Let It Go (tags Dare)

[Phil Lim]

Phil knew that swallowing his pride and admitting he was wrong was the appropriate thing to do, but it was so very difficult! It was particularly grating when Maggy informed him that she was not yet ready to make amends, and stalked off. At least Mew had accepted his apologies, shrugging and reassuring him that he understood. Phil didn't think the red-head really did understand, but the sentiment was appreciated nonetheless.

They wrestled their way through the thicker than usual crowds to a table with available seats, dropping thankfully into the plastic chairs. "Nŏ-mu po-go shi-p'ŏ-ssŏ-yo." Mew informed him, poking at his sandwich; neither boy had bought cafeteria food. The line was difficult to get through in the best of times, but now that all the Silver students were occupying the same space it was more like a maze than a line.

Phil glanced out across the crowds, over his friend's shoulder. "Choe-song-ham-ni-da." He apologized softly, but then he noticed a familiar long-haired figure standing nearby, and he waved vigorously at it, switching to English, "Dare! Over here!"

When the younger boy arrived at their table Phil patted the chair next to him. "Dare, this is Mew. Mew, Dare."

Mew gazed at the blonde curiously. "Han-gu-gŏ hal jul a-se-yo?" He inquired, wondering if perhaps this was a new person to practice his Korean with. The blank stare this was recieved with made Mew's face fall. "Sorry, no Korean, then. It's nice to meet you."

[Dare Madison]

Dare was clutching his guitar (which he never went anywhere without) and his back pack. He had seen Phil with a redheaded boy when he entered. But since he had spent all morning agonizing over telling Phil he was gay and whether or not the Asian boy now hated him, he didn't approach the table but stood on the side trying to decide what he should do. As the choices were limited or crazy he wasn't doing well and for the second time that day, his normal sunny smile was missing.

When he heard his name being called in Phil's voice, he thought it was the most beautiful thing ever heard even beyond his current favorite which was Gregorian chants. He turned and flashed his plentiful teeth at his new friend and hurried to join them.

"Hi Mew, sorry I don't speak any languages except 'where is the bathroom which I know in about ten different languages. It's nice to meet you though. Phil told me about you and I have been eager to meet you too," he said slipping into a seat next to Phil. He began to pull out containers from his backpack. They were all thermal. He had some vegetable Lo-Mein and some Tofu and vegetable Lasagne with bechamel sauce rather than tomato sauce. There was an apple and about a dozen chocolate chocolate chip cookies. "Would you two like some cookies?" He asked as he opened his thermos which had Arizona green tea with lemon. "How was your morning? I have decided I really hate calculus."

[Bartholomew "Mew" Fischer]

"Really?" Mew was both curious and pleased at having been mentioned, though he hadn't any idea when or where Phil had met the boy now joining them until his friend explained, "I met Dare this morning, I believe we were both having a rough time of it. Have you worked anymore on that song you were playing? Oh, thank you very much," The Korean boy accepted a cookie gratefully, perfectly unconcerned to be eating the food of someone he had only met that morning. The red-head shook his head, "Thanks, though." He looked a bit sheepish to be denying the cookie, and silently nursed his coffee.

"So," He began, leaning across the table to better speak with the other two boys -- it was so noisy! -- "You play guitar?" The bespectacled boy nodded to the guitar in Dare's hands. "I play the piano," He offered, hoping that gave them something in common. "We should -- "

But what they should do he didn't have a chance to explain, for at that moment a group of rough looking men with guns burst into the cafeteria, showering the room with bullets.

"Down!" Phil pulled Dare under the table with him, and then jerked on Mew's legs, so that the other boy tripped over the chair next to him on the way down.

"What...what's going on?"

Phil shook his head, "I don't know! We need to get out of here." He wished he had his own guns; he would definitely fight back. But he wasn't allowed to keep them in his car on campus. Stupid rules.

[Danny Alegressi]

Dare hit his head on the way down but it was more shock that this could be happening that had him dazed. He wasn't sure at all about moving. "We are less of a target under here than we would be moving," he said, trying not to sound as frightened as he felt. He pawed through his things looking for any possible weapons. He pulled out a bag of crystal marbles he had been draw too and handed them to Mew and then smiled as he pulled out a roll of guitar string which he handed to Phil. He tended to be a pack rat, but you never know when you might need something.

"I don't know how to fight," Dare informed them in a whisper. He'd always had body guards for that kind of thing. His dad had a whole team of them. Suddenly he wished he hadn't told his dad he wouldn't go to school with a body guard following him around.

