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Kevin watched the rain run down the window, sat in the passenger's seat of Andrew's car. They were headed to the stadium for practice, which neither Nicky nor Aaron were happy about. They'd prefer to shelter in their dorm until the weather improved.
Andrew, too, wasn't happy, but for different reasons. Kevin looked over at him, noting the subtle, grumpy furrow of his brow. Neil had been hanging out with Matt all day. Kevin could only hope Andrew's mood would improve when they met up for practice.
The door clicked as Kevin opened it, stepping out onto the wet pavement outside the stadium. The others followed, Nicky dramatically covering his head with his arms and dashing for cover.
"You're not going to melt." Aaron snarked after him.
"Maybe I won't, but Kevin's a b- a witch, so he should he careful!" Kevin glared at him, which didn't seem to discourage Nicky at all.
Ignoring all of them, Andrew was standing near the car, scanning the car park for Matt's. They weren't here yet, but then, they were early.
"Lets wait inside." Kevin said, and Andrew begrudingly followed them toward the doors. Kevin wiped his damp hair out of his face. The rain really was quite heavy.
As they neared the doors, the sound of tires caught his attention. Two cars entered the car park, one of which was Matt's, and the other Kevin didn't recognise.
Matt and Neil got out, shielding their eyes from the rain, and Kevin met Neil's brilliant blues from across the concrete. They were calm enough, but Kevin was inexplicably struck with a terrible feeling, clawing its way through his chest.
Two strangers got out of the other car, and Kevin only registered their sudden movements and Andrew's matching speed before chaos erupted.
One stranger aimed a gun in Matt and Neil's direction, shots clanging off the metal of Matt's truck as they dove for cover. Andrew tackled the other off of his feet so hard his head smacked into concrete. Kevin was halfway across the car park toward the first stranger when he spotted a third exiting the car, and changed direction to keep him off of Andrew.
Kevin wasn't sure where Nicky and Aaron were, or why these strangers were here, only that Neil was in danger, again. Andrew kicked out the knees of the stranger Kevin was fighting before sprinting off to fight the one with the gun, and Kevin followed just as soon as he snatched the knives off of both of his casualties. No sense leaving them with weapons.
Matt's truck was looking sorry for itself among all the violence, and Kevin swung his gaze around, seeking everyone out. Aaron was applying pressure to a nasty looking cut on Matt's side, Nicky was trying to empty the ammo from the gun, and-
Someone screamed, but Kevin couldn't identify who because his heart stuttered, ears ringing, as he caught sight of Neil laying on the ground, knife stabbed straight through his chest.
Andrew was knelt next to him, blood coating his hands, and Kevin wasn't sure if it was from Neil or the cut open stranger nearby. Kevin's vision flickered, legs struggling to support his weight.
Neil wasn't moving.
Absolutely anything could have happened in the next few moments. The other strangers moght have gotten back up, or an asteroid could've hit Earth. Either way, Kevin wouldn't have noticed, incapable of hearing or seeing anything except Neil, the blood soaking his clothes, his hands limp at his sides, his closed eyes-
Kevin collapsed to the floor, feeling as if his heart had stopped, and though he didn't close his eyes, the world faded into black.
Kevin's arm smacked into the window, jerking in shock where he sat. His heart pounded, taking in the droplets of water on the glass and the car dashboard in front of him.
What...?
He looked sideways, finding Andrew in the driver's seat, and saw the strange look he was giving Kevin.
"I..." Kevin tried to calm his breathing, feeling the familiar car seat below him. "Was I... Asleep, just now?"
"I didn't think so. But maybe." Andrew gave him one last searching look, before returning his eyes to the road.
Okay. Okay. Kevin just had a really realistic, horrible nightmare. He could deal with that.
They arrived at the stadium, and Kevin tried not to pay any mind to how Andrew parked in the same spot as his dream. He always did, if it wasn't taken. He tried to ignore Nicky's nonsense, too, since Nicky was predictably melodramatic. It followed that Kevin could dream about him saying similar things.
But then Kevin's shoes froze on the concrete, because Matt and Neil hadn't been there when they'd arrived, but he could see Matt's truck now, followed by-
The cars had barely stopped long enough for their occupants to get out before Kevin was next to them, digging his nails into the wrist of the stranger with the gun, forcibly blocking him from moving.
Kevin and the others attacked first, this time. Somehow, it went worse.
Kevin's head slammed against Matt's truck, kicking his assailant away and pressing his hand over the gunshot wound on his arm. Blood trailed down toward his wrist, but that didn't matter. Kevin dragged himself toward where he'd last seen Neil. One of the attackers was standing over him, and Kevin shoved his face into the truck door with all his remaining strength.
