And in the end. . . (um, Erica. . ?)

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Desmond has ran from his house in his bare feet to the first place he could think of; the park. It was so big and vast he was sure he wouldn't have to worry about running into anyone he knew there. He'd ran so much his feet wear beginning to burn, but he didn't care; it was nothing compared to how he felt emotionally. Josh had just broken up with him and it had been one of those messy break ups that Desmond thought only existed in fiction. There was so much scream and hurtful things said. . . Desmond still couldn't believe the stuff that had come out of his mouth. It was to late to take it all back now, Josh was gone and there was nothing Desmond could do about it. There was no way of knowing where Josh was going. For all Desmond know he could have left Pittsburgh entirely.

He just kept running under he couldn't anymore. He ended up stopping at the bank of the large pond near the center of the park. Desmond went to the edge of the water an sat with his knees up to his chin and his arms around his legs and sat crying silently. When he had left his house it was only cloudy, but he had been sitting out for so long that it was now pouring rain, but Desmond didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore. The whole effect of him being depressed and sitting in the rain made him look overwhelming Emo than ever before.

[dorian]

Dorian was walking home from, well, It wasn’t really important where he was coming from. He had, in all actuality, been at a party. It was a good party, which was to be expected because Dorian Savage didn’t go to bad parties. Then again, any place with free liquor qualified as a good party in his mind. His standards weren’t terribly high.

Unfortunately, he had lied to his parents and said he was going to the library. Since the library isn’t more than three blocks from his home, he had to keep up appearances by walking to the party. And, now that it was raining, he found that the journey home seemed a little bit longer now that he was weighed down by his soaking cotton clothing. Luckily for him, Dorian didn’t mind the rain. He was actually soothed by it most of the time, and so his treck didn’t seem all that long.

He was taking a shortcut through the park, one that ran right by the pond, when he spotted a large mass of black situated just next to the water’s edge. He couldn’t make anything out through the sheets of rain until he was almost on top of what turned out to be a person. A familiar face, none the less.

“Desmond?” Dorian asked, quirking an eyebrow. What was he doing here, curled up like that on the ground in the rain?

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Aw shit. Someone had spotted him and someone he knew no less. Who the fuck took walks in the ran?. . . Other than Desmond that is. . . He was so started by the person's sudden appearance that his head immediately jerked back to see who it was. At first all he saw was hair from the hair soaking his bangs, but when he moved them away he saw a boy in his grade named Dorian. At least it was someone friendly who wouldn't mock him like Blane or Prudence. Desmond would probably drown himself in the lake if it had been one of those two that had found him.

"Yeah. . it's me." he said weakly, sniffing and wiping at his nose with the sleeve of his jacket. "I-I ah, just thought I'd go for a walk. . ." he knew it was a lame excuse, but the last time he revealed all his problems to someone he barely knew he fucked up big time. But not that Josh had left him what was the worst that could happen? Still, he wasn't too eager to get into the real explanation he was sitting soaking wet next to the pond looking like a total wreck.

[dorian]

"Yeah. . it's me. I-I ah, just thought I'd go for a walk. . ."

“If by walk you mean a little crouching by the lake curled up into a ball, then yes, I see that,” he pointed out. Dorian wondered if maybe his automatically sarcastic remarks were appropriate for the situation, seeing as Desmond seemed to be genuinely bothered by something, but he couldn’t help it. Growing up with two sisters, the sarcasm in his mind just flowed out in his every day conversation like it was commonplace. Which, he supposed, it was to him.

“Come on, you know I’m not going to buy that. No one just goes for a walk in the rain. Especially without finding their waterproof makeup. You’re running, darling,” he said, seeing the smeared eye makeup that Desmond had on. His tone was meant to be joking, not condescending, though he wasn’t sure if it had come out that way.

“Is everything alright? You haven’t been kicked out, have you? That seems to be happening a lot, lately,” he added, remembering hearing rumors about Christian Hart, a boy at their school, and some Toby kid from GW who was apparently some hot-shot wrestler or something.

[Desmond Giuseppe]

“If by walk you mean a little crouching by the lake curled up into a ball, then yes, I see that,”

So thinking that Dorian wouldn't mock him was obviously dumb. If Desmond hadn't been so emotionally distraught he would have given Dorian a snappy retort. He was obviously upset so why did Dorian have to be a jerk about it? Having never really spent time around Dorian Desmond couldn't tell if he was purposely being a jerk or if that was just the way he was. He figured it was probably the latter. "I stopped to take a break." he said weakly, unable to think of a better excuse. He had to say something!

