Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2006 22:36:09 -0800 (PST) From: Kirk Landers <ilj4ever44@yahoo.com> Subject: Phases- part 6 Copyright and Disclaimer: 1. This is a fictional story with fictional characters. 2. No one is to steal this story under any circumstances. 3. This story deals with relationships and not sex, so if you're looking for a story with a lot of sex in it, this isn't the story for you. Hope you are all enjoying the story. This next installment is my homage to some of my favorite movies and tv shows. Here it is, entitled 'Hold Up' "HOLD UP" It's been two weeks since the guys returned from Vegas. Leo has been doing a lot better and hasn't spoken to Jesse at all. Nick has found renewed faith in the dating scene thanks to Adrian and has been open to the dating world again. Kurt meanwhile, has been a lot better with Ryan, since the Vegas trip the two have done their best to let go, or at least hide the feelings they have towards one another and are just letting time and fate decide where life will take them. It was an average day, Kurt had just gotten done working on his short story and was going to celebrate by meeting the guys for lunch. Ryan was relaxing on his day off at the apartment when Kurt came out of his room. "Ryan are you busy?" Kurt asked putting his jacket on. "No, why?" Ryan asked. "I was wondering if you could possibly give me a ride to the bank," Kurt said. "Sure, no problem," Ryan said getting up. "Is there something wrong with your car?" "No, it's just that I'm supposed to go with Nick somewhere after lunch and was just going to get a ride from him," Kurt replied. "So you're just going to walk from the bank to the restaurant you're meeting your friends at?" Ryan asked. "Yeah," Kurt answered. "It's not a long walk is it?" Ryan asked. "If so I could wait for you at the bank and just give you a ride from there." "Oh don't worry about it, it's not a long walk," Kurt replied. "Thanks though." Kurt and Ryan grabbed their things and headed out. Over at Leo's place he was heading out when he called Nick. "Hey Leo, what's up?" Nick asked picking up. "Hey, so I'm going to be a little late, I need to stop by the bank real quick," Leo replied. "Okay, no problem I'll just get a table for us," Nick said. "Are we still going to go shopping after lunch?" Leo asked. "Yeah," Nick answered. "Would you mind if I got a ride from you after lunch?" Leo asked. "No problem, Kurt's getting a ride from me too," Nick replied. "Great thanks," Leo said. "My car's been acting up and I'm not taking it in to get serviced until tomorrow." "It's cool. I'll see you in a bit," Nick said. "Sounds great," Leo replied as he hung up. Later on Kurt and Ryan pulled up to the bank. "Thanks for the ride," Kurt said getting out. "What are your plans for today?" "I think Craig is going to come over later," Ryan replied. "Oh," Kurt said, "Well, hope you two have fun." "Will do," Ryan said. Kurt and Ryan both exchanged a look that said so much that couldn't be said to one another. "Have a good day," Kurt said. "You too," Ryan sighed. Kurt headed off, Ryan didn't take off right away, he took a minute to watch Kurt and wish he could take things further between the two. Kurt stopped before entering the bank and looked back just as Ryan began to drive off. Kurt sighed to himself, but before he could think about it anymore someone grabbed his arm. "Hey Kurt," Leo said turning Kurt around to face him. "Hey," Kurt replied in surprise, "What are you doing here?" "I needed to get some money from the ATM," Leo replied. "You drive here?" "No, Ryan dropped me off," Kurt said. "I was going to walk to the restaurant to meet you guys." "Me too," Leo answered as the two walked inside the bank. Meanwhile, Nick arrived at the restaurant and got a table for the three of them. He called up Leo to see where he was at. "Hey Nick," Leo said picking up the phone, "Kurt and I are at the bank right now. We'll be right there." "I'll help you out right here sir," a merchant said to Kurt as he was the next person in line. Kurt went up to the window as Leo stayed behind talking to Nick. Then suddenly, three gun shots were fired in the bank. The crowded bank screamed and scattered in panic. "Nobody move!" a man yelled wearing a ski mask over his head holding a gun in the air as another masked man