Disclaimer: I don't own Bobby, John, or The Fray.
Note: This is the last chapter. No more. Nada. Zip. Zero.
"I don't belong here, man. I know that. The world would be better if I didn't exist." Bobby stared across the mahogany desk at the new mutant in disbelief. When he had volunteered to be student counselor for the month he didn't know it would deal with suicide!
"I mean, no one really cares for mutants anyway. Why should I be here?" the boy continued and Bobby looked away. He didn't know what to tell him.
Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you being to wonder why you came
His thoughts drifted back to John Allerdyce. He saw the fire as a lethal disease, consuming him until his old friend couldn't be found. He hated what mutantcy had done to Pyro. They were called the 'New Professor and Magneto'. Bobby tuned back to the student but quickly tuned back out. He didn't need to hear this! He knew he was being a shabby counselor but this brought back things he had tried to forget.
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
He wasn't sure when their friendship started falling apart, but he did remember how gradually some of John's usual habits began to annoy him. How he made his bed on inspection day right to left instead of left to right, how he started his homework at the bottom of the page, and most of all how he wouldn't stop clicking that lighter! That Zippo infuriated him to no end. The shark face seemed to smirk at him every time John whipped it out.
Let him know that you know best
'Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And after the annoyance slowly ebbed away, Bobby began worrying about John - the friend who now forced most to call him Pyro. John started watching mutant attacks on the television with great interest. He started talking nonstop about Magneto as well.
Bobby confronted him about that one day. It didn't go over too well.
"What? Now I can't be interested in the news?" John had asked sarcastically.
"No. Just not…that kind of news," Bobby replied.
"Oh, so you're monitoring what I can do now? You're not the boss of me Iceman," John said venomously and slammed the door in his face.
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
By the day at the museum, they were walking on thin ice. The tension was thick between them and it almost broke when Pyro had come out to play and burned another. Bobby couldn't believe John had done that!
When the mansion was attacked, they had to rely on what shred of friendship they had left. But after John's performance at his house, he knew it was over. His joining Magneto and permanently becoming Pyro just sealed the deal. To Bobby, John had thrown his life away and committed suicide.
As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came
"Look, I can tell you're not listening, so just forget about me. Forget I was ever here," the boy said abruptly and stood up. Bobby raised his hand and stopped him.
"I don't know how to deal with your type of problem, but I do know what it's like to lose a friend. I've seen you laughing and talking with four others. Put yourself in their shoes. If you left the way you're planning to…" He let the sentence hang in the air. Bobby was saying all of the cheesy stuff he'd heard before and laughed at but now it finally made sense.
He must have struck a nerve because the boy stared at him and then sat back down.
"So. How'd you lose your friend?" he asked. Bobby sighed and then looked him dead in the eye.
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life…
How to Save a Life- The Fray