(I'm sorry about the last chapter... I lowkey feel bad but yk it had to happen. I did warn you tho so yeah lol. also there is one swear word in this, sorry! I was just sick of using "horrible", it sounds too formal lmao)
~kaycee pov~
I sit there, still digesting the conversation I had with Sean. I didn't expect for any of that to happen, and I really wish it hadn't. I hear a group of voices coming closer to where I am. The sound of them drowning out the voices in my head. They are laughing before one of them stops. I can see them looking into the alleyway with the hand across their friends, stopping them from moving any further. I don't dare look at them, so I keep my head down. One of them edges closer before crouching by my side.
"Kayc? Is that you?" the voice says. It's a guys voice and I recognise it instantly. I move closer to him and wrap my arms around his waist, knocking him off balance slightly. I let myself go and start crying into his shirt.
"Oh no. Guys, it is Kaycee." he says sadly. He pats me on the back and kisses my hair. Three other people walk over and kneel down beside us.
"Ew. There's coffee here," a girl's voice says behind me, making me giggle slightly.
"Kaycee, what's happened?" Josh asks, still holding me tight. I pull away from his shirt and turn to face Julian, Tahani and Bailey. I shift over and let my back rest on the wall before sniffing.
"Sean..." I make out before bursting into tears again.
"Oh sweetie, what's happened? Is he okay?" Tahani asks.
"I don't know T! I will never know anymore!" I shout.
"What do you mean Kayc?" Bailey asks calmly.
"He's gone Bai. He hates me." I reply.
"He could never hate you Kayc, we know it!" Jules chimes in.
"Then tell me why he has just told me to stay out of his life? He said he doesn't think we should be friends anymore! He says it's because he cares about me, but surely he knows that this is hurting me more! Why did he do this? He was the only one who I could talk to about everything! He was the only person who understood me like no one else! We had a connection: something I have never felt before with anyone! I love him!" I blurt out.
"Wait, he said you can't be friends anymore? Did he tell you why, like what led up to this?" Josh asks.
"I was waiting for him to come out of school earlier, and when he came out, I shouted for him. I tried to get his attention many times, but he blanked me and ran off. At first, I was debating whether to follow him but I did! He went to work, so a few minutes later I walked into the coffee shop. He was so quiet, he wouldn't even look at me. When he went to make my coffee, I noticed he had a patch of blood on the back of his head. I went to get a closer look but he snapped at me! I managed to get him to face me. I... you don't understand... he was covered in cuts and bruises! It was terrifying, I felt sick to my stomach. He had been severely beaten up at school today, and I hate it. Lizzie said she would cover for Sean while we went outside to talk. He told me that Griffin has created a group chat just to talk about Sean and I. And Sean said he hates the fact that he manages to get me involved in every single bad thing that goes on in his life and he said he cares too much about me to let it continue. He said that he feels it would be best if we stop hanging out and seeing each other because 'I'm too good for him'! So he decided that he would stop being my friend! He said that he's grateful for everything I have done for him, but that it needs to stop because he's hurting me. He has never hurt me! Well, not until now!" I explain. I groan loudly before resting my head on my knees again. I look up at the boys, who are looking at each other.
"Where is he?" Julian asks.
"No. I'm not going to let you go after him!" I reply.
"Kayc, he hurt you-"
"He's hurting too, Jules! He's hurting a lot more than I am right now! He's just lost a really close friend after being beaten up to the point where he was unconscious! I don't think he wants to add more friendship problems onto his list." I interrupt. They shrug their shoulders before turning to the girls. The two girls nod before edging closer to me.
"Do you want to come back to mine tonight? We can watch some movies and eat some ice cream?" Bailey says softly. I nod slowly before standing up. Tahani throws her arm around my shoulder as we leave the alleyway.
"We will see you guys later. Text us Kayc, let us know how you are feeling." Josh says.
"Where are you two going?" I ask.