fired two more shots in the air. "Stay where you are!" The security guards on duty tried to fire at the robbers, but they got the upper hand and fired at them first and hitting them in the shoulders and legs. The robber's second man quickly grabbed the security guards guns. "What was that?" Nick asked worried hearing the gun shots. "Oh my God!" Leo said in a panic, "What's going on?" "Leo are you okay!" Nick asked, but with all the yelling and screaming in the bank Leo couldn't hear anything. "Leo!" Kurt yelled as the crowd of twenty people in the bank pushed the two of them apart to opposite ends of the bank. "Kurt, what's going on?" Leo asked freaking out. But Kurt couldn't hear him, he was now on the other side of the bank. "Everybody get down on the ground!" the masked robber yelled. "Talk to me Leo," Nick said. "There's two robbers," Leo whispered getting down on the ground. "Everyone just take it easy and you won't get hurt," the main robber said. "Call the police," Leo said hanging up the phone. Nick hurried and called 911. Back at the bank Kurt was sitting down against a wall next to a frantic woman. "Oh my God," the woman cried, "This can't be happening. I have children, a husband, family to get back to." "Don't worry," Kurt said trying to comfort her, "I'm sure you'll be okay." "What if I die?" the woman whispered to Kurt in tears. "Just do whatever they say and I'm sure we'll be okay," Kurt replied. Meanwhile back at the apartment Ryan and Craig were hanging out together. Craig was talking to Ryan, but Ryan's mind seemed to be somewhere else. "You okay?" Craig asked. "Huh?" Ryan asked not paying attention. "What's wrong?" Craig asked, "You've been acting weird for the past couple weeks." "I know, I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now," Ryan replied. "Anything you want to talk about?" Craig asked. "No," Ryan replied. "It's not that important. Let's watch tv." Ryan turned on the television where there was a 'Breaking News' coverage. On the tv a female news reporter was standing in front of the bank. "Shots were fired just minutes ago, police arrived on the scene and a negotiator is currently on his way to try and talk down the gunman inside," the reporter said. Ryan looked at the bank behind the reporter and his heart dropped when he realized it was the bank he dropped Kurt off at. He quickly picked up his phone and called him. Back at the bank Kurt's cell rang, he quickly silenced it so the robbers wouldn't notice. He looked at the caller ID and saw Ryan's name. He desperately wanted to pick up the phone to try and ask for help, but didn't want to risk getting in trouble. After his phone stopped ringing he quickly went and started sending Ryan a text asking for him to watch the news and see if there's anything about what's going on. At the apartment Ryan slammed his fist on the coffee table in the living room when Kurt's phone went to voice mail. "Hey it's Kurt, sorry I missed you're call, just leave me a message and I'll get right back to you." Kurt's voice mail said. "Kurt it's me," Ryan said worriedly in the phone. "I just saw the coverage on the news. Please call me so I know you're all right." Right when Ryan hung up the phone he got a text message from Kurt. 'Robbers at bank. Being held hostage. Watch news and let me know how long until help comes.' Kurt's text message read. "What's going on?" Craig asked. "Kurt's trapped inside the bank," Ryan replied. "Turn up the volume on the tv." "Is he all right?" Craig asked. "I don't know," Ryan replied. Nick was hurrying over to the bank when he ran into Jesse along the way. "Hey Nick," Jesse said, "Where you rushing off to?" "Not now," Nick said rushing. "Whoa, what's wrong?" Jesse asked. "Kurt and Leo are being held hostage," Nick answered. "What?" Jesse asked in shock. "If you want to know more then just come with me, otherwise I don't have time for this," Nick said as he hurried off. "Wait for me," Jesse said as he ran to catch up with Nick. When the two arrived at the bank police cars, paramedics, news vans, and crowds of people were everywhere looking at the bank. "How long until you can get them out?" Nick asked running up to a police officer. "We're doing everything we can," the police officer responded. "Oh my God," Jesse said looking at the blocked off bank. "I need to get in there, I need to save Leo." "Don't be stupid," Nick said. "You'll just get yourself killed. Let the police handle it." "And it looks like they're doing a world of good," Jesse said sarcastically. "I hope they're okay," Nick sighed. Inside the bank Leo was sitting wondering if this was going to be his last day alive. "I can't believe this," Leo sighed. Leo looked at his phone and saw he had a text message from Kurt. 