Halo II
Angels & Monsters

By: Micah Diablo
(© 2010-2011 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 3
Dying to Live

"Oh, my God," I said to my mother as we sat in Ky's room watching him as he slept. "I can't believe this happened to him."

My mom sat at his bedside holding his hand. "Why Ky, though? I mean they found him in the gay area of the city. Ky isn't a queer, so why would he be there?"

I looked at her, a little hurt by the statement. She looked at me for an answer and I wasn't sure what to say.

"Um … well, to be honest, Ky has a new girlfriend; she's bisexual and he was meeting her at a club," I lied. "I guess they figured he was gay, too, and that's why … this happened."

Mom shook her head and grabbed my hand. "I'm just so glad that my sons are not some abomination like that," she said, looking at Ky resting peacefully. "I mean, if this happened to anybody else, I could understand it, but not Ky.  Ky didn't deserve something that one of THEM deserved."

Clearing my throat, I dropped her hand and walked toward the door. "I'm gonna go down to the cafeteria. I'm a little hungry," I said, walking outside his room and headed toward the lobby.

Truth was, I was just uncomfortable with that conversation. While we weren't the most religious of people in the world, my mom always viewed homosexuality the way that the extreme Christians viewed it—as being a sick sin, or a thing that should be put down. I walked into the lobby to see Carmen, Anthony, Giselle, and Nick all sitting there.

"Hey, guys," I said smiling at them. "I'm glad to see you here."

"I got the voicemail and I called everybody," Carmen said, getting and giving me a hug. "Josh … I'm sure he would want to be here, but I don't know…"

"It's okay," I said as Giselle and Nick gave me a hug.

"Any word?" Carmen asked with concern.

"Well, I thank God it wasn't too bad," I said with a sigh of relief. "He has a fractured rib and a lot of bruising, but the guys who jumped him hit him like a girl."

Carmen and Giselle flashed me a dark look and both punched me in the arm. I smiled and blew a kiss at them both, and I looked over at Anthony who stood behind the three, almost as if he wasn't sure if he should be there.

"Hey, want to go downstairs and talk?" I asked, flashing him a smile. He nodded at me softly and we walked toward the cafeteria.

"Well, I'm going to go and try to find out where my boyfriend is," Carmen said to Nick and Giselle.

"Probably somewhere drugged up," Giselle muttered, and Carmen flicked her off, leaving Nick and Giselle there together.

"Wow, I can't believe this shit happened to Ky," Nick said angrily, as he sat down. "I just … wish I could fuck those guys up."

"Why?" Giselle asked him curiously. "You two hate each other from all the fighting."

Nick shook his head. "I don't hate Ky … I could never hate him," he explained. "It's just some complicated shit going on. It's frustrating as hell."

"Well, I know how to relieve frustration," Giselle said biting her lip. "Follow me."

"Wha…" Nick began and was pulled after her as she searched for a spare room.

Anthony and I sat across from each other in the cafeteria. We'd been there for about ten minutes and not a single word was spoken between us. It was just … awkward.

"Look, I'm sorry," we both said in unison. He blushed as I smiled sheepishly. We laughed.

"I really am sorry," I said to him after a moment. "I don't want to fight with you. You're different and very special to me."

"I feel the same way," Anthony said, grabbing my hand. "Coy … you mean a whole lot to me. I'd be okay losing you to a better man, but the truth is … Matt is not as good as you think he is."

"I know he has some flaws," I said softly. "We all have our flaws … but I can change him."

"No, you can't," Anthony said, shaking his head. "You can't change something that doesn't want to change. You can't make him into a perfect guy."

"I don't know," I said, unsure of what exactly Anthony was talking about.

"Coy, Matt wasn't exactly the saint you think he is, back home at his old school," Anthony said rubbing my hand softly with his thumb. "He was a complete ass."

"I can't fucking believe this shit," Matt said walking up to us out of nowhere. I pulled my hand out of Anthony's.

"Matt…" I began, but he walked away from us. I looked at Anthony who shrugged and nodded to go after him. I sighed and ran after Matt.

'Maybe I should take Nick's cue and just move on,' Anthony said to himself. He sighed and got up to leave the hospital. He'd just have to find out about Ky later on from Nick.

"MATT!" I yelled out as he stormed into the gift shop. I looked and saw Tony sitting in the lobby with Carmen. 'As if my night weren't bad enough already, he has to be here, too.'