"If you go... I will," he said, not wanting to be left there worrying.

[Phil Lim]

"I don't know how to fight, either." Mew whispered back, clutching the marbles as though he might find something useful to do with them. The best he could come to fighting was, perhaps, to trip over the gunmen, but somehow that didn't seem useful. He was afraid they would be able to hear his heart pound, but it seemed they were searching for someone specific. They were demanding....Mr. Phan? The art teacher?! He couldn't think of any reason anyone would WANT to come face to face with the grouchy old man who taught art. He hoped that Libby was safe. The more idealistic side of him said he ought to look for her and protect her, but the more realistic side said he would accomplish nothing by this, so he crouched down beside the other two boys, trying not to look as frightened as he felt.

Phil conceded that Dare had a point. "I wish I had a gun," he muttered, glaring at the legs scurrying about. He felt helpless, and he absolutely hated that feeling. "They can't get away with this!!" This was clearly false, as the gunmen were definitely getting away with it. How far away was the police station from here? Hadn't anyone called? Surely they had, they'd had the presence of mind to make an announcement. How long had it been since the gunmen had burst into the room? It already seemed an eternity.

"Libby...Aimee...." Mew whispered to Phil, "where were they?"

Phil gave his friend's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "Aimee was working on homework in the library. She'll be fine. Wasn't Libby practicing in the orchestra room?"

Mew shook his head, "I didn't see her in there..." He had swung by before lunch, to check up on her, but she certainly hadn't been there then. "You think our families know...." His parents would be worried sick if they knew there was a gunman on the loose at Gould.

Phil narrowed his eyes, wondering if his parents would even care. No, that was unfair. They would care (wouldn't they?)

Mew was still whispering his agonized list of people he cared about who could be in danger, "I wish Maggy was with us, she'll be freaking out."

Phil went cold. Maggy. He hadn't made up with her yet. But he couldn't worry about that, the three of them were in danger at the present. "She'll be fine." He returned with conviction he didn't feel. He shook his head at Dare, "No, you're right, we're safer here." He peered out from between the chairs, "If either of you get killed on my watch I'll never forgive myself." He informed them, straining for a better look, which unfortunately made him a tempting target to the short man stomping by, who slid his gun to face Phil.

"Get back!!" Mew tugged at Phil's shirt, pulling him out of the way, though the gunman missed where Phil would have been anyway, and instead hit the red-head in the back of the hand so that he dropped his marbles (a good thing, as it at least slowed down the gunman, who apparently could not navigate scattered marbles and shoot at the same time). The two boys scrambled back to (relative) safety. Phil attempted to push Dare ahead of him and drag Mew at the same time, "Quick, quick, they noticed us."

[Dare Madison]

Dare helped Mew pull Phil back and then began to crawl along the length of the table, making sure the other two were keeping up. The chairs provided some cover as they went. "Keep going to the end?" he asked in hushed tones. That would take them near the hall doors, but he still wasn't sure making a break for it was a good idea. "Phil... don't expose yourself again. He didn't even hesitate to shoot you. It was like he hated you for some reason."

When he got to the end he pulled off his shirt. "Mew how is your hand? Use this to wrap around it. Tightly to stop the flow." He wished he could see better, but he was feeling dizzy, with white lights bothering his vision.

[Bartholomew "Mew" Fischer]

Mew accepted the shirt, tying it as tight as he could one-handed, and it did seem to staunch the slow seepage of blood from his hand. “Your demons are coming after you, huh, professor.” He prodded Phil. Being chased by people with guns was completely normal, only usually the guns were modified toys, painted and scratched with runes. This was so much more terrifying than their play fights usually were.

“In that case,” Phil whispered back, “Shouldn’t you be joining them?”

Mew stuck his tongue out at Phil’s back. “No, who would I torment if you actually got killed?”

It was difficult, crawling under the tables, trying to avoid the legs of both the tables and the chairs. It was no use avoiding fallen food, however, it had been flung everywhere in the ensuing panic.

They edged closer to the end of the row, sensing freedom….when water began pouring from overhead.

“Now or never….” Phil whispered to his companions, eyeing the distance between the last table and the door with trepidation. They could stay here and hope that help arrived before the gunmen hunted down everyone in the (admittedly still crowded) cafeteria, or they could make a dash for freedom.

