This Is Me

Fireworks (Part Two)

Fireworks (Part Two)

As my feet kept slamming into the ground and my lungs screamed for air as my legs continued to ache, I had no idea how long I'd been running for. I knew the school was far behind me and with every turn I took Leroy's house was getting closer—even if it didn't feel like it was.

And then I stopped.

So quickly, in fact, the top half of me almost toppled over and I only managed to stop myself from falling with every ounce of willpower I had.

The street I had turned onto had someone standing hallway down it, and even though I couldn't have been close to my destination as the surrounding area wasn't too familiar, I knew who it was.

"Leroy..." My voice sat in the warm night air, hanging between the two of us.

If it hadn't been for the distance, I'm sure he'd have been able to hear my heart, or even my stomach doing a whole gymnastics routine.

"Hey." I barely heard Leroy speak, and I snapped back to my senses to start going to him.

"Are you okay?" Was the first thing out of my mouth.

Why wouldn't it be?

"I don't know," Leroy answered, starting to walk toward me.

Both of us remained silent until we were less than a meter away from each other. Seeing him properly, and in what little light the street offered, he looked worse than how he did in the video.

His eyes were now bloodshot, and his hair was completely dishevelled. I could tell he had been crying. I'd had seen that face in the mirror too many times, though never this bad.

"I'm guessing you saw," Leroy muttered, looking down at the ground, missing the small nod I gave.

"Uh, everyone kinda did," I replied, hoping it didn't make the situation worse.

"Guess that was the point. Took a note out of your book." Leroy chuckled, and for the first time in a long time, there was genuine humour behind it.

Watching as Leroy continued to look down, I followed his gaze and as I did, I saw sitting beside him a large gym bag.

"I'm guessing I know what's in the bag?"

"Oh." Leroy turned his head to eye the bag for a moment before looking back at me. "Yeah. It's the last of my stuff."

"The last of?"

"I've been slowly taking my things to Andy's house tonight. His mum offered me a room after I told her everything and... I took it."

"I'm sorry—" I started, but Leroy cut me off.

"Don't be. Please." Leroy sighed. "Dad doesn't want me at home anymore. Not after this. I had to stop Andy's mum from going there and giving him a piece of her mind."

"I could imagine."

"I just want to forget it, you know. Move on. I don't know how I feel about everything. But I do know how I feel about you. And I didn't do this just because of that. I did this for me. But for the longest time, you were the only thing keeping me on track."

As Leroy continued to speak, his firm, steady voice began to waver and crack, and he took a moment to steady himself again. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. I watched as one hand fidgeted by his side, while the other gripped his arm, and he grimaced as he did so.

I was sure that he was cradling a bruise, and I was confident it wasn't the only one on his body. I felt a shiver run down my spine as the thought of what Leroy had been through rushed through my mind.

"I kept trying to be someone else. Trying to be someone who wouldn't be judged. Wouldn't be looked down on. I was scared to be me. To look into the face of my dad and everyone else and have them not accept me.

"Then there was you. And I know I wasn't around. And didn't talk. But every time I saw you, I felt hope. Hope that maybe I could be like that. The only thing stopping me... was me."

Leroy paused for a moment, and I looked at him. I wasn't game enough to do anything else. To reach out and comfort him or say anything. My hand flickered to reach out for his, but I stopped it and kept it resting at my side.

Surprisingly, through all of this, the aching in my legs and the screeching of my lungs were nothing. All I felt was Leroy. His pain and fear. The warmth of his body as he shuffled evermore closely.

"I wanted more than anything for my dad to come around. I hope one day he does. But I can't keep waiting. I can't keep being something I'm not on the chance he'll one day understand. I don't want to lose him. But I can't lose myself, either."

Leroy looked up at me as he finished speaking and our eyes locked, and it was like I was back in math class when all of this started, fawning over everything he did.

Feeling heat start to rise in my cheeks, I quickly looked down as Leroy took another small step toward me, causing our hands to brush against each other.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw his follow my gaze, and as his sight settled on our hands, he slowly moved to wrap his fingers around mine. As he did, he squeezed them gently, and my heart threatened to stop.

"I'm sorry I made you miss the ball with the video," Leroy muttered, and I let out a chuckle.

"Didn't want to be there anyway," I said, continuing to feel the heat rise in my face. "Besides, I'd rather be here with you."

As I spoke, I remembered Andy.

"Shit, I need to let Andy know you're okay. Does he know you're mum offered a room?" I added, pulling my hand away from Leroy's and getting my phone.

"Yeah. Not that I took her up on it though," Leroy replied sheepishly.

"I'm sure he loves having you around," I said, putting my phone away after texting Andy everything was okay.

"He's been great," Leroy said more solemnly, and I took his hand in mine again.

It felt right.

"Still, you don't care you're going to miss the fireworks?" Leroy asked, and I looked up to meet his eyes again and I saw something in them.

A glimmer. The beginning of the old spark. Or maybe it was a new one.

"Not really." I chuckled. "Why? Are you?"

"I mean... maybe a little."

A smile crept onto Leroy's face, and I couldn't help but replicate it. The circumstance he was in wasn't good, but this moment was, and it was these I wanted to hang onto forever.

"You know... I might be able to help with that," I muttered, and Leroy raised his eyebrows.

"Even if we could make it there in time, I'm no allowed at the ball," Leroy pointed out, and I shook my head.

"That's true. But Andy's house is on a hill. Only a few blocks away from the school," I stated, the smile on my face growing bigger. "Two-story house with access to the roof from Andy's window."

Maybe I couldn't change the situation Leroy was in, but that didn't mean I couldn't do anything to make it a little better.

"We'd better get moving if we're going to make it then," Leroy said, picking up his bag, moving past me and breaking into a light jog, pulling me along.

"Oh, no," I muttered, feeling the aching in my legs start to come back with each step I took. "I think I've done enough running."

"If you can't make it, I'll carry you the rest of the way!" Leroy yelled, letting out a laugh.

"You'll be my Sam Wise?" I managed to get out in between shallow breaths.

"Always." Leroy glanced back at me with a beaming smile, and I felt my stomach swirl.

There were no words to explain what seeing that smile meant to me. After everything. All the pain in my legs and the tightness in my chest meant so little when compared to seeing it.

That being said, however, I was glad Andy's house wasn't too far from where Leroy and I had bumped into each other, and as we rounded a street corner and I saw it in the distance, I was relieved.