Golden Snow - Bennoda

Chapter Eight

Mike stepped away from the window. The knock was so soft that he wasn't sure if it had actually occurred. Nevertheless, he slowly made his way to the door, wondering who it would be. Brad would always be obnoxious about his presence, as well would the majority of his friends, and it didn't sound as official as a police officer's knock would. It also couldn't be his father, as he wouldn't have knocked at all. It must be someone Mike didn't know.

When he opened the door, he knew he was wrong when he saw a skinny boy with blonde hair standing in front of him. He knew this boy. He knew him well, even if they had never truly talked. Mike's eyes had widened when he saw Chester, not expecting him in the slightest, but quickly pulled him in and locked the door behind him, not wanting his dad to barge in and seeing him.

"Chester?!" Mike finally managed to gasp when he realized the boy was really here. He hugged the boy tightly and pulled away slightly to look at him better before he realized he was acting inappropriately. "I'm so sorry. I was just... excited to see you."

"I'm excited to see you too," The boy admitted shyly with a small smile and Mike felt the urge to hug him again - and then some - but fought his instincts. He didn't understand why the boy was happy to see him or even here talking to him.

"Are you okay? Do you need anything?" Mike quickly asked after remembering the boy might be freezing. He ran to grab the blanket he gave him last time and wrapped him in it. The scrawny boy blushed adorably and smiled at the gesture.

"Thank you, Mike. I missed this blanket, it was nice to cuddle with that night. It also smelt like you," The boy immediately flooded into a deeper red face when he realized what he was saying but all it did was make Mike's heart race. "I-I mean-"

"Don't worry about it," Mike said perhaps a little too suddenly, catching the boy off-guard. "I... how did you know my name?"

"I... this is going to sound weird, okay? I... I really like you, Mike, and I've runaway before. Last time I did, it was only for a couple hours and I saw you and your friends in the clearing. My uncles... they're tough on me and never let me have any social interactions with people my age so when I saw you guys, I just wished I could be with you but you caught my eye. You triggered a feeling I didn't think I had and I figured out your name through someone in town and found your number... I'm so sorr-"

"Don't apologize for anything, Chester! I-"

"How do you know my name?" Chester asked in turn and Mike smiled, glad his story was more simple than Chester's was.

"Your uncles put out posters of you being missing. By the way, what exactly is going on?"

"I thought you'd ask... I... I don't want to say..." Chester trailed off before meeting Mike's eyes. "Look, that's not why I'm here anyway. Something happened, something you need to know about. It's about the rapes going on around here lately. I know you're being blamed and I also know it's not true."

"What?" Mike gaped at him, incredibly confused. "What happened?"

"The same guy who raped those two girls... He... he grabbed me in the clearing," Chester eventually said and Mike's eyes went wide. He was immediately worried for the boy. Mike looked to Chester's tired looking eyes and bruised frame of which he hadn't noticed before and knew the worst but he wanted to be sure. He felt more than angry at the rapist and wanted more than anything to murder them if they had laid their hands on Chester.

"Did he-"

"That's not important. Anyway, I saw who it was. He-" Chester couldn't say more as the door knob jiggled. Banging started on the other side and Mike looked to Chester worriedly who had the same scared expression across his face. Mike pushed the small boy into the nearest closet.

"Stay in here! I'll figure things out," Mike promised and closed the door. He went to the front door and opened it, seeing two familiar men step inside, pushing Mike to the side. One began tearing the place apart as the other gripped Mike by the shoulders and squeezed them tightly, making him gasp in pain. He yelped.

"Where's the boy?!" The one gripping him snapped in his face and Mike cried out as he squeezed him harder. Mike heard the closet door open and saw Chester run towards the front door as he was dropped by the man.

"It's Jay, Mike! It's Jay!" Chester shouted as he ran out of the apartment building, the two men following at high speed. Mike pulled out his phone and ran behind them, calling officers.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" The operator asked and Mike panted as he trailed after everyone.

"I need officers! The missing boy was in my apartment and these two men came and ripped my apartment apart until the boy ran out and they chased him!" Mike shouted while running and gave them his location before he hung up.

He panted harder and chased them through town until they were at the clearing, where they managed to tackle Chester. Mike jumped in on the pile and ripped them off the boy who was screaming for help. Flashes of red, white, and blue bounced against the snow and the uncles picked themselves up and ran away. Mike helped Chester up, who was bleeding near his legs, and looked to him worriedly.

"Freeze!" An officer shouted when the police car neared and pulled over. The two boys froze and the officer was recognized as officer Draven, Samantha by his side. The two officers took one look at Chester and Draven approached Mike. He put his hands behind his back. "Michael Shinoda, you are under arrest for the rape of Chester Bennington."