BAD CUPID

Created By; Snow Marisvega

BONUS CHAPTER.

I sat on my bed in silence, staring at nothing as I zoned out to the memories I had created with Bruce. I couldn't still bring myself to fully accept that he was gone, dead, and I wouldn't see him anymore. He wouldn't be there for graduation, he wouldn't have the privilege to get out of town like the rest of us. He was really gone.

I wish I could have saved him.

I slapped myself.

Not even the steady stream of salty water dropping from my eyes would be able to bring him back from the dead. But I was mad, mad at myself for somehow not being able to see the signs. For being so tired that night and not hearing the worry in his voice when he called me. I was so mad at him too, for not coming to me.

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't and so I just cried. My chest hurt a lot, it felt like my heart had been ripped out. It hurt. The tears wouldn't stop, and I kept pounding at my chest as the tears fell.

He had done a lot of horrible things to people, yes. I was not going to disregard that, but he tried to be better, and that is what matters, him wanting to make things right, but they never gave him the chance.

My phone suddenly began to vibrate on my bed, I looked at it to see i had a call, it was an unknown caller. I ignored it, but it wouldn't stop, so I ended it, not wanting to speak to anyone. I just needed to be alone, and try to make sense of it all. But then it started vibrating again and again, in the same rhythm. I hung up. But whoever it was kept calling, and now I was furious.

I picked up my phone, answered and brought it close to my ear. "What?!"

"Hisssss. Temper. Temper. Don't pass your anger to me."

I froze once I heard the very familiar, narcissistic, psychopathic voice. "Johnathan?"

"Missed me?" He snickered.

"What do you want?" I asked. "I do not have the time for your shit."

"Oh, really? I was thinking you may need my help or something."

I scoffed. "What could I possibly need your help for, you are someone no one wants to be around or have something to do with, including me."

"Ouch. Now, that hurt me. But, someone wants something to do with me." He giggled. "Your detective."

"Where is he?"

"Ambrose is out, so I'm home, calling with a burner phone, so you can't exactly track this number if you're thinking of it." He said and I swallowed.

"Where are you?"

"I can't exactly say, but I'm sure you know a couple of places we've been at."

I did. Sometimes on the news, they would talk about how they almost caught the once upon a time good Detective Fisher and the psychopath who was Johnathan Smith. They had been to California, Nevada, and some other shitty towns. How have they not been caught? Well, Ambrose Fisher was one of the best detectives, so he knows how they would think and what they would do. The other detectives were too stupid to know that he was way smarter and they should do things differently, but oh well, I'm just 18, so what do I know.

"I heard about your friend, the bully who hated you and tried to make your life miserable." He sighed. "Sucks that I didn't have to deal with him, life just did and he tsk, killed himself." He chuckled.

"Go to hell, Johnathan." I said and was about to hang up when he spoke.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Don't hang up yet, stormie." He said, and I brought the phone back to my ear, but said nothing.

"I am not going to pretend I am a fan of Bruce, but are you just going to sit there and cry?" He asked and I frowned. "What if I can help you, help you get revenge on his family for taking away someone who mattered to you?"

"And why would I want your help, Luci? You tried to rape me and Raven. You fucking almost murdered your own best friend in Seattle for what exactly? Gave a boy flowers he was allergic to in the hospital. Killed people. Johnathan, you are a fucking murderer on the run, and you think I need your advice? I'd rather drink bleach and cut off my eyes."

Johnathan was silent for a few seconds before sighing. "Maybe I have overreacted and done some shitty things, but I am sure you need my help to put these people in their place. Why? Because deep down, you know my plans always, always works."

I chortled. "You are on the run."

"Only because you outsmarted me, you are literally the only one in the world who can actually put an end to me, likewise me to you." He chuckled. "So maybe my plans don't always work, but at least ninety nine percent of the time, you are the one percent that ruins it."

"Anything to have you rot in jail."

"You know I would do anything for you, so, this is one of those things." He said. "I know you are not as straight forward as I am. Instead of putting a knife in their chest, you would rather let them do it themselves. You are all about justice and blah blah blah. So, let's get your Bruce the justice he deserves then, hmm."

I could feel him smile. "What are you playing at?"

