The Story of Why

Keda - Green Hoodie

It was about 8pm. Eric was driving me home, since Drew didn't have his car keys and Eric doesn't let anyone else drive his car. I decided I break the silence and try to get to know Eric a little better. ''I'm sorry about you and Isabelle,'' I said, thinking about how she cheated on him the moment he fell for her. It hadn't been hard to tell how much he loved her by the way he looked at her.

''Yeah. You talked to her lately?'' he asked, trying to be casual. I sensed he still wasn't completely over her.

''No, actually.'' He glanced at me, his eyes wide.

''Really?'' he asked.

I nodded. ''I stopped talking to her when she cheated on you. She's a bitch,'' I said. He looked at me again, puzzled, then back to the road and swerve as he narrowly missed hitting a stop sign.

''Sorry!'' he said, not looking at me this time. There was a pause. ''You stopped being friends with her because of me?''

I looked at him, but he was still facing the road. His expression was really distant and strange. Why are boys so hard to figure out? I thought. ''Well, yeah. That wasn't cool. If you're not going to be faithful, you shouldn't get involved.'' He smiled.

''Drew loves you so much. I'm glad you yelled at him and got him to realize what an idiot he was being,'' he said. I blushed.

''You heard?'' I asked.

''Not enough to make the words out. Not that I was eavesdropping...Anyway, I heard you just stop talking all at once, and then just not talk after that at all,'' he said, grinning and wiggling his eyebrows at me.

''You are 5 years old,'' I informed him, smiling. He parked and I realized we were already at my house.

''Off you go,'' he said, smiling.

''Thanks for the ride,'' I said, climbing out of the car.

It was three days later, on Monday, when I realized what had been going on continuously after Drew defended me and punched Marc. I was walking to his school at the end of the day, so I would see him and we could talk. I noticed a crowd in front of the doors to his school. I walked up to it, my steps getting faster and faster. Something didn't feel right.

I pushed through a few kids and saw what they were all looking at. Three boys and Drew were in the middle. Drew looked anxious, but it seemed like he was bracing himself for what was about to happen next. He was almost... used to it.

I realized what was happening too late. One boy wearing a dark green hoodie lunged at him and punched him, nearly knocking him over. My heart was pounding. I screamed his name. He turned around, his eyes wide. He looked like he was in pain. His mouth opened as if he was about to say something, but he was cut off with a brutal kick to the back from one of the boys who was wearing a simple black t-shirt and jeans, despite the freezing weather.

Drew fell over on his hands and knees with a cry of pain. "Drew!" I screamed, running towards him. Tears welled up in my eyes, threatening to fall.

Just as I came about a metre away from him, the third boy, who was quite well-built and wearing dark blue jogging pants and a black jacket, blocked my path. He grabbed my arms. I struggled hopelessly. The huge guy then turned us around, forcing me to watch the two other guys beat up my boyfriend helplessly.

"Stand up, faggot. Don't want your girlfriend seeing you like this, do ya?" Green Hoodie spat.

Drew stood up slowly, wincing in pain. He looked angry. He charged at Green Hoodie and punched him. Green Hoodie looked so stunned, he couldn't move. Drew pushed him over and Green Hoodie fell on his butt. That's when the worst possible thing that could ever happen...happened.

Blck T-shirt went up behind Drew, throwing his arm around the front of Drew's neck. He thrusted his arm down, throwing Drew to the ground, where he hit his head. As soon as his head came in contact with the concrete, his eyes rolled back into his head and he went still.

I didn't even realize I was screaming. I started pounding my fist against the huge guy that was holding me. Green Hoodie and Black T-shirt exchanged terrified looks. Then ran. They just ran away. I stood there, shell-shocked. I was so furious, I could feel the adrenaline -the anger- running through my veins. I bit into the guy's arm and he screamed. He loosened my grip just enough for me to wriggle out of his grasp. I hurtled towards Drew and collapsed on my knees beside him. I grabbed his hand, feeling his wrist for his pulse. It was there, thank God.

The crowd seemed to just disppear, along with the guy that had been holding me against my will. I hardly noticed. I just fainted, falling into the endless abyss of numbing blackness.

I woke up in a hospital bed. I sat up, feeling dizzy. A young looking female nurse came in at just that moment. Her eyes lit up when she saw me. She smiled at me. "You're awake!" she exclaimed.

"Where's the boy...he was unconcious...." I couldn't make a full sentence. An image flashed across my mind's eye, of Drew. HIs eyes rolling back into his head, him going still. As still as....I pushed the thought down.

"He's okay. He just has a minor concussion. He's in the next room," she said.

"Can I see him?" I asked, hopefully.

She looked as if she was about to say no, but hesitated. "Are you his girlfriend?" she asked. I nodded. "Don't stay very long," she said.

I smiled up at her, not believing it. Usually it would be family only. I wanted to thank her, but couldn't put the words together. I walked out and opened the door to the left of the room I had woken up in.

I creeped into the room slowly and closed the door gently, making as little sound as possible. I sat down to the chair beside the bed and looked at Drew. He looked calm and relaxed, despite the bruises. He looked so bare without his glasses. But he was so gorgeous. He'd always be. I held his hand and just sat there. After a few minutes, I felt my eyes get heavy, and my head was dropping. I leaned my head against the chair and fell asleep, with our fingers still intertwined.