Chapter Text
The gunshots.
Every boy at Regis High School heard them, flinching at the sounds as they tore through the previously still air. After the initial shock and fear of their school being taken over, the boys had fallen into a tense routine knowing they would not be harmed as long as they didn’t do anything foolish. Now their fears resurfaced as they realized that it was most likely one of their classmates that had been shot.
For Billy Tepper, it was more than just fear, because it was his best friend, Joey Trotta, who had been shot. His heart filled with dread and horror when he heard Joey’s scream and saw the bullet pierce his left shoulder.
“Joey!!”
Billy made a mad dash for the stairs but Hank grabbed and pulled him back before he could do something foolish.
Joey dropped his gun and slipped down the stairs, clutching his shoulder, red blood oozing between his fingers. He lifted his gaze to meet Billy’s desperate one, and Billy could see Joey’s lips move in an attempt to say something. Tears filled his eyes and Joey’s face became blurry.
“That’s enough!” Luis appeared in the doorway behind Joey, lifting his hand to stop Jorge, the man who had shot Joey. The courtyard was now silent, save for Joey’s ragged breaths. He shook his head, examining the wound. “We were going to let you go, why did you struggle?”
Billy had enough, seeing Luis so close to his best friend. He wrenched free from Hank’s grasp and ran up the stairs to crouch over Joey, using one hand to support his head and placing the other over Joey’s to help apply pressure on the wound. Luis did not stop him or the other boys who followed and gathered around Joey.
“Oh my god…” Snuffy breathed.
“Joey, your shoulder…” Ricky gasped.
“Billy…” Joey whispered, tears leaking from his eyes as he strained against the pain. “I’m sorry…”
“Why are you sorry, Joey?” Billy cried. “You’ve been shot, goddamn it!”
“They were going to take me…away from you guys…” Joey squeezed his eyes shut, another tear slipping past his long lashes. “That’s why I…”
As the boys fussed over Joey and wondered what he meant, Luis turned to Jorge.
“This is the son of Albert Trotta,” he hissed. “The boy was supposed to be released unharmed.”
“He came bursting out of there with a gun, what else was I supposed to do?” Jorge argued.
“Damn…” Luis ran a hand through his hair, pacing as he tried to decide what to do with this turn of events. Finally he turned back to his lackey. “Bring him to the infirmary. One of the boys can go with him.”
The last thing he said got Billy’s attention, and he looked up as the two men walked past them down the stairs. Luis scanned the boys still present in the courtyard, and then pointed at Yogurt. “You, get over here and go with them. I will let you take care of him for a short while.”
“Wait, wait a minute,” Billy interrupted, his blood running cold. “You’re not going to let him go to a hospital?” He squeezed Joey’s hand protectively.
Luis glanced back at Billy.
“We were going to release your friend here because we respect his father. It seems he doesn’t appreciate his father’s gesture though and would rather stay here. Unfortunately, his father wouldn’t like it if we gave him back in this state. In fact, perhaps it would give a bit more incentive for them to release my father sooner, if they want to be in time to get this boy to a hospital.”
Billy gritted his teeth at the barely concealed implication that they were going to use Joey as a bargaining tool.
“You can’t do this!” he yelled. “Joey might die!”
“Well then, your friends on the outside will just have to work quickly, won’t they?” Luis shot back. “Now move aside, all of you.” The other boys stood up and stepped away from Joey, except for Billy, who clung to Joey harder.
“I want to go with him. I’m not going to leave him,” Billy pleaded, glancing down at Joey, who seemed to be losing consciousness. His face was paler and the hand on his shoulder went slack.
“Do you want him to get any medical attention at all, or not?” Luis sounded annoyed.
Yogurt placed a hand on Billy’s shoulder. “I’ll stay with him as long as I can, Billy.”
Billy finally laid Joey’s head back down gently, and brushed brown locks away from his forehead. Joey had passed out, but his face still betrayed his discomfort, and Billy’s heart twisted. He joined the other boys at the bottom of the stairs so Luis’s men could move Joey back inside. “Take care of him please, Yogurt,” he called, and Yogurt nodded before he also disappeared through the doors.
Once they were gone, Billy sank to the ground, putting his hands over his face.
“What the hell just happened man…” Snuffy asked in a trembling voice. “He got shot…”
“You alright, Billy?” Hank asked.
“Of course I’m not fucking alright!” Billy shouted. “Joey, what if he dies…god I don’t know what I’d do…” He started to sob, tears flowing freely now.
Joey was his other half, the two of them were inseparable ever since they met. Granted, it hadn’t been that long, since Billy transferred schools so many times, but there was an immediate spark between the two of them. Before long, they were infamous in the school for being master pranksters and troublemakers.
There were other rumors circulating, however, especially with how close the two boys were.
Billy had to admit that those rumors were not entirely untrue. Sometimes, when he and Joey were just chilling together, doing homework or planning pranks, he would glance over and examine just a bit too long at the way his hair framed his face, or how his long eyelashes curled. Then when Joey caught him staring, he’d dare to meet those beautiful hazel eyes as long as he could until Joey’s brilliant smile dropped into a small quirk of his lips as he averted his gaze in embarrassment. And if Billy was bold enough to keep looking, he’d glimpse the blush rising to dust Joey’s cheeks before his head turned away and all he could see was the silver cross dangling from his ear.
Billy loved the silver cross.
He always wanted to reach out and touch Joey’s face, and while brushing the hair from his forehead, ghost his hand over Joey’s ear so he could catch that silver cross between his fingers.
Now, all he wanted was for Joey to live. If he died, Billy didn’t think he’d be able to handle it.
“They were going to let him go,” Billy said, startling the others out of their nervous silence. “They mentioned Joey’s dad. I think he must have made some kind of deal with these terrorists to let Joey go, but he probably refused to go.”
“Damn…why’d he steal a gun though? Who’d be so desperate to give up freedom, even if they hate their dad?” Snuffy mused.
Ricky elbowed him. “It’s because of Billy, duh! The two of them are inseparable, they care more about each other than their own families.”
Billy flushed red at Ricky’s words, even though they were true.
“What do we do now though? We’ve been collecting intel on these guys for a while now, but we need to add in a rescue operation now.” Hank asked.
“We have no choice,” Billy said. “With Joey injured, we have to act fast before his condition gets worse. We have to accommodate our plan to make up for one less person, as well as an extra mission to get him out of the infirmary safely. Let’s wait for Yogurt to get back so he can tell us about Joey’s situation.”
Everyone nodded grimly, and began planning their next move. Joey’s life depended on it, and hell if Billy wasn’t going to do everything in his power to make sure his best friend lived.