A. Knight

"Awsten, honey?" My mom calls when I walk into the house. She heaves a loud sigh and pats the chair. "Sit, you'll want to." I raise an eyebrow and sit slowly. "Uhm- Please, just hear me out, and promise you won't get mad. Just- listen."

"Mom, I'm listening, what's up?"

"Andy came to the house a few days ago. And he wanted to talk to you-"

"He what?  Andy- as in my douche-bag of an ex came here to talk?" I shoot out of my chair. 

"Awsten- please." She grabs my forearm and pulls me down. "I told him to go away, but he wanted me to give you this..." She pulls out a folded paper and hands it to me. 

"You waited days to give me this? Why?" 

"I wanted to try to figure out what it meant, but I couldn't- all I wanted to do was make sure it was safe-" 

I unfold the note. I let out a soft gasp. "Why. Why would you keep this from me?" I shout. Feeling all the anger boil up inside me. "WHAT HE WANTED TO TELL ME, IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" My eyesight goes red and I step back. "I need to be alone," I add softer. I rush out of the house to the one place I know I can feel safe. 

I bang on the door. "GEOFF, OPEN UP!" I shout. The door opens slowly and Geoff steps out. He takes one look at me and puts his arms around me. 

"What happened? Who do I need to fight?" He asks softly. 

"Andy's back. And he's trying to reach me. And my mom- It's just too much," 

"Shh, it's okay. Tell me everything." 

"My mom says that Andy came over a few days ago, and gave her- this," I pull out the note and hand it to him. 

"I don't understand-"

"It's French for I'm sorry. I used to speak to Andy in French just for fun and so it just became a thing. Anyway, if he used this, it means it's important- but I don't know if I want to go-"

"Then don't go. No one's-"

"The last time he sent me this exact message- he was about to kill himself," I blurt out. Geoff's eye widen. 

"Shit... That's-" 

"I think I overreacted with my mom but she doesn't understand, but I'm scared he already did something stupid and I feel like it would be my fault and-"

Everything stops when he smashes his lips against mine. I tense up at first, giving myself a second to comprehend what's happening. I forget everything and kiss him back. He wraps his arms around me and deepens the kiss. I card my fingers through his hair. 

"Wait-" he mumbles against my lips. He pulls away and steps back. "I'm sorry- that was totally inappropriate with our past and-" 

"It's okay- I'm sorry too. We shouldn't- we shouldn't do that. But thank you for shutting me up. If I hadn't- I probably would have fainted from that many thoughts. You- You're a really good friend."

He smiles and pulls me into a hug. "So what are you going to do now?" 

"I- I'm going to see Andy. I can get his address by asking Kellin. Thank you," I answer, looking at him in his eyes. 

"I'm proud of you Awsten. Now, go talk to him, find out what's up!" He pats my back and lets go of me. 

~~~

I knock on his door. Softer than I'd like. I shove my shaking hand in my pockets. 

"Hello- Oh. Awsten, right?"

"Yeah, Awsten Knight, and you are?" 

"Andy's mother. Andy's upstairs, come in," she moves and lets me in, sending me a warm smile, similar to Andy's. He must have got it from her. 

I follow her upstairs. She knocks on the door. "Andy, hon? Awsten's here. Please come out," she turns to me. "He's barely come out of his room. It's been days." 

"Come in," his low voice rings in my ears. I shoot a glance at his mom and open the door to a freakishly clean room. His mom walks away. Andy glances at me and sits down. 

"Something's not right. You hate me," he says, staring straight at me. I walk in and close the door behind me. "And if you hate me- why would you- why would you come here?" 

I gasp when my eyes meet his. The sight I see isn't the guy I fell in love with. He almost looks- insane. "Andy- what happened to you?" 

"The lightning has been keeping- keeping me up," he clears his throat. "After a while, it starts to drive people insane. All you hear are your own thoughts eating away at you." 

"Andy- It's okay," I step forward and shakily lift my hand to reach him. He flinches away. "Andy, it's me, Awsten. I'm here." I lift my hand against a press it against his cheek. 

"Awsten," he breathes. "You came-" 

"Why did this happen, Andy. Why haven't you been sleeping?" 

"I- I can't tell you. It would put everyone in danger-"

"Andy, you can trust me." 

"I-" 

I let out a soft sigh. "Come on, get some sleep. I'll stay here and make sure nothing happens to you, okay?" 

"Awsten-"

"Please just, get some rest," I stare at his bloodshot eyes. "Please, for me," I trace mindless circles on his skin with my thumb. He nods slowly. "Thank you," I whisper.  

A/N

School's finally over for me. :)

~Lunar