"Call it an apology for shooting you when I was aiming at Henry, which isn't my fault though since you jumped in for that incel, but anyways, this is what you can do. Do you wanna hear?" He asked and I just couldn't reply.

I got up from my bed and made my way to my mirror, staring at myself with my phone in my ear. "I'm listening."

"The dad. Let's put him in jail for child abuse, since you won't set him and his wife and children on fire. Seriously, I miss the old you." He dramatically sighed.

"Will you get to the point, or do you want me to fucking find you and shoot you?"

"Okay okay. Relax. Have a cop or two around for Bruce's birthday, then you are going to go to Bruce's house, and extend an invitation to his step father."

I frowned a bit. "He won't come to his son's funeral. He fucking hates him."

"All he needs is a....little convincing. He should come to show he was not an awful dad to Bruce, or people might start to talk and think he was the reason the teenager murdered himself. People might think he did something, if he doesn't show up, it makes him look...."

"Guilty." I finished up.

"Exactly. See, you're getting it." He sighed. "And when he does, you snap at him."

"He hates Bruce so much, I wouldn't have to do much because he would start to spill it all by himself, because he is dumb, hateful and an alcoholic."

"Ding ding ding!!! Now you get it! And that way?—"

"He goes to jail for at least ten years or more."

"And that's not the worst part, is it? What makes it better is the fact that? You know it, so say it."

I cocked my head to the side. "He misses out on half his childrens' lives, and they will grow up to know what Daddy did to their half brother."

"And if we are lucky, if you want it, he could die there." He tsked. "But I'll leave that up to you. You already know what to do, you are smart, so this, this is also justice. A decade or more jail time for harming Bruce. So, do what you know you have to, stormie. You've always known what you wanted to do, which is to hurt them so much, to hurt them everyday like they did Bruce all his life. And you have got your chance, so use it."

"Who are you talking to?" I heard another familiar voice ask at the other end of the phone, and I knew it was Detective Fisher.

"No one." Johnathan instantly answered.

"What did I tell you, Nathan?!" Detective Fisher scolded.

Nathan?

"Sorry, I wanted to order pizza, do you want me to die of starvation?!" Johnathan retorted.

"Then why are you hiding the phone behind your back?
Give it to me." Fisher ordered in a stern voice.

I frowned, shocked.

"Don't speak to me like a child."

"Nathan. What did I just say?"

Johnathan stayed silent. "You are so mean." He replied and then I heard a loud sound that made me flinch and the line went dead.

Did Johnathan just....break the phone?

What was that all about?

Nathan.

He didn't matter.

What mattered at the moment was him.

I am gonna hurt that family.

This will be our little secret, Luci.

***

AFTER THE FUNERAL•••

I walked into the house from Bruce's house, I undid my suit buttons and made my way to the kitchen. I had buried my friend today, I had said my final goodbye, it indeed was real, he was dead.

I walked to the kitchen and sitting there with a bottle of wine before him was my Dad, he was just staring at it. He was wearing a the same outfit from the funeral, but without the suit jacket.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I can't drink it," he said and looked away from it and at me, his eyes red like he had been crying. "I badly want to, I want to so so badly, but I can't, because I do not want to ruin my family." He said and looked back at the bottle in front of him.

"Then put it away."

"I can't." He shook his head. "Do you know what Bruce told me the day of your birthday, when he was here?" He suddenly asked and looked at me.

I shook my head slowly.

"I asked him; "Hey kid, what would you like to be when you graduate? What college do you wanna go to?" Dad smile bitterly and I found myself holding back tears.

"He said whatever gets me out of Eastwood is fine, I might become a teacher, so I can take care of kids and look out for kids like me." Dad shrugged. "I thought that was awesome of him, I didn't....I didn't know he was–," Dad looked up, trying to push back the tears. "I didn't know he was crying for help. When he said to look out for kids like him, I didn't know he meant troubled kid." He said and looked back at me.

I quickly wiped off the tears as they fell, looking away from him as my throat started to hurt really bad.

"Oh God." He laughed. "I should have known, I should have known he needed help, even after he asked me for a hug. Can I hug you, Mr. Dexwell?" He said and I looked back at him, the tears rolled down his cheeks.

