It’s been a few days since prom. Fang and I decided to spend the night out on the beach at the last minute. Reeda and Trish were understandably upset… Well, Trish was anyway. I can still hear her yelling at Fang during lunch. “This is our chance to make a good final impression and you’re gonna throw it away for that skinnie!?” Throw it away she did, we walked out onto the beach and sat down on the shore. It was supposed to be the best night of our high school experience. But I ruined it all… It makes me sick, the way I threw all her love and trust down in the sand and destroyed our relationship. “ You don’t even make a passable faggot” I haven’t been back to school since. I don’t think I will be going back. The thought of looking her in the face again after that night puts a knot in my throat. *buzz* *buzz* I sit up in my bed and grab my phone off of my desk. Unlocking it and checking the notifications shows a text message from Reeda. ‘Reeda: hey bro lettin u kno spears is gona kill u if u dont come in 2moro’ Great ‘Reeda: his words not mine’ Great… I set my phone down on my lap and rub my face. Is it too late to walk away? I could leave all this behind, and find a new life somewhere. Maybe make Dad proud and join the military or something. Probably won’t be able to get into college anyway, the military might be my only option. *buzz* *buzz* ‘Reeda: dude u there?’ I let out a sigh and tap away a response ‘Me: yeah I'll be in tomorrow’ ‘Reeda: *thumbs up*’ I can’t risk Spears hunting me down or something, I’m sure he wouldn’t let me drop out without a fight. I get up and walk right over to my chair, I boot up my pc and open Gruugle If I remember correctly there's a Navy recruitment office only 15 minutes from my apartment… Yep, right on the edge of Skin Row. I bookmark the page for later, I’ll probably go take a look after graduation. The less amount of time I have to stay here the better. The Next Day My day starts the same as always, alarm clock blaring, rolling out of bed, wishing I could sleep 5 more minutes, the usual. The only difference is how quiet it is now. No good morning texts, no calls discussing the day's plans. Truly a lonely experience. I put on my usual outfit and grab my bag, I decide not to eat breakfast. This might come back to bite me but I’d rather not risk it and be late, who knows what spears will do to me if I am… Locking the door behind me I begin my walk to school. The weather outside matches my current mood, overcast with a slight wind chill. Hopefully, both the weather and I will be in a better mood by this afternoon. … Today hasn’t been so bad, besides the stack of assignments I've collected from various classes. I figured the teachers would go a little easier on us since it’s so close to the end of the year, but I was wrong. I walk into Mr. Carlesiidewski’s class and… Reeda and Trish sit in their usual spots, the former making conversation while the latter stares down at the phone in her hand. I pause for a moment. Maybe I can slip by without them notice- “YOOO Anon!” fuck Reeda waves me over with a smile. “Where have you been bro? Starting to make me a little worried.” Ohhhh boy. I’m guessing she doesn’t know about what happened between me and Fang. Maybe I can bullshit my way through this. “Uhh, I’ve just been around you know? Took a little break after prom is all.” She squints a little and shoots a glance at Trish, who is still looking away. She looks back at me and smiles. “Okay bro, nice to hear you’re all good. Have you talked to Fang at all?” Here it is. “Uhh no? Why?” “Oh… well she just hasn’t been answering any of my texts is all, Trish said the same. Figured I’d wait till you came back to school but here you are and here she isn’t ya know.” “I… I haven’t seen her Reeda” She turns back to Trish with a worried grimace. “ It’s fine Reeda. ” I hear Trish whisper. “ How can it be fine when she isn’t answering any- ” I manage to sneak off while they argue, setting my bag on the ground and sitting at my desk. At least she didn’t hound me for details I guess. Class starts soon after, it turns out Mr Carlesiidewski is out today so we got a substitute. Just busy work today thankfully, and since I can see Reeda has an extra copy of the work on her desk with my name on it, I can probably get to work on the stack of papers in my backpack. … I’m about halfway through an English assignment when the bell rings for lunch. I pack up my bag and head out, waving bye to Reeda. Trish didn’t try to talk to me at all today, no sarcastic remarks or anything… she probably knows. But if she knows why doesn’t Reeda? Well I guess it’s a good thing they kept it from her, she is my math work plug after all. I finally get to sit down and eat, I’ve decided that skipping breakfast from now on is banned behavior. It’s pizza on the menu today, and thankfully I’m well within the time frame before it becomes inedible, something I was much more concerned about when eating in the auditorium. With Fang. Let’s not ruin my appetite just yet. As I munch down on the almost flavorless slice of pizza my phone vibrates on the table. A text from Reeda pops up on the screen. ‘Reeda: hey bro fangs goin 2 a concert 2nite 4 biglydie @ 10 i can send u the address if u want’ ‘Me: Ok Reeda thank you’ Guess I’m not eating at all today. The address pops up and I copy it into maps. It’s in the industrial district. My train of thought is derailed and my mind races. Should I even try to fix this? Is there even anything I can say to her to make it better? ‘I promise I’ll never hurt you again’ ‘I’ve seen the error in my ways, and it’ll never happen again’ ‘Please forgive me Fang, you never deserved that type of treatment’ *DING DONG BING BONG* SHIT! I scarf down the rest of the pizza and move on to the next period. … The rest of the day was a blur, my racing