Dying to Breathe

10.2: don't be so quick to throw yourself away

A/N: Happy day of the dead and belated halloween! I hope your celebrations were memorable, beautiful and/or fun. 

This is a short and sweet chapter. Also, fun fact: most of my characters represent some sort of concept. For example, Alec represents healing and reason. He's such a cutie and I love him more every time I write him into the story. Can you guess what the other characters represent?

Pls listen to Sun Goes Down by Lil Nas X to get that calming sense that Alec exudes :)

Chapter 10, Part 2: Don't Be So Quick to Throw Yourself Away

"Hey Alec," Penelope sighed, greeting the young man in the small, quiet shop with a grim smile.

Looking up from the table he was busing, Alec gave her a look over. "What's on your mind, girl?" Tossing the dirty cloth over his shoulder, he turned to her expectantly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Chuckling, Penelope shook her head. "I made the mistake of looking at my phone." Sitting down tiredly in the empty spot, she groaned thinking about the videos the whole entire school seemed to have captured of her being dunked in red juice last night—it was bad enough having mere jagged memories of it without it being immortalized, too.

"I think I'm about to finally play her game the way she's always wanted me to."

With furrowed brows, the barista nodded after a moment like she hadn't just blurted out gibberish to him, "Hold on."

As Alec disappeared behind the counter, Penelope felt the pounding memories and clips of videos of the night swim through her veins like a poison. She didn't know who to trust. She felt like the life she had been living for two weeks now was quickly unraveling. It was all just some motion picture, film-like play.

And in a way, she was quickly realizing, she had only just reached the end of the opening credits.

With a loud thump, Penelope blinked back to reality—seeing the two familiar drinks in front of her. She looked up at Alec questioningly as he gestured to the drinks he had prepared.

One caramel macchiato and one steaming mug of black coffee.

"Is this supposed to be a test?" She laughed.

Placing a third capped cup between them, Alec shook his head. "It's about your sister, right?"

Penelope held her breath, staring at the drinks. "...Yeah. I guess." Picking up the caramel macchiato, she inhaled the sweet aroma. With a pout, she put it down before grabbing the hot mug of bitter lava. Looking at him, she shrugged, tipping the glass to her lips, "Gotta play by the rules now."

Alec reached over, gently touching her hand as he guided the coffee back to the table. Wordlessly, he opened the third cup up, revealing its emptiness. Taking the two drinks, he expertly poured half of each into the cup.

Penelope felt her lips twitch up as she shook her head at him.

"I don't know what you're dealing with... but in my nineteen years of experience, there's always another perspective to consider and at least a compromise to keep in mind." Pushing the mixed hot beverage towards her, he showed her an encouraging smile, "You're young, Penelope. Don't be so quick to throw yourself away to please someone else—especially someone who isn't even around."

"Wise beyond your years, Alec." Penelope joked half-heartedly, taking a sip of the mixed beverage. Scrunching up her nose as she swallowed, she laughed, "It's still gross." As the bell above the front door sang out, Penelope smiled at Alec as she placed a few bills on the table, "Thanks for the pep talk—it's nice to hear it even if it's inevitable. In the meantime, you should come out to the carnival tonight." Turning around in the seat as she stretched, she glanced at the man who had just walked in.

He was handsome (in a late twenties or early thirties sort of way) with straight, strict facial features and a perfectly groomed shadow of a beard and styled back dark hair.

"It's on the house. And, yeah, perhaps I'll see you there." Alec spoke out of politeness, pulling her back to their conversation as he gave an acknowledging nod to the man before walking back to the bar without her money.

Penelope hummed, pocketing the cash. "Well, let me pay you back with kindness then: my super hot friends will be there, too—and they think you're real cute~" She slyly smirked, watching the tan deepen on the barista's cheeks as he choked on air.

"Uh... Maybe I'll stop by later after my shift then..." He spoke with an embarrassed cough, making her laugh as she stood up.

"The theme tonight is the 18th century." She called out to him, saluting him as she walked backwards towards the door. "Until then, kind sir—" Colliding clumsily back into the man from before, she spun around with an apology already forming on her lips, "Shit, my bad—"

Catching his dark eye, she noticed with a sinking feeling in her chest just how pale his face was. As if looking into her very own depths of fear and her panic, his shellshocked expression became a permanent mark, seared into her brain. She quickly stumbled back into the awaiting ajar door, the stomach-churning gleam in his eye becoming mirror-like as it foretold what her future would look like if she didn't win her sister's game:

...dark; terrifying; permanently haunting.

She hastily pulled the door open, escaping with little to no breath left in her lungs. As the door shut between them, she didn't look back at the strange man as she disappeared into the constant bustling city crowd.

It confirmed what she already discovered: she had to play the game the way her sister played it. And she had to win it, or she might just really drown.  

End of Part 2

A/N: I love him. He's the sweetest most healthiest character, man. But of course Penelope is on her own wavelength. (ugh listen to my boy, Pen!) 

Thanks for reading!! (fun fact if you didn't see it on my profile, DtB reached 666 votes on halloween and I just think that's fate.)