Ch.13. Yay. Okay, obviously chapter 12 was very confusing. :)

What was up with Dylan?-- as was mentioned in 11, Dylan has avoidance issues and I've also made him into quite an insecure guy when it comes to Marco. He would have taken Marco being threatened as his fault. And he would have ran/avoided, so Marco wouldn't be "hurt" again.

What was up with Cale?-- Cale, Dylan's best friend, knew exactly how he would react to the situation and that is why he told Marco he would take care of everything. So he could get to Dylan first and knock some sense into him. And he has a temper, so anything he says would probably sound meaner or worse than it should have. Which is why he said "I know I sound like a jerk..."

anjel919--not really too much interest...Cale just wants Dylan to be happy. I really believe that friendship is just as deep as romantic love, it just comes out in different ways. Therefore he's going to pretty much do whatever it takes to make sure this relationsip works out for Dylan.

chunkerdunk560--OMG the season finale. It was so...bland. I was sitting there and the credits started to roll and I was all..."WHAT! That was it?!?!" Seriously disappointing. Especially since Dylan leaving has been a great source of angst for me lately. The fact they totally ignored it messed me up horribly. Oh, and did you get my email?

Oh, yeah, and before I forget, I've upped the rating because there is now language. ::stares at it:: I don't even know how it got there...but it did. Sorry if it bothers anyone.

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The bell signaling the end of the last period sounded, but Cale was deaf to it.

"Raditch, the guy slammed him against the lockers! Threatened him! I know I don't exactly have the best history with you or anything, but come on! You've got to do something to that slime ball!" God, was he the only person in the universe with half a brain! So what if Raditch didn't see the crime being committed! It was plain as day that that little 'worm' was lying! Cale didn't like him or anything, but that was a far cry from breaking his nose!

"I'm sorry, Cale. There is nothing I can do about this situation without more evidence. Which, you don't have. Now leave before I have to give you detention." Raditch turned on his heel and walked off back into the school. Probably to coddle that snivelling asshole, Tom! Cale glared murderously at the retreating back and was so busy trying to burn a hole right through him that he almost didn't catch Dylan walking out of the building and heading down the stairs.

"Dylan!" The blonde kept walking.

"Dylan Michalchuk, you insanely, dense moron! Get your ass back over here!" Okay, he heard that time. Dylan stopped mid-step and looked around for Cale. He knew it was him. Only he would get his attention that way. And from the sound of it, he was furious.

Cale waded through the sea of people trying to get in, and mostly out, of the building, and finally stood before Dylan. His eyes were blazing, his breathing shallow, and he kept impatiently tossing his head to get the hair out of his eyes. With a final run of his hand through his hair he blew up, gesticulating wildly, hitting a few people even, and not really caring.

"I was out of class getting my homework I forgot in my locker and I heard yelling, right? So I run in that direction. Guess what I freaking saw! I saw Tom! He had Marco slammed against a locker and he was going on and on about how he was not worthy of dating you and that he, Tom, was this so-called worthy individual!" A grade nine walking by, got a face full of Cale's arm and yelled at him. But Cale was way too far gone at the moment to even care. He simply distractedly gave her the finger and turned back to Dylan.

He grabbed Dylan by the shoulders and brought his anguished face closer, his voice, not dropping in volume, but growing to something a little more deadly. "He called him dirt Dylan! Told him not to ever speak to you!" He stopped and his voice dropped lower. "He spat in his face Dylan!" Cale shook Dylan's shoulders with emotion. "He spit in his freaking face!"

Cale let go of his friend's shoulders and pointed an accusing finger an inch away from his nose. "And you! You are not running away from this! No, don't shake your head like that! You know you were going to!" snarled Cale, when Dylan's face turned slightly incredulous. "That boy, so obviously loves you to death, and he doesn't deserve you running off! I know you think this whole thing is your fault!"

Here he stopped and lowered his volume again, a bit of friendly concern creeping into his voice. "And it's not. It's only Tom's. And, I would rather kill myself than let you walk away from this boy. You love him. And you know you do. And I'll die if you fuck this up!"

Cale lowered his finger and glared at him openly. "Now I am going to go home. And you are going to find Marco and talk to him." Cale pushed by Dylan, bumping his shoulder a little more roughly than he had meant to. He didn't mean to be so scary, but when he got mad there really was nowhere to hide.

Dylan, still totally breathless from everything, tried to take it all in. He stared blankly at the sidewalk, trying to make sense of it.

"He had Marco slammed against a locker and he was going on and on about how he was not worthy of dating you and that he, Tom, was this so-called worthy individual!"

"He called him dirt Dylan! Told him not to ever speak to you!"

"He spat in his face Dylan!" "He spit in his freaking face!"

"And you! You are not running away from this!"

"That boy, so obviously loves you to death and he doesn't deserve you running off!"

"And, I would rather kill myself than let you walk away from this boy. You love him. And you know you do."

Oh my god. He had to find Marco.

He looked up. Straight into Marco's eyes. Terrified eyes. Eyes that fled from his gaze to his feet. Eyes that weren't supposed to feel pain. Atleast not as long as he was around.

Yes, he wasn't running away from this. Not by a long shot.

Gathering what little courage he had he began walking to the bench Marco sat at. Each step seemed to be longer and harder than it should have. He could feel every pull of a muscle, every heartbeat, every breath. It was like he was in an alternate reality. He couldn't hear the voices and the sounds of cars. He couldn't see any people. He couldn't feel anything. Anything but nerves....and the more alien emotion of protectiveness.

Finally at the bench, with Marco still staring steadfastedly at the ground, he sat beside him and stared forward blankly, in silence. The quiet was very tense, strained. It all but screamed to be filled. Taunting with the words that could be said. Finally, it was all too much. Dylan turned his head towards Marco and opened his mouth to speak. A broken sound came out of his mouth, so he tried again.

"I am so sorry, Marco. I had no idea about Tom. I swear I didn't."

Marco jumped a bit when the voice cut through the silence, seeming louder than it rightfully should. He still stared at his feet though. What if Dylan left him? "You have no reason to apologize you know. I already knew that."

Dylan closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm himself. When he spoke it was still soft and broken. "I know...but it still feels like I did something to cause it."

The silence descended again, still strained and uncomfortable. It lasted several minutes before Marco finally broke down. "You're not going to leave are you?"

Dylan's eyes flew open and he turned to Marco in quickly dawning fear. "No!" He stopped and caught his breath slightly. Marco was finally looking at him, with thinly veiled anxiety in his eyes. God. Leaving wasn't even an option.

Dylan slowly reached over and placed his hand on the crook of his arm, on the underside of his elbow, and slowly and gently ran his fingers feather soft downward. Reaching his wrist, he timidly slipped his fingers inbetween the smaller boy's, entwining them.

Staring down at their hands, scared even by the feeling of rightness there, he looked back up, locking eyes with Marco again, trying to convey everything he was feeling with his eyes. "I'm not leaving. That much I can promise you."

Marco nodded a little shakily and still looked at Dylan with, now muted, fear. For now atleast, Dylan wasn't leaving. Dylan tried to smile as convincingly as he could and raised their conjoined hands to his lips and kissed Marco's hand softly, whispering.

"Not leaving."

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Ung, I went all fluffy. Sorrys! And really...I wasn't going to write this chapter. I wrote it because everyone was confused. But that's ok. That just makes the story one chapter longer! Yay!

Review and thou shalt receive another chapter! Buwahaha!