Chapter 14: The Tragedy.
Austin's P.O.V.
We start the new school year today.
Dallas has been living with us for the past few weeks. It's been great! My parents absolutely love him, which makes me happy. Like Mom said though, their room is right in between our rooms, so Dallas and I haven't been able to have too much fun... Ok. She didn't say it, but it was implied. Anyway, while we haven't been able to actually have sex, we have managed to get away with showering together a couple times. We also snuggle in one of our beds for a while before either Mom or Dad comes in to send us to our own rooms at bedtime.
Yes, I have a bedtime, but it's not just my bedtime. It's enforced throughout the house. My parents follow it, and so do guests. Once when I was ten, I snuck out of my bedroom after bedtime to watch TV, and when I got caught, I got grounded for a week.
Anyway, school starts today. Not that excited. Except for first, third and sixth period, which Dallas and I have together. We tried to get as many of the same classes as possible, but three out of six isn't so bad. Plus, we'll still get lunch together.
Suddenly, someone breaks me from my thoughts.
"Wake up, Goldilocks!"
"AAHH!" I shout. I flail and fall out of bed, pulling the sheets with me and knocking down Dallas who had been standing right next to my bed when he woke me up. We land face to face with me lying on top of him. He smiles.
"Good morning!" he says.
"Was that really necessary?" I ask, rubbing my head.
"No, but you seem pretty *excited* about it." he says, grinning. I stand up quickly. He laughs at me.
"Calm down. Everyone gets morning wood. It's natural." he says, getting up.
"Oh... Ok." I put the sheets back on the bed and go over to my dresser. Dallas sits down on my bed and watches me as I get dressed. It's not uncommon, really. We do it all the time.
I pick out my favorite black skinny jeans and a red v-neck and put a white hoodie on over it. I turn to Dallas.
"Try a different shirt." he says. So I try on a blue v-neck. Dallas shakes his head. I frown. This time I go for a white crew-neck. As I pull it down over my head, I notice a huge smile on his face.
"Are you just doing this so I'll take my shirt off?" He giggles. "You little!" I push him onto his back and straddle his stomach. "Now who's in charge?" I lean down and kiss him. When I try to pull away, though, he pulls me back in.
"Boys, school starts in thirty min-" Mom says opening the door, stopping when she sees me on top of him. "Seriously, boys? Cut it out and come downstairs for breakfast." She closes the door as she walks away. I look at him and smile. He smiles back as I climb off and then help him up. I grab my purple hoodie and we walk down to the kitchen.
When we get to school, Ally, Dez and Trish are waiting for us in the usual spot.
"Hey, you lovebirds! How's it going?" Ally asks as we walk over, hands intertwined.
"Can't complain." I answer. "Dallas and I have three classes together."
"Aww. Fun." she says.
"We've got, like, ten minutes until class starts." Dallas says. "I need to go to the bathroom. Why don't you go get us some seats Austin?"
"Okay." I give him a quick kiss and walk toward our class room.
A few minutes later, after I've settled into a seat near the middle of the class and staked out Dallas's seat with my backpack, I hear sirens coming from outside. These sirens aren't like the ones we hear passing by everyday, though. These are close. Almost as if they're coming from right... out...side. I jump out of my seat and run out of the room.
I see EMTs everywhere. I push through the crowd to see what's going on. When I see what's going on, I freak out.
Dallas is rushed by on a stretcher. As far as I could gather, he was unconscious. There's a large amount of blood on his face which looks like it's coming from his mouth. I rush after them.
"Dallas!" I shout as they start loading him into the ambulance.
"Step back, kid." I get pushed back by one of the EMTs.
"Hey! That's my boyfriend!" I shout.
"We can't let you come."
"Aaauuustiiinnn..." Dallas manages to moan, reaching for me, but then falls unconscious again.
"Fine. Get in."
I jump in and sit by Dallas, taking his hand in mine.
"Dallas. I'm *so* sorry!" I say to his unconscious body. "I promised that I would never let anything happen to you. I should never have left your side." There's a huge lump in my throat and just saying this is incredibly hard. Tears come streaming down my face. I know he can't hear me, but something tells me I just have to say it. "I love you, Dallas, and nothing can ever change that!"
When we get to the hospital, I'm sent to the waiting room while they check on Dallas. A few minutes after, my mom come in. Dad must've stayed behind to watch the store.
"Austin, honey! What happened?" Mom asks.
"I don't know." I say. "We walked into school and met Ally and the gang, then he needed to use the bathroom. So while he went to the bathroom, I went to save us some seats in first hour. Five minutes later, I hear sirens, so I run out of the room and see Dallas rushed by on a stretcher."
"Oh, honey!" Mom says, sitting next to me and putting her arm around me. "I know this must be hard for you."
"I shouldn't have left him. I promised him I wouldn't let anything happen to him, but I let him go alone and this happened." I start crying into her shoulder.
"Austin Moon?" I stand up and rush over to the doctor. She's a beautiful woman with long chocolate brown hair. (I'm gay, not blind.) She looks to be of slightly Japanese descent and is wearing small half-moon glasses over her slightly almond-shaped eyes. She looks very young, probably no older than thirty.
"Hi. I'm Doctor Chang. First of all, huge fan. Second, Dallas will be just fine." My mom and I sigh with relief. "He got beaten pretty bad. He suffered a minor concussion and a few fillings were knocked loose, but, don't worry, he's still got all his teeth. He also got a few cuts that required stitches. He's awake, now. Would you like to-?" I nod furiously, cutting her off. "Follow me."
She takes us to Dallas's room. We walk in and see Dallas laying on the bed. His head is wrapped up in bandages and he's got a couple stitches on the right side of his jaw where it connects to the rest of the skull. He looks over and smiles brightly when I walk in with my parents and Dr. Chang.
"Dallas!" I run over to him and hug him. He groans, but hugs me back. "I thought I was gonna lose you! I love you and I promise I'll never leave you alone again!" I pull back from him and sit down next to him on the bed.
"I love you, too!" he says.
"Dallas, sweetie. What happened?" Mom asks, sitting in a chair next to the bed.
"It was..." He winces in pain. "Sebastian."