The tears Eric tried so hard to keep in just seemed to spill out silently as he focused out the window. He watched as Andrew's life flashed in his mind. As each scene he spoke from when he was younger to this year. He had to push those images out of his mind bringing his hand up to wipe away his silent tears. He needed to focus. He focused out his pas.senger side window watching the street lights pas.s by. He watched as they blured together only causing him to panic slightly. They wern't supposed to be blurry.

Eric pressed his ears against his head as he forced himself to focus by glancing down at his hands. He tilted his head to the side trying to focus on his hands. He needed to stay in reality so he focused on spaking to Andrew. "Andrew..." He sid softly still trying to focus but not making it that obvious. "I know what you went through...not you but I mean. I know the life you lived...well. I know someone who was in your situation though yours is slightly worse than his though" He frowned not liking to talk in circles like he was. It was hard to focus on words right now. His mind was starting to get blurry.

"The foster kid that I got attatched to lived in or well around the part of town you do well did. He lived close to the foster home in an abandoned warehouse with the rest of the gang members he thought was family. He lived with the gang since he was five. His father lost him in an illegal gambling game. Yeah, he gambled his own five year old son away because he had no more money. His father wasn't a good man and he ended up a year later shooting his wife and himself. They said it was out of greif but that's a load of bull and everyone knew it. That man had no regrets in his life. Not even to molesting his own son he gambled away. Jaden, the foster kid, thought of the gang as his family like you. Though Robert, the leader, was still a pretty sick individual."

A slight buzzing came into play cusing Eric's ear to twitch lightly and him to close his eyes for a moment to try to get rid of it but there was no making it disapear. A sigh escaped him as he reopend his eyes to blurry hands. Slight panic ran through him but he forced himself to continue. "Robert had Jaden since he was five. He used him to hold drugs and to send to other gang territories to 'judge' new members. There was always a chance of him getting killed but he survived. Robert found him extremly usefull. He taught him everything. How to make and deal drugs. How to use them and even taught him how to use a gun....sorta like you did today. Mind you he was seven when he learned all this. Robert was pleased with him....so very much. He was his little protashe."

"A few years pas.sed of Jaden doing drugs, dealing them and selling htem to other gangs. He was widley known for it around the streets that Robert owned. He never got a chance to go to school. Dealing was his schooling. One day when he was about 10 Robert got himself killed. He and seven other of his membes were going on a raid trying to claim back their streets. He and the seven men were killed. He told Jaden to stay back at the warehouse to guard the drugs and that's what my boy did. Although that other gang came to the place Jaden was at and raided it. Beating him up pretty badly. That's when he came to us, the foster home. He was bleeding and stumbled on our doorsteps. They put him in my car when he was cleaned up. I listened to his story, dug for his back ground, asked around and figured out his story. I told him he could stay with me but he denied it at first. Sorta like you did. He wad deturmined to goin back to Robert not knowing he was dead....."

"He....He..." Eric frowned not being able to go any further. It wasn't because he didn't want to it was because he couldn't. His vision was fading to black and he was currently fighting to stay awake and calm his breathin that had increased. Eric pressed his hand firmly against the seat trying anything in his power to stay focused to stay coherent. He began to feel his head pound which only made the buzzing in his ears worse. The wound on his right shoulder was getting the best of him now and there wasn't much he could do.

Andrew listened to Eric now, unaware that he'd started to shed any tears or that he was feeling the way that he was feeling That he was about to pas.s out. All he knew that that Eric had a foster kid named Jaden and went through... what Alex had gone through rather than himself. Selling drugs had been his game, not his own.

He glanced over at Eric, to make sure he was ok only to have his eyes widen looking at him. Of course! How could he have been so stupid? His gun shot, whether he'd been grazed or actually shot, was going to kill him! Too much blood lose could cause a whole range of problems. 

"Hey!" He barked suddenly, looking back at the road in front of him. The hospital was so close! He should have tied up his arm back at the trailer so that he wouldn't be about to pas.s out right now.  "Don't you dare go to sleep on me, Eric!" When had he started calling him by his first name? This didn't register to Andrew and he wouldn't have thought anything of it if he had noticed.