"Is he the reason why you don't want to sleep with me?" Matt asked as we stood in the aisle of the shop. "Because you fucking love him?"

"What?" I asked him in shock. "I don't love Anthony. He's just a real good friend of mine."

"He was fucking holding and rubbing your hand, Coy," Matt said throwing his hands up. A clerk came up to us.

"I'm going to have to ask you to lower your voice, or leave," she warned us with a stern look.

"Or maybe you should fuck off," he said to her and stormed past me knocking over a few figurines as he left.

"I'm sorry," I said to her, handing a hundred-dollar bill. "I hope that covers it."

I ran after Matt as he paced around outside the store angrily.

"What the hell is your problem, man?" I asked him angrily. "You embarrassed me in the store by throwing a temper tantrum like a little baby."

"One month, Coy," he said to me. "It's been One month and you want to know what I discovered? I discovered that you are afraid of being affectionate with me. You barely like kissing me without backing out of it. You don't want to sleep with me. You barely like to cuddle for longer than five minutes. It can't be because I'm ugly or stink. You said it yourself—I'm your dream guy. So it has to be Anthony. I left a good looking girl to be with you because I felt something inside of you was what I wanted. I wanted to be a part of your life because I needed something pure like you."

"Matt …" I began to say. He held up his hand, cutting me off.

"Let me finish," he said. "I'm not rich like you. I can't buy you all the things that you're used to buying. But all I want to do is show you how rich I am when it comes to the intimate stuff. Because that goes a long way. But you don't want to get close to me. One month … and you still have all these walls up."

"You know what," I said ending this conversation. "In a month, I discovered that you were an asshole with only yourself in concern. If you loved me, then you wouldn't guilt me into having sex with you. If you loved me, you would care about how I felt about my brother, as he is upstairs after getting gay-bashed by some idiots. I don't want Anthony. I want you, but now I am starting to reconsider that because you aren't the person who I fell in love with. You are just an arrogant jerk. Immature prick … so why don't you come find me when you grow up."

"Are you breaking up with me?" he asked . I looked at him in the eye.

"I … I don't know," I said, unsure of what exactly I was doing. I never had a boyfriend, so I really didn't know how to break up with somebody. "I just want us to work."

"No, you want Anthony," Matt said as he left me standing there. I sighed in frustration and turned to see Tony walking towards me.

"What do you want?" I asked him as he handed me a card.

"For Ky," he said simply. "Give it to him for me, please."

"Shove it up your ass," I said ripping it in half and handing it to him.

"How about I shove my cock up yours?" he countered. I looked at him with pure hatred.

"I'm not afraid of you," I said even though we both knew I was lying. I feared him a great deal.

"Keep telling yourself that," he said with a laugh as he walked out to find where Matt had disappeared.

***

Nick zipped his pants up. He felt weird. He had just had sex with Giselle in a storage room of the hospital. He was only going to make out with her, maybe do a lot more, but he hadn't meant to have sex with her. He kept telling himself he wished it was Ky. The more he kept thinking about him he began to get angry.

"God, you're probably the best I've been with," Giselle said as she put her bra back on. "Such aggression … Who are you mad at? Mr. Pagan?"

Nick just shook his head. "Nobody, babe," he said, kissing her on the cheek. "You're just so hot. It's hard not to lose control."

"I'd do round two, but I probably should go check on Carmen and see if Ky is awake yet," she said, buttoning her blouse. She kissed him on the lips, and they made out for a few more seconds. "But trust me—I can't wait to do this again!"

"Same here, Ky," Nick said off-hand. He covered his mouth when he realized what he had said.

Giselle backed away slightly from him. He looked at her unsure of what to say to her.

"I … I …"

"I should go," Giselle said, grabbing her purse and leaving the room. Nick stood there, still unsure of what he'd just said.

***

Anthony got out of his car and was walking up the sidewalk to the porch of his house when he saw a body lying there.

"God, one of Dad's associates has been dropping off dead bodies in the middle of the night," he said with a chuckle as he nudged the body with his foot. "Hey, you still alive?"

The person rolled around and he was shocked to see it was Josh. He was crying to himself.

"Josh?" he asked in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"M … Matt, Coy, and Ky weren't home," he said, sniffling. "You were my last resort, Ant. Trust me."

"What's wrong?" Anthony asked as he unlocked his front door and helped Josh into his house.

"Nothing," Josh said, and Anthony flashed him a 'yeah-right' look.

