The Time Away From Myself

1: Smithereens

A/N: Welcome, this story may be a bit complex. Similar to the boy who read minds, it will be a puzzle until the end, so please bear with me. -V

We were dancing, his hands on my waist, like a gentleman, and mine wrapped around his shoulders. The fabric of his suit grazed my arms as we swayed, soft and comfortable as warmth filled the space between us as his cologne was intoxicating.

It felt too formal, too planned, too perfect. But I didn't mind it. I could never mind a handsome villain whose cologne could cloud my mind and whose eyes could burn me from within. He sparked a fire that I couldn't put out, that I allowed to simmer.

The bright sky-blue warmth in his eyes was almost surreal. He was a vision of perfection and beauty. Soft freckles lined his nose above soft pink lips. I couldn't help but stare, my heart beating steadily as my nerves began to make their first appearance of the night.

His fingers slid up my back and into my hair as he held me to close against his chest, our bodies were swaying with the music as our classmates danced around us. But I couldn't comprehend their existence in that moment. In my mind, it was just us and nobody else.

It was just him and I in the school's poorly decorated cafeteria, the soft blue and purple lights slowly making their way around the darkened room as the music played and insignificant chatter enveloped the background.

I looked up at him and, without missing a beat, he looked at me. And he leaned down, connecting our mouths in a kiss that made my heart flutter. I shattered at his touch and smiled against his lips.

I couldn't think about the fact that any teacher could break us apart right now, nor did I care if they did. It was prom, nothing truly mattered anymore except getting into college.

Everything felt perfect as he pulled back, planted a kiss on my forehead and continued holding me in a warm embrace, dancing.

Throughout the night, his hands would slip lower and lower, but I didn't care too much to correct him. It felt like my body was on fire, but in the best way possible.

And when it was almost midnight and more than half the students had gone home, he pulled me outside and walked me into the cool spring air in the parking lot. I was beyond ecstatic, but something had felt off. He'd been quieter than normal all night and I was no mind reader to understand why. All I could focus on was how he made me feel.

"Steph," he began, the intensity gone from his eyes. I suddenly found myself in panic mode, trying to hide behind a calm exterior.

"You're not gonna propose right now, are you?" I asked, laughing and trying to lighten the mood. But it didn't work, it did the opposite, in fact. I felt the tension rise.

His face shifted, eyes looking up at the stars as he took off his suit jacket and placed it on the roof of his car.

He took a deep breath as though it physically pained him and I realized this night would only end in two possible ways. I held my breath as he brought his gaze back to me.

"I think we're going in separate directions," he choked out and my heart felt like it stopped. I couldn't comprehend what I'd done wrong tonight, unless this had been a build up of emotions over the past several months. "I think I'll always love you and you'll always have a piece of my heart..." he breathed loudly, his eyes meeting mine.

I was frozen, unable to speak or hear what he was saying. His mouth was moving but no words were coming out. He mentioned something about college and how I had no prospects, he mentioned how my family didn't like him and that it was weighing on him. And after all was said, he simply looked at me and asked me if I was going to say anything. He resented me for things I was unaware of; he'd never voiced these concerns to me until today.

My heart was broken and I felt incapable of speech. I took a deep breath in, trying to process, trying to gather my thoughts. I felt numb.

"Are you breaking up?" My voice sounded stronger than I felt, it was confidently asked and I was thankful that my humiliation had a small mercy.

"I just think we could just be frie..." he began, sounding like a whiny child trying to justify his decision.

"It's fine." I stopped him, "we both knew this wasn't going to be forever." I sounded stronger than I felt.

I wanted to ask him why. Why tonight? It was supposed to be the best night of my life. But I withheld, it didn't matter why it happened, just that it did happen. I took a deep breath and looked directly at him, "Good luck with everything."

My legs began to lead me back into the school but his hand suddenly caught my wrist.

"Wait... that's it?" He asked, annoyed that I hadn't reacted more dramatically, clearly annoyed that I'd taken it well. Annoyed that I hid how much I cared for him.

"It's what you want, right?" I asked and he nodded.

"Ok, well good luck with everything." I said again and it was now his turn to look dumbfounded, "did you expect me to cry?"

"Wh... what? N... no... but at least some sort of reaction... did I mean nothing to you?" He asked, anger replacing his confusion.

"I don't owe you a reaction." I said, my heart shattering as I snatched my wrist away and walked back into the school.

-

The alarms were screaming as people ran in all sorts of directions. Flashing red lights enveloped the room and water poured from the ceiling.

It was the perfect opportunity to escape, except she still remained chained to the bed.

"Let me out! Please I don't want to die here!" Stephanie screamed as hospital staff ran past her to tend to their patients. There was a fire in the hospital, albeit planned, she hadn't anticipated having no escape.

"Please!" She screamed again, glaring at the cutesy chart that described her pain level, which had increased exponentially once she'd arrived.

"Look, don't tell anyone I did this." The swirly-stached nurse who had been helping her over the last couple of days released her from the bed. Her wrists hurt and legs felt weak as she followed after him.

Tripping, another nurse was at her side and helped her walk down the stairs as the white fire-alarm lights flashed and the screeching sound continued.

None of this had gone according to plan, nothing had succeeded. Stephanie gripped the shoulder of the nurse who led her down the stairs and they walked outside together where the clear screams of people from the North side of the burning hospital filled the air.

Her heart raced rapidly, tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched the panicked look on peoples faces. The fire fighters were trying their best, but many people would not survive today.

"Save them, I have to help them." Stephanie announced, gaining a sudden strength as adrenaline pulsed through her veins. She ran toward the Northern exit of the hospital and pushed against the fearful victims.

"I have to save them." She wiped away fast tears with her shoulder as she covered her mouth with a piece of cloth from her gown.

And she climbed the stairs, eyes wild as a firefighter caught sight of her and rushed toward her. She began running in the opposite direction, oxygen low as she entered room 218, the yellow biohazard sign almost unnoticeable. Her breathing was shallow as she spotted him laying silently on his bed, his heart beating steadily as no smoke entered this type of room.

She sat crying until the firefighter opened the door to not only the smoke, but the biggest regret.