“Ready?” He asked, but didn’t wait for them to reply before going on, “On the count of three. One…two….three…!” He made a mad dash for the door, followed by Mew, who grabbed Dare with his uninjured hand, hauling him along. A dark-haired girl followed beside them, but gunshots sounded behind them and she fell. Mew hesitated, dropping Dare’s hand and starting for her, but Phil’s voice snapped him out of it. “No time to be a hero! Go!!”

A bullet grazed by his face, and he yelped, racing for the door, and then they were out, and they were running down the hallway, hoping there were no other gunmen to be seen. Phil led them down the hall, and they burst out into the quad, brilliant sunshine, blinking with the brightness of the day.

“A…are we safe?” Mew leaned over, panting.

Phil dropped to the ground, surveying his companions. “I think so. How’s your hand?”

“Fine.” Mew turned to Dare, “You okay?” He hadn’t really checked to make sure the other hadn’t gotten hit when those bullets had flown by so close.

Sirens sounded in the distance, a promise of safety to come. No matter how scary, when the police arrived everything would be okay. They had to believe that.

[Dare Madison]

Dare listened to Phil and Mew bantering back and forth, feeling deeply ashamed because he was so frightened his mind had almost completely shut down. He mechanically followed Mew when he tugged on his hand. He would not have registered the girl falling behind them if Mew had not dropped his hand. He no longer had the pull to keep him moving and he stopped. His eyes widened as he heard a pop and then something stung him in the leg. The upper meaty part of his thigh.

It didn’t make sense to him and when his friends moved again, so did he, though he was staggering as he ran. When Mew asked how he was, he simply shrugged for he had no idea that his jeans were soaked with blood on the right leg. “It’s okay we’re in the sun again,” he said in a shaky voice. “I could use some coffee.” He groaned. “My guitar, I need to go get it.” He turned to head back in, obviously not thinking clearly.

[Phil Lim]

"Yeah, coffee would be good." Mew agreed, wishing he hadn't left his thermos in the cafeteria; he wasn't about to go back to fetch it, though. Coffee was not quite worth his life. "NO!!" He lunged at Dare when the younger boy announced his intentions to go back, trying to pull him back, but even wrapped in the other boy's shirt it stung, and he cringed, dropping his injured hand and squeezing it tight under his other hand. "Don't go back in!!" After all the effort they had spent getting out safely, and the blonde was going to risk heading back into danger!!

Phil was the one who first noticed that he was the only one not injured. "Your leg!!" He sat down hard on the grass, staring at Dare's blood-soaked jeans as if he had never seen anything so horrific, and indeed the closest he had ever seen had always been stage makeup.

It seemed hardly a moment later that they were surrounded by grim adults in uniforms, questions being tossed at them at a pace that sent Phil's head spinning. He felt rather alone as the paramedics looked after Dare and Phil, and he began tugging up the astroturf between his fingers. He couldn't wait until they could go home; he wanted to see Aimee, comfort himself that his little sister was safe; and apologize more sincerely to Maggy; and make sure Libby was okay, too, and Fallon....he hoped nobody had been seriously injured, but the remorselessness with which he and his two companions had been shot at left him with little doubts that his hopes were in vain.

Soon they were herded back into the school: To the auditorium, the police said, with the other students, so that everyone could be accounted for. Only, before they got very far the principal's voice came over the intercomm, demanding the presence of several of the students in his office, Phil among them.

"Guess I'll see you guys..." He waved, trying to feel cheerful now that the police were here, but a numb sensation spreading out from his stomach as he wondered what possible reason the principal could have for calling HIM in. They didn't think he was one of those asian gansters, did they? Someone had found out about his gun collection...but he hadn't fought, and he certainly hadn't brought any of them near campus.

Mew watched Phil depart to the office, then sighed heavily and turned to Dare, "Can you walk all right?" He wondered, supposing as he did that if Dare couldn't walk the paramedics wouldn't have let him.

[Dare Madison]

Dare groaned and shook his head. Just then the paramedics came to put him on a stretcher. "You all right, Kid?" one of them asked Mew when they saw blood on his white skin. Without waiting he called for a wheelchair and they bundled him into it and brought him to the infirmary alongside Dare.

Dare wasn't completely aware of it, but he was grateful for Mew's presence as the bullet was removed and he was stitched up. He worried about Phil, his guitar and how his dad was going to react. At least until he was given some pain medication and then he didn't worry about much as he floated in a drug induced haze. When Mew was released he called out a fairly cheery goodbye and reminded him that they were to come to his house on Saturday.