The rain heavily pours down around a group of figures cloaked in black. The rain seems to mimic the heavy souls and dampened spirits of the figures which linger beneath the dark sky. As I watch the tragic scene that plays before my eyes, I can't seem to take my sight off of a particularly sorrowful figure. Her screams of pain and loss fill my heart with unimaginable grief. I listen with misty eyes as she curses whatever God has brought this tragedy upon her family.

I don't regret what we did. The choice that we made was one that I would make again. I just wish her crying would cease; I hate that sound... that heart-wrenching sound. I watch as she flings herself onto my grave and sobs as only a mother who has lost her child could. Did you think that this story was about something else? A story about a murder or a mystery perhaps? If that is what you are looking for, I urge you to find a different story, for this is a tale of sorrow written by a dead man.

If it has not become apparent by now, I am dead. This is my tale and the way that it happened. This story is about the day we died. I suppose I should introduce myself before we begin. My name is Leo Madden, a seventeen-year-old only child with a single mother struggling to survive in high school. I lived in a middle-class neighborhood in New York City and attended Queens High School where I was a senior.

The day that it happened was January 13, 2022. I was awoken at seven-ish by the blaring sound of my alarm. The smell of bacon lured me out of my room and into the kitchen. When I walked into the room, I saw my mom cooking bacon and french toast. My mom and I looked identical. She was a short woman with a slim frame and short, wavy, light brown hair. There were dark circles under her chestnut eyes from working the night shift. I sat at the dining table silently so as to not disturb her.

"Leo, come down and eat breakfast," my mother called with a sleepy tone.

"I'm here, Mom," I said in my usually timid way. My head jerked to the side as I clicked my tongue. Seem weird or random? You're probably confused. I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at the age of eleven. It was just another thing people would torment me about, but I'll get to that later.

"Oh. I didn't notice you sitting there," she commented. She seemed to have this way of always stating the obvious. At the time, I thought it was a little annoying, but now, I think it's one of the things I'll miss the most.

"I can tell. I think you need to go get some sleep. I mean, I can always eat at school," I said quietly. I knew I wouldn't eat anything, but I wanted to convince her to finally sleep. She worked all day and most nights at the small diner a few blocks away from our house. She didn't make much, so she had to work those extra hours just to keep us afloat. However, that just meant that she rarely slept. I took a job at Walmart the moment that I turned sixteen to help her pay the bills.

"Dear, you know I can't do that. I have to work in an hour, and the bills don't pay themselves. Now hurry up, or you'll be late for school," my mother replied, shrugging off my suggestion like she did every time I brought it up. I quickly ate the little food that I put on my plate and made my way to the door.

"Bye, Mom; I love you," I said as I opened the front door. I never left the house without telling my mom goodbye. I guess it had become a habit, and I knew my mom appreciated it. I think it helped her cope with Dad's death. He died when I was three. He was an officer who was shot while saving the lives of three children from a school shooter.

"I love you too!" my mom shouted after me. I made my way to the bus stop where I met up with Drew.

"Hey, Leo! How's it going?" Andrew Elrod greeted in that cheery manner of his. He was my best friend and my boyfriend. He was a tall, muscular, blue-eyed teen with unkempt blond hair. He was eighteen years old, a year older than I was. He was always happy, or at least it seemed like it. I never understood why until now. God, I wish that I had known before, but that's just the regretful thinking of the dead.

"As awful as always. I... I did it again." I explained in a hushed voice. I kept a lot of secrets. I mean, sure, all teens have their secrets. But mine? Mine were... dark. Only Andrew knew what I kept shut out from the rest of the world. And I knew... I thought I knew his too. I understand why he didn't tell me, but I just wish he did. Right, the story. I know you're wondering what I did. I used to self-harm and I know that's bad but I frankly didn't care.

"Hey, do you need someone to talk to? You know I'm here for you," Andrew offered as he placed a hand on my shoulder in reassurance.

"I know, Drew. It's just..." I started to answer, but before I could get the words out, the bus arrived. We boarded the bus silently, everyone staring at the two school freaks. When we sat next to each other, I could hear the other kids whisper. They said things like 'gay' or 'faggot' or whatever other nasty thing they could come up with. Anytime I would tick, the others would mimic me. Maybe if they had known how the day would end, they would've been nicer to us.

