Not Just A Fantasy (Angel)

A Circle and a Slash

     Gerard could see the sun setting, and he knew he would get a beating for coming home late. His parents usually depend on him to cook dinner and then clean up afterward. But he didn't want to move. The warmth of another human being, his angel no less, made Gerard want to stay there forever. Leaning against a tree, with his angel's arm wrapped around his shoulders, Gerard's head nestled into his shoulder. Everything was quiet. Everything was good. There was no looming parents, no bullies, nothing but him and the boy next to him and the blissful silence as they both watched the sun go down, with pink and red and orange and purple and yellow.

     For the first time since his parents had started fighting, since he had started getting bullied at school, he felt free. Like he was floating up in the pink clouds. He didn't feel the pain from his bruises anymore. He didn't feel anything but happiness. And he smiled, the first big smile in a long time. A true smile.

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      Frank watched Gerard as the boy snuggled up against him, and he smiled. And, almost like a response, Gerard smiled too. And not those small, so full of heartbreak and pain smiles that Gerard had given him so far- No, this was a true smile, that lit up his face, that, to Frank, made the sun look dim. It was beautiful. He was beautiful.

      Frank watched as the boys eyes slowly closed and he drifted off to sleep. Frank knew they couldn't sleep outside. They would be found. But he didnt know where the boys house was, so that  left the homeless boy one option- his make-shift house. Frank carefully detached himself from the sleeping boy, feeling suddenly cold when the air hit the places where Gerard's head had rested, where his back had leaned against Frank's arm. He scooped the boy up, who was light, not that it was a surprise, considering how skinny the boy was, and started the mile trek to the edge of town.

     Frank knew a different route other than the direct one to the edge of town, and he started in that direction, fearing that someone would see the two boys this late and call the police, or maybe Gerard's own parents. So he slipped into an alley, forgetting the dangers the city held at night for random people not sworn to one of the gangs that roamed thoughout the shadows across the city. He traveled in silence, focusing on keeping the boy in his arms still as to not wake him. He was too intent on the bullied boy to notice the muffled footsteps following him. He didnt notice the quiet snickers. If he had turned around, he would have seen the shadows following him. He would have seen the glint of the moonlight on an unsheathed knife. But he didnt.

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     Gerard could feel the warmth still, but this time he was sort of moving a little, and it felt like he was being carried. Maybe he was being carried up to heaven, he thought, he mind still foggy. Maybe the boy had truly been an angel sent down from Heaven to rescue him. Maybe he would be free from pain, he thought, and a blissful smile made it's way onto his face.

     But then, the peaceful silence was cut through with a shierk. A deep voice sounded out. Gerard started out of the half-asleep world he had been in. That voice wasn't his angel's. That voice was from someone else. He opened his eyes, and saw Frank looking down at him, and then flickering his eyes to something in front of them. He looked scared. Gerard realized that the boy had been carrying him bridal style. The thought made him blush, and then he shook himself. This really wasn't the time. Gerard tugged on the boys's sleeve.

     "I can stand," he said. He wanted to see what was making the boy so afraid. The boy bent down far enough that GGerard could climb out of his arms. Gerard stood up, a little wobbly, and turned around. What he saw made him gasp. Four guys were standing in the alley in front of them. They wore dark, mismatched clothes, and each of them had a cap shading their faces with an identical symbol- a perfect circle painted in white, with a single slash, like the mark a wolf's claw would leave, painted in a deep, dark red. Knives glinted in their hands, and crooked smiles could barely be seen on their faces. The leader stepped forward, and began to crack his knuckles, one at a time. Each crack seemed to split the air like a knife, and with every finger, Gerard's fear grew, and he could feel the boy next to him shaking, ever so slightly. Finally the man finished, and he opened his mouth.

     "Well that was just touching. Faggot love always makes me cry." His voice was the one that Gerard had heard earlier- It was deep and course, sending shivers down his spine. Gerard shifted closer to the boy, who was standing frozen. Then the boy turned his head, and mouthed a word. Run. 

     And, feeling like such a coward, abandoning his angel, he turned on his heel and ran, promising that if he escaped, he would get help for his angel. He had to. Behind him, he heard the leader growl. 

     "Get him." 

     Gerard had never been a good runner, but he hadn't eaten since yesterday, and that, combined with the fact of his multiple bruises and his pure terror, made him easy to catch. It wasn't like he had expected to get far, but his heart still plunged when he felt an icy hand wrap around his arm, forcing him to stop.

     "Idiot," the man muttered as he dragged Gerard back. He met the eyes of the mute boy as he was pushed back into the little area where he stood. 

     "I'm sorry," he mouthed to the boy, and the boy just smiled a sad smile, like he knew it wasn't any use. The leader twirled his knife expertly. 

     "We'll, it looks like we have a feisty one on our hands," the leader sneered, and the others snickered. Gerard could feel his hope of ever getting away drop to his shoes. "But this one," he pointed to Frank with the knife tip, "he's the self sacrificing type. Soooooo," the leader stretched out the word, just for his sick entertainment. "We'll start with him," he pointed at Gerard this time. "We'll see what the other one will do to save him." The boy lunged forward, panic in his eyes, but a gang member held him back. Gerard was glad that his angel was safe. It was him that had dragged him into this mess, and he didn't want to boy who had done so much for him get hurt because of him. He had felt pain before, and he was pretty sure the boy hasn't felt it like he had. This was for the best, but he could feel hot tears slipping down his cheeks.

     The leader, knife in hand, approached Gerard almost ceremonially, pressed the knife to Gerard's chest in a teasing way, and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "You think you've felt pain, boy?"