Hey, you guys! So I can all hear you think, where the hell has she been?! Well, on a camping trip is one but what caused the delay of most of my stories is actually this two-shot hehe. It kept bugging me and then I started writing and I couldn't stop and when I was done I just wanted it to be perfect so I spent days doing the finishing touches. And then I thought it was too sad so I added another chapter and there you have it. Weeks spent on a story so you better like it or all that hard work has been for nothing :'(

Okay, this story is like kinda dark but I guess that's me, judging on the reviews I often get XD It just happened as I went on, it wasn't supposed to turn out like this. Because it's a little darker I guess it's also not so much based on 2k12. The idea came to me when I was watching the movie Freedom Writers. Oh and there's also an OC and I know you're all thinking, the hell why is she having an OC? But I promise, you probably like it (or maybe not so much) so just read alright?

Enough of my blabbering now, enjoy!

When the world comes crashing down

At some point in my life I felt like I was a superhero. I mean, who wouldn't when they were part of a kick-ass team that saves the day, or rather night, regularly and makes sure the crooks of the city are locked up behind bars? And to me it was a dream come true, I felt amazing when another human was able to get back home safely because of us. But like everything else in life, things changed when I least expected it to. The other side of being the hero of a city like New York decided to give me a major reality-check. It was the part of the job that showed me that even when you're a superhero, you can fail. And that it doesn't have to be fair when something like that happens.

Oh man, this is awesome! When was the last time I managed to get the guys to play a game of ninja-tag with me anyways? It's probably been way too long because when I asked Leo he hardly tried to steal himself against my puppy-dog-pout. Yeah I know, a little childish of me but I really wanted to play around with them again, it has been too long. Lately everyone is stressed with all the Footclan activity. Leo is sure Shredder is planning something big and we need to be on high-alert, according to him. Well, we've been on 'high-alert' for possibly months already and nothing has happened so far yet, except that we have to beat up some more Foot-clowns every night. It's getting on all of our nerves, even Donnie's, that we can hardly do anything because sensei forbids us to go out except for patrol. Luckily we can always count on our fearless leader Leonardo to keep a level head when the enemy changes tactics, not.

But tonight we have a lucky break, we haven't seen a single Foot-member all night and even Brooklyn is rather calm for a Friday evening. And that says something, there's always trouble in Brooklyn.

I know everyone is still tense though so that's why I talked them into some ninja-tag, fun to play and still somewhat like ninja-training to sway Leo over. Not that much was needed for that, I think he feels a little guilty because he kept us on such a tight rein lately while there hasn't really been a good reason for it. Sure we all know he's worried over us but his paranoia shouldn't mean we can't have some fun every once in a while, right? And who knows, maybe our number-one student and leader has grown a little bored himself. You can say a lot about my elder brother but he's still a teenager, just like us. He needs to let go of himself every once in a while too.

Anyways, I found the perfect hiding spot. I'm on top of some old water tower and when you crouch in just the right position, the shadows conceal you almost entirely. Also, because the water tower is the highest structure around here, it's a good vintage point to see anyone coming. So whenever one of my brothers does manage to find me, I can still easily out-run them.

I snicker inwardly at the prospect of my victory. The last turtle to be found and get caught can chose one of his chores and delegate it to another of his brothers. It's a rule we have made up a long time ago and it's the reason why me and Raph are so competitive in this game. We always chose each other and since I'm in charge of cleaning the kitchen after meals, Raph is going to have to say bye-bye to his wrestling match tomorrow night because there will be a whole bunch of dishes and kitchen utensils ready for him to clean. Especially because I'm cooking lasagne.

I feel light with mischief and a titbit of suspense and nerves pricking at the insides of my stomach. This is a game after all and we're ninja. We're all highly skilled in surprise-acts and I lost count on the many times that one of my brothers jumped me and caused me a heart-attack in the process.

