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.
Hey again everyone. Here's part 38 entitled "Justice."
'JUSTICE'
The night Nick was killed came racing back to Leo's memory...
Kurt and Leo were both running as fast as their legs could carry them to make it to Nick's apartment.
"What if we don't make it in time?" Leo asked worried.
"We will," Kurt said trying to be optimistic. Finally after what seemed like an eternity they made it to Nick's place and quickly rushed up to his room and began banging on the door.
"Nick you in there?" Kurt yelled.
Leo turned the door knob and it opened. They both quickly rushed in and looked around. When they got in all the lights were on, but it was quiet.
"Nick!" Leo called out, but they didn't get an answer.
"Nick!" Kurt called out. Nothing. They saw the door to Nick's room closed, but the light inside shining underneath the door frame.
They went into the bedroom and saw Nick lying on the floor.
"Nick? You asleep?" Leo asked as they entered the room. As they got closer they saw that Nick's eyes were open starring blankly at the ceiling.
"Kurt-" Leo said with fear.
"Oh my God," Kurt sighed then ran up to Nick, "Call 911 Leo!"
While Leo was calling for an ambulance Kurt was checking Nick's pulse.
"Come on Nick, don't do this to us," Kurt said trying to wake Nick up, but Nick didn't respond. "Get up Nick!" He checked to see if Nick had any injuries on him, he saw red marks around his neck, like he had been choked.
"They're on their way," Leo said kneeling next to Kurt and trying to revive Nick. "Nick wake up!"
"Don't you dare do this Nick! Don't you dare leave us!" Kurt screamed shaking Nick.
"Is he alive?" Leo asked.
"I don't know," Kurt replied. He then started giving Nick mouth to mouth resuscitation. "Come on Nick! Breath!"
"Wake up Nick!" Leo cried. "Come on, get up. It's us, we're here to hang out with you so please get up!"
Nick didn't respond, he just continued laying there.
"Kurt, he's cold," Leo said feeling the side of Nick's cheek.
"No, no, no, no, no! Come on Nick!" Kurt screamed, "You have to get up. An ambulance is on it's way! You have to pack! You're moving to San Diego with Luke! Wake up Nick!"
"Kurt I think he's dead," Leo said in shock.
"No, he's not dead," Kurt shook his head, refusing to believe that, "He's fine! Nick, wake up! If you leave us I swear I will never forgive you!"
Leo couldn't say anything, he just started crying uncontrollably.
"Nick! No!" Kurt screamed as tears poured down his face. He started to pound Nick's chest to try and get him to breathe, "Don't you even think about doing this to us! You have to get up! Nick!!!!"
"Kurt stop!" Leo said grabbing Kurt's arm before he could pound on Nick's chest again.
Kurt then buried his face in Nick's chest crying.
The memory haunted Leo every day, and now he was finally face to face with the man who killed Nick.
"Wayne," Leo said angrily as he tightened his fists. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I didn't know you worked here," Wayne said getting worried, "I swear."
"You son-of-a-bitch," Leo said.
"Now Leo, let's talk about this," Wayne said. "What I did was an accident."
"An accident?" Leo asked. "You strangled my best friend to death. How was that an accident?!"
"I was messed up then," Wayne said backing away from Leo as he slowly approached him. "I was on drugs and didn't really know what I was doing."
"You murdered Nick," Leo said. "And you've been living guilt free."
"That's not true," Wayne said. "I swear. I regret what I did every day."
"I hate you!" Leo shouted lunging towards Wayne to beat him up, but Wayne jumped out of the way and ran out the door. Leo quickly started to chase after him. "Stop him! Somebody stop him!"
Everyone in the common room of the shelter was eating and having a nice time when they heard Leo screaming and everyone started to panic as they saw Wayne run out and Leo running after him.
"What's going on?" Kurt asked. He didn't see Wayne's face, but just saw the back of him run out of the shelter as Leo chased after him. "Leo! What's going on?"
"It's Wayne!" Leo shouted back still running, not even bothering to slow down. But it was all Kurt needed to hear as he quickly got up from the chair he was sitting in.
"Wayne," Kurt said in shock, he then stood up.
"Where are you going?" Ryan asked.
"I'm going after him," Kurt said as he started to run towards the door.
"Kurt, wait," Ryan said.
"Wait? Wait for what?" Kurt asked. "We've waited for months for this. We've waited long enough."
"We should call the police," Ryan said. "Let them take care of this."
"No," Kurt said. "He doesn't deserve prison, he deserves worse." Kurt then quickly ran out the door to chase after Wayne.
"Dammit!" Ryan said.
"Come on Ryan," Jesse said. "We have to stop them."
"What's going on?" one of the residents at the shelter asked getting worried.
"It's nothing," Ryan said trying to keep everyone calm. "Everything will be okay."
Outside Wayne ran as fast as he could with Leo trying his hardest to catch him. Wayne quickly ran down a busy street trying to lose himself in the crowed.
"Move!" Wayne shouted as the people blocked him as they were walking, "Get out of my way!"
"Someone stop that guy!" Leo shouted as he made his way through the people as well.
Wayne saw an empty alley way and he quickly sprinted down it. Leo soon caught up to him and jumped on him to tackle him to the ground. He then got on top of him and starting punching him with all his strength.
"You killed my best friend!" Leo shouted between punches. Kurt quickly found them and came to Leo's side. Kurt looked around and saw a rusty door, he opened it up and looked inside and found that it was an abandoned warehouse inside.
"Leo, stop," Kurt said. "Bring him in here."
Leo quickly got up and grabbed Wayne forcing him into the warehouse with the two of them. Kurt then closed the door. The found an old chair which the made Wayne sit in and Kurt found some old wire that they tied his arms behind his back with.
"You have no idea how long I waited for a chance like this," Leo said seething.
"Look, I'm sorry," Wayne said. "You guys have no idea how sorry I am."
"Sorry?" Kurt asked. "You killed our best friend. Do you think sorry is going to cover it?"
"I know that there is nothing I can say that will make up for what I did," Wayne said. "So, just turn me into the police. I've run enough, I need to face what I did."
"Oh, you're going to face what you did," Leo said. "But we're not calling the police."
"What?" Wayne asked worried.
Meanwhile, Ryan, Jesse and Joey went off looking for Kurt and Leo.
"Where do you think they are?" Joey asked, "You don't think they'll do anything bad, do you?"
"They're two guys who found the man who killed their best friend," Jesse said. "Who knows what they're capable of."
"Yeah," Ryan said. "I think right now, all rational thought is out the window."
"But they wouldn't kill him or anything," Joey said. "Right?"
Ryan and Jesse both kept silent, neither one really knowing what they might do to Wayne.
"We should call the police," Jesse said to Ryan.
"Lets find them first and then we'll call," Ryan said.
"Have you tried calling their cells?" Joey asked.
"Yeah," Jesse replied. "They didn't pick up."
"Please don't do anything stupid Kurt," Ryan prayed quietly to himself.
"Listen Joey, we caused a lot of commotion at the center," Jesse said. "Do you think you can go back there and do some damage control?"
"But you two might need my help," Joey said.
"Don't worry," Jesse said. "We'll talk care of it."
"Are you sure?" Joey asked.
"Positive," Jesse replied.
"Call me if you need me," Joey said.
"We will," Jesse said. "Thanks."
Joey then turned and walked back to the center as Ryan and Jesse continued to look for them.
"Do you think they'll do something to him?" Jesse asked.
"I don't know," Ryan replied. "They're going to pass a point of no return if they do."
Back at the warehouse Kurt punched Wayne across the face causing him to spit out some blood.
"Do you have any idea what it's been like for us?" Kurt asked Wayne. "Do you know what you did to Luke?"
"I'm sorry," Wayne said. "I don't know what else I can say."
"Nothing," Leo said. "Just say nothing, because there is nothing you can say that can make up for what you did."
"Please, just call the police," Wayne said. "Let them take me away and out of your guys lives."
"You think that by calling the police that it will make everything all right?" Kurt asked. "You killed out friend and justice is letting you spend the rest of your life in a jail where you get meals every day and a place to work-out and watch some tv?"
"You guys can't do anything to me," Wayne said.
"Oh no?" Leo asked. "You changed your name remember? You're some guy named Russ. You don't exist. You've been on the run for months now and no one has come looking for you."
"You can't kill me," Wayne said. "It would make you no better than me and you don't want that."
"Shut up!" Kurt said, "What you did was cold blooded murder. This right now, is justice."
"Do you think Nick would want you to do this?" Wayne asked.
"Don't you ever say his name!" Leo screamed smacking him in the face.
Kurt cell phone then started ringing, it was Ryan.
"Don't say a word," Kurt warned Wayne before picking up the phone. "Hey Ryan."
"Where are you? We tried calling you guys earlier and you didn't pick up," Ryan said.
"Oh sorry," Kurt replied. "Leo and I must not have heard the phones ringing."
"Where are you?" Ryan asked.
"Just walking," Kurt lied. "Leo and I needed to catch our breath a little bit."
"Where's Wayne?" Ryan asked.
"Wayne? He ran off," Kurt replied. "We couldn't catch him."
"Well tell me where you are so Jesse and I can come get you two," Ryan said.
"We want to be alone for a bit, we'll call you two later," Kurt said.
"Are you sure?" Ryan asked.
"Positive," Kurt replied. "Love you."
"I love you too," Ryan said. "Jesse wants to talk to Leo real quick."
"Oh, okay," Kurt said. "Hold on."
Kurt then handed the phone to Leo.
"Hello?" Leo asked.
"Hey babe, are you okay?" Jesse asked.
"I'm fine," Leo replied.
While Leo was talking to Jesse Kurt leaned down so he was face to face with Wayne.
"Kurt, I'm sorry," Wayne pleaded.
"Nick was my best friend," Kurt said, "Him and I were friends since high school. He knew me better than anyone. He knew about my issues with people coming in and out of my life. You added him on that list of people who have left me."
"I'm sorry," Wayne said. "I don't know how I can say it for you to understand how much I truly mean it."
"I know you mean it," Kurt said. "I know you're sorry."
"So you'll just call the police and turn me in right?" Wayne asked.
"No," Kurt said simply, "Because you see, you've passed a point where no amount of guilt or remorse can redeem you for what you did."
Wayne's stomach dropped, knowing that his life was in danger. Meanwhile, Leo was still on the phone with Jesse.
"Are you and Kurt sure you don't want Ryan and I to meet up with you two?" Jesse asked.
"We're absolutely sure," Leo said. "I'll call you later."
"Help me!" Wayne screamed as loud as he could.
"What was that?" Jesse asked.
"Nothing," Leo said quickly. "I have to go."
"Leo! Was that Wayne?" Jesse asked.
"Help me!" Wayne screamed again. "We're in a warehouse!"
"Leo! What are you doing?" Jesse asked.
"Can't talk now," Leo said hanging up the phone.
"Dammit!" Jesse said angrily.
"What is it?" Ryan asked.
"They have Wayne," Jesse replied. "I don't think the two of them are thinking clearly anymore."
"We have to find them," Ryan said.
"I heard something about a warehouse," Jesse said. "How the hell are we supposed to find a warehouse?"
"We have to try," Ryan said as the two began to run.
"That was really stupid," Leo said as he approached Wayne. "Really stupid."
"You two can't do this," Wayne said.
"Why not?" Kurt asked. "Give us one good reason."
"Because you two aren't murderers," Wayne said. "It will haunt you forever. Trust me. I wish every day that I could go back and undo what I did. I hate myself for what happened. You have no idea."
"You killed our best friend," Leo said.
"I know," Wayne replied. "You two think that I've been going around living a great life? I haven't. I've been hating myself. I tried to run from it, tried to escape it, but I can't. It haunts me."
Wayne remembered that night, every last detail...
Wayne approached the front door to Nick's apartment. All his senses and everything were heightened due to the drugs he was on. He remembered how loud the banging sounded when he knocked on the door. Everything almost seemed to be in slow motion.
"It's open! I'm in the bedroom guys," he heard Nick's voice through the door. So Wayne slowly opened the door and walked in. Wayne looked around the apartment, looked at everything that Nick had that he didn't, but most importantly Nick had Luke and that's what Wayne had wanted most at one point in time. But in that moment he was too filled with anger. Wayne then walked into Nick's room.
"Hey Nick," Wayne said as he walked in.
"Wayne?" Nick asked shocked. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Just strolling by," Wayne replied. "Thought I'd say hi."
Nick looked at Wayne's face and saw how drugged out he looked.
"Wayne, are you high right now?" Nick asked nervously.
"Shut up Nick," Wayne said as he closed the door to Nick's room. "You have no idea what you've done to me, to my life."
"Wayne, you really need to leave now," Nick warned.
"Or what?" Wayne asked. "You couldn't do anything to hurt me more than you already have. But I could hurt you."