"We have some business to take care of." Julian says as Josh nods in agreement. I try to go after them but the girls pull me away.
"I know exactly where they are going, and we have to stop them!" I say to them. They both shake their head.
"You know that they would never hurt Sean, they are hopefully going to knock some sense into him," Bailey says, helping Tahani to keep me walking.
~josh pov~
"That idiot." Julian says under his breath as we enter the coffee shop. A girl with black and green hair is typing away at the register.
"Excuse me?" I say. She looks up and smiles, humming in response.
"Is Sean around?" I add.
"Yeah, he's just around the back. He's busy at the moment, can I pass on a message?" she says sweetly.
"I think it would be best if we talk to him. We have a lot to say, and we are his friends by the way." I say calmly.
"Okay, I will try. But I can't make any promises that he will want to come out," she hesitates. She walks into the staff room as I nod to Julian. Sean comes out a few seconds later as I see exactly what Kaycee was talking about. As well as him being covered in cuts and bruises, his face is red and puffy.
"I already know what you two are going to say, so there is no point in saying it." he says.
"We just want to talk, Lew." Julian replies calmly. Sean sighs but walks outside with us.
"Go on. Tell me how much you hate me." he says as we exit the shop.
"That's not why we are here." Jules starts before nodding at me to continue.
"We were just on a walk with the two girls and we heard someone crying their eyes out in a nearby alleyway. To our horror, it was one of our closest friends! Someone who both of us would call a little sister. Care to explain yourself? Because Kaycee has just gone home with Bailey, an absolute mess because the person she loves the most has just told her he doesn't want to hang out with her anymore." I say, with a hint of bitterness in my voice.
"I'm sorry, okay? I just can't do this anymore! I can't feel like this anymore. She's always here to support me, she's always there for me, she picks me up whenever I'm down. And what do I do to her in return? I let my bullies say shitty stuff about her online! What a great friend I am! I can't carry on doing this to her! It's killing me! She never lets me help her, but goes above and beyond just to help me. I feel as if I am dragging her down as well! And I love her with my whole heart, I have since I met her! I always will love her! But doing this to her is something that I promised I would never do to her. I've dragged enough people into my messes before, ask my best friend at school! I can't do this to Kaycee, she doesn't deserve any of it." he explains.
"Sean, I'm going to be honest. I completely understand what you are saying. We know that you are trying to protect her from harm, she knows that too! But you have just made one of the worst mistakes ever. Kaycee loves helping people, with or without the backlash. That's one of her best traits but also one of her flaws: she will always strive to help people and will always put herself last. But we have also learnt that Kaycee knows her limits. She knows when something hasn't turned out the way she planned it too. But she is also ambitious and incredibly stubborn, so she will find another way out of it for both of you. She has gone to hell and back for us four. And we know how she feels about you, she would go even further for you! And you have to realise how good of a friend she is, to be honest I'm sure you have already figured that out. But if there is one thing you don't do to Kaycee: is leave her. Especially when she is trying her hardest to do all she can for you. As you said yourself, she has done nothing but stand by your side, and you said that you never want to hurt her because of everything she has done for you. But we can also tell you Sean, you have hurt her like no one else has before. You were the one person who she felt she could talk to about everything, who understood her, who made her smile a smile that no one has ever seen before. And now she's lost you, she's lost her light. And she believes that she didn't do enough to help, that everything she did wasn't good enough for you to stay. But you also need to take your own feelings into account! So you have to decide which you believe is the right thing by you and Kayc. You don't even need to tell us your decision, we will know from Kaycee soon enough. Just please make the right decision. You may not know which one it is now, but you will sooner or later. We will speak to you soon, as we should probably get back to the girls. Think about what we have said." I finish. We give Sean a small wave before walking off.
"Nice words." Jules whispers to me as we head down the street. I smile at him and nod my head slightly.
"I really hope he does the right thing." I say.
"So do I, Josh. So do I." Julian agrees.