I let a smile grace my lips but it falls when my eyes catch a dark silhouette a little further from where I'm sitting. I take in a quick breath but it's obviously not one of my bros. It's hard to see, even with my awesome ninja-night-vision and all. I don't think it's an adult, the body seems too short and slender to be over teenage-years but it isn't the posture of a child either. That isn't what catches my attention though. What bothers me is that this kid isn't only for some reason standing on top of an apartment building, but also that he or she is scarily close to the edge.

A heavy feeling drops into the pit of my stomach and all of the sudden I can't swallow the lump that's stuck in my dry throat. It isn't like… No, of course not. All this worrying and paranoia lately is making me think in the worst-case-scenarios. Yet I can't shake this feeling of that there is something wrong. I want to get away from this place but somehow my eyes are fixed onto the sight in front of me. I've seen the aftermath of a case like this before and it really scared me then. I had been having nightmares for weeks on end because of it, them becoming so bad my family decided to ban me from coming topside again until my mind found some peace and rest.

My attention is turned back to the sight in front of me and all it takes is one more step from the dark shadow on the other side of the roof. It's a hesitant step but it brings him another couple of inches closer to the edge and from there on there it's only a long way down into some dirty alleyway. I can't handle it and before I know it I barrel into the figure, hoping, praying that this stupid kid is worth it or I'll never hear the end of it from Splinter and Splinter-Junior. Probably Raph too, if he thinks I put myself in harm's way on top of risking exposure to yet another human. Donnie will probably leave me alone but look at me with this 'you-brought-this-all-onto-yourself-so-I'm-not-going-to-help-you-out' smirk while I'm being lectured.

"What the hell man?!"

Definitely a boy's voice. It has an accent to it, I think something like African? His hair feels soft and curly when one of my hand brushes past his head and when I get a better look at him I can see his skin is almost as black as those curls. His eyes pierce mine, an angry dark-brown burning holes through me and I wonder how it is that I don't drop dead right then and there.

The fury is quickly replaced by disbelief though and it reminds me again of what a sticky situation I put myself in again. I think of getting away, to just run before he can call anyone and get me into more trouble than I already am. But for some reason I don't. Because he doesn't only look angry and confused, his eyes show me he is upset. And all of the sudden that eerie feeling comes back. Maybe he tried to do… the act after all. If so, me running away now wouldn't do him any good. I tackled him after all, can't leave him hanging now. In for a penny, in for a pound, isn't that what they say?

"Hey, are you alright?" I try. My voice is a little unsteady. Can you blame me? This is the third human I've ever talked to in my life and the first I'm meeting on my own, without back up from my brothers or sensei. It's a little scary, especially because I know it only takes one human to tear our little family apart. And I would never forgive myself if I endangered my brothers and father this way. But hey, I'm the youngest and according to Raph doing stupid things is in our blood. This most certainly qualifies as something stupid a little brother would do so for now I think I'm gonna blame my DNA.

"What are you?" the kid breathes, staring at me with wide eyes. Oops, he looks a little agitated, his eyes sending a nasty look my way. I decide to show him I mean no harm and reach out with my hand. He doesn't seem that scared because he grabs it and lets me haul him up. He isn't that much bigger than I am. He wears a ripped pair of jeans and a black t-shirt of The Beatles. A soft blue zip up hoodie is thrown next to the edge of the rooftop and I wouldn't have noticed it if it wasn't for the colour. It makes me think of the mask of my eldest brother.

"I'm a turtle, I guess," I say, giving him a grin and shaking the hand I still hold. I hope I can get him to laugh a little. I don't want to let him see that I'm probably more nervous than he is at the moment. "I'm Michelangelo, but everyone calls me Mikey."

He narrows his eyes for a moment and studies me before returning the gesture. "The name is Jason. My buddies call me Diablo though."

There is confidence in his voice and it surprises me. Most people are afraid of someone like me. I turn my head to the side, letting go of his hand this time. "Why Diablo?"