Eric's ears seemed to twitch hearing Andrew calling out to him. His breaths only deepend as he felt chills go down his spine despite how warm the car was. Andrew had turned on the heat but he couldn't help it as the shivers shot through his body. He shouldn't have taken his hand off his wound but honesty  he didn't htink anything of it. He wasn't shot or well he was but the bullet only grazed his arm. In his mind it is just a scratch but obviously it was more than just a simple scratch.

He did everything in his power to stay awake as Andrew was instructing. It was a little hard though with the rapidly aproaching darkness. He just simply closed his eyes trying to focus, his hand pressin firmly against the seat, using as much pressure as he could. In his mind though he focused on one face. Jadens'. His short shaggy brown hair from when he cut it himself. His green eyes shinning in happiness when Eric gave him chocolate. If he was in any mood to smile he was but right now he focused on Jaden's face although it began to fade as did his grip on the seat.

Andrew glanced over at Eric, this wasn't good. "Hey, hey..." He said again, yelling wasn't going to help anymore. He pulled the car off of the road and onto the shoulder and got out, moving around the front of the vehicle quickly, all the while pulling his belt off. 

He pulled Eric's door open and leaned inside, and wrapped it around his upper arm. He couldn't just wait until they got to the hospital for them to do this when he could have done it a long time ago. He inspected the graze and it might as well have been cl*censored*ified as a shot! There was wa too mauch blood. He'd done this....

"Eric," He growled, "Stay awake!" He urged before closeing the door once the belt was tight. He made his way back to the drivers side and pulled away from the curve, going faster than before. "I need you.... to stay awake, Eric." Andrew told him, both hands on the wheel, tring to focus on not panicing. What could he do. There was really nothing he could do but talk to him.

"Tell me more about Jaden. I want to know what happened to him." He urged, anything to keep his teaer awake. But he already knew what happened. The kid dies. On Eric's doorstep no less.  

Eric hadn't taken notice to Andrew pulling over on the side of the road or getting out. What he did notice was something tightening around his arm causing him to groan in pain. He opened his eyes, his breathing now heavy looking down at the floor boards. He glanced over at the fuzzy Andrew and listened to what he had to say. He wanted him to for one stay awake which is waht he was trying to do and two, keep telling him about Jaden.

This forced the lit teacher to really think. Get words back into his mind and figure out how to to speak again or stay coherent. "Jaden....went back. I just...followed after him" Eric groaned digging his teeth into his bottom lip. This was going to be difficult. "He didn't know I was following him....I couldn't.  Let him die" he frowned picturing his past though it managed to keep the darkness away. "He went ino the ware house again to get Robert.....although he...he screamed and screamed before I could get ot him. Three guys had him pinned" He explained taking a few deep breaths  feeling anouther shiver down his spine. He was no going to give in. Not now at least. "I... fought them but....Jaden. Jaden shot one in the leg. He...smiled and was so...happy. He told me that he was going to die whenever he got back to his gang. He'd bleed to death before he got there."

Eric continued to the best of his ability finding his breaths only begining to hurt him and the buzzing in his ears to get louder and more obnoxious. "We....I....grabbed him and ran to my house. We both....cried and he...accepted his gangs fate. He...lived with me for a while....then...we. I..was gone for longer than expected. He....went out. And...the gang...took revenge" Eric took anouther deep breath closing his eyes beginning to loose focus again. A slight growl escaped Eric as his grip tightened on the chair again. He ws not goin to go. He was not going to let the darkness win.

"They shot him....." he snapped but not meaning to. He was doing two things at once. telling a story and trying to keep himself away from the darkness that beckened to him. "He lived...or was still living....when I got home. I ran to him.....crying. So much blood.....I hugged onto him. He....apologized....for opening the door. They...gunned him down....bleeding in my arms.....he...slwoly..." Eric gave a slight groan as the pounding worsened in his mind and the darkness over comming his mind causing his heaving breathing to slow down dramatically. The cold shivers were taking over now causing small goosebumps to apear on Eric's skin. The darkness had won or was almost winning. It had taken Jaden and Aiden. Now it was comming for him and there was no stopping it or prolonging it any further. He had made his body weak no that it already was. The bleeding may have been slowed or stopped but that didn't mask the fact that most of it was at the scene of the crime and all over Eric's car.

