Terror trio: back in action

Temptation

Devon woke up around 2 AM drenched in sweat. He had the same nightmare about his mother dying, one he's had on a never-ending loop for months. Getting up from his bed, he sneaks out of his room and heads to Jake's room, tiptoeing over the bed to grab the butterfly knife from his drawer. Afterwards, he walks into the bathroom and locks himself in the stall, flipping open the knife and mindlessly staring at the blade

"How did my life get so fucked up?" Devon whispered to himself, jumping after he heard a set of footsteps clicking against the tile floors

"Face it, dude. None of our lives are perfect." A familiar voice says

"Billy, is that you?" Devon peeked his head out of the stall

"Who else would it be, blockhead? Kids in this day and age are so stupid." Billy sighed

"What are you doing in here? It's late, you should be in bed.. preferably with your boyfriend." Devon smirked

"I have insomnia, so I'm smoking some weed to calm myself down. You want a hit?" Billy offered him the joint

"No thanks, drugs are kind of triggering in our friend group." Devon politely declined

"Fine, more for me." Billy put the joint in between his lips before exhaling the smoke out of the window

Devon slid the blade in his pocket before joining Billy on the bench. He took one look at Devon and he already knew something was wrong

"You look like you're going through a mid life crisis right now, what's wrong?" Billy flicked the joint out the window before hopping back down on the bench

"Have you ever tried to hurt yourself?" Devon asks

"Quite a few times, actually. I was only 13 years old when my dad got arrested. My mom wasn't around, so I got stuck with my stepmother. The night he got arrested, everything my therapist told me flew out the window. The rubber band technique was only making me anxious and before I knew it, I lost control." Billy's hands trembled

"What happened?" Devon asks

"My dad gave me a pocketknife for my 10th birthday and I used it to slit my wrists. Before I knew it, one cut led to three and I was lying on the bathroom floor bleeding out, silently hoping that my time was up." Billy explained

"Well, your prayers weren't answered. You're still here, alive and well." Devon says

"Yeah, all thanks to Jazz. He knows I never lock my bathroom door and in that moment, he knew something was up. He kicked down the door and he saw me bleeding out. I was barely conscious, but I remember seeing tears in his eyes, he was begging me to hold on. I couldn't bare to leave my best friend, so I fought. I fought for him." Billy's eyes welled up with tears

Devon twirled Jake's ring around, a smile replacing his scowl once he thinks about his happiest moments with his friends

"You're saying I should keep fighting?" Devon asks

"As long as you have people in your corner to help you fight your demons, then yes. You may not think you're worth it, but your friends do. Preferably your boyfriend, he'd kill for you. God, I wish someone would fight for me the way Jake fights for you." Billy chuckled

"You do have someone, you have Jazz. I see the way you look at each other, that's real love. You're willing to put your life on the line for him, he stands up to his abusive father because he knows you'll always be there to protect him. I know he'll do the same for you, he loves you." Devon advised

"Thanks for the pep talk. This actually weirds me out considering I hate talking to people." Billy smiled

"Mm, I'm sure you love talking to Jazmere." Devon laughed