Why Steve Leonard Liked Valentine's Day

I don't own any of Mr. Shan's characters!

So, I've been kind of out of it... But, here is Part 1 of this!

Steve Leonard hated many things. For the month of February, however, he hated Valentine's day.

Oh, he hated it with such a passion! He loathed how everyone around him could be happy and find love while people would give him looks of sympathy and he'd sulk around in his room reading his many vampire comics.

To make things worse, his mother always brought a man over for that day.

Usually, he would go over to Darren's home whenever Valentine's Day came around but sometimes Darren would have a Valentine of his own.

Steve didn't know why, but whenever he'd see someone with Darren he would get extremely jealous.

It was ridiculous at times because he could be very overprotective. One good example of that would be the time when a kid named Billy Isaacs pinned Darren to the wall and demanded for lunch money. Darren could have easily defended himself but Steve happened to be passing by at the time and he felt a strong urge to go help out the kid. Striding up to Billy, he gave him a good sock in the face, causing Darren to fall to the ground, and told Billy to scram!

Poor Darren was frightened but Steve smiled warmly and offered his hand to help him up.

Darren smiled back and took his hand. Ever since then, the two had been inseparable and they both had their very own obsessions. Steve's was vampires and Darren's was spiders. They both chatted frequently about these two topics and soon they saw each other like brothers. Or, at least Darren did.

Sometimes Steve wanted to be something more with him but he knew that he didn't.

Sighing, Steve checked his calendar to see how many more days until Valentine's Day.

'Two more days. On Friday. Maybe I should call Darren in advance…' thought Steve.

He picked up the phone and dialed Darren trying to control his breathing and hoped that Darren wouldn't be busy that day.

"Hello?" said Mrs. Shan, making an effort not to sound irritated.

"Uhm.. Hello, Mrs. Shan. Can I speak to Darren?" he asked, trying to sound polite.

Darren's mother wasn't all too fond of Steve. She thought that he was a bad influence for her son and when he would call, she would lie to him and say that Darren was "busy". Luckily, this wasn't one of them.

"Of course, Steve. Let me get him." Mrs. Shan put a finger over the phone to block out any sound and went upstairs to knock on Darren's "Keep Out!" door.

"Honey, Steve is on the phone. Do you want to talk to him?" whispered Mrs. Shan.

Darren quickly got up from his bed and put down his comic book. He opened the door and nodded with a smile then took the phone from her hands. He enjoyed talking to Steve. He could be himself whenever the pair spoke. After all, he was his best friend!

Steve thought for a couple of seconds, pacing his bedroom, wondering what he would say to Darren.

"Hello?" came the familiar voice of Darren.

Steve smiled and instantly relaxed. Whenever he heard the voice of Darren he would feel a rush of calmness overcome him and it would usually give him a boost of confidence.

"Hey, Shan, I was wondering what you were going to do this Valentines Day weekend 'cause you know my mom… And I've got no where else to hang out, but if you're gonna be busy that day or during the weekend then I'll understand…" Steve trailed off.

"Um.. No, I don't think so.." Steve jumped up and down in the air but controlled himself to let Darren finish, "You can come over on that day if you want but, hey, I bought the sequel to 'Spider Webz' and it came with a poster of 'Slaying by Night' and I was wondering if you wanted it. It's pretty cool. It has that hot vampire on the cover."

Steve beamed and practically attacked the phone with "YES! THANK YOU!"s but he nonchalantly and ever-so-cooly said, "Sure. So I'll see you tomorrow at school, right?"

"Yeah, man. Can't wait until Friday. I was thinking of asking Susie out for the Valentine's dance. I think that she likes me and she's pretty hot." said Darren while tying his soccer shoes.

Steve clenched his fists. Susie! NO!

Clearing his throat, he continued, "Oh, so you might be busy on Valentines Day?"

"Nah, I said that I'd hang out with you on that day and the dance is only, like, four hours long. You're going to the dance too though, right? Listen, I've got to go to soccer practice in five minutes. I'll see you at school tomorrow. Bye!" he clicked.

Steve looked out the window and whispered a soft 'Bye' even though Darren had already hung up.

He said that he'd hang out with me on that day and the weekend… Steve couldn't help it but a sudden smile appeared on his face.

But that smile didn't last long. His thoughts went back to Susie and the dance.

He was sure that if he asked Susie that she would say yes. Then what would happen? And what about the dance?

