behind Mr. Blythe and the nurse went to go and fetch Dr. Miller.

“Brian?”

“Ya?”

“I’m really scared.” Brian and Sam had known each other, or perhaps rather of one another, for years and she always seemed so strong and unshakeable. But at this moment, all of that was stripped away, all of that strength was replaced with sadness and fear. For a moment Brian wasn’t sure what to do until he just draped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close to himself. They could both use the comfort and closeness right now. They sat like that for a moment until his phone started ringing and almost made him jump out of his pants. It was his mother and when he looked at the time on the display, he was sure his heart skipped a beat. It was almost three o’clock in the morning; he should have been home three hours ago. In anticipation of what would happen he took the call, but held the phone a good distance from his ear. Sure enough, he, and probably their neighbors, had no problem hearing her at all

“BRIAN ANDERSON! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN??! YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HOME HOURS AGO! I SWEAR TO GOD, THIS BETTER BE GOOD OR YOU’RE GROUNDED UNTIL YOU FORGET WHAT THE SUN LOOKS LIKE!”

He also knew however that his Mom would be back to a decibel level that wouldn’t leave his ears bleeding, after getting the first wave of divine fury out of her system.

“Mom, I’m at the hospital.”

The anger was completely replaced by motherly concern.

“Brian, are you alright? Did you have an accident?”

“No, I’m fine. It’s… Nate, a classmate, he tried to… he tried to commit suicide” He wasn’t sure how, but he managed to say it.

“Oh Honey! What happened? Is he okay?”

“He is still unconscious, Mom. I don’t know if he will recover.” Saying it was difficult.

“Sweetie, I know this is hard, but I think you should come home soon so you can get some sleep and maybe eat a little. Or maybe I could bring you something.” Leave it to mothers to reduce a problem to food and sleep.

“No Mom, that’s okay. I’ll be home soon, I’ll just take Sam around, first.”

“Ok, Sweetie. I love you.”

“Love you, too, Mom” Normally his ‘image’ would have gotten in the way of saying that, but right then he couldn’t care less about that. He hung up and then looked at Sam.

“Sam, I really have to go now. Do you want me to take you home now or come back later? You still have my number, right? Oh shit, I forgot, do your parents know where you are? You want me to talk to them and explain what happened?”

She looked at him with a slight grin “Actually I called them quite a while ago, while you were in the restroom. Not everyone is an airhead like you, who forgets to call when he will be home late.”

“Ha Ha, smartass. So which is it, now or later?”

“Now I guess. I think Mr. Blythe will be a while before I can ask what is going on with Nate.” She said it with a sigh. Both of them knew, that thinking of anything other than the night’s events would be hard if they knew pretty much nothing at all.

“And thanks for driving me.”

“It’s nothing. And please stop thanking me, will you.” He added with a slight grin. “I’ve had enough crying for one night, okay?”

“Aye Aye, Sir.”

Suddenly a realization dawned on him. His car was still at Nate’s house, since they had come along with the paramedics.

“Ehm, Sam?”

“Hmm?”

“My car is still at Nate’s place.”

She looked at him for a moment with a perplexed stare, her brain trying to compute what had just happened. Then, suddenly, she started laughing really hard, holding her sides. She kept trying to say something, but she never got past “You…” before another fit of giggling had her gasp for air. The laughter probably lasted almost a full five minutes and he had joined her at some point. Brian hadn’t even realized how much he had needed something to relieve this tension until it finally happened. After they were done with their outburst and caught their breath a little he said.

“Real savvy of me, huh? Offering a ride when I don’t have one myself?”

She gave him a shit-eating grin and replied.

“Genius.” The word almost made him crack up again, but he held a tight rein on himself.

“I’ll just call my sister real quick, I think I can get her to take us to Nate’s place. From there I’ll get you home.”

“Okay. And Brian?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t know if you believe it or not, but I’m glad you were here tonight. I would have gone crazy if I had had to wait here on my own.” She said and gave him a wide smile.

