Prideland

Chapter 21- Ian

Ian watched as Ophelia took a breath and she led the group down Leaf's basement, shaking as she did so. Her dress still had Oliver's blood on it and as long as she didn't look down, she wouldn't throw up remembering his screams. The group crowded around the wooden table, Ophelia taking the far end as Leaf pulled out chairs for anyone. Cale sat down next to Ian, trying to hold Ian's hand who uncomfortably shifted it away. Theo sat across from Leaf to lip-read everyone and Ophelia took a shaking breath, starting the meeting. "Spencer has been cheating on Ian." She said with a grim tone. As the words left her lips, a rock dropped and splashed in Ian's stomach. His heart felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. "That son of a bitch!" Cale yelled, slamming his hands on the table. Ian flinched at the sound and Cale immediately sat down again. "Sorry." He apologized meekly. Theo gave a confused glance to Leaf who cupped one hand around a finger, swiping down and saying "cheat" in American Sign Language. "Son of a bitch!" Theo replied, slamming his hands down on the table as well. Ian couldn't move, he couldn't breathe. Every noise around him seemed flooded, he was alone. He was nothing. But in the midst of his panic and his gaping feeling of betrayal, he felt a hand press to his knee and he looked at Cale, remembering that he wasn't alone after all. "Do you have evidence of this?" Leaf asked. "I was with him in the bog," Ophelia stated. "He seemed to not care about Ian or his feelings so when I retaliated that he was Ian's boyfriend, he laughed in my face and told me about how he was engaged to a pixie named Aspen and they have a kid together." Cale's hand squeezed Ian's knee tighter, but Ian didn't mind. Ian looked around the room and finally realized that this picture wasn't perfect. "Wait- why are you covered in blood? Where's Oliver?" Theo watched as Ian signaled Oliver's name sign, a finger pressing into his cheek and twisting. Ophelia's breath caught in her throat and she closed her eyes to calm herself. "He's dead, Ian. Spencer led him outside the barrier and he was killed by some woman in a cloak." Ian jumped up, startling Cale. "Was the cloak red or purple?" Ian's voice raised, something he never did. His eyes were full of fury, he wanted to kill someone. "Uh- purple I think." Ian only saw red in his peripheral vision. In a swift motion he stormed out of the basement and practically ran up the stairs, slamming the door behind him. He didn't even hear Cale following him. "Ian! Wait!" Cale called after him, barely clothed in the now snowing environment. Ian stopped where he stood and breathed heavily. He leaned forward and let out an agonizing scream. "I hate him!" Ian yelled out, angry tears spilling from his eyes. He clutched his stomach and violently sobbed, feeling his knees shaking. Cale tried to embrace Ian but was shoved away. "You're supposed to be dead!" Ian screamed in Cale's face. He looked down at the ring on his finger, the one Cale was going to propose to him with. "She killed you." He closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath. Cale stepped forward again and gently pulled Ian into a hug, embracing him. "I'm right here." He whispered into Ian's ear. Cale pulled away and cupped Ian's face, kissing him as deeply as he dared. Ian gave a sharp inhale but leaned in, wrapping his arms around his partner's neck. This is what love was supposed to feel like, what home feels like. They pulled away and Cale smiled at being able to see Ian again, he was worth grueling physical pain for. "What are you going to do now?" Cale asked, looking to the forest. Ian stared at the trees with a glare. "I'm going to get some answers." As he said that, Cale shrugged his cloak off and wrapped it around Ian's shoulders. "I'll be here when you get back." 

- - - - - 

When Ian returned, no one said a word. He wouldn't have been able to speak anyway. Covered in Spencer's blood and trudging an axe, he knew how this picture looked. Every time he closed his eyes to blink, all he saw was the sound of the axe chopping Spencer's head off, seeing it fall to the snow. There was no one there for him anymore, he was alone for the final time. In the clearing he saw a silhouette of a group of people, his friends. There were black spots in Ian's peripheral vision and he couldn't feel his feet crunching the snow underneath him. As he got closer, everything seemed blurry. He could make out Leaf's height and Theo's hands- obviously trying to communicate but Ian couldn't bring  his throbbing hands to respond. He couldn't hear Leaf's muffled cries, Ophelia's screams of confusion. He felt the axe slip away from his hands and someone wrapped their arms around him. He could smell Ophelia's familiar scent and felt Cale's stubble on his cheek. His legs shook underneath him as the ground seemed to become really close to his face. "This is the last one we need!" Someone yelled, and everything went black.