No one's pov
The students of Justice Academy were all excited for homecoming. Everyone rushed to get a date, outfit and make sure to do all their homework so they would not be grounded by parents. It seemed like the drama had settled down and it was time for the teenagers to enjoy themselves.
Barry Allen spotted his friends on the bleachers in front of the football field. He was not really a fan of the sport but his boyfriend was star quarterback. It gave him butterflies to think of Hal as his boyfriend but the two were together. His friends were a bit skeptical about the whole thing but Barry knew, despite the fact they had only been together for a few weeks, that he was not making a mistake. This night was going to be the first dance he and Hal ever attended as a couple, Barry couldn't be more excited. He was dreaming of this moment forever and it was finally going to happen, nothing could ruin that.
Barry sat down next to his friend Diana, who was next to her date, Bruce. It seemed like out of all their friends, Diana and Bruce were the only ones to not go through relationship issues. Not they had a reason to complain about that, they simply understood each other. There was no point to fighting if there was never any complications and that was the perfect relationship. It was to some people anyway but Bruce secretly felt a bit weird about his relationship, like it was too perfect. He never mentioned this to Diana because he didn't want to ruin something so great and he didn't even feel comfortable talking to her about it. Bruce figured that it didn't matter and it won't ruin a relationship if he kept certain things to himself. The girl holding his hand was perfect and he could fully love her despite his uneasy feelings.
J'ohn sat on the other side of Barry, smiling at his friends on the field. He was single but didn't care nor wanted a relationship at the moment. He was perfectly satisfied with helping others with relationships without being in his own. He was on his phone, texting Shayera about how she was going to be late for homecoming. J'ohn was happy Shayera and John were finally together, they seemed so much happier this way and the two were just meant to be. He glanced at the field once more, seeing John talk with his teammates. He was in high spirits and ready to take down the other team, for the drama and hurt was gone. The only thing left was to win the game and have the best night of their sophomore year, ending the year with a bang.
  With no one's surprise, the Green Lanterns won the game. Everyone cheered as the team tackled each other into a group hug. They had practiced so hard and so much, that this victory meant the world. The team's star quarterback, Hal, squeezed them all tightly forgetting how strong he was. His smiled beamed across the field and greatly warmed Barry's heart. He ran down the bleacher stairs, jumping into his boyfriend's arms, kissing him immediately. The other teammates awed the coupled before being attacked by his own significant other.
  John awaited Shayera to come and greet him but she did not follow any of the other dates. He frowned and felt a bit worried for he knew she was coming to homecoming. John remembered how much he planned the night out with his girlfriend and how excited they both were for this event. He glanced at Hal to see if he could help but Hal was currently getting lost in Barry's eyes, so he was useless. John took out his phone and gave Shayera a text, thinking she was just running late. There was no answer. He took a deep sigh, telling himself it was nothing to worry about, perhaps she turned her phone off. He glanced at his phone once more, knowing full well Shayera would not turn her phone off in a situation like this. He almost prayed for her to answer the text but after a bit of waiting, no answer.
  "Calm down man...you need to keep a level head." He told himself thinking of what to do. The dance was soon to start and he needed to grab his tuxedo and maybe shower, for he smelled awful. He watched the other players kiss his significant other with a kiss before descending into the showers. Hal took the longest to say goodbye to his partner, almost like he forgot that they would be together shortly. Once he was available, John ran over to his close friend, trying to hide his panic.
"Hal." He said as they got into the showers. "Have you seen Shay?"
Hal looked up at him, hair covered in soap suds. "Can't say I have...which is weird, wasn't she with you?"
John frowned, getting increasingly nervous. "She was supposed to be but she is not here and she's not answering my texts..."
Hal frowned washing out the soap, he knew this was worrying his friend. "Well she could have just gotten caught in traffic or maybe...left her phone off?"
"I thought of these possibilities but Shay wouldn't turn her phone off or be so careless to be late for our special night." John was told that the strongest men were the ones that held in their emotions and stayed brave. He wanted to act like he was not worried and that he believed Shayera would answer at any time, that she would be there.
Hal could read his friend well and knew he was deeply troubled about this. He dried himself off, putting on a change of clothes, John following suite. "How about this." Hal said. "We go over to Shay's place, see she's all right and you two can walk into the dance together."
John nodded, thinking this was the best idea to calm him down. "But what about Barry? He will be a bit upset to see you leave before the dance, won't he?"
Hal shook his head, smiling stupidly at mention of his boyfriend. "Nah, Barry will understand that this is very important and that I'll be back to give him all the dances he wants."
John smiled slightly, glad to have such a good friend like Hal. Once Hal notified Barry what was going on, the two lanterns ran to get to Shayera as fast as they could. John kept telling himself that nothing was wrong, his girlfriend was just a little late but she was fine. Hal helped by coming up with reasons to why Shayera did not answer her texts, which were all sent to him by Barry.
It did not take long to reach the home that was quiet because Shayera's parents were out for the night. John had a bad feeling that was oddly convenient, that maybe she was left home alone for a reason. Hal shook him out of his thoughts, beckoning him to go inside. He nodded and entered the quiet house, even more concerned that it was unlocked, someone had entered uninvited.