“Yeah, me, too.”

<Thomas>

This was getting really annoying now. Sure, it was the ‘in’ thing to be fashionably late, but an hour and a half? At the very least Brian could have called to cancel or something, instead of just not showing. After the fight they had gotten in, Thomas was quite anxious to clear the air between them. After all, Brian was his best friend and while the things he had said were not exactly easy to accept, he had to admit that Brian was right. Having talked to Nate for more than the occasional insult now had shown him that he was actually a really cool and fun person to be around, the last week not included. Additionally, the way they had treated him had been more than unfair, downright cruel. Tom and Brian had hardly spoken a few words to one another after their falling out, so Thomas had decided to make the first step and approach Brian. Since it had been between classes, they had agreed that Brian would come over this today, and they could talk a bit.

After failing to not let this get to him, Thomas decided he had enough. He took out his phone and quickly dug up Brian’s contact to call him. After a couple of rings Brian finally picked up his phone

“Hello?”

“Don’t ‘Hello’ me, what’s taking you so long?”

“Tom?”

“Who else is waiting for you, wondering when you are going to show up?” Thomas said in exasperation

“Oh… Right! I totally forgot, I’m sorry. I kind of have a situation going on here, okay? We can meet up some time later, okay?”

“What kind of situation? If you want to ditch me, you can just say so, no need to make something up.”

“Honestly, that’s not what is happening. I’ll explain to you later, I just can’t talk about it right now, okay?” Brian said, but Tom didn’t really buy it.

“Yeah right. Whatever, if you don’t want to talk, I can’t really force you, now can I. Call me later once you have thought up a good excuse.” He was about to hang up when Brian said

“Wait!” He sighed deeply and seemed to be in conflict with himself about whether or not to say anything more. Tom was actually starting to believe it now. This just wasn’t the way Brian usually acted. If he really wanted to just ditch him, he would have let him hang up and be done with it, but apparently Brian was struggling with whether or not to tell him what was going on.

“Tom, if you really want to know what is going on, you have to promise me that you will not tell anyone at school. No one, okay?”

His voice was extremely serious. Usually, Thomas would have just said something along the lines of ‘Har Har, get it over with.’ But the edge to Brian’s words had him agitated.

“Alright, I promise.”

Brian took a deep breath then said

“Nate’s in the hospital.”

Thomas felt a twist in his gut. Nate had been extremely weird after their first meeting. Everything had been going great, and Thomas could actually see himself becoming good friends with him after just a few hours together, not to mention that doing the project would be way easier if they got along. Then Nate suddenly pulled back and all but ignored him. Sure, what Charley had written was not exactly nice, but it’s not like Tom had any control about the texts he received. Plus, why would he even let that get to him that much? So far as he knew, Nate wasn’t even gay. The only person he ever talked to was Sam and they were probably a couple with how much they had been hanging out. And even after Tom had apologized about that, Nate had only said he was still doing the project, like the apology was only intended as a form of self-preservation. That had actually hurt him somewhat. What kind of person did Nate think he was? Possible answers to that question were not particularly hard to imagine, though, and none that came to mind were flattering, either.

“What happened?” Tom asked with some apprehension in his voice and a rising feeling of dread in his chest

“He… tried to kill himself, Tom.”

If the feeling before had been a twist, this was punch in his gut.

“WHAT?!” Tom exclaimed, shocked

“Yeah…” Brian’s reply came as hardly more than a whisper

“’Yeah’, what? How is he? Since he is in the hospital he is alright?” Everything seemed so bizarre all of a sudden. Nate tried to KILL himself? What the hell? Something clicked in Thomas’ head. The song. He could see the scene in his mind’s eye, how Nate had whispered those last words to the echo of a final chord, could see his lips move… Nate had never sent him the sheet music, but he suddenly knew the last words anyway.

