Fragile Hearts [DANGEROUS FELLOWS]

⚠️EIGHTEEN: LIFE SUCKS NOW⚠️

"S-stay away from m-me," you warned in a trembling voice. The man's grin widened, showing too many teeth. Something about him screamed infected, but much further on than Madelyn had been the night she came for help.

"It's okay, girlie. I won't hurt you," he cooed, taking a step forward. You wished you hadn't put the metal pole you brought in your backpack. There was no way you'd have time to get it now.

He took another step and you reached behind you, putting your hand on the handle to the closet.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he repeated, but you didn't believe him for a second. He licked his lips, making your stomach do summersaults. You slowly turned the handle, opening the door.

That's when the man lunged forward and you cried out, throwing yourself in the closet and pulling the door closed with all your might. It didn't lock, so you held onto the handle for dear life.

"Open the door, little girl!" sang the man in a happy voice.

"Stop! Help, help me!" You called as loud as you could. The door rattled, opening an inch before you managed to pull it back.

"Please, please," you whispered, hoping that whatever force was listening would protect you. You couldn't hold onto the door much longer, your arms screaming with the strain.

"Open the door!" he hissed, becoming angry. Why did this always have to happen? Just when you thought things were looking up, something else went wrong. Your arms started trembling, and you knew you couldn't hold it anymore.

"Open it!" he spat, pulling it free from your hands and sending it flying open. He laughed darkly, approaching you.

"No, get away! Don't touch me!" You shouted at him, reaching for the broom and pushing him back with it. He knocked it out of your hands easily, baring his teeth with a snarl, looking even more insane then before.

What else could you do? You took off your backpack and swung, hitting him square in the chest and making him stumble backwards. Then you kicked him as hard as you could in the shin, but it only seemed to anger him more. He jumped forward, seizing your wrists, rage flashing in his eyes.

"You're gonna be sorry for that," he said, throwing you against the back wall of the closet.

You screamed, flattening against the wall, and the sound of shattering glass pierced the air. You covered your face as thick shards rained down on the ground, and when you looked again you saw Harry rushing into the closet, grabbing your shoulders.

"(Y/n), I'm so sorry," he blurted out, "I promised I wouldn't let this happen, I promised you and I let you down, I said I would protect you and—"

You cut him off, throwing your arms around him, tears of relief wetting your face. You were shaking like a leaf, your heart pounding and ears ringing, and you had never felt so terrified in your life.

Harry pat your head comfortingly, pulling you off of him to lead you out of the closet. You saw the man collapsed on the ground, blood pooling around his head. Lawrence had a broken bottle in his hand, looking like he was going to hit him again.

"Leave him!" a voice scowled, and you realized Zion was there. He grabbed Lawrence's arm, pulling him away from the man.

"He's not dead yet," Lawrence growled, fighting against Zion's grip, "he doesn't deserve to be breathing."

You'd never seen Lawrence look like this before, not even the incident at the emergency supply storage. There was anger, but it wasn't just that. There was also murder in his eyes, and any soft, kind composure he kept about him was gone.

"It's okay, Lawrence, (Y/n)'s fine! He's not gonna do anything now," Zion told him. "You need to calm down. It's over."

Lawrence took a shaky breath, dropping the remainder of the bottle on the ground. The smell of alcohol permeated the air, and you started to feel sick. He closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths of air, and when he opened them again he looked more like himself.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Harry asked, looking at you. You shook your head, sniffling and wiping your eyes.

"I'm sorry for causing more trouble," you choked out, covering your face in shame as a fresh wave of emotions washed over you.

"Sorry?" Zion exclaimed in surprise. "What are you apologizing for?"

"B-because, every time I come, something happens," you sobbed.

Zion walked over, putting a hand on your head, and you looked up. But instead of a look of sympathy, there was a stern one. "Look, kid," he began. "Life sucks now. Everyone's getting their ass kicked by something."

"Zion-" Harry tried interjecting.

"Shut up," Zion said, not even bothering to look at him. "As I was saying. If you hadn't come, then it could've been Harry in that closet. Or Lawrence, Eugene, Ethan, maybe it would've even been me. My point is, bad things are happening to everyone."

He stopped and considered something. "Just seems like they particularly like you," he added with a grin. He gave you a solid pat on the head, stepping back, looking around at the mess the smoke shop was in before shaking his head.

"Everyone's fine. When we get back, let's just act like nothing happened so the others don't stress and there's no drama. 'Kay?" Zion ordered, and you were surprised to see him taking the lead. Lawrence just nodded, looking dazed.

"I guess so..." Harry agreed reluctantly, staring at the man on the ground, whose chest rose and fell slowly. Lawrence turned away stonily, walking towards the door. It was almost completely dark.

You retrieved your backpack from the ground, pulling out the metal pole just in case before putting it back on. You finished wiping off your face before heading out of the shop, the fresh air washing away most of your fear.

The walk back was quiet, partly not to alert anything but mostly because everyone was still reflecting on the day. You tried focusing on the good parts, like finding the ice cream, and rolling around on the scooters.

But you couldn't stop thinking about the man. Something about him had seemed familiar, but you couldn't put your finger on it. He was too far gone to even be recognizable.

"Keep it cool," Zion repeated as the four of you came up on the gate in front of the school.

It was a good plan, but it didn't work out so well.