Till I'm Gone
Sora Matasuki
Chapter Eighteen
After the whirlwind of testimonies from the teachers ( who almost eagerly pitched in to vouch for Tadashi's side of the story), Andrews found himself the recipient of a suspension from school. And on his record, unlikely to ever go away, was a deep, black-as-ink smudge. Tadashi wanted the brat expelled, but with the evidence stacked the way it was, suspension for a week was as good as he was going to get.
That wasn't what had him pacing a trench in the lunchroom floor, though. Oh, no. It was the worry that Aunt Cass had left his poor baby brother alone with only doctors to periodically check him. What if he escaped his room and they didn't find him until it was too late? What if Hiro was able to find something that would actually hurt him? What if he -
A thin hand suddenly grasped around the crook of his elbow, halting Tadashi mid-step.
"You're streshing. Shtop it." Fred said through a mouthful of powdered donut. His jaw moved comically up and down as he tried to force the food into smaller pieces. His lips and cheeks were covered in the resulting white powder. The boy's adam apple bobbed as he swallowed, and then, opening his mouth as if to say something, Fred reached over to the nearly empty pack of mini-powdered donuts and shoved more food into his mouth.
Tadashi stared, slightly awed by the display of such a ferocious appetite. A sudden flash of Hiro's cheeks puffing out, mouth filled to burst with gummy bears made him sink into the seat next to Fred, head buried in his hands. Fred's frantic chewing of the powdered donuts slowed to a contemplative stop as he turned his head to observe his friend.
The blond's voice was muffled by the food still in his mouth but the high trace amounts of concern were obvious. "Tadahi? Khrm." the boy coughed, swallowing the food and clearing his throat. "Tadashi, what's wrong? You okay, man?"
Tadashi slumped in on himself a bit more at the verbal prodding, his entire posture screaming pure misery. The rage that had made his hands shake and his veins burn was long gone, leaving a coldness in Tadashi's chest that he had no way of recovering from at the moment. The only cure for the dark hollow feeling was cuddles from his precious little brother (despite all the squirming and shouting that would result from his attempts). Unfortunately, he was exiled to school for the time being, and he still had three hours (more, if you counted the time it took to transfer between classes) until he could leave. The ache was driving him insane.
"If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know." Fred hesitantly patted his back (Tadashi assumed it was because of the powder that covered his fingers).
The Japanese-American glanced up, considering the offer carefully for a moment as an idea crept into his mind. A smile grew on his face and his brown eyes twinkling with untold mischief. He turned to Fred. "How do your parents feel about you skipping class?"
"Well I'm only here for my family's publicity. They wouldn't care, as long I wasn't caught doing it." He looked sideways at Tadashi, suddenly suspicious. "...why?"
Hiro stretched out his legs as far as they could go, sighing at the lovely burn of stretching muscles. This is nice. No Tadashi to squash my legs, no Aunt Cass hovering at my side… I could stay like this forever…
Do do do-do do do do-do do-nyernerner…. nyernerner… do do!
Hiro blinked at the faint noise. It sounded very familiar… Almost like a theme of some sort…
Do do do-do do do do-do do-
Hiro's brow creased and he sat up. "Is that…" he looked over at the door as the noise grew louder. "Is that the theme to Mission Impossible?"
Through the small window, the hospitalized boy could see a teal beanie on top of a head bobbing in time to the music. The head paused. And suddenly blue eyes were peeking into his hospital room. Hiro stared back confusedly as the head suddenly disappeared, just as he was about to make eye contact.
-nyernnerner… nyernerner… do do!
The twelve year old blinked and rubbed at his eyes. He must have been dreaming. That was it… he was asleep, on the bed. Because whatever that was… it was just weird.
The theme from Mission Impossible faded into the distance and Hiro was left to flop down on the crinkly hospital bed. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He was drifting off to sleep (a dream within a dream, wasn't that funny?) when he heard it again.
Do do do-do do… Hiro shot up so fast that his head spun as his gaze slammed to the door. Sure enough, the teal beanie was back, bobbing to the music. Hiro's eyes narrowed skeptically. What in the world? he wondered, a sneaking suspicion rising.
Blue eyes once more peered into the room and then ducked down just as fast as they appeared.