"Wayne, you're high right now," Nick said. "Why don't you just go and sleep this off."
"No, I think I'll stay," Wayne said getting closer to Nick.
"I'm warning you," Nick said. "Back off!"
"Are you scared?" Wayne asked. "Am I making you afraid?"
"I'm calling the police," Nick said trying to get past Wayne to go out to the kitchen to grab his phone, but Wayne grabbed Nick and threw him on the ground.
"I don't think so," Wayne said, "You took away the one thing that was good in my life! Maybe I should do the same to you."
"Don't you threaten Luke," Nick said.
"Oh? What about your friends? What if I threaten them?" Wayne asked.
"You hurt my friends and I'll kill you," Nick said. "I will kill you if you even touch them."
"Oh? Hit a nerve huh?" Wayne asked kicking Nick while he was still on the ground and then straddling him. "Well don't worry. Only one I really want to hurt is Luke. And the best way to do that is through you." Wayne the wrapped his hands around Nick's neck and started choking him.
"Don't do this," Nick said trying to get Wayne off of him, but Wayne chocked Nick harder and slammed his head against the floor so he was woozy. Nick just laid there, helplessly, trying to take Wayne's hands off of his neck. "Stop. Please."
Wayne didn't listen, he was too far gone to even fully understand what he was doing.
"I loved Luke," Wayne cried. Nick's hand slowly fell to the ground and Wayne soon saw the Nick was no longer breathing. "Nick?" Nick didn't respond, "Oh my God." Wayne quickly got up to his feet and ran out of the apartment as fast as he could.
Wayne then looked up from the chair he was in at Leo and Kurt.
"You have to believe me," Wayne said. "I didn't mean to kill him. I wasn't myself. It was the drugs. I stopped doing them that night."
Kurt and Leo stood there, horrified to hear a first hand account of their best friend's death.
"Asshole!" Leo screamed as he lunged at Wayne, knocking him over in the chair and began kicking him.
"Stop! Please!" Wayne shouted.
Outside Jesse and Ryan were walking when they heard the commotion down the alley way. They walked down and saw a door and heard screaming going on inside.
"Please stop!" Wayne hollered.
Ryan and Jesse quickly rushed in and saw Leo beating Wayne up as Kurt stood by watching. Ryan quickly grabbed Kurt while Jesse grabbed Leo.
"What are you doing?!" Ryan asked holding Kurt by the arms.
"Let me go!" Kurt shouted struggling against Ryan.
"You don't understand!" Leo said trying to get out of Jesse's grasps.
"He killed Nick!" Kurt said.
"Stop it Kurt," Ryan said. "You don't want to do this."
"Yes I do," Kurt said angrily.
"Let me go Jesse!" Leo said.
"No, you two are both going to calm down," Jesse said. "You two lied to us. Both of you are going to go home."
"Go back to our apartment," Ryan said. "And wait for us there. We'll take care of things from here."
"No," Kurt said. "We're not going."
"Yes you are!" Ryan barked. "Now get out of here Kurt."
"And if we don't?" Leo asked.
"Then what?" Jesse asked. "You two going to smack him around? Kill him? You two do that and Ryan and I will have no choice but to call the police on all three of you."
"You wouldn't," Leo said.
"You want to bet?" Jesse asked. "Now both of you, get out of here."
"This isn't right," Kurt said. "He does not deserve to get off this easy."
"Just go," Ryan said.
Kurt and Leo didn't say anything, they just both glared at Ryan and Jesse and began to walk out.
"Wait," Wayne called out to them. "I am sorry for everything."
Kurt and Leo barely stopped to acknowledge Wayne, they just continued to walk out of the warehouse.
"Thank you guys," Wayne said weakly.
"Don't thank us," Jesse said.
"Lets get something straight," Ryan said. "We hate you just as much as Kurt and Leo do. Just because we stopped them from hurting you doesn't mean we have any sympathy for you or what you did."
"We're turning you into the police," Jesse added.
"Fine," Wayne said. "That's fine."
"What are we going to do about Leo and Kurt?" Jesse asked.
"I don't know," Ryan sighed. "I don't know."
After the cops took Wayne away Ryan and Jesse went back to the Center where Joey was waiting for them.
"Did you find them?" Joey asked.
"Yeah," Ryan replied.
"What happened?" Joey asked.
"We found them just in time to stop them," Jesse said.
