Coming Back Down...

A.E.D woke up with a lump of regret trapped in his throat. Its been three years since the day .D dreaded happened.

Once he realized he cared for Izm's health, .D wanted to do everything he could to keep him in school and safe. But Izm Tanner was a bit of a special case. Izm would disappear for days if he took something the wrong way. He would hide out in the underground and pick fights and do his business of selling drugs. And when he'd calm down, or get so fucked up, he would go back to A.E.D's room wanting to get ice cream or patched up. Izm always thought the two of them were friends but the prefect denied it to everyone but himself. They had a very unique friendship. A love hate one of sorts. One was a drug dealer and the other a student prefect. But the boys got along fine.

A.E.D looked around his room reminiscing, against his better judgement, and his eyes stopped roaming and landed on a pair of black goggles with red lenses. .D ground his teeth and got up. Walking over to the goggles, .D picked them up and watched his reflection in the lenses. He stiffened and threw them in his desk. It was on days like this he was really glad he didn't have a roommate. .D sat down in the desk chair and held his head in his hands. He didn't want to think about Izm. Every time he thought of Izm it ended with the funeral. If .D didn't get ready soon, he was going to miss class, and being in college he couldn't afford to miss a class. Yet against all judgement .D let himself be sucked back in time through his memories.


It had been a fairly good day. Izm was in all his classes and Caleb and his gang weren't causing their usual mayhem. This random Tuesday was a breath of fresh air to the prefects of Hedone High. A.E.D didn't notice it much but Izm was being sickeningly "good" recently. Izm wasn't torturing the younger students or purposefully trying to mess with Caleb, he was even on campus more than in the underground. Maybe the idiot did mature, they were in their last year of being students at HH after all. All of a sudden .D was tackled to the ground by someone small with black hair. "Get the hell off of me Izm" .D growled. Izm grinned and got up offering to help .D up. "Well lets go get some ice cream!" Izm suggested with his signature grin. "Why the hall would I do that?" .D asked getting up with the delinquents help. "Because! I know your favorite flavor and I'm buying" Izm said putting an arm around .Ds shoulder. .D sighed but nodded letting Izm lead him to the parlor down the street from the school. "So why have you been such an 'angel' lately?" .D asked after they got the ice cream of their choice/ Izm chuckled and said, "Thats a first! You called me an 'angel'." Izm started to eat his delicious treat and avoided .D's question. A.E.D rolled his eyes but dropped the subject, it was no use pushing it on such a good day. The quiet moments the boys shared were special to the both of them. It was times like in the ice cream parlor that gave .D a feeling that Izm was safe. Izm finished his ice cream and watched .D for a few minutes before taking a generous bite out of .D's ice cream. "Hey!" .D exclaimed. "What? It was melting..." Izm smiled up to the prefect. "That doesn't give you the right to eat it!" .D growled finishing his ice cream quickly. Izm chuckled and stood up saying, "Woah... it got dark quick..."  "Yes well it IS November Izm" .D commented throwing a napkin away. "Oh... Well I guess I need to go then" Izm said walking to the door. "Wait. 'You need to go'? Dare I ask where?" .D questioned grabbing onto Izm's wrist. "Oh don't worry, ill be in your room before you get to sleep. I promise" Izm said with a grin staring into .D's eyes. .D sighed and let go of Izm.

That was mistake number one. How college .D wished he had begged Izm to go back to school with him.

"Okay, don't get too messed up, I'm not your personal doctor..." .D smiled watching Izm leave the ice cream shop with his signature grin.

Mistake number two. He encouraged it. After being friends for so lone, .D believed the annoyance he called a friend would always be there. He never had a doubt Izm wouldn't come back.

High school .D made his way back to his dorm and set up the creaky old cot that Izm always started sleeping on. He finished his homework around 12:30 and got ready for bed. It was a little earlier than usual but Izm said he would be there. .D opened his door and looked down both sides of the hall. Izm was nowhere in sight so .D shut the door and made his was to the window. Izm would usually climb through if the door was too much trouble. .D opened it and looked around outside searching for red. The wind kicked up and .D shivered violently and shut the window.

