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━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━...‥・
cassie gallagher resided upon the rooftop beside her shared bedroom window. it had just passed 3am when the teenager climbed to her position, a cigarette in hand. the ability to smoke the cancer sticks without being overwhelmed with grief became easier by the days, even seemed to aid the relentless sense of anxiety doomed to follow her forever.
as the night sky returned every night, cassie found herself either letting the emotions go into the stars, or rather hiding them so far into her subconscious. the gallagher couldn't decider the difference, but knew malachi milkovich's memory was transforming one into comfort and peace rather than devastation and grief.
just as the year before, cassie gallagher was choosing to seemingly forget malachi's death in an attempt to cope. she decided to attach herself to the memories of his smile, the sound of his genuine laugh that could ignite a room with life.
elliot ball made his way down the darkened streets of the southside with a joint between his lips. his gaze lingered upon the sidewalk as his thoughts wondered to the boy lost in cassie's mind as well. the effects of the drug caused elliot to swear he could hear malachi's laugh travel through the wind, a sound that once haunted his nightmares.
cassie and elliot clung to one another because the loss of someone so dear caused them to realize how fragile everything around them was. it was a shared experience of trauma that forced a prior bond to grow stronger, one they were sure would last forever.
"cass."
cassie visibly flinched at the sound of elliot's whispers of her name seconds before he joined her upon the roof. the second he took the position by her side, he was offering the joint he'd been holding between his lips as cassie traded for the cigarette she'd previously lit.
the teenagers sat in a comfortable silence as smoke escaped their lips and thoughts ran wild. cassie could feel elliot's fleeting, intensive glances every so often until a graceful chuckle tumbled from the gallagher's lips.
"stop staring, eli."
elliot let out a loud sigh before wrapping his arm around cassie's shoulders, forcing her head to fall against his chest. "i've missed you, princess."
"i've missed you." cassie sniffled another laugh as they steadily exchanged substances once again. the cigarette hung between the girl's lips as she pulled away from elliot's grasp. "you look—"
"like shit."
"i was going to say exhausted, but sure." cassie shook her head accompanied by a string of chuckles until she fell silent all together. "i'm sorry for everything i said, eli."