Andrew had pulled into the hospital soon after that, high tailing it to the emergency side of the hospital. He cut plenty of people off, but he really didn't care about letting them go first. He wasn't even listening to Eric's sotry either, as long as he was still talking. He couldn't have understood it anyways, too many things said as once to comprehend. 

He pulled into the loading dock just after an ambulance was leaving and stopped. Some of the nurses were still hanging around so he was in luck. He jumped out of the car and grabbed their attention, and they ran over and called for a stretcher. Andrew never did get to hear the rest of the story, or if Eric ever finished it cause they wheeled him away and before he could follow a cop had spotted the gun.

He was surrounded, grabbed and slammed against the back of a cop car with his hands restrain and feet apart. They took the gun. That had been Alex's. And patted him down, all the while pulling him in different directions. One officer would poll him on way, and another would oull him the other. "Stop struggle now! Dont struggle!!" "I'm not you dumb f***! Pig boy over heres ripping my arm off!" He hissed loudly, unable to believe the stupidity of some people. 

He was tossed around that night, pissed and still injured. They'd stitched up his hand quick, not doing a good job meaning he would have scars, and wrapped it up and sent him to jail for shooting Eric. Wonderful. It was just his luck. He hands restrained he hind his back was uncomfortable in the back of the police car as they pulled away from the hospital. And Andrew could only hope he'd gotten Eric to the hospital in time.

The ride was a long one and Andrew was exhausted, but who can fall asleep in a cop car? He was so high on anger, fear, and adrenaline. Once they got there they put him into his own cell seeing as he obviously knew how to fight seeing his knuckles and for shooting somebody. They rolled the gate shut and it seemed to echo in Andrew;s ears forever. He just stood there for a moment. "Seriously??!" He barked a moment later, and they turned out the lights ofr the night.  

It had been two days since Andrew dropped Eric off at the hospital. It turned out that he had gotten him there just in time. He was still semi coherent when they rolled him into the ER. They stitched up the wound and managed to transfuse more blood into Eric's system so he wasn't as pale as he was when he first came in. It would still be a day or two until his body fully recovered but he didn't need to stay in the hospital for that. They had just advised him to take an easy for a day or two.

Huffing, Eric pulled into the police station. He heard that Andrew had been arrested for shooting him. Oh he was sure that he was happysitting in a jail cell for two days. Sighing Eric stepped out of his car bracing himself for a moment against his car. This sucked and he was most certianly going to admit it. He made his way into the polie station catching a random cop. "I'm looking for a kid. Came in here two days ago for shooting me, Andrew--" "Over there sir" The officer spoke pointing to a random cell. Eric nodded him in thanks and went to walk over to Andrew's cell but ended up trippin causing him to grip teh nearby table with his right hand making his shoulder contract. He let out a hollar before curling his arm up to his chest. "Son of a ----" He snarled closing his eyes for a moment waiting for the pain to dull.

His shoulder had been stitched up but taht didn't mean it didn't hurt. The doctor was a idiot and refused him pain medication blaing that he might get 'addicted' and that he didn't need that. Stupid doctor.

Andrew had been sitting here in his cell for two days now. The first night had been horrible, he hadn't been able to get any sleep worrying about Eric. And the second day none of the other guys had noticed him so it had been relatively quiet and he had caught up on his sleeping. 

The second day, yesterday, however, the others took notice to his pressence and had then begun the annoying act of 'cat calling', trying to get him to come over. Let hell he was gonna do that! He'd climbed up onto the second bunk, just out of reach and stayed here.

Today... he was still up there. Laying back his his legs cross and his hands behind his back. His tail hung over the side, just out of reach of 40 year olds acting like two year olds reaching for his tail. And the cat calls continued. He wondered if this happened often and if anyone was going to make these guys shut up before he went insane... 

He sighed, ears laying back. He wondered if Eric was ok. They wouldn't tell him anything, even when he asked. Said they dont keep up with victims and if they did wouldn't tell them what happened to them in the end. He wouldn't help but worry! There had been so much blood... and he couldn't even talk in sentences let alone make any sense when they rolled him away.

He was so deep in thought he didn't hear the very person he was worrying about ask for him. but he did hear him curse and shifted to look, ears perked. There he was. Just fine and walking. Or well.... trying to walk. He was so happy to see him that he forgot about the annoying people below him and someone manged to yank on his tail. He hissed, pulling his tail away angrily and whipped it in aggitaion.

