Due to a complaint, hehe, I'm going to sate this oficially: This is going to be a T/L fic. I didn't start it intending it to be (or maybe subconciously I did, I didn't pay attention is Psychology) but that's the way it went! That's the couple I cheer for, so that's the couple this fic shall feature...eventually. :D So, sorry about not having that earlier, but it just sorta...happened. Hope you guys are still enjoying it, and I'm trying to pick up the pace a bit, since the last chapter wasn't exactly heart stopping.
****
Lily groaned in frustration, pressing a button on her cell phone to end her call and angrily shoved it into her pocket. It was a Saturday night at Mickey's and she had given up her seat to make this call. Then, he didn't even answer.
She pushed through the door and headed inside to where Robbie and Ray were sitting. Of course, the seat she had occupied previously was taken. Typical.
"Grr!" she announced, standing in front of them.
"What's wrong?" Robbie asked, moving his arm so that she could perch herself on the arm of his char.
She sat down. "He didn't answer."
"So?" Ray asked, slurping his shake. "That's, like, the tenth time you tried to call him."
"Yeah, what's so important?" Robbie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing," she sighed.
"Yeah, we believe that one," Ray said with a roll of his eyes. "Spill!"
"Really, it's nothing -" she started to say.
The chirping of her phone caught her off guard and she almost fell off the chair trying to extract it from her pocket. Robbie caught her arm and, ignoring Ray's laughter, she answered.
"Hello?" she said, pausing to make a face at Ray. "Yeah, I was trying to call you. Where are you?"
Robbie looked to Ray, who shrugged.
"Oh...okay. No...you want us to come over?" she was saying, pausing intermittently. "Okay, if you sure..."
Ray cleared his throat, and Lily put her finger to her ear to better hear, mouthing 'shut up' to him.
"Okay, talk to you later? 'Kay. Bye," she said, clicking her cell phone off and returning it to her pocket. "That was Travis."
"Ahhh, what's Swami up to on this fine evening?" Ray asked, licking some of his shake off the end of his straw.
"He's at the station," she said. "I don't know what he's doing, but I asked him if he wanted us to come hang and he said no."
"Man, that guy needs some friends," Ray laughed. "Oh...wait. That's right."
Robbie glanced at him briefly. "So he just wants to hang out alone, by himself?"
"That's the definition of alone, Rob-o," Ray said.
Lily was frowning still.
"What's up?" Ray asked her. "Turn that frown upside down!"
When his usual goofy self didn't cheer her up, he stopped grinning. "Lily?"
"What's wrong?" Robbie asked, catching Ray's eye.
"I'm just afraid he's still upset," Lily said, biting her lip.
"Over...?" Ray drew out.
"Travis kissed me this afternoon," she said in a rush of breath. "He got really upset."
"He did what?" Ray said, tapping his ear to convey: 'did I hear right?'.
"He kissed me," she repeated. "Or, well, I kissed him, too."
Ray clenched his teeth together. "Really?"
"Yeah...it was an accident, and he kept apologizing, but I don't think he was really sorry. At least, I hope he wasn't," Lily said in a rushed tone.
Ray stood up, eyes flashing.
"Ray?" Robbie said, questioning.
Ray didn't answer, just headed for the door.
"What's with him?" Lily asked, looking at the door swinging shut.
"Umm...probably not the best thing you could have said to him," Robbie explained.
"What?" Lily asked. "Why not?"
"Lily, maybe you haven't noticed, but Ray likes you," Robbie explained. "Really likes you. A lot."
"He...does?" Lily replied, turning to the door again.
"Yeah..." Robbie said. "I think maybe we should catch up to him."
"What...you don't think he'd...do you?" Lily said, watching him for an answer.
"I think we'd better go," Robbie said, getting up quickly. "He's at the station?"
"Yeah."
***
Ray had a good head start and angry adrenaline pushing him. Lily's heart was racing as she and Robbie briskly jobbed toward the RFR station, trying to catch up with him.
"Do you really think we have reason to be running, Robbie?" Lily worried.
"I really hope not," was all he could reply.
"I mean, we've known him forever," she panted. "When have you seen him really, really angry?"
