Damaged Goods

***Vic's P.O.V.***

I was on the plane, on my way back to San Diego. Our plan to convince Kellin’s mom to let him go back with me had failed. We did everything possible, we kissed her ass, we went to church with her, we told her all of the reasons that it’d be best for Kellin to stay with me, and she just wasn’t having it. We felt defeated. We thought that was it, he was stuck there. But I didn’t go home without him. We were able to get him back by something we’d done unintentionally. Kellin was nervous about going to church. So naturally, when walking in he grabbed my hand for comfort, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but apparently everyone else in the church did. Right as we walked in all eyes were on us, giving us disgusted looks and shocked stares. I guess they were surprised that we were bold enough to walk in holding hands. I guess Kellin’s mom was embarrassed that everyone realized that her son was gay, because as soon as we got home she said that we both needed to leave and go back to San Diego. She gave us this long rant about how she was mortified that we would dare embarrass her in front of the church people. She spoke about how everyone was going to think that she tolerated homosexual behavior and she didn’t want her reputation tarnished. We were surprised that she wanted us gone even though she was fighting so hard to keep Kellin the other day, but we didn’t question it for a second. We immediately went up to Kellin’s room and packed our stuff, we were out of there in half an hour. Even though the trip was kind of crazy and his radical mom tried to trap him in the house, I was happy we went, because in a way we were able to get closure for Kellin. She even offered to put a certain amount of money each month in Kellin’s bank account as long as we stay clear of the town and we didn’t come to visit her unrequested.

I asked him if he regretted coming, or if he felt upset about the way his mom acted and he said no, not in the slightest. Kellin was such a strong guy, my parents are barely in my life, but if I had to deal with them constantly nagging about my sexuallity I don’t know if I’d be able to handle it. He said that he’s done dealing with that, he considered me, Mike, Tony, Alan and Austin his new family now, and he was content with the people that surrounded him.

“We’re almost home, love,” I smiled over to him as he nuzzled into my neck.

“I just can’t wait to see my friends and sleep in your bed again.” He giggled.

I chuckled lightly and gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head.

“So,” He said slowly. “Are we still gonna sign me up with a therapist?”

“Yeah we’re still doing that,” I answered. “I was thinking that you could meet with like three different therapists and you could tell me which one you feel most comfortable with.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” He smiled and nodded.

-
***Mike’s P.O.V.***

After what happened last night with Tony I thought we needed to talk it out. I was kinda pissed at him for kissing me in public, but I wanted to hear his side of the story. I decided to ask him if he wanted to go to a small coffee shop that was walking distance from the house. It was a hole in the wall, so it was never too busy and it was very peaceful. I didn’t know if he was going to agree to it, but if he did it’d clear things up for the both of us.

I knocked on the door to the guest room and waited a sec. I got no reply. I knocked again and I got nothing again. I decided to just open it. As I walked through the door I realized that he was still asleep. It was a little earlier than we usually woke up, but I needed to get this off my chest fast, because the truth is, I hated fighting with Tony, I missed cuddling him and being cute.

“Tone,” I said, softly shaking him to wake him up.

After about 3 more times, he finally let out a groan. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, trying to access what was going on.

“What do you want?” He said, his deep morning voice taking over.

“I wanna go get some coffee.”

“Why can’t you get coffee by yourself?” He grumbled, pulling the covers up over his head and turning to the other side.

“I don’t want to. I want to go with you, we need to talk.”

He groaned again before harshly throwing the covers off of him. He got up slowly and rubbed at his eyes some more. I went over to his bed and sat cross legged on the edge, waiting for him to get dressed. He stripped himself of his pajamas and began to get ready for a shower.

“Why can’t we talk here? Why do we have to go to a coffee shop?” He complained.

“Because you’re obviously irritated, and I feel like you’d be better to talk to with some caffeine in your system.” I concluded.

“It’s not the lack of caffeine that’s making me irritated.” He mumbled.

I rolled my eyes at that but kept my mouth shut, not wanting to push any buttons this early in the morning.

