Straight Boys

Straight Faced

Zachary's POV

It happened so fast.

He was standing and yelling and maybe killing me with the way he was looking at me, the next his lesbian friend was screaming and the air stilled, like it was suddenly done moving.

Annie clamored forward, bringing her hands up to try and catch Andy's body - she was too small, she couldn't have even if she was fast enough - and then Connors was stepping forward so fast, I barely had time to shake myself of my stupor.

It was like someone had taken everything around me and slowed it to only a few frames per second. Andrew's body was falling, Annie's red hair was whipping behind her, Corbett's hands were reaching, yet my legs were on pause.

Then, pressing fast forward, Corbett was gently - more gentle than I could have ever thought possible - holding Andrew's ashen face in his palms, and Annie was calling out his name. "Andrew! Andrew. . . buddy, wake up!"

I felt my heart drop as I looked down at Andrew. He looked dead. His face was white, the bags under his eyes darker, and his cheeks hollowed. He looked worse than he did last week! And it only took the span of a few minutes and a heated argument! Suddenly, I was remembering how fragile Andrew Parsley really was. How he pretended to be strong and how he acted like everything was alright, when it really wasn't. Nothing was fine, and he just proved that.

"H-Hey! Hey, dude! Quit standing there and call 9-1-1 right now! Andrew isn't waking up and it's been more than a minute! He-He - he really needs help! He doesn't look to good. . . oh god, oh my god!" I felt my mouth moving, but nothing would come out as Annie started to pace, her eyes full of tears yet moving a mile a minute like she was searching for the answers to her prayers in thin air. The words were stuck in my throat like a kid caught red handed!

Now is not the time to act like a child, Zachary!

Corbett glared up at me and clutched Andrew closer to his chest as he hurriedly exclaimed, "No! It'll be faster if I just drive him there! It'll take under five minutes. The hospital's literally four blocks away!"

I couldn't have disagreed if I tried.

With my body wracked with terrified tremors, I scrambled towards Andrew and helped Corbett pick him up, while Annie quickly opened the backseat door. Corbett slid through his car to lay Andrew's head on one end, while I pushed my way through to get a seat. When we had Andrew secured in the car, Corbett tripped his way to the driver's seat; all the while, Annie kept yelling at us, about how we were being children and everything is all our fault for getting Andrew into this mess.

If we hadn't been fighting. . .

If I had told him. . .

If Corbett had listened to her. . .

If Andy hadn't. . .

I ignored her as I clutched onto Andrew's shirt, crinkling it and not caring one bit. Corbett ignored her, too, but he wasn't doing too good of a job. At the back of my mind, as I kept my eyes glued to Andrew's lalling head, Annie's voice was nagging and pitchy, but Corbett's was loud and aggressive, and telling Annie to shut the hell up and that it didn't matter anymore.

It happened, and now we were going to the hospital.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was like we were all suddenly feeling like we had killed someone - a hit and run; except, we hadn't. Not really, anyway, not technically. No. We didn't murder some poor man walking down the street going eighty in a twenty. We just obliterated someone's life with our childish rivalries.