Then Death

Everything fell into place, and it all made sense to Thomas. First of all, the songs title, Losing Bliss. Blythe, bliss, the connection was obvious now. The song had been more to Nate than Thomas had first assumed, even after finding out that Nate had written it himself. It wasn’t only a song either, it was more like… a life story, a snapshot of different times in Nate’s life, condensed into a powerful melody and even more powerful words.

And now that he had a different context, Nate’s behavior didn’t really seem like he was ignoring Tom specifically, but more like he was trying to ignore and shut out the whole world. Like he was retreating into himself to just forget everything. He might not know Nate well yet, but he did know the signs of depression. He was no stranger to that, after all. Brian’s words shook him out his thoughts.

“Well, he still hasn’t woken up. Sam and I just talked to Mr. Blythe and the doctor said the first 48 hours were the most important. If he gets through that, he will most likely get better and regain consciousness. It happened yesterday night, while I was at that center, you remember? Anyway, Nate called and one thing led to another. That’s why I know, Sam and I found him at his home.”

His voice got a different tone all of a sudden.

“And Tom, I need you to answer the next question honestly. Nate has… bruises on his face and I assume other places as well. He was probably beaten up Friday. Did you have anything to do with that?”

That tone was anger. It was suppressed, but the rage was clear in his voice and Thomas was utterly perplexed.

“What?! No! I wanted to talk to you today because I wanted to apologize to Nate, remember? Why would I say that and then beat him up? Anyway, I’m coming over.” Thomas surprised himself with that statement, because he usually avoided hospitals like the plague they were supposed to cure.

“Actually, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Sam and Nate’s father are both here, and I don’t think they would want to see you right now. Besides, Nate is in intensive care and they won’t even let his father in, much less any of us.”

The words hit Thomas hard. He might want to talk to Nate, but would the other even want to see him? He might be planning to apologize for his behavior, but he hadn’t. And even if he did, that didn’t mean he would accept it or that Sam or Nate’s father would want him anywhere near Nate or the hospital.

Why was he feeling so sad all of a sudden? He didn’t even know Nate, not really. An afternoon of horsing around didn’t really mean they were friends and Nate’s demonstration had been nice and all, but hardly something worth getting worked up over. Maybe, if he told himself these things vehemently and often enough, he would stop feeling like the possibility of a great friendship was crumbling away before his eyes. The idea of Nate simply not existing anymore was frightening. And that fear was frightening as well. The last time he had felt this way was when his brother Zack was still around…

With fierce determination he realized that this time, he could make it right! There still was a chance! He had lost Zack, but he could still apologize to Nate, could still talk to him and be his friend. If he would have him for one, that is.

“Tom, are you still there?” Brian asked. Apparently Tom had stayed quiet while going through his little epiphany.

“I don’t care. I’m coming over.”

“Tom, wait. Just don’t, okay? This isn’t easy for anyone involved as it is and I don’t think Nate’s Dad would want you here. I’ll keep you updated okay? If anything changes, I will call you, alright? Just… don’t come here, please.”

“Fine. I’m not going, yet. But when he wakes up I will go there and finally do what I should have done the moment I met him, be a friend.”

“You think it’s going to be that easy? ‘Oh hey Nate, I’m sorry I drove you to suicide, here, have a friendship-bracelet.’” His tone was annoyed and annoying.

“What are you saying then? To stay away and not even try to talk to him?” Tom was getting angry now. He was not going to let this chance get away just like that!

“No. I just want you to be prepared for a major smack down, like the one I will probably get myself.” There was a twinge of sadness in the words that came next.

“If he even wakes up, that is.” Brian sounded so… defeated. And it was the exact same way Tom felt. They had started this whole thing. Everything that had happened to Nate since coming here was based on that stupid picture they made and the locker they had trashed. Tom was trying to tell himself that he hadn’t known how far it would lead, how Nate would be completely ostracized from high-school society, but who was he kidding? They had known exactly what they were doing and they hadn’t even felt bad.