"It was n-not your fault." I told him, a tear falling.

"Oh, but we talked every-time he was over. I met him one time when I went to the movies with Sophie, and I invited him to join, but how could I have been so blind, Dylan. Again. Again, I couldn't....I couldn't help him." Dad said and pounded his chest like I would do, because it hurt.

"And I want to drink so bad, because I failed that kid."

"What do you mean....again?" I asked him.

He bounced his head a few times before looking at me. "You know the incident that happened with um, Isaac." He said and I looked away from him. "I was never a drunk, you know? I was not a woman beater. I knew how to handle my alcohol, until I couldn't." He swallowed.

"Remember your uncle, Mattais?"

I nodded. "Your twin."

Mattais and Matthew. Mattais was my father's twin brother who had been murdered about ten years ago during a robbery, months before Isaac's death, he was shot.

"He called me that morning when he died," Dad faked a smile. "I was unavailable, so I couldn't answer him when he called me because I was at a meeting. He was my best friend, not just my brother." Dad sniffed and took out his phone. "I still have his voicemail." He said as he went through his phone and then dropped it on the table.

I looked at it as it played.

"Hey, Matthew. Uh, hi. How are you?" He awkwardly laughed. "I know you are probably busy since you could not answer, but um...." He went silent for a while. "I-I can't do it anymore." His voice broke. "I am tired and scared, and I don't know what to do anymore. I don't wanna stay again. It's so fucking hard to talk when you just want to pull that trigger." He cried, and I looked at Dad who was crying so much as he re listened to the voicemail.

Mattais cried for a while before he continued. "I feel—, I feel like I am going mad. I don't think I can pretend everything is fine, I don't think I can pretend to be strong anymore, Matthew." He sobbed. "I keep hearing these voices in my head and they are so loud, and I cannot ignore them anymore. I used to think I was gonna be okay, but I was just lying to myself. I know you tried to help, but I think it is better this way. It's okay, I love you, and thank you for being by my side but I can't continue anymore. Maybe it was best you didn't answer cause you might have been able to find a way to talk me out of this." He gave a small laugh and sniffed. "I love you, Matthew, but I can't keep hurting you and everyone else ."

Dad wiped off his tears, his face red, his eyes swollen, but the more he wiped, the more the tears came as he listened.

"Do me a favour, it is my last wish. I disabled the cameras around my house, I made a mess of the place and burnt some of shit so it looks like a robbery happened here." He sniffed. "I don't want mom to be hurt, I don't want our parents to feel like they failed if I take my life, because how do I tell her, the woman who brought me to this world that I don't wanna live anymore." He said and a tear fell from my eye. "I can't do that to them, it would break them and mom might not make it, Dad might blame himself till it kills him and I can't do that to them, so please, forgive me. I want them to think a robbery happened, they shouldn't chase a ghost, and I'm not using my cellphone, just incase the police tries to track whatever, so you're good, it's a burner phone. Make sure no one gets to jail mistakenly for this happening, in case our parents get so desperate." He went silent for a while.

"I am so so sorry, Matthew. And I love you so much. Take care of your family, I love you."

And then it ended.

I looked at Dad who was balling so much, I was in shock, frozen where I was. "He killed himself." My voice broke as the tears fell down my surprised face.

"I-I went over to his house the second I got that voicemail, but I was late. I was so late. He had shot himself in the head, and I was not fast enough to save him. He had acted like he was okay, and I believed that he was okay, but he wasn't and I didn't see that." He cried.

"And I lost my brother, my best friend. So it looked like a robbery, and we told our parents it was a robbery and he had been murdered, it was his wish. And I know, I know I should have gone to therapy, I should have spoken to someone. I should have maybe told your mother, but I didn't, and It messed with my head so so much because I was the only one who knew that secret. I had a secret as big as that to keep and it was eating me alive everyday, every single day that I woke up, that I had to breathe. And I did the most stupid thing anyone could do,"

"You went to alcohol for help." I finished.

He nodded. "And I just wanted to forget it, to not be able to think about it, and I hurt my family in the process. I....I murdered my son." He cried. "I killed my son before I realised I should have had my shit together."