The hiss reached Eric's ears causing him to open his eyes and focus on the said student. A frown hit his face as he walked over and stood next to the bars focusing on Andrew. "You see. This is why you don't carry a gun, Andrew" Eric spoke pulling up his sleeve and revealing the long line of stitches in his shoulder. His appearance wasn't quite normal. The pink hadn't come back to his whole body leaving him a weird pale color.

His blue eyes focused on his student just shaking his head lightly. "You want the gun back?" He asked lowly not really sure when he paid bail if he'd get custody of the gun or not. Andrew kind of lived with him but then again the gun was illegal or well for Andrew it was. He was way to young to be carrying around a fire arm and because of that he got arrested. Served him right though. Nothing good came from guns.

Andrew laid back his ears. "Hey, I didn't do that!" He insisted, "You're stupid as* jumped out of the car and became sitting duck." He stared hard at his teacher. Now that he was fine and he could see him, he could go on being mad at him without having to worry. Though he wasn't mad at him anymore. "They didn't even investigate! The two guns are totally different! Careless..." he grumbled. 

But he was getting tired of these people claling to him. "Can I go? Or do I have to stay here?" He asked. If he had to stay, then he wasn't even going to climb down from where he was and put himself into arms reach. that was a mistake he wasn't planning on making here.

He didn't answer about the gun. Maybe... he didn't want it. But it did have some sort of sentimental falue to him. Though it was a weapon. He didn't know. Having it would only put himself into more trouble.  

Eric sighed shaking his head lightly. "Let me go bail you out of jail so I suggest you stay up there less you want to become somones....girl" Eric spoke smirking as he walked off his tail flickering behind him in amusment. Jail wasn't something to mess with. It sucked and if you didn't watch it it didn't take much to get over powered and used. The cops could careless about the poeple behind those bars.

He walked up to the counter slipping out his debt card and handed it to a cop behind the counter. "Take what ever money you have to, to get the kid out of jail over there. I'm his guardian" Eric spoke sighing leanin agaisnt the counter. The cop did his little thing, made Eric sign a few papers before nodding. "I'll get the keys" he frowned lightly curling his tail around himself as he watched the cop grab some random key and walk back over to the cell Andrew was hidding in.

"Andrew.... Free to go" The cop spoke motioning for him to get down and get his butt next to the door. Eric slunk behind the cop his tail curling on itself as he waited for his student to stop being a chicken and climb down from his little bed tree thing.

Andrew straightened up. "Did he just?! Oh my god!" He barked after him. As soon as he was out of this stupid cell and out of this police station and away from these retarded cops he was going to get a gun and shoot Eric.

The cop came over to his cell and began to unlock the door and he jumped off of the bunk and bent his knees to take the fall before coming over to them. He was so embarras.sed that Eric had even mentioned that particular sitation he didn't even look at him. Anywhere else was fine. 

"Lets go kid" Eric frowned turning around and walking towrds the exit. He figured Andrew would be behind him but he wasn't going to check. His main focus right now was to get to his appartment and go to sleep. He was exausted and his shoulder hurt. He didn't want to put up with yelling at Andrew or anything. He just wanted sleep.

A sigh escaped him as he glanced back at Andrew. "Hey kid...You wanna drive?" he asked curiousy pushing open the police station door and holding it open for Andrew. He wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to drive after what had happened or not but then again...Eh. It didnt matter. His eyes focused on andrew before his ears pulled back slightly. "Thanks, Andrew." He said simply leaving his words just as that as he stood there watching his student. He was thankful for a lot. For living with him and keeping him company, for saving his life two days ago...just. A lot.

"Dont call me kid!" Andrew snapped. foolowing him when he walked. He thought that by now Eric would at least get the outline of what he did and didn't want and what his likes and dislikes were. And on of his per peeves was to be called 'kid'. It labelled him and he didn't want to be labelled. He had a name.

The next question turned of his thought process. 'You wanna drive?' ............ those words killed Aiden... did he want to drive? Those words seeme around to follow him around and haunt him, no matter where he went. And he face seemed to show it.

Thanks, Andrew. He didn't want to have to choose but he chose what he didnt when AIden had asked. "I'll drive." He responded. He walked out through the door. "What else was I gonna do?" He asked, "Let you die?" He asked.

