52. (BoyxBoy)

52. Page 10.

Matt had a clear view of Aiden from his bedroom window. He could see
him lying on the ground but he wasn't sure what he was doing. Was he
sleeping? Was he thinking of another way to kill himself? Matt was
smart enough to know that only one train came down that track a week,
and it had just been past, about 15 minutes ago. But there were other
ways to end it, weren't there?
After watching for 45 minutes, Matt was fairly certain Aiden was
sleeping. He saw him roll over a few times and all in all, it was
quite a funny sight.

He felt some sort of obligation to stay awake and look out over him.
He felt like a guardian angel. After all, he had saved the boy's life.
Should he feel proud, happy, scared, relieved? It wasn't exactly heart
surgery, or even CPR, but... Would Aiden be alive still, if it weren't
for him?
He wouldn't have actually allowed himself to be destroyed by that
train, surely? For God sake, he had only met that boy a matter of
hours ago. He could a crazed lunatic, for all he knew. He might've
only been out of an asylum a few days. It was his first day at a new
school, in a new town! He wasn't meant to be rescuing sad school boys
on his first day! This was messed up.
Matt looked down at his hands, they were shaking with sweat and fear.
He rubbed them against his head, and scratched his eyes. This was
distressing, the whole saving-lives business. His left hand ran against
the window sill, collecting newly laid dust. The window was quite
large and overlooked the railway track. The particular part Aiden had
chosen to lay was secluded and hidden. The only way to see it was from
Matt's bedroom window. He picked a great spot, Matt thought. No one
would see his last moments. Perhaps he knew this house was empty.
Because - until last Wednesday, when Matt and his family had moved in -
it had been. It had stood tall and sad: a lone derelict building. There were a few houses nearby, and a block of newly built flats, but they were all down the road, away from the fields and railway track. Matt's house backed onto a unused football field, in front of the railway line. He had an amazing view of pure emptiness, which no one else saw. Apart from the odd dog-walker, nobody knew or cared about the fields behind his house. So no one would have seen Aiden lying on the train track
in his last moments.
But the house wasn't empty anymore, and Matt had seen Aiden. He had just been going to bed, and was closing his curtains, when he saw a familiar,
dark figure struggling on the railway track. It took him a few minutes
to recognise the face, which was highlighted in the moonlight. He had
thought of rushing to tell his parents - but they were already asleep
- so in a moment of madness, he'd flown out of the back door, and
rushed to the aid of Aiden. It was all over in a matter of minutes.
They were both in shock and had just clung to each other. The train
trucked past, and it was over. Matt had gone home and Aiden had gone
to sleep. But now Matt was left with a whirl of emotions. Go to
bed, he told himself, and did just that.
 
 
 
Chapter 6
 
When Aiden awoke from a hazy sleep, the first thing he noticed was the
moon. It was still about, but faded in the waking sky. It must have
been early, because the sun was only just beginning to rise. The sky
was a musky orange colour, and Aiden was in a mop of sunlight. The
warmth from the sun blanketed him, and he felt better. Shakily, he
stood up. He felt so strange - only because... he felt so normal. The
events of the previous night meant nothing now. Wait- was he even
alive? Was this heaven? He looked up to the swirly orange sky and the
singing birds in the trees, humming random tunes (which, admittedly,
were thoroughly annoying after a matter of minutes). Then he looked
around to see THE railway track: a constant reminder - great. As he
turned around, his eyes met with piles of rubble, council flats,
houses and rubbish littered across the otherwise clear fields (clear
of all things, including grass). Heaven looked exactly the same as
Earth.
"Heaven's crap," muttered Aiden.

"You're awake." A sudden voice behind him startled Aiden."Are you dead, too?" Aiden eyed the boy standing awkwardly, in front of him, in a lanky stance. "I hope not," Matt replied. "Oh," Aiden said. He already knew this, but didn't really want to believe it. In a way, he was confused. Amongst the obvious confusion he felt, so much more was piled on top of it. "Why. . . wh. . . But. . . You? I was. . " he shrugged. There were no words. He couldn't even begin to start a conversation. So, so, so many questions he wanted answered, but he couldn't even say one word. He tried to stutter a few more words out, but failed, miserably. His back and neck ached from sleeping on the hard ground, and he felt stiff all over. Plus he was covered in mud and grass. Great. His eyes felt heavy with exhaustion, and his muscles were burning. To add to the pain, he had a piercing headache that made him feel a bit dizzy. "I think I need to sit. . ." he muttered, but before he could even finish the sentence, he stumbled and began to fall down. Matt was there in a flash. In a bolt of lightning, he caught Aiden in his arms. He lowered him down softly, and lightly hit his right cheek.

"Oi, wake up," Matt instructed, as Aiden's eyes flickered open. "You fainted," Matt stated, gently."Hmm," Aiden blinked, sitting up, blissfully still unaware, and still a bit faint."You need food," concern in his voice, Matt said. "Come on," he added, as he hauled the boy up. He dragged him down the field, holding onto his right arm with two hands. Aiden was still in a hazy bubble, and let himself be pulled through overgrown grass. The boys stumbled through a forest of mud and broken bottles. It wasn't the nicest area around - but they estate agents obviously hadn't told Matt's parents that, when they were looking for a house. It was so different from their humble beginnings. But now they'd decided to give up their fair wealth, in order to 'live amongst the other class'. Seriously, they'd actually bought slang dictionaries, to try and blend in. Matt wasn't used to being in such an area, and he wasn't particularly happy about it (unlike Mrs. And Mr. Rose). Sure, he'd known it was going to be worse - and was trying to adapt to it - but he really hadn't been expecting to save someone from suicide on his first at school, which brought him back to the matter in hand. . . "Did you want to kill yourself?" he blurted out, almost accidently. Almost.

Aiden opened his mouth, like he was about to say something. He looked at Matt, with glistening blue eyes. He scratched his head, and contemplated something for a moment. They'd stopped walking, Matt realised. He stood silently, waiting for an answer, biting his already bitten nails. Aiden's mouth opened wider, and wider. . .