(WARNING: slight violence)
~ KATH ~
"Hello?" Connor finally answered his phone. Kath immediately sighed in relief.
"Where are you?" She asked frantically. She was scared of what was going to happen.
"We're on our way home. Brad's going as fast as he can."
"That's good. James and I are currently following him. Whatever you do, Con, please stay safe, okay?"
"I will, Kath, don't worry." He said, then she ended the call.
"How are they?" James asked her, his eyes still focused on the slightly busy road in front of them.
"They're on their way. They're also going as fast as they can." She said, slowly taking deep breaths to calm down. "Do you still see him?"
"Yeah. There's two cars in between us, though."
"Pass them when you can. We have to slow him down."
"On it. Just relax, okay?" James glanced at her for a second, then he looked at the road again.
He was able to pass the two cars in front of them, and they were hot on Tristan's trail. They tried passing him so they could slow him down, but he wouldn't budge.
"We're almost home." She said in a very worried tone, almost like there was only one last chip left to eat in the whole world. She couldn't think straight. It was almost like she could do something but her worried state was preventing her to do it.
The car slowed to a stop. The scene was an ugly sight. Brad and Connor were already at Connor's front door when Tristan went out of his car.
"YOU BLOODY IMBECILE!" Tristan shouted as he punched Connor on his right cheek. Kath and James immediately went out of the car and ran to Connor's side while Brad restrained Tristan to prevent him from hurting anybody.
"You said you would stay away from him, not steal him away from me!" Tristan shouted out loud while attempting to get his hands on Connor. Brad grabbed his boyfriend's arms while James protected his friends.
"Tris, baby, it was my fault, okay? I wanted to finish our music project and--" Brad started, but then Tristan slapped him.
"And you! How dare you cheat on me!" Tristan said as he pushed Brad off him. It was now James' turn to restrain him.
"No one's cheating on who, Tristan." James told him calmly. Tristan started trying to be calm, but then his rage took over him again.
"Then what the fuck was he doing with my boyfriend, huh?!" He said as he tried to free himself from James' strong grip.
"They were just doing their music project, okay? There's nothing wrong with that." James said, his lock still strong on Tristan.
"You better watch yourself, Ball. I'm not afraid of you." Tristan said as he pushed James away from him. "I FUCKING WARNED YOU!" Tristan shouted, then he walked back to his car. Brad started running towards him, determined that he could explain what really happened to his troubled boyfriend.
"Is he okay?" James asked Kath as he approached them.
"Tristan sure can punch. He's got an ugly black eye." She said, then Connor looked up. His eye was really blueish. "He's the only one home, what do we do?" She asked.
"Are you alright, mate?" James asked his friend.
"Y-yeah. I t-think I d-deserved that." Connor said, clearly while being in pain.
"Are you crazy? No, you didn't." James sighed as he tried to comfort his friend. "Come on, let's take you to the hospital."
"No, please, I'm fine. I'll just wear an eye patch. At least I'll officially be Davy Jones?" Connor attempted to lighten the mood up.
"Con, I hate to break it to you, but Davy doesn't have an eye patch, he has tentacles. Now, come on, let's go." She said as she grabbed his arm and they all went to the hospital.
Kath had never really been inside a hospital before. She was amazed on how everything looked so white and so clean. They patiently waited for a doctor to come and check on Connor's eye. When the doctor came, he asked for Connor then they excused themselves to go to the hospital's canteen.
"You think he'll be alright?" James asked her while she ate her vegetarian sandwich. As much as she wanted to snack on a huge bag of crisps to deal with the stress, she had to deal with what they were serving, which was technically healthy stuff. "His eye was really swollen, it's shut closed."
"I think he'll be alright. I bet he'll be well and fine tomorrow." She told him as if black eyes weren't that much of a big deal.
"Seriously?"
"I'm just being a little positive, James. Come on, lighten up."
"How could you be so positive when you ditched your best friend's birthday party?"
"Come on, did you even see how many people were there? She wouldn't miss me! Plus, she's Tristan's cousin. If she ever comes home unhappy, he'll know about it and turn everyone's lives worse."
"Wait, she's...?"
"Yup." She looked down on her sandwich and took another bite. "I know what you did, James."
"What did I do?" James asked her, obviously confused.
"Why were you with her the night that Connor called you to help him on his Biology test?"
"Oh, that. She went to my house and she wanted help on her History assignment."
"So, you weren't actually...?" She used her hands to signal him on what she was referring to.
"Oh, no! We didn't do that. She just screamed that down the phone without caring who was on the other line." He said, then they both laughed at the memory. Kath sighed in relief - if they got it on, she wouldn't be able to take sides if they break up.
They both ate the rest of their snacks in comfortable silence, then they went back for Connor, who was seated at the waiting room.
"So, what did the doctor say?" She asked the boy, who was pressing an ice pack over his eye.
"It should be fine. Nothing major." He replied.
"Shall we go home, then? Or you want to go somewhere else?" James asked his friend.
