He Followed

Our Last Halloween

It was a dark and windy Halloween this year. The wind was howling loudly, ringing in my ears and ruffling my hair.

The road ahead seemed to extend forever; whistling a cool breeze of air, swirling around us, filled with scents of smoke and damp. Small drizzles of rain were dancing around our feet as we walked onward.

After what must have been hours of wandering abscent-mindedly with no specific destination, we stopped for a rest on the nearest bench.

Hours felt like minutes when I was with him; our time ended before I realised it had even started most days. It was almost disheartening how quickly it was that time passed by with us, but deep down I knew that it was because I cared for him so much.

Slow footsteps trailed behind us constantly, but neither of us paid it any mind. It was surely some children or teens walking the same way.

He didn't know this of course. And i could never tell him. I couldn't ruin what seemed like a perfect friendship for, what could be, a short lived relationship. And besides, I was honestly pretty sure he was straight anyway and wasn't going to pressure him just because of how I felt.

Then again, maybe I should.

As we sat silently under the night sky, aeroplane trails played Dot-to-Dot with the stars.

It felt like a dream but the silence was so intense it was like a ringing in my ear, the footsteps had stopped. Only distant laughter and screams from children, and rustling leaves, filled the empty void. It was deafening me, begging me to break it.

But I couldn't.

And then he looked at me, a smile covering his face. His eyes reflecting a yellowish white from the nearby streetlights. His calm, content expression filled me with joy. Though that was suddenly taken away, contorting into fear and pain, and shock.

He let out a breathy whimper and his eyes dropped to look down at his stomach. My heart jumped to my throat, leaving it almost impossible for me to breathe around it as I saw what had happened. He'd been stabbed.

A dark crimson covered his hands and the smell of copper filled the air around us. The dark liquid poured from his mouth as he stared into my dark eyes. He choked out a final "goodbye, Travis" and a smile but that was all.

The sight of Awsten turned my world to chaos yet everything was standing still all at once.

I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I couldn't help him.

The color faded from his eyes as they rolled backwards into his head. He was gone. The world had taken Awsten away from me but it hadn't taken my will to live, to fight for him.

The shadowy figure that stood behind him turned and ran, too fast for me to catch a glimpse of his face.

He disappeared into darkness as I called the cops and struggled to hold back my tears for Awsten. As I pressed into his wound in an attempt to stop his bleeding, my hands covered themselves in the same crimson fluid that covered his.

The police and ambulance finally arrived and took care of the situation. And a month or two later they found the man who did it.

According to them, he'd been following us. Not only that night; but for months. Waiting. Stalking. Only needing one chance to strike and he took it. There was no motive. No reason for this to have happened, apparently. This stranger to us had us- had awsten on his mind and he was taking him. Taking him from this world, the people he loved, and the people who loved him.

But at least they caught this man. And at least he couldn't do this to anyone else again. His name was Otto Wood and he want to prison forever (bc he killed Awsten whAT THE FUCK DUDE)

It was a sad and lonely Halloween this year. The wind was cold and my ears filled with sirens after the purple haired boy was taken from me. Taken from this world.