"Dad,"

"And then I failed Bruce too. I could have seen the signs but it happened again and he is dead, he is dead. And I know how much that must be eating you inside too, because you....you thought you could save him. I know how much you wanted to be there for him and save him, but he's dead and you blame yourself. It's not your fault too, Dylan, it's not."

"I just....I wanted him to have a-a good life, and I was so into that stupid sleep, that I didn't know he was gonna kill himself." My voice broke as I sobbed. "I miss him, Dad."

Dad's face saddened. "I know. I know." He said as he walked over to me and pulled me into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, son."

I wrapped my arms around him as I sobbed loudly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I kept repeating.

Who was I apologising to?

I don't know.

To Bruce, for not being able to save him?

To Dad, for not seeing how much he was hurting and blaming it all on him?

To Isaac, for not protecting him?

To myself, for always being too hard on myself and blaming myself for everything that went wrong?

Maybe it was all of it.

"Oh, it's okay, son. I am really sorry too."

****

MONTHS LATER.

"I just know he would be excited to see me." I said while Henry drove, a bouquet of roses resting on my lap.

"Of course, you are the only one he looks forward to." Henry said as he drove, he stretched out his hand and held mine in his, squeezing it.

I needed that.

I squeezed back, my eyes on the road. "Did you get the chocolates?"

"Yes, love. They are at the back." He said, and I looked at the backseat to see them there, I smiled and looked at him.

"Thanks, babe."

"Of course." He smiled back.

We got to the cemetery, and he parked the car. I undid my seatbelt and got out of the car with the roses while Henry picked up the chocolates from the backseat as he got out and his own bouquet of daisies.

Tyler's party had taken place two days ago and Henry and Cameron had decided to tolerate each other and not fight over me. It feels so nice to be the main character sometimes, I just know, cause how many of these bitches have two or five men fighting over them?

Huh? How many?

I held Henry's hand as we made our way to Bruce's headstone which we had all contributed for and also the space he had been buried in, so it doesn't have another unknown dead body dropped on his and have the headstone changed. Henry and I were literally matching and I promise you, it was not planned. Okay, maybe it was because when I saw him, I quickly grabbed my trench coat to match his and had the audacity to act shocked.

Henry was wearing black pants and a brown shirt with a black trench coat while I was wearing black pants, a black turtle neck and a brown trench coat. We were both talking and snickering when we got to Bruce's headstone and I stopped in my tracks. Someone had littered some things around his headstone, there were biscuits wraps and nylons.

"Who the fuck?" I let go off Henry's hand and walked over to Bruce's headstone, I knelt to the ground and began throwing them off his. "Who the fuck eats at a grave fucking yard? What the fuck? Have some fucking respect!"

"Dylan," Henry called softly.

"They didn't even clean this place properly? Who fucking works here? There are...papers and leaves everywhere hanging on his headstone, and look? Someone scratched his stone, shouldn't there be like...security?." I said as I got rid of the papers and began trying to get rid of the scratch done, while breathing fast and trying to hold back my tears. "Why would they just n-not have respect?!"

"Babe."

"It's very childish!! Very fucking childish!" I screamed.

"Dylan!" Henry pulled me up and I turned to him.

"What?!! Look what sort of...mess they did!" I yelled, breathing heavily. "They can't just...." I looked away, trying not to cry.

"That's not Bruce."

I looked back at him. "What?"

"That is not Bruce's headstone." He said and I turned back to it to see the name "Francis."

"That's his." Henry said, and I turned to my left to see an identical headstone, but that one had Bruce's name.

"Oh." I swallowed. "You can thank me later, Francis." I said and looked at Henry.

"You okay?"

I nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I am."

And while he just stared at me without saying anything, I knew I was about to cry.

"Come here." He said and pulled me into a hug, he kissed my head softly as I cried silently into his chest. "You'll be okay, babes."

***

"And that is what happened up until today." I smiled. "I think I have brought you up to speed." I sighed.

"Uh, I don't think Bruce needed to know we had sex yesterday," Henry said, chuckling.

"I know," I nodded. "I just wanted to make his spirit uncomfortable." I shrugged.

Henry laughed and got up from the floor with a small sigh. "Come on, love. We need to start heading back."

