Chapter 10 – Loyalty to Damnation

"Let me go!" Nate screams as Cody pulls on him.

"I'm sorry little buddy, but I have to get you help. Luke doesn't understand how dangerous it is for you to stay here." Cody begins to tear up. How could he try to turn Nate in behind my back like this? I guess I'm not the only one doing things behind their boyfriend's back…

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO GO!" Nate cries out kicking and screaming. Cody places one hand over Nate's mouth and lifts him up.

"Stop screaming before someone hears you. I'm doing this because I want the best for you." Cody states as he allows the tears to finally fall down his face.

I continue watching in the distance still dumbfounded that my boyfriend, the one I thought I could trust to be on my side through it all, would do this. Cody turns the corner, holding Nate in his arms with Nate's mouth covered. I bolt after him, still keeping my distance. I do not plan to let Cody take Nate away from me. Even though Nate is only seven years old, I feel like meeting him was the best thing that has happened in my life. He has really helped me mature and take on adult responsibilities. Similarly, I have really had an effect on Nate. He finally has found someone he can trust and I won't let Cody take him away. Sorry Cody, but just because you're my boyfriend doesn't mean I will just sit back and watch.

As Cody reaches the front of the currently empty classroom, Nate decides to bite down on the arm covering his mouth.

"AHHHH!" Cody screams as he drops Nate to the ground. Nate tries to run away, but Cody manages to cling onto his left leg.

"Get off of me!" Nate says as he throws punches at Cody.

"This behavior is not tolerated Nate. I am trying to look out for you. Just stop!" Cody yells in a controlling tone.

"No!" Nate screams back, continuing to swing at Cody. Cody pushes Nate back against the wall. Nate slams against it and begins to cry again. I'm not sure exactly why, but something inside me snaps because of that push. I dash out of hiding and head straight for Cody.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" I ask Cody, clearly pissed off.

"Luke!" Cody's eyes widen in fear. After a few secconds, he regains his cool and continues. "You just don't get it. We need to turn him in. You can't take care of him. You're just too…" Cody starts.

I shove Cody against the wall in anger. I don't think I've ever been so disgusted by his presence in my life. "I'm too what?" I growl at him as he remains with his back to the wall.

"You're too young and not ready to raise a kid is all…" Cody looks down.

"Look Cody, you can't tell me what I can and can't do. I know I can take care of this kid. In fact, if I can't I give you every right to turn him in. However, until that day comes it's none of your damn business." I bark at him.

"I can't just watch you gamble some kid's life away!" Cody yells as he gets off of the wall.

"Well, would you like to help me take care of him?" I ask calmly.

"No! Stop talking about taking care of him! We are turning him in and…" Cody tries to say, but I don't allow him. I'm not sure what is going on with me, but I decide to punch him in the stomach. He deserves such treatment.

"I told you that is not happening!" I scream as I pick up Cody. I never even knew I was strong enough to do this. I kick open the classroom door and toss him in, following after him. I lift my foot up, ready to kick him in the chest. "Nate is the most important thing to me right now. More important than school, more important than this God forsaken prom night, and more important than some retard boyfriend that I can't trust!" I scream as I kick him in the side. I feel as if I don't even know him anymore.

"Please stop!" Nate cries as he pulls on my shirt. "I don't want you to hurt Cody anymore. He's my friend too!"

My eyes widen as I look at Nate. He is calling Cody his friend. The same guy that just pushed him against the wall and was about to betray him is his so-called "friend"?

I look back at Cody, and see tears streaming down his face. He looks awfully sorry for what he has done, but for some reason I feel like he is getting away too easily. I turn toward Ms. Tutweiller's desk and notice she left her keys on it. A smile crawls across my face.

"Nate, get out of here now. I promise I won't hurt him anymore." I walk toward the desk and pick up the keys.

"O-okay." Nate stutters as he leaves the classroom.

"Cody, no matter how much I love you, I refuse to let you take advantage of Nate! He is staying here and that is all there is to it! I will be back to talk to you later when I'm not as angry as I am right now, but for now you will be spending your prom night locked up in this classroom! Hope you enjoy!" I slam the door shut and lock it. About two seconds after I lock the door, Cody's head pops into the clear glass on the top half of the door. As sorry as his expression tells me that he is, I just cannot look at him right now. "Come on Nate, we'll come back for him later." I look to the ground as I take Nate by the hand and walk away. This is probably the hardest thing I've ever done. Resisting the urge to look at Zack naked wasn't even as hard as leaving my boyfriend locked up, but it must it must be done.

"Where are we going?" Nate asks as he looks at me.

"I'm going to go get Zack. At least I can still spend prom night with him. Besides, I'm sure he would appreciate your presence." I smile at Nate. I don't want Nate to be worried about Cody or my state of mind. He has too much to worry about already.

"How about I wait in your room for you guys? I kind of have to go to the bathroom anyway." Nate admits.

"That's fine by me. I'll meet you in my room! Just hang out there until I get back. Here's my room key." I kneel down and hand Nate the key to my room.

"Awesome! Thank you so much Luke!" Nate hugs me, not allowing me to stand back up.

