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The Club is a Dangerous Place (Part 5/7)

Dylan kneeled on the ground, letting his tears splatter onto the tiles. Xavier lied on his side, facing away from the dragon. He couldn't deny that he still loved him, but Dylan had hurt him. He left him for someone else. The otter cried silently, trying not to think about his mate.

Dylan spoke shakily. "H-how could you say that..." Xavier's ears perked slightly, but he still tried to ignore it. "I love you; I've always loved you..." Dylan continued, "And I thought you loved me..." At these last words, the dragon sank even further into the ground, letting out loud sobs and whimpers.

"You abandoned me..." Xavier said quietly, failing to hold back further tears.

"I...I abandoned you?" The words were separated by cracks and squeaks in his voice.

"I saw you... you were kissing Tiff..." Xavier said, voice faltering again.

Dylan's mind wiped blank for a moment. He gasped. "T-That was an accident! I thought she was you!"

Xavier desperately wanted to believe this. He wanted everything to be the way it was before, to return to the status quo. It wasn't that easy. If he believed him, and it happened to be false, he knew it would hurt even more. He shook his head. "I don't believe you," he cried.

"He's not lying..." Tiff said quietly. She and Klick had heard their conversation outside for a moment and came in not two seconds later.

Xavier turned around slightly, and then turned back quickly. He could feel his tears increase. "How could she?" he thought. "She stole him from me...He was mine..."

"You took him from me," the otter whined quietly, slightly baring his teeth.

"No, I didn't...! Oh, I'm so sorry, Xavier! It was really dark! I thought he was Klick!"

"I thought she was you..." Dylan said softly, still crying.

"Liar..." Xavier sobbed. He wanted to trust them. He wanted to believe them so. But he couldn't. He couldn't be hurt again. If he was happy again, something would happen to take it all away. Everything he said pushed the dragon further away from him. But he couldn't stop. If he stopped, then maybe he could get him back. But if he got him back, then Dylan would just be taken away again. No, he'd have to take the safe route. "You two were moaning each other's names and laughing!"

"We weren't! We were just surprised that we accidently kissed each other, and we thought it was kind of funny!"

"I really thought she was you..." Dylan added through his sobs, nearly unintelligibly.

"That's right. He was really worried when we couldn't find you. He searched the entire park, and ran home trying to find you," Klick said. "He really cares about you, you know."

Xavier felt hopeful. He wanted to believe it. "No..." he sobbed, "I'll just lose you again."

At this point, Tiff and Klick felt incredibly awkward standing there. They decided to sneakily retreat back into the hallway, closing the door behind them with a soft click.

Dylan spoke up through his tears. "Xavy...remember when we almost got lost in that other park?" He continued, "And you were crying because you couldn't find me for awhile? Well, I promised you that I would always be with you from then on..."

Xavier sobbed harder as the memory flooded him. It was yet another reminder of what he had lost.

The dragon went on, "Xavy...if you let me...I really want to keep my promise...I want to be with you, Xavy...I need to be with you..."

At that moment, Xavier realized the one thing that really meant everything to him: Dylan loved him. Dylan wanted to be with him. Dylan needed to be with him. "D-Dylan..." he whined. He strained his every muscle until he could find the strength to sit up. The dragon was on the ground, still crying.

Xavier slumped. "It doesn't matter..." he said, catching his tears in his paws. "You don't love me anymore..."

"I've always loved you and I always will," Dylan said softly through his sobs.

With that, Xavier felt as though hope had come back into the world and was rushing into him. "Dylan... draggy..." he whimpered.

Dylan looked up, and saw the Xavier's eyes were full of love and need. He stood up and shakily walked up to the bed. As soon as he was there, Xavier launched himself onto the dragon, plastering his body against his. The otter wrapped his arms tightly around Dylan's chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please forgive me! Please don't be mad! I'm so sorry..." he wailed.