“I see.” For once in his life Tom found himself with nothing to say. ‘I see.’ What a deep and meaningful phrase.

“So… Yea… I’ve gotta go. See you around.”

“I guess…” And they hung up.

<Brian>

The weekend just kind of passed Brian by. He went to the hospital with Sam again on Sunday, but they didn’t find out anything new and Nate’s condition was pretty much unchanged, aside from being somewhat more stable, but probably still not quite over the hill. Staying there had been awkward at first, considering David, Nate’s dad, didn’t even know Brian, but apparently Sam had told him what had happened Friday and how Brian was involved. Brian once again felt bad, when David took him aside and gave him a big hug. He had thanked him over and over again for getting Nate help and when Brian wanted to explain how he was the piece of shit that helped put him there, David didn’t want to hear any of it.

Throughout the weekend Brian learned to respect David a whole lot. The man loved his son so much and it was apparent in everything he did. And there was also a kind of strength Brian had never witnessed before. This man, Brian was sure of it, would move mountains just to make his son happy without even a moment’s hesitation. He had also talked to Thomas a little more on Sunday and they had agreed to try and find out what had happened to Nate on Friday. It was not like they had an information network or anything, but they had enough friends to hear of most rumors.

When Brian got to school on Monday he was eager to just get the day over with and go back to the hospital. After all, 48 hours were over, was Nate awake now? Or maybe later in the day? Thoughts like that kept occupying his mind and he could hardly pay any attention to his teachers. But his mind came to a grinding halt during lunch break.

He had taken to sitting away from his usual group of friends because that would have meant sitting with Thomas, Charley and all those others that were giving Nate a hard time and Brian didn’t like what their company did to him. Today, he didn’t feel like eating in the large cafeteria, so he had packed himself some sandwiches for lunch and took them outside to the school yard. While he was sitting on a bench under a tree, enjoying the chilly November air before it got too cold, Charley walked up to him.

“Dude, Brian, I gotta show you something.” Brian hardly had time to mumble a surprised greeting before a phone’s screen was shoved in his face. What he saw was disturbing. It was the figure of a boy, naked safe for some boxers, lying on his side. The picture was blurry, probably taken in a hurry.

What are those marks? Scars?

Brian’s eyes examined the figure more closely until realization hit him hard. This was Nate. He had been beaten, stripped naked and pictures had been taken. That’s what happened that Friday, what had driven Nate beyond the point of no return. Cold, impenetrable and all-consuming FURY raged through Brian’s body and mind, but he knew had to play this smart.

“So, what are we going to do with that? Send it around? Maybe print out some and hang them up around school”

Brian was absolutely disgusted. What the fuck is wrong with that guy?!

“Did you show these to anyone else? Were you alone when you took them?” Having to ask these question felt so wrong, so disturbing, he had to forcefully keep himself from getting nauseous.

“No and yes. I wanted to show you and Tom first, so we can decide what to do with them.” He sounded almost excited.

“Let me see your phone” Brian held out his hand and Charley gave him the device without a moment’s hesitation. After all, Brian and Charley had known each other for quite some time, even though they had never really been great friends or anything.

“Does your phone have a cloud or anything like that? Online synchronization?”

“Ehm, I don’t think so? Why do you ask?”

Brian looked at the picture one last time and swiped around a few times.

Good, there’s only one picture. He thought with a measure of grim determination. That makes this way easier.

He hit delete. It was one of the most satisfying and relieving things he had ever done. He didn’t have to hold back anymore either and suddenly exploded.

“WHAT THE FUCK, CHARLEY?! WHAT KIND OF SICK AND TWISTED PSYCHO WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS?!”

He would have been scared of his own voice if he hadn’t been so angry. Trying to rein it in a bit wasn’t really a success, but at least he managed to suppress it to something slightly below outright shouting. Maybe he had inherited more from his mother than just his green eyes.

