Chapter Four

Dave looked at John in horror. He knew what Jessica was like. "Jessica?" he asked, voice a little shaky. John nodded. "The blonde chick you sit next to during chem?" John nodded again. Dave clenched his hands into fists, gritting his teeth. "That bitch is gonna die."

John slowly remove his hood, showing Dave the black eye one of Jessica's brother's gave him. Dave clenched his fists tighter, speaking through his gritted teeth. "Did she do that to you, too?" John shook his head. Dave furrowed his eyebrows. "Then who did?" he growled.

"Her brothers," John said in a quiet voice. Dave got up, looked at the wall, and began punching it. "Dave," John said softly, reaching his hand up to stop him. He quickly put it over his wound, groaning in pain. Dave looked at him, calming himself down.

Dave knelt on one knee, picking John up and carried him upstairs to his room. He carefully laid him down on his bed, pulling up a chair next to the bed. Dave sat in the chair and looked at John, who wasn't speaking.

"Why did they do this?" Dave whispered. John looked down at his hands, playing with his thumbs.

"B-because," John said shakily. "Because I'm in love with the guy she has a crush on." John moved his eyes to the other side of his room so he wouldn't have to meet Dave's gaze.

Dave tried his best to keep a poker face. "Y-you're in love?" he stuttered. He was getting nervous, and he knew it. Fuck, he thought. What if he's not in love with me? What if it's someone else? Ok, Strider. Just don't tell him how you feel till he fucking tells you who he's in love with.

John nodded nervously. He could feel his face turning red. "Y-yeah, I am."

"With who?" Dave asked nervously. John trembled a bit as his blush grew deeper. He didn't know if he should tell Dave or not, so he decided to keep it a secret.

"I-I'll tell you later," John stuttered. Dave frowned, nodding once in agreement. The two friends sat in silence for a few minutes. After a while of awkward silence, Dave got up and started walking out the of John's room. "Where are you going?" John asked with a somewhat sad tone. Dave noticed it.

Dave turned around with a slight smirk. "Don't worry, dude. I'm just going down to the kitchen to get some soda, pizza, and a movie." John sighed softly with relief. "I'm gonna stay the weekend so I can make sure those bastards don't come back." Dave turned back around and walked down into the kitchen.

John waited until Dave was completely out of sight before slipping his hand under his pillow. He pulled out a picture of him and Dave. He sighed lovingly as he grabbed a red pen and began drawing little hearts around Dave.

About 15 minutes later, Dave made his way back upstairs into John's room with some Coke and Pepsi, pizza, and a copy of Con Air. John quickly hid the picture behind him, looking at Dave a little scared.

Dave looked at John with a confused expression. "Whatcha got there, Egbert?" he asked, putting the pizza and soda at the end of his bed and putting the DVD in the DVD player.

"N-nothing!" John said quickly, trying to slide the picture back under his pillow. Dave smirked as he walked up to John's side, holding out his hand.

"Lemme see it," Dave said. John quickly held the picture to his chest, turning his body away from Dave, shaking his head. Dave gave him a serious look. "John...Let me...see it." John shook his head more rapidly. Dave sighed, standing there for a few seconds before grabbing John from behind and ripping the picture out of his hands. He quickly turned around to study the picture.

"No! Dave, please don't look at it!" John yelled, reaching over to try and get the picture back, realizing it was impossible. John began to blush intensely. He covered his face with his hands and started shaking his head. He couldn't believe this was happening. What was Dave gonna say?

"John," Dave said softly. "It's...i-it's me?" John uncovered his face a little, looking at the back of Dave's head.

"I-is what you?"

"The guy you're in love with," he said, slowly turning to face John. "I-is it me?" John's blush grew deeper as he completely cover his face, nodding slowly. Dave's heart skipped a beat.

Dave smiled, sitting down on the chair, leaning closer to John and pushing his hands away from his face. John looked at him, allowing Dave to look into his eyes. Dave placed a hand on John's cheek as a light blush appeared on his face. John gulped. "D-dave?" he said.

Dave leaned in closer to John, John's face turning redder than it ever has. John opened his mouth slightly, trying to say something. Before John could even speak, Dave pressed his lips against John's, wrapping his other are around John's waist.

John was caught off guard by the kiss, but he instantly melted into it. He wrapped his arms around Dave's neck, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss.

After a while, Dave broke away from the kiss. He took his shades off and stared into John's beautiful blue eyes, smiling. "John," he said. "...I love you."