When we walked into school, the kids just got worse. They would shove us, throw things at us, laugh, mock, tease, anything you can think of they did. By the end of fourth hour, I couldn't take it anymore. I ran to the bathroom and broke down into uncontrollable tears. I mean, could you blame me? Those kids were awful and the school didn't care enough to do anything about it. I couldn't tell my mom, she already had too much on her plate. Tears streamed down my face as I tried to hold back sobs.

I don't know if Andrew saw me run through the halls or if he had just needed to use the restroom and just so happened to see my distraught manner but suddenly he was by my side. He rubbed up and down my back as he whispered comforting words into my ear.

"I can't take this anymore! I can't take the staring or the whispering... any of it!" I cried between sobs. The stress caused my tics to become more obvious, which in turn made me remember all of the awful names they would call me, and with that, I was pulled back into the dark parts of my mind.

"I know it's hard..." Drew started to say, trying to come up with any happy-go-lucky excuse he could think of, but I cut him off.

"Drew, you don't understand! You could never understand! I don't know what I'm supposed to do... I'm tired of this. I don't know if I can keep going." I said as I grew increasingly frustrated. I thought that Andrew was the happiest guy in the world. He was so confident... nothing like me. I hated that he felt he could understand me. I was so stupid to think that.

"Of course I understand. Leo... there's... something I haven't told you." Drew hesitantly admitted. I still don't understand why he chose to tell me at that moment. Maybe he was just trying to make me feel better or he was trying to show me that he was there for me? Whatever it was, I was just shocked to hear that he was keeping something from me. We told each other everything.

"My homelife... isn't the greatest... I mean my older sister, Lily, she's great but the rest..." Andrew started, taking a deep breath. I laid my head on his shoulder and listened intently to what he had to say.

"For starters, my mom... well, she's always been 'direct', you know, straightforward. She's honestly not the nicest person out there... and she's definitely made it clear that she doesn't like the whole 'I'm gay and have a boyfriend' thing." He continued. He was always open about the fact that he was into guys and made it clear that he wasn't ashamed to let the whole world know I was his boyfriend. It was honestly just another thing I was jealous of. I was terrified of the mere thought of anyone finding out that I was gay, let alone dating someone.

Yeah, people called me queer and all those fun little nicknames but no one actually knew. If they ever found out... I had no clue what they would do.

"As for my dad..." Andrew added, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"He... he is the meanest man you'll ever meet, not to mention physical. When he gets mad... he- uh- he... let's just say that he takes it out on us. So, yeah... I understand." He finished with tremendous difficulty. I can't imagine how hard it was to tell me. At the time, all I could do was hug him as tightly as I could. He held me close to his chest and buried his face into my shoulder. I don't know how long we stayed in that silent position, but it felt as if an hour had passed before we heard the bell ring. We hadn't even had the chance to stand before someone barged into the bathroom.

"Ooh, this is priceless! The two faggots holding each other on the bathroom floor." The guy shouted. He ushered a couple of his buddies into the bathroom, a few of them taking pictures. Andrew stood in front of me to protect me from the stares and flashing cameras but it didn't work. The tears just came back as I heard their cruel laughter.

"Oh my God, I knew that these freaks were faggots!" One called out to the rest.

"Right? Can't wait 'til the rest of the school hears about this." Another replied.

"I bet this is the reason ticky's dad died." I heard said behind the crowd.

"Maybe we should... try and help them." A boy suggested with a twisted smirk. And just like that, the group pounced. It all happened so fast that I only remember fragments. Andrew tried to fight back, he even broke one of their noses, while I hid behind him like a coward. The group threw rapid punches and kicks, taunting us at every chance they got.

"What is going on in here?!" Greg Johnson, our dean of students, shouted. The group of boys backed away and Drew helped me off the floor. The boys had bloody knuckles and bruises. Drew had a black eye, a cut on his bottom lip, and bruises all over. I had a bloody nose, bruises all over, and I lost a tooth.

"Thank goodness you came." I started with a relieved tone, clicking my tongue again as my head jerked up. If only I knew how little help he would be.

"All of you are in so much trouble!" He interrupted me. He took all of us into the office and one by one took us into his office. I noticed how the other boys, the ones who beat us up, left within a matter of seconds. However, when Andrew walked in he was in there for a while. Greg had his parents called and I knew how bad that would end up.

