D A R K O 'S P.O.V

Midnight. Friday, February 8th, 2014

That's what their secret must have been.

I fucking KNEW they were interested in each other. I fucking knew it. No wonder they wouldn't stop giggling in biology. It was all just a complicated plan so they can hook up!

I ran out of the bedroom, my tears hot as they fell on my reddening face. I ran to where I last saw Stefan, not caring about the people I've shoved past or the strange looks I was getting. After a few minutes of searching, I found him talking to Lyra in a quiet corner.

"Stefan, we need to go, now," I said, not caring whether either of them saw my tears. Stefan did a double take at me, wiped my cheeks and asked what was wrong. I ignored his questions and grabbed his wrist, yanking him away from Lyra. He hastily waved goodbye as I dragged him out of the house.

"Where is your car?" I cried out. He pointed to a few houses away from Lyra's house before tossing me the keys.

"Go unlock it. I need to go say goodbye to Lyra first."

I nodded. Snatching the keys out of the air, I rushed to his car. I crashed into the passenger seat, leaning forward to shove the key in the ignition.

I sat there, wiping away the stray tears that Stefan missed. After a few moments, Stefan reappeared and sat in the driver's seat, seemingly at a loss for words.

"You mind telling me what happened?" He finally said. I shook my head

"Just drive."

"No," he said, turning the car off. "Tell me what's wrong! You can't just yank me out of a conversation with a girl I'm interested in and not tell me why!"

"Stefan," I said, my voice crackling, "please, just trust me."

He leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his chocolate hair. "I'll drive, but you need to tell me what happened when we get home, okay?"

I shook my head. "I can't do that."

"Why can't you tell me?!"

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU TO HATE ME!"

He sat there, slack-jawed. "Darko, you are my little brother. I can never hate you."

I can't tell him. He's too homophobic. I'm so worried that if I say something now, he would throw me out of the car and drive home to tell dad everything.

"Just trust me. Please, just drive. I'll tell you when I want to."

Stefan sighed, defeated. "Fine."

Thank god he's given up. Thank God.

Stefan pulled away from the kerb and began driving. He flicked on the radio, a strange mellow melody filling the air in the car. He hummed along while I leaned my head on the car door, facing out the window. After a few traffic lights, he spoke.

"Would you like to hear a distraction? Something to keep you entertained for a few minutes?"

I turned to face him. "Like what?"

"My love life with Lyra, which you might have ruined, by the way."

I shrugged. "Whatever, sure."

Stefan smirked. "She was really beautiful, man. Looks aside, she is one of the sweetest, happiest girls I've met in a long time."

'Yeah, probably because she was drunk and high,' I thought to myself.

"Wait till she's sober before you make that judgement," I said, making him frown.

"Mate, let me be happy."

I snorted. "Fine."

"Anyway, yeah, she was so cute and adorable. When she walked up to me, she made a remark about how similar my name was to her ex's - Steven. After I had complimented her outfit, she told me that I was already doing better than him. She said I was better than her ex!"

"Ooh wow," I said, flatly. Stefan smiled, unaware of my sarcasm.

"Oh my god, that reminds me," He said, cruising down an empty street. "While I was talking to Lyra, this really feminine guy walked past me and gave Lyra a hug. He was really fucking gross, man! He had makeup on, bright pink hair, and had painted nails."

He shook his head. "Fuckin' fags."

I sat there, frozen.

"Stop the car."

Stefan lifted a troubled brow. "What's wrong?"

"Stop the fucking car."

"Okay okay, jeez," He said. He veered the car next to the curb. "Done. What's wrong now?"

"I feel sick. I'll walk the rest of the way home."

"Mate, it's five minutes away, just let me drive you." He said. I ignored his protests and unbuckled my seat-belt.

"I need air. I'll see you at home."

I got out of the car and slammed the door. I could hear his muffled protests, but I kept walking.

