19 Days - One Shots

A Better Life - Part Two

Trigger Warning - if you are sensitive to death, overdosing or suicide then I beg of you to not read this. Please and thank you.

"You can march up to me with all the determination in the world, Red, but I just don't have the answers you're looking for." He Tian shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as Mo Guan Shan crossed the ball room towards the handsome stranger. "As I said before, you and I are one mind. I am you, and you are I. Sounds kinda sexy, don't you think?"

Guan Shan pulled his lip back. "Sounds weird and gross. How the hell is this even happening anyway?"

He Tian took a step forward and grabbed Guan Shan by the wrist, giving it a little squeeze."Who cares? Let's just enjoy our time together before you have to wake up. Believe it or not, time in your head goes a lot faster than when you're awake. You could wake up at any second."

Guan Shan stared into He Tian's eyes for a moment before nodding. "You're right. It's all in my head and it's not some magic bullshit so who cares, right?"

He Tian grinned. "That's the spirit! Now come, let me show you my favourite spot in your mind."

Guan Shan let He Tian guide him out of the ballroom and into a wide hallway, every now and then, they would pass a room that was closed off. They turned a corner and stopped in front of the first door on the right. He Tian looked at Guan Shan with a small smile before he looked back at the door.

Guan Shan waited with anticipation before looking at the door handle, as he went to reach out to touch it, the door opened on it's own silently. The pair stepped in and Guan Shan looked around in awe. In the middle of the room stood a single leather sofa, but that's not what caught Guan Shan's eye. Every inch of the four huge walls was covered with television screens, some bigger and some smaller, some wider and some thinner. Each television seemed to be playing a different scene but they all had one thing in common.

"What's going on?" Guan Shan asked as he looked into different screens and saw himself.

"These," He Tian started as he sat them both down on the sofa. "are your memories. I like sitting in here and watching your life over and over again. Even the bad memories."

Guan Shan looked at one screen and saw himself in the classroom drawing on his desk, his eyes shifted to another screen and he saw the restaurant his father owned being trashed as he was shoved into a hiding spot. Quickly glancing away, in another screen he saw himself as a child sat with his mother in their small living room. Together they watched his favourite movies and ate ice cream, giggling together. Guan Shan smiled fondly.

Suddenly Guan Shan was back in his bed.  His frustration grew as he glanced at the pill bottle. His time with He Tian was totally unpredictable and he hated the fact that he didn't know how long he would see him for.

Over the course of the week, Guan Shan continued to take his pills nightly and would spend his time with He Tian, they danced, laughed, watched films, played basketball and many other things in the time they had together. Some nights it would seem like days had gone by before Guan Shan would wake up. Other nights would feel like minutes.

One night, before taking his pills, Guan Shan stared at the bottle. He took a deep breath before emptying three pills into his hand and swallowing them. When he was back in the ballroom, he felt something was off, but couldn't quite place his finger on it. With He Tian nowhere to be seen, Guan Shan went to look for him. He hand done this a few times before and Guan Shan always seemed to find him without much trouble.

As Guan Shan passed the room with his memories, he stuck his head in and noticed that a few of the screens were full of static. He frowned, trying to figure out what had been there before but couldn't quite remember. His sense of direction took Guan Shan out back into the garden area where He Tian was sat on a stone bench staring at the stars.