A/N: This takes place at the Pasaro brother's high school on May 4th, 1999. I was in a really dark place when I started it, and I guess a part of me will always be there, but for the record, I would never do something like this. If I was gonna do something violent, it would involve gasoline and a box of matches, not guns. I'm not crazy.

Nolo let out an exasperated sigh. This was just plain torture!

The sophomore sat in the library with a book he was being forced to read for his English class; it was poorly written, and an obvious Harry Potter ripoff at that. Finally, unable to contain his boredom, Nolo threw the book down on the table in a strange mix of relief and disgust, picking up a copy of Auto Trader.

He stared. He stared like he did every day. Shirako had first noticed Nolo Pasaro in his study hall, the second day of school. The class was a mixture of freshmen and sophomores, and he had decided to entertain himself by picking on the young Asian. It wasn't the last time either; Nolo's older brother, Tone, was on the basketball team, and he and his Varsity Goon Squad (as Shirako liked to call them) let Nolo hang out with them. On more than one occasion, a few of the Goons had gotten out of detention at the same time the computer club let out, and Shirako and his friend Skip were unable to escape their wrath. Both nerds had gotten the stuffing beaten out of them, were called nasty names, shoved in garbage cans and rolled down a hill.

Since that day, both freshmen had become the preferred targets of the Pasaro brothers, getting shoved in lickers, hassled in the halls, and generally looked down upon.

Flipping to where he had left off, Nolo began reading again, making himself promise that he'd read that annoying book later (or at least get the cliff's notes). Becoming engrossed in the tragic tale, Nolo was rudely shaken back to reality. Shirako, too, was surprised, on his guard at the older boy's appearance. If both were present, he'd probably get his ass kicked. Again.

"Hey there, Nolito!" a familiar voice called in mock whisper. It was his older brother, Tone. The elder Pasaro brother plopped down, taking a seat with a smile not to be trusted. "How's my favorite little brother in the whole wide world?"

Nolo rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

Tone pouted, acting hurt. "Oh, Nolo, you wound me! Can't a guy just be happy to see his bro?"

"No," he answered plainly. The two stared each other in the eye, as was their custom, to decide who would listen to the other. Tone blinked first, and Nolo grinned, but just as he was about to tell his brother to get lost an explosion rocked the school; the floor shook, and students in the hall were screaming.

Shirako fell out of his seat; first the older brother, now this! What was going on? And then it hit him like a flying mallet. He whispered one word:

"Skip"

Her best friend from Computer Club, Skip Schickel, had told him something in the parking lot that morning; he'd told him to go home, that it was going to be a rough day. He'd thought he was joking around, but maybe…Oh God.

Skip was a huge target for the entire student body's woes; from the Football Team to the French Club, everyone picked on him. Tone and Nolo had made it fashionable. They called him names, wrote things on his locker, pushed him in the halls, but by far one of the worst enemies he faced everyday was Tone. He and his varsity goons, Max and Cliff, just the previous day had called Skip a little bitch and tossed the terrified nerd into a dumpster. Skip said sooner or later, the Pasaro brothers would get what was coming to them.

The truth of the matter was, Tone didn't actually dislike Skip; he only acted that way to impress his friends, and Nolo only messed with him because Tone messed with him. Skip was just a victim of the 'everybody's doing it' mentality. Everyone else picked on Skip, so what should one more taunt matter?

But what if that was the straw that broke the camel's back?

Shirako got up from the floor, brushing the hair from his face, and gathered his books. He sat back down and took deep breaths, hoping that he was wrong.

The Pasaro brothers looked nervously towards the door, then at each other. Tone gave a weak smile and spoke.

"Someone musta screwed up in Chem Lab; boy, am I glad I skipped that class!"

"You think so?" Nolo asked, still mildly stunned. "I mean, 'cause you know, it's been getting a little crazy—"

"Across the country, I know," Tone interrupted. It had been exactly two weeks previous that two boys named Eric and Dylan had opened fire in Littleton, Colorado, killing quite a few students at Columbine high. "But, come on Nolo! There's no one here like that."

The screaming got louder and shots rang out in the hallway. In the distance a door was kicked in, and some shrieks died away as more replaced them and more shots were fired.

"Of course I could be wrong," he said, ducking under the table. Nolo followed suit, and Shirako did the same at his table. The librarian, on the other hand, made the mistake of tiptoeing up to the door and peeking her head out.

Tone and Nolo gasped and screamed as the older woman's skull was obliterated and she fell to the floor. A thin figure in a trench coat stepped over her body, entering the library. His hair was almost shoulder length, the bleach blonde of last summer fading into black, and his shirt read 'Natural Selction'. In his hands was a deer rifle.

Under the table, Tone began to tremble, holding a hand over his mouth to keep in the screams.

'He's got blood on his hands, oh god oh god oh god Skip's gonna kill me I'm gonna die here I'm gonna die at school fuck I'm only 19 this can't be happening to me'

He prayed to every deity he knew that he'd live through this.

Skip walked up to the little group, taking aim at a female junior, and hitting his target in the abdomen on the way. She lay there wimpering and the Pasaros were helpless but to watch. Shirako stared in horror; he knew Skip knew he was there, but the boy blatantly ignored him, and upended the table the Pasaro brothers were hiding under.

"Well, well, well," he said with a sadistic grin; "fancy meeting you two here." He paused, reloading the rifle, and they just sat there staring up at him. It made a click clacking noise as he cocked it, preparing to fire. "Somehow, you never struck me as the literary types; I guess it was the way you always seemed to think 'nerd' was synonomous with 'pussy' when you beat me."

Tone cringed, his eyes fixed on the barrel, and was vaguely aware of the tears rolling down his face. Nolo was shaking his head, sobbing and praying in Spanish. Skip pouted.