"Just now," Robbie answered, glancing over as they ran.
Lily's heart sank, and she pressed herself to go faster.
***
Travis was just leaving the building when Ray got there. He shut the door behind him and turned around to see his friend standing a few feet away, and jumped.
"Ray," he said, taking a deep breath. "What are you doing? You nearly gave me a heart...attack."
Ray clenched his fists at his sides, breathing heavily, glaring.
"Ray?" Travis asked, fighting the urge to back up a step. He'd never seen Ray so angry.
"How could you, Travis?" Ray seethed.
"How could I what?" Travis asked, his heart racing.
"You knew how I felt," Ray forced out. "You knew how much I like Lily."
Travis opened his mouth, but couldn't find anything to say.
"You knew," Ray repeated. "And you kissed her."
"Ray," he said, shaking his head, "I'm sorry."
"You're sorry!?" he exploded, taking a step forward. "Sorry?!"
"I didn't mean to," Travis said hurriedly. "It just happened. I'm sorry."
"And that makes everything alright?" Ray cried.
"No," Travis faltered. "I..."
"You what?" Ray asked, coming ever closer. "What could you possibly have to say?"
Travis opened his mouth again, but Ray had heard enough.
"Shut up!" he shouted, and ran for him.
The next thing Travis knew, he was crashing heavily to the pavement, his back connecting with the gravel, sliding back. Ray was on top of him, screaming words Travis couldn't hear, his fists pounding at him. He wasn't aiming, simply focusing his anger into hitting as hard as he could, wherever he could. Most of the blows glanced off of Travis's arms, which were crossed and held in front of him to protect his face, but some connected.
"Why aren't you fighting back!?" Ray screamed in a rage, his left fist coming in contact with Travis's ribs.
Travis let out a cry, and his arms came down to clutch at the ground, looking for something to hold on to, something to help him push away from Ray's body, but it only left his face open to his fists.
"Fight back, damn it!" Ray cried, his blows losing some, but not all, of their strength.
A particularly nasty punch to his right cheek was what made Travis react. He drew up his knees as fast as he could, knocking Ray off balance, and scooted backward, pushing the soles of his shoes against Ray's chest, knocking him the rest of the way off.
As Ray fell to the side, he scrambled to his feet, backpedaling a few paces, and breathing heavily. "I'm not going to fight you, Ray!"
Ray got to his feet, face contorted in anger, and rushed him again.
Travis sidestepped him, and Ray crashed to his knees. This only made him more angry.
"Ray! Travis!"
From the distance, from the darkness, their voices rang out. Lily and Robbie.
Coming to his rescue?
Travis looked off into the night, trying to locate them. He began to shout their names, but Ray slammed into him, sending him back to the ground.
He screamed as his face connected, feeling the gravel pierce skin. He was aware that his head had hit the pavement pretty hard, but felt only a numbness.
"Ray!" he heard Lily scream. "Oh my God!"
The punch to his ribs was at only half force, and he could feel Ray's gaze turn to the figures he knew had approached.
With Ray's attention turned, he roughly shoved him off, and rolled onto his stomach, getting to his knees and crawling a few feet away. He could barely see, he just wanted to get away.
***
Lily felt Robbie bump into her as she stopped in her tracks. In the streetlight she could see Ray tackle Travis, see him slam into the ground, Ray on top, reaching back a fist to punch him.
"Ray!" she screamed, grabbing at Robbie. "Oh my God!"
Ray looked up at her cry landing his punch, and his face melted from anger to confusion. Beneath him, Travis shoved him off.
He still held her gaze as he landed on his butt.
Travis, now on his hands and knees, crawled blindly away from his attacker.
Ray had done this...
She could feel Robbie clutching her shoulder painfully, as in shock as she was herself.
Ray sat there staring into her eyes, and she realized that he didn't fully understand what he had done. He hadn't looked at Travis, seen the damage he'd incurred...
...Travis...
Lily broke eye contact with Ray and moved her gaze to Travis, who was sitting against the brick wall of the station, head hanging, legs splayed out in front of him.
"Travis!" she cried, running to him.