After waiting about 20 minutes, he was fully showered, dressed and ready to go. The walk to the coffee shop was awkward. Neither of us said anything, the only sound that was being made were the crunching of the leaves. I honestly didn’t expect him to be too upset about last night, but I guess with Tony you never know. Once we got to the coffee shop we ordered and sat down on the patio in the back of the place. I quietly took a sip of my coffee and looked up at Tony. His stare was intense as he loudly took an obnoxious slurp, not breaking eye contact with me once.

“Can we not do this?” I sighed.

“Not do what?” He mumbled.

“Be pissed off at each other. Last night was stupid. We were drunk and you kissed me because you weren’t thinking clearly. Let’s just forget about it.”

“I was thinking clearly. I didn’t get drunk until after I kissed you and you stormed out.”

I sighed and took a sip of my coffee. Why on earth would he think that was a good idea?

“You just embarrassed me in front of everyone.” Tony said, “You literally could’ve just laughed it off because you were drunk, but no, you had to push me, wipe your mouth off with the back of your fucking hand and run upstairs. Do you realize how mortified I was?” He explained.

“What else did you expect?” I asked. “You tried to out me in front of all of our friends last night.”

I was trying not to get upset, because I knew he was upset and it’d end in both of us yelling at each other, and frankly I was scared that if I pissed Tony off one more time that he’d really go back home, and I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“I wasn’t trying to out you.” He rolled his eyes. “Mike, you would’ve been mad at me either way. I kissed you and you’re mad that I did that in front of everyone, but if I were to have kissed Michael, which was my second choice, you would’ve been pissed. Don’t even try to lie and say you wouldn’t have. You won’t admit it, but you’ve been very insecure lately when it comes to Michael, so I didn’t want to give you another reason to worry.”

I was quiet for a second. He had a point. If he would’ve kissed Michael yesterday I probably would’ve lashed out on him as soon as everyone left. I do feel a little weird when it comes to Tony hanging around Michael so I saw where he was coming from. Maybe I could’ve handled last night better. I was new to this whole relationship compromise thingy, and I was trying to hear him out and see if I was in the wrong. And at this moment I was dead wrong.

“You’re right.” I said quietly.

“What?” Tony asked, shocked that I was admitting to being wrong.

“You’re right. I would’ve been pissed. You were kinda stuck in a tough situation and there was just no winning for you. I could’ve handled it better when you kissed me.”

“Excuse me, who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?” He joked, cracking the first smile I’d seen all morning.

“Shut up.” I chuckled. “I can admit when I’m wrong.”

“Since when?” He smirked.

“Since this morning, when I realized that we were fighting over something stupid.” I smiled.

He chuckled and took a sip of coffee. I looked around quickly to make sure no one was in sight, before leaning in and placing a kiss to his lips. It lasted for a short period of time before I pulled away with a smirk.

“Ew, coffee breath.” I joked.

“Fuck you.” Tony laughed.

-

***Vic’s P.O.V.***

The plane just landed and I was happy to be back in San Diego. I talked to Mike the night before, and he said that neither him nor Tony could pick us up from the airport. I had no idea why, but I really didn’t want to ask questions. We decided to take an Uber, it wouldn’t be that much because the airport wasn’t too far from our house.

Kellin and I quickly got our stuff from the baggage claim area and headed outside where our Uber driver was waiting. He looked pretty nice, not creepy at all, and he helped us load our bags into the trunk. Kellin and I slid into the backseat and I wrapped my arm around him. He sighed and leaned into me. We were both really tired. Last night was amazing for us. We had our first time. I didn’t plan on having it in Kellin’s childhood bedroom, but it turned out even better than expected.

When pulling up to our house I felt a sense of relief. We could make some food, take a nap and just cuddle up together in our own cute little home, far far away from Kellin’s mother. We quickly pulled our luggage out from the trunk of the car before making our way to our way to the front door. I found the key and unlocked the door before entering the house.

“Mike!” I called out, excited to see my little brother.

I hate to admit it, but I had missed him quite a bit.

“Tony!” I said loudly, hoping to get a response from one of them.

“I guess they’re not home.” Kellin shrugged.

Just as he said that we heard a noise come from upstairs. We both looked at each other before I called out both Mike and Tony’s name again. We didn’t receive an answer. We set down our bags and headed for the stairs. Hand in hand we walked up the stairs before walking to where we heard the noise coming from, my room. I pushed open the door to reveal Dylan sitting on my bed looking down at his hands.