He laughs and claps his hand on my shoulder, making me flinch but only a little. I just hadn't expected him to touch me again, like we were friends already. I can't help the jaw-breaking grin that comes after. Did I just make a friend? It could be. He doesn't look scared of me which is good. And he seems like a pretty nice guy. Most kids like him would've threatened someone they didn't know, especially when they knock them to the ground. Me and my bros have stopped millions of street-fights that started out that way.

"Oh my pals are morons. They think everyone with a dark skin is from Mexico. Diablo is Spanish for Devil, they thought it was fitting."

I take a step back, frowning when one of his teeth is shining more than it should in the city lights. When I look a little closer I can see one of his front teeth is gold instead of white. Where did he get that? In a fight?

"Is it fitting?" I ask him, a little more hesitant. Pfff, look at me. I'm a humanoid turtle trained as a martial artist and yet I'm frightened by a kid. Point is though, I don't know this boy at all and for all I know he's a dangerous fighting-machine or maybe holding a gun to shoot my lights out. Donnie is right, I jump into things without a second of thought. Who says this guy can be trusted anyways? On the other hand, as long as we remain unseen I think I'm pretty safe. I can take this kid hands down as long as he doesn't have a weapon. And if he goes to the police to tattle-tale that he saw a mutated turtle, he'll probably only be tested for either drugs and booze or a concussion.

"Oh yeah it fits, but not the way you think," he gives me a kinda creepy smile but it looks friendly nevertheless. "I'm a skater you know, painted a trident on my board cuss I thought it looked cool. Won quite a bit of tournaments later on so they gave me that as a stage-name."

I grin and let my previous worry stream out of my body, bouncing up and down from the balls of my feet. "That. Is. Awesome! I'm a skater too. One of the best if I say so myself."

I cross my arms and try to stand a little straighter to even-out the height difference, but Jason doesn't look that impressed. "I bet you're one of the best turtles I've ever seen skating but since I haven't heard from you in any of the tournaments, I'm not convinced you'd place yourself within human ranks."

I think he notices the frown on my face because his smirk drops as soon as he said that. I shrug it off but Jason doesn't dismiss it that easily.

"God, I'm stupid. Hey, I'm sorry man. Didn't mean to offend ya or something. That was a pretty stupid thing ta say. I was just messin' with ya. People do it often enough with me, cuss I'm black and all."

I give him a disarming smile again. Sure it sucks to look different than most people. I've been wanting to do competitions in skateboarding ever since me and Raph saw our first one when we snuck out some day. But no way Sensei would let me, even if I went in disguise. We all know how dangerous it is to be around humans, especially in daylight. And if we do we can't direct any attention to ourselves, it'd basically be suicide.

"That's okay, people say idiotic things around me all the time. They are just too amazed by the awesomeness that is me to keep their head on straight."

"You ain't one for modesty, are ya," he laughs, throwing a fist against my arm again but in a friendly way. I like it. It makes me think of my older brother, Raph. "How old are you actually?" I ask him next to keep the conversation going. I want to know a little more of him.

He shrugs and cards a hand through his hair. "Probably older than you are," he says. "But I don't know, isn't it that turtles get like, crazily old?"

I laugh and shake my head slightly. "Well, I'm half-human so I don't think I'm gonna get that old. My father is half human and half rat and he's way older than most rats can get."

Jason's eyes practically bulge out of his sockets when he stares at me. "Your dad is a rat? What is your mom?"

I laugh even harder and he quickly follows although he looks at me a bit unsure. "We're adopted," I explain when I can breathe again. "Something weird happened when I was little, to him too, and so we became a family because we had no one else."

Jason nods, his eyes a little distant as he's thinking about what I just told him. I hope he doesn't ask further on what exactly happened to us, I don't really want to explain it all to him. It'd be dangerous too, to give him so much information.

"But uhm… I'm eighteen now," I continue, looking at him expectantly.

"Yeah, same here, almost nineteen though," he says. "I would invite you to my party but that's gonna be so boring I'll spare you that."

