Drowning

When I was a kid, I fell into a river and almost drowned. My father saved me, but nothing was the same again. I became scared of water. It took weeks before I could come into bathtub without flinching and screaming, months before I set a foot on a beach, years before I let anyone drag me near river. I swore to myself to never let it happen again.

But here I am, drowning again, just because I was yet again careless. Only this time there won't be my dad saving me and hugging me for hours, until I finally calm down and stop crying. He's in prison and probably has no idea what's happening to his only daughter. I wonder if he'll ever know or if they assume it's pointless to tell him.

I'm sorry, daddy. I promised I'd get you out of that hellhole, I know. But I wasn't strong enough. I failed. And now I'm leaving, just like mom did all those years ago. I'm sorry. I want to stay with you, but it seems that you can't escape your fate. At least not for too long. It will always catch up.

I just want to see you, this one last time, before my time is up. I want to hug you, tell you how much I love you, remind you to eat healthy and take care of your... no, our circus.

Heh, I got sentimental. Last time it happened when our cat died. Remember? It was just before we started our circus. It was when I decided to become Maine Coon, just because our kitty was one. Do you... Do you regret it, finding all those people and travelling around the world just to make people laugh because we couldn't? I don't. Not even when you're in prison and I'm so close to death. I'll never regret seeing those smiling faces. Because that's what made you smile too.

Ah, I'm starting to loose my conciouness. The time has come. I hope you don't stay mad at me for too long, I hate seeing you frown or cry. It doesn't suit you. Personally, I think you should smile all the time, even if you get wrinkles. Honestly, they just make you the cutest dad ever.

Well, I guess this is goodbye. Whether I go to heaven or hell doesn't concern me. I just want you to be happy. And I'll make it my after-life goal to watch over you and help you find this happiness. But before this happens, smile for me, this one last time. Oh, and one more thing.

I love you, daddy...

***

There was an akuma attack on this day. I wasn't really interested and intended to leave before SHE decided to appear out of nowhere and start fighting the akumatized citizen. Why was she here, I had no idea. She was just a normal girl in costume, no superpowers. I admit, she was handling it pretty well, until... this happened.

It was just one moment of distraction, hesitation. Just a few seconds. For the monster though, it was enough. He attacked, scratching her face with his claws, tearing her mask off. Ladybug and Chat Noir tried to get him away from her, but they were too weak. And then... she fell. Right into the river. I expected her to come out in a few seconds, laughing and wincing a bit because of the scratches but nothing happened. Seconds passed and there was no sign of the red head.

My blood ran cold when I remembered reading her papers. She couldn't swim...

I can barely recall throwing off my jacket and jumping after her. Only when I hit the cold surface I finally snapped awake. Why did I do that? She was just a stranger, she didn't matter to me! Then why was I doing this, searching for her so desperately, panicking when I couldn't find her? This was so confusing. I never felt such a need to save anyone. But this girl... There was something in there, something that made her somewhat interesting.

I had to come out for air twice before I finally found her. Her eyes were barely open and unfocused. She didn't even react when I grabbed her and started dragging her with me. When we finally surfaced, she was already unconcious, but somehow still breathing. How, I had no idea. I was just glad I didn't have to do this CPR thing.

An ambulance arrived a few minutes later. Someone must've seen the whole scene and called the hospital. Sadly, I couldn't get away in time and had to drive there too and get checked for any injuries or whatever. Boring.

Well, I thought, staring at the girl laying on the stretches, it seems I have to watch her from now on. She's too careless to be left alone.

***

When I woke up, there was so much white it hurt to just look at it. Was I dead? I tried to sit up, but it hurt so I just laid down again. I grimaced. Weren't the dead people supposed to be immune to pain?

I sighed, trying to move yet again. It still hurt but I was able to sit up. That was when I noticed all those weird things connected to my body and heard this weird sound. I finally looked around. I was in some all-white room with one bed, one nightstand, some machines and a chair. And I wasn't alone.

Resting his head and hands on the edge of the bed and sleeping peacefully was Elias Gray, the teen rockstar who just happened to dislike me for some reason. I almost fell off the bed when I saw him, but managed to regain my composure. Instead, I started wondering. Why was he here? Where were we? And... how was he able to sleep in that uncomfortable position?

I wanted to shake him awake but when my hand rested on his hair, I felt my heart stop. It was so fluffy it seemed impossible to be true. I giggled silently, as to not wake him up. Well, that was previously my intention but surely he wouldn't let me pet him when he was awake, so... Why not have some fun first?

I gently stroked his hair, taking in how cute he looked while sleeping. Gone was the ever angry teenager, manipulating everyone who somehow stood in his way. The boy who replaced him, was the most innocent being that ever set his foot on this earth. I wondered why couldn't he be always like that. It suited him way better than this bad boy look he tried to put off.

I felt my heart pound in my chest loudly when he said my name. For a second I thought he was awake, but his eyes were still closed and his face didn't show any sign of his usual frown. I sighed in relief, before resuming caressing the strands of his hair.

You know what, Elias? You're not as bad as you try to make everyone believe you are.

~~~

Been a while since I wrote anything. Feels refreshing. Hope you liked the story. 

Be sure to check out TotH's author works :3 (ipku.deviantart.com)

I own nothing but the story.

See ya~!