“Do you even realize what Nate did after you took that picture? He tried to kill himself, Charley! Kill himself! Does that go into your thick head or are you too far gone for that already? Nate is lying in the hospital right now, barely even alive, because of this bullshit!” Brian had stepped up close to Charley, who seemed to be taken aback at the sudden outburst, and taken hold of his collar, practically shaking him.

“Wow, dude, what’s your problem? It’s just a picture and some bruises. And it’s not like I made him kill himself, what he does with his life is his own fucking business. Besides, it was you and Thomas that said you wanted the faggot freak gone, remember? Well, perhaps you should thank me for getting the job done.” He pulled Brian’s hands off of him. Brian looked down at the phone in shame for a second, but didn’t let that stop him from continuing.

“Yeah, I’m to blame here, too and I don’t deny that. But how can you just say something like that? Are you really so callous that the possible death of a kid our age doesn’t even faze you, like, at all? A kid you know, one you treat like shit all the time? What did he ever even do to you to deserve something like this?” he gestured toward the phone that was still in his hand. Barely keeping himself from smashing it on the ground, he tossed it back to its owner, who caught it and replied

“He’s just some faggot, man. He doesn’t deserve any better.” Charley said it with a somewhat strange voice and Brian thought he might not be as sure as he was pretending to be. Still, with every word Charley said, Brian’s rage boiled higher and higher. How he could ever have been friends with someone like this was a mystery to Brian

“You don’t even know if Nate is gay! Have you ever seen him talk or even look at anyone like that, boy or girl? You know what, don’t bother answering, I don’t even care what you think at this point, you sick bastard. Never, NEVER, mention this picture to anyone. If you do, I swear I will tell the entire school what you did with Ben back in 9^th grade. Remember your little fooling around with him, huh? Didn’t think that way about “faggots” back then, did you? If you come close to Nate, talk to or about Nate, if you even FUCKING THINK about doing something like this again, I swear will destroy your life, if it’s the last fucking thing I do!” Brian spat the words at Charley, only barely stopping himself from physically attacking the other boy. Picking up his backpack and turning his back toward Charley in the process Brian said

“Don’t talk to me ever again. And you might want to avoid Tom, too. I doubt he will be as nice about this as I was.” He pushed his way past a baffled Charley, who was too stunned to say anything. He wasn’t entirely sure about the threat he had made concerning Thomas, but considering how hard he was taking Nate’s situation and his usually impulsive behavior, Brian thought he wasn’t too far off the mark. Thomas had practically begged him on Sunday to talk to David and ask if it would be alright to come to the hospital, something that the Thomas Brian was used to would never have done. Brian told him he should wait for Nate to wake up, since only David was allowed in anyway, so there would be no point in visiting Nate yet. Reluctantly, Tom had agreed, though he had not been happy about it.

Two periods and an eternity of fidgeting later Brian was finally done with school for the day. He met up with Sam on the school’s parking lot and the made their way to the hospital after picking up a little something to eat for themselves as well as David. Then they made their way to the hospital.

Chris’ Babbling

Hey everyone, I’m sorry this chapter took so long. I had a lot to do with school and work, and getting in a car accident this week didn’t really help either. My car got totaled, but thankfully I’m perfectly fine, just dealing with insurances can be extremely infuriating.

So, this chapter. Nate is still unconscious, Brian has a guilt-trip, Thomas wants to make everything better and Charley got some of what he deserves. Sam is awesome, as always, and David is great, I love both of them. I’m actually growing very fond of Brian as well, especially after his run in with Charley. :D

I was recently accused of having stock in Kleenex, so I thought I might as well make the best of it and made one particular scene pretty emotional, at least I hope I managed to do that. :D

I am also trying to go more in depth with my depictions of scenes, people and dialogues in an attempt of making the story more engaging. Hopefully it’s working! I hope you enjoyed reading the fifth chapter and stay tuned for more! The next one will be quicker!

Sincerely,

Chris