"Stop them? From doing what?" Joey asked.
"I really think they were going to kill him," Ryan said seriously.
"Wow," Joey said shocked. "That can't be right. They don't seem like they would ever do anything like that."
"You could see it in their eyes," Jesse said. "The hate, the anger. They weren't themselves. They were something else."
"But to attempt to murder?" Joey asked.
"And they lied to us," Ryan said. "They tried to keep us away. To keep us from finding out what they were doing. What they were going to do was premeditated."
"So what happens now?" Joey asked. "What's going to happen with them?"
"We have to talk to them," Jesse said. "What we saw in them tonight was scary."
"I've never seen them act like that before," Ryan said. "It's like it wasn't even them."
"It wasn't," Jesse said.
Later that night Kurt and Leo were both sitting on the couch in Kurt and Ryan's living room, neither one knowing what to think or how to feel. Ryan and Jesse then walked in and sat down across from them.
"The police took him away," Ryan said. "He's in custody."
"And that makes everything okay?" Kurt asked.
"No, of course not," Ryan said. "But it's a start."
"What were you two thinking?" Jesse asked.
"Spare us a lecture," Leo said. "You two wouldn't understand."
"Enlighten us," Jesse said.
"There's no point," Leo said.
"You two are not the only ones who lost Nick," Ryan said. "We all did. We all cared about him. I know that we may not have been as close as you two were with him, but we still loved him."
"You two just lost a friend," Kurt said. "We lost family and the guy who caused it is now just sitting in jail. That's not justice."
"Well if you guys killed him it would have been murder," Ryan said. "You two would have been just like him."
"If you really think that, then that's just more proof that you don't understand," Kurt said. "And for the record, we wouldn't have killed him."
"You say that now, but I don't think that's true," Ryan said.
"I think you two might have gone all the way with punishing him," Jesse said. "I really think you two were going to kill him."
"Well even if you thought we were going to, we didn't," Leo said. "You two came to his rescue."
"Yeah, you two were his heroes," Kurt said. "What about us? Where were our heroes?"
"I think stopping you from doing something you'll regret was a rescue," Ryan said.
"You two lied to us today," Jesse said. "If we didn't hear Wayne over the phone, if we didn't find you both with him, you two would have past a point of no return."
"We understand that you two are very angry," Ryan said. "But the fact still remains that you both lied to us."
"So what are you two saying?" Leo asked.
"We know that you two are mad at us right now," Jesse said. "And Ryan and I are both very upset with you guys."
"I think that Leo, you should come and stay here with Kurt for a while," Ryan said. "And I'll stay with Jesse. I think it will be good if we just spend some time away from each other to cool off."
"Just like that?" Kurt asked. "After everything, you're just going to leave?"
"I don't think we should be around each other right now," Ryan said.
"Fine," Kurt said too upset about the day to even care, he then went to his room and slammed the door.
"Whatever," Leo added. "And for the record Ryan, you just once again abandoned Kurt. If that's really what you plan on doing when the going gets rough, then maybe you should just leave him alone for good."
"He's not trying to abandon Kurt," Jesse defended.
"It doesn't really matter what he's trying to do," Leo said. "Kurt is going to see it as Ryan leaving him again."
"I guess we should go," Ryan said getting up.
"I'll bring some clothes over for you," Jesse said to Leo.
"Don't bother," Leo said. "I'll just borrow Kurt's."
"Fine," Jesse said.
Ryan went into the bedroom to pack up some clothes. The entire time Kurt and him didn't say a word to each other. After Ryan was done he headed out the room, but before he left he turned to Kurt who was sitting on the bed.
"Will you be okay?" Ryan asked.
Kurt didn't say anything, he just went to the bedroom door and closed it on Ryan. After Ryan and Jesse left Leo went into the bedroom and sat next to Kurt.
"What just happened?" Kurt asked.
"I don't know," Leo replied. "I never felt anger like that before."
"You know, I never knew what I would do if I saw Wayne again," Kurt said. "I played the situation over and over in my head since Nick died. I would imagine myself seeing Wayne and then going up to him, but I never was able to imagine what I would actually say to him or how I would act."
"I guess now you know," Leo said.
"Yeah," Kurt replied.
"Do you regret what we did?" Leo asked.
To Be Continued...
With any comments, questions or feedback please e-mail me at ilj4ever44@yahoo.com. Thanks so much.