'You okay?' the text read. Leo looked over across the bank at Kurt and nodded his head. The two both saw the fear in each others eyes and wanted to be closer to one another. Kurt looked next to him at the woman who he was talking to earlier and saw the fear and panic in the woman's eyes next to him. He gently put his arm around her to comfort her. "Why don't you tell me about your family?" Kurt whispered, wanting to keep his voice down, but wanting to try and calm the woman down. "I have two kids," she whispered. "A daughter and a son." "I'm sure they're great," Kurt replied. "They are," she said. "My daughter, Becca, she's a straight A student, and my son, Sam, he's graduating kindergarten tomorrow." "That's great," Kurt said. "Don't worry, before you know it, you'll be at Sam's graduation." "Thank you," She said. "My name's Mary." "Kurt," Kurt answered giving her a hug. "Don't worry, we'll be okay." "Thanks," Mary said resting her head on Kurt's shoulder. Over on Leo's side of the bank, he was sitting alone and thinking about his life and what he would have accomplished if he were to die today. He still hadn't accomplished anything in his professional life and the only thing he could think of to be proud of was the relationship he had with Jesse. Even though it ended, it was the one thing he truly felt he did right in his life. He could remember every moment and every emotion. He remembered back to how the two first got together. ****FLASHBACK**** It was 2004 and Leo arrived ten minutes late at the restaurant he was meeting Kurt and Nick at for dinner. "Sorry I'm late guys," Leo said sitting down. "Swim practice ran late." "It's cool," Kurt said. "So how was practice?" Nick asked. "It was pretty good," Leo replied. "My teammate, Wade, is having me meet this one friend of his later." "He's setting you up?" Kurt asked. "Yeah," Leo answered. "That's kind of cool, straight guy setting you up with a gay guy," Nick noted. "Apparently this guy is his best friend," Leo said. "When are you meeting him?" Kurt asked. "They actually said they were going to stop by here to eat and then I was going to meet up with them later," Leo replied. "Oh, so we're going to see this guy too huh?" Nick asked. "Yeah, you can give me your opinion," Leo replied. "What's his name?" Kurt asked. "Raymond," Leo replied. "Hey how are you guys doing?" their waiter said coming up to the table, "My name's Jesse and I'll be taking care of you guys tonight. Can I start you all off with something to drink?" "I'll have a beer," Leo said. "Of course," Jesse said. "May I just see your ID please?" "Certainly," Leo said taking his ID out of his wallet and handing it to Jesse. "Thank you Leo," Jesse said after examining his ID. "You're welcome Jesse," Leo replied with a smile noticing how cute Jesse was. "And what about you two?" Jesse asked Nick and Kurt, but still glancing over at Leo. "I'll just have a lemonade," Kurt replied. "Water is fine with me," Nick said. "Great, I'll be right out with your drinks," Jesse said. "Thanks Jesse," Leo said starting to get a little on the flirtatious side. "No problem," Jesse replied with a slight wink as he left their table. "I swear, you have the best gaydar," Kurt said laughing. "How did you know he was gay?" Nick asked. "He seemed completely straight to me." "I just thought he was cute, so I just tried to be a little on the flirtatious side and see how he'd react," Leo answered. "Well save some of the guys for us," Kurt noted. "You already have one coming tonight, remember?" "Yes, I remember," Leo replied. "Leo," Wade, Leo's teammate, said coming up to their table with a very handsome man. "How you doing?" "I'm good," Leo replied. "You've met Kurt and Nick right?" "Yeah, how are you guys?" Wade asked Kurt and Nick. "We're good," Nick replied. "This is Raymond," Wade said introducing his friend. "Nice to meet you," Raymond said shaking Leo's hand. "Nice to meet you too," Leo replied. "Well we just wanted to stop by and say hi," Wade said. "We're going to go eat, but I'll see you later tonight right Leo?" "Yeah," Leo replied. "Good meeting you," Raymond said as him and Wade left the table. "He was cute," Nick noted. "Yeah," Leo replied, but then he saw Jesse come up to their table, "But he's cuter." "Here are your drinks," Jesse said coming up to their table. Jesse set down the lemonade for Kurt and the water for Nick, but as he was handing Leo his beer it slipped from his hand and spilled on Leo. "Oh cold!" Leo said instinctively as the cold beer splashed over him. "I am so sorry!" Jesse said taking a towel he was carrying with him and started to dab it against Leo's now wet t-shirt. Leo took a minute to enjoy Jesse touching him before he responded. "It's okay," Leo replied making eye contact with Jesse. "Let me get another towel," Jesse said. "Don't worry about it," Leo replied. "It's fine. I'm just going to go to the bathroom to wash up." Leo then excused himself and went to the bathroom and dried himself off. After dinner the guys were hanging out in front of the restaurant talking when Jesse walked out, he was now dressed in casual clothes, obviously just getting off work. "Hey, I'm so sorry again," Jesse said coming up to Leo. "Really, it's okay," Leo said. "Well, if you ever want a free meal here, just let me know," Jesse said. "I feel so bad." "That's not necessary," Leo said smiling, "But thank you." "Well how about this?" Jesse asked handing Leo a piece of paper. Leo opened it up and a phone number was on it. "What's this?" Leo asked coyly. "It's my number," Jesse replied. "I don't suppose you want to go out with a clumsy waiter, but if you ever do, call me." "What are you doing right now?" Leo asked being very forward. "Nothing," Jesse replied. "Want to go get a drink or something?" Leo asked. "Now?" Jesse asked. "But your shirts all wet. Don't you want to change?" "We can stop by my place along the way," Leo said. Jesse smiled, clearly smitten by Leo's charm. "Okay," Jesse replied. "I'll call you guys later," Leo said giving Kurt and Nick a hug. "Be good," Kurt whispered in Leo's ear. "Always," Leo replied with a wink. Leo and Jesse walked off together as they headed to Leo's apartment. "I just have to make one quick phone call," Leo said taking out his cell phone. "No problem," Jesse answered. "Hey Wade?" Leo asked into the phone, "It's Leo. Hey listen, I won't be able to make it tonight after all. Something just came up. But I'll see you at practice okay? Take it easy tonight." Leo hung up the phone and Jesse and Leo began their first date. ****END FLASHBACK**** Even though Leo was sitting in a bank with two armed robbers, he couldn't help but smile a little at the memory of when he first met Jesse. Outside of the bank Nick and Jesse were frantic, looking a the chaos around them and feeling completely helpless. "If anything happens to them," Nick said tearing up. Jesse went up to one of the police officers. "Do we know yet why there are armed men in there?" Jesse asked the officer. "We don't have any of that information left," the officer said and began walking away. "Well you guys better hurry and find out what they want!" Jesse said angrily. "You need to calm down and get out of my way," the officer lectured. "You don't understand, someone I love more than anything is in there!" Jesse said. "And we'll do everything to get that person back to you," the officer said. "Just try to remain calm, we're doing everything we can." "Thank you officer," Nick said intervening and pulling Jesse aside. "You need to settle down Jesse. This isn't doing any good. We just have to be patient and hope for the best." "How can you be calm?" Jesse asked. "Your two best friends are in there, the man I love is in there!" "The man you love?" Nick asked. "Kind of strong words to say about your ex." "You know I love him," Jesse said. "And I think he still loves me too." "Look, you have two choices here when this is all over," Nick began, "If you love Leo as much as you say you do, then fight for him, prove to him you still love him. If you can't do that, then let him go to move on. Don't keep trying to hold on to him if you're not going to be with him because it's hurting him and keeping him from moving on with his life." Jesse looked at Nick, knowing he was right, but not knowing which choice to make. He loves Leo, but he doesn't want to get back into a relationship with him for it to just fall apart again. He then remembered the first time he knew he was in love with him. ****FLASHBACK**** It was Christmas, Jesse and Leo's first Christmas as a couple. The two had been dating for two months and were enjoying every second of it. There wasn't a day that went by that they didn't see each other or call one another. The two woke up together on Christmas morning and were lying in bed together. "Merry Christmas," Leo said giving Jesse a kiss. "Merry Christmas," Jesse replied. "I have a present for you," Leo said. "Oh yeah?" Jesse asked. "But you already gave me a gift last night when we were at Kurt's place." "I know, but this is something that I wanted to give you when we were alone together," Leo said getting out of bed and grabbing a present from under the Christmas tree. "I don't have another gift for you though," Jesse sighed. "You're all the gift I need," Leo said sincerely giving Jesse a kiss. "Thanks babe," Jesse said as he began to unwrap the present. When he opened up the box he found an old t-shirt inside. "Do you like it?" Leo asked. "It's an old t-shirt," Jesse said confused. "You don't recognize it?" Leo asked. "Should I?" Jesse asked taking another look at the t-shirt. "That was the shirt I was wearing when we first met," Leo replied. "The t-shirt you spilt my beer all over." "Oh my God," Jesse said remembering, "You saved it?" "Yeah, that night there was a certain click that happened between us," Leo said. "I knew from that night that we would be in this for the long run." Jesse smiled, truly touched at the sentimental value Leo gave that old shirt. "I love you," Jesse said giving Leo a kiss. "I love you too," Leo replied kissing him back. "That's the first time we ever said that to each other." "I know," Jesse said. "It felt so good saying it." "It did," Leo agreed. "I love you," Jesse said again to hear those words come out of his mouth. Leo laughed, "I love you too." "I love this man!" Jesse said loudly as he grabbed Leo and the two fell on the bed together kissing one another as they started to undress ****END FLASHBACK**** "I don't mean to sound cruel," Nick said getting Jesse's attention. "I just don't want to see my friend get hurt again." "I know," Jesse replied. "Thanks." "No problem," Nick said as the two looked over at the bank. Inside the bank one of the phones started to ring on one of the worker's desk. "Hello?" the main robber asked answering. "This is Lieutenant Andrews," the officer replied over the phone, "I'm hear to try and negotiate to get those people out of their safely." "Look," the robber began, "I just want the money that is in this bank and I want you to get me a car to get away in." "And where do you plan to go after that?" the officer asked. "Just give me what I want!" the robber yelled. "Not until I know why," the officer said. "You're not in a position to be making those threats towards me," the robber said, "I just want the money and the car or someone here is going to die." "You don't want to hurt them," the officer said. "Why not?" the robber asked, "I have nothing to lose. My wife and kids left me. I have nothing." "I'm sorry they left you," the officer said. "No you're not," the robber said in disgust, "Are you sorry that the job I was working at for over twenty years was not paying me enough to provide for my family? Or that me and my brother had to resort to this in order to try and make it?" "Just let everyone go and I'm sure we can make some sort of agreement so you won't get in too much trouble," the officer said. "Shut up!" the robber said. "Just bring me a car now!" "Fine fine," the officer said. "I'll call you when we have it." Over on Kurt's side of the bank Mary started to cry harder. "Did you hear what he said?" Mary asked. "He's going to kill one of us if they don't get what they want." "Don't think about it," Kurt replied, "Let's talk about something else." "Okay," Mary said trying to regain her composure, "So tell me about you, any loved one to get back to?" "No," Kurt sighed, "I don't have anyone." "Friends?" Mary asked. "I have two best friends, one is on the other side of the bank and I'm sure the other on is outside the bank right now worried sick about us," Kurt replied. "But I don't have anyone special in my life." Kurt then let it soak in that he had no one and he's never had anyone he had those type of feelings for. "How about you?" Kurt asked not wanting to dwell on the failure of his personal life. "My husband is a god send," Mary said. "He's always helping me and the kids and is just the greatest man I ever met." "Hey chatty people," the second robber said coming up to the two of them. "Shut up unless you want to get killed." Kurt and Mary quickly silenced themselves and held each other's hands for support. Back at the apartment Ryan and Craig were watching the news, Ryan was still in complete shock over the whole situation and couldn't stop being worried about Kurt and how much he meant to him and never told him how he felt. ****FLASHBACK**** Kurt walked into the living room to head to his bedroom when he saw Ryan and Craig kissing each other. "Not great," Kurt sighed, "I could use a trip myself." "See you at Leo's," Nick said. "Okay, bye," Kurt replied hanging up. Kurt went to his room, he took one last look at Ryan and Craig kissing before he closed the door to pack. Kurt quickly grabbed a bag and packed things he would need for a couple days. He put on his jacket and then headed out. When he walked back into the living room Ryan was sitting alone on the couch. "Where's Craig?" Kurt asked. "He's in the bathroom," Ryan replied, he then noticed the bag. "Where are you going?" "I'm going to go on a trip for a couple days," Kurt said. "Where?" Ryan asked. "I don't know," Kurt replied. "Last minute trip." "I see," Ryan replied. "Hey Kurt, about earlier today at the beach-" "We don't need to go there," Kurt said interrupting him. "But-," Ryan began, but Kurt cut him off again. "Really Ryan," Kurt said. "It's fine. You were upset, it was an easy thing turn to to hide the hurt you were feeling over your fight with Craig. But you two worked things out, so that's great." "Yeah, but-" Ryan tried again, but Kurt really didn't want to hear it. "Ryan," Kurt said. "I'd rather we didn't. I'll see you in a couple days." Kurt then left and headed over to Leo's. Craig came out of the bathroom and sat down next to Ryan. He saw the upset look on his face. "What's wrong?" Craig asked. "Nothing," Ryan replied giving Craig a kiss. ****END FLASHBACK**** Ryan couldn't take it anymore, he turned to Craig. "Listen Craig," Ryan began, "This isn't working out anymore." "What?" Craig asked off guard. "I can't do this anymore," Ryan said. "You're not the one." "You're just a little upset right now," Craig said trying to get Ryan to change his mind, "You don't mean it." "I do," Ryan replied. "I'm sorry. I have to go." "What?" Craig asked in shock. "Ryan, don't you think we should talk about this?" "I'm sorry," Ryan said. "But this isn't fair to either one of us. It has to end." "Is this because of Kurt?" Craig asked. "I have to go," Ryan said putting his jacket on and grabbing his car keys. "Ryan, get back here!" Craig said yelling at Ryan as he was opening the front door. "Forgive me," Ryan said turning back to face Craig. Ryan then closed the door and rushed to his car and wrote another text to Kurt along the way. Over at the bank Kurt and Mary were holding one another when Kurt felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He quietly took it out and checked the text he got. "I'm on my way there," Ryan's text said. Kurt smiled to himself, knowing that maybe someone he does care a lot about and who cares about him is on their way now. Kurt looked across the bank to make sure Leo was okay, he noticed that Leo was just sitting in a daze. Leo was still thinking about him and Jesse, all they went through, and how it all ended. ****FLASHBACK**** Over at Leo's apartment Jesse finally arrived. The two were sitting in the living room, both in an awkward silence. "Is one of us going to say something?" Jesse asked finally. "Yeah," Leo said getting up. "I think that we have a lot of problems." "Obviously," Jesse agreed. "What have I done?" Leo asked. "Did I do something so bad that makes you not want me anymore?" "No," Jesse said quickly to make sure Leo knew it wasn't his fault. "Then what is it?" Leo asked. "I feel like I'm busting my balls to try and fix this and things just seem to get worse and worse for us." "It's