I grin back at him when he says that. I know he said it was going to be boring just because he didn't want to say the real reason out loud. It feels good though, to get my very first invitation to a party. Even when it's impossible to actually go.

I look him over again, this time out of interest mostly. He does look younger than nineteen, I had thought he would be three or four years older than that. He is very long as well but maybe that's because of his built.

"What is someone like you doing here anyways," I blurt out all of the sudden, not thinking about my words really as I'm still fascinated by the human in front of me.

It's then that I notice how he tenses and his eyes widen a little. He turns away from me slightly and motions for me to follow him instead of answering. He climbs the water tower and sits down on the spot I occupied not too long ago. I jump after him, doing a somersault in mid-air. Jason mutters 'show-off' when I come to sit next to him but then starts to gaze at the streets below.

"I uhm… just wanted to be alone for a little while. Thought a rooftop would be a good place for that. Not that much people wandering around here. Didn't take giant talking turtles into account but they say those make good company."

I smile at the obvious compliment but he doesn't even look at me. He stares forlornly into the distance and I follow his line of sight. There isn't much down there, just a couple of boys smoking outside a café. Wait a minute… Those aren't just cigarettes, are they? I narrow my eyes to zero in on the café, which isn't that much of a café either. Damn.

I scan my eyes over the rest of the streets and swallow thickly. Oops, should have paid more attention to where I was going. The guys are going to kill me.

This is one of the few streets we aren't allowed to come alone. They're the worse-off neighbourhoods and me and my brothers have seen enough of this to know that what happens here at night isn't pretty. Mostly the people around here aren't much of a threat so it isn't that dangerous except for a couple of maniacs solely here to hurt others. Leo doesn't want us to see the people living in these places though, they're very broken. And honestly, after the first time I saw a crack-addict beating up a child because he thought the kid had his drugs, I'm glad we have a rule to never go out here alone.

I turn my head and watch Jason curiously. I wonder what he's doing here. Sure, looking for some alone-time, I get that my bros need it often as well. But what is he doing in this neighbourhood? And at one in the morning, for that matter.

"So why are you up here?" The question startles me a little and for a moment I wonder if I should tell him the truth. He watches me curiously. He really does seem nice. And why not tell the truth, it isn't like he can do something bad with what I'm telling him anyways.

"I was playing a game with my brothers actually. I was hiding up here but then I saw you."

He nods before asking: "You got brothers?"

Again I pause for a moment to consider what I'm going to tell him. This is way more personal than talking about a game. On the other hand what's wrong with telling him about my bros? As long as I don't tell him any specific info on where to find us or whatever, what's the deal?

"Yeah three older ones actually. First you have Leo, he's very bossy but he's got good advice too. Raph is a bit of a hothead, like the type that beats you up over stupid things. In the end he's most fun to hang out with though. Donnie is a major geek and I'm pretty sure he can make an atomic bomb if he tries. But he isn't into that, mostly he just fixes my stuff and makes me new things."

"They sound pretty cool," Jason says and I nod. "Sometimes I can't stand them though. Then they're so boring and don't know how to have some fun. Or they keep chasing me out because they need 'privacy'. That's when I pay them back with a prank."

The wind around us starts to pick up a little and above I see dark clouds covering the sky. I think it's going to rain soon but neither of us makes a move to leave. I like this guy, even though I don't know him that well yet.

"You have any siblings?" I ask him, figuring that it'd be best to get to know him before I decide if I should meet up with him more. He's pretty cool so far, maybe we can go out skating sometime. I smirk. Show him how a real pro looks like on a board, turtle or not.

"Yeah," he answers my previous question. "I have an older sister. Dianne. I don't see her that much though."

"Why?" I ask but he just shrugs his shoulders.

"She moved out. Married some asshole and moved to Seattle. I don't really miss her, she always fights with my dad."

