@/PixieBugee: "this is really late but... what if Zak was about to take his life by jumping off a building, but Darryl stepped in and gave him reasons? (they still know each other as Skeppy and BadBoyHalo)"

⚠️ (almost) suicide, depression
———

No One's POV

Darryl fiddles with his car keys, keeping his phone against his ear. "Geppy! Please! Whatever you are doing right now, please stop! I can't let you do this Geppy!"

Tears were already trailing down Darryl's cheeks as he starts the engines and puts the call on speaker. He taps on his phone and soon Zak's location pops up on his screen. Zak was driving not far from Darryl, away deep into the city.

"I'm sorry Bad... I can't live like this anymore... just please promise to take care of Rocco for me?" You can hear the pain coming from Zak's voice. His tone was cold and dark, voice cracks in between some words, and it sounded like he was crying.

"Zak, please! I-"

"Goodbye, Darryl..."

Then the phone beeps, indicating that the call was cut. Zak hung up on him.

Darryl cries as he keeps his eyes on the road, foot on the gas pedal as he follows Zak's location.

——-

Zak arrives at his destination. He parks his car not too far from where he wants to be. Once he steps out of the car, he leaves everything he owns behind inside. Zak's eyes were red and puffy, dried from crying so much.

He pulls his hood over his head and crosses the road, not bothering to look since it was late and no car was in sight.

He reaches the alleyway and finds the fire escape. He pulls the ladder down and slowly climbs up.

Darryl arrives. Zak's location shows his phone was in a parking lot. Darryl drives in and parks beside Zak's car. Darryl's eyes find the empty passenger seat and he groans.

Without another second to spare, he gets out of the car and looks around, trying to find any figure around.

Then the faint sound of metal clanking alerts Darryl's ears. His head snaps into the direction of the alleyway and he finds the fire escape down. His eyes trail up and his eyes widen once he spots Zak climbing.

"Zak!" Darryl books it. He runs out of the parking lot and across the street. His eyes glued onto Zak as he watches the smaller boy start to speed up his climbing.

Darryl pushes himself up the ladder and the chase is on.

The building consists of 10 floors. Zak was currently just arriving on the 7th floor when Darryl just began on the first.

Darryl calls for Zak, his heart beating uncontrollably as he watches the smaller boy climb. "Zak, please! Muffin! Zak! Please don't do this!"

Zak flinches, eyes squeezing shut as he covers his hands with his ears. He hated hearing the broken voice of his best friend calling for him. It's not his fault the world hated him. He just wants to leave. Zak wants to be free of this cursed life.

"Zak you mean so much to me!" Darryl is now reaching the 8th floor, very quickly, and Zak is now standing in the middle of the room. His feet glued onto the ground as he watches as the ledge is just ahead of him.

"I'm so sorry Darry..." A tear slips down his cheek. He slowly removes his hands from his ears and his feet come undone. He takes a slow step forward.

Just as Darryl reaches the roof, his eyes travel around and they spot Zak not too far from the edge. He watches as the broken boy slowly walks to his end.

"No..." Darryl whispers. He calls out to Zak, now sprinting to the smaller boy with his arms reaching out.

Zak hears the footsteps and he turns around, eyes locking with sad green eyes as his foot steps onto the edge.

He can hear the calls from Darryl, begging for Zak to come to him. He wants to hold the smaller boy in his arms. Hold him tight and never let go.

Zak smiles, a small sad smile with his eyes broken, "Goodbye Darry..." And with that, he steps over the edge.

Zak prepares himself to fall, but suddenly, right when his eyes turn to the ground, Darryl grabs onto Zak's hoodie and with all his force, stops Zak from falling.

Zak is hanging over the ledge with his legs dangling in the air and hands holding onto Darryl's arms.

Darryl's soft cries and huffs power up his strength. With Zak not eating much, his body was light. But, Darryl squeezes his eyes shut as he heaves Zak over the ledge and back onto the roof ground.

Zak bites his bottom lip, his chin quivers and his eyes are glued shut. His body trembles as he's pulled into a deep hug. Arms squeeze around him and Darryl's fave buries into the smaller boy's neck.

The two cry silently together, holding one another tight as they cower away from the edge.

"Why... why, why, why?" Zak cries, his body shivering as Darryl holds him close.

Darryl's heart broke, as if it couldn't have break enough. "Zak, you are such a muffinhead... you are so precious to this world. I'm so sorry that I haven't realized sooner. You don't deserve what you went through and I should have been there for you. I can't let you pass away like this..." Darryl's legs are on either side of Zak's small body as he brushes his fingers through the smaller boy's night sky locks.

"Zak, I know you don't believe me, but I love you so much. I can't live without my little muffin... you mean so much to me, I would cry and slowly kill myself if what you just did, succeeded..." The older boy whimpers as he slowly pulls back and he raises Zak's chin up, moving so the two can lock eyes.

Zak's lips quiver up into a small smile and soon into a large frown. "I'm so fucking sorry..." Then hell breaks loose. Zak cries as Darryl softly calms him. "Darryl, how can you even love me? How? I troll you so much... and you somehow love me?"

Darryl smiles sadly, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss against Zak's forehead, pushing his hair back. The kiss lingers for a few seconds, making Zak's eyes flutter shut.

"Because Zak, underneath all those trolls and muffininess, you are just a sweet and adorable little potato. You deserve to have all the happiness in the world. You are so nice to me and you care about me so much whenever I feel down. You are never selfish and you support all your friends and family. You have such an incredible fan base and many young people look up to you. I can see who you really are Zak. Just a small boy in this cruel world wanting to be who they want to be, and I love you so much because of who you are." Zak smiles, his face heating up and he buries his face in Darryl's hoodie.

The stars twinkle in the night sky as the two hold one another close. Darryl creating a pact for himself, pledging to do whatever it takes to make Zak happy and to feel loved...

WC: 1220