Leo had always been a bit of a loner, preferring the company of books and video games to the complexities of human interaction. But when Jackson finally agreed to let him make some new friends, Leo reluctantly gave it a shot. Jackson just made sure that Leo was careful with people and like a kid... he told him not to get into a stranger's car, regardless of what they offered.
So, Leo set out on a walk through the familiar streets of his small town, hoping to stumble upon someone he could connect with.
However, what he found instead was far from what he expected.
As he walked, the sound of gunshots suddenly pierced the air, sending a chill down his spine. Without thinking, Leo ran towards the source of the noise, heart pounding in his chest. It was a moment of an adrenaline rush that wasn't going to last very long. He had a problem with heading into things head first. It was the first thing his boyfriend warned him about but he didn't listen, he rarely does.
When he arrived on the scene, he saw two familiar faces and a stranger, all standing over a body that lay in a pool of blood.
Malcolm, one of the familiar faces, was holding a gun, and another weapon lay on the ground. The three looked over at Leo who had caught everyone's attention. Malcolm continues to point the gun at the hooded stranger but he still peeked a glance at Leo to see who had shown up. The stranger was also pointing a gun back at Malcolm. The tension was quite nerve-wracking.
He was relieved to know that it was someone familiar and not a stranger or a cop... or maybe more thugs with more unlicensed weapons. Leo maintained still until the armed stranger moved his gun in Leo's direction.
The boy was panicking internally but there wasn't much he could do.
Theo kicked him the gun that was on the floor. It was loaded and ready to go. Leo immediately moves to grab it as a shot was fired but it completely missed him. Without a second thought, he pulled the trigger hoping for the best. He shot the stranger near the heart area. The man dropped the gun and stumbled backward. The stranger stumbled backward, clutching at his chest, and fell to the ground.
Leo's heart was pounding in his chest as he stared at the man he had just shot. He couldn't believe what had just happened.
Malcolm and Theo were shouting something, but Leo couldn't make out what they were saying. Everything was happening so fast. Suddenly, the sound of approaching sirens filled the air, and Leo realized that they needed to get out of there before the police arrived. "We have to go," Theo said to Malcolm and Leo as he was still holding the gun in his hand. "Now."
Malcolm and Theo quickly fled the scene, their footsteps echoing through the deserted streets as they ran but Leo stayed back, not because he was paralyzed in fear but because curiosity took over.
Leo's mind was racing, trying to process what had just happened. He had never fired a gun before, and the fact that he had just shot someone was almost too much to bear. He knew that things would never be the same again but he wasn't willing to tell his boyfriend that. The man on the floor was mumbling something almost inaudible. Leo cautiously stepped closer knowing that it was a very bad idea but he wasn't thinking at the moment. "Who are you?" He questions. He wasn't expecting an answer but he decided to ask anyway.
The stranger's hooded eyes peeked from under his hood. He had a mask covering half his face. Malcolm and Theo realized halfway home that they had left Leo alone. The patrol cars had still not arrived but soon the two boys did, the ones who ran off without him. "Leo?" Theodore asked from behind. The strange man reached for the gun with one hand on the bullet wound, Leo stepped his foot over his hand harshly as the man cursed in pain. "Leo" Theo repeats but Leo didn't pay attention to him. He pressed pressure on the man's hand.
Malcolm came forward and grabbed Leo's arm pulling him backward. Leo turned around and punched Malcolm in the face. It took a minute before he came to the realization. "Holy shit- I'm sorry! I am so sorry" He apologizes. "I didn't... I-"
Malcolm cuts him off immediately. "Leo, I need you to take a big breath"
Leo hesitantly nods and takes a deep breath. His hands were shaking and at that moment, they realized that he wasn't stable. Malcolm has seen this type of thing in Theo before and he hated it. It wasn't just the rush of adrenaline but Leo had this burning anger in him. He had this look that Theo once had when he started spiraling and getting into fights as he was high on everything. Leo had shaky hands and murder on his mind. "I'm sorry" Leo whispered while he apologized once more. "I didn't mean to"
Malcolm sighs, pulling Leo into his chest. "I know Leo, I know," He says. "It's okay" Malcolm reassures him but the boy was still all over the place and his mind was scattered.
