Yixing knew there was something wrong as soon as he rolled his way through the entrance to the school. He could sense it. There were crowded hallways but everything was so quiet. Everyone was gathered in small groups speaking quietly with each other. Eyes were darting around not keeping contact with anyone or anything for too long. He could feel a heightened energy in the air, the guilty pleasure of a tragedy.

"What's going on?" he asked the first person he reached, a girl he was somewhat familiar with whose hair was dyed purple.

"It's so scary," she said, almost whispering. He could see that she was trying to look upset and also trying to conceal herself from looking too excited at being asked for information. "Kyungsoo was shot in Washington Square Park last night. He's in St. Vincent's in ICU."

"Christ," Yixing mumbled. He felt as if all his blood had become Coke that had been shook up in a can and was fizzing directly under his skin ready to burst and spreading around his body. "Do they know who did it?"

The girl had already disappeared, explaining what had happened to someone else now. He wheeled up to the next nearest group. "What happened? Who did it? Is he going to be okay?" he burst through into the group loudly. He was in no mood to act coy about the situation. The five people above him stared down at him then glanced at each other. "The police say they have suspects, but there hasn't been an arrest yet," one of them answered. "Nobody knows exactly what happened. They think it was some kind of gang activity - the white supremacist group - connected to the slashings."

"But I heard it was a shooting," he argued.

"No, it was a stabbing," another one said.

"A stabbing?" Yixing asked. Two of them nodded. "He's in ICU?" He was feeling impatient. He needed the information to slow his speeding heart rate. Unlike other people who just liked to gossip, he actually cared about the facts and their implications.

"In a coma," one of the girls added.

He sighed in frustration. "We're talking about Kyungsoo here?"

"Obviously," one of the girls snapped.

Yixing wheeled away shaking his head in frustration. He had a feeling that if he talked to every cluster of people he came across he'd get a different version of the story. This was surreal and frightening. Kyungsoo wasn't the type of boy to get stabbed or shot or stepped into a hospital unless he was visiting his grandmother who had had elective surgery. All he could think about were Kyungsoo's parents and siblings. He thought about his experience with Baekhyun almost a week ago in detail. It was so violent. How had New York transformed from an eccentric yet comfortable place to somewhere where danger lurked around every corner?

"Attention students," the principal's voice sounded over the intercom. "There will be an all-school assembly this morning directly after homeroom. Attendance is not optional." Even his voice sounded shaky and uncertain. Yixing slowly wheeled to homeroom and his mind whirled between big questions about crime in New York to tiny questions about whether or not Kyungsoo had to wear one of those hospital gowns that tied in the back and if so, who undressed him? Then he felt guilty about thinking like that but after starting to think like that it was hard to stop. He sat quietly trying not to think anything at all when he heard Baekhyun's name being mentioned. He didn't turn because he didn't want them to stop talking so he just listened.

"Byun Baekhyun saw what?" asked Trisha Wheeler, the girl with short ginger hair who always sat beside him.

"He saw the guy with the knife in the park," Carly replied in a hushed voice but Yixing could hear the excitement of sharing gossip in her voice.

"What are you talking about?" Trisha asked.

"Baekhyun was in the park a few minutes before Kyungsoo got slashed and he saw the guys who did it."

"Tell me you're joking! How did you find that out?" Trisha demanded.

"Wendy told Ross she was with Karl and Renée last night and they saw Baekhyun outside the park. Baekhyun told Wendy he'd just seen Kyungsoo going into the park. But Baekhyun had warned Wendy and the others not to go into the park - that he'd seen a guy with a knife."

Yixing's mind was filling with even more questions now. Baekhyun was somehow involved. Of course he was. It's like he was tethered to trouble. In the very short time that Yixing had known Baekhyun, he'd almost been killed, watched three thugs get demolished, witnessed two catfights, seen one slashing victim's family crying on the news and now learned his ex-boyfriend was in a coma. Of course Baekhyun was there. How could he have not been?

But what had he actually done?

He wouldn't trust these girls and their rumours or anyone else to tell him what happened except for Baekhyun. And he would give the honest truth. He and Baekhyun were alike in that way. They both took satisfaction in telling you the one true thing you really, really didn't want to hear.

~

Baekhyun hadn't paid attention to the whispers at first. He had learned a long time ago to ignore them. In his experience whispering either:

1) Didn't include him

Or

2) Was about him

And in neither case could he take part. So he didn't hear about the news until the assembly.