“Come on, you know I’m not going to buy that. No one just goes for a walk in the rain. Especially without finding their waterproof makeup. You’re running, darling,”

Desmond never wore an obvious amount of eye liner, but he supposed it became obvious when it started to run. He wiped his eyes blindly with his sleeve, not wanting to look any more pathetic then he already did. It was easy to forget small things like wearing eyeliner when your heart had just been smashed into a million little tiny bit sized pieces, even easier not to care about it.

“Is everything alright? You haven’t been kicked out, have you? That seems to be happening a lot, lately,”

Even though he was upset beyond reason Desmond couldn't help, but laugh a little at the question; his parents were probably the biggest straight Gay supporters even. His mom practically threw him a party when he came out! It just showed how little Dorian knew about Desmond. The question did cheer him up a little, just for a moment though before he remembered why he was upset.

"No, it's not that." he said, just as weakly as before. Should he tell Dorian what was wrong? It wasn't like he had much to lose now. . . Even if it turned into a Gabe like situation there was no one he'd be cheating on now. "I-It's just that. . . my boyfriend just broke up with me." He voice crack and he quickly buried his face in his arms so Dorian couldn't hear the uncontrollable sob he'd just let out. Dorian had to think he was some whiny little pussy for this especially since Desmond usually kept up such a strong demeanor at school.

[dorian]

For just a moment Dorian caught the small glimpse of a smile on Desmond’s face. He hadn’t really thought that Desmond was kicked out, but it had been the first thing that had come to his mind as to why anybody in their right mind would just be hanging out at the park in the dark, during a rain storm. Someone who had nowhere better to be.

But just as soon as the smile had come it was gone again, and whatever had been bothering Desmond before was clearly on his mind again. But what was it? Dorian found himself growing more and more concerned because this was so different from how he was used to seeing his peer. Desmond was always on the up-and-up when he was at school… to see him with his guard down like this was sort of disheartening. After all, if there was no hope for Desmond, then what hope was there for the rest of the world?

"No, it's not that."

Yes, he definitely sounded defeated again.

"I-It's just that. . . my boyfriend just broke up with me."

It wasn’t defeat, then, but rather heartbreak. The two were easily confused, especially when it came to high school relationships. Dorian didn’t respond right away because he knew that break-ups were a difficult subject. After all, if the ended up getting back together then anything hurtful that was said would be even more harmful, and if they didn’t then no amount of comforting would really make Desmond feel better until he had come to terms with what had happened.

“That sucks,” he said finally. The blunt, honest truth. “We both know that nothing I could say is really going to help. But if you need anything… just ask, man,” he added, wanting to feel like he might be able to help at some point. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked, not wanting to leave Desmond alone. He wasn’t going to say anything, but with his recent suicide scare, well, Dorian was a little afraid to leave Desmond alone right after a break up. Not that he honestly thought he would pull something again, but one could never be too sure…

[Desmond Giuseppe]

“That sucks,”

It had taken Dorian a moment to speech, but when he finally did Desmond couldn't help but laugh; it was just so short and blunt he couldn't help it. Desmond was sure Dorian's intent hadn't been to make him laugh; it was just funny that his initial response was 'That sucks'. "Yeah, it does." said Desmond with a sad laugh that sounded more like a sob.

“We both know that nothing I could say is really going to help. But if you need anything… just ask, man,”

Desmond had to admit that this was true; he couldn't possibly think of anything Dorian could say that would make him fell better. Well, unless he could see the future and told Desmond that Josh would come to him the next day wanting him back. Yeah right, Desmond didn't even have a clue where Josh was, and it was raining! What if Josh was sleeping under a park bench or something?! Getting sick in the rain. . . The mental picture of Josh being back on the streets made Desmond feel sick to his stomach.

“Are you going to be okay?”

No, I will never fucking be ok you idiot! That was what Desmond desperately wanted to say. He knew Dorian was just trying to help and he didn't want to turn away the one person who was trying to give him comfort. Truthfully he really didn't know if he was going to be ok. He constantly kept thinking back to the other week when he had his 'accident' and how he could have made it work . . . how it went wrong. No matter how hard he tried to shake the thought from his head he was desperate for some relief from his heart ache. As much as he had told himself he'd never try it again he couldn't help, but consider it again. He was afraid to be by himself from the fear of what he might do.