Robbie quietly approached Ray, reached out a hand and helped him to his feet.
"I suggest you get out of here," he said to his friend. "Because as much as it hurt to see her run to him, it's gonna hurt so much more when she finds out how bad you hurt him."
Ray stopped to give a glance at Travis and Lily, and then began to walk off, in a daze, gradually gaining speed until he was running full tilt away from the scene.
Lily knelt down by his side, taking his hand out of impulse. "Travis?"
He looked up and offered a half hearted smile. "Hey."
Lily felt like crying at the sight of him.
His lip was split, mixing with the blood that poured from his nose, and his left cheek was badly scraped, bits of gravel still embedded in the skin. His gaze was heavy lidded and pained as he returned her gaze.
"He really likes you, you know," he half whispered.
"I know," she said, biting her lip. "How are you?"
He attempted to shrug, but ended up groaning in pain. "He's pretty strong, too."
He leaned forward, wincing, and wrapped an arm around his chest, cradling his aching side.
Lily put her arm around him to help him stand, but pulled back quickly, frowning. Her hand was covered in blood.
"Travis, can you lean forward a little bit more?" she asked as Robbie came to kneel next to his other side.
He complied, biting back another groan, and she lifted up his jacket and t-shirt. His back, too, was badly scraped and bloody.
"Is Ray gone?" she said flatly as they helped Travis climb shakily to his feet.
"Yeah," Robbie said, trying to read her look.
"Good," she said angrily. "Cos I'm gonna kill him next time I see him."
"He had a right to be angry," Travis said softly.
"I don't care! He didn't have a right to beat the crap out of you!" she cried. "And YOU. Why didn't you fight back?!"
"I couldn't fight him," Travis said, looking at her. "He's my friend."
She stared for a minute, then blinked rapidly. "I don't care."
But there was less anger in her voice now.
"Come on, man, we gotta get you home," Robbie said, shaking his head. "You're looking pretty bad."
"No!" Travis said, trying to shake off their arms. "My dad will flip out if I go home like this."
"Okay...then...my house," Lily said. "My mom's a nurse, she's got all kinds of stuff there. We can clean you up."
"I'm fine," he protested. "I'll just...I dunno..."
"Travis, shut up and let us help you," she said softly. "You think you can walk that far?"
Travis just nodded.
"Good."
****
Lily groaned in frustration, pressing a button on her cell phone to end her call and angrily shoved it into her pocket. It was a Saturday night at Mickey's and she had given up her seat to make this call. Then, he didn't even answer.
She pushed through the door and headed inside to where Robbie and Ray were sitting. Of course, the seat she had occupied previously was taken. Typical.
"Grr!" she announced, standing in front of them.
"What's wrong?" Robbie asked, moving his arm so that she could perch herself on the arm of his char.
She sat down. "He didn't answer."
"So?" Ray asked, slurping his shake. "That's, like, the tenth time you tried to call him."
"Yeah, what's so important?" Robbie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing," she sighed.
"Yeah, we believe that one," Ray said with a roll of his eyes. "Spill!"
"Really, it's nothing -" she started to say.
The chirping of her phone caught her off guard and she almost fell off the chair trying to extract it from her pocket. Robbie caught her arm and, ignoring Ray's laughter, she answered.
"Hello?" she said, pausing to make a face at Ray. "Yeah, I was trying to call you. Where are you?"
Robbie looked to Ray, who shrugged.
"Oh...okay. No...you want us to come over?" she was saying, pausing intermittently. "Okay, if you sure..."
Ray cleared his throat, and Lily put her finger to her ear to better hear, mouthing 'shut up' to him.
"Okay, talk to you later? 'Kay. Bye," she said, clicking her cell phone off and returning it to her pocket. "That was Travis."
"Ahhh, what's Swami up to on this fine evening?" Ray asked, licking some of his shake off the end of his straw.
"He's at the station," she said. "I don't know what he's doing, but I asked him if he wanted us to come hang and he said no."
"Man, that guy needs some friends," Ray laughed. "Oh...wait. That's right."
Robbie glanced at him briefly. "So he just wants to hang out alone, by himself?"