Mistake number three... Something was off and .D had felt it that night. But he did nothing about it.

Getting to his bed, .D laid down and stared at Izm's cot. Maybe Izm was just late. Maybe he just lost track of time. .D's a light sleeper and would probably hear the door's lock being broken. That or the window would be his way in, and the window was always unlocked. .D sighed and did what he could to sleep.

.D woke up six hours later to his alarm, and, still, the room felt off. .D yawned and sat up looking around the room. The cot was still neatly made and there wasn't anyone clinging to his midriff. .D looked down just to make sure he wasn't imagining the absence, and sure enough he was alone. A knock on the door broke the eerie silence in the prefects room and he found himself rushing to the door. He opened it and frowned slightly. Marcus was staring up at him with a few pieces of paper. "Morning .D! These are the students bios of those who want to become prefects. Rire wants you and the others to hold conferences and send the ones you trust to him to approve" Marcus smiled sweetly handing the papers to A.E.D. .D took them and smiled to Marcus, who was unaware of his internal struggle. "Thanks Marcus, can you tell the others to meet me in the library during lunch?" .D asked putting the papers on his bed side table. "Yeah, sure. I can do that. You alright though .D?" Marcus asked him. "Yeah, just didn't get enough sleep, but thanks for your concern" .D said waving Marcus off. .D shut his door and started getting ready for class. He finally convinced himself that Izm was being an idiot and forgot his promise. So the rest of the day .D wore a scowl and did everything he could to not think of Izm.

Once .D got back to his room he looked over at the cot. It was still made and there wasn't a trace Izm had been there at all. .D finished his homework pretty early and made his way to his bed feeling really tired. .D woke up to the same sight from the day before. "I should put that back..." .D mumbled about the cot getting dressed for classes.

His week finished out about the same each day. On Friday night, .D started feeling uneasy again. Izm stayed in .D's  room just about every Friday. It was rare Izm would pass up a day to sleep in in .D's room. .D checked the hallway and window like he had on Tuesday, and still saw nothing. Except, he did see something a little out of place... There was a police car parked near the front of the building. No flashing lights and no one seemed to be in the car. But .D grabbed his dorm key and made his way to Rire's office. Upon arriving at the office he heard Rire and another talking. .D assumed the voice he didn't know was the officers. He knocked on the principals door and the talking stopped. The door opened and Rire looked down at A.E.D. "Sir, is something the matter? Anything I can help with?" .D asked. Rire opened the door wider to reveal two police officers and gestured for .D to come in and sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk. A flash of red caught .D's attention, and the shorter officer was holding something hiding behind his back. As .D sat down, Rire did as well. ".D, there is an investigation going on." Rire said empathetically looking towards the police. "Does it involve me, sir?" .D asked watching the principal. "I believe it does." Rire turned back to A.E.D and college .D remembered feeling so confused at the time. "You were friends with Isaac Tanner, correct?" Rire inquired. .D nodded feeling his throat close up. "Well he is missing and believed to be dead .D... Do you know how or why he would be off campus and or missing?" the principal asked with a straight face. .D kept an unreadable face, but on the inside he felt like he was going to burst. What was .D supposed to say? That his best friend was a drug dealer and the last time he saw him was Tuesday night when they went to go get ice cream? Rire would explode!  There were strict rules about going off the school grounds and bringing up the fact that a student was a drug dealer? Rire would probably be fired and a school-wide search for drugs would maybe be the first thing to happen under a different headmaster. "I... I had noticed the absence of an annoyance... but he doesn't usually come to classes, Sir." .D responded. "What makes to police believe he is dead?" .D asked almost choking on the last word. Izm couldn't be dead. He promised that he would be in .D's dorm. The police walked up then and the taller one placed a hand on A.E.D's shoulder. "Son, we found a large puddle of his blood and these goggles by it. There was another bit of blood and we found the person who attacked him. We took him in, but he didn't know the boy's name, and thought he was dead" the officer said pointing to what his partner was holding. A.E.D took the goggles, and sure enough they were Izm's, all beat up with a mini swastika etched into the back clip. "The blood and goggles were found twenty miles away from the school grounds, so it seems really strange." the shorter officer added.

