◈A D R I A N◈

"Look, you really need to stop moping around like a slug," Kelly grumbled, her right arm going around me to reach for the beaker. The white sleeves of her lab coat fluttered before my eyes.

"What happened to you? I know you're all about giving the dark and gloomy vibes but you're a total black hole today," Kelly added as she peered into the beaker and gave it a light swirl.

Black hole, huh? I smirked, the muscles of my lips straining from lack of use. There was no better word to describe what I was feeling now—or rather lack thereof.

"Look, I don't mind doing all this work by myself," Kelly gestured at the apparatuses and chemical liquids for our mini experiment, "but can you at least pretend to be useful? I swear Mr. Chan just looked our way for the fourth time and it isn't because I'm doing such a great job here."

I turned my head the other side, blatantly ignoring her and stared at the broken cobwebs glinting like thin silver threads under the penetrative light. I heard Kelly let out a frustrated huff and resumed pouring the chemicals into separate test tubes.

It's over now, I thought silently. Logan must be feeling beyond disgusted for saving a deviant, gay murderer who has the hots for him. Hell, Logan probably moved to another state just to avoid me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and burrowed my face deeper into the crook of my arms. Just the thought of not being able to see him anymore forced a lone tear slipping down the corner of my eye.

"Is this about Logan?" Kelly whispered, her tone low and careful.

"Yeah," my voice sounded muffled and miserable. I turned my head back towards Kelly and sniffed, "I told him I like him."

Kelly took a sharp intake of breath, her fingers stopped stirring the purple liquid in the beaker. She glanced at me and sighed, "I guess he didn't take it too well."

"N-no," I gave a watery reply, my eyes burning again with unshed tears. "He hates me now."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you. Maybe he's...he just didn't know how to respond to your confession, that's all. Hey, maybe it wasn't as bad as you thought it was," Kelly gave a light, sympathetic squeeze on my forearm.

I shook my head. "You wouldn't understand. You should have seen his face, Kelly. He's undoubtedly disgusted with me."

Kelly's limpid eyes flashed with anger. "Screw him then! That jerk doesn't deserve your affection!" she burst out.

I winced, completely forgotten about her parents and how sensitive she gets about homophobia.

Before I could utter a word, Mr. Chan strode towards us with a disapproving look. "Miss Montgomery, I hope you're aware of your surroundings. No profanity in class."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Chan," Kelly apologized, her reddened cheeks prominent as opposed to her white lab coat.

Mr. Chan turned his attention to me and I was forced to push myself away from the table. I sat a little straighter on the stool under his watchful stare.

"And you, Mr. Davies. I did not pair you up with Miss Montgomery to give you a reason to slack off. Your participation will greatly affect the final marks for this mini assessment," Mr. Chan chided.

I nodded begrudgingly while my fingers slowly reached for the glass rod and stirred the mixture in the beaker.

Seemingly satisfied, he headed to the back of the class to help Roy and Gavin with their experiment.

Kelly gave me a meaningful gaze, "I mean it, Adrian. Forget about Logan."

"I wish it's as easy as that," I murmured.

*

As we were wiping down the table after we were done with the experiment, a knock sounded across the room.

"Sorry for the interruption Mr. Chan but Mrs. Davies is here for her son, Adrian Davies," the school administrator spoke.

I froze on the spot like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Apparently there's an emergency and she needs to leave with Adrian right away," he added.

"No problem," Mr. Chan nodded and turned to me. "You may leave, Adrian."

Feeling stumped, I stood still like a dumb mannequin.

"Hey," Kelly shook my shoulders, "your mom's here to get you."

"Y-yeah. I heard him," I stammered, still couldn't wrap my head around the sudden emergency. Shrugging off the lab coat, I laid it on the stool and walked dazedly towards the administrator.

"Your mom's waiting over there," he gestured to my left and I found her waiting impatiently as she kept glancing at her wristwatch and tapping her boots against the floor.

She saw me and immediately hurried over. "Thanks for the help, Jeremy," she smiled at the administrator.

"Anytime," Jeremy replied and returned to his post.

As soon as Jeremy had his back turned, mom gripped my arm and marched me through the long corridor and out of the building.

"Where are we going?" I asked, trying not to grimace when her sharp nails dug painfully into my flesh.

"Away," she answered curtly.

When I noticed that we were heading straight for the streets, I slowed my pace.

"Wait! My stuff is still in the locker." Since I was basically a living zombie this morning, I left all of my things in the locker and went to class empty handed.

Mom glared at me and forcefully pulled me towards a rather luxurious black car. "You won't be needing them any longer. I'll buy you new ones when we get there."

"Wha-where are you taking me?" Sensing something was amiss, I started to wriggle under her grip.

She tightened her grasp on my arm and yelled, "James! Get him inside the car!"

A well dressed man quickly exited the car and half carried, half pulled me into the fancy car. He shoved me to the seats unceremoniously while mom slid on the leather seats next to me. She immediately held me down, giving a chance for James to return to his seat. James locked the car before stepping on the gas pedal.

"What the hell's going on here?!" I cried out while grasping the headrest in front of me before I was thrown back to the seats by the inertia when the car accelerated.

Mom clicked her tongue and released me,"Oh, shut it! You're giving me a headache!" Her slim fingers moved gracefully to massage her temples.

I looked out of the window and realized we were speeding down the street leading to our apartment.

Mom noticed the familiar scene too and scorned, "It's about goddamn time I leave that shit hole. Well, better late than never I suppose."

My heart dropped.

We're leaving now? I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to Kelly. Or...Logan.

"We're going to London," mom said, confirming my suspicion.

"Why?" I mumbled as our apartment blurred before my eyes, steadily becoming our past.

"Why?" she chuckled at my question. "I'm getting married, that's why. We're moving to London. For good."

✈

Author's note

Hey guys, long time no see! I know I said this chapter is supposed to be the last one for Book 1 but...yeah. Things happened.

I'm sorry for going MIA for so many months *bows*. I had so many ideas for this ending and my brain was overloaded. Basically I had a hard time staying committed to one idea because another one popped up a couple weeks later and threw me off track.

So here's a double chapter for my beloved readers. I hope you enjoy this and the next chapter :)

{Song: Too Sad to Cry by Sasha Sloan}