"Yeah. Well," I got up. "Okay, Bruce. I have to start leaving now, I'll come say goodbye before I leave for college cause I know you'll hunt his town if you don't see my pretty face and I just vanish from here because you obviously do love me more than any other person in this world." I said as I adjusted my outfit. "I uh," I smiled softly. "I miss you, and I am sorry. I know you tried to stay alive, you suffered a lot and deserved better." I said, and quickly wiped off a tear before it could run down my face.

"Bye, ugly." I said and turned to leave, but froze in my spot in surprise by the person across me. It wasn't just me, it was both Henry and myself, staring at him in disbelief, hit by a wave of shock because this person was the last person we expected to see anytime soon.

"Wait! Holy shit, Eric?" Henry spoke.

The devil smiled. "Hi, Henry." He said and looked at me. "Dylan."

"What in satan's pitch black blood are you doing here?" I asked him. "Was your pet hamster buried here?"

I looked at Henry. "I know this place was about to be a ghost town, but I didn't expect an evil ghost to pop up." I said and looked back at Eric in disgust.

It was really shocking seeing him here, and standing right in front of me. He was wearing a black leather pant and a white shirt, his hair now blonde. And right next to him, was a man with his hands in his pockets. He was a bit taller than Eric and also had more muscles and more everything than Eric, even beauty. But I didn't know him, so I didn't care for him.

"I uh, I came to see Bruce." Eric said he quietly, as he swallowed.

I chuckled. "You came to see—Bruce? The one you....tried to treat as a pet, or oh! Turned to your pet before I got your ass out of Eastwood? This Bruce? That you made the whole of Eastwood High hate? The Bruce that is lying cold and dead. That same Bruce?" I asked, brows furrowed at him in anger. "You have got some nerves."

"Dylan, listen-"

"You came to see Bruce, who your brother had told the entire fucking school was born from rape. The only fucking person who knew that was you because Bruce told you, yes? And you knew what sort of demon you were breeding, raising in your house, an antichrist who adored you, and you told that child Bruce's secret until they used it against him and he tried to kill himself. This, this same Bruce is who you came to see?" I asked him as I took a step towards him.

"The same Bruce who needed a brother and a friend because home was hell, and because you knew how much he wanted that, you used it against him. Used him, and turned him into a fucking monster, like yourself. That same Bruce?" I took another step towards him. "So, you came here to do what exactly? No tell me. Drag him out of the floor and say "arise Lazarus?" I asked him, cocking a brow at him. "Hmm? Do you suddenly have powers to bring him back? Are you the necromancer now?"

"Dylan, I just...I just wanna pay my respects." He said, his eyes red, like he wanted to cry.

"No!! No!" I snapped at him. "You do not fucking get to act like this is sad for you, when you fucking used him, you piece of shit. One good thing about Eastwood that was very pleasing was the fact that you were no longer here, you were gone!"

"This is not even about you or concerns you, Dylan." He suddenly said, tilting his head to the side and looking at me with sadness and anger. "Everything isn't always about you."

"You are the one who shouldn't fucking be here, Kai Parker."

"HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND!!" Eric shouted.

"NO!" I pointed at him angrily "YOU WERE HIS BEST FRIEND, HE WAS YOUR FUCKING SLAVE." I yelled back, furiously. He seemed taken aback and just looked at me with swollen eyes, not able to say anything.

"And you think you can just fucking show up and act like everything is fucking fine? This isn't La La Land, Eric Phillips, it's fucking Eastwood."

"Hey," the man beside him spoke, his voice deep. "Take it easy, he does not want any trouble."

"Ashton." Eric called softly, as if trying to tell him not to say anything. "I can handle myself, so please don't."

I puckered my left brow at Ashton, as I stared at him in irritation. "And what is it you supposed to be? The new Bruce? The bodyguard? Butler? Dragon slayer?"

"I'm his—"

"It does not concern you, Dylan." Eric cut him off. "You always love to insert yourself in things that doesn't concern you, like right now, so please back off."