"Aw, now, don't be like that, guys; I'm sure you'll make it up to me somehow."

He raised the gun, and Shirako couldn't take it anymore. Tone and Nolo were bastards, but there was no way he could just sit there and let it happen.

"NO!" he cried out, diving for Skip's rifle, and taking one to the shoulder. He gasped in pain, unable to make a sound or for that matter even see straight becuse of the agony he was going through, and slid to the floor against the wall. Skip gaped at him, remorse flickering on his face.

"What the Hell, Takamoto!" he said, kneeling. "I told you to go home! What were you thinking?!"

"I...I could say the same thing," Shirako answered, coughing.

"What?"

"I won't let you do this, Skip."

The shooter's gaze hardened, and he stood up. "You self righteous prick. I thought of everyone, you'd understand. You were supposed to sympathize with my situation! You were supposed to tell my story!! Dammit, Shirako, they hate you too! You're nothing to them! NOTHING!!!"

"Then why let me live?" the Asian boy countered. "Don't you get it, Skip? There's nothing wrong with fighting back, but this is fucking rediculous! Look at you, man. You're as bad as them. No, you're worse! They never killed anyone."

"Sh-shut up!" he said. "JUST SHUT UP!!" Skip raised the muzzel of his gun threateningly.

Shirako put his hand on the gun barrel- not really pulling it; he didn't have the energy- and gently moving the end up to his own forehead.

"If I'm nothing, Skip," he said, tired, "then end it. Right here. Do what you gotta do, man. Don't treat me any differently than you would anyone else."

Skip gasped, looking down at his friend in complete shock, and unbeknownst to him, he and Tone were reminded of precisely the same incident.

Once again, the Pasaro brothers had caught up to Skip and Shirako, but then it wasn't very likely a couple of computer geeks would be able to outrun the school's top athletes. It was all routine.

Except, this time, they didn't know when to quit. Nolo held Shirako down on the ground, forcing him to watch as Tone beat the Asian boy's best and only friend. Skip was fast losing consciousness and needed medical attention, and Shirako begged them to stop, but Tone just wouldn't let up. Finally, fearing for his friend's life, Shirako came up with an idea that would help Skip, even if it would end badly for Shirako.

"HEY SPIC!!" he called. Oh, that did it. "Yeah, you, cueball, I'm talking to you! What, are you friggin' deaf or friggin' stupid?!"

Tone glared at him, letting Skip drop. "You better watch your mouth, homes."

Shirako grinned as Nolo let him up with a dirty look. "Like I'm a afraid of a slimy little pussy like you."

Enraged, Tone punched him square int he jaw, but once on his knees, Shirako's coughing turned into laughter, and he declared "My gramma hits harder than you and she's in a fucking wheelchair! I bet your bro's an even bigger pansy than you!"

The Pasaro brothers ganged up on the small Asian boy, and Skip escaped to a nearby diner to call the cops.

Thinking about what a terrible person he was, Tone shed a few tears, realizing he might very well deserve to die; what had he done? Not just to Skip, but to Shirako? This noble little kid who was sacrificing himself for his tormentors?

Nolo was still crying. It felt like the stress alone was taking a few years off his life.

Shirako closed his eyes, the rifle aimed at his skull, and breathed deeply; inhale, exhale. "I'm ready, Skip. Go ahead."

Skip made a strange little sound, throwing down the gun, and walking off between the bookshelves that towered above him. He uttered a few words after that, but they weren't audible. Shirako lowered himself gently to lay on the floor, wincing from the pain. Tone rushed to his side, and Shirako began to sing softly to himself, as if he were the only one in the war zone that used to be the school library.

"Oh, God, what have I done?" Tone sobbed, lifting Shirako's head carefully. "I'm so sorry, I've been such a complete asshole. You never did anything to me!"

A single shot sounded not a few yards away, but there were no screams to accompany the blast from the pistol Skip used to end his life; he'd only loaded one round in that gun, and he knew exactly why. Skip's brains were splattered all over the modern Ameriacn poetry section.

"...W-what have we become...my sweetest friend? Everyone I know goes...away in the..end..."

His eyes widened, looking down at Shirako's pale features; the kid's eyes were barely open. They had to get him out of there. Now.

"Nolo!" he barked, snapping into action. His younger brother snapped to attention, tears still falling from his eyes, though he was silent. "Grab his legs, man, vamanos!"

"You can have it all...my empire of d-dirt...I will let you d-down.. I will make you...hurt..."

Nolo gulped, grudgingly getting up from his spot on the floor, but still ducking to make sure Skip wouldn't take a pot shot at him. He helped his brother with the nearly unconscious Asian, and they headed for the library's emergency exit.

As it turned out later on, Skip had killed his mother and her boyfriend before he left for school that morning, and the explosion later on was a pipe bomb he detonated in the cafeteria. Shirako didn't really blame the Pasaro brothers for what happened, though Nolo and Tone had a much harder time forgiving themselves. All in all, twelve students, two teachers and the librarian were killed, and several others were terribly wounded, but those who survived the disaster were better people for it.

Reflecting on all this, Shirako looked up from his hospital bed as Tone and Nolo's faces smiled wearily from the doorway. Clearly, it was the beginning of a very intersting friendship.

A/N: Wow, that was emotionally draining. The shooter is an OC named in refernce to real life shooter Kip Kinkel, who murdered his parents in their sleep before he took his gun to school; when they arrested him he was screaming "God damn these voices in my head!" The guy's basically proof that Ritalin and antidepressants shouldn't be mixed. As you can tell, this is based heavilly on the real life shooting rampage at Columbine, and I'm just waiting for the flames with this one. See ya.