Dylan cried too, and entwined his own arms behind Xavier's back. "I was never mad at you...Just please...don't do this again...I can't bear the thought of losing you..."

Xavier scooted back, pulling Dylan into the bed with him. The dragon had no choice but to follow. Soon, they were both lying in the bed, with Xavier still crying into Dylan's shoulder. Dylan comforted his mate, assuring him that he was forgiven.

"I-I thought you d-didn't love me anymore" Xavier whimpered through his tears, holding his dragon tighter.

"I would never do that," Dylan said, "I'll love you forever"

"I love you too, Dylan! So much!"

"I know..."

Dylan tightened his embrace with Xavier, as the otter continued to cry into the dragon's chest. "Please don't leave me..." he pleaded.

"I will never ever leave you," Dylan said, stroking the otter's sides.

Xavier became considerably happier after Dylan and Tiff explained the full scenario. However, that happiness came with the fear that his mate would be taken away again. He was also extremely fragile, and kept asking Dylan if he loved him every once in a while. The dragon would always look him deep in the eyes, and promise that he would never ever leave, and that they would be together forever.

Of course, doctors and nurses came in occasionally to check in on the patient. They took samples and checked for infections. They monitored his blood pressure. As it turns out, Dylan had saved his life. If Xavier had lost any more blood, he probably would not have been awake at all. Luckily, the dragon was there to stop the bleeding, and the otter's body gradually replaced the loss with new blood, and he was healthy again very soon.

Dylan knew he couldn't sleep in the same bed as Xavier since the wheeled platform was way too weak for them. It barely supported their combined weight for an hour without creaking in dangerous protest. It didn't stop Xavier from begging, though. The otter would plead him every night to hold him while he slept so he'd have at least some comfort and security. The dragon would always sadly refuse but assure him that he'd still be there in the morning.

At night, Xavier would randomly wake up and check on the couch to make sure the dragon was still there. On one night, he had gone to the bathroom and Xavier broke down again when he wasn't found. Dylan found the otter crying erratically into his pillow when he returned.

After being on watch for another day, the hospital was almost ready to discharge Xavier and let them both go home. Throughout the ordeal, Dylan never left the otter's side. He slept on the couch in the room and bought all of his meals in the food court.

Dylan and Xavier were both asked how the injury happened in the first place. The dragon knew that his mate was too fragile to go through any psychological testing, so they lied and said that he swung his arm right in the path of a sharp knife by accident. They agreed that it was better this way, although Dylan secretly vowed to keep an eye on Xavier in case he attempted this again. He also made a mental note to keep the otter in check. He adamantly made the decision to consult a psychologist or psychiatrist if Xavier ever regressed.

When the time came, Tiff volunteered to drive them both back to their house. The pair sat in the back seat, although they might as well have been sitting in the same one. Xavier clung to Dylan tightly, fearing that the dragon would be taken away from him again. Dylan could feel vibrations from the otter shaking slightly from his fear, and the dragon did his best to make him feel comfortable by stroking his hair or holding him tightly.

When they arrived, Klick was already there with Xavier's car. He had driven it back for him from the park.

After thanking the fox and otter, they entered their home and started cleaning up the blood that had been left on the floor for three days. Xavier wanted to help Dylan, seeing that it was his own mess, but the dragon refused to let him, insisting that he rest.

Dylan spent the afternoon scrubbing the floor until it was spotless. By the time he was finished, his back hurt and his shoulders ached. He wanted to take a quick shower so he went back to their room, where the otter was softly snoozing. He made sure to make his actions small and quiet in order to not be a disturbance.

The dragon forgot to be gentle when he closed the bathroom door after washing, and as a result, Xavier woke up. He noticed that the dragon was walking awkwardly, and that he grunted when he lied down next to the otter. Xavier gasped softly. "Dylan...are you okay?" he asked with a squeak.

"Yeah, I'm okay, just a little sore from cleaning."

Xavier started crying again. "I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to hurt you... I'm sorry, Dylan..."