I laughed maniacally. "Really rich coming from you, seeing you tried to out me to my family and have them disown me. Very rich coming from you, Phillips, seeing you pushed me down the stairs in school and gave me a concussion and had me break my fucking arm, or did you forget?. Very rich from the guy who beat me up in the bathroom when I had a fucking bad headache and couldn't defend myself. Really really rich from the boy who sided with a rapist to bring me down. And why did he do all these things? Because I wouldn't let him bully people anymore." I smiled. "Because he couldn't fucking bully me or control me. So, tell me again, Eric." I was now standing an inch away from him. "Who was the Denzel Crocker to my Timmy Turner?" I furrowed my brows at him.

Eric seemed uneasy and couldn't give an answer, he looked worried and also couldn't look me in the eye, while the man beside him looked at Eric. "Is he....saying the truth?"

I looked at him. "I have nothing to gain from lying about how awful this human is."

"I am not a bad person anymore." Eric said.

I snorted. "You don't get to decide that for yourself, Eric. You don't get to just disappear and come back and claim to be princess Diana, no. I hate you with every vein in my body, and I wish I would destroy you, to just ruin you the more." I clenched my fist. "You caused your mother nothing but pain, all the men in her life cause her pain and the one child left got taken from her and is dead. You were always a disappointment." I told him.

"Take. A. Step. Back." The man Ashton said, shooting me an icy glare as a warning. "Don't utter another word or I swear, I will—"

"I would be careful of the next words that comes out of my mouth if I were you," Henry said from where he stood, his hands in his pockets, cutting Axton off. "Whatever you do," Mighty Axton looked away from me at him. "Don't lay a finger on him, because I'll break it."

Ashton scoffed. "You are too confident for a man I would put in the ground in a second." He said and I felt Henry smile.

Henry chuckled. "Keep talking, maybe we'll find a little bit of smartness somewhere." Henry said as he walked over to me and stood in front of Axton, both of them the same height and staring at each other. "Just don't talk to Dylan because this does not concern you."

"Take a step back." Ashton ordered.

Henry just stood where he was confidently, not moving an inch as he stared at Axton, his hands still in his pockets.

"Ashton, stop." Eric pulled him back by the arm. I looked at Eric's worried look and at Axton and back at Eric, and I smiled softly.

"You can ask your boyfriend about Henry," I said to Ashton and Eric's eyes widen, I swear I saw his soul leave him. "He got a few kisses from my boyfriend's fist. I'm also not one to brag, but I'm certain I can pull out his tongue." I said and looked at Eric. "And you," I looked back at Ashton. "I don't think I'm someone you would want to lay your finger on. No, I'm not rich to just get rid of you, but I will definitely get rid of you if I wanted to, so you should really be careful who you say certain things to, hmm? You might be bigger than me and be able to beat me into a coma, but I'll make sure you never can walk again." I said and shrugged, smiling. "Your boyfriend knows me."

"Ashton is...not my boyfriend." Eric said and pulled away from Ashton. Ashton looked at Eric with what seemed to have been hurt, but he quickly looked away from Eric and tried to mask it. "We are friends." Eric said.

I laughed. "I thought you were not a bad person? So, how are you hurting him just so you can be someone else around me? Unlike you, I won't go chanting Eric is gay so they can disown and bully him. It's funny, you used to call me a faggot, and now, tsk, you're one." I smirked and looked at Henry.

"Let's go, love." I locked arms with him. "I don't wanna beat a bitch in front of Bruce." I said and walked away with Henry.

"What makes you think Eric is gay?" Henry asked once we got to his car.

"Don't forget I have psychic abilities, Henry. I just read them, and they are definitely dating, and they are so gonna have a fight today." I told him as I strapped my seatbelt.

"Funny, he tried to ruin us."

"I knew this was gonna happen anyways," I smiled. "But look at you being such a daddy when Axton wanted to tear me apart."

"Shut up."

I chuckled.

****

Next Day.

"Hi, Joseph."

"Hi, Dylan."

"I'll have the usual." I smiled at him.

"Black coffee, no sugar, coming right up." Joseph winked at me.

"Thank you." I flashed him a smile as he began to quickly prepare it while the waiters attended to the other customers.

A couple minutes later, my coffee was ready and as I took out my purse to pay, Joseph refused to let me.

"On the house."

I sighed. "Joseph, it's always on the house, you don't wanna keep doing that."

"I know you'll be off to college soon, we wont see y'all in a while, so call it a parting gift from us."