Hiro put his chin in his hand, fingers curling slightly over a pursed mouth. He reminded himself that he needed to breathe and took in a breath accordingly. Now who would send someone to come stalk him. He, who was safely hospitalized in a room practically guarded by doctors? I wonder.
Again, the music dissipated into silence. Hiro didn't move from his sitting position, the covers pooling around his waist. His brown eyes were glued to the small window, waiting.
It was about ten minutes later that he heard it once more. This time, Hiro was ready. Do do…
As soon as the amazing bouncing teal beanie was in view, Hiro glared. The minute the blue eyes peeked into the room, the boy locked gazes with his stalker and just stared intensely at the interloper. The blue eyes' bouncing froze, becoming wide. Hiro brought his hands up and mimed strangling something.
The blue eyes vanished suddenly and then there was a rather loud crash! A terrible high-pitched screech followed. "ABORT! ABORT! MISSION ABORT! COVER IS BLOWN! THE TARGET HAS SPOTTED THE AGENT! I REPEAT, COVER IS BLOWN!"
The Mission Impossible theme had been permanently silenced and a ringing absence of noise met Hiro's ears. The boy stared at his door and then clutched at his dark hair in frustration.
"TADASHI!" he screamed into the silence. His older brother was going to pay for sicking one of his friends on him!
Fred raced down the hallway and to the elevator, heart pounding. Tadashi's kid brother sure had a scary glare! He was cute and adorable with that bird's nest of hair atop his head, but in all honesty, Fred really didn't wanna mess with him! Plus, the kid had spotted him peeping in, and that meant his cover had been blown!
He hit the button for the ground floor a little harder than necessary, but no one was around to notice. Which meant no one had seen the embarrassing fall he'd performed when he'd pushed himself backwards off the door. The teenager tapped his foot anxiously, watching the numbers rise to the floor he was on. He kinda wanted to go home now… better yet, to see Tadashi again, even if it was just to tell him that his brother was scary as a demon when bothered and that the kid was fine.
The elevator dinged and Fred was relieved to see that it was empty. It would make his retreat much easier to bear. He clambered inside and spent the descent jittery and bouncing on the balls of his feet.
When the elevator dinged again, he sprinted out and was headed directly for the doors when a familiar face caused him to freeze and his stomach to lurch sickeningly.
His cousin was just entering the lobby, a bouquet of Forget-Me-Not's clenched in his off hand.
Heart pounding in his throat, Fred slowly stalked over to his cousin but made sure to stop at least three feet away cautiously. "Thomas." he managed, trying to choke back the panic rising in his throat. "What are you doing here?" He was pretty sure that none of his relatives were sick… He did kept close tabs on all of his aunts and uncles. After all, it was best to be on top of things. People liked that. Or at least… that's what dear Mother said.
Thomas grinned, a sickeningly sweet thing. "Hello, Freddie~." he cooed. "I'm just bringing my mom some flowers since she's been sick with a pretty bad fever."
Fred's blue eyes narrowed. "You liar. Aunt Clarisa isn't even on the registry." he jabbed his hand back at the said sign of people in the care of the San Fransokyo Hospital. "So tell me, what are you really here for, Thomas?"
"Ever think that she's in a private room, Freddie?" Thomas said with narrowed eyes. "Your mom could easily have funded it for us. And you would never know because Aunt Chrissy just loves keeping you in the dark~."
Fred swallowed, eyes narrowing as a surge of pure anger swept him up and took his breath away. He wanted to punch his cousin so badly, to make his nose as crooked as his personality. No. the sixteen year old thought in a moment of clarity. I won't let him drag me to his level.
"That may be so, but I make it a point to look after our family, Thomas. That's more than I can say for you." Fred was relieved that his voice didn't shake.
Thomas snorted. "Whatever. Anyways, who I visit is none of your business!" he scowled, moving to sidestep his little cousin.
Fred stepped with him, blocking his way to the elevators. "It is when I know what you get up to." he said quietly, swallowing thickly. "I won't let you go any farther."
Thomas raised an eyebrow. "And make a scene out where everyone can see?" he asked skeptically. Fred flinched and Thomas laughed. "Knew you'd be a coward about this too."