I knit my eyebrows together in thought. I don't know why but I find it hard to believe he finds the situation as easy to cope with as he's letting on. Me and my bros obviously have a strong bond and I know most human children aren't like that. For the first fifteen years all we had was each other so we've grown to be more than just brothers. We're best friends. Human children have a lot of other people to choose from other than their family. But to have your sister moving away and hardly seeing her again, that must hurt. Not to mention having your sibling and dad fight so much.

"Where do you go to school?" I try to get away from our previous subject, I can see how it makes Jason uncomfortable. Plus, I've always wanted to go to high school. They seem so cool in the movies and there are so many friends, parties to go to and sports games to see.

"I don't really go to school anymore," Jason tells me. "I went to high school for a while but I thought it was useless. You got to enjoy your freedom while you still have it, you know what I mean."

I don't really but I nod anyways. I guess school does get boring after a while. Master Splinter taught us the basics, reading and writing of course. Also math but our master couldn't really remember anything from that past primary school subtractions, additions and fractions. He told us about the knowledge of the world around us that he knew till we were around twelve. That's when our daily lessons stopped, being replaced by ninja training completely. Other things we learned from TV, the internet, books we found or April.

"Must be great to be you," Jason says. "Turtles obviously don't go to school or work. Hanging out all day seems like a perfect life to me."

"Hey, now you make me sound like I'm lazy," I quip. "And I'm not really hanging out all day. Me and my bros are ninjas actually, we train a lot with our sensei. By the way, during the day there's hardly anything to do, it isn't like we can come out and expose ourselves to the world. That's why we come out at night, fighting scum and bad guys and all. We're basically heroes."

Jason snorts in amusement but he doesn't ridicule me. Somehow I thought he wouldn't believe me if I told him I was also trained in ninjutsu. It's one thing to meet a teenaged turtle who is a kick-ass skateboarder and looks as handsome as I do. To have that same turtle practising an age-old form of martial arts together with his brothers and have him saving the city practically every day, I have to admit that sounds far-fetched even to me.

"It explains the flip though, that looked pretty cool. Can you do more?"

I shrug and jump down back onto the roof. It's getting colder so I don't mind some physical action. I grab one of the nunchaku in my belt and chose one of the simpler katas I've practised with Master Splinter these last few months.

"Okay, this one is called Maezato no Nunchaku, meaning Nunchaku from Maezato who was the founder of this kata. This form is performed with only one nunchaku," I finish, holding up my weapon in case he doesn't know what a nunchaku is.

I bow out of habit and see Jason watching me curiously. Quickly I execute the first move, placing my left leg behind me and moving my 'chuck in front of me in a defensive position. I lose myself into the fluid motions easily, enjoying the rush of feeling my skin and weapon cutting through the air in a deadly dance. Don't get me wrong, I'm not that much into katas, I think they're kinda boring. But sometimes it's a good way to feel one with your own body again. To control every movement and know what you are capable of. To know where your weapon is at all times and to relax because you are certain of the movements you have memorized so well already.

For me the kata is over too soon so in the end I keep going, making up a few more moves just for fun. When I'm done I bow again. Jason startles me out of my concentration with a loud whistle.

"That was crazy, dude!" he shouts from up the water tower. I can't help but let the tingling feeling across my cheeks take over, a blush forming along my cheekbones. I don't know why exactly, I've done this millions of times before. Maybe it's just nice to know that someone is impressed by what I can do as a martial artist. My bros and father are much better than I am most of the time so a compliment like this, I haven't had many of those before. I mean, I know that in the middle of the kata my arm wasn't stretched out all the way and that the swing near the ending should've been executed after taking the next step forward, not during it. If I were home that would be the only thing Master Splinter would tell me.

But Jason doesn't know all that and maybe that's why having a friend is so nice. They don't know everything about you, just the part you want them to know. You can start all over again.

"Can you bring my jacket up? It's getting really cold up here." Again I forget all about him and almost trip when the voice rings through my ears. I really should pay more attention tonight, man.

"Uh… sure dude!"