College .D leaned back in his desk chair. His clock clicked to 7:50. 'Fuck it' he thought to himself and stared at the celling doing all he could to not cry. The memories made him want to do everything he couldn't at the time.

High school .D looked up at the officer that had a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure it was Isaac's blood?" .D asked not wanting to believe it. "Yes, we are sure son. And those are his goggles, are they not?" the taller officer asked. .D swallowed hard and nodded that they were. The officers then turned to Rire, saying, "If you find anything out from anyone, give us a call." And they left leaving .D sitting shocked in front of Rire's desk. "A.E.D get back to your room, you have classes tomorrow. And remember you cannot speak about this to anyone yet. Thank you for your help, no matter how little it did." Rire said stone faced and cold.  "Y-yes sir." .D mumbled and made his way out of the principals office.

Looking back now, .D could understand why Izm had warned .D about Rire. Even though he played favorites with .D, but there were times when he seemed like just another pawn. College .D sighed and shut his eyes ready for the rest of his memory to play out.

.D got to his room and sat on his bed holding Izm's goggles. .D stared down at them until his vision was blurred by tears. A.E.D cried. He cried and felt like Izm's death was all his fault. He let Izm go out, he didn't look for him, he kill his best, and only friend. The worst part about all of it was .D couldn't say anything. A.E.D put up so many walls that night.

The next day, .D didn't do anything but breath. He woke up and sat on his bed staring at Izm's goggles, and did nothing but breath. He didn't think, he just sat. Marcus stopped by but .D didn't answer, so Marcus believed that wasn't in.

Sunday night, .D finally got up off his bed. He made his way to the window grabbing a pack of cigarettes and his lighter. A.E.D lost track of time and stopped smoking after the eighth one and sighed. Who would have known that something so seemingly small could mess someone up so bad?

A few more weeks passed and .D seemed outwardly better. He'd been smoking constantly since the first Sunday, at least ten a day. He wasn't doing it on purpose, but he needed to find a constant. Izm was a constant, but after he was officially announced dead, .D couldn't take much after that. It was all over the news. .D could recite the headlines perfectly. 'Hedone High student has been assumed dead after a pool of blood was found with no trace of a body or evidence of a struggle. The man who saw and attacked him last was found and taken in. He was found guilty last Wednesday by a jury of his peers. The child's funeral will be help Monday night at Saint Mary's Chapel at 6 P.M.' .D had been hanging around Zeke and Wei Ren a lot but they didn't know Izm like .D did. Marcus gave .D his wishes, but kept his distance. Zeke and Wei tried all they could but nothing really worked with .D.

College .D stopped for a minute and thought back after that fateful Tuesday. That was the last time he really smiled. He really hasn't been the same since, but he has learned how to cope with it. He has managed to look more natural. Even if, he's gained a more serious, colder air about him. A.E.D collected himself and mentally prepared for the next part of his memory. It was almost over.

.D looked around the movie-esque graveyard. It was raining and cold, and everything was depressing looking. The small handful of people, from school and the local community, were all in black, A.E.D himself was in a black suit. Everyone was quiet. The priest read off the prayers and no one said anything after he was done. The guests, who knew nothing but what the news told them, and Hedone High students who decided to show up followed the priest back to the church parking lot. Zeke, Wei Ren, and Marcus stood by A.E.D in front of Izm's headstone. Zeke put his hand on .D's shoulder and said, ".D he was a good person. Its like an angel just died but he is watching over us .D... don't worry." Wei put a hand on Zeke's shoulder and they walked back to the church to wait for .D to finish paying his respects. A few minutes after the eleventh years left, Marcus gave .D a younger brother like hug and watched him for a sign. Marcus let go of .D and tugged on his sleeve like he did when he was a first year. "Come on .D... The others are waiting for us..." Marcus trailed off and walked off. A.E.D stood there for a few minutes and mumbled to the wind, "Yeah but, its hard to say good bye when you know what its over..." .D collected himself and headed back to the church.