"Leo Madden." Mr. Johnson called me to his office. I nervously walked in and sat down in front of his desk.

"You know that fighting is heavily against school policy." He started but before he could continue, my emotions bubbled to the surface.

"We were defending ourselves! They attacked us! They took pictures and taunted us!" I yelled.

"P.D.A isn't acceptable either. Now, don't raise your voice at me." He continued.

"We didn't do anything wrong. This has been going on for two years and you haven't done a thing about it! What?! Is it because they're jocks? Because they're popular?" I ranted, tears streaming down my face.

"Well, do you want to know what your 'perfect' students have been up to?! They have thrown things at me and Drew during trips, they have made fun of us at any chance they have gotten, they shove us in the halls, they call us 'faggots' and 'freaks' whenever we board the bus, and they have beat us yet you still refuse to do a thing about it! They are a huge part of the reason I want to kill myself! I cut because of them!" I screamed, I couldn't take this anymore. I needed this to end. This was my desperate cry for help.

"What you are explaining isn't bullying. You should have tried to resolve this peacefully. Why didn't you say anything before? You and Andrew are suspended until further notice. I am calling your mom and having her pick you up. You are dismissed." He said simply, unfazed by my tears or my confession.

"Do I need to look up and print the definition of bullying for you?! You're letting them go with a tap on the wrist while we're suspended? You're blaming us for being bullied? Shows your morals, huh?" I remarked, getting more ticked off.

"I said you're dismissed!" He bellowed. I stormed out of the office and sat on the curb of the school. Drew had already been picked up so I was alone with my thoughts. When I was picked up, my mom lectured me about getting into fights and back-talking to a teacher. I didn't listen... I didn't care. When I got home, I went straight to my room and called my boyfriend. He looked as if he had been hit by a train. His happy demeanor had just disappeared, revealing his true feelings.

"Leo... I don't know if I can keep going... With my parents and school... and have you seen Facebook? They posted pictures of us in the bathroom all over the internet... Everyone knows..." Drew started, he sounded choked up and the tears brought his voice to a quiet whisper. The fact that everyone knew that we were together made my heart sink into my stomach, I was terrified. Thinking about how broken and small he sounded still makes me want to cry. I just wish I had been in the right place so that I could've helped him.

"Drew, what are we going to do? We can't keep living like this..." I replied desperately.

"I... have a plan. But, I need to know... how much do you love me? How far are you willing to go?" Andrew asked that infamous question, the one that decided our fate.

"I love you more than life itself. Andrew... I would do anything for you." I replied. And just like that, our plan went into action. We hung ourselves from our bedroom doors. No notes, no warnings, nothing. We just did it. For once in my life I felt free, I felt happy. Our parents found us an hour later. The way my mom screamed when she discovered me... I hated it. I never wanted to hurt her but... this was the only way. Four hours later, we were buried in the ground. That leads us back to now. Among the mourning figures dressed in black, there is no sign of Drew's parents. His sister is here, of course, she looks so distraught.

Greg posted some stupid speech about teen suicide and how he could never have known but didn't even bother to show up to our funeral. What a liar... he didn't even tell my mom what I told him. I also found out that the other boys didn't get suspended or even detention. He gets to keep teaching while he ignores more kids like us. None of this was fair, then again I don't think it ever was.

"Do you think we made the right choice?" I ask Drew softly, laying my head on his ice-cold shoulder.

"I don't know. I really hope we did." Drew honestly replies.

"Do you regret it?"

"No, because now I can be with you forever without any judgment. I regret that the world made us think that suicide was our only option."

"I love you, Andrew."

"I love you too, Leo."

So... this is the end. It's so peaceful, the rain eases up as a beautiful rainbow appears and our loved ones have left gorgeous flowers for us. The sun has set on our time on Earth and our tale has come to a bitter-sweet end. Me and Drew's love will continue forever and our lives will live on with our families. I'll leave this tale under the big oak that lies between our graves.

If you are reading this story, please... don't make this mistake and never assume that people have it good. You never know how something will affect someone or what someone's going through. I hope my story spreads like a forest fire that helps new trees to grow. I hope that it extends hope to those like me and Andrew and awareness to those like Mr. Johnson and our bullies. This was the story of the day the innocent died, the day we died.