"That's the definition of alone, Rob-o," Ray said.
Lily was frowning still.
"What's up?" Ray asked her. "Turn that frown upside down!"
When his usual goofy self didn't cheer her up, he stopped grinning. "Lily?"
"What's wrong?" Robbie asked, catching Ray's eye.
"I'm just afraid he's still upset," Lily said, biting her lip.
"Over...?" Ray drew out.
"Travis kissed me this afternoon," she said in a rush of breath. "He got really upset."
"He did what?" Ray said, tapping his ear to convey: 'did I hear right?'.
"He kissed me," she repeated. "Or, well, I kissed him, too."
Ray clenched his teeth together. "Really?"
"Yeah...it was an accident, and he kept apologizing, but I don't think he was really sorry. At least, I hope he wasn't," Lily said in a rushed tone.
Ray stood up, eyes flashing.
"Ray?" Robbie said, questioning.
Ray didn't answer, just headed for the door.
"What's with him?" Lily asked, looking at the door swinging shut.
"Umm...probably not the best thing you could have said to him," Robbie explained.
"What?" Lily asked. "Why not?"
"Lily, maybe you haven't noticed, but Ray likes you," Robbie explained. "Really likes you. A lot."
"He...does?" Lily replied, turning to the door again.
"Yeah..." Robbie said. "I think maybe we should catch up to him."
"What...you don't think he'd...do you?" Lily said, watching him for an answer.
"I think we'd better go," Robbie said, getting up quickly. "He's at the station?"
"Yeah."
***
Ray had a good head start and angry adrenaline pushing him. Lily's heart was racing as she and Robbie briskly jobbed toward the RFR station, trying to catch up with him.
"Do you really think we have reason to be running, Robbie?" Lily worried.
"I really hope not," was all he could reply.
"I mean, we've known him forever," she panted. "When have you seen him really, really angry?"
"Just now," Robbie answered, glancing over as they ran.
Lily's heart sank, and she pressed herself to go faster.
***
Travis was just leaving the building when Ray got there. He shut the door behind him and turned around to see his friend standing a few feet away, and jumped.
"Ray," he said, taking a deep breath. "What are you doing? You nearly gave me a heart...attack."
Ray clenched his fists at his sides, breathing heavily, glaring.
"Ray?" Travis asked, fighting the urge to back up a step. He'd never seen Ray so angry.
"How could you, Travis?" Ray seethed.
"How could I what?" Travis asked, his heart racing.
"You knew how I felt," Ray forced out. "You knew how much I like Lily."
Travis opened his mouth, but couldn't find anything to say.
"You knew," Ray repeated. "And you kissed her."
"Ray," he said, shaking his head, "I'm sorry."
"You're sorry!?" he exploded, taking a step forward. "Sorry?!"
"I didn't mean to," Travis said hurriedly. "It just happened. I'm sorry."
"And that makes everything alright?" Ray cried.
"No," Travis faltered. "I..."
"You what?" Ray asked, coming ever closer. "What could you possibly have to say?"
Travis opened his mouth again, but Ray had heard enough.
"Shut up!" he shouted, and ran for him.
The next thing Travis knew, he was crashing heavily to the pavement, his back connecting with the gravel, sliding back. Ray was on top of him, screaming words Travis couldn't hear, his fists pounding at him. He wasn't aiming, simply focusing his anger into hitting as hard as he could, wherever he could. Most of the blows glanced off of Travis's arms, which were crossed and held in front of him to protect his face, but some connected.
"Why aren't you fighting back!?" Ray screamed in a rage, his left fist coming in contact with Travis's ribs.
Travis let out a cry, and his arms came down to clutch at the ground, looking for something to hold on to, something to help him push away from Ray's body, but it only left his face open to his fists.
"Fight back, damn it!" Ray cried, his blows losing some, but not all, of their strength.
A particularly nasty punch to his right cheek was what made Travis react. He drew up his knees as fast as he could, knocking Ray off balance, and scooted backward, pushing the soles of his shoes against Ray's chest, knocking him the rest of the way off.
As Ray fell to the side, he scrambled to his feet, backpedaling a few paces, and breathing heavily. "I'm not going to fight you, Ray!"