"Right," Anthony said sarcastically. "Because you always show up on the porch of people you can't stand."

"Tell you the truth, I don't know why I hate you," Josh said plopping on the couch. "Other than the fact that your brother tried hitting on me and you talk a lot of shit."

"Nick was just being an idiot," Anthony yelled from the kitchen. "As far as talking shit, that's just my personality. What do you want to drink?"

"Got any good liquor?" Josh joked. Anthony returned and handed him a bottle of Pepsi.

"Pretend," he said, sitting across from Josh. "You might want to get off of that couch. Nick and Giselle were making out pretty heavily on it."

Josh jumped up and took a seat beside Anthony on the OTHER couch opposite the huge coffee table.

"So you want to explain why I found you on my doorstep, crying? Why your girlfriend is worried sick about you not returning her calls? Are you cheating, or are you gay?" Anthony asked him. "Because that's the only excuse I have for you being so dark lately."

"It's complicated," Josh said with a sigh, sipping his soda.

"Uncomplicate it for me, then," Anthony said, pointedly. "Because even I am kind of worried about you and your well-being."

Josh stood up and stood in front of Anthony. "I can't exactly put into words and give you the full effect," he said as he pulled his shirt off.

"Oh, my God," Anthony said as he saw what looked like purple marks on Josh's perfectly olive-brown body. "Can I…"

"Just don't try to get a cheap feel," Josh laughed, but winced in pain from it. Anthony traced some of the bruises with his finger and looked at Josh with a concerned look.

"Explain … Now!" he demanded. Josh sat back on the couch.

"I'm not gay, and I'm not cheating," Josh said with a deep sigh. "My dad's been hitting me. A lot."

"Are you for real?" Anthony asked in shock. "Wha …  Why?"

"Because my mom's been having an affair with a younger guy," Josh explained. "She left my dad, and now we can barely afford the mortgage and bills of our house. He's been drinking a lot and when I started tanking at Football from all the stuff with Coy and Ky and my mom, he hit me one night a few weeks back. Now it's become a daily thing. I just had to get outta there tonight because I wanted a break from it."
 

Anthony sat there in shock. He wasn't sure what he should do about the whole situation.

"We should call the police," he said, suddenly grabbing the phone but Josh snatched it from him.

"No way," Josh said to him. "I can deal with it. I don't want anybody knowing about this beside you. I told you because you aren't biased to me like they are. I felt like I can trust you because if I asked you not to do anything, I'm positive you wouldn't."

"Well, what can I do?" Anthony asked, concerned. "You need money? A place to stay the night?"
 

"How about you hook me up with the best drugs your dad has," Josh said with an empty look on his face. "The drugs help me forget the pain."

***

Carmen stood at her locker listening to Giselle go on and on about Nick and his slipup from the night before.

"He's gay," Giselle said, shaking her head in disgust. "I had sex with a gay guy."

Carmen laughed at the situation thinking Nick wasn't the only gay guy Giselle had messed with. But she didn't want to directly out either Nick or Matt. "Look, maybe he isn't gay," she offered her friend.

Giselle rolled her eyes. "He called me somebody else's name. A guy's name at that. That screams fudge-packer to me."

Carmen shook her head at the ignorance she was hearing. "I'm saying that Ky was in the hospital last night," she explained. "Perhaps, he had the whole situation on his mind and he just said it by mistake."

"Maybe," Giselle said, thinking it over. "Yeah, that's it. Giselle Santos does not have sex with gay men. How is Ky doing anyway? I was so mad last night, I left after the whole situation."

"Coy told me that Ky woke up after we all had left, and that he seemed to be okay … considering," Carmen replied. "Coy should be here at school today so we can find out more."
 

"Good," Giselle said as they headed to their classes. "Is that … Anthony … and Josh?"

"Together?" Carmen asked, confused at the scene. She was shocked to see them both walking and laughing together. As far as she knew, Josh hated Anthony, and she thought the feeling was mutual.

"Hey guys," Anthony said to two girls hugging them both.

"Walk with me," Giselle said pulling Anthony's arm. "We should let these two love-birds talk." She bent over to talk in Carmen's ear. "Remember the drugs. If he is happy, he is probably on 'E' or something."

"Bye, guys," Anthony said as Giselle pulled him along after her.

"You look … good," Carmen said to Josh. "I haven't seen much of you lately. But for the times I have seen you, you have been looking rather dark and angry. Whatever brought this version of my boyfriend back, I like it. I just want to know why you've been avoiding me?"
 

"I don't have an excuse," Josh said, kissing her softly on the lips. "But I want to make it up to you."

"How?" Carmen asked him.

"Skip the rest of the day with me?" Josh asked her. "I want to spend sometime with you. Just having fun."

"I don't know," Carmen said, unsure.

She wasn't the type to skip. Josh flashed her a pouty look and it was his cuteness that she was a sucker for.

"Fine," she said to him, taking his head in her hand. "If I get any demerits, I swear…"

"I know, I know," Josh said, kissing her softly. "You'll kill me."

The two walked toward the lecture hall building's exit and to the parking lot.

***

Ky looked up from his doorway to see a man standing there. It was a priest.

"Um … hello," Ky said, confused as to why he was there. "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm actually hoping to help you out," the man said, walking into Ky's room. "Reverend Taylor."

"Ky James," Ky said, shaking the man's hand. "What exactly do you plan on helping me out with?"

"Well, I'm the priest for the hospital," Reverend Taylor began. "I heard about your … incident from last night … and the circumstances surrounding it."

Ky flashed him a nervous look. "What do you mean?"

"I know why you were attacked," Reverend Taylor replied. "I'm here to help you."

"How? With what?" Ky asked him, confused. "I'm safe now."

Reverend Taylor smiled a small smile. "You might be safe, but you aren't saved. Ky, this … demon that you have inside of you caused you to get hurt."

Ky was speechless. He was shocked that the Reverend knew that he was gay, but even more shocked that it almost seemed like he could read his mind. Ky did blame his being gay on his attack because of his curiosity to want to know more, led him to the club.

"I'm here to offer you a chance to kill that part of yourself and to be reborn," Reverend Taylor explained. "You can change that part of yourself and become a brand new person without that sickness."

Ky looked down. That's what he wanted. A chance to be happy without being gay. He didn't think it was possible to do so, but sitting there, was a man-of-the-cloth who was giving him an option to get rid of it. Rid of the very thing he didn't want in the first place.

"What do I have to do?"

"Accept God in your heart," Reverend Taylor explained. "Accept him as your personal savior and He will protect you from these demonic persuasions of Satan. Satan is trying to possess you, but God … God has sent me here to try and save you from this evil. Do you want to be saved, Ky?"

Ky nodded softly. "Yes."

Reverend Taylor smiled at him with a happy smile. "I'm so happy to hear you say that," he said opening his Bible. "I'm going to help you to help yourself, and maybe somebody else."

Ky sighed nervously. This was what he wanted. A way not to be gay, and if it meant accepting God as a way into his heart then he would do it and he could finally get rid of all the torture inside of his heart.

"I'm ready," Ky said.

Nick, however, stood at the door. He had come to apologize to Ky for hurting him and looking for a peace offering. But hearing this whole conversation he felt angry … betrayed.

"What the hell is going on in here?" he asked, barging into the room. Ky and Reverend Taylor were startled to see him.

"What are you doing here?" Ky asked Nick nervously.

"I'm here because I wanted to talk, and I knew this was the only time you weren't going to fight back," Nick said, putting the teddy bear and the balloons he had gotten for Ky from the gift shop, on the table. "What the hell is this man telling you about offering you a way to get rid of demons?"

"He's sick," Reverend Taylor explained. "I'm here to make him better and healthier as a Solider for the Lord."

"There's nothing wrong with him," Nick said angrily. "The only sick person here is you, preying on a doped-up boy who is confused."

"Maybe he isn't the one preying on me," Ky began. "Ever since I came to you that night, you have been trying to have a relationship with me because you like me. It isn't natural to be this way. He is offering me a chance to be normal."

"Who the hell is he to decide what is normal for you?" Nick asked, hurt by that statement. "What's normal for him doesn't have to be what's normal for you, Ky. I know in my heart that I want you and that you want me."

"I don't want to be this way," Ky said shaking his head. "I want to become normal. So, either you are going to support that, or I'm gonna have to have to ask you to leave."

Nick looked at Ky and then at Reverend Taylor.

"You're pathetic," he said, disgustedly. "Go to hell."

"You first," Ky countered. "Excuse yourself, please."

Nick walked out of the room trying to hold back his tears. He had never let himself get as vulnerable as he had with Ky, but he vowed to never get close like that again.

"Where were we?" Ky asked the reverend.