It wasn't a parting gift, Joseph had a crush on me, he had always had a crush on me. His Dad owned H.O.E.S and Henry had shooed him away last year when he wanted to ask me out when Henry and I were still enemies.

"Thank you, Jo. I'll see you around, say hi to your dad for me."

"I will." He smiled.

I closed my purse of course and walked away with my coffee, dressed in high waist sky blue pants, black boots and a white button down shirt with a black leather jacket. You might wonder why I was all dressed up; I am meeting up with Mr. Frost today and he was taking me to a meeting with him to show me some tricks and to also use my brain as well, and definitely pay me to read people.

I liked that job.

"Dylan!"

I turned around once I heard my name, and approaching me was Eric Phillips, he took off his glasses and did a small wave, offering me a smile.

"Oh, for the love of the mother of demons." I rolled my eyes, turned and kept walking.

"Wait, wait, wait!" He said as he ran and appeared in front of me.

"What the fuck do you want? Me to throw my coffee all over you?"

"No!" He said and took a step backwards.

"It would still touch you if i threw it." I deadpanned.

"Dylan, listen." He sighed heavily. "I just...I wanna apologise."

"Why? Did your boyfriend ask you to? Oh wait, I meant friend." I said and walked past him.

"Um, no. I just wanted to say I am sorry."

I stopped and turned. "For what exactly?"

"Everything." He said, sounding sincere. "Pushing you down the stairs. Outing you. Emotionally torturing you. For—for Bruce." He said and I gulped. "I am sorry about everything and I am thankful to you for being there for Bruce before his last days. I.....I met Christian last night, and he told me all about what you did for him."

"Because Bruce was my friend."

He nodded. "I am sorry, Dylan, sincerely. I hate hate hate myself for everything I did out of hate. Yes, I do have a boyfriend. Yes, I fucking love him. Yes, I am Bisexual. And I feel so sick that I hurt you guys for being in love. I did not know better and I just choose to be a hateful asshole, and I am sorry, I really am. Please, do forgive me. Or, l-let's have coffee and just talk, I would like to talk with you, please." He said, his eyes sad as he looked at me with so much regret and pain.

I walked to him. "You see that look in your eyes? That pain and regret? I love it." I said. "It's nice to see you know you were a shithead. I accept your apology, Eric. What you should never do, is make Axel feel like shit."

"Ashton."

"Alexander is out of the closet and he definitely does not want to be pushed back into it, so do not make him feel that way. Like he has to hide who he is. He does not want that at all. And I did not call you both boyfriends yesterday to tease you, I called you boyfriends because I knew you both were. Learn to accept yourself and don't let Anderson feel like because of you, he has to have another identity." I told him, and he just listened.

"I am so stupid for denying him yesterday," he closed his eyes. "But, how do you...know all these?"

"I'm the smartest person in this town." I shrugged. "And, make things right with your mother, you at least owe her that. A good son." I told him.

"And, I will not go in there and have coffee with you, Eric. While I have accepted your unwanted apology, I will not forgive you for the things you did. Not now, not never. And I think it is within my right to not forgive you if I don't want to do that because you caused me and Henry, and my friends a lot of pain, so I can't do that for you. Gone are those days when I just forgive people because they said sorry. Not you, not my friends, no one, especially not you. No one can hurt me anymore, and just apologise and expect to be forgiven. No. So, while your apology is accepted, you have to live with the fact that you are a fucking asshole and have brought pain to many, and for that, I can't forgive you." I said, and his eyes became clouded with tears.

"I understand." He nodded. "Of course, I can't force you to."

"You are right, you can't. It's okay if I can't forgive you. It may be hypocritical of me because I have caused a lot of people so much pain, but I don't fucking care anymore. Redeem yourself by doing good now, be a good lover and be a good son. And, if you ever hurt someone I care about, intentionally or not," I took a sip from my coffee. "I'll come back for you any day, any time, and I'll hurt you so much that you would want to join Bruce." I said and flashed him a big smile. "And I'm not bluffing." I took another sip.

"Have a good day! And say Hi to Ash for me, he seems like a really nice and charming guy, I like him." I said and turned, walking away. "Bye!!"