School had been very difficult to get through without hearing some form of conversation about Rachel. Everyone seemed to talk about her.
It was starting to get to Gumball. It was Rachel this, Rachel that. Pretty much, a lot of Rachel. His guilt was heavy by now, especially with the horrific misunderstanding.
And now's he going to have to deal with the consequences.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was recess time, students heading out to the court.
Gumball didn't really feel like doing anything. Instead, he just silently sat at a bench, watching whatever was going on at the basketball court. However, most of his attention was focused on Darwin, a silent fear in his mind as he made sure nothing was going on. Occasionally he glanced away, once people started giving him funny looks.
"Hey!"
The cat turned to the side, seeing a rather ticked off Tobias. "What?"
"Don't act so innocent! You obviously have something to do with my sister going missing!" The other said angrily.
"No I don't." Gumball wasn't really sure how to respond to this, sneaking quick glances toward his friend as to make sure he wasn't listening. Tobias noticed.
The rainbow haired boy forced him to look at him, stepping right into his direction. "Can you stop staring at that stupid fish and listen?!"
This definitely caught the feline's attention. Rage slowly built up inside him. "Look dude, I don't have anything to do with her. Just leave me alone okay?"
"What's with you?" Tobias questioned with disgust. "You don't care about the fact that someone's freaking missing?"
"SHUT UP! IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOUR SISTER'S DEAD!!" Realizing what he had said, Gumball slapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide in fear. He just revealed the truth.
It seemed the whole court was silent, the words practically being screamed across the yard. Everyone, was looking right at them.
"Dead?.." Tobias was still angry, but more or less horrified by what he had just heard. "What do you mean dead? Wait, what did you do to her?!"
Gumball had gotten up from the bench, and began backing away. Admittedly he was beginning to tremble with dread. "I-I didn't-"
"Stop lying! You killed her!" The other shouted. All eyes were definitely on them now.
"I didn't kill her!" Gumball quickly glanced over towards the school doors. He had to get out of here. Before the blue cat could move, Tobias punched him square in the face, sending him to the ground. His vision blurred, but he could still somewhat see.
He tried getting up, but Tobias only kept throwing punches. The feline fought back, kicking the other boy, while struggling to get free. He felt blood trickling down his face, probably from getting hit in the nose.
"Guys stop!"
Gumball looked up to see Darwin now at his aid, trying to pry him and Tobias away from each other. The cat felt a slight blush forming in his cheeks, seeing how close his best friend was, though tried to shake away the feeling. If anything, something awful rather was stirring inside him.
Gosh darn it not now!!
The jock pushed the goldfish away with a scowl. "Stay out of this!"
Now enraged, Gumball unsheathed his claws and lunged towards Tobias, slashing the boy across the face. He continuously scratched and scratched, not stopping for one second. Other noises around him were muffled; He didn't hear what anyone was saying.
The cat stood up, as he now held Tobias by the neck, the other boy kicking and hitting, trying to breathe. People were screaming for him to stop, others horrified by what they were watching. But, out of all the voices, he only heard one.
"Gumball stop!!"
His eyes widened, the look of fear returning, replacing the rage and anger. He let go of Tobias, who fell to the ground painfully. However, the rainbow-haired boy looked up at him with hate. "You monster! You really DID murder Rachel!"
"That explains why he didn't say anything either!" Leslie added, just as miffed as him. Other students cautiously stepped back, in fear of getting attacked or murdered too.
Tears began building up in his eyes, as Gumball received angry glares from every corner, well, except one. Darwin didn't look angry like the others, but was more or less confused and hurt, not knowing exactly what was going on. It was pretty much a kick in the heart for the feline.
Gumball then turned and ran off into the school, unable to handle the situation. He heard a distant shout, in which was very audible.
"Get him!"
Now panicking, he nearly ran down the hall, earning several looks of confusion by others still in the building. Unknowingly, he bumped into someone, and was stopped in his tracks.
"Watterson what is going on?!" It was Principal Brown. Of course it had to be him of all people.
Gumball tried to act casual, but was failing miserably, his voice slightly shaking as he spoke. "Well um.. You see-"
"Hold on, is that.. Blood?.."
Surprised, yet terrified, he glanced down at his hands, which had small traces of blood from the fight. Some of it wasn't his own. Blood was seen running down his face as well. "N-No it's uh.. Paint! From art class! I just got some on me, y'know? Just let me go wash it off-"
"No paint is that dark Watterson."
Before Gumball could respond, shouting was heard from across the hall.
"Principal Brown look out! He's the reason why Rachel's missing! She's dead!!"
Principal Brown let out a short gasp, slightly moving away from the feline. "Wait what?!"