"As many of you know, a tragedy befell our school community last night," the principal started. Baekhyun should have known straight away that something was wrong by the fact that people were actually listening to what he had to say. "Do Kyungsoo was slashed in Washington Square Park last night. He lost a lot of blood before being discovered by friends and fellow students. He is in critical condition in St. Vincent's Hospital. I know you all join me in sending Kyungsoo and his family our..."

He droned on and on but Baekhyun had stopped listening. An ugly little vermin of a creature with sharp fangs was gnawing at his small intestine which was hard to ignore. His thoughts from the night before came back to him word for word.

Let the stupid boy get slashed. If anybody deserved it, Kyungsoo did.

But I didn't mean that, a small, panicked voice tried to point out. I meant to warn him. I really was going to, but-

Shut up! Baekhyun screamed at the pathetic little voice. If he had had a crowbar in hand, he would have whacked himself with it. He'd heard so many lame excuses in heis ife. He couldn't stomach them, especially from himself. The principal kept droning on about safety and now all the attention he'd been getting from the students had now vanished. Kids were talking, whispering.

Baekhyun looked up and noticed that eyes were flitting to him every couple of seconds and then bouncing away. What else should he expect? He had known what Kyungsoo would encounter in that park and Kyungsoo's friends had known as well since Baekhyun had told them. He could have saved Kyungsoo, but he didn't. He let a stupid, petty fight, probably based on his own jealousy, destroy another person's life. The vermin with the sharp fangs had now devoured the majority of his intestines and had moved onto the lining of his stomach. 

Everyone was starting to stand up and shuffle out of the gymnasium so Baekhyun stood and copied them. He felt numb as he got on his feet and let himself flow with the sea of students. Once he'd passed through the doors of the gym he spotted a puffy and tear-stained face that belonged to Wendy. Baekhyun stopped.

If only shame was part of fear then Baekhyun wouldn't have felt this sickening lurch in his stomach. If only self-loathing were part of fear then Baekhyun might have been able to look Wendy in the eye. If Baekhyun were a better person, he might have offered some comforting words. He didn't. He was not a good person.

"What happened last night?" Wendy asked him in a hysterical voice. "What was Kyungsoo thinking going into the park by himself? Did you say something to him? Did you tell him what you saw?"

Baekhyun then realised that Wendy wasn't judging him, at least not yet. She was inviting Baekhyun to commiserate and take part in the grieving and the questioning of the events that had occurred. She wanted to think the best ofBaekhyun. Now other people had joined the two of them. Some were comforting people and some were being comforted. A lot of people were holding Wendy supportively.

"I just - I didn't," Baekhyun stuttered. "I didn't warn her."

It took Wendy a couple of seconds to register this information. "What do you mean?"

Baekhyun mentally told himself to breath and remain calm. "I mean...I didn't tell Kyungsoo about the guy I saw holding the knife."

"Why not?" Wendy's doe eyes suddenly became tiny little slits filled with venom. "Why didn't you?" The crowd glanced at each other with looks of horror but refrained from leaving so that they could hear the explanation. Some small part of Baekhyun wanted to explain to all of those prying ears and Wendy herself that Kyungsoo wouldn't let Baekhyun talk at all the night before, let alone warn him about a guy with a knife. But, he knew it would just sound like the lame excuse he knew it was. He deserved all of the blame for this and he would take all of that blame without flinching. "I just didn't."

Wendy was crying now. "What is the matter with you? You warned us but not him? Do you hate Kyungsoo so much that you wanted him killed?"

Between all of the colourful students' clothes, Baekhyun spotted some blue. Powder blue and navy uniforms with dark hats. Policemen. Could you really get arrested for not warning someone? The students parted like the Red Sea to let the policemen through towards Baekhyun. The buzz of voices in the lobby grew to a loud roar.

"Are you Byun Baekhyun?" one of them, a really tall black man asked.

"Yes," he answered. Would they handcuff him in front of the entire student body?

"Would you please come with us to the precinct? We want to ask you some questions." He asked it liked it was a genuine question and not rhetorical. He waited for an answer and didn't slap any handcuffs on Baekhyun.

"Yes," he answered. "Of course." He followed them through the exit, aware of the hate behind him. There was one plus to self-loathing, no one could hate you more than you hated yourself.

~

"And at approximately what hour did you see Do Kyungsoo approaching the park from the west side?"

Baekhyun's focus wouldn't shift from the vague piece of wall just off the detective's shoulder

"About seven forty-five, I guess."

"Yo