"I don't know." Desmond said finally, "but, I-I really don't want to be alone. . ."

[dorian]

Dorian seemed just as surprised, if not more so, than Desmond was at the fact that he had actually laughed. Granted, it had just been one of those things. He hadn’t planned on saying anything funny, nor had it really been meant to be funny in the first place, but given the context of the situation it had been amusing.

"Yeah, it does."

Dorian shook his head. He waited for a moment, listening to the rain while Desmond seemed to ponder whether or not he really was okay. Dorian knew that he was probably thinking along the same likes as Desmond, about what had happened the week before. There was no way that something that big would go ignored in a situation like this. Dorian was surprised that Desmond’s parents had even let him out of the house under the circumstances, until he realized that they probably didn’t know what was going on yet. That would explain why he was here, instead of at home.

Dorian knew that it was a stupid question, but it was some sort of unwritten law that, in a break-up situation, the friend who was doing the comforting always had to ask ‘are you going to be alright?’, even if they were 100% positive that the answer was going to be no.

"I don't know. but, I-I really don't want to be alone. . ."

Well then, that settled it. “Then you won’t be,” Dorian said matter-of-factly. There was no way he would leave Desmond alone, especially after he said something like that. “Maybe you could come back to my house for the night. I’m sure my parents would be cool with it. Or I could hang out at your place,” he wasn’t very close to Desmond, but the two of them were acquaintances and it wouldn’t be terrible awkward for them to hang out every now and then. What Desmond needed was a friend, or at least a distraction. “We could go see a late movie or something,” he offered, trying his best to help without making Desmond feel worse.

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Desmond hadn't expected Dorian's offer at all, in fact his head snapped over, and his jaw dropped in shock at it. Of course he wanted to be with someone, but he barely knew Dorian. It was such a nice offer though and Desmond was truly scared to be left alone. Not only that; he really didn't want to go home looking like a wreck and having to explain why and why Josh left, he felt his nausea getting worse just thinking about it. That was something he'd like to postpone as long as he could. Desmond just need to go some where, anywhere so he could get his mind off everything.

Perhaps it was better that he barely knew Dorian; Audrey would just curse Josh and say she told him so and Vinnie was awkward when it came to relationships. Plus he expected his friends are going to be really pissed when he tells them Josh has AIDS. Why not tell them now? Josh had left him so why hide it? Of course he wasn't going to tell his parents about the whole situation between him and Josh, but it was still going to be a pain in the ass thinking of a good excuse for why Josh left without saying good bye or thanking them for everything they've done.

"I'd like that." he said quietly, "I'd like to go to your house if that's alright. . . not to keen to get home any time soon. . . I can call my parents at your place I guess."

“We could go see a late movie or something,”

Desmond thought for a moment. The movies were a good distraction, but the chances of them running into someone from school was very high. It was bad enough that Dorian had seem Desmond in his moment of extreme weakness, he really didn't want anybody else to especially with the whole Prudence thing going on.

"I-I'd just like to stay at your house. . . I think just being with some one will help." said Desmond with a sniffle, "Dorian, thank you so much." Dorian had no idea how much Desmond appreciated this. He really didn't know what he'd do if he was left alone that night.

[dorian]

There was a long break in the exchange of dialogue after Dorian put out his offer for Desmond to come and stay with him for the night. This silence was extended far beyond that of a normal pause in conversation, and after a moment Dorian was afraid that he had overstepped his boundaries as a friend. Perhaps when Desmond had said that he didn’t want to be alone he had had somebody else in mind. A closer friend, perhaps.

"I'd like that. I'd like to go to your house if that's alright. . . not to keen to get home any time soon. . . I can call my parents at your place I guess."

“Sure,” Dorian said, giving a relieved smile. His parents would be happy to see him hanging out with someone other than his usual crowd, many of whom they did not approve of. “I’ve got a change of clothes at my place that should fit you,” he added, figuring that if Desmond was in pretty bad shape he probably wouldn’t even want to stop home for clothing, just in case he should run into his parents and have to explain everything to them.

"I-I'd just like to stay at your house. . . I think just being with some one will help. Dorian, thank you so much."

“Yeah, sure, no problem,” Dorian agreed. Actually, he was kind of low on cash now that he thought about it, and so he was glad that Desmond had turned down the movie offer. “Don’t worry about it, really. I’m just trying to help, anyone else would’ve done the same,” Dorian pointed out, wondering if that was true or not. It didn’t really matter, in the end. They were just words of comfort, and most times those sorts of things were false.

