At the End of the Day…
<Heroes by David Bowie begins to play in the background>
Will hummed as he rolled his cart down the halls when he saw the nine teens exit the library.
“See you next Saturday.” Mercury said with a wave.
“You too, kid.” The custodian smiled.
As the jock, the princess, the weird kid, the ninja, the narc, the madman, the basket case, and the criminal headed towards the parking lot, they all lingered for a moment.
Not out of fear, but out of the realization that Saturday Detention – that their day together – had finally come to an end.
Yuffie was the first to head out, giving Yaoyorozu a quick goodbye hug and offered Luna a ride, which the other girl accepted. After giving Flash a quick peck on the cheek, she climbed into the backseat of Vincent’s car and they drove off into the dying light.
Gary and Jack went next, after exchanging phone numbers. Gary went up to his grandpa and hugged him tightly, while Jack gave a bittersweet smile before climbing into the Cadillac.
Aria contemplated her friendship bracelet before taking it off and offering it to Mercury. The punk smiled and pulled out a lighter from one of his pockets, setting the bracelet ablaze before tossing it into a nearby trashcan.
“You gonna be okay?” He asked, watching Aria’s eyes zero into the flames.
“I will be,” She answered.
A car horn sounded and The two turned around in time to see Hannah gesturing for Aria to get inside.
“See you around.” Aria smiled, before heading out.
Alice patted him on the shoulder before walking towards Levi’s pick up truck.
“See you on Monday.”
“Will do.” She said, waving briefly before climbing inside. “Don’t be a stranger, you hear!” She called out before shutting the door.
I’ll try.
Mercury stood back and watched the cars pull out one by one and saw Flash heading out.
“Hey, Thompson!”
The jock paused and turned around.
“Uh,” Mercury began. “You know I’ve been living with Roman and Neo after my old man–after he tried to…?”
Flash nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I know.”
“Well, Roman’s been helping me find an apartment.” He continued. “After I graduate, and I heard you got a scholarship to play at Arizona State and-”
“Are you… are you asking me to move in with you?”
“Aside from wanting a change of scenery, I need a roommate. And even though you have a sports scholarship, student housing still costs a crap ton of money, and I figured-” The punk shrugged. “I figured it’d be nice, staying under the same roof as someone I know well enough to not lock my door at night.”
Flash sobered, then nodded. “Yeah, I think that’d be good.” Punching the other boy on the shoulder, he said, “See you on Monday.”
To which Mercury nodded, “Yeah, you too.”
As the punk watched the other boy walk away, bulky figure growing smaller the further he walked, Mercury schooled his features and headed out just like the others.
Just as Mercury reached the front gates, he stopped, turned his heel and sprinted towards the football field. Mercury ran like his life depended on it, and just as he reached the bleachers he stopped, walked towards the middle of the field and screamed.
Whether it was from the excitement or the adrenaline Mercury didn’t know, nor did he care, he just needed to get it out. He screamed until his throat went hoarse and then he collapsed onto his hands and knees, chest heaving and mouth dry as his brain began to clear.
Mercury didn’t know how long he stood there for, but he finally got up as the sun began to set. As the shadows and dying light of the afternoon sun stretched out over Southern California, Mercury couldn’t help but raise a fist into the air.