Ray got to his feet, face contorted in anger, and rushed him again.
Travis sidestepped him, and Ray crashed to his knees. This only made him more angry.
"Ray! Travis!"
From the distance, from the darkness, their voices rang out. Lily and Robbie.
Coming to his rescue?
Travis looked off into the night, trying to locate them. He began to shout their names, but Ray slammed into him, sending him back to the ground.
He screamed as his face connected, feeling the gravel pierce skin. He was aware that his head had hit the pavement pretty hard, but felt only a numbness.
"Ray!" he heard Lily scream. "Oh my God!"
The punch to his ribs was at only half force, and he could feel Ray's gaze turn to the figures he knew had approached.
With Ray's attention turned, he roughly shoved him off, and rolled onto his stomach, getting to his knees and crawling a few feet away. He could barely see, he just wanted to get away.
***
Lily felt Robbie bump into her as she stopped in her tracks. In the streetlight she could see Ray tackle Travis, see him slam into the ground, Ray on top, reaching back a fist to punch him.
"Ray!" she screamed, grabbing at Robbie. "Oh my God!"
Ray looked up at her cry landing his punch, and his face melted from anger to confusion. Beneath him, Travis shoved him off.
He still held her gaze as he landed on his butt.
Travis, now on his hands and knees, crawled blindly away from his attacker.
Ray had done this...
She could feel Robbie clutching her shoulder painfully, as in shock as she was herself.
Ray sat there staring into her eyes, and she realized that he didn't fully understand what he had done. He hadn't looked at Travis, seen the damage he'd incurred...
...Travis...
Lily broke eye contact with Ray and moved her gaze to Travis, who was sitting against the brick wall of the station, head hanging, legs splayed out in front of him.
"Travis!" she cried, running to him.
Robbie quietly approached Ray, reached out a hand and helped him to his feet.
"I suggest you get out of here," he said to his friend. "Because as much as it hurt to see her run to him, it's gonna hurt so much more when she finds out how bad you hurt him."
Ray stopped to give a glance at Travis and Lily, and then began to walk off, in a daze, gradually gaining speed until he was running full tilt away from the scene.
Lily knelt down by his side, taking his hand out of impulse. "Travis?"
He looked up and offered a half hearted smile. "Hey."
Lily felt like crying at the sight of him.
His lip was split, mixing with the blood that poured from his nose, and his left cheek was badly scraped, bits of gravel still embedded in the skin. His gaze was heavy lidded and pained as he returned her gaze.
"He really likes you, you know," he half whispered.
"I know," she said, biting her lip. "How are you?"
He attempted to shrug, but ended up groaning in pain. "He's pretty strong, too."
He leaned forward, wincing, and wrapped an arm around his chest, cradling his aching side.
Lily put her arm around him to help him stand, but pulled back quickly, frowning. Her hand was covered in blood.
"Travis, can you lean forward a little bit more?" she asked as Robbie came to kneel next to his other side.
He complied, biting back another groan, and she lifted up his jacket and t-shirt. His back, too, was badly scraped and bloody.
"Is Ray gone?" she said flatly as they helped Travis climb shakily to his feet.
"Yeah," Robbie said, trying to read her look.
"Good," she said angrily. "Cos I'm gonna kill him next time I see him."
"He had a right to be angry," Travis said softly.
"I don't care! He didn't have a right to beat the crap out of you!" she cried. "And YOU. Why didn't you fight back?!"
"I couldn't fight him," Travis said, looking at her. "He's my friend."
She stared for a minute, then blinked rapidly. "I don't care."
But there was less anger in her voice now.
"Come on, man, we gotta get you home," Robbie said, shaking his head. "You're looking pretty bad."
"No!" Travis said, trying to shake off their arms. "My dad will flip out if I go home like this."
"Okay...then...my house," Lily said. "My mom's a nurse, she's got all kinds of stuff there. We can clean you up."
"I'm fine," he protested. "I'll just...I dunno..."
"Travis, shut up and let us help you," she said softly. "You think you can walk that far?"
Travis just nodded.
"Good."