𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 - 𝒎.𝒈.𝒄.

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 23 - 𝑪𝒐𝒑𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚

«It's an old curse, dreamers divin' head first
Broken beaks and dead birds
Can't get through the glass
There's no use cryin' over spilled blood
Carin' only kills love
[...]
You won't be the first or be the last to bleed
Every broken heart as far as your eye can see
It's a copy of a copy of a copy»

"What do you mean? No one saw them?" I exclaimed, already running upstairs. My heart was racing again. I should have gotten that checked sooner or later.
"No. The last person to see them was Niall, I think. But it was almost twenty minutes ago" Kay replied.
"Unrelated, but how's Cal?" Ash asked her.
"Fine. He's with Liv and Lou."
When I arrived upstairs my friends were already there. Louis and Liam were arguing about something, so they didn't even see me, but Niall took a step back when he saw the look on my face.
Am I really that scary when I'm angry or is Niall just a coward?
I kept walking until I got way past them.
I realized that there were only two good places where Mr. Collins could have chosen to hide: the Chemistry lab, where we had found him, or the library. That part of the school was a labyrinth, perfect to not get caught while running away from someone if you knew it well enough. Also, the librarian always had scissors for when she needed to cut paper. Good enough to make someone bleed.
I noticed as I walked down the hallway that the lab's door was still wide open, and the classroom looked empty. So there was just one possible option.
"Lily, where are you going?" Liam asked.
"I'm going to go get Michael."
"You don't know where he is and you can't do this by yourself, Lils," Zayn protested. "You can't win against a fallen angel. You'll get yourself killed."
I shook my head. "Wrong. First of all, I'm pretty sure they're in the library. Second, I have a big advantage I can use against Mr. Collins."
Calum chuckled. "Yeah, and what is it? The power of love and friendship? You'll die."
"Nope, but I can hear his thoughts. Which means that I'll always know what he's planning on doing next. I'll be able to react in time if I already know his next move," I explained, already opening the door.
"I'm coming with you," Lou protested. "I'm an angel, I'm even stronger than you, I can do this."
"No, Tommo, you can't," Niall replied, stretching his arms - literally - to hold Lou in his place. "Let me go!" he growled, trying to free his arms at least.
"Niall's right, Lou. You don't think before you act," Crystal said. "It's dangerous. You could get hurt. Let Lily do this."
Judging from his thoughts Louis still didn't trust the others' decision, and he kept sighing and muttering under his breath.
"Come on, Lou, trust us. Trust Lily," Liam said, trying to convince his friend to stay in his place.
Lou sighed again and looked up at me. "Listen. You know he's the most precious thing in my world. Bring him back to me alive. Please, that's all I'm asking for. Promise me."
I nodded and sighed, trying to gather all my courage. I had survived so many things. I could survive this too. Not for me, but for Lou, for Harry and for Michael. "Okay, I promise I will. See you in a minute, guys."

I knew I was right when I heard Mrs. Black's voice from somewhere between the shelves. "Philip, promise me you won't hurt them at least. Let them get home safe. Please. I feel so bad about this and you know it."
"Oh no, don't worry, love, I won't hurt them," he replied. I just knew he was proudly showing that devilish grin of his. I would've paid a million dollars just to have the chance to punch that smirk off his face. "I'll just kill them. At least the red haired one."
"No, hey, take me instead" Harry whispered, his voice shaking. "He has a girlfriend."
"You have a boyfriend, too" Michael stated. "He still loves you."
"Yeah, Styles, Clifford has a girlfriend," Collins interrupted him. "That's exactly the reason why he's going to die first. Margaret, did you take that knife?"
My heart skipped a beat. I walked down the corridors, trying to be silent and run as fast as I could at the same time. For a second I thought my heart was beating so loud that they could have heard it from outside. I tried to remember the turns I was taking in case I needed to run away. One turn left, two to the right and…
There they were. I managed to hide behind a pile of books just before they could see me.
Harry and Michael looked fine, but a wall of books kept them stuck in a corner, with not enough space to spread their wings. The books were surrounded by a faint yellow light. Maybe they couldn't move those because of magic.
Mr. Collins was still reading from a very old looking book. The leather of the cover looked like it was about to fall down at any moment.
Suddenly the man closed the book, causing me and Margaret to flinch. Then he turned to look at the boys. "A drop of blood would be enough to start the Apocalypse, you know. But a murder is more fun, especially if you're the victim. Am I right, Clifford?"
He shook his head. "No, you're just insane."
"See, Philip? I told you. I know a really good therapist. She's a friend of mine, her office is-"
"Shut it, Margaret!" he snapped. "I'm not insane, you are. Remember what I told you the other day? If we're going down, we're going down together. Do you not love me anymore? Is it someone else?"
"No, I… No, there's no one else" she stuttered. "But Philip…"
"Great. Help me, then. Hold the book, will you?"
He smiled, turning back to Michael. "Any last words, Clifford? A last wish, perhaps?"
He was about to reply when I decided to stop them. I stepped out from my hiding spot, and Margaret smiled, while Collins looked surprised to see me. "Look who joined the fun! Do you want to see your boyfriend's death, Heart? You're just in time."
"I'd rather avoid that, actually" I replied. "Margaret, I know what you're thinking."
She flinched again, surprised to hear her name from me. "You're a mind reader."
I nodded. "I know you want to free them and run away. Why don't you just do that? You deserve better than this."
"She's trying to manipulate you, Margaret," Collins growled. "Don't listen to her. You love me, right?"
She sighed and shook her head. "Not anymore."
She waved a hand and the light around the book wall faded. Michael didn't hesitate to kick it down and help Harry run away. The curly haired boy didn't wait a second before running towards the exit as fast as he could. Michael ran towards me, instead, and he hugged me. "How are you?" he asked in a whisper.
"I'm okay."
Mr. Collins looked like he didn't know who to kill first: me, Michael or his own lover. He pointed at her. "I told you what I'd do if you decided to help them. You'll have to deal with the consequences."
Then he ran towards me and Michael.

