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"You know, I think there might be something really fucking wrong with you, Ca$h" Darren said venomously. Ca$h felt as though someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water over him. "Go use somebody else to figure it out"
"Well, fuck you then!" Ca$h shouted as he watched the person he cared about more than anyone else walk out on him, possibly forever.
Those words rattled around in his brain, hammering away at his heart with every repetition. I think there might be something really fucking wrong with you, Ca$h. They were right. There was something wrong with him, and he didn't know how to fix it.
In a desperate attempt to soothe himself, he buried his face in his knees and screamed as loud as he possibly could. He felt his throat shred with the effort, but it hardly did anything to make him feel better.
Honestly, if Darren hadn't heard the scream, they probably would've kept walking away. They were positively furious with Ca$h. Honestly, who did that kid think he was, leading them on like this for so long? Just another fag who doesn't want to be a fag.
They stopped in their tracks and focused on the sound. They expected that to be the end of it, but then they heard the sobs. It was an awful sound, frankly. Something that they never wanted to hear. And yet, here they were, hearing it, and it was almost definitely their own fault.
So, they swallowed their pride and turned back around. As much as they were sure that they were in the right here, they couldn't be content just walking away and leaving Ca$h to break down by himself.
When they opened the door, Ca$h looked up at them with this horrible look in his eye. They hated that they were the one to cause that look.
"What the fuck do you want?" he asked bitterly, his voice shaky with emotion. "I thought you made it very clear we were done"
"I heard you crying" Darren responded, standing in the doorway with their arms crossed. "Thought I'd check on you"
"Why do you care?"
"Cause I..." Darren sighed. They couldn't say the real reason- That they cared about, maybe even loved the drug dealer. "Because I'm not a complete asshole"
"Okay"
"What were you crying for then?"
"Well, you kinda just flipped your shit on me for not wanting to fuck you first thing in the morning" Ca$h replied. Darren winced. It was awfully early in the day. "Go away, Darren"
"No" Darren replied. Ca$h groaned and lied back on his bed. Darren stared at him for a moment before awkwardly making his way over and sitting on the edge of the bed. They said nothing when they heard the boy crying again.
They didn't know how to fix this. They didn't know if they wanted to fix this.
When Ca$h eventually stopped crying, Darren decided that it was probably time for them to go.
"It's probably time for me to go"
"Okay"
The pair didn't talk about it later that day, or the next day, or the day after that. Frankly, neither of them ever really planned on talking about it at all. Hell, even when they were in the hallway during the lock-in, neither brought up Ca$h's breakdown from that morning.
But then Ca$h had to run from the cops. Why was he running? He knew they'd catch up eventually. But, no. He couldn't just go to jail without saying what he needed to say.
So, he did. He ran into the SLTs meeting and confessed his love for Darren, shouting to the world how he'd loved them for years.
"And I'm sorry I can't be the way you want" he apologized, saying more than he'd ever planned to even when he made the decision to run all the way there. "But I love you, and-"
"You don't need to apologize" Darren told him, unable to hold back their own tears. "I looked into it after that night in the hallway, and I- Look, I'm sorry, Ca$h. I never should've said that shit to you, okay? There's nothing wrong with you. I love you, too"
The two kissed, and then the cops ran in.
Everyone was shouting, and Ca$h seemed awfully content with being arrested, but no one else was. It was Harper who cut through the noise.
"Wait, stop!" she shouted. The cops stopped, but they kept Ca$h firmly pressed to the table.
"Who are you?"
"Harper McLean, I'm the person who put in the report" she told them. They relaxed just a bit. "I know he was in the video, but he's innocent. He wasn't the one in the wrong"
"They're all in the wrong"
"He let me out" she told them desperately. "He let me out of the car. He was involved with the ones who took me, yes, but he's not the one you want, I promise you. Please, he's not even an adult"
The cops exchanged a look.
"We still have to take him in" one of them decided. "But, we'll take this into account when going further with the trial. Are you willing to say what you just said to a judge if necessary?"
"Absolutely"
"Okay" one of the other cops nodded. They picked Ca$h up off the table and nudged him out through the door. "He'll be in a holding cell at the Hartley Police Station. Visiting hours are 2 to 5 PM"
As they brought Ca$h out of the school, Darren couldn't help the tears streaming down their face.
"Idiot"