I jog over to where the my new friend's blue jacket is still bunched up in a corner. When I pick it up though, something white falls out of one of the pockets and softly lands back on the rooftop. I pick it up and notice the rushed scrabble on one of the sides of the folded paper. To the assholes that are my family, I read and swallow. Should I…

Before I know it I unfold the paper which turns out to be a letter. My eyes fly over the lines and with every word the pounding in my head gets worse. From somewhere in the background I can hear Jason shouting at me. I don't pay him any attention though, I keep reading until the boy has run up to me himself.

Jason snatches the letter out of my hand, actually growling at me through his clenched teeth. He casts an angry glare my way. "Stay outta my stuf, dude!" he screams in my face.

I stay calm, look at him with what must be disbelief in my eyes. Jason is wheezing hard, he probably ran fast when he saw what I was doing. I want to say something, anything, but I don't know what. What can you say to someone who has already chosen to be silent forever?

"You were going to jump?"

He doesn't move an inch while he keeps eye-contact. He looks like he is ready to explode but I don't flinch. I have experience with people like that, Raph can look way more intimidating if he wants to. Not to forget Donnie when I mess something up in his lab again or Leo when I take one of his lessons less serious than he thinks I should. However, this is a stranger and I have no idea what he'll do because unlike my brothers, he doesn't care enough to keep himself from hurting me.

"Thought you had already figured that out. Why stop me if you didn't know?" he asks, his voice not even half as harsh as his glare. He has a point though. I knew what he was going to do or I wouldn't have intervened. It doesn't matter what Donnie says, I do think my actions through somewhat. I wouldn't be talking to this kid right now if I hadn't considered him committing suicide. I just don't like to think about it. And when he talked to me, being so nice and us having fun together, I want to dismiss the thought. To forget it like most things I don't like to be remembered of.

He walks away, standing back at the edge and watching over the neighbourhood. I don't move because I'm afraid he'll do stupid things if I come too close. But I'm not going to leave him here either, I couldn't even do that when I didn't know him yet. And now, I know so little of him and yet it feels like we're friends. I hope he feels the same way and will listen.

"I'm sorry," I say because I really mean it. I'm not sure what he had to put up with all his life but the bits and pieces of the letter I've read give me a pretty good hunch. His sister and dad have been fighting badly ever since his mom has died of an overdose. Half a year ago his sis then decided to leave the family and leave Jason with an abusive dad who practically drinks himself to death. And all he ever wanted was to see his mom again but no one paid attention to how much he was hurting. The last straw was his dad kicking him out yesterday.

"Ya got nothin' to be sorry for." His voice is rough and I think he is upset. He is turned with his back towards me though so I can't see his face. "Just go Mike, it'll be better that way."

But I don't go. If I leave now I'll never be able to forgive myself. Jason is a good kid, he really is. And if it was so easy to befriend him for a little while maybe I can change his mind. Man, I would even take him with me to the lair just to keep him from killing himself. We could find him a home, I'm sure of it. I bet Master Splinter can even be persuaded to have him live with us if we can't.

He turns around slightly and I smile, hoping to put him at ease a little. He growls though. "Leave! It doesn't matter if ya stop me from jumping tonight. I'm gonna get killed anyway, I don't have a place to live, remember? You don't know what it is like down there Mikey, it's hell. So before the devil takes over just let me get out of here with a bit of dignity."

I take a few steps closer, stepping at the rhythm of my banging heart. "You want to die with dignity by killing yourself off? You can't die with dignity dude, who'll respect you when you're dead on the pavement? You can only live with it."

Eventually I'm next to him and in a desperate moment of anxiety I grab his arm and pull. He doesn't protest but doesn't move either. Eventually we're both sitting on the roof, facing each other in a deadly stand-off. Deadly because I know what the out-come will be if I don't get through to Jason.

"I can't do this Mike," he tells me slowly when he figures out I'm not about to leave him alone. "I'm done here. Lately all I do is awful stuff and I know it's this stupid city screwing with me. My stupid family screwing with me. It ain't fair that I beat up kids because I'm too drunk to know what I'm doing. I want to get out before the name Diablo becomes more than just a stupid nickname."