One more gay remark from him and I would have punched him right in the nose.

~~~~~

I knew I was lost, but I didn't care.

I aimlessly wandered the streets, using the streetlights as checkpoints for my feet. I put my entire focus into moving one foot in front of the other; it helped block out Bella and Taylor. I crossed a ditch, some dilapidated buildings and a broken fence until I stumbled upon it.

An abandoned playground. Oddly, it seemed familiar.

The place was in ruins; the swings and slide were rusted and broken, weeds protruded from hundreds of cracks in the concrete surrounding the playground, and the sandpit had dense shrubs growing in it. It looked like it came straight out of a horror movie.

I walked up to the slide and touched it when I heard a child laugh. It was a boy, but it was faint.

"The hell?" I said, squinting around the playground in near darkness. By this time, my eyes had adjusted to the moonlight, but it was still quite hard to see.

I whipped out my phone - twenty percent battery left. Great. The flashlight is going to kill the battery. I put it back in, deciding to conserve it for when I want to go home.

I walked over to the swing and sat on the large seat when I heard the laughter again; it was two little boys' voices. Ignoring the instruction I just gave myself, I whipped out my phone and turned on the flashlight. I scanned the playground, but there was nobody there. The only sounds I could make out was the wind blowing through the trees adjacent to the park, and the cars driving and beeping on a nearby road.

"I must have drunk too much at Lyra's," I said to myself. I put the phone away, but as I did, the swing chain snapped, and I found myself spiralling onto the ground. Somehow, I scraped my knee.

"Ow! For fucks sake," I said, clutching my leg. I got up and turned on my flashlight. I spotted a worn down park bench and hobbled to it.

It creaked when I sat on it. I wiped away at my knee with a stray tissue I had in my pocket when I heard the giggling again. This time, it was right next to me, on the bench.

I flinched, punching the air next to me while scrambling to get away. I scraped my elbows, back and ass on the splintery wood as I punched the backing of the bench.

Nobody was there.

"What the fuck," I said, clutching my fist. I flicked on the flashlight and looked where the giggling was, and my heart dropped.

I squinted at the bench, and faintly written on it was 'Taylor and Darko, Best Friends Forever!'

That's when it hit me; I knew this playground. I swung my flashlight around, and after a few moments of searching, I found a nearby sign. It was broken, and vines had encircled it, but the painted letters were still readable.

'Joelle Park.'

This place was where Taylor and I first became friends.

I looked at the slide again. A vision of toddler me and toddler Taylor formed; we were sliding down the slide together, giggling like we didn't have a care in the world.

I faced the swings, and another vision popped up; toddler Taylor and I were swinging high on the swings, our combined weight making the frame creak and tilt.

Freaking out, I faced the bench again. Sitting on the bench was a sad toddler version of me with a scraped knee. Taylor was embracing me tightly as I wept into his shirt. Nostalgia filled every part of my body.

Suddenly, everything faded away. I couldn't see the visions anymore; it was just an abandoned playground again. I slumped on the bench and touched the carving.

That's when it all started hitting me.

When I touched it, Bella crept into my mind, and she wouldn't go away. All I could see was her and Taylor kissing. The scene at Lyra's replayed over and over again in my mind. Tears welled as I clutched my head, tangling my fingers deep into my hair.

"FUCK YOU!" I shouted. "FUCK YOU, BELLA!"

I lied on the bench, sobbing. Hot, painful tears burned my flushed cheeks as they fell from my eyes. The bench under my head became wet with tears.

'Taylor is straight, Darko,' a voice similar to Bella's said in my head, 'And there's nothing you can do about it. He's mine.'

The voice was right. Taylor is straight. Being in love with him has done way more harm than good. I'm just hurting everyone with this.

I'm too selfish.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Quickly snapping myself out of my crying, I scrambled away, nearly falling off the bench. The hand gripped my shirt, yanking me up.

"Careful," it said, "You'll hurt yourself, baby bro. Well, judging by your knee, you already have."

I squinted, but the tears made it impossible to see in the darkness. "Stefan? H-how did you know I was here?"

I heard him snort. "I followed you, made sure you didn't see me. I'm worried about you, man."

He leapt over the bench and sat next to me, grabbing and pulling me into a rough hug. I sobbed into his jacket while he patted my back.

"I'm here man," he said softly, "I'm here. Come on, let's go home."

He helped me up, and we walked to the car. As I got into the front seat, my phone began ringing. I looked at it, and it was Taylor.

"Are you going to answer that?" He asked, turning the car on. I shook my head.

"No."

I let it ring, but he left a voice mail.

"Should I get out of the car?" Stefan said. I nodded, and Stefan got out. At least he's respecting my privacy now.

I played the voicemail. Fuck, Taylor sounded shaken.

"Darko, please call me, or at least text me where you are. The night has turned to absolute shit. I don't know, I... I just need to explain everything to you. Please, I'm so sorry you had to see that. I-"

My phone died before he could continue. I shook my head before throwing my phone. Stupid fucking battery.

Stefan noticed me throw it. He poked his head inside. "Can I come in?"

I nodded. Stefan climbed in and buckled his seat-belt.

"Let's go home."