Fred didn't look him in the eye, knowing that Thomas was right. He was a coward. The seventeen-nearly eighteen year old snorted, stepping towards Fred. Fred took an involuntary step back, mind struggling with a bit of an escaped memory. Hot breath ghosted across his neck-
When Fred was able to rip his mind from the past and back into the present, Thomas was already nearing the elevators. The sixteen year old swore and ran as hard as he could to catch his cousin before he made it to the inner floors of the hospital.
Thomas was smirking at something on the old, out-dated flip phone in his dominant hand and Fred pushed himself a little harder so he could reach him in time. A thin hand grabbed the phone and ripped it out of the owner's unsuspecting grasp.
"HEY!" the elder cousin snarled, whirling on the younger, who quickly backtracked.
Ohhh, this is a baaad idea! Fred realized frantically, spinning around and racing towards the front doors. His breath was coming in short gasps and he thought that his chest might just melt off of his ribs, they burned so bad!
The sixteen year old burst through the doors and ran down the sidewalk, diving into the crowded streets. He found himself struggling upstream, and from the curses behind him, Fred knew Thomas had dived right in after him. The knowledge spurred him to used his elbows to make push and shove the unsuspecting passerby. It wasn't long before he reached a lull in traffic, and Fred ran at full speed to the nearby park. There, no one would witness the clash between family.
Fred chanced a glance behind him and found that Thomas had slowed to a leisurely walk, hands jammed in his pockets. The bouquet of Forget-Me-Not's were long gone. Despite his cousin's slower pace, Fred didn't stop running until he had reached a thick tree and ducked behind it. He glanced at the picture on the phone that had started the chase and felt his heart stop. Bile rose in his throat and Fred had to swallow several times to actually keep it down. Its acidic taste burned his throat.
"Freddie, give me my phone." Thomas had arrived, and his sweet yet dark voice made the sixteen year old shudder.
"You're sick." Fred whispered, shaking. He refused to turn around and face the other. "You're so messed up in the head you don't even get how sick you are."
"Freddie. Give. Me. My Phone."
Fred whirled around, eyes wild. He held the phone delicately in two hands. "I'd be a fool to let you have it." he snarled, and with a snap! the flip phone lay in two sparking pieces on the ground. Thomas let out an angered snarl as Fred stomped his foot down. The crunch of delicate metal underneath his feet sent a savage wave of satisfaction down Fred's chest. But that sensation was quickly knocked out of him as Thomas lunged at Fred.
Fred turned tail and fled, hand digging for his own phone and hitting his most common speed dial.
"Heathcliff! I need you to pick me up! It's an emergency!" he wheezed and risked a glance over his shoulder, picking up the pace when he discovered his enraged cousin again chasing him, a new fire in his eyes. "Use the GPS on my phone, I don't care how, just do it!" and with that, he hung up, focused only on escaping.
Though out of breath and nearly out of time, Fred felt a sense of pleasure wash over him. He was glad he'd snapped the disgusting male's phone. He shouldn't have had a picture of Hiro on it. He was only twelve. ...just like he had been…
His wish at the time had come true, and he suddenly felt very, very horrible.
AN: Hey guys and happy holidays, Sora here! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews you've all left me! It's been awesome! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as well! BIIIIIG thanks go to Melanie-March as always! And also, go check out her next chapter of A Cage of Fire, you won't regret it! It's a reaaaally good Fred centered fic, telling this universe's Fred's story!
BIG THANKS GO TO: The Golden Marauder, Narniac4aslan, Iambtastic, DreamweaverAki, Disneynerdbh6, snowflakeangel2, TridentTatoo, seems-pretty-legit, sherlywherlylock, DreamGirll, Sushi Hawkeye, Emilykit14 (I'm sorry you can't continue with us, *hugs*), SpeakTheTruth, DisneyandWildKrattfangirl, Guest (#1) (O.O Thank you Guest, I'm glad you're so passionate about this! ^ ^), Guesst (#2), Regularshow565, h, bumblebee78, TooLazyToLogin, Guest (#3), DarthRexPoke44, PH, Atariel Tsukai, Purpalz Miner, Cyragece, BlueD, Madness shared, aaand Aprotny! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews!