𝐢 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐢'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 ˢᵒᵈᵃᵖᵒᵖ ᶜᵘʳᵗⁱˢ

𝟎𝟏𝟒. ( last kiss )

❝you're not going to die, i won't let you.❞

ATHENA NEVER KNEW WHAT happened to sodapop that night, and it wasn't until she found dallas on the streets, that she knew.

"hey dally." she waves to him, his face is full of sadness and his brows are furrowed. instantly, athena was worried. "what's wrong?"

"you didn't hear?" he asks, for the first time, dallas looked like he was going to cry. athena shook her head. dallas looked like he wouldn't be able to get the words out, he looked absolutely devastated.

athena felt his gloomy mood transfer to her, "dal, what's the matter?" she started to panic, something bad happened. she knew that, but what?

"sodapop was attacked last night." he finally says, "the doctors aren't sure if he's going to make it."

athena's whole world shatters. it feels like her body had given out on her and she was a ghost examining the scene from a far.

"is this some sort of joke?" she questioned before her knees gave out from underneath her. dally hurriedly helped her up, she didn't want to get up, she wanted to sink into the gravel and never come up again.

"why would i joke about this?" dallas wipes his brows, "now come on, we have to get to the hospital."

athena doesn't say a word, instead she starts running and running and doesn't look back. she doesn't care if dally's following her or not, she just wants to see him, the boy whose always been overly understanding.

she's a sweating mess when she bursts through the hospital doors, everyone turns to look out her, some with disgusted faces and others with concerned looks. a doctor hurries over to the petrified girl, "are you alright, dear?"

"no! i need to see sodapop curtis right now." she cries out, her knees feeling like they'll give out on her any second now. the doctor sighs sadly, "he's not going to make it, i'm sorry."

"let me see him." athena gets in the doctor's face, "or i'll fucking kill you." she reaches for her waistband, even though there's nothing there. the doctor gives her a frightened look and shows her down the hallway, to room 32.

athena walks in, her heart heavy and her body a shaking mess. she notices soda instantly, how his eyes are closed and how bruised and cut up his body looks. he looks dead, he seems to be dead. 

athena worries that he really is gone, i'm too late. a tear trickles down her cheek. if only she wasn't so sensitive, if only she never yelled at him, if only she never left him for a year. maybe he'd be fine, maybe he'd be the love of her life. 

"athena?" his soft voice speaks up, she rushes over to the limp boy, her eyes glossy. "shh, don't speak, you'll hurt yourself."

"i don't care." soda sits up slightly, instantly groaning in agony. athena grabs his body and lays him back down, more tears falling from her eyes. "i care."

"they said i'm not going to make it." soda looks up at athena with tears falling from his perfectly blue eyes, the eyes she was just looking into a few hours ago. his voice is shaky and low, he sounds like he's on his last breaths.

"you're going to make it, they don't know what they're talking about." she chokes back tears, trying her best not to cry, if she does, she'll scare him. 

"i don't want to die, athena, i don't." soda whimpers, "sixteen years isn't long enough." she brushes his hair from his eyes, smiling sadly down at him.

"you're not going to die, i won't let you." she promises, not sure if her promise is worth keeping. soda tries nodding, but his neck is so stiff and it hurts him to do the littlest movements. he knows that his life is at it's last straw, he knows that this is the last time he'll ever look at athena again.

"i love you so much, athena." he smiles, closing his eyes.

"don't say that now, you're going to make it." she reassures him, cupping his face with her hand, tears falling from her eyes onto his cheek. "what would i do without you?"

"fulfill all your dreams, do that for me?" he's losing a lot of oxygen and his heart is growing slower and slower. athena's hand trembles. 

"don't leave me." she begs, brushing the hair from her face and behind her ears. she presses her lips to his, shutting her eyes tightly, wishing that her kiss would bring him air, would bring his heart back to life.

but that was it, that was their last kiss.

and he's gone.