Chapter 15 - There Are No Clouds in the Sky, But It's Pouring

Legosi made his way away from the mostly abandoned neighborhood. His heart raced, almost thumping out of his chest. Emotions flooded his mind. Love, anxiety, sadness...It was all there. He didn't want to lose Louis like this. Before even telling him his feelings. Stay with me...Please, stay with me, Louis-senpai...We're almost there...

The wolf had an idea, removing his shirt even though his body was clawed up. Nothing mattered more right now than Louis. He wrapped his shirt around his head to help the bleeding from his eye, making a makeshift eye bandage. He felt bad because it was sweaty and bloody, but it was better than nothing.

There was only one place he thought to bring him. To the meteor festival. The school and the teachers would know what to do. He swiftly made his way back to the event, almost bursting into tears from the situation at hand. His legs were killing him. He needed to press on, as hard as it was. For Louis. He had never worked this hard for anything.

Legosi came running into view, carrying a broken and beaten Louis. Legosi himself looked a mess too. The Meteor Festival came to a complete halt as everyone took notice of the sight before them. Phones were quickly brought out and filming the whole thing. The wolf ignored them.

Many assumed the worst. Legosi had viciously attacked Louis and then regretted his actions, bringing him back to be saved. Rumor spread fast. Juno didn't believe that. Jack didn't believe that. Even Haru, watching with teary eyes from her little flower booth didn't believe that. If he wanted Louis dead, he would have done it.

Teachers approached Legosi, urging him to put Louis down immediately. He finally fell to his knees, clinging to the deer. "Please, help him." Tears filled his eyes."He needs an ambulance...Please...Help my senpai…" Phones were brought out, many calling for an ambulance.

Louis was barely hanging on by a thread. Many thought he was done for. Some refused to believe it. It was Louis the red deer! He would make it through this. He had to.

Everything was a blur. Tons of animals were around them, and there were some still trying to get Legosi to let go, but he couldn't. He cradled Louis' head to his chest. He felt so...fragile. So small... So helpless...He made sure to avoid his antlers.

Once the ambulance came, he had to be pried off Louis so he could be surrendered to the stretcher. Legosi attempted to climb after him into the ambulance, but he was denied entry, the doors closed in his face. He watched the vehicle disappear as he fell to his knees.

Now he had won. Louis was safe. Legosi's fight and struggle wasn't for nothing.

He smiled, knowing he was safe, but soon collapsed on the ground, everything going black.

Legosi's wounds were luckily not too bad. He didn't even need any stitches. The doctor's bandaged him up quickly, but he was told that he had to stay overnight, just in case.

Legosi didn't have the energy to refuse or even move, so he complied. His thoughts were completely filled with Louis the whole night before he drifted to sleep. He wondered how bad his injuries were, if he needed a lot of stitches, if he was still...alive…

Of course he was. Of course he was…

Louis finally awoke, with only a slight headache, but his body ached all over. The first thing he noticed was that something was covering his left eye.

He turned his head and looked around the room, spotting a nurse to his right. She was an otter, who turned her head and smiled gently. There was a sadness to it. "Ah, you're awake. Good."

"I'm not going to ask what happened, because I already know…" Louis spoke. "I lost my left eye, didn't I?"

She looked to the side for a moment. "I'm sorry. We had to remove it after we saw the damage done to it. You're going to have to wear an eyepatch from now on."

Louis took a moment to process this. His lip began to quiver. For some reason he felt so sad...He would never see with two eyes again. He gripped the sheets of the hospital bed.

The otter nurse looked like it pained her to see him like that. And it did. "You needed quite a bit of stitches. The doctor said he was lucky he saved you. You lost a lot of blood."

Louis was silent. He didn't have anything to say. On the bright side, he was still alive, but the loss was tremendous, in his eyes. In his eye…

"The doctor will be in here to check your vitals, but I'm afraid you'll be staying here for a bit while you recover. Don't worry, we'll take good care of you." She got up. "I'll leave you alone for a moment. I can tell you need it."

She left and as the door closed behind her, Louis just looked down and began sobbing. This was a horrible thing that happened to him. There was no going back from this and this consequences would be major. He wasn't ready.

The next day, the drama club came to visit. The doctor briefed them on what had happened and what he had lost. He told them to be gentle with him and be patient. He was in a very sensitive position. They all knew Louis hated being treated like he was helpless.

They all came in, standing around the bed. The deer just looked down, not wanting any of them to see his face and he was too afraid to see theirs. He couldn't handle all that hurt…

Everyone stood around his bed, unsure of what to say. Even Juno, who was usually so positive, just looked down silently. Legosi stood in the back, wearing fresh clothes and bandages, but feeling relieved Louis was alive. He wanted desperately to be with him alone, but he needed to let the other members have their time.

"What do you remember…?" Els the lamb asked.

Louis kept his head down. "I'm not ready to talk about it, Els. I'm sorry."

Bill sighed. "Sorry to hear about your eye, man...I just...wanted you to know I'm here for you. We all are."

Legosi was surprised Bill had said such a thing. It warmed his heart a bit. Everyone agreed they were here for the deer, no matter what. They all wanted him to feel better.

"I don't need you to pity me," Louis said, his hands balling up. "I shouldn't have been alone during the Meteor Festival."