“Dylan.” I said, astonished that he was here right now.

His head snapped up, he looked me right in the eyes. It looked like he’d been crying. He wasn’t okay right now. His eyes soon left mine and they traveled to Kellin and I’s interlocked hands.

“I need to talk to you.” He said quietly.

I wasn’t in the mood for this right now. I had just gotten home and all I wanted to do was lay down with Kellin and get some rest. All Dylan was here to do was tell me that I was making a mistake and beg me to take him back, I didn’t have the energy to fight with him at the moment.

“Dylan, I can’t right now.” I sighed.

“I just really need to talk to you.” He pleaded.

I looked into his eyes and I could tell that he wasn’t all there. He was in the middle of an episode and I didn’t know how bad it was.

“You don’t need to talk to him, you don’t deserve the right to talk to him after everything you’ve done.” Kellin piped up from behind me.

“You shut up.” Dylan said a little louder, pointing a finger at Kellin.

Dylan was shaking and it was very obvious that he was distraught.

“What do you want to talk about?” I sighed again, almost giving in to him.

“I want to talk alone.” He declared, shooting a glare at Kellin.

“I’m not leaving him here alone with you so you can beat the shit out of him again. That’s not happening.” Kellin barked, his fists clenching.
I squeezed his hand reassuringly in order to tell him to calm down a bit.

“Okay fine, he can stay here as long as he shuts the fuck up.” Dylan spat.

I nodded at him and turned to Kellin and gave him a look, he nodded his head slightly, letting me know that he would be quiet, but the rage in his eyes was still burning so I knew that he could go off at any second. I turned back to Dylan and asked him to continue. He visibly relaxed and took a deep breath.

“Vic, I know I’m gonna sound desperate, but this is my last hope. I need you. I want you to come back, I need you back in my life.” He said, looking as if he was on the brink of tears again. “I’m not happy. I don’t know how to be happy without you.”

“Dylan, we’ve already talked about this. I am no good for you.”

“That’s not true. You are good for me. When we’re together I’m so much happier and I have purpose for my life. Every time we break up I go through hell until I have you back. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I need you back. Please.” He said, letting the tears spill over.

“You’ve hurt me so much.” I said, my voice cracking due to the fact that I was trying not to cry.

“I promise not to do that anymore. I’ve changed, I am a different person.”

“I’m in love with someone else.” I said quietly.

“You look pathetic.” Kellin mumbled under his breath.

“Shut up!” Dylan yelled in his direction.

I gave Kellin a look, letting him know to back off for a second and that I had it under control.

“Dylan, I’m in love with Kellin.” I said, letting a few tears fall. “There’s nothing you can do or say to change that. I’m sorry.”

“I feel like I’m in hell. I can’t take this for much longer.” He cried. “It hurts so much to see you with him. He doesn’t even appreciate you Vic! I know what you’re worth and I will treat you well if you give me the chance.”

I felt Kellin about to say something but I spoke up before he did because I didn’t want a fight to break out.

“You had your chance.” I said quietly. “You fucked it up. Now I found someone that I really love.”

“So all of the years we were together are nothing to you anymore?” He asked, standing from the bed.

“I didn’t say t-”

“He comes around and you just forget all about me huh?” He said, pointing at Kellin again. “I’m old fucking news now. You don’t want me anymore.”

“The reason we broke up the first time wasn’t because of him. I didn’t even know him at the time.” I reasoned.

“You have to admit, if it wasn’t for him we’d still be together.” He said quietly, his eyes closing.

I stayed quiet because that was probably true, if it weren't for Kellin I’d probably still be in that bad situation. I could tell that he was trying to calm himself down, he didn’t want to be worked up at the moment, but he was a mess. He was crying and his words were coming out really fast, like he was just spilling out emotions.

After I didn’t reply for a second he looked at me with glossy eyes, his lips twitched the slightest bit.

“So we’re done? We’re definitely done. Forever?” He asked.

“Yes.” I nodded.

He sighed out of frustration and used his hands to angrily wipe away his tears.

“You’re sure about this?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “I plan on marrying him and being with him for the rest of my life.”