“So, do you want to go back now? Or would you rather stand in the rain a bit longer?” The both of them were soaked at this point, so it really didn’t matter how much longer they remained outside.

Ooc- bna;ofj;langf;aklsjd. That’s how my brain feels right now.

[Desmond Giuseppe]

“Yeah, sure, no problem. Don’t worry about it, really. I’m just trying to help, anyone else would’ve done the same,”

Desmond was quite sure that the majority of people would leave him there sitting in the rain, maybe even laugh at him while passing by because people were fucking dicks. If he couldn't even rely on Josh, what hope was there for the rest of the world. He was just in a very cynical mood right now. Usually Desmond was very optimistic, but it seemed hard for him to have faith in anything anymore. Basically, he was feeling very Emo. Desmond kept his thoughts to himself, but how he was feeling had to be showing on his face at least a little bit.

“So, do you want to go back now? Or would you rather stand in the rain a bit longer?”

Desmond was so busy damning the whole world in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear Dorian talking to him. "Huh? Oh, um yeah, let's go. . ." said Desmond slowly, coming back to reality. His mood lighten the tiniest bit when he remembered he wasn't going to have to be alone that night, that is until he tried to get up. Since the ground was slick from the rain, when Desmond tried to get up his foot slipped out from under him and his right leg ended up ankle deep in the pond.

Sure Desmond was already soaked to the bone from sitting out in the rain, but it that little push was all he needed to completely loose it. "Oh, that's just what I fucking wanted." he said angrily, looking at his foot that was submerged in pond water. "Stupid fucking pond!" Then he began kicking at the water like it was the pond's fault that Josh had broken up with him. Water was splashing everywhere and Desmond didn't even register that he and Dorian were getting even more soaked. He needed an outlet, something to get rid of his anger before it got self destructing, if that meant beating the shit out of water then Desmond was all for it. It didn't take long for Desmond to tire and go back to just being depress. He sat for a few moment to catch is breath and to bit back more tears that were creeping up. Then, very carefully this time, Desmond picked himself up and was ready to go.

"When ever you're ready." he said quietly while he pulled his hood down so no one would be able to see that he was crying.

[dorian]

Dorian thought that he'd have to repeat himself for a moment. Desmond seemed to be rather absorbed in his own thoughts, not that Dorian could blame him. He had lived his life pretty low-key for a while now, and so drama really hadn't been a part of his life for a few years now. Sure, he had a relationship or two gone bad, but he'd been able to deal with them without becoming an emotional wreck. Granted, the fact that he tended to drink a little too much probably helped with that. The alcohol tended to dull his senses in times of pain, or just times in general, and it was a nice feeling to have that kind of control.

"Huh? Oh, um yeah, let's go. . ."

Desmond started to get up, and then things went from bad to worse, if that was physically possible anymore. It was one of those things that you realize just a split second too late what was about to happen, and there was nothing you can do to stop it. Dorian saw Desmond's foot start to slip, and then sink into the lake.

"Oh, that's just what I fucking wanted. Stupid fucking pond!"

Dorian watched the mini-breakdown that Desmond began having in silence. He knew that this short little outburst of anger towards the water probably wasn't the healthiest way to deal with his emotions, but if it was helping him to vent then Dorian wasn't going to stop him. Then Desmond calmed down and picked himself up, this time without falling back down.

"When ever you're ready."

"Let's go, then," Dorian said, leading the way back to his home.

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Desmond, feeling slightly embarrassed by his little childish out burst, followed Dorian down the path. Dorian had to think he was crazy or at least mentally unstable. That had been the longest conversation he'd ever had with Dorian and he'd gone to school with the kid for the last four years! And Desmond was a complete emotional wreck through the whole thing. He wanted to apologize for his behavior, but just didn't have the energy for it. Just walking through the park was exhausting for him. His break up with Josh had left him completely emotionally and physically drained.

He looked forward to just hanging out at Dorian's house with someone who didn't know him well enough to judge him. If he were going to Audrey's house, although she'd be some what comforting, he'd have to endure an entire night of 'I told you so's and 'you're such and idiot's. Desmond was shiver now; he hadn't even realized how cold he was before. He walked with his arms crossed against his chest and his head slightly bowed against the rain.

((So I guess start a thread at Dorian's?))

[Desmond Giuseppe]

((You wanna keep this going?))