"Wait a minute dude," I say, catching his attention. "First, Diablo isn't a stupid name, I think it's cool." I give him a tender smile and he tries to return in through the deep frown of sorrow that is still on his face. "And I promise, living in misery sucks marginally less than dying in it. You wouldn't want to die feeling like this, right? If you can get through this maybe things will get better. You can always die if you want to, dying first and then regretting it, now that's sad."

He still doesn't look at me but I think his resolve is breaking. "You're maybe right but I still don't got anywhere to go. There's no point of staying here, this place sucks! And the worst is, the best thing that has ever happened in my life is you." He points at me roughly. "Some random talking turtle-dude just sitting here and listening for once while I'm friggin' trying to die!"

He stands up but doesn't walk off and doesn't get any closer to the edge. He just stands there, unsure of what to do with himself. I can see he fights his inner battles and I know he tries to be someone he's not. He isn't strong, he's a scared kid. I've been that kid numerous times and I know how that feels. For me, my family was always there when I cried and I want to help him out too. He deserves someone like that.

"Everything sucks, buddy," I tell him, grinning. Not because I feel like it but because I want to prove a point. "Might as well find something to smile about. C'mon, I'm sure not everything is as bad as you make it. You're a good friend, you know Jason? At least I've had fun with you tonight. I think you make yourself sound worse than you really are. And think of it this way, if this is the worst day of your life, thinks can only get better, right?"

I stand up too and try to place a hand on his shoulder. He doesn't shrug it off and I'm glad for that. Maybe I'm really getting through to him.

"It just isn't fair. I've looked around and all I see is shit and fucked-up lives. Even you. I know you've seen stuff you shouldn't have seen. You aren't even an adult and yet you try to take the responsibility on your shoulders to keep everyone safe. It isn't fair, we aren't fucking up, they are. The adults are! And I can't stand seeing that anymore. Sorry Mikey."

Before I know it he throws a hand full of gravel in my eyes. How he got a hold of it I will never know, I probably was to distracted by listening to his story. A mistake I'll pay for.

When my visions clears Jason is standing in the same place I found him before. However, now his eyes are on me and there is no way I can do the same trick again without having him jump down first.

"I want to have the thing I was never given – a choice."

I shake my head in disbelief when I see tears streaming down the tough boy's face. He locks eyes with me and his gaze is fixing me in my place. I can't move, I can't speak, I can't even breathe.

"See you in another life, brother."

The moment he jumps, time seems to restore itself. I run after him so fast and dive over the edge without a second of thought. My body moves naturally, my eyes only on the boy who is falling much faster than I am while my hands fumble with the grappling hook in my belt. One hand throws the end of our safety line back up onto the roof, the flukes hooking themselves on the edge where we just stood. I reach down with my hand to grab a shoe, a hand-full of t-shirt, maybe even a bunch of hair. Anything, but he is too far out of reach. The rest I can remember is a searing pain when the rope in my hand straightens out and wrenches my shoulder. And a sickening thud all the way down on the streets.

His name dies on my lips and salty tears travel down my face when I see a dark red flow over the pavement so far down. I was too late. The sentence keeps sounding through my mind when I numbly climb back up, knowing that at some point someone will notice the dead boy in the alley and maybe call an ambulance if he or she is sober enough.

I wait on the rooftop when that happens somewhere near dawn. My phone has been buzzing constantly but I haven't paid it any attention until my friend is concealed by a body bag. When he is gone I stand up and call my family to tell them I'm alright and coming back to the lair.

Before I leave though, I move down into the alley. I try to not look at the large pool of blood when I tape the white letter with Jason's last words to the wall. Maybe his family will at least regret what they've done when they read it.

Then I leave, disappearing like I always do when daylight comes.

Don't go writing angry reviews just yet, click on the second chapter first, kay? It'll probably make you feel better.