Eric's ears twitched at Andrew snapping at him. This only caused a sigh to escape him. He remembered Andrew yelling at him in the car a few nights previous. That didn't feel to good and he dint' want to go through it again. He just seemed to shrug handing over his keys to Andrew and going around to the pas.senger side door.

He slipped in the car before pressng his back against the seat sorta like he had done when he was first shot. "Yeah I know it's stupid but I mean....for more than just saving my life. I havn't thanked you yet so I might as well do it now" he spoke frowning, glancing out the side window. He remembered some of the conversation in the car a few nights ago.

Andrew was telling him his life story and Eric was explaining Jaden although he didn't quite remember all he said. Everything around that time was fuzzy and there were only bits and peices he could remember. Was this how Andrew felt the night they had gotten drunk?

Andrew got into the car and closed the door afterward and buckled up, putting the keys into the car to start it. "Thank me for what?" He asked. It didn't seem like he never did anything except make things harder for his literature teacher.

He backed the car out the parking space that Eric had pulled into, wondering if he should even be driving anyway in his condition. Expecially since he had tripped coming into the police station. And there was nothing to trip on in there. 

He pulled out and headed back to Eric's place, wondering just how long this sort of thing was going to go on before Eric just didn't want him there anymore.  

Eric looked at Andrew before sighing. This was going to make things even more awkward now. How could he just explain but he feared Andrew woudl leave so he stuck with the basics. "For...well not htat you had a choice bt for stayin with me. It was lonely for a while but it's not now" he frowned lighlty glancing out the window.

"It just sorta took everything to realize I was missing something. With Jaden and moving to the safter side of town, then to me getting beat to a pulp now to getting shot...I was lonely. I was getting bored with my life and you just...brightened it up a little bit" he explained pinning his ears against his skull. He was more tired than he thought.

A sigh escaped him as he focused on the bildings pas.sing by them. He really had nothing else to say.

"Oh." Andrew replied, that being the best that the 18 year old could come up with. He really didn't know how to respond to that because the fact was, if it was up to him, he wouldn't be staying with Eric at all. He'd be on his own.

"I'm glad you're not lonely anymore... or less lonely than before.." He replied, keeping his voice neutral and his eyes straight forward. "But... if I had it my way... I wouldn't be here." He stated truthfully. "And don't take this the wrong way. It's not you, it's me. I'd rather be around you than anyone else i've ever lived with." He explained, not wanting to hurt Eric's feelings twice or more in the same week. But he really meant that too.

"But I wish that I was... someone else. Someone... that didn't need your help to get by." He said with a sigh. He wanted to be a better person that didnt have to rely on others to be able to survive and to make it. He wanted to be able to support himself without... having someone else there to help him.

Eric's ear twitched lightly as Andrew spoke. His heart sinking with every word. It did hurt, yes, that Andrew would rather be on his own. Did this mean he wanted to be alone? Do his own thing and not have to worry about anyone else? Eric sighed quietly and focused out the window wondering what exactly to say.

"Andrew..." Eric started his ears perking slightly trying to find the right words. "I'll be gone for two weeks starting next monday. I have a teachers convention I have to go to in order to catch up on my testing that I need to do. It's an every year type of thing. It only lasts two weeks. I was wondering if you would be okay with that....Being at the appartment alone but...." he frowned lightly. "Seeing you want to be alone I don't see that a problem for you" he shrugged lightly. He didn't say it to be mean. It just seemed that's where Andrew was going with this. He wanted a chance to be alone, do his own thing.

Andrew laid his ears back a little. Looks like he'd hurt Eric's feelings anyway. Even though he didn't want to do that. And he saw all of this as a slow, painful progression down. Until Eric finally realized that bringing Andrew his home with him really hadnt been the best thing that he had ever done. He'd regret soon.

Maybe he would go back to Stevie's boys...? He might even drop out of school and become the 'kid' that everyone expects him to become. The loser. The one that doesnt have a future, the one that never did. His only future being death or prison. He would have to give up on his dream of going to college and making something out of himself. Earning some respect instead of being looked down apon his whole entire life and being complaired to others as stood in their shadows as well.

"Thats fine, I guess..." he responded. He couldn't really tell him not to go. Especialy since that little speech he'd given only just a few seconds ago. Great.