Steve wasn't too fond of dancing either but if Darren was going...

"This isn't going to end well." said Steve to himself while trying to pick out something decent to wear for the dance in two days.

'So close. Come on, Darren, you've got this. One… Two… Three…' Thought Steve.

Steve wasn't able to calm his nerves at home so he decided that a walk in the park would do him great wonders.

Then he remembered that Darren would be practicing at this very park, so he climbed on a tree and settled for watching him play soccer.

"GOOOAAALLL!" Shouted Darren while running around and cheering. "Wooo!" clapped and hurrahed his fellow team players.

It had been years since Steve played soccer and watching Darren play almost made him want to go over and start shooting some of his own goals!

The other team was clearly not amused and they scoffed as Darren flipped and screamed like a banshee. Steve chuckled and shook his head.

A rather good looking male named Nick ran up to Darren and put an arm around his shoulders. Nick grinned as Darren flushed vibrantly.

Steve frowned and looked at the pair. "What's going on?" murmured Steve.

After a couple of goals and fun games soccer practice was over and the two boys played a brisk game of soccer. They both just loved soccer and they couldn't get enough of it, it seemed.

Steve watched the two playing again. "Isn't practice over?" he grumbled from the tree.

Darren and Nick fought for the ball rascally and in one of Darren's kicking's they both fell and tumbled over each other.

Darren stumbled and eventually fell with Nick following his lead. Before they could realize what was happening, Nick landed on Darren softly.

Steve's breath caught in his throat. Get OFF him!

Nick gazed down at Darren. Suddenly, his eyes were filled with something that Darren could not describe. Nick, however, wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss those soft kissable lips with passion and for Darren to return the kiss. Nick always had a thing for Darren but he was always too afraid to pursue. He thought that now was the time.

"What the…" mumbled Steve.

Darren looked back up at Nick and chuckled nervously.

"Uh… Heh, that kick was pretty hard, huh?" he said, trying not to sound edgy.

Nick nodded and smiled down at him.

Suddenly, Nick leaned in and just barely grazed his lips across Darren's when an infuriated Steve interrupted him.

"HEY! GET OFF OF HIM!" bellowed Steve. He grabbed Nick by the shoulders and pulled him off of Darren, tossing him aside easily to haul Darren to his feet.

"St-Steve!" stuttered Darren. Where had he come from? Nick yelped as Steve pummeled against him and drove him towards the nearest tree.

Steve looked at Nick in the eyes with unexpected malice in those fiery orbs, "STAY AWAY FROM DARREN!"

Darren looked at Steve in shock. He had never seen Steve so angry before. He trudged to Steve and put a hand on his shoulder timidly.

"St…Steve… Leave Nick alone. He's m-my friend." Darren gulped and hoped that Steve wouldn't turn on him. The only thing that Steve heard were frantic mumbles.

Eventually, he glanced back at Darren and into his green frightened eyes, he let go of Nick. "Why, Darren?" he croaked.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Steve. Why are you here? Weren—?"

"NEVERMIND WHY I'M HERE! WHY WERE YOU KISSING THAT FOOL?" He said pointing towards Nick. Only, Nick wasn't there anymore. He had scrambled to his feet and ran off as soon as Steve let go of him.

"Oh, that BASTARD! I'm going to get him!" Steve got ready to start running after him.

"NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" screamed Darren. "Don't you DARE to hurt him! WE WERE ONLY PLAYING SOCCER! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM, STEVE?"

Steve looked at Darren and he shoved him, "SCREW YOU, SHAN." He brought up his fist but quickly lowered it when he caught his Darren's expression. His eyes were closed and his face resigned as if he'd been expecting it.

Steve turned around slowly and began to walk away. Darren stood there and watched Steve until he faded into the shadows of the night then made his way home in confusion.

I want to kill him… How could he? Why didn't Darren stop him? Were the phrases that went through Steve's head every time his mind wandered off to the park incident.

Sighing, Steve entered math class and sat at the back of the room near the window and doodled on his paper.

Darren came into the class more than a bit timorous, and sat next to Steve. The bell rang and out of the corner of his eyes, Steve saw that Darren pulled out a sheet of paper and began to write furiously.

He only assumed that Darren was taking notes.

He could have been taking notes as well but Steve just wasn't cut out for school. He never liked it and he was sure that he never would.