not you," Jesse replied. "If you do that, 'it's not you, it's me' bit I'm going to go crazy," Leo said working up the courage and strength he knew he needed to get through this. "It's us," Jesse said. "Don't you see it?" "See what?" Leo asked. "Leo, we've been together for over two years," Jesse replied. "We've been together so long and gotten so comfortable that we failed to see that over time we've been drifting apart." "How can we fix it?" Leo asked. "I don't know if there is a way to fix it," Jesse said sadly. "I think we've grown apart so long now that we're just completely different people now." Leo and Jesse's eyes both filled with tears, both knowing what's happening. "It's over isn't it?" Leo asked. "I think it's been over for a while now," Jesse replied. "We both just didn't want to accept it." "So, what do we do now?" Leo asked. "I guess," Jesse began sadly, "We say goodbye." Leo's heart clenched, this was now how he wanted things to go for him and Jesse. "I never wanted this to happen," Leo said. "Me neither," Jesse replied wiping his tears. They came up to each other and gently gave each other kisses and held each other for the last time. "We had some amazing times together," Jesse sighed. "Yeah, we did," Leo replied. "Take care of yourself okay?" Jesse asked. "I will, you do the same," Leo replied. "Will do," Jesse said. Jesse then picked up his coat and headed for the door, he turned around and looked at Leo one last time, they both did their best to give each other a smile and slowly Jesse walked out of the door and out of Leo's life. ****END FLASHBACK**** Leo came to the conclusion and realization that he's been holding on to Jesse for too long since the break-up. Although it provided a lot of good times for him, he still had to face it and move on from it. What happened with him and Jesse was now in the past and now he had to look forward to a different future, a future with out him. The phone in the bank rang again. "Is my car here?" the robber asked. "Lets let the hostages go first," the officer said. "Is the car here?" the robber asked again. "Yes, of course," the officer said. The main robber gave the other one a signal to check outside to see if their get-a-way car was there. The second robber took a look outside and didn't see any car, only the police, news vans and people. He looked over a the main robber and shook his head. "You lying son of a bitch," the robber said. "My car isn't here." "Sir," the officer said. "You blew it," the robber said, "You have to see how serious I am and how I better expect a car to show up soon." The robber gave the other a gesture to grab one of the hostages. The second robber turned and headed towards Kurt. "Oh my God," Kurt said as the robber was approaching him. He quickly looked over at Leo who's face turned white with fear seeing the robber go up to his best friend. The robber reached down and grabbed Mary by the arm and pulled her up. "Get over here," the robber said grabbing Mary. "No!" Mary screamed. "No! Let go of her!" Kurt screamed. "Don't let them take me Kurt!" Mary screamed. "My kids!" "Please, please, don't take her!" Kurt screamed, holding on to her as tight as he could. "Please!" Mary screamed. Kurt held onto Mary as much as he could to try and keep the robber from taking her. The robber then took the handle of his gun and smacked the side of Kurt's head with it. Kurt fell to the floor forcing himself to let go of Mary. "Kurt! Help me!" Mary screamed. "Shut up!" the robber yelled. Kurt was still laying down groggy from the blow to the head. When his blurred vision gained focus again he saw Mary sitting on her knees in front of the robbers. "What's going on?" the officer asked. "Sorry man," the robber said. "You brought this on yourself." "Wait!" the officer yelled, but before he could say anymore a shot was fired. Kurt looked and saw Mary's body fall to the floor, blood pouring out from her head where she was shot. "What just happened?" the officer asked over the phone. "Your lie just cost someone their life," the robber said. "Bring me the car or there's going to be another shooting." Outside the bank Nick and Jesse were freaking out from hearing the gun shot. "What just happened?" Nick asked. "Did someone get shot?" "I don't know," Jesse replied. A few feet away they heard a reporter talking to