Cemetery Drive.

Gabe climbed over the thick, wrought iron gates of the cemetery, nearly falling backwards onto William as he jumped down. Will grabbed his hand as he turned to face the two people still standing on the other side of the gates.
“Are you sure you should be here Vicky?” William asked as the girl delicately climbed the gates. Her white dress floated down gently when she landed on the muddy ground.
“Yeah, won’t your husband mind?” Gabe continued for Will. Vicky scoffed cynically, questioning the pair in one foul swoop.
“When would Alex ever mind?” She asked, raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow at them both. Gabe shrugged, dropping William’s hand. The reason he’d done this was to help Nate, who was a little too short to jump the gates, into the cemetery. Nate brushed himself down and shivered. It was November, and the winter snow and ice was creeping in by the day.
The four of them picked their way across the cemetery, and being as unconventional as they are, decided to make their own route rather than use the one that’s already there and was designed for the public. William, who is particularly superstitious, avoided stepping on anywhere he thought a corpse may be buried under. He shuddered slightly at the thought and reached out in front of him for Gabe’s hand. Vicky stumbled over a gravestone and cursed quietly under her breath.
“Nearly there, don’t panic.” Gabe whispered, squeezing Will’s hand gently.
A few moments of silence later, Gabe smiled. They were here.
“We’re good.” He muttered, making Vicky and Nate stop in their tracks.
Before them stood a huge stone mausoleum, gray in color. The once ornate shapes and pictures carved into it were now eroded and barely visible. The steps in front of the door were crumbling and looked like they wouldn’t even hold the weight of a fly, let alone a person. Will swallowed nervously.
Nate let out an awed gasp that echoed in the cold night air around the four of them. Gabe gently pulled William over to the frail looking stairs and took a tentative step onto them. Once realizing they were stable, he sat down gingerly, perching on the edge. William sat down on the stair below, in between Gabe’s legs. Gabe gently wrapped his arms around Will’s neck and nuzzled the top of his head. Vicky made a silent face to Nate that said, in its simplest form, ‘Aw!’
The pair of them sat down in a similar position, except Nate balanced precariously on the side of the step. Vicky pulled a well-concealed bag from beneath the lace of her dress. Her husband, Alex, hated that dress. He always said it made her look like a slut. Vicky didn’t really care; she only married Alex because her parents forced her to, she always swears that she loves trees more than she loves him.
She unclipped the bag to reveal several bottles of alcohol. She handed them out to the other three, before taking one herself.
This was becoming a regular thing; meeting together and drinking in the graveyard. It had been Gabe’s idea to bring Will and Nate along this time. Occasional lights would beam over them, the searchlights projecting down to check all was in order during the night. They were never found out; trying to see individual people from a helicopter would be far too difficult.
The night ended in the early hours of the morning, with William and Gabe sharing one final, drunken kiss goodbye before the four of them split into pairs; Nate and Will heading one way and Vicky and Gabe in the other.
This is the final, fondest memory of Gabe that William holds near and dear to him. Because at exactly 12:53pm that day - Will remembers the time exactly - Vicky called him, her voice cracking and sobs interjecting between every word.
She told him to head to her house - and to hurry. Will just had chance to pick up a jacket - Gabe’s purple hoodie, to be precise - before he headed out. Little did he realize it then, but that very same jacket would be the one thing that kept him sane over the following months. When Vicky opened the door to him, she instantly threw her arms around his neck and started sobbing ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry’ into his chest. Will rubbed her back gently, before asking what was wrong. Her next reply positively shattered William’s heart into thousands of tiny pieces.
“It’s G-Gabe, Alex thought I was c-cheating with him, s-so he…”
She never finished her sentence, instead lead William towards the bathroom. She pushed opened the door and Will’s breath snagged in his throat and refused to move. Tears brimmed in his eyes as he knelt down beside the body on the white linoleum floor tiles.
“G-Gabe?” He asked, gently touching his boyfriend’s ice cold cheek. He gasped quietly as his hand made contact with a sticky liquid. He pulled his hand away and saw his fingertips were covered in a congealed reddish brown fluid. Tears began to trickle over his cheeks as he wiped his fingers on his jeans.
“I’m so, so, sorry…” Vicky whimpered, kneeling beside Will and wrapping her arm around his bony shoulders. His few tears began to escalate into sobs, his tears soaking through Vicky’s t shirt as she comforted him as best as she could. She knew there was nothing she could really do.
“Alex ran for it, I don’t know where he’s gone…” Vicky told him, stroking Will’s brown hair softly. She regretted saying this sentence soon after, as Will’s crying became enormous, wracking sobs. Her shirt was slowly getting drenched, but she didn’t care.
This was three weeks ago. These weeks dragged for both William and Vicky. Vicky was waiting to see if Alex would return, even if it was only so she could beat the living daylights out of him. William, on the other hand, spent the weeks curled up on his bed in his - and Gabe’s - apartment. There were memories of Gabe everywhere; from the décor of the kitchen to the shoes and clutter lying around the bedroom. Will didn’t want to move them, because he felt like that would be admitting Gabe was gone.
Will knew it would be difficult without Gabe, but he never thought it would be this hard. Every time he closed his eyes in a futile attempt to sleep, Gabe’s image would run through his mind, along with recollections of each and every kiss they ever shared, from the first surprise outburst of feelings to the final, sloppy drunken embrace that Will remembered so well.
Speaking of William. He was lying on his bed, snuggled deep inside Gabe’s purple hoodie, tear tracks visible on his pale pink cheeks. Beside him lay a gun, fully loaded and ready to fire. He’d been like this for days. If he was being honest, he’d have said he hated it. But having a “way out” so close and so useful was a comfort to him. William would occasionally glance at the overly bright digits on his bedside clock, and would then mutter the words ‘I’ll keep crying until you come back. You should know that by now.’
Will didn’t realize it then, but keeping himself holed up alone was killing him inside. But then, killing was on his mind a lot at the moment. In between these thoughts, he would wonder if crushing Alex would make him feel any better. He knew for a fact that Gabe didn’t do a thing, and didn’t deserve the murder he received in return.
Gabe’s funeral was what made William finally realize that he wasn’t coming back. Gabe was never coming back. He’d never feel that flutter in his heart again, he’d never feel like his heart was ready to burst because of the love growing inside of it. Because he knew Gabe was the only one who could ever make him feel that way. And knowing that ripped what little remained of him into tiny, unrecognizable pieces.
Just over a month after Gabe’s funeral, Will decided it was time to finally face his losses. He bought a bunch of red roses from the nearby florist’s and headed down to the cemetery on the other side of town.
He reached Gabe’s grave, fear building up inside him with every small step he took. He knelt at the foot of Gabe’s grave, setting the roses down gently on the newly grown green grass. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a gun, spinning it slowly in his left hand.
“I miss you, Gabe. I know it’s not been long, but I need you. No one’s mentioned it, but I haven’t been sleeping too well lately. Y’know why? Because whenever I try to, I just seem to remember every kiss we ever shared. It gets unbearable sometimes.” He changed his grip on the gun so he held it firmly. Pushing it against his temple, he closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind.
“I’m coming Gabe. I’m coming.”