Part 86

The date had been a success. Wes had asked Ma Trixie if the Bean was open this evening and she said yes. Their Valentine's Special Open Day was still on. That meant you could have a romantic dinner at the Lima Bean. Which was good because Wes didn't know what kind of food Julia liked and at the Bean you could get anything. They'd had a great time. They'd talked all the evening and had gotten to know each other. Wes had given her a rose and she'd smiled so brightly her whole face shone with happiness. Wes had felt his heart melt at that time. He'd taken her back home and had gotten a kiss on the cheek and a promise of another date. Wes had returned to his dorm with a happy sigh. Getting there… the happiness ended. On his bad sat a young man, looking crushed. Tears were slowly going down his cheeks. He had platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. Wes recognized him instantly.

"Malcolm?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

Malcolm Nolan looked up at Wes and had you been just outside Wes and David's door at that moment you would've heard Wes drop the jar of jelly he'd gotten from Ma Trixie before they left, to give to Justine next time he saw her. The jar smashed at his feet. Wes' eyes went so big and got filled with fear.

"No", he whispered. Malcolm nodded and Wes felt tears go down his cheek.

Michael Abrams was sitting in his dorm room staring at a page in his yearbook. His eyes were big and he was still trying to get to grips with the words he'd been told not long ago. Eric had heard it from Lucas who'd heard it from Tom who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. But Michael was still trying to get it. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. Things like that wasn't supposed to happen. Not to someone he knew… not to anyone. It was wrong on so many levels. He looked at the page of his yearbook before slamming it shut and getting up. He hurried to his wardrobe and got out his small suitcase and started packing. He had somewhere else to be right now.

He'd heard it from Lucas who'd heard it from Tom who'd heard it from Mark who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. Eric Anderson was pacing his small apartment, making his three roomies dizzy. They knew what was troubling him of course and why he was pacing. He was waiting for news. News he desperately needed. While he was pacing one of his roomies were packing his bag for him. Eric had other things to think about.

Lucas was packing his bag angrily while planning horrible deaths for some people. He wished he was Batman or some other hero or anti-hero that could scare the crap out of the ones responsible for this. He'd heard it from Tom who'd heard it from Mark who'd heard it from Scott who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. When Lucas found the ones responsible… there would be hell to pay.

That had been two of the worst conversations he'd ever had in his life. He'd heard it from Mark who'd heard it from Scott who'd heard it from Richard who'd… well you get the picture. Then he had hurriedly called and told his brother. Tom Bedford was already in his car heading there. He had to be there.

Mark Connors was getting into his car, slamming the car door shut so hard he thought he'd might dent it. But he didn't give a flying fuck. The exact words he'd spoken to his whiny girlfriend that he was sure was going to dump his ass now. But he couldn't care less at the moment. There was something far more important going on right now. He'd heard it from Scott who'd heard it from Richard who'd heard it from Austin, who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. As soon as he heard the words he was moving and he wasn't going to stop until he got there.

Scott Crawford was getting closer by the second to where he longed to be. Where he belonged. He'd heard it from Richard who'd hear it from Austin who'd heard it from Justine who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. Scott was balling his hands into fists and his nails dug into his palms. He was pissed off. He hadn't been this pissed off since Mitch tried to kill himself because of that misunderstanding with Nathan. And not since Wes and his little freshie friends got high and drunk. Scott didn't anger easily but when he did… well all hell would break loose.

Richard was riding his bike in a south east direction. He was fighting really hard not to result to speeding. He had to get there he really had to. It wasn't a matter of not or do. He had to get there he had to get to the hospital. He'd heard what happened from Austin who'd heard it from Justine who'd heard it from Fredric who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. Richard Diamond had to get there.

Austin Diaz was crying, wrapped up in Joseph Hughes arms. They were waiting for their taxi to arrive. They'd heard the horrible news from Justine who'd heard them from Fredric who'd heard them from William who'd heard them from… well you get the picture. Joseph had booked the tickets while Austin packed. It had been a shock for both of them, Austin taking it harder than Joseph though and Joseph was the only person that knew why… well he and Justine knew why. Even though the fact made Justine a bit angry. They heard the taxi outside and both boys hurried up and left. They had to get state side… now.

Justine Gideon and Mitch Magnuson were waiting for their plane. Mitch was nervously pacing while Justine was angrily watching the board. They'd heard the news from Fredric who'd heard it from William who'd heard it from Ethan who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. Justine was angry and was feeling guilty. Why? Because the last time they spoke she'd called him a horrible name and now she couldn't forgive herself. It wasn't even anything bad he did… she'd just been angry. She sniffled and found herself engulfed in Mitch's arms at once. They heard running feet behind them as Nathan Newland and Otto Johnson arrived. They looked more a mess than usual. Mitch couldn't help it and neither could Justine. They laughed. Nathan and Otto stared at them, then themselves and then they laughed as well. Lord knows they wouldn't be able to that for a while.

Fredric Fitzgerald was driving his car and he was sure the biker he'd passed a while back was Richard Diamond but he hadn't been sure. He knew they could've gone together if they'd find out at the same time. He'd found out from William who'd heard it from Ethan who'd heard it from Matt who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. He only had one thing going through his head. Getting to that hospital.