College .D opened his eyes to find his face wet from the tears he didn't know he was crying. 'Three years from this day...' .D couldn't wrap his mind around the idea; it still blew him away that one thing could change his life so much. A.E.D shook his head and looked out his window. Even in this place the window had a tree next to it, and the locks were broken. .D took the goggles back out of his desk and stared at them again. 'What would you do if the roles were reversed Isaac?' .D thought to himself. A.E.D looked around his room again and got dressed quickly. Classes weren't THAT important today. .D needed to take a little trip and think for a little while.

Upon arriving at the graveyard, .D looked up and the sky was darker. He sighed and walked the path he would never forget. A.E.D made his way to a back corner of the graveyard. Izm's headstone was just how it looked three years ago. .D shut his eyes tightly and shook his head. "Maybe this was a really bad idea..." .D sighed and tugged on his fang bangs. A.E.D looked around and made his way out of the graveyard. A.E.D had no idea where he was going. He just started walking and not paid any mind to his surroundings. Jolted from his musing, he realized he was standing back in front of the ice cream parlor. .D swallowed hard and turned away. That was the last night he had ice cream, and because of it he gained an unwanted food aversion. A.E.D was walking again. He didn't know where he was going, but he didn't care. He just didn't want to think about his old friend ever again.

Looking around, he didn't know where he was. It was really dark now, and he was getting cold. A sudden devious, dark chuckle put .D on edge, and he looked around his surroundings frantically. A red headed man walked out from a dark mouthed alley. "Caleb? What the hell are you doing here?" .D asked his old classmate. "Oh joy, you remember me .D. It'll be so nice to spite my old rival." Caleb grinned signaling behind him. A mass of people also appeared out of the dark behind him. "Boys, I want you to meet Redback's bitch." Caleb never took his eyes off of .D. The fang-banged male frowned slightly. 'Redback? Why does that seem so familiar?' Then it dawned on him, Caleb was referring to Izm! "Oh, you understand now, don't you? Isaac isnt here to save you this time .D!" Caleb spat in triumph. A.E.D ground his teeth and looked for anything that could be used as a weapon. This didn't look good at all. "You know how long we have wanted to do this? We waited three extra years. Three years .D! We had to make sure Redback was dead, just incase. We don't want to cause more trouble than we need." Caleb said still watching .D. time was running out, and .D was starting to panic. Then caleb charged. The gangsters and drug dealers bombarded the ex-prefect. They used their hands, knives, baseball bats, anything they could that wouldn't immediately kill him. A.E.D tried to fight, he tried to run, but all Izm's old enemies were hell bent and lusting for blood. A.E.D cried out in pain as his leg was forced the wrong way by a blonde man, and .D shut his eyes tightly. Then the beating stopped, and he felt himself being picked up. Everything went quiet as three shots from a gun were fired. The lowlives stopped moving and .D felt three sharp, hot stabbing pains. Caleb grinned and lifted .D's head by a fistful of his bicoloured hair. "Look at that, your pain tolerance isn't as strong as Redback's was. And as a side note, .D... each bullet was for each year Isaac has been dead. How does it feel .D?" Caleb sneered keeping .D's head up. The younger male coughed up blood and tried to get out of Caleb's grasp. "Let me go..." .D shut his eyes trying to fight the full body pain. Caleb shook his head and signaled again. "Have at him, he'll be dead soon anyways." Caleb said walking to the mouth of the alley to watch. A.E.D kept slipping in and out of consciousness and he couldn't see anything but red. Blood kept getting into his eyes, streaming from a gash on his temple. "Izm... whe-...where are you?" he grunted, trying his damnedest to protect himself. His assailants suddenly stopped and a sickening snap echoed around the murky backstreet. "No one touches him" a voice growled. And, with that, .D passed out.




A.E.D woke up to bright lights and itchy bed sheets. He looked around the hospital room and his eyes stopped on a pair of black goggles with red lenses.