Rise Up (Stray Kids Seo Changbin)

15

Paige's Story

Sitting alone by a remote road, Paige watched as the stars seemed the glimmer in the sky. Against the navy blue, their twinkling nature seemed like a rehearsed choreography with the North star playing the lead role.

The moon seemed brighter tonight, spreading the sun's reflected light along the earth. She didn't know why but she felt as though it was a special message for her, probably from Janey or her brother or her parents. Or maybe it was just her longing for a true friend to trust.

"Was this how Janey felt?" Paige muttered, hugging her knees and resting her chin between them. Loneliness was an emotion Paige was all too familiar with. From its menacing way of making the darkness appear as the only thing you have to the it made you feel like you deserved it. The nights filled with insomnia to the thoughts so dark the whole world would crumble at if ever spoken. She felt like she deserved it all.

But it seemed when her and Changbin parted ways, he took part of her strength with her because since then, loneliness was no longer just a seasonal visitor. He came and he never left. Each day, she told herself she'll get over it, a lie she knew wasn't true but still believed in, only to watch her hopes shatter against the ground when life gave her another reason to quit.

With a sigh, she leaned back against the grass bordering the road and allowed her eyes to close as she focused on the sounds of the crickets and felt the tickle of ants exploring over her body. Lying the middle of nowhere made her feel hidden away from everyone else. For once, she felt genuinely alone with no one's eyes cast upon her. She wanted the ground the part and devour her so no one will ever have to see her again, so she would be completely hidden away. 

What would happen if someone found her here? Depending on who it was, she'd probably be killed or captured. Quite frankly, she couldn't figure out which she would prefer. All she knew was that if she continued laying here, someone will eventually find her. Question was how long would it take?

The answer proved to be 'not long' because when she opened her eyes again, she found a figure sitting beside her, hands pressed together as he stared out at the sky.

"It's a beautiful night, is it not?" the man uttered with a content smile. "Reminds me of the old days, when everything was simple. Bet you feel the same way now."

"Harrison?" she questioned, rubbing her eyes as she glanced at him. 

He shot her a friendly smile before turning his gaze back to the sky.

"It has been a while, small Dave. I suppose the title of the Head fo the Society hasn't treated you as well as you had hoped."

She sighed, "you have no idea. What brings you to Buenos Aires anyway? A mission?"

He shook his head softly, "believe it or not, you brought me here. I'm worried about you, small Dave, as much as I hate to admit it. You are young... And fragile. I was an idiot to let you return to the Society alone and now that I realise it, I'm too late."

"Janey wanted this. I was meant to become the Head of the Society."

"Age was never a factor Janey considered, unfortunately. You are twenty, small Dave. How could a twenty-year-old lead the Society? Janey was twenty-three when she passed, meaning even at that age, she was too young to fend for herself. How could you do it at a younger age?"

"Well," she shrugged. "I'm doing it now."

He grinned at her, "true, you are doing it now. And may I just say, you are full of surprises. A Head of the Society forming an alliance with two former mafia members and one current one... even an assassin for that matter. Any other leader would think you've finally lost it, that you are finally at rock-bottom. Lucky for you, I'm not like any other leader. Where help is needed, help must be sought out: a principle I've grown to believe in because of you."

Paige scoffed, lying against the grass again, "you have too much faith in me, Harrison. Here you are rambling on about how I've changed your perspective and inspired you yet I don't even know what I'm doing. I'm desperate. I don't want the Society to end in my hands and yet here I am watching as all of it crumbles before my feet. How can you sit there and admire me when I've done nothing but disregard everything the Society has previously lived by? It was a mistake. Janey made a mistake. I shouldn't have done this. I was never meant to do this."

Harrison's eyes lowered before daring to glance into Paige's.

"You are forgetting an important fact, my dear small Dave. The Society is no business, it does not 'end', it is a community. It does not end, it dies. And the Society only dies if all the members leave or die. As long as you are alive, the Society is alive. And as long as you have an alliance, it means you have people who trust in you and what you plan to make of the Society. If the Society was a lost cause do you think Cassidy would still be targetting it? She has bigger problems to deal with yet here she is kidnapping members of a mafia simply because they have an alliance with you. So what if everything is crumbling at your feet? Are you just going to watch and grumble about it? Or are you going to do something about it? The mind is probably the most powerful thing on earth and what you feed it is what it will feed you. So stop focusing on everything that's wrong with the Society and your life and start realising that you have the power to change your circumstances if you gave it as little as a sliver of the time you spend wallowing in your own misery. Out of all the Davies I have interacted within my lifetime, you have been the most promising and I'm not going to watch as you lose that aspect of yourself to your own self-doubt. And that, small Dave, is why I am in Buenos Aires. I started off a Society member and I am prepared to die a member of the Society too as long as you are in power beacue I know something about Janey that you need to knwo: Janey was no fool. And neither are you. If Janey says you are capable of being the Head of the Society, then you are capable of being the Head of Society. Don't underestimate your sister. She never underestimated you."