With fright, Gumball ran past the horrified principal, now out of sight from the mob. However, it seemed that the blood was pretty visible. He could hear screams from other students, who had now just heard about all this.
He continued to run farther down the hall, eventually stumbling upon one of the storage closets. Shouts were getting louder. Gumball picked the door lock with one claw, and quickly went inside, shutting the door behind him. He was breathing heavily from the all the running, as he sat beside some cardboard boxes in the corner. From there on, he hugged his knees, face down, and began crying to himself quietly.
This was all his fault. If it wouldn't have been for his somewhat selfish behavior, he wouldn't be in this mess. Rachel wouldn't be dead. There wouldn't be an angry mob after him. Nobody would hate him right now.
He flinched in alarm, hearing the storage room door open slightly. Gumball cowered in the corner, protecting himself for what might come. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to please don't hurt me!!"
"Gumball?."
The blue cat lifted his head up slowly, knowing who it was. He tried to avoid eye contact, and faced the other direction.
Darwin closed the door silently, just as wary of the mob. He looked over at his friend, seeing the state he was in. To be honest, it hurt to see him like this; Huddled in a corner, crying, still injured from the fight. Reluctant, he came closer, and was about to reach down and comfort him.
Noticing this, Gumball scooted away, a mixture of fright, hurt, and worry in his eyes. "No. Don't touch me."
"Gumball-" Darwin was cut off, rather quickly, as the feline stood up, looking more angry now. However, the previous emotions were still there.
"No! Don't come any closer okay?! I don't want to hurt you!"
The goldfish was startled, but wasn't ready to back down. "You won't hurt me.. Just calm down.."
"I can't just forget about this Darwin!" Gumball clenched his fists, trying hard not to lose it. "I freaking murdered someone!"
His eyes soon fixed to the floor, as his anger died down, sadness taking its place. "They're right.. I am a monster.."
The cat's eyes widened, suddenly seeing Darwin standing very close to him. The fish held him by the sides of his head, and forced him to look up.
"Don't say that. You are not a monster. You never have, never will be. All those people are dummies for even thinking that."
"It doesn't matter," Gumball muttered, feeling a light blush form in his cheeks from this. "Everyone still hates me now.. They're probably gonna send me to jail, or.. The nuthouse.."
"Not everybody." The fish let go, giving his friend some space. "I kinda noticed all the staring you've been doing lately."
"Wait you saw all that?.." Gumball's face was nearly turning red. "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean-"
"No, it's okay, I know you were just looking out for me. But.. Um.." Darwin paused, trying to figure out the right words to say. "Why exactly.. Did you kill Rachel?.."
Gumball looked hesitant to answer. Should he confess? Well, it was now or never. If anything, he really had no choice considering the circumstances. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled, rather nervous as he figured out what to say. "I.. I um.. How would you feel if somebody was.. Crazy over you?.."
"Well, it'd be kind of nice seeing that somebody would care about me that much." Darwin answered, not really grasping what the other was talking about.
Gumball then got to the point. "I.. I love you."
"Yeah, I love you too Gumball.."
Realizing his friend wasn't getting it, the feline almost face palmed. Admittedly it was pretty adorable how naive the fish could be. "No.. Um.. I love you.. M-More than a best friend.."
He waited, expecting rejection or an immediate disgusted reaction. But.. He didn't get that.
"You.. Love me?.." Darwin was processing this, a little confused.
"I know.. It's wrong.. Go ahead, you can reject me brutally and hate me forever like everyone else.. I really don't care at this point.." Gumball grew quickly surprised, as the goldfish soon grabbed him and pulled him in for a tight hug.
"It's okay Gumball.."
"Y-You feel the same way?.."
"Mhm."
Before the blue cat could respond, Darwin held up his face and kissed him, right on the lips. It took Gumball a few seconds to see what was happening, before gladly returning the favor, letting his friend's fins wrap around his waist, as he closed his eyes.
Nothing around them mattered. All they cared about at that moment, was each other.
*BANG BANG*
"GUMBALL! GET OUT HERE!"
The two broke apart quickly, hearing Anais nearly screaming at the cat outside the door. So much for a perfect moment.
"IF YOU DON'T, I'LL TELL MOM WHAT YOU DID!!"
"What do we do?.." Gumball whispered, fear seen in his eyes. He and Darwin both knew he'd be dead if their mother found out about this. That, and the mob outside. "Should we open it?.."
"Well.. It's not like we have much choice.." The goldfish answered, looking just as worried.
The feline silently took a deep breath, and let it out. Standing up, he walked over to the door, practically shuffling towards it. His hands were shaking, as he slowly grabbed the knob, and turned it. Immediately the minute he opened it, Anais stormed in, facing him with a glare.
"You have a lot of explaining to do."