***

Anthony walked out of the lecture hall. He had to deliver something to the office for his professor, and he wanted to get out and clear his head. Anthony hated to admit it but he was falling in love … with a guy who he knew he would never have. He was no angel, but he knew he was better than Matt. He looked up when he heard giggling and saw Matt walk out of a janitor's closet.

'Now I get to see them flaunt this shit in my face," he said to himself, but gasped when he saw a girl walk out behind Matt, with her skirt twisted. Fixing it, she kissed Matt on the lips and walked off, down the stairs.

Matt looked down to see Anthony walking towards him. "What can I help you with? Besides my boyfriend?"

"Your boyfriend?" Anthony asked angrily. "Was your boyfriend on your mind when you were in the closet with that girl?"

"Look, I'm not trying to ruin what you and Coy have together," Matt said with a chuckle. "Coy isn't ready to have sex yet. I get that. But I have needs, too, and I need them satisfied."

"You're an idiot," Anthony said, shaking his head. "A jealous idiot. There is nothing going on between Coy and me. We are friends. As his friend, I'm going to tell him about this."

"He won't believe you," Matt challenged. "He'll just think you're jealous and making up rumors. So why don't you keep your mouth shut and we'll all be happy? You get to keep longing for something you will never get. I get what I want and keep Coy because even with what I am doing, I love him. But until I get all of him, I am going to find that missing part I need in other people."

"You're a fucking asshole," Anthony said in shock of what to say. "You don't love Coy. If you did, you wouldn't be cheating on him."

"Of course I do," Matt said to him. "But if Coy loved me like he said, he would trust me and let me be with him completely. If you'll excuse me, I gotta go see my boyfriend in class."

Matt left a speechless and stunned Anthony standing there, unsure of what to do about the situation.

***

Giselle sighed angrily to herself. Carmen had stood her up at lunch leaving her with Tony and Matt who were talking about what girls they wanted to fuck. She couldn't find her best friend when she needed her. Annoyed, she walked outside to her car to see Nick sitting there with a tear-stained face.

"What's wrong?" Giselle asked him.

He shook his head and grabbed her in a kiss. "I realized just how great you are," he said after breaking the kiss. "I didn't mean to say Ky … I'm not gay or anything."

"I know that," she said looking at her boyfriend and happy that he was there. "I just overreacted. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he said as she messed with his hair. "Come on, I got a great date planned for us tonight."

"Really now?" Giselle asked with a gleeful smile. She walked over to the driver's side. "I'm driving … Wherever you're taking me, I'm driving."

"Fine," he said with a smile. He suddenly realized that as he may never truly and completely love Giselle, but she was the closest thing he would get to being happy. If Ky could ignore his homosexuality, so could he.

***

I walked down the hall to where Ky's room was. I had wanted to see Matt and try to talk things out, but he'd made plans with Tony, and Anthony seemed like he was avoiding me. I figured seeing how there was nothing to do tonight, I'd come hang with my brother. I walked into my room to see My Mom, Dad, and Ky sitting there.

"Mom … Dad … Here together?" I asked with a shocked look. "I don't know what surprises me the most. The fact that the man who lives way on the other side of the world is here or the fact that he's here with my mother."

"Coy, close the door," Mom said to me in a strange voice. "We need to talk."

I looked at Dad who looked at me oddly, and Ky who didn't make eye contact with me at all.

Closing the door, I turned to face the three. "What's up?"

Mom looked at Ky with an expectant look. He looked up at me finally.

"I told them about us," he said and I looked at him, confused.

"About us?"

"Being gay," Ky said and I felt my heart drop into my stomach.

To be continued...

Author's Note:

Wow … This is where Angels & Monsters begins to take its turn from the initial beginning of Halo. We are soon going to learn who are the Angels and who are the Monsters. Ky is heading on a path to change himself while Matt's jealousy is slowly starting to escalate. Carmen and Josh are okay for now, but Josh still hasn't told her why he has been acting weird. Nick and Anthony are at odds with their hearts, but Nick is taking a more direct route by moving on while Anthony is put in an awkward situation. Tony wasn't a prime focus in this chapter.

In Chapter 4, Coy and Matt's relationship will be further strained when Matt worries about getting outed as well. Ky returns to college and soon drives an even bigger wedge between himself and his brother as well as his friends. Giselle finally discovers Matt and Coy's relationship, and she finally deals with some things in her past, while Anthony begins to feel pressure coming from his friends and family, and it drives him to begin 'using' with Josh.