K I N G

a l t e r n a t e e n d i n g

Hey guys! I'm sorry for being so late in uploading this. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Thank you again for 10k views! I love hearing all of your sweet comments as well. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

love

noun

an intense feeling of deep affection

Todd's POV

Todd shivered violently as he trekked through the snowy roads. He blew hot air onto his frozen fingers to combat the growing numbness. His gut twisted with each worrying thought about Neil.

What if his father sent him away?

Todd's heart clenched as fear spiked through his body. Oh god, what if he never saw Neil again? He couldn't imagine his life without him.

"You okay, kiddo?" Charlie asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He turned towards his friend, his breath curling around them like puffs of smoke.

"I think I'm going to go check on Neil."

Charlie's eyebrow furreld. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Todd shook his head in response. "No. I need to go alone."

The others nodded, but Todd could see how Charlie hesitated. Todd glanced nervously towards Mr. Keating. The man wore a large grin as he said,

"Todd, my boy, it is quite crowded here and there are far too many of you to keep my eyes on. If one of you were to sneak away, how could I have known?"

Todd smiled and dashed away, the sounds of his classmates loud 'yawps' echoing in his ears. His body was almost numb from the cold, but he kept pushing. He needed to get to Neil. Todd didn't completely understand why, but he could feel it. The urge to follow Neil was too great.

After an hour or so of walking, he finally stood outside a red brick house. It was deathly quiet. Not a light was on in the house. Todd frowned and circled the house. He had no clue which was Neil's room, or how to even get his attention. It was be too risky to try his luck and pick a room. Todd sighed heavily as he tapped his fingers against his leg. What should he do?

Todd jumped back when a light switched on in one of rooms on the lower floor. He crouched down in the hedges as he slowly inched forward. The blinds were closed, but he could see glimpse of the room from certain angles. He could see someone crouching in front of the desk, trying to open one of the drawers. He saw a familiar brunette boy and smiled. Reaching up, Todd knocked on the window. Neil jumped back and dropped whatever he had been holding onto the ground. He yanked the blinds aside, gaping bewildered at a grinning Todd.

Todd started to snicker when he saw Neil was wearing his crown for Puck.

"What are you still dressed up for?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Neil exclaimed.

Todd could only smile in response. "I'm here to see you dummy."

He attempted to jump through the window, but it was a little too high up. Neil had to shove his hands into Todd's armpits to help pull him through. Todd felt his face heat up when Neil didn't pull away but brought him closer instead. They two stood silently in the study, basking in the presence of other. Todd didn't want to pull away, but something caught his attention out of corner of his eye.

There was a gun lying on the floor.

Todd stared dumbly at it, not fully comprehending where it had come from. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew. Todd knew it was thing Neil had been holding, the thing he dropped, but he didn't want to admit it. Terror froze his heart.