The thing about you and Liam was that you were both certain that your relationship was forever. The fact that you were both sixteen meant nothing when it came down to it; the fact that you were both so in love did. Forever. It was a heavy word, filled with promises and tenderness and warmth as the two of you spoke it in the dead of the night, when the stars were out and everything was peaceful. Always and forever, it was kind of your thing.
This, this was the exact opposite of peaceful. Watching that sword cut clean through his stomach was the opposite of everything and anything you had promised him, that he had promised you.
You heard his grunt of pain before you saw him sprawled on the bloodied pavement, his white shirt stained red and his hand pressed atop the wound where the blood was coming from. There was a split second where you couldn't move at all, just watched him fall to the ground, helpless, defeated. You could hear yourself shouting his name, but everything felt so far away. Everything except Liam, lying on the ground. Bleeding. You stumbled toward him, falling to your knees beside him and releasing a suppressed and choked sob.
His normally bright blue eyes were unfocused, blinking slowly up at you. A small smile spread on his face when he saw you, and he tried reaching up to stroke your face lightly, but he winched at the pain that was starting to spread throughout his body. You took his head in your lap, one arm over his chest, your other hand resting in his hair.
"Oh god, oh god," you whimpered, trailing your hand down over his face and trying to rub some of the blood off his cheek with your thumb. There was so much blood, all over your hands, decorating his body, covering the ground. You were doing your best to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill down your cheeks, but that was up until you noticed that the deep slash in his abdomen wasn't closing. Wasn't healing. "Liam, wh-why aren't you healing? You're supposed to heal," you repeated with more force than necessary, hysteria tinged at the edge of your voice.
"I-I don't know, Y/N," he said, moving his weak hand toward yours and grabbing it tightly. "It hurts, it really hurts." You had never wanted to be a werewolf, had never even considered the possibility of getting the bite, but in that moment, all you wanted was to be able to take away every single ounce of pain he was feeling. That was all you wanted.
"You shouldn't be dying, you should be healing. I don't want you to die, please heal for me. Please," you knew your pleading would get you nowhere. He wasn't going to heal. That much was obvious. But if you could have anything in the world, it would be this boy, by your side, forever. "I'm so sorry. I can't heal you. I can't protect you. I'm sorry, Liam, oh god I'm so sorry."
"Stop...apologizing..." He said, forcing the words out and drawing all his strength to run his hands through your hair. "It - it isn't y-your fault. I promise. It's okay. If I were to die, it would be like this. I was - was protecting you. I'm with you. It's fine."
"How is this fine?" You asked incredulously, sucking in a sharp breath. "This. Is. Not. Fine. You're dying, Liam, and you're going to leave me, and everyone. I won't be able to hear your voice in the morning when I first wake up, or listen to your awful singing in the car, or hold hands with you in the middle of class. I won't be able to see you, at all. I'm going to miss you so, so much. You can't just leave me."
"I remember when I first met you," he said, swiftly changing the subject and seeming to regain at least a portion of his strength back. "I remember thinking that you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my entire life, will ever see. Look at you now. Still..so beautiful, even...when you're crying." He swallowed, and you watched as tears escaped his own eyes, those stunning blue eyes that would close and never open again. There was a suffocating pain your chest, pressing down on your heart. He spoke again, his voice strained and rough, "You are still...so...beautiful. I - I love..."
And that was it. He went still in your arms, his heart stopping, your own heart stopping the process. You still tried to shake him awake though, knowing full well that there was no use in doing so. "Li, Liam, no, no, no, no, please, I love you too, wake up!" you cried, shaking his arm and crying. You continued shaking him, not stopping until you yourself woke up to someone roughly shaking your body, your eyes flying open.
Liam was hovering over you, his hands gripping your shoulders, his eyes wide with worry. You gasped, taking in the sight of the beautiful boy alive and breathing, still trying to protect you. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" He demanded, brushing the hair that was stuck on with sweat out of your face. "What happened?"
You didn't answer, simply wrapped him in a tight embrace. You clung to him, unable to bring yourself to let go. Thank god, you kept repeating in your mind. A dream. It was just a terrible, terrible dream. You nestled your head in the crook of his neck, breathing deeply, taking in the familiar scent of his skin and his hair.
When you pulled away, after what seemed like ages but was really only seven minutes, he found his place beside you in bed. He still held you, sensing that you just wanted him to hold you right now, and you rested your head on his shoulder, snuggling deeper into his chest.
"Babe, please tell me what's wrong. I want to make sure you're alright." He placed a gentle kiss on the top of your head, stroking your hair soothingly with his fingertips.
"I'm fine, Liam. Everything is fine. Everything is perfect. More than perfect, okay? I promise. I just want to go back to sleep, okay?" His expression held doubt when he looked at you, searching your face for the sign of a lie. You pecked him lightly on his lips, running a hand through his soft hair. "I'm fine." Your heartbeat was no longer rapid, your breathing had returned to normal.
"You can tell me if anything is wrong, you know that. I love you," he whispered in your ear, holding you even tighter against his chest. You smiled, closing your eyes, ready to drift back to sleep without fear of waking up without Liam by your side. But everything was perfect. He was still here, breathing, smiling, kissing you, holding you. That was all you needed.
"I love you, too. Always, okay?"
"And forever," he finished softly.
