K I N G

f o u r

verklempt
adjective
overcome with emotion

Neil's POV
Anger shook his entire body. From his twitching eye to his trembling legs, Neil's body was seething with rage. Hot, molten lava seemed to flow through his veins, and he couldn't stand it anymore. Neil didn't know how much more of Todd's strange behavior he could take. Todd was suppose to be his best friend, but they've never felt further apart in Neil's mind. It was as if miles and miles of rough, sea waters separated them. Neil felt as if he was getting pulled deeper and deeper out into sea, and he did not know if he'd ever find his way back.

Curling up into a tight ball, Neil began to cry. He cried long and hard as he desperately shoved his fist into his mouth to keep quiet. The tears flowed heavily down his face as his body racked with heavy sobs, but Neil could no longer close the floodgates. He was so tired. Drained. All he wanted to do was sleep for a thousand years, then maybe a thousand more, and never wake up. Wiping his face, Neil had gathered himself enough to change into his nightclothes and crawl into bed. Despite his exhaustion, Neil couldn't sleep. His mind was buzzing with all sorts of questioning thoughts. Why was Todd acting so cold towards him? Had he offended him somehow? What weights crushed his friend so that he couldn't just talk to him about it?! It baffled Neil to no end. He has been nothing but open with Todd. Todd has been the one true person in his life that Neil felt deeply connected to. Neil felt as if he could tell Todd anything...obviously Todd didn't feel the same. Neil squeezed his eyes shut as his heart twisted and pulled in despair. That's where most of his angry and grief was coming from. Todd felt like he couldn't trust Neil. That hurt more than words could describe.

Neil pretended to be asleep when Todd returned. From the slight sniffling, Neil could tell Todd was crying. Neil felt his heart ache more as he, in spite of his anger, found himself wanting to comfort Todd. He hated seeing him upset and this animosity between them could be eradicated if Todd wasn't so stubborn. But Todd refused to bend and Neil wouldn't force him. If Todd chose to wallow in his own problems instead of sharing them it was not Neil's fault. This insight did not, however, stop Neil from almost deciding right then and there to forgive his friend. Neil wanted this fight to be over. Hopefully, Todd would stop being such an ass soon.

It was early Sunday morning that Neil finally found relief in the sweet arms of Hypnos. Neil fell into a wonderfully, dreamless sleep and found it was not until mid morning when he awoke. He sleepily wiped the drool from his cheek as he stood out of bed and stretched. Flickering his eyes towards Todd's bed, Neil saw that it was left untouched and empty. Todd hadn't slept in it last night and was gone who knows where. A small frown adorned Neil's lips as he stared at the bed, a dark feeling twisted inside his gut. He needed to get away from Helton, now. Hastily, he threw on a green sweater and khaki pants before he decided he'd go see Violet. It's been awhile since Neil last saw her and he knew her radiant smile could pull him out of any funk, at least for a small amount of time.

Neil did not inform anyone of where he was heading. He did not care to go through the painfully slow process of getting permission to leave when he could sneak off now and come back without hassle. Of course his father would probably give some nonsense speech on how he couldn't jeopardize his chances at getting into a very good college and then go off to medical school, but his mother could possibly save him from that because she was so grateful he'd come to see them. Truly the only reason he even bothered with all of that was for Violet's sake. Without her, Neil wasn't sure where he'd be now.

'Without Todd where will you go from here?' His traitorous mind spoke.

This has also been a question that plagued Neil. He felt so lost without his friend, he wasn't sure where he'd go from here if they didn't make up. He felt sick thinking that they never would. Neil shook his head violently to rid himself of those unhappier thoughts. He didn't need to be thinking about Todd right now. At least that's what he tried to tell himself. Neil hasn't been able to get the blonde boy out of his head for awhile now despite numerous attempts to do so.