And at that moment, a gun was fired. Leo gasped as he fell into Malcolm's arms. "Leo?!" Theo runs towards them. "No, no, no- oh my god" He exclaims as he started to have a nervous breakdown. "What are we going to do?!"
"Take care of that guy, I'll take care of Leo," Malcolm says. Theo nods and does as he was told. Malcolm felt Leo trembling as he lowered the boy to the ground. Leo looked pale... pale and he was sweating a lot. He stopped talking and he couldn't say a word. He had started to go into shock.
He quickly assessed the situation. Leo was in really bad shape, his breathing was shallow and rapid. His skin was cold and clammy to the touch. Malcolm knew that they had to act fast. "Hang in there, Leo," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "You're going to be okay." But he wasn't sure if he believed it himself.
Meanwhile, Theo was taking care of the body and the guy who had shot Leo.
Malcolm focused on Leo, trying to keep him conscious and stable. He wiped the sweat from Leo's forehead and spoke to him softly, hoping to keep him calm. "Just stay with me, buddy," he said. "You're going to be okay. Just hold on." But as the moments passed, Malcolm could see that Leo was slipping away. His breathing was becoming shallower and more labored, and his eyes were starting to flutter closed.
Malcolm knew that they were running out of time so he had to do something about it even with almost zero medical experience. He still had his hands pressed down on the bullet wound but he knew that they didn't have time to wait for help or wait for someone to save them. "Theo! Get over here real quick" Malcolm calls out for him. As he finishes tying up the shooter, he makes his way to the other two who were sitting on the floor. "I need you to help patch him up, You know how to do this. I don't"
"Yeah- okay..." Theo says with a shaky breath as he gets on his knees, next to them. "Lay him on his stomach," He says. Malcolm nods and switches places with Leo. He softly places Leo's head on his chest and keeps both legs on either side of him. Theo moves closer and gently removes the boy's shirt.
He looks at the wound and tries to focus on making sure he doesn't die but deep inside, he wanted to cry.
Theo has dealt with things like these before but he left that life a long time ago, sometimes he wonders how the hell did they even get into that meaningless situation.
He cleans the wound with the shirt, as much as he could. Malcolm was checking his pulse every five seconds to make sure that he didn't stop. He checked his breathing and spoke softly to him to make sure he didn't lose conciseness or fall asleep. After cleaning the wound as best as he could, Theodore proceeded to attempt to remove the bullet.
He took a deep breath and dug a finger into the wound. Leo snapped away so fast and screamed in agonizing pain. Theo wanted to stop but he couldn't or he would die. Malcolm held him tightly and tried to calm him down but it wasn't working.
After what felt like forever, the bullet was removed. Theo wrapped the shirt around the wound applying pressure to it. It was tough without the right equipment and his wound was at high risk of being infected but as long as they stopped the bleeding, removed the bullet, and got him home, then it wouldn't be so much of a problem since they'd be able to disinfect it and patch it up. Luckily the bullet didn't hit anything vital or it would be a big problem for all of them.
With the bullet finally removed and the bleeding under control, Malcolm and Theo carefully lifted Leo to his feet and began to make their way back to their neighborhood. They moved as quickly as they could, but it was a struggle to keep Leo upright so eventually Malcolm picked him up, bridal style. He was weak and unsteady, and it was clear that he was still in a great deal of pain.
Finally, they arrived back at a very familiar neighborhood, and Malcolm led them to Leo's house which wasn't that easy to forget. The boy in his arm was falling asleep but luckily, his heartbeat and pulse had steadied so he wasn't as worried anymore. Eventually, they were standing in front of the door that led inside Leo's home. There wasn't a car in the driveway so they assumed that Leo's parents weren't home but they couldn't say the same about his boyfriend.
Theo came forward and saw a bit of hesitating in his friend so he decided to knock on the door instead.
Soon the door opened and of course, Jackson was standing in front of them.
He stared at Malcolm and then his sleeping boyfriend, his gaze landed on Theo but he decided to recollect himself. Jackson just didn't like how Malcolm was holding him in his arms. That pissed him off a little but he didn't say much about it. "He's back earlier... and he's asleep?" Jackson points out as he moves aside indicating for them to come in and they do.