The living room was neat aside for the broken vase on the ground, the dirt from the plant left a small trail to the kitchen. Hal followed the trail, keeping it cool for he knew John was freaking out mentally. He glanced at the papers on the ground, ripped from being thrown off violently. Hal assumed that either the family had gotten into a huge fight earlier or there was a break in. John was confused to why almost all the lights were turned off, except for the light heading towards Shayera's room. He had a glimmer of hope that his girlfriend was okay and maybe just fell asleep in her room.
"I'm gonna go upstairs." He said turning to Hal. "You keep looking around the house, see if she's anywhere here." Hal nodded and did what he was told, which he rarely did. John slowly walked upstairs, thinking up a cute way to surprise her. He contemplated between hugging her waist from behind, kissing her cheek and just giving her a bear hug. He settled on the hug and walked into the bedroom where his face immediately fell.
Her body was limp, her blood flowing all around her when it was supposed to be inside. Her hair was messy and her forehead sweaty which logically was from fear and the rush to get out of whatever situation this was. John immediately rushed to her side, holding Shayera up in his arms. She was barely breathing and he felt his whole world crumbling to the ground.
"Shayera.." He said sounding desperate and scared. "Please open your eyes...please don't go.."
Her green eyes opened slightly but it was hard for her to keep them this way. She looked up at her boyfriend, happy she could see him one last time. "John.."
"Shay..." His eyes were burning, threatening to break into sobs but he would not do it. He still had some willpower left in him. "I'm so sorry..."
Shayera was loosing life every second but still managed to smile up at him, cupping his cheek. "It's not your fault.....you didn't know.."
"I should have been here....to protect you.." John knew damn well that Shayera could take of herself without help. Still this was his girlfriend and she was dying in his arms, he couldn't help but blame himself. "I'm so sorry Shayera...all I ever do is cause you pain..."
"Shhhh..." She used all her strength to kiss his lips, crying herself. Shayera wanted to spend more time with John, to maybe even get married someday. "I love you John....be happy for me......."
"No please don't close your eyes...stay with me Shayera!" His scream alerted Hal who ran upstairs, his eyes widening. She had died in John's arms and he was still begging for her to stay with him.
"John..." Hal sat down next to him, not knowing what to say but who would. He looked at his friend seeing his face quiet and emotionless. Hal let him be silent because this was the hardest thing to ever go through. "I'm so sorry..."
John looked up to see a gun laying on the ground, the clumsiness of the murderer made his blood boil. He wanted to hold Shayera forever but he knew he needed to avenge her. He kissed her head before standing up and walking over to the gun, picking it up and glared at it.
"John no!" Hal grabbed his hand, looking at him desperately. "I know you're mad, really mad but you can't give up your humanity."
"You don't understand shit." He said coldly pulling him away from him. "I am going to avenge Shay...I'll never be happy if I don't."
"John you don't even know who did it...you can't just go out killing people." Hal felt so helpless and horrible all at the same time.
"Oh I can guess who did this..." He glared at the gun, pushed Hal onto the ground so he couldn't follow.  Hal's head hit the dresser hard and he felt dizzy for long enough for John to lose him. He swore to himself but stopped seeing that Shayera was gone, her body must have been taking by her boyfriend.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Hal took out his phone, immediately calling Barry because he really needed him.
"Hey babe, you coming soon-"
"Barry! Shayera was murdered and John went off with her and the gun that did it." Hal yelled into the phone, panting as he ran as he tried to find his friend.
"What?!" Barry gasped in shock. "Hal are you okay? Why are you calling me? You should call the police!"
"I know, I know." Hal said getting onto the bus. "But I always need you when I'm distraught and fuck, Barry I have no idea what to do."
"Okay baby, you need to calm down...Shay is dead...oh god.." Barry went quiet thinking of a good idea. "What did John say after he picked up the gun, did he say anything?"
Hal nodded trying to calm himself and think about what just happened. It was harder to comprehend than anything that ever happened to him. "He said...he said he had a good idea of who did it.."
"Oh no...." Barry was quiet for a few minutes before coming to a realization. "Mari...he's coming to the dance Hal! He's going to shoot up the dance!"
"Oh fucking shit." Hal cursed jumping off the bus, frustrated that he couldn't see John anywhere. He was not going to let one of his best friends become a murderer, to ruin his own life. Hal needed to stop him before John ruined his life forever.
"J'ohn just called the police." Barry said concerned about Hal's silence. "Baby please stay safe, we don't know if the killer is following you or not, if John gets here....we will handle it."
"He just lost his girlfriend Bar." Hal still couldn't believe it, even if the words came out of his mouth. "We can't be too hard on him, he is so vulnerable right now...oh fuck..."
Barry went silent yet again, his breath almost stopped for a few seconds, something was definitely wrong.
"He's here..."
Hal couldn't move. He was a few stops away from the school but it felt like he was miles away. He still had the phone to his ear, hearing screams, cries and one gunshot in the background. Barry was calling his name but he could not hear him, he felt so alone and helpless. Hal slumped against an alley wall, slowly sitting on the sidewalk, his eyes wide and his lip trembling. Hal was scared and ashamed. He thought he was scared when dealing with his hidden crush, dealing with confessing to Barry but he was wrong. Hal was scared of the fact he did not save his friend, that he was acting so pathetic, that when everyone really needed him, he failed miserably.
"Dad...." Hal's eyes filled with tears as he just sat there in defeat. "I failed you...I'm so sorry..."

The end.....for now

A/N: Stay tuned for book two....also so sorry this took so long