Insusceptible

-two--

--two-

I've got a secret for the mad:

In a little bit of time, it won't hurt so bad.

+ Dodie +

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"HEY, I GOT you something by the way." Charleston told me. A smile spread across his face, a proudness for once over what he had managed. I couldn't even imagine what it could be, or what it was, I was so captivated by him.

He leaned over, after pulling something from his pocket, and leaned down to me, handing me what it was. The silver chained spilled out of his grip, and I immediately recognized it as the COMBATTANT name tag I'd had, the one from when he told me how he chose my name for the Dormir.

I smiled softly at him, not unraveling my hand to look again at the inscription.

"Thank you." I told him sincerely. "But I know if that's who I want to be anymore. I don't know if I wanna fight."

Confusion flashed over his face for a moment. Then, once it cleared, he came behind me, crouching down so he was eye level, and turned my hand around revealing the inscription, keeping hold of my grasp.

MIKINLEY FANTOME

My heart paused for a second, in time with the world as it came to a halt, and my eyes closed savoring this moment.

His hand reached down to my lower back, running circles, his gaze watching intently on me to study my reaction. He had been so careful to mention him since that night. In fact, I could barely recall anyone saying his name since then, but I had also blocked out as much of the world as I could, so it was quiet possible that I just turned off any response to his name.

I turn over my shoulder to look at him, tears spilling from my eyes, his cloudy with liquid hope. My arms wrapped around him, burying my face into his chest, letting the hurt depart from me as much as I could allow, as much as he could take.

"He should be here." I murmured. "This never should have happened like this."

Charleston pulled back, forcing me to meet his gaze. His hands pulling mine to his chest.

"We don't have a say in how people leave us. It takes a while to figure that out. What we do get to decide is who we want to let it make us."

"I don't want to be someone without him. I just want to be the girl that you came back for. She had both."

"But she wasn't the same girl who left." Charleston reminded me. "You adjusted to life without me."

"That's because I didn't remember you."

"But you still survived. Before you left..." He bit down on his lip, as if it were a habit to stop himself there. He pushed through, looking like it pained him to recall those memories. "We were different people, and neither of us knew how to live without the other at our side, but we did because that's what we do. When I came into The Dormir, I knew you were different than how I knew you before, and I know you're different now. So am I. We fight, Pip. Even if changes us, even if we lose people, even if we don't want to. We can, so we have to, but I swear that you won't ever have to do this alone."

"Charleston, I don't know any other words that you deserve except sorry."

He tucked my hair behind my ear, then his thumb wiping away my tears. "You never owe me those words."

"I do. You saved me that night. I would have burned too, without you."

He smiled up, shadowed with sorrow, but there was still a gladness in it.

"I'd burn with you."

-two--

I actually really liked this.

Also, side note: don't you love when your best friend chooses YOUR ex over you?

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