Girleh and Polo.

[i]Maggie-
"no, No, no. Please don't leave me" Maggie half begged as she stumbled forward and grabbed his wrist. She didn't want him to go. She could be herself with him. "I'd rather take several beatings than throw away my friendship with you" She spoke gently

Leon stopped as Maggie grabbed his wrist - staring blankly down at her hand as she held him in place.
Finally, he raised his head and looked at her again - his expression a little more closed off than before.
"I can't have you being hurt because of me." Leon muttered, shaking his head. "I just... Can't."

Leon's shoulders slumped in defeat at Maggie's words, and he ceased his attempts at walking away.
This was exactly what he had been afraid of...
I need you.
Her words rang bittersweet through his mind. That was something that everybody longed to hear... Yet it was also his greatest fear. She had come to rely on him... Already, she shed tears at the thought of him leaving.
So just how hurt would she be when one day he had to leave for good?
"Maggie, I-" He murmured softly, breaking off when he realised he didn't know what to say.
"I... I just- Oh, screw it." He gave up attempting to talk, and instead pulled her into a brief, one-armed hug - deciding to communicate with actions rather than words - since those seemed to be failing him.

Maggie-
she smiled weakly at their slightly awkward hug. "Dad doesn't care about me, so i Will ignore his wishes. I want to remain friends with you. Or I'll have to show everyone the big softie you are" She smiled trying to lighten the mood slightly

"Geez, you sure know how to threaten a guy." Leon laughed, shaking his head. he fell silent a while - simply sitting, and thinking...
"How's your Dad doing?" He asked finally, glancing up at Maggie. "I know he took it pretty hard when I decided to quit." Leon's tone became slightly more subdued as he thought over this. He missed his music... It had always been like a part of his soul. But that was the part that caused him pain. It had been poisoned, and he had been forced to cut it away before it affected the rest of him, too. He desperately wished he could sing again - but the pain it brought was just too much. And besides, the music had gone clean out of him. He just couldn't feel it any more.

"Wait - 'get you'?" Leon asked, frowning suspiciously. "He doesn't-" Leon's eyes widened slightly as comprehension dawned on him. "He- He does, doesn't he-?" His eyes narrowed again, this time in anger, and his shaking fists clenched at his sides. "He- He-" But Leon couldn't get the words out through his clenched teeth.
He was furious.
He had trusted that man... And now to hear that he would do something like... Like this! Like hurting his own daughter?! Leon felt sickened. Not just that, but betrayed...
Fury pules through him, and Leon's heart lurched - sending a stabbing pain rocketing through him.
He doubled over, clutching at his chest - but it passed, and he slowly straightened, pretending everything was okay... Hoping that the pretense was truth.

"Don't worry about me." Leon commanded, brushing her hand away irritably. "Are you okay?! I mean, sheesh! That... Gah! How dare he?!" Leon's temper flared suddenly, and the niggling pain in his chest skyrocketed again, only this time it did not subside. It blinded his senses, and before he knew it he'd collapsed against the wall - fingernails digging into the paint - his other hand over his heart - clutching his shirt so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
He couldn't pass out... He had to keep it together... Keep it together...

"Yeah?" Leon responded breathlessly - obviously barely hearing what was being said. In fact, he could barely hear anything over the pounding of his heartbeat in his ears. "Well... That's good... Isn't it...?" He chuckled weakly, then blacked out - going limp and flopping against the wall. He was only out a few seconds before his eyelids flickered, and he came to once more.
Barely able to see - he raised one shaky hand and moved it toward the blurry image before him, until he finally felt the soft skin of Maggie's cheek beneath his fingers. "I'm not okay any more..." He mumbled, his voice slightly slurred.
"Would you call an ambulance for me...? Please?"

Leon barely noticed what was happening - but as he was lifted onto a stretcher, some degree of consciousness returned to him. He glanced toward Maggie, smiled slightly, and silently mouthed 'see you later'.
Then he blacked out again, and when he finally awoke - he was lying in a hospital bed, feeling terribly weak and dirty.
He recognised the room. It was his own private room that very few people even knew existed. This was so that his parents could never find out... After all, he had become a regular visitor to this hospital, and it was difficult to keep hiding it from them.
Presently, Leon noticed that a nurse was busy adjusting his IV drip. He turned to watch her, breathing heavily into the oxygen mask on his face.
Then he pulled it irritably down, and spoke to the nurse.
"How long have I been out?" He mumbled weakly.
"Oh, Mr. Hunter! You're awake!" She exclaimed, clearly pleased. She hurried over to check his vitals, then began answering his question.
"You were in a semi-coma for three days. But you're a lucky man, you know. You should have been dead."
She stated this in a scolding tone, and when Leon simply nodded dumbly, she shrugged and left the room - leaving Leon alone with his thoughts.

So he was nearing the end of the road... Huh? He supposed that meant that she was already dead.
He wasn't sure how to feel...

It wasn't much longer before Leon was released from the hospital. When he was - he returned to school, looking gaunt and worn out, and nowhere near as handsome as before. He was tired all the time now, and a dark shadow hovered over his mind. The knowledge that, one day soon, he would be dead.
To him, that meant only one thing:
He had to break off his friendship with Maggie.
It would hurt her that much less if she hated him before he was gone.
But still... He had really messed up. The idea of hurting her repulsed him... He was in too deep already.

"Sorry I'm late." Leon muttered as he walked into the classroom - absentmindedly forgetting to be rude. He walked over to the back and sat down - ignoring the stares that followed him, and even ignoring the teacher's comments.
As the lesson resumed, Leon felt his attention wavering, and he soon ended up staring blankly out of the window - lost in a world of his own.

When the lesson finally ended, Leon was feeling weak and feverish, so he headed back to his dorm instead of the next lesson.

He lay on his bed and rested a while, until he found himself some time later, sitting with his guitar in his hands. He could hardly remember deciding to pick it up... But it was there, so he began playing.

His fingers automatically strummed out a tune of one of his old songs, and before he knew it, he was singing quietly along to the music. His voice was as melodious as ever... Yet without his old passion, the music seemed dead. There was no emotion left in his voice.
Yet still, he sang.

"When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done,
Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed.

And don't resent me
When you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory,
Leave out all the rest...."

Leon heard a faint sigh outside the door, and he ceased playing abruptly, his head jerking up.
The guitar fell to the ground with a clatter and a twang as Leon suddenly sprung to his feet, hurrying to the door.
Surely he had imagined it...? If somebody had been listening...
This was bad, very bad...

He yanked the door open, and nearly jumped when he saw Maggie standing there. Eyes widening with surprise, he blinked mutely at her for a moment - then seemed to come to his senses.
"M-Maggie?" He stammered nervously, "What are you doing here...?" He trailed off, frowning slightly.
He hadn't spoken to her since his episode a few days earlier... And aside from that, there was the other issue... His decision to start pushing her away, for her own sake. But looking at her now, he realised he probably couldn't do it.
No, he definitely couldn't...
He wasn't strong enough to hurt her.

"N-No... No, I-" Leon stuttered, unsure of what he was saying, and still greatly shaken from the shock of being overheard. He was struggling to focus through his panic...
"You're... Not going to tell anybody... Right?" He asked - his eyes locking on her intently, holding just a faint hint of fear.
Nobody could know he had been playing...
He had given it up.
He couldn't go back...