𝕭𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝕾𝖎𝖓 ✧ American Horror Story

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖎𝖝: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑

✧

Flashback

Elliot's heart pounded relentlessly in his chest, its rhythm matching the thundering waves of panic crashing upon his senses. A sudden, chilling realization swept over him, as if a switch had been violently flipped inside, exposing the gravity of their actions. The bedroom felt claustrophobic as he restlessly paced, his mind a tempest of fear and desperation, yearning for some sign of acknowledgment from his best friend, Tate. But all that enveloped him was an eerie, oppressive silence.

"Tate?" he called out, his voice betraying a hint of tremor, revealing the depths of his worry.

Meanwhile, Tate seemed to retreat from reality, caught in the suffocating grip of haunting echoes—the anguished screams of their fellow classmates replaying incessantly in his mind. He struggled to focus, blinking away the blurry aftermath of adrenaline and shock. With an air of detachment, he turned his gaze toward Elliot, both of them feeling as if they were trapped in a surreal nightmare, where control had long abandoned them.

"You need to go," Tate finally spoke, his voice an ethereal whisper, carrying an undertone of solemnity that echoed through the room, intertwining with the tense atmosphere.

In that charged moment, the air seemed to hum with uncertainty as their bond of friendship strained under the weight of their actions. The room, once a sanctuary of camaraderie, now bore witness to the cracks in their reality and the consequences of their choices.

Confusion gnawed at Elliot's mind as he shook his head, unable to fathom the thought of leaving his stressed friend behind. "What do you mean? I can't just abandon you. This is crazy," he protested, settling beside Tate on the bed in an attempt to offer solace.

"They're going to kill us, Eli," Tate uttered, his words dripping with haunting certainty, sending shivers down Elliot's spine.

Elliot's heart sank, the gravity of their situation finally sinking in. He took a moment to steadily himself, his resolve firming like steel. "Then we face it together," he said resolutely, refusing to let fear dictate their fate.

As they grappled with the harsh reality, a series of loud banging noises reverberated from downstairs, jolting them both out of their intimate conversation. Their eyes met, a silent understanding passing between them as they braced for the impending storm. Tate found the courage to voice his feelings. "You know, I don't say it often, but I love you. Thank you for being my best friend."

Tears welled up in Elliot's eyes, mirroring the raw emotions etched across Tate's face. "You're not going soft on me now, are you?" he quipped, attempting to inject a glimmer of humor into the tense moment. Tate stifled a laugh , and then Elliot's tone turned earnest. "I love you too," he replied, the sincerity of his words cutting through the chaos surrounding them.

Just then, Constance's desperate voice begged from the other side of the door, pleading with the officers not to harm Tate. The room was suddenly filled with an electric tension as the SWAT team stormed in, their guns trained on the two boys. Despite the danger, Constance remained resolute in her determination to reach Tate, attempting to defuse the situation.

"Please, just let me talk to him! Tate!" she implored.

Facing an impossible choice, Tate slowly lifted one hand, his fingers mimicking a gun, and pointed it to his head, mimicking the sound of a gunshot with a hushed "Pew."

In that heart-stopping moment, time seemed to stand still as their lives hung in the balance, the weight of their actions crashing down on them like a tidal wave, and a storm of emotions raging in their souls.