thoughts and plans of reuniting with Fang made it hard to pay attention in class. The Final bell chimes and I practically run out of the room and through the hallway. I fly down the entrance stairs and start my speedwalk home. I’ll go find her. I’ll tell her that I’m the biggest loser in the world and that I'll never treat her so horribly again. I’ll get down on one knee and beg for forgiveness in the middle of the concert, crying my eyes out as I promise to never hurt her again… Okay, that might be a bit much, but I’ll certainly tell her that this whole thing has been a huge mistake and that I’m sorry. I’m not sure how well this will go but I have to try. I can’t keep living without her like this, I’m barely living at all now. I’ll be the best damn boyfriend in the history of boyfriends, I almost lost you Fang but I won’t let that happen. I’ll do everything in my power to get you back. I make my way back home, excited to finally make things right with Fang. Bursting through the door I throw my bag to the floor and jump into the shower. A mantra forms in my head. I WILL treat her right, I WILL fix this, I WILL do ANYTHING for her! I wash myself off and get out of the shower, grab some clean clothes, and put on some deodorant. I plug in the address again, about 45 minutes away, not bad if I start now. I grab my keys and head out the door and… wait a minute… It’s only 4… shit … After a quick 4 ½ hour nap, I finally leave the apartmartment and begin my 45-minute walk. Normally I would just take a taxi, but cash is tight, and if Fang wants a ride home I’ll get her one. Thankfully both the weather and I have cheered up it seems, it’s nice and clear tonight. Not as many stars as there are back in Rock Bottom, that’s probably the only good thing about that shithole. The industrial district is almost as shitty as Skin Row, the major difference being this place is lit up like a candle from all the nearby factories, so at least there’s less of a chance for someone to try and rob me. As I continue walking the place finally comes into view… It's a warehouse. The only indication that an event is happening here is the muffled bass I can hear from down the street, and the long line of people standing in front of the entrance. I hope I don’t need tickets for this… As I take my place in line I notice a human woman sitting in a folding chair next to the entrance with a metal box on her lap and a stamp in her hand. Someone walks up and hands her some cash, she slips it into the metal box, and stamps their hand. Well, that's a relief, although now I might not be able to get Fang home if she needs it. After waiting for about 20 minutes I finally near the front of the line, a propped-up sign reads “$20 per person” Sorry Fang no ride tonight. The person ahead of me gets stamped and walks in as I retrieve a $20 bill from my wallet. I hand her the bill and she slips it into the metal box, then she grabs my hand and stamps the back of it. The stamp mark reads “ADMIT ONE”. I finally make my way inside. Well if the stress of seeing Fang again didn’t give me a headache the music has now, the sound of a guitar, drum set, and bass getting brutally violated pierce through the dusty air of this warehouse and attack my eardrums directly. As I walk through the central hallway I notice a set of doors being propped open, with flashing lights shooting out of them. Must be the dance floor. I walk through the door and my jacket glows bright green, must have some blacklights in here. I walk around the edge of the crowd looking for Fang. Quite the challenge picking out a single goth in here, it’s just one big swarm of daddy issues… I don’t need to say that in front of Fang… I step back from the crowd, the flashing lights and loud music are killing me. I continue to scan the crowd looking for any signs of Fang. Not her… not her… not her… I catch a glimpse of a glowing blue ptero in the crowd. She’s wearing all black, has blue marks all around her body and her wings, has long silver hair, and is wearing glowing orange makeup. IT’S FANG I immediately start making my way through the crowd, I would call out to her but the music is too loud for her to hear. As I get closer something about her seems odd. Her wings… they’re tattered, she’s been pruning a lot. There are marks up and down her arms as well, they remind me of the scratches she used to give herself when she was stressed. Her hair also seems thinner at first but as I get closer I realize half of her head is shaved. If I didn’t know her so well I would have a hard time recognizing her. I’m within about 20 feet of her now, the final hurdle, just got to- A large glowing blue raptor walks up next to her carrying drinks, he taps her on the shoulder and hands one to her. She responds by grabbing his collar and pulling him in for a kiss. The music stops and the crowd stops dancing. The flashing lights are turned off and the crowd remains silent. I can’t breathe I see the ground move beneath me as I fall to my knees, still staring straight. All I hear is the sound of my own heartbeat. I sit like this for some time, unable to will myself to move. I’m ripped out of the silence by a tap on my shoulder. “huh” The music comes back with full force and the crowd's movement startles me. I look up to catch her walking away, wrapped in his arms. “Hey, man are you okay?” A triceratops asks as she holds onto my shoulder. I get up and immediately head for the exit, my eyes start burning as tears begin to form. Pushing past the crowd, I walk out the same way I came in. I continue to walk until the warehouse is out of sight. I begin to break down on the sidewalk. Falling to my knees again I start to cry. I lost her… I was too late and she found someone else. How am I supposed to go on without you Fang? You were my last hope. What am I gonna do?