the camera. "We've just received word that one of the hostages has been killed," the reporter said. Jesse and Nick both exchanged a look of shear terror. Over on the other side of the bank Ryan arrived and was asking around to see what was being done to get the hostages out. "Someone was just killed," one of the onlookers said to Ryan. He quickly took his phone out and sent Kurt another text message asking if he was okay. Kurt laid there on the floor still starring in disbelief at Mary's dead body. "Maybe that will teach you to shut up more," the second robber said to Kurt as he walked by. Tears poured down Kurt's face, feeling completely responsible for Mary's death and the reason why Mary's husband and kids will never see her again. He felt his phone vibrate, but he didn't answer it, he didn't care. The robbers had one of the bank employees get bags of money and bring it over to them as the bank phone rang again. "Give yourselves up," the officer said. "We could have cut a deal when all the hostages were alive, but not anymore." "Hope you realize you're signing the rest of these peoples' death warrants," the robber said. "Hope you understand that you've left us with no other choice," the officer replied. "Goodbye," the robber said hanging up the phone. He then turned to the other robber, "Let's kill them." The robbers pointed their guns and headed towards the hostages, but then a quiet sound of glass break made everyone grow quiet. The robber looked next to him as the other robber collapsed to the ground. The main robber looked at the window of the bank and saw a tiny bullet hole. He then heard the sound of another bullet hole and felt the wind get knocked out from under him. He looked around at the people in the bank and slowly fell to the ground wounded with barely enough strength to breath. The police quickly rushed into the bank and apprehended the weapons from the robbers and started checking on the hostages. Outside of the bank, Nick, Jesse and Ryan all waited to see if Kurt and Leo were coming out. The hostages slowly came out all in shock over the situation. Kurt and Leo came out among them, Leo was holding onto Kurt, who was emotionally drained. Nick was the first to run up to them and hug them. The three held on to one another for a long time, grateful to be alive. During the hug Kurt looked over and saw Ryan standing there. Leo looked over Nick's shoulder and saw Jesse standing there as well. Leo went over to Jesse and gave him a hug. "Thank you for coming here," Leo sighed. "Of course," Jesse replied. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" "I'm okay," Leo sighed, "Believe it or not this whole experience actually helped me. It gave me time to think." "Think about what?" Jesse asked. "I realized, I've been holding on to you for too long," Leo said. "Since the break up I never allowed myself to get over you. I finally have, it's time for both of us to move on." Jesse's heart dropped, now that he finally realized he wanted to keep Leo in his life he didn't want to hear that Leo wanted to move on from him. "Oh, well, glad to hear that this helped you," Jesse said. "But I really appreciate that you came," Leo said. "It means a lot to me." "Yeah," Jesse said. "Well, I should probably get going. I'm glad you're okay." "Thank you," Leo said as Jesse walked away. "I'll be back," Kurt said to Nick as he headed over to Ryan. Kurt walked slowly and did his best to be tough and give Ryan a smile, but he couldn't, as they were only a couple steps away Kurt started crying. Ryan quickly grabbed hold of Kurt and held him tightly in his arms never wanting to let go and wanting to do anything he could to let Kurt know that he was safe. "It's okay," Ryan said. "You're okay." Kurt couldn't say anything, he just looked at Ryan with tears in his eyes. Ryan so overwhelmed with relief that Kurt was safe. He just held Kurt tightly, wanting to let him know that he was there for him. **************************************************************************** To Be Continued.... I know this chapter ends very abruptly, but a lot of the emotional baggage going to get tied up in the upcoming chapters. This chapter was to really push Kurt, Ryan and Leo in knew directions. With any comments, questions, or feedback please e-mail me at ilj4ever44@yahoo.com. Thanks so much!