I wont give up Pt 3

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The next day 1:29pm

Rose pov

I waited. Sat staring at the clock knowing there was nothing else I could do. My whole family sat around me. We began with just eating lunch, not realising the time. But I saw it at 28 past and realised I only had 2 more minutes of saying I have a best friend.

Those 2 minutes soon turned to one. And that was when everyone else realised why I had gone quiet. Ada held my hand under the table as a few tears fell down my face. When the hand struck half past, I shoved the table so drinks fell over and stormed outside into the open air.

That was it. He was gone. No longer will he enjoy climbing trees with me. Or watching me fall flat on my arse as he laughs until he cries. No longer will I see that wonderful smile. Or watch him flirt with girls at school without realising he is doing it. And the words I always hated, are ones I would do anything to hear once again. It was something he said often.

"I can never decide which one of your brothers would be a better fuck. They all have a nice arse"

It would make me literally gag everytime he said it. He said it once and after my reaction, it was an everyday thing. I would climb mountains and cross rivers just to hear those words again. But nothing will ever be the same. When i look at the trees, I will no longer think

"I'm gonna climb that with Ben later. Bet I will get to the top first"

Instead I will be forced to think

"Ben would've like to climb that tree. But they denied him that when they denied him his freedom of love"

I didn't want comfort. I didn't want sympathy. All I wanted was Ben. My Ben. The one who taught me how to be myself. And despite everyone at school, not caring what they think. He showed me it was OK to be different. And that sometimes, the things that make us stand out, are the reasons we will be remembered when we die.

If everyone is ordinary, then no one will be remembered. If Isaacs Newton wasn't a genius who thought differently to others, then he would just be a guy who someone finds on a family tree. If Ben wasn't marvelously different, then i wouldn't have ever been so close to him. I never would have been his best friend.

We only ever became friends because I saw him kissing a boy a year ago, and he thought I would tell the coppers. He was surprised about my understanding and care I had for him and so we became the best of friends.

I was sat by the canal, thinking about what could've been different. I don't feel guilty. Sometimes people feel they deserve blame for things such as this. But if I take blame, then it means I am excusing the acts of society and the crappy law.

As I sat, I felt a presence next to me. I turned my head to see Tommy had come and sat with me. He wasn't saying anything. Just sitting in a comfortable silence. But all good things must come to an end.

"I'm sorry about your friend rose. But I need you to understand something. It was just unnatural darling. His death was sad. He was young. But what he was isn't natural and never will be" I looked at him before saying

"Over 500 species are homosexual and yet only people are homophobic. Which one sounds unnatural now?" And with that, I left him. I left him to think about what I said. I left him so I could go and find comfort in the one person, other than Ben, who I felt comfortable speaking with.

"Hi mum" I said as I sat next to her stone.

"I know it's been a while. I've had alot going on. That friend I told you about, Ben, they found out. They killed him mama. He was so sweet. My brothers say they wanted to help but I don't believe them. They rule all of Birmingham and almost all of England. They could've got him out if they wanted. They pulled a gun on coppers for crying out loud and they apologised to him. They apologised to Tommy because he broke the law. I think that shows how much power he has. Enough to save Ben. But he didn't use it. He didn't use his power for good. Instead he carries on using it for drugs and death. Killing innocent people to send em straight to fucking hell" I screamed the last part as i broke down. I brought my knees up to my chest and buried my head in my hands as I sobbed over her grave

"If you were here then it would all be different. I know you would have helped me. I know you helped your friend David when you were 17. He told me himself. I spoke with him when I wanted to know more about you. Ashamed to admit I don't remember much. He told me everything you did for him. You even married him to prove to the law he was innocent. It isn't fair mama. You were so strong. But I can't be that strong. I just can't. I gave up. That's the truth. I tried. I tried so hard to save him and to help him. But now he's gone and no one wants to remember him for anything other than his sexuality. Why can't can't remember him for his personality? His kindness and humor. If Tommy died no one would remember him because he likes women. They would remember his power and status and how he is cold to the world but always has a soft spot when it comes to family. But when your different it's all the world sees. They only see what makes you different and to the weird. Not the things that they can admire or relate to." As I finished crying, I saw John walking up to me

"Thought I might find you here" he said

"What do you want?" I asked coldly. He uninvitedley sat down next to me.

"Your friend was a nice person. Must admit, I didn't like him when I met him first time. Didn't help that you were basically eating his face. But he sounds good. Sacrificed his own life just just save you a couple months in prison. I'd say that's a decent thing to do" I looked to the side at him and leant into him

"Why are people so cruel Johnny?" I asked

"The world is very much a society of similarities. No one likes differences because it makes someone else gain all the spot light. It makes them seem cooler and smarter. So instead of supporting the differences, we get rid of them until there are no special people in the world who can steal the thunder. Stupid really. But the world is like that sometimes"

"I don't like the world then" I grumbled

"Me neither love. But we gotta stick to it. Show the world who's boss" he said standing up. He offered his hand to help me up which I took. We walked back home in a comfortable silence and from that day on, I vowed to help people like ben. I told his story and I went to protest whenever I could. Sometimes it caused violence but we didn't retaliate. We stood by our moral compass and didn't let them get to us. And I will keep fighting until every person on the planet has free choice over who they love romantically and sexually.

I....WON'T....GIVE.....UP!

A/N

Wow. I believe this is my first 3 parter. I decided to write them all on same night before publishing them so I wouldn't have the pressure. And loved writing these. I didn't plan for it to have more than 1 part. But once I got typing, I just couldn't stop. It may not be the best story and not written the best, but I just wanted to write about something I'm passionate about. If anyone has any issues involving homophobia or anything really, then I am here to talk. The comment section is a safe place. If myself or anyone else see homophobic comments, please report and try not to retaliate. Let's try and stay calm in our messages. Although I understand that temper is hard to control sometimes

1440 words

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