"I think we should go home. Your parents would be very worried about you guys." Connor sighed, but they all agreed. But, of course, as good friends do, they bought Connor chips of his own to enjoy before they got to his house.
James dropped them off in front of Connor's house. Kath had nothing to do, so she went with Connor.
"Honey, you're home!" Connor's mum chirped as Kath closed the front door. Connor's mum looked at his son, making sure that her eyes weren't fooling her.
"What happened to you?" She worriedly asked Connor, who was still holding an ice pack above his eye with his right hand, and an empty paper bag with his left hand.
"I tripped over the pavement. The doctor said that I should be fine, though." He lied, of course. His dad who was watching football, on the other hand, cackled loudly.
"Tripped over the pavement? That doesn't sound like my son to me." He said, and Connor felt a little hurt. Kath could see it through her own eyes. His father stood up and faced them.
"Oh, is this the infamous Kath from next door? Is she your girlfriend now?" His dad asked him.
"No, I'm not his girlfriend, but I am one of the people who care about him." Kath said defensively in front of Connor's dad.
"Being sassy, are we? Didn't your parents teach you how to be respectful?" His dad asked her, and she just squeezed Connor's hand. He looked at his son's swollen eye.
"That's pretty bad. This better be well tomorrow."
"But the doctor said that it could take at least 3 days to heal."
"Do you think I care?" His dad said, then his wife called them all for dinner.
Connor's mum was an awesome cook, that's one thing Kath is sure about. The thing she wasn't totally sure about is what the atmosphere in the room was.
As usual, Lewie bragged about being in the school's football team and his high grades that made his dad oh-so-proud of him, while his parents rambled on about work. Connor was silent during the whole meal, and so was Kath. When they were done with their meal, they went up to his bedroom.
"Connor, before you say anything, I just want to know, are you alright?" She immediately asked him once his bedroom door was closed.
"I'm not even sure of what 'alright' is anymore." He said sadly.
"Connor, don't be. What happened today was just nothing, okay? Everything's going to be fine. I assure you." She said.
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
"I'm not making promises. I'm making the future, and, yes, I'm keeping it."
"Kath..."
"Shush! Come on, go to sleep. You've had a hard day. Plus, it's Saturday tomorrow. Maybe you would like to go out or something?"
"Yeah, I don't see why not. My right eye literally can't." He said, and Kath just laughed at him.
"You joker. Come on, go to sleep." She told him, then she clicked her fingers, which made Connor drowsy until he eventually laid down on his bed and slept.
Before she left his room, she thought deeply then clicked her fingers together. Connor's swollen eye slowly disappeared.
"Just for you, Condor." She said as if he knew that his eye was now feeling better because of her. "Oh, and James owes me."
~ TRISTAN ~
...after the fight scene...
"Tris, babe! Wait up!" Brad said as he chased after his boyfriend.
"What?" Tristan said, his eyes filled with his tears. "Why don't you just tell me that you're breaking up with me?"
"Tris, I'm not breaking up with you!"
"Then what was that? Lying to me? Hanging out with that 'corndog' dude?"
"We're just finalising our song for our project. There's nothing to be worried about."
"But you said that you were going to take your dog to the vet. You lied to me!"
"Look, I'm really sorry about that, okay? I just thought that you wouldn't believe me if I tell you the truth."
"Of course I'd believe you! You're my boyfriend, for fuck's sake!" He sighed. "Or maybe used to be..."
"No, Tris, babe, I love you and no one else, okay?" Brad told him. The truth was, Tristan wasn't mad at Brad at all, instead, he was really mad at Connor. He hated everyone who wanted to steal Brad away from him. He wasn't sure if Connor really was out to get Brad, but he's not going to give any chances.
"I love you too." Tristan told his boyfriend, who leaned in closer for a kiss. Eventually, they had to pull away for air.
"I love you so much, Brad." Tristan said, his words very sincere. "I believe you, but don't you think that I'm letting this go just that easily."
"What do you mean by that?" Brad asked, and Tristan just turned away from him. He went in his car with no further comment and went back to his cousin's party and have fun.
When he got back on his bed, he opened his phone, which had a message from his boyfriend.
Bear 💕: How do I make it up to you?
T 💕: Meet me tomorrow morning? Let's make up all the hours we didn't have together.
Bear 💕: Okay. See you tomorrow, princess. 😘
Tristan no longer replied to him. Brad's text made him really all fluttery inside. He looked at the bed next to him, and saw his little sister, Millie, tossing and turning in bed.
"You can't sleep?" Tristan asked while he went out of his bed to go to Millie's bed.
"I just miss mum and dad, that's all." She replied. A stray tear fell down from her cheek. He wiped it out of her face.
"It's alright, Mills. You have James and I. We're your family." He said with a smile. Just like what every good brother would do to their sad little sister, he laid down on her bed and hugged her to sleep. When she was already sleeping, he kissed her forehead goodnight and he went back to his bed.
🌟🌟🌟
Published: 22/09/16
Updated: 20/02/17