I hate you | B.E.

13

i love you,
goodbye.

__

Speaking of the devil.

Those two pale blue globes stared right back at Aurelia.

Billie had run to the bathroom as fast as she could the moment she heard the gunshots. She couldn't deal with going to class, so she was mindlessly strolling across the halls until the shots rang out, adrenaline propelling her towards the nearest hiding spot.

Aurelia and Billie's chests both heaved as they stared at each other, wide-eyed. Their breaths came in short, rapid gasps, the adrenaline coursing through their veins making it hard to breathe. The world around them felt as if it were spinning, the stark white tiles of the bathroom blurring at the edges of their vision. It was as if time had slowed, and they were the only two people present in the room, their terrified gazes locking them into a moment of suspended reality.

Their hearts pounded in unison, a frantic, erratic rhythm that seemed to fill the room. They could feel the vibrations of their own pulses, each beat a reminder of their fragile, imperiled lives. The intensity of their shared terror created an unspoken bond, a silent understanding that they were in this together, for better or worse.

Billie snapped out of it, running up to Aurelia and grabbing her with all her strength, pulling her into a stall. Aurelia, now fully present in the moment once more, took one look at Billie. Without a second thought, she threw her arms around her, clinging to her for dear life. Billie's presence was the only thing keeping her from falling apart completely.

Billie, equally relieved to see her, was also terrified by the look on Aurelia's face. She looked like she had cried for centuries, her face streaked with dried tears and fresh ones mingling together. Billie's heart broke, knowing she was the cause of Aurelia's pain. In a hasty scramble, Billie closed the toilet lid and sat on it, pulling her knees up to her chest. She shook with every movement, her hands trembling as she quickly grabbed Aurelia's waist and pulled her onto her lap to straddle her, making sure no one would see their feet from underneath the stall.

Aurelia shook violently in her arms, her silent sobs wracking her body. Billie's own tears fell freely, each one a testament to her guilt and fear. They held onto each other as if their lives depended on it, which, in that moment, felt painfully true.

More gunshots.

More screams.

They both jumped as the sounds repeated, clutching onto each other tighter than the last, trembling in each other's arms. Their foreheads pressed together, their breaths syncing as they tried to steady themselves, the tears falling out of their eyes like someone had turned a faucet. Every piece of their skin making contact with the other, they became each other's anchor in the storm of terror enveloping the school. T

It was terrifying. At any moment, the shooter could walk through that door and kill them. At any moment, it could all end, and they would be left like this. The thought was paralyzing, sending shockwaves of dread through their bodies. Their hearts pounded erratically, thudding so loudly it seemed to echo in the silent room. Breaths came in sharp, shallow gasps as if the air itself had thickened into an unbreathable fog. Muscles tensed uncontrollably, every instinct screaming to flee, yet they were rooted to the spot, unable to move. Sweat trickled down their faces, mixing with tears of fear like potions. Each creak of the floorboards, each whisper of the wind outside, felt like the prelude to their doom, and they could do nothing but wait in the grip of sheer, unrelenting panic.