I took Mikey's hand and ran. I didn't even know where I was going, because most of the lights were off. I just focused on Collins' thoughts and tried to figure out where he was going to avoid him.
Once or twice he managed to knock down some books on the shelf just over our heads or to find us at the opposite end of the corridor.
He had stretched out a hand once, grabbing my shirt. It ripped, though, and I didn't stop running. My heart was beating faster and faster. I was barely breathing, too focused on using my powers.
When we finally got out of that labyrinth and I turned around to shut the door, hoping that Harry had already found a way out, we ran down the hallway towards our friends. They were gathered in a circle and they barely even noticed us standing there. Getting closer, I noticed Harry's unconscious body on the floor, with Louis hugging him and sobbing. My breath caught in my throat. Michael noticed and took my hand.
"I told him he was going to get hurt. I knew it!" he was screaming. "It's my fault. It's all my fault."
"Louis, he just fainted. It's probably because he ran too much. He's not dead yet," Sierra stated.
"Yeah, right. Not yet. Heaven knows what they did to him" he cried. "He'll die thinking that I hated him. And he couldn't be more wrong."
"He's not going to die, Lou," Ash whispered. "He's stronger than you-"
He was interrupted mid-sentence by the library's door swinging open, slamming on the wall. Collins - or should I say Philip? - stormed out, holding Margaret's arm and dragging her with him.
We all didn't hesitate to get even closer to Harry and Louis. That wasn't the right moment to leave them behind.
I tried to stand in front of Michael, shielding him from Mr. Collins, but he shoved me away. I lost my balance but I managed not to fall.
Michael wasn't as lucky.
He tried to get away from Collins' grip in every possible way, kicking him and punching him, but with no results.
"Michael, no!" I shouted. He looked at me one last time before the lab's door slammed shut.
I ran after them immediately, trying to open the wooden door or to break it in some way. I tried to kick it open, to open it using the handle, to break it down, but it wouldn't move. Most of my friends tried to help me, while some stayed with Lou and Harry, still unconscious.
The noises coming from inside the room just made the situation worse. Collins' voice kept reading stuff in latin from that old book. Margaret was sniffling and crying, probably next to the door. Michael was probably trying to escape, because I heard glass breaking, swear words and metal hitting the floor.
Then Mr. Collins stopped talking. I heard him walk across the room. My heart skipped a beat with every step.
"No!" Michael shouted.
Then all went silent.

I felt my blood run cold.
"Michael!" I called, hoping he would say something. Anything. I knocked on the door, kicked it, tried to open it however I could. Ash had to drag me away after a while, holding my arms from behind my back. I probably even kicked him a couple of times. Yup, even down there. Sorry, Ash.
Crystal took my place in front of the door, using a diamond or something as a key I think. I wasn't really paying attention to her. I was busy yelling at Ash, asking him to let me go, but he didn't even reply. Not even when I kicked him again.
The door moved, but it still couldn't open completely. Apparently something or someone was keeping it shut.
"Okay, my turn. Move," Liam ordered, while I kept begging Ash to let me go.
Liam took a few steps back, then he ran to the door, finally breaking it down.
I freed myself from Ashton's arms with one last kick and ran in the room. Collins was holding a knife, which blade was covered in blood, and Margaret was standing in the corner, shaking.
Michael was sitting in another corner, bleeding from his arm and through his black skinny jeans, but at least he was alive. I ran to him, moving his hair out of his eyes, not even noticing what was happening under Philip's amazed eyes.
It took me a while to realize that the book was glowing red. The light kept growing brighter and brighter, until it looked more like an explosion. I closed my eyes as Michael held me as close as he could.
I only opened my eyes and looked out the window when I heard thunder roaring outside.
A ray of light was shining from the book, pointing to the morning sky, outside the broken window, slowly turning it red. Like in that painting I had to write about in class.
The end of the world had started.

||In the next chapter...||

Those two stuck together through thick and thin.
[...]
That wasn't the man she had loved so dearly ever since she was twenty-something.
[...]
She felt him looking at her sometimes, and that feeling gave her chills. Not in a good way.

Author's note!
I probably won't be able to update everyday for the next few days/weeks, because school is keeping me busy.
See you soon! :)
Kira <3