William Holmes had gotten up from a date and left as soon as the news reached him. He had to get there. He had to. As soon as he heard the news he knew he had to get there. He'd heard them from William who'd heard them from Ethan who'd heard it from Matt who'd heard it from… well you get the picture.

Ethan Hughes was making his girlfriend crazy with his way of packing. It consisted of throwing everything he laid his eyes on into a bag. She was taking the things out and repacking the useful things in another bag and putting the other things on the sofa table. Ethan was not aware of this though and just kept running around in a frenzy. He'd panicked as soon as he heard it from Matt who'd heard it from Jerry who'd heard it from Reed who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. A million things he'd learned from class was running through his head. Most of them really bad things. Ethan was making the world around him crazy. But the reason was good. He had to get there to help in any way he could. He had to.

Matt Jonson was on a plane impatiently waiting to touch down in Philadelphia. He was stressed. He was angry. He was worried. And he was going to be there. He had to. He'd heard it from Jerry who'd heard it from Morgan who'd heard it from Charles who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. He had to get there as soon as he heard. Luckily he was already at the airport.

Jerry Jonston was annoyed. He plane was late. He had somewhere to be! Somewhere important! He had to be there for one of his little brothers and lately… he hadn't been very good at being there. Not since graduation. He hadn't been there to help Mitch when he… Jerry didn't want to think about that. He hadn't been there for Wes when Jesse had hurt him. He hadn't been there for Austin when he was outed. He hadn't been there for them. It was his job he was their mama for crying out loud! Okay never tell anyone he thought like that. He'd never live it down. He'd only gotten the necessities before leaving after getting the news. He'd heard it from Reed who'd heard it from Charles who'd heard it from the PPs who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. Jerry wasn't going to let anyone down ever again. Never. He was Mama Warbler and a mama always looked after his chicks. Always.

Reed Morgan was asleep, having very strange dreams. He'd had them ever since he found out. He'd heard it from Charles who'd heard it from the PPs who'd heard it from Brad who'd heard it from… well you get the picture.

Charles Owens was there already. Waiting and waiting and waiting. Waiting for the others to get there. Waiting to hear from the cops. Waiting to hear how he was doing. He'd rushed there as soon as he heard from the PPs who'd heard it from Brad who'd heard it from Julian who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. He sighed heavily and waited. What else could he do?

The PPs Peter Philips and Philip Peters were reaching their destination at that point. As soon as they heard the news they turned their car around and headed there. They'd heard it from Brad who'd heard it from Julian who'd heard it from Roger who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. They were there now and now… all they could do was wait.

Brad Raymond hated waiting. He hated to wait for late trains. He hated it especially when someone he knew and cared about was hurt. And he knew someone he cared and loved was hurt because he'd heard it from Julian who'd heard it from Roger who'd heard it from Brad who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. Words spread fast amongst Warblers. Both for good and for bad. And this time it was bad.

Julian Rose was asleep on the train. But his dreams were haunted with darkness… darkness and iron pipes, baseball bats, chains and knives. He'd had the nightmares since he was told by Roger who'd been told by Brad who'd been told by Carl who'd been told by… well you get the picture. This would haunt his nightmares for a long time.

Roger Smith hated hospitals more than anything else in the world. Because every time he went to one someone he cared about was hurt or sick. Just like now. He'd become angry as soon as he heard it from Brad who'd heard it from Carl who'd heard it from John who'd heard it from… well you get the picture. He hated hospitals. Always had and always would. No matter what happened he would.

Brad Sullivan had heard it from Carl who'd heard it from John who'd heard it from Malcolm Nolan. Now he was trying to explain to his family why he would miss Nicky's concert tomorrow. He was trying to decide what to do because no matter what he did he would let someone down. But the solution came in the form of Nicky himself. Nicky told him to go because he would have more concerts but Brad's friend was hurt and needed him. Brad had never hugged his cousin harder and had never been more proud of him then at that moment. Nicky would be a great Warbler in the future. Brad just knew it.

Carl Wilkins was pissed off. He'd heard it from John who'd heard it from Malcolm Nolan. Now Carl was pissed at what had happened and why. But he was also pissed off that John wouldn't be given leave to go to the hospital. Carl's twin was just as pissed as he was. But there was nothing he could do. Carl would just have to be there for the both of them for now. Carl's bosses were far nicer than John's. Assholes the lot of them. Assholes.

Malcolm Nolan had been on the phone with him when it happened. That was until his phone went dead and Malcolm had known something had happened, something bad. His parents called him a little while later and he got into his car at once. He had firstly been heading for Philadelphia. He had to get there. But then he realized the others needed to know. He'd called John Wilkins who'd called Carl who'd called Brad who'd called… well you get the picture. But then he decided to turn his car around and go to Westerville instead. He drove to the airport and flew there. Wes needed to be told. Wes needed to know and he needed to hear it eye to eye. Wes needed to know what had happened to Bastian.

And now… Wes knew.

TBC And now I'm dead.

Answer to non-members' (or not signed in members') reviews:

wesandwarblers - That he does. I hope so too. I always though Carmichael should have a sense of humor ;)