His face twisted into a look of complete disgust. It was obvious that what I said hurt him a lot, but I needed to say it so the point would come across and he’d finally leave me alone. He stood there for a second, at first I was going to ask him to leave, but then he started to move. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a tiny pistol. Kellin and I immediately tensed at the sight of the gun. The situation had quickly escalated and I had no idea what to do. I instinctively stepped in front of Kellin and put my hands in front of my body cautiously. Thinking of ways to calm him down.

“Oh you think this is for him?” He said waving the gun around and pointing it in Kellin’s direction as he chuckled slightly with tears rolling down his cheeks. “Nah, this isn’t for him.”

He’s lost it. He was all the way gone, and I was scared about what he was gonna do. I felt Kellin behind me and he was shaking like a leaf.

“Dylan, please put the gun down.” I said firmly.

“Why are you so scared?” He taunted. “I already told you I wasn’t gonna hurt your precious boyfriend.” He said sarcastically.

“Kellin, go downstairs and call the cops.” I mumbled quickly to him.

“I’m not leaving you b-” He squeaked.

“I will be alright, but if we both stay up here we’re both dead. Now I want you to go get your phone, call the police and then leave the house.” I ordered.

He hesitated for a second before quickly exiting the room. I looked back to Dylan who didn’t even flinch as Kellin left the room.

“Wow finally. He’s gone.” Dylan sighed. “Now I can finally have some time with you to myself. Who knew all it took was a gun to get him to get the fuck out?” He laughed. “He’s a clingy little bastard.”

He was so gone it was scary. Here he was, crying and laughing at the same time, waving a gun around.

“Please put the gun down so we can talk.” I pleaded.

“Now you want to talk?” He asked. “It’s too late for that. I’ve heard everything I needed to hear.”

He brought the gun for me. He was planning on hurting me. I guess this was a ‘if I can’t have you then no one can’ type of thing. I began to shake with fear as the reality of the situation set in. I wasn’t scared about death, I was more scared about what would happen to Kellin after the fact. He looked at me in the eyes and squinted.

“You think I brought this to hurt you?” He asked, tears streaming down his face.

I didn’t answer, I didn’t know what to say.

“No. I would never hurt you Vic, you know that.” He sighed. “You’re the love of my life.” He said before pausing. “And that’s why I have to do this.”

He moved the gun to his right hand and brought it up to aim it right at the temple of his head.

“Dylan no. Please, before you do this can we talk? Please just let me talk to you.” I pleaded with him, trying to step closer without startling him too much.

“No.” He said shaking his head. “I can’t anymore. I can’t put up with this anymore.” He cried.

He sighed trying to even out his breathing. His hands were shaking so much that I thought the gun might fall out of his hand. That would’ve been great because it would give me the chance to quickly dive in and grab it.

“Wait, stop. I love you.” I lied. “I want to be with you. Put down the gun.” I pleaded

“You’re lying.” He sobbed.

“I’m not. We can talk about this.”

I was lying straight through my teeth, but at this moment I would say anything to get him to calm down. He shook his head removed the safety on the gun. I cautiously started moving towards him, trying to see if there was a way I could take the gun without getting hurt. The reality of the situation was hitting me like a ton of bricks. He was about to do something he could never take back. I stretched out my shaking hands towards him and tried to look him in the eyes.

“Please. Dylan, please look at me.” I sobbed.

He looked up at me, still letting the tears spill from his eyes.

“Don’t do this.” I pleaded quietly, looking intensely into his eyes, hoping to find at least a little bit of sanity left.

It was crazy how I was trying so hard to help the person who had caused me so much emotional and physical pain. But at this moment I wasn’t thinking about everything he’s done to me. I was thinking about the good parts of Dylan and all of the time that we spent together.

He continued to look me in the eyes with the gun pressed against his temple.

“You’re so beautiful.” He said in almost a whisper. “I just want you to know that you’re the love of my life. I’m so happy I get to spend my last moments with you, even though we’re in this fucked up situation. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met, and even to this day, I don’t regret falling in love with you.” He cried harder.

“Dylan, stop please!” I screamed at the top of my lungs

“I love you Vic.” He sobbed.

Before I could do or say anything else, a gunshot rang out and the room was silent.