quixotic. ↣ d.h.

lii: changed

he saw her sneakers first.

dirty with rainwater, stained to a dark purple, and speeding towards him with no regard to the pools of water they were tearing through.

zoe was here. zoe. when he expected her least but needed her most.

dan let go of his mother and rose from the tarred concrete. the world tilted and spun around him; nothing was real anymore, nothing was certain.

but zoe.

zoe, with her stupidly yellow hair, eyes the color of clouds and just as heavy, jeans that she always cuffed to an inch above her ankles.

dan took off towards her, blood rushing in his ears. he couldn't believe he'd ever fought with her, and about something so meaningless; regret was flooding through him now, as wet and cold as the rain that soaked through his clothes.

"i'm so sorry," zoe breathed out as she collided with him. "i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry." the mantra