Prep School Blues: Jack and Larsen--To Love and To Be Loved

Prom Night

Larsen hated himself for leaving Jack alone at the prom, too ashamed and afraid to tell the other teen how he felt. Especially after he had seen him punch Edgar in the face but the truth was, the guy had antagonized him and he just flipped out. Now, as he walked away from the school dance, he was sure that he would never get the chance to tell Jack how he truly felt about him. It was confusing. Before he broke up with Gabbie the first time and met Jack, Larsen knew what he wanted, knew who he was and knew that he liked girls for sure. And then everything changed when he caught Gabrielle and Fareeb kissing behind the school. Now all he knew was that he was confused and yet deep down he knew that he liked Jack more than just a best friend.

Larsen wanted more and that was what scared him. Not the fact that he was suddenly into a guy or that Jack apparently loved him, but that he wanted more from the teen who was there for him from the beginning. It absolutely terrified him and he didn't know how to tell Jack, he couldn't tell him. When he had realized that he liked -loved- Jack a few weeks ago, he ran to his house but Edgar answered the door, half naked and he knew that he was too late. So he kept everything to himself and went on like nothing had changed, when in reality, everything had changed.

Two blocks away from home the sound of footsteps behind him startled him slightly and he turned around. There was no one there and he shook his head, laughing to himself as he continued walking. I'm just on edge. There is nothing or no one following me.

Larsen sighed and raised his right hand to comb his fingers through his super curly hair, mussing it up. As messed up as it was, he still managed to make it look good. He hoped Jack would forgive him for leaving him alone at the dance, he hoped he would understand but somehow he didn't believe he would and he couldn't blame him for it one bit.

Something came sprinting at him from the shadows, the movement so fast that it was a dark blur and then Larsen was hitting the pavement hard on his back. The wind was knocked out of him and he sucked in a deep breath before sitting up fast as his assailant moved into the dim lighting the overhead street lights provided. He frowned, more annoyed than scared at the moment and he glared at the boy.

"What the fuck do you want, Edgar?" Larsen demanded. "Do you really want to fight with me right now?"

The teen in question glared back at him, a twisted smirk on his face as he removed his hands from behind his back, revealing a chef's knife. Of course, this guy was insane! Larsen's eyes widened and he scrambled backwards on his hands and feet as Edgar advanced on him.

"You have no idea who I am, Larsen. I was expelled from my old school for stabbing a kid in the hand with a pair of scissors. All because he called me a fag." Edgar told him. "You've called me a fag, hit me, and took Jack away from me." Larsen's back hit the alley wall; he had no where to go. He stared up at Edgar as he knelt beside him, the knife held loosely in his left hand. "Now, what do you think I'm going to do to you?"

Larsen could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage as well as hear it and he thought it was loud enough for Edgar to hear. Fear-no, terror was the only emotion he could feel as he tried to press himself against the wall as much as he could, as if he could disappear if he tried hard enough. "Edgar, man look. I'm sorry alright? Is that what you want to hear? I'm sorry!"

Edgar chuckled darkly and leaned forward, his lips brushing against his ear as he said, "You're going to die alone, Larsen. Because no one wants a second-rate loser like you. No one will miss you and no one will grieve you."

Larsen flinched at how raw the words were and how true they were. The words hurt, it was like he was being stabbed already. Edgar was right but that didn't mean that he was going to just let the psychopath kill him without a fight. That wasn't an option. Not when he still needed to live for Jack. He needed to tell Jack how he felt, fears be damned. So Larsen steeled himself and said,

"You're right. But it's too bad I'm not that easy to kill."

Larsen shoved himself up off the ground, startling the sociopathic teen, and tackled him to the ground, the knife flying from Edgar's hand. They rolled a few times, punching and kicking each other before Larsen was able to pin him to the ground. However, their positions changed quickly as Edgar flipped them over and ended up straddling his waist, pinning his wrists above his head with one hand, while using the other to grab the knife that had been discarded to the side. Larsen struggled underneath him, grunting and cursing at the teen, knowing that if he didn't get free that he was gonna die.

Larsen arched his body up off the ground, thrashing around to try and throw him off but Edgar was stronger. Twisting his body, Larsen let out a hoarse cry as the teen above him smacked him in the side of the head. He didn't stop struggling though, in fact he fought harder.

"Stop moving!" Edgar hissed at him.

Larsen threw his head forward and smashed it into Edgar's nose, creat-ing a waterfall of blood to leak out of his now broken nose. The blow had thrown the teen off-balance and he was able to knock Edgar off of him. He scrambled to his feet and backed away, turning on his heel to run but he had no idea the other teen would recover so fast because the next thing he knows is the collision of his head against the brick wall and he cries out. Stars explode behind his eyes and momentarily defenseless he feels a sharp pain in his stomach.

Larsen screams as the pain worsens considerably and his first instinct is to cover his stomach with his hands but Edgar stabs him again and he knows it's over. The teen struggles through baited breaths and his hands scrabble for something to hold onto because he knows he's going to fall as soon as Edgar moves away. Knowing that if he didn't stop Edgar from stabbing him again, he would die faster, Larsen gathered his remaining strength and shoved the boy backwards as hard as he could. He didn't stop to see if he fell or not as he started to stagger away, his hand cupped around the knife still inside his stomach.

He didn't get far. He collapsed against the wall, sliding to the ground his body half out of the alley. Larsen weakly pulled his phone out of his pocket and called the first number he saw, which believe it or not was Rachel.

"What do you want Larsen?"

"Rachel...help...me." Larsen mumbled.

"Larsen? Larsen what's wrong?" Rachel demanded. She now sounded very concerned. "Where are you?!"

"The alley...by the cafe...a block from my house. Hu...rry."

Larsen didn't hang up the phone but he did tell her that he was sorry. He saw Edgar get up through half-lidded eyes and watched as he made his way over to him, an evil gleam in his eyes. Larsen tried to move away from him but his body was so tired, he didn't even have the energy to hyperventilate or panic. Edgar knelt beside him and smirked, reaching for the knife handle.

"I told you that you were going to die alone, Larsen." Edgar gripped the handle and slowly turned the knife. A broken cry escaped Larsen's lips as the pain became much more intense. He heard Rachel screaming on the phone at Edgar but neither teenage boy was paying attention, both for different reasons. "And you will."

Edgar ripped the knife out of his stomach and Larsen's body jerked with the movement, his face paling at the amount of pain he felt coursing through his body. Larsen could feel his very life force draining from him and there wasn't anything he could do about it. Tears were streaming down his face and he was gasping for breath, panting from the unbear-able pain.

"N-no!" Larsen protested. He had to stop Edgar from finishing the job so he kicked out as hard as he could with the strength he had left at Edgar's kneecap, sending the sociopathic teen to the ground. There was a loud crack and the boy didn't get back up. Everything was tunneling in and out and he was going to pass out, he knew he was. Just as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, he heard someone screaming his name and sirens.

Rachel, Larsen thought. She came...

And then he lost consciousness, the darkness dragging him down and under for a long time. And it was peaceful.