Steve was in the middle of a fascinating doodle containing bloody stakes when a folded piece of paper landed on his desk. Darren caught Steve's eyes and smiled a bit then looked back at the board. Steve felt his heart skip a beat.

He opened up the letter and looked at the message inside.

Steve, what's wrong? Why did you freak out like that at the park?

He sneered silently and wrote back;

I thought that that guy was hurting you.

This was obviously a lie. He knew what the guy was trying or probably had done in the past. The thought of that made him clamp his fists. He handed over the note rigidly.

Darren opened the note almost instantly. He took a look at Steve, wrote what he had to say, then nodded briefly and handed him the note again.

Oh. Sorry for screaming at you yesterday. I don't know what's gotten into Nick. I mean, he just kissed me yesterday and I don't know. It was unexpected. But he wasn't hurting me.

Are you still coming over this weekend? I asked Susie to the dance and she said that she already had a date. I kind of don't want to go to the dance anymore but if you do, I can go with you and we can hangout. Unless if you're already going with another group of friends or something…

Steve concealed a smile but on the inside he was bursting with excitement. Of course he could have just said 'No, I don't want to go to the dance either' but that wouldn't have answered his more pressing questions.

He flicked the note back to Darren casually and smirked as it spun then landed on his desk quietly, still looking at Darren for his reaction when he read the note.

Darren smiled while opening the note.

Wasn't hurting you, eh? But he did kiss you. Why didn't you stop him?

At this, Darren blushed. Just like Steve had predicted.

"What're you two doing back there?" asked Mr. Dalton.

"Shit" whispered Steve. Mr. Dalton walked down the aisle to where Steve and Darren were. "Sending love notes to each other?" The whole class laughed and Darren turned an even darker shade of red. He picked up the note and ripped it into tiny pieces.

"Aw, Mr. Dalton! Why didn't you read the note to us?" whined an obnoxious Tiffany. Darren glared at her.

Mr. Dalton shook his head and walked back to the front of the room. "No more notes. Next time I catch you, it's straight to the dean, got it?" Darren nodded like a good boy but Steve rolled his eyes.

"Now, class, who can tell me what number two is?" continued Mr. Dalton.

Steve began to zone out and soon enough, his thoughts returned to Darren.

Darren, however, thought about Nick. Steve was right. Why didn't he stop Nick? He was sure that he had no feelings for Nick in any shape or form. He was thankful that Nick didn't go to this school at least. That would've been terrible.

He also didn't feel anything when the two kissed. Weren't there supposed to be fireworks or something?

Yet, he felt so grateful when Steve defended him. Something about that made him feel warm and he didn't know what to call it, really.

Instead, he focused back on the lesson.

Friday. Finally! Steve looked up at the ceiling and smiled. Today seemed like it would be a perfect day. He would be with Darren all weekend!

Pulling on a shirt with no care, he ran to his mother's room and knocked on the door calmly.

"What?" Came the voice of his mother from the other side of the door.

"Mom. I'm staying at Darren's this weekend, okay?" he said. His mother was usually grumpy during the mornings because she would almost always wake up with an extreme headache due to heavy drinking, but she simply muttered a 'Yeah. Whatever.'

Steve breathed out with minor annoyance but he picked up his backpack that was filled with some clothes, comic books, and schoolwork then headed out the door for school.

Steve walked up the steps and roamed into the hallway where his next class was. He didn't want to go to class because, unfortunately, he didn't have any classes with Darren during the mornings.

Class without Darren just seemed completely unnecessary.

Oh! There goes the first bell. Better get t—Ah, Screw it.

He went to his locker and dropped off his bag then headed up to the roof of the school. Students were usually allowed to hang out up there during lunch or after school but Steve went up there to think and reflect. Despite what people might've thought, he was actually a very profound person.

He sat near the edge of the building, overlooking the town.

And although he did have dark and morbid thoughts or did crazy things, he was still a good person.

The only person that would remind him of that was Darren.

Teachers would speak to his mother about him. "Steve isn't a good boy. He's done bad things to the students around him. He is a BULLY."

His mother simply brushed the comments away and continue with her flithy habits, leaving Steve to always feel like he had nothing to fall back on and knowing that he didn't and couldn't have the support of his mother.

But whenever Steve wanted to give into temptation of giving up, Darren would call him and suddenly, he was reminded of what was worth living for.

Steve shook his head and grumbled at himself. He hated getting so emotional or thinking of the past. It always made him feel sick and ridiculous.