"Leo was..." Malcolm pauses and looks at Theo who sighed and nodded for him to continue. "He was shot"
Jackson's color immediately drains from his skin. "What?!" He yells in a state of panic. "How the fuck did that happen?!"
"We were hanging out and shorts were fired, Leo ran towards it as he left us stranded. I don't why he did what he did but as soon as we got there, he was on the floor bleeding out" Malcolm explains. Even though it was wrong lying about the situation, he knew that it was probably for the best. Theo looked at him with a hint of relief and appreciation. "Theo was some medical experience so he removed the bullet and patched him up before he bled out"
Jackson nodded and let out a breath. He was extremely relieved. He turned to Theo. "Thank you, I was extremely wrong about you"
"Leo's a great kid, wouldn't want anything to happen to him" Theo shrugs. "You don't have to thank me for having a heart"
"Will he be okay?" Jackson softly asks as Malcolm lays him on the couch.
"He will be okay" Theo confirms.
That day was the start of Leo's downfall. That was the day when everything started to go wrong. He survived and everyone was happy about it but that didn't last very long.
Leo was quick to run into danger, he had always been that way- he loved the rush of adrenaline yet sometimes he hated it because it made him anxious regardless he didn't care, he always ran into problems without thinking about it first.
Something he didn't know was that eventually, it was going to get him hurt. He survived this time but one day, his heart was going to stop and no one would be able to do anything about it.
Days after this, Leo became different. He started to act differently and Jackson didn't know why. He tried to speak to his boyfriend but Leo never listened. Leo started to party all night, come home drunk, and sometimes even high. He was always on something and it was easy to tell. Leo had also become aggressive whenever Jackson gave him shit for all he was doing.
Theo kept on with his personal duties but after church, he'd always come over to Jackson's house with Malcolm. Jackson lived alone so he spent most of his time with Leo but things began to change and no one liked it. At some point, Jackson stopped sleeping and he kept stressing out about Leo. From there, things only got worst and some couldn't handle it. The man was struggling and Leo didn't understand it. Leo was the problem, he had been the problem since the very beginning and all Jackson did was love him no matter what but the more weeks passed, the harder it was to manage. He knew he had to do what was best for him even though he didn't want to.
One day while Malcolm and Theo were over playing video games and hanging out in Jackson's home, Jackson decided he had to break up with Leo it pained him but he couldn't take it anymore. His boyfriend came home that day high as a bird, eyes read and he was giggly. Leo couldn't take anything seriously and he could barely stand straight. The other two minded their own business as they played a video game on the console that was in the living room.
"Leo, we need to talk," Jackson said as he stood before Leo who had just walked through the door. He was rarely home anymore and mostly at Jackson's because of his parents. As soon as he walked through the door, Jackson was already standing there with arms crossed over his chest.
"Sure baby, what's up?" He questions with a drowsy smile on his face.
"I'm breaking up with you"
Leo sobered up so fast. Suddenly he had a sense of what was going on and that smile had wiped off his face. "What?" He asked in a whisper.
"I can't keep taking care of you like you're some baby Leo, you've been acting different and careless and you have become a complete fucking addict" Jackson explains. "I love you and I always will... but I can't take it, I haven't been sleeping or eating because I'm always worried about you ending up blackout drunk in some alleyway"
"No- No, no, no! Please" Leo pleads. "Don't leave me" His eyes start to overflow with tears.
"I stayed until my breaking point, I can't continue to do this. Please, don't make this harder than it needs to be" Jackson said. Soon his eyes started to tear up and he was afraid that if Leo kept begging and crying then they would end up nowhere. Leo wasn't good for his health and he knew that but oh how he loved him.
"Jackson, please... I'll be better, I'll do better" Leo continued to bed as tears rolled down his cheek.
"I'm sorry, I... fuck. You should go" Jackson tells him with sadness laced in his tone.
"What..?" Leo quietly asked.
"Please," He says before adding, "Just go"
And with that, Leo turned around and walked out of that door as he practically sobbed. Jackson's heart shattered into a million pieces knowing that he would never walk through that door again, they would never have those moments they had again.
Leo wasn't the only one who started to spiral downwards. The whole town did, the town itself started to become a shitty place for them all and there was nothing anybody can do about it. Life tends to be so cruel sometimes... more than some but it's inevitable.