"No problem! I love you man!" I place my hand on Nate's hair. I guess this is what it feels like to be taking care of a kid.

"I love you too!" Nate replies as he begins to kiss me on the lips. I quickly break the kiss in complete shock that he would do such a thing.

"Woah there little buddy. What was that?" I ask, completely puzzled.

"I love you, so I wanted to kiss you on the lips. By the way, you were right. That felt awesome!" Nate winks. I remain completely silent. If things weren't already on the edge, I probably would tell him how he isn't supposed to kiss me on the lips, but I let it slide. There are many other things that are of more concern to me these days than a little kid wanting to make out with me.

I watch as Nate walks away, and stand back up once he does. Next up on my agenda is finding Zack. He has to be somewhere around here. Maybe he's already at the Sky Deck? It is getting to be about the time I am supposed to be there.

I decide to take the quickest route to the Sky Deck, which involves cutting through the girls' cabin area. As much as I hate entering that general part of the ship, I want to finish talking with Zack as fast as possible so I will have time to get back to Nate and pick him up.

As I turn the corner, entering the girls' portion of the ship, I find Zack kissing Violet. I nearly collapse at the sight of it. The only person left who I want to spend my prom night with would rather spend his with a girl than with me. As if this night couldn't get any worse. The more I watch the two of them make out, the more my fists tighten. All that has been happening tonight is sheer torture. First my boyfriend and now Zack. Did I do something to deserve being forsaken by my friends?

Well if Zack thinks that I am less important than a girl, then maybe I should just ruin his night. The last thing I want to do is intentionally hurt Zack, but if he's willing to just kick me to the curb for some girl then I will do just that.

I walk up behind Violet as she finishes kissing Zack. Zack immediately spots me and reacts out of sheer paranoia. "AHHHHH HARVEY!" Zack jumps back in fear and shuts his eyes. Violet turns around and looks at me to see it is not Harvey. She begins to laugh at Zack. I, however, remain completely serious.

Zack opens his eyes and notices it is me. "Oh… Luke… there you are." Zack says, clearly aware that he embarrassed himself. He continues watching me, until he becomes aware that I am not pleased by his presence. I guess my plan to ruin his night, just like he has mine, is working.

"Luke, what's wrong?" Zack asks.

"It's Cody. I can't find him anywhere. He isn't in his room and Woody hasn't seen him since school ended this afternoon!" I state with an angered face. Let's see how he feels when he is betrayed by a friend. It's time to make him walk in my shoes. "I thought he was excited about tonight…" I continue.

"Awww come on Luke, I doubt he ditched you. He is probably waiting on the Sky Deck for us." Zack places his arm on my shoulder. I immediately snap and throw his arm off of my shoulder. I can't let his comforting attitude be triumphant over me. I have to remind myself, he's the jerk here. He's the jerk here. He IS the jerk here…

"NO YOU IDIOT. I CHECKED THE SKY DECK. HE ISN'T THERE! IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" I yelp as I fuel my anger. Zack's eyes begin to widen. "You just had to force Cody into an uncomfortable position and force yourself into our special prom night, didn't you?" I add with a little less rage.

"No… Cody asked me. I wasn't trying to upset anyone…" Zack says innocently. Even though making Zack feel guilty was the whole plan to begin with, watching him makes me want to say sorry right now. I want to tell him the truth. I want to tell him all about Nate, and what a jerk Cody was, but how could I be truthful with someone who considers me second to some girl? Then again, maybe he felt this way when I was around Cody. No, that is such a lie. I was hanging out with Zack just like I used to with Cody around. However, once Violet entered the picture Zack completely ditched me. Unless he's in our room I never see him anymore, and I can't act as if I'm okay with that.

"Cody is too worried about you. Of course he'd ask you. But because you had to agree, now he ran off and hid himself from us… from me! You know what? Just get out of my life. If you want to be my friend that's one thing, but when you interfere in my relationship with Cody then you have crossed the line!" I cry out as I run away. Though it wasn't a part of my plan, tears roll down my eyes. Not because I am taking what I said seriously, but because I hate myself for lying to Zack. All he did was kiss a girl. Sure, I don't like her, but he does. He didn't like that I was dating Cody at first, but he accepted it. Maybe I should do the same.

After I turn the corner, I immediately throw myself to the ground and break down into tears. Too many things are tipping me off today that I am just too overwhelmed.

I turn back around and see Zack crying as well. What have I done? How could I set him up to feel guilty like this? All he did was kiss the person he loves. I shove my head between my knees and continue crying. It seems like prom night has gone from an exciting night to a dramatic one…

After about five minutes of nothing but tears dripping down my face, I peek my head around the corner to find Zack and Violet are gone. Zack has Violet to comfort him so I guess I don't have a reason to worry.

I wipe the tears from my eyes and rise back up. Even though my encounter with Zack didn't go exactly as planned, I still need to return to Nate. Now that I am in better shape, maybe I can even go talk things over with Cody. First things first though. Time to go get Nate!

Will Luke and Cody set things right? Will Nate be welcome on the boat in Cody's eyes? Will Luke make up for lying to Zack out of anger? Keep reading to find out! ^_^

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