Dylan pulled in the otter for a tight embrace. "It's okay. It wasn't your fault" Dylan soothed the otter as best as he could, until the sobs lessened and he was clinging onto the dragon's chest less tensely. Xavier was still panting heavily. He closed his eyes, trying to take in everything and relax himself.

"It's okay," Xavier thought, "He loves me, and he forgives me. Does he...?"

"Dylan...are you mad at me...?" Xavier asked softly, tensing up, fearing the answer. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the dragon's anger. It never came.

"Xavy...I could never be mad at you...I never was, either...I was just afraid I would lose you..."

"Dylan, do you...love me...?" Xavier asked with a whisper, his voice trailing away at the end. He looked away, afraid that Dylan would say "No."

Dylan tightened the hug, stroking the otter's hair with a claw. "I love you more than anything else in the world"

Xavier relaxed a bit, melting back into Dylan. "I love you so much...I don't know what I'd do without you...Please don't leave me...I need you..." he whimpered.

Dylan nuzzled his neck again. "I know you love me, and you don't ever have to go a day without me. I'll be there for you always"

"Really...?" Xavier asked, looking up with tears in his eyes.

"I promise. I promise I will always be here for you"

For once in the last four days, Xavier smiled.

I felt guilty with all that grim-dark and sadness so I decided to give you some really emotional romantic stuff.

But really, I think I overdid it. I reread this, and I was like =.=" "Wow this is so sappy..."

Oh, and Xavier's character analysis is below. I mean, leave it to the science geek to write a psychological analysis on him...Teehee...

Thanks for reading! Oh, and Rate/Review please!

Xavier's Character Analysis:

(Read this if you're interested in the psychology behind Xavier. This is not crucial to the story)

Xavier is super shy. This is probably an understatement. Xavier is in fact, a complete introvert. He is always scared of what others will think of him. He craves and requires praise and acceptance from others, or else he'll break down psychologically. His self esteem is incredibly low, stemming from multiple factors. Firstly, his shy and capsulated personality allows him only to have a few friends. Secondly, his already distant and unloving parents disowned him for his orientation. He has never known any love, until he met Dylan.

Psychologically speaking, everyone has a "love map." This metaphorical map is actually a complicated system of neurons in the brain that allow individuals to actually feel the three main types of love: erotic love, romantic love, and attachment.

Erotic love is obviously something we are born with. Evolutionarily, it is necessary for the survival of a species. This type of attraction is instinctual. However, there is a higher level of erotic love that exists. One learns to discern between whom they find erotically attractive and who they do not.

Romantic love occurs much later in life, especially during the teenage years. This type of love is more emotional, and allows the individual to share significant emotions with others. This type of love is quite crucial for the psychological health of an individual.

Finally, attachment is the most basic type of love. It is exactly as the name suggests. It is not the type of attachment that is mentioned in Buddhism (attachment to material objects). Instead, this attachment stems from a deep emotional significance within the individual. Without attachment, the individual becomes incredibly dissociated and antisocial. This type of love is by far the most important.

Xavier has never fully developed his love map. Love maps are created by the individual with outside influences. What a young child sees in the mother and father can influence how he or she sees basic love. Other external sources such as television or watching other children can also help develop the love map. Without a developed love map, Xavier is emotionally unstable and needy.

When he finally met someone who demonstrated an attraction to him (i.e. Dylan), he finished developing his love map around him. Thus, his idea of erotic love, romantic attraction, and attachment all revolve around him.

When someone loses something he or she loves, their love map remains whole because it has been developed strongly. One can search for another source of love from family or friends. However, Xavier's love map is severely debilitated and cannot sustain itself. Without Dylan, he regresses into a psychological break down, and feels alone and unloved.

Only Dylan loves him, and therefore he only loves Dylan. Sounds romantic, doesn't it? Not really. Xavier would be classified as sane, but simply emotionally unhealthy. Hopefully, Dylan understands and will tend to his psychological needs.