Rain dripped on his face as he knelt by Neil, flowing down over his eyes and impeeding his vision. Neil was moving, but the deep, horrific wound in his abdomen told Kevin that he wouldn't be for long.
"Neil!" Kevin's voice was raw, hands shaking as he pressed one against Neil's face, barely able to see the fading blue of his eyes.
"Kevin..." Neil's hand was weak where it gripped Kevin's, fingers cold and trembling.
Fuck. Fuck, what was happening, why was any of this-
Neil's hand fell away from Kevin's, and once again, his vision turned black.
Kevin's chest heaved, folded in on himself on the passenger seat. Distantly, he could hear Nicky and Aaron's voices, probably wondering why he'd randomly fucking lost it-
Kevin wasn't sure if he'd mentally snapped or if he really was repeating the same few minutes. No one else seemed to remember anything, so it clearly wasn't a group activity.
The car stopped, more haphazardly parked than Andrew ever usually did, and Kevin flung open the door in an instant, nearly slipping on wet ground as he ran.
Neil and Matt and the strangers had arrived at the far side of the car park. He had no idea where they'd come from, but so long as he could stop them parking, that would upset the strangers' plan, and hopefully-
"Kevin!" Andrew's hand gripped his arm, hair wet and breathing hard with how he'd run after him. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"Neil's in danger. Don't let them in the car park."
Kevin didn't stop to look at Andrew's reaction. He didn't need to.
Matt's truck swerved to avoid hitting Kevin, and before he could yell at Kevin for that, he and Andrew were pulling open the doors of the strangers' car, surprising them and attacking.
It was a plan that should've worked. But somehow, one of the stranger's gained enough wiggle room to pull out his gun and shoot, catching Neil in the neck.
Andrew returned the favour almost instantly, and held onto Neil like there was no one else in the world.
Kevin wanted to be sick, seeing Neil bleeding out again, looking smaller and more still than the short, scrappy striker should ever have been, and even if Kevin gave him shit for always picking a fight he'd let him do it a million times before wanting this.
Black spots blinked in his vision, and Kevin looked away from Neil with herculean effort. His hands gripped onto Matt's shirt, jittery with adrenaline.
"Where were you before?" He demanded.
Matt looked back at him, eyes shiny. "What-"
"Where were you before?" Kevin yelled, shaking Matt harshly. Trying to save Neil at the car park was too late, he had to know where to go.
"The cafe with the weird statues!" Matt choked on his words, looking as bad as Kevin felt. Kevin released his shirt, dropping to the floor and pressing his eyes shut.
Kevin took a deep breath, trying to stay at least a little calm. He turned to Andrew.
"We have to go to Mornston's Cafe. Neil is going to die if we don't."
"What?" Nicky demanded answers from the backseat, but Andrew was already spinning the wheel, performing several illegal manouveres as he sped along the roads.
"Kevin, what the fuck?" Aaron yelled.
"Exactly what I said!" Kevin didn't have time for fucking questions, they had to save Neil.
By the time they arrived, Matt and Neil were already boarding the truck, but Kevin could see the strangers' car. It was parked a few buildings away, and when he pointed it out to Andrew, he slammed his car to a stop next to it, stopping it pulling out onto the road.
The next few moments were loud. The stranger with a gun shot at Andrew's car, and the four of them dove out of it, slipping around the sides and attacking the strangers.
One of them tried to run off, toward where Neil was, but there were enough customers from the neaby shops and cafes around to slow him down long enough for Kevin to catch up, hooking an arm around his throat and dragging him down.
The stranger slashed at him with his knife, slicing open lines of blood on Kevin's arm and shoulder. Kevin elbowed him in the face, keeping him down until Matt showed up. He pinned the stranger down, not letting him move an inch, which let Kevin glance back and see the other two strangers unconscious on the ground.
A few steps away from Matt, Neil was standing, staring at Kevin with open concern.
"You're kinda bleeding a lot-"
Kevin crashed into him, arms wet with blood and rain wrapping around his shoulders. One hand buried into Neil's hair, cradling him in a way Kevin never would have if not for the burning relief shooting through his veins.
"Kevin...?" Neil's hand pressed against Kevin's back, unsure. "What the fuck just happened?"
"I wish I fucking knew!" Nicky exclaimed, somewhere behind Kevin. "Who even are these people?"
Kevin didn't know, and inevitably that was a problem they'd have to deal with. But now, just for a moment, Kevin pressed his face into Neil's neck, taking in the warmth of his skin and the constant, thudding heartbeat beneath it.