"Well, maybe you'll have another chance to participate!" Els smiled.

Sheila nodded. "They actually moved the festival to next week after what happened. We had to stop it early because of all the chaos."

Louis sighed. "Okay. Thank you." It was obvious he didn't really want all these visitors at the moment.

Juno looked up. "They arrested the wolf who did this to you. Legosi-senpai was questioned this morning."

Eyes turned to Legosi. He looked at Louis. "Oh...Yeah...They didn't get the fox or the jaguar, though…"

Everyone in the club, and by extension, animals in the school, regarded Legosi as a hero. He wasn't sure what to do with the attention. Even now, visiting Louis, the members were murmuring amongst themselves.

"I still can't believe Legosi did that!"

"Well, you saw him fight on stage. Of course he was capable!" Bill noticed this comment.

"You know, I could have sworn those two hated each other..."

Legosi never hated Louis and after the fountain talk, he knew Louis never hated him. They were friends.

"I want to speak to Legosi, privately." Louis said, suddenly.

Everyone understood. Legosi had saved him, after all. They soon trickled out and the door was shut behind them.

Legosi walked over to the bed, sitting down on it and turning to face his injured senpai. Louis had an IV in his arm and a bandage around his head, except for his right eye. That one, beautiful eye. Legosi then realized, he was never going to see both of them ever again…

Louis looked away. "Legosi...I..." He teared up. This was his breaking point. He sniffed. "I can't do this anymore."

Legosi grabbed one of his hands in both of his own. It was strange how much bigger his hands were than his...He stared into that eye, now threatening to burst with tears.

The wolf looked down, and then back up at him. "Then don't..."

"I...Have to...More than ever now. But...I can't. They're going to want the future Beastar to recover from this stronger than ever...But...I can't be this anymore..."

Legosi knew how delicate the situation was. If he quit, the attackers won. If he quit, then the hope of coexistence shattered in the school. In fact, this attack might push further towards segregation, anyway. It was a losing situation.

But the fact of the matter was: Louis didn't want to do this. Legosi couldn't stand behind something he couldn't and didn't want to do. But...he had no idea how this could be fixed. "I...I have no idea what to do, senpai..."

A tear streamed down Louis' cheek. He felt like a loser. And now he was crying, just like a loser would. What was wrong with him?

Legosi snaked one of his hands up Louis' arm, resting it on his shoulder, while his other hand stayed put where it had been. His senpai, who he had admired so much, who he had befriended so quickly, had fallen once again. The wolf felt like crying too, but he rubbed Louis' shoulder to keep himself grounded for the deer.

Louis kept looking away. "You should leave...I hate you seeing me like this."

Legosi looked down to the floor, holding onto Louis still. "Is that what you really want, senpai...?" he asked, quietly.

"..."

The wolf grabbed a tissue from the nightstand, using it to wipe the tears from Louis' face, gently. The deer didn't argue. His eye moved to him. "I don't know what I want."

Legosi scooted closer to Louis. "I think...that's okay, for now..." He looked around. It seemed like only the club members had visited. Where was his fiance? His family? Didn't anyone else care?

Suddenly, the door opened. A white rabbit stood, holding it open. Legosi's ears perked up as she walked in. It was obvious she had been crying, recently. She looked at the scene in front of her in confusion. Suddenly, recognition filled her eyes. "O-oh, you're the wolf that saved him...Thank you…I'm Haru." She stood in front of Legosi, who was much bigger than her.

He leaned down a bit. "My name is Legosi. Louis-senpai told me about you."

Louis' demeanor changed. "Don't worry about him, Haru-chan. He's a friend."

Haru's ears went down. "Louis-kun!" She ran to him and hugged him, albeit gently so as not to hurt him. "I was so worried about you."

He smiled at her. "I'm a tough deer, of course I'd be fine."

Haru huffed. "A tough deer who's in the hospital after he was attacked!"

Legosi felt like he was intruding on something, an uncomfortable feeling creeping over him. He should let them be alone…

The grey wolf retreated, letting go of Louis and standing up. Haru continued to dote over the future Beastar, inspecting him and talking to him softly. She got to touch Louis in ways Legosi was not able to. Care for him in ways that would be weird for him to.

Everything. Everything she was doing he wanted to do for him. To be for him.

She loved him.

He loved him.

Legosi felt sick. "I-I-I need to get going now, senpai..." He bowed. "Please, rest and get well soon..." He stumbled toward the door quickly and awkwardly.

Louis was smiling affectionately at Haru. He didn't smile like that with Legosi. The deer looked up. "Later, Legosi. And thank you."

The wolf nodded and left, joining up with the drama club, who all gave him a sad look. Everyone was in mourning, despite Louis still being alive. But he was alive and that was good. The wolf took a moment to get his feelings in check.

I saved him. I saved Louis-senpai all by myself. But...Haru is still his. I can't be there for him like she can...It would be wrong...They're both herbivores and I'm a carnivore...I can't love someone like him...And yet, I do...I love Louis-senpai…

Louis words rang in his head. We're only animals.

Maybe he had a chance. Maybe not. Even though Legosi had saved the deer's life, he still belonged to someone else. His ears flattened on his head.

Why did I think saving him would make him mine…?