Laughing at himself, he picked up a round pebble and dropped it from above, making sure that it landed in the small puddle below. The splash was tremendous and he saw people looking above, wondering what could've caused that.

He felt better already! And with that, he dusted his hands off with the help of his pants and started for the stairs where he heard a sharp yell of pain from below.

What the?

Steve practically ran down the stairs and headed to where the screaming was coming from. 'The boys bathroom…' he thought.

He pushed the door open but it would not budge!

"AGH! LET ME GO!" Hissed a familiar voice… Was that? Could it be? No. That just could not be…

DARREN?

"STOP!"

Almost as if Darren's voice was the shot of energy that he needed, he pushed with all his might against the door, which finally opened.

Tumbling into the wall nearby, Steve nearly began to black out.

Luckily, the next scene ahead made Steve absolutely seethe with anger and quickly clear his head.

A male who appeared to be a couple of years older than the two boys was pinning Darren against the wall from what seemed to be against his will, and held his wrists on either side of him, smothering his neck with rough lips. He rubbed his leg against Darren's and he felt something heavy in his pockets, causing him to gasp.

They both swished their necks quickly when they heard the loud noise and looked at Steve.

Darren's eyes glazed over with happiness. 'Steve! THANK GOODNESS!' He cheered inside of his head. But that quickly died over when he soon realized the danger that this could've brought to Steve.

His eyes zoomed into the male's pockets and he very well knew what he had in there. A gun.

Almost as if he read Darren's mind, he reached for the gun and pointed it at Darren.

"Get out if you know what's best for you." His tone was demanding and Steve knew that the guy would not hesitate. But who was he?

Utilizing the gun to point at the door, "Go on."

"Let him go." Steve advanced and the man pressed the gun closer to Darren, causing him to flinch.

Steve could not let this go on. He wouldn't go down without a fight.

Lunging at the man rapidly, he seized his arm and twisted it savagely. The guy had clearly not been expecting that so he was taken by surprise but he quickly recovered and calculated to shove Steve away with the point of the gun while forgetting completely about Darren.

By good fortune, Darren made use of himself and soon, adrenaline was pumping through his veins.

He never felt anything like this before. No wonder Steve always picked fights with people!

The gush of vitality was mesmerizing and it made him feel invincible.

Kneeing the man in front of him, in a particularly sensitive area, he grabbed the weapon and tossed it aside.

Steve pushed the now weakened man into the nearest stall and shoved his head into the toilet.

He was shaking with rage. He touched HIS Darren. He took advantage of him! If Steve hadn't heard Darren crying out… If he'd gone to class...

He shook his head and focused on the man whose head was dunked in water. He wanted him to suffer for doing such things to Darren.

Looking over at the pair, Darren saw what Steve was doing and almost as quickly as his rush came, it abandoned him.

He couldn't let Steve kill the man. No matter how much damage he could've caused he would not allow his best friend to become a… Murderer.

The man seemed to stop struggling underneath Steve and there was a vindictive smile plastered onto his face.

Darren ran over to Steve and placed a hand on his shoulder. He knew that it was probably not wise to interrupt Steve when he was like this because he could just as easily turn to him, but he had to.

"Steve…" he whispered. "STEVE." Saying his name more clearly, Steve looked up into Darren's warm eyes.

Frowning, he glared at the man and back at Darren.

"What?"

"Stop, Steve. He's knocked out… Let's go before he wakes up." Darren murmured, nervously.

Steve shrugged Darren's hand off of his shoulder and went in for the kill. Darren grabbed Steve's arms and pulled him back with as much strength as he could muster.

Darren walked over to the man and pulled him out of the toilet water inaudibly while having a still-too-angry Steve gazing over at him.

He felt relieved when he felt a pulse coming from the man, but at the same time, disgusted. He couldn't stop thinking about what could have been.

Fighting off any fury that would surely overcome him, he walked over to Steve and looked at the bloody and watery scene around them.

On the outside, Steve was looking angry and determined but on the inside he felt just the opposite. He could have killed that man. No, he wanted to kill him. Maybe everyone was right. Maybe he was evil.

"We should go…" Darren whispered, interrupting the trance that Steve was in.

Nodding briefly, the two boys walked out of the bathroom and headed for wherever life would take them next, knowing that they would never forget that day.

I really don't know when I'll be posting the next part but... Yeah! R/R please?