Tragedy Befall

 "So you okay staying in the dormitory? No one bullying you, or anything," Kell asked.

 "Nope. The rumors, which are true, that we were friends had spread across the school. No one wants to mess with the kid who is friends with the person who could break their spine with ease," Ian answered.

 They are currently in a nearby mall. While the dormitory did not allow students to leave the school area, outings were allowed as long as the faculties were told the students were outing.

 He had taken the routine of going out once every two weeks to replenish his essentials. And to meet with his best friend, not like he told him out loud. Though he knew the jock he called his best friend knew of this. And no, he is not a tsundere!

 "Hey! That is only one time!" Kell pouted.

 "My friend, that kind of thing will stay behind in the head of everyone that sees it. After all, how could I ever forget a 12-year judo flipping a creep to the ground to the point he broke the creep's spine," they only knew that Kell broke the creep's spine when he was sent to the hospital.

 While the defense attorney of the creep tried to blame Kell for horribly injuring the man, the claim was dismissed on the account that the creep was an infamous pedophile, so his action, even if it is excessive, can be considered self-defense.

 To this day, Kell feels remorse for the accident. Not on beating the man, because he deserved it, but because he had overdone it. Thankfully, a therapy session and his knocking on his door so they could play helped his issue.

 "Sure, and they are not afraid of the person that could hack into their social account and find every dirty secret they pose on the internet, destroying their social life," Kell deadpanned.

 Ian wanted to retort but could not. After all, he once did that when the person in question caused some trouble to Kell's family. He would never do such a thing but with his friend's family in line, he gets his hands dirty.

 By the end of it all, the man suffered from countless scandals, got tons of lawsuits, and was sent to prison to top it off. And all because he dared to mess with Ian's best friend.

 "Oh crap," Ian exclaimed, looking at his watch. "It is almost an hour before outing time ended. I have to get back to the dorm,"

 "Oh, do you want help with the stuff?" Kell asked. 

 "Kell, if you keep carrying my stuff, I am going to be weaker than a bug at this rate," Ian told the other boy though he did not stop him from carrying his stuff.

 What? He had bought a lot of essentials, mainly junk food and instant noodles to last him for the month, which is essential by the way, just for him.

 All of them combined are heavy for someone whose idea of exercise is walking towards the school library, which is a mere 500 feet from his room. And never lift anything heavier than a table.

 As they were about to leave, a group of armed people, robbers or worse, Ian realized. 

 "Drop to the ground and have your hands at the back of your head!" the leading one yelled.

 They did just that, placing their hands behind their arm though Ian could see Kell ready to make his move. Ian observed the group, trying to find a weak link when he spotted it. 

 Waiting for the moment they drop their guard off, Ian yelled, "Now!"

 Before the armed men could react, Kell charged at the one holding an assault rifle before throwing him to another man. As the remaining robbers lifted the muzzle of their weapons, Kell grabbed the assault rifle and threw it at the one close to him before grabbing a nearby trash bin and throwing it at the last robber, the force sending him flying.

 As the leader began to lift himself, dazed from being thrown like a rag doll, he was lifted by Kell, who was ready to punch his light out.

 "W-wait, there is a bomb inside the mall!" the leader exclaimed, Kell, stopping his fist inches away from hitting the man.

 "Where?" Kell growled, his hold becoming tighter.

 "All over the mall! We plan to set it off to stall the police!" Kell keeps his grip on the man, glaring at the man. Behind him, the others began to panic.

 "Where are the bombs?" Ian asked. When the robber did not open his mouth, Ian sighed, "In that case, we just have to put him here as the entire mall blows up, what a shame," hearing the unspoken threat, the robber folded.

 "Alright! Alright! I tell you where it is!"

-x-

 After the robber told them the location of each bomb, Ian headed towards the bombs while Kell began to gather the people inside the mall with the help of security.

 Thankfully, Ian had some knowledge of disabling bombs, one that is not from video games but from real-life action, with his parents teaching him how to do it.

 Thankfully, most of the bombs were easy to dispose of. The last one is a bit of an issue but he did not plan to stay inside the mall when it set off.

 He soon heard footsteps. A quick turn revealed Kell, who looked pale. "What kind of problem do you have?" he asked.

 "Every single exit. All of them are locked. And I am not talking about the sliding unable to open. I am talking about the metal shutter being closed," he told Ian, who turned pale.

 "Well, this is an issue, but not an unsolvable one. Take one of the bombs and set it off at one of the entrances. Then run away like the devil is after you," he told the other boy.

 Kell nodded before heading toward one of the bombs in question.

-x-

 *Kaboom*

 The metal shutter turned to slag metal from the explosion. Out of the new exit, people flee the mall, hoping to get away from the place. Yet, Kell could not spot his best friend. Feeling something was wrong, he ran back in, ignoring the people screaming for him to leave the place.

 "Like hell, I leave my best friend!" he said as he ran towards the place where he last seen Ian.

 There, he could see the other boy, his finger plugged into the bomb for some reason. "Ian?" he shakily asked.

 The other boy looked at him and exclaimed, "You should left me your big oaf,"

 "Why don't you come out?"

 Ian sighed. "The robbers had placed this bomb in a troublesome spot," he pointed at several pipes, "those are gas lines and if it exploded, this place goes boom,

 I disable the other bombs but it seems to be connected to this one. It won't trigger unless one of the bombs explodes, which would lead to, the bomb going on a countdown like its life depended on it. Thankfully, the bomb can be stopped by putting a finger in this exact hole," he pointed at the hole his finger currently plugging.

 "Unfortunately, if I unplug it, it will go boom. But I did not have any choice. The clock is ticking and the only way for me to stop it is by plugging it. And even with me plugging it the clock is still on countdown.

 There was less than a minute before this bomb exploded and caused a chain reaction. So leave now," he told Kell.

 However, instead of leaving, the bigger man embraced him. "K-kell?" he hated how his voice seemed to crack at the moment.

 "We are friends. Best of friends. If you are going to die, I am going to die with you," before he could say anything to stop his dumbass of a friend from killing himself with him, the boy continued.

 "Do you think I will be able to live without guilt if I left you to die alone?"

 Tears fall from the tsundere nerd. "Then, so be it," he pulled the finger and hugged the larger boy back.