Fragile Hearts [DANGEROUS FELLOWS]

⚠️THIRTEEN: FUN WHILE IT LASTED⚠️

"Where the hell have you guys been?"

Eugene was the first one you bumped into, as he was pacing the hallway of the second floor. "Tootling around town all day?" he asked sarcastically, seething.

"Watch it, Eugene," Zion said warningly.

"We faced a bit of a problem at the storage supply, but everyone is alright," Lawrence assured him, but even he sounded uncertain.

"Problem?" came a voice from 1-C, and you saw Harry in the doorway. When he glanced at you, you readjusted your jacket over your bruises.

"Nothing major. We just ran into some other people there," Lawrence said, walking past Harry casually into 1-C, where the others were already eating.

"Yeah, some other people who tried to kill us," Zion muttered, pushing by Harry.

"Kill you?" Harry repeated, his voice full of worry. You kept your head down as you walked past, not feeling like explaining.

"What happened?" asked Ethan when Lawrence sat down, reaching for a bun. He sighed, changing his mind and putting it back down, standing up again. Everyone stopped talking to look up at him.

"Sorry everyone, I can't— I'm not really feeling like myself. I'm going to bed. See you all at breakfast," he said suddenly, turning around and leaving before anyone could get in a word.

Heavy silence and confusion filled the room.

"What the heck was that? What just happened?" Jay asked in a furious whisper.

"That was strange... did something go wrong, (Y/n)?" Sue asked, looking as equally lost as everyone else. "He usually never acts this way."

You couldn't bring yourself to explain it, but luckily Zion spoke up. "Things went south, and it was kinda intense. Lawrence will probably tell you guys on his own if he feels like it," he said, crossing his legs on the desk and leaning back in his chair. Eugene stood up, pushing his chair in loudly and storming out of the room. Ethan was already dozing off and Harry was still by the door.

"If he doesn't explain it to us by tomorrow, then you will," Sue said practically. "Goodnight everyone."

Hailey followed close behind Sue, until it was just you, Jay, Ethan, Zion, and Harry left in the class.

Jay stood up. "This is bullshit. Keep your stupid secrets," he hissed before walking out, shoving past Harry.

Zion exchanged a look with you before letting out a heavy sigh, getting to his feet. You did as well, following him out the class. Harry grabbed your arm, startling you, as you walked by.

"Can you come to my room, (Y/n)?" he asked pleadingly, looking concerned. You looked at Zion, who shrugged, walking off towards his own room.

"Sure, I guess so," you said, and Harry smiled. You walked with him to the classroom he slept in, quietly closing the door behind you.

"You can take that stuff off if you want, it's pretty warm in here," he offered. You complied, taking off your hat and then unzipping your jacket, starting to take it off, but then you remembered the bruises and you panicked, quickly putting it back on.

It was too late. Harry was suddenly in front of you, one hand going under your chin to push your head up, while the other pulled the fabric of the jacket out of the way. He sputtered in disbelief, his eyes searching your neck.

"What in the world happened, (Y/n)?" Harry asked, his voice shaking. "Who did that to you?"

The tears came so fast it surprised you. You'd probably cried more in these few days than you had in most of your life.

Harry wrapped his arms around you, coaxing you to sit down on his blanket. Then he rubbed your back comfortingly, and you felt safe now that you were with him. Words startled tumbling out of your mouth, and you couldn't stop them. Hiding while Zion and Lawrence confronted Jason's dad, pushing Lawrence out of the way of the falling shelf to save him, Jason's dad grabbing you and threatening to kill you. You left out the part about Lawrence losing his temper.

"I was so scared," you finished. "I thought he might kill me. Those used to be my friends, Harry."

"I'm so sorry, (Y/n)," Harry said, his eyes full of sadness and regret. "If only I had been there, maybe I could've stopped you from getting hurt..."

"It isn't your fault," you said gently. Harry just shook his head.

"I don't want you to get hurt any more, (Y/n)," Harry insisted, squeezing his hands into fists. "From now on, I'll be there, and I'll protect you..."

His voice trailed off and he stared down at the ground.

"Harry..." you said gently, not sure to respond. You felt a fresh wave of tears and you just leaned against him, letting them fall. "T-Thank you."

"I won't let anything bad happen to you anymore, (Y/n), I promise," he whispered. Your body felt heavy and you let yourself press against him, beginning to slip into a dream.

It wasn't a nightmare, like you expected. You dreamed of memories of your old life before the apocalypse, with your friends and family, before you had a care in the world, and the last thing on your mind was dying.

You dreamed of the time you went to the waterpark with Madelyn, seeing a group of boys and pretending to like them only so you could do a surprise attack and push them in the pool.

You dreamed of the time you and Jason covered your homeroom teacher's car with sliced cheese and no one could figure out who did it.

You dreamed of being in your own bed at night, not a worry on your mind except exams and what you were going to wear the next day.

"Reminiscing?" asked a voice, and you turned to see Jason. He looked as he did before, grin and all, but you knew you were still dreaming.

"I guess so," you replied. "I just wonder how life would be if the apocalypse never happened."

"I wonder that too sometimes," he agreed, sitting next to you. "We'd still be in school then, huh? Maybe it's good this happened."

You glared at him and he put his hands up.

"It was just a joke. Your joke, since I'm only a dream, after all," he said, stretching his legs out before him.

You had something on your mind that you needed to say to him, even though this one was only a figment of your imagination.

"Jason, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to keep our promise," you said in a shaky voice.

Jason shook his head, looking off into the distance, which had dissolved from your memories into a vast shimmery cloud of nothing. "It's okay, (Y/n)," he assured you. "Things happen. That's life."

You started to hear sounds in distance and you knew you were going to wake soon.

"Thank you for being my friend, Jason," you blurted, not wanting the dream to end. "I don't know what I would've done without you."

Jason just grinned, putting two fingers up to his temple in a half salute. "No sweat, (Y/n). It was fun while it lasted. I hope we can break the rules again together someday."

He smiled at you warmly, the last thing you saw before you woke.