Weak Hero Short Stories

A Call Pt 2

3rd Person POV:

Gray couldn't help but rush. He completely ignored the people who had brightened his ever-dimming light he called his life. 

But, when Mrs.Lee called and said that she had the location of the hospital Stephen had been transferred to, all that time ago, his heart skipped a beat, and he reacted without thinking. However, now as he sat on the bus nearing the hospital, he had an odd feeling fill his body and mind. A feeling he didn't associate with Stephen Ahn.

Fear.

He had this unexplainable worry; he had always been overjoyed at the thought of meeting Stephen again. Now something was different, he had no idea what, but something had changed. Gray pondered this, confused, he had no idea what could've possibly made this surreal experience seem so terrifying.

Ah, but the answer was simple. The thing that had changed, was Gray.

The bus slowed to a stop and Gray got off, bag slug around his shoulders, and walked towards the hospital doors. They seemed to tower in front of him, taunting him. He had always been short, always felt short, he was used to that feeling, but it never felt like this.

He walked up the clean white marble stairs to the building, he even put his hand on the doorknob of the building, perhaps for show in a desperate attempt to prove that he had tried, but he knew, he knew, that he couldn't get past the first threshold. He couldn't even open the door. 

He closed his eyes, and softly removed his hand from the door. He counted his steps as he walked back down the stairs, trying to think of anything other than his failure.
Gray Yeon never lost a fight, until this very moment. His foe was not materialistic, it couldn't be seen, not it itself nor their battle. That day, Gray fought with his own fear; and he lost.

He made it down the stairs, but upon looking at the bus stop, he felt his loss heavily. Taking in a deep breath, he surveyed the area. After a quick glance, he noticed that the hospital had a garden. A small serene space, enclosed by bright green hedges that were perfectly trimmed, and filled with soft pink, purple, and yellow colored flowers. It was paved with sun bleached red brick, and between the bushes and hedges there were a few benches.

Gray made his way to one of the benches. As he sat, he practically tossed his backpack on the ground beside him. He didn't seem to care that there were expensive books in there, or library books, or even his phone. Perhaps he cared, but his head was too clouded to think about it; maybe distraction got the best of him.

He put his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands.
He felt awful.
Tired.
And utterly defeated.

Despite his lack of attention towards his surrounds, he heard someone, with crutches, come and take the seat next to him. Gray didn't look up at them, he didn't need to know who it was. Assuming it was a stranger, he made no effort to pick himself up and conversate. 

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" They asked, concern filling their voice.

No, Gray thought bluntly. "Not really.." was his reply. Which was odd, Gray always filtered his words when he spoke to people. Maybe he lacked the amount of energy required to lie.

"And why's that?" They questioned.

Gray really wasn't paying attention, "My best friend was hospitalized over half a year ago, I lost him, he transferred hospitals, I thought I'd never see him again." Gray blinked away tears. "But I found him, he's here, and I'm too weak to go and see him, to weak to face him." He was spilling his secrets to a stranger, oh but in the moment, it didn't matter to him.

"If you are friends," they started "Then why don't you want to see him? Was he bad to you?"

Gray gave a light halfhearted laugh, "No, he was the brightest and best thing in my life, the nicest part of my day. I want to see him so bad, more than I'll ever admit..."

"But?"

"But, he is going to hate me. I've done so many terrible things since he left, thing he hates. I've hurt people, so many people, he used to get on to this other person we knew for things like that. He wouldn't let him blatantly hurt people. I already know he'll hate me, so I think its better for me to remember him as I knew him, rather than how reacts when I tell him."

"You've hurt people?" The stranger questioned "How? Do you bully people?"

"No," Gray said while wiping his tears on his sleeve "I've never bullied anyone. I did however get revenge on the people who hospitalized him, putting them in the hospital themselves. I have fought people who picked fights with me or my friends. I have knocked people out cold, assaulted them with various objects, and taken down entire groups of people all over the Yeongdeungpo district."

The person paused, hesitated, before simply replying with "You were protecting yourself, and your friends, you didn't go out looking for trouble. You think so little of yourself and your friend Gray, you need to be more open, look around, think, why would anyone ever be mad at you for that? If anything, I'd make it even more impossible to hate you."

Gray was about to reply when he paused, he never told the stranger his name. He looked up, and suddenly, he found himself side by side, shoulder to shoulder, with the one person in the world he had spent days and nights thinking about, the one person he had cried a river for, the one person who could fill the empty space in his heart.

"Stephen..." 

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OMG IM BACK GUYS! So Summer has started, so I might be updating more (no promises). My schedule is the oddest, most finicky, thing.

I really liked this bit (I am usually not that proud of my work ngl, but I'm kinda living for this rn)

ANYWAY...

Serious question:
Do y'all pronounce Stephen's name like
Stephen
or
Steven

It doesn't really matter, but I use the first one because that one time Bryce (I HATE EVEN WRITING HIS NAME) called Stephen "Stephanie Ahn" which would make more sense to me if it was pronounced the first way.

TYSM FOR READING!!! SEE Y'ALL ROUND!!! HAVE A SAFE SUMMER!!! I'LL HOPEFULLY UPDATE SOON!!! BYE!!!