A/n: Alright, alright. So I got an idea for another part of this, and I'm sorry if its lame. But hopefully I can do a few more chapters. :) Ivory Novelist, this is for you. Enjoy!
Todd pushed open the large doors in front of him and was met with the crisp, cold air from outside. He felt good. Better, in fact, then he had in a long time. It was 2 days after the play.
Todd took a deep breath, letting the frozen air fill him, then come out again as a small condensation fog. Looking over the snowy landscape before him, he felt like writing some poetry.
He headed to a bench not too far away, brushed snow off of it with his gloved hand and sat down comfortably. Everything was so..... peaceful. And glittering white. The sun lightly shone down, making a small attempt at melting the snow.
Todd was still, with his blue-ink pen poised above the lined paper of his notebook, waiting for the words to come. "In this wintery landscape...." he began to write.
Suddenly, far to his right, there was a yell, then sort of a strangled cry. Todd glanced over at the yell and saw someone slip and fall down the other side of the hill. He couldn't tell who it was or if they were alright because the hill blocked his view.
He quickly closed his notebook, stood, and set the notebook down where he had been sitting. "Hello??" he called. "Are you alright?"
Todd heard no reply, and it worried him greatly. He hurried over to the crest of the hill where he had last seen the person fall. There were footprints almost to where Todd was standing, then the footprints turned into large smudges across the side of the hill, indicating the person who had fallen had rolled down the hill. And there, and the bottom of the hill, face-down in the snow, was a motionless body.
'Oh my gosh.' Todd's throat constricted and his heart beat much faster. He felt suddenly very cold. 'They're dead. They're dead. He fell wrong and now he's dead.' His thoughts were wild, and he wasn't sure he believed the person to be dead, but as he made his way down to the body, the more worried he became that that was indeed the case.
He went down as quickly as he could, careful not to slip and fall himself, all the while silently praying that the person was alright. The closer he got, the more his hands shook, the colder he felt, the more his throat closed and the more his chest tightened. The body looked a lot like Neil's........
Still, he could not be sure who it was until he saw the face. If he could even find enough courage to look at the face. Maybe he should get help first.....?
He knelt down beside the body and noticed that the shoulders were shaking, and he heard a muffled noise coming from the snow. Todd let out some of his breath. Whoever this was, they weren't dead.
He braced himself - in case there was any blood (he got woozy with that sort of thing). He placed his hand on the person's quivering shoulder and rolled the person so he could see their face.
"Knox???"
Knox's face was red and wet from the icy snow, and bits of snow clung to his hair, eyebrows and eyelashes. Knox made a strange sound, and Todd wondered if all the moisture gathered across Knox's face was only from the snow, and not tears.
"Oh, Todd......" Knox gave a shuddering sob, confirming Todd's wondering about part of the moisture being tears. "Oh....my......." he gasped an shut his eyes, and tears squeezed out. "Its all my fault.......all my fault.......my gosh......."
"Fault? What's your fault?" Todd asked worriedly. "Knox, you only fell!"
"No!" Knox yelled suddenly, startling Todd who kept his hand on Knox's shoulder. "Not that......oh gosh, Todd! Its all my fault! Because of me....."
"Knox, what happened?" Todd had never seen Knox act like this. He'd never seen anyone act like this, for that matter.
"She's in the hospital.....oh gosh! The hospital! Because of me.....Todd, she's in the hospital because of me." Knox grabbed Todd's coat. "She's.......oh......gosh..." more tears streamed down Knox's red cheeks.
"Knox, I-I don't....what do you - "
"CHRIS!" the tears were flowing freely, and most of his talking was interrupted buy gasps and sudden sobs. "She's in the hospital! And its......all.......my.....fault!" Knox gave another body-racking sob and buried his face in Todd's knees.
Todd looked around for a moment, totally unsure of what to do. There was no one around. "What do....." Todd forced Knox to sit up. "What happened, Knox?! Why is Chris in the hospital? And how is it your fault?"
"H-he did it......oh gosh, Chris......." Knox leaned back to lay in the snow again, but Todd held him up, silently forcing him to continue. "H-h-he hit h-her......he f-found out-t..........gosh! Chris......"
"Chad? Her fiancé?"
Knox nodded quickly. "He f-found out I t-took Chris to the play.......he beat her, Todd! So bad.....she's so bruised.......oh, Chris...." Knox buried his face in his hands.
"So how is it your fault?" Todd prompted.
Knox took his hands away from his face and clutched Todd's coat collar with both hands. "Because I'm the once who convinced her to come!" he let go and threw himself back down in the snow. Todd let him, his previous light mood now completely dissolved and was replaced with pain for Knox and Chris.
"She was so....b-bloody....." Knox mumbled and gave another strange sob.
Todd was partially amazed at how hard Knox was taking the situation. He justified his the reason for Knox's reaction, however, with the point that Knox must really actually really love Chris as much - or more, even - then he claimed he did.
Todd sighed, the news of Chris and the way Knox was acting about it weighing heavily on him.
"C'mon Knox." Todd said quietly and stood. He slowly helped Knox to his feet. Knox leaned nearly all his weight on Todd. "I'm not leaving you by yourself. You might do something drastic."
A/n: Hope you liked! And hopefully the next chapter will be along soon..... and don't forget to review!!! (just no swearing, please)