TBW:blood and gore and gunshots/gun violent(may be) and violent and death and killing.
Pov Matthew
I could hear Kevin's voice above the crowd, angry as always, pushing through bodies like a bulldozer. "Get the hell back!" he snapped at someone, probably some idiot shoving too hard. I didn't have time to pull him back. My focus was on Jack smaller, quieter, always trailing just a step behind.
We shouldn't have come here. I knew that.
But Jack had that look in his eyes when he suggested it. Like he actually believed standing here with everyone else would change something.
I grabbed Jack's wrist and pulled him closer. "Stay between me and Kevin," I told him, loud enough for both of them to hear.
Jack gave me a quick, nervous nod. "Y-Yeah. I got it..." His voice cracked. He was scared. I couldn't blame him.
And Kevin, Kevin wasn't scared. Kevin was furious. His whole face was tight, fists clenched, lips pressed so hard together it looked painful. I caught him glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.
"You really think they'll listen to this crap?" Kevin asked, voice low now, eyes flicking to the police line ahead of us. Helmets, shields, tear gas canisters clipped to belts. Guns too. Real ones.
"I don't know." I answered honestly. "But Jack wanted to be here."
Kevin exhaled, sharp and angry. I saw him look back again, past me, toward Jack. His jaw tightened even more.
Then everything broke at once.
A bang.
Not fireworks. Not something controlled. The sound punched through my chest before my ears caught up.
Someone screamed.
Then the tear gas dropped.
I didn't think. I grabbed Jack, yanked him against me, trying to shield his face with my coat. Kevin grabbed my shoulder, dragging both of us backward.
We didn't make it five steps before something hit me. Hard. Chest.
It was like getting punched by a wall. I stumbled, arm still around Jack. I felt him shaking under my grip smaller than I'd realized in that moment.
And then Kevin was yelling my name.
"Matthew! MATTHEW!" His voice cracked in a way I wasn't used to hearing. Loud, furious, but scared too.
I tried to answer. Couldn't. My throat burned. Smoke? Blood?
Jack's hand was clutching my sleeve, tight. His other hand was up, wiping at his face, eyes wide and shining with tears.
"Don't..... don't fall, Matt... please don't..." Jack's voice broke.
Kevin grabbed my other arm, trying to hold me up. I could feel both of them Jack's smaller hands, Kevin's stronger grip. And through it all, this weird numbness.
I wasn't cold. Not yet.
The last thing I thought before everything tipped sideways was:
At least I'm with them. At least we didn't end this alone.
I felt Kevin's hand leave my arm.
One second it was there his grip steady, trying to pull me upright and the next it wasn't.
I turned my head.
Kevin was on the ground.
There wasn't any time to think about it. His body just... dropped. Like someone had cut the strings holding him up. Face first into the concrete. Blood already starting to spread under him.
"Kevin?" I breathed, but it didn't even sound like my own voice.
Jack's hand tightened on my sleeve. He saw it too.
We didn't move. Both of us just stood there in the middle of everything. People running. Sirens screaming. More tear gas hissing.
But my eyes wouldn't leave Kevin. I couldn't.
The back of his shirt was torn open. There was blood everywhere. A single shot, maybe two.
That was it.
He was just gone.
Jack made a sound behind me half a breath, half a sob. "K–Kevin...?" His voice shook like glass about to break, I didn't answer. I couldn't.
And I should have moved. Should have pulled Jack with me.
But I didn't.
I just stood there like an idiot, staring at my best friend on the ground, That's when the next shots came. Not one. Two. Three. Fast.
Something hot slammed into my side, I staggered. Jack caught my sleeve again, but he wasn't strong enough to hold me up.
I dropped to my knees. Jack followed, falling down with me, both of us still caught in that same dumb moment where nothing felt real.
His voice broke completely then. "Matthew M-Matt... you're" I didn't even look down. I could feel it. Warm. Spreading.
Jack's hands shook as he grabbed my shoulders, trying to hold me steady. He was crying now, full-on, no holding back.
I managed to lift my head just once just enough to see Kevin's body lying there. Still not moving, Then everything tilted sideways again. And this time, I didn't get back up.
Jack's hands were still on my shoulders. I could barely hear him now his voice shaking, crying, saying my name like it would hold me in place.
But I couldn't stay, The world was getting quieter. Lighter somehow.
I thought about Kevin first angry, loud, always trying too hard...
And Jack smiling even when he was scared...
I let my head fall forward just a little, resting against Jack's arm as everything blurred around the edges.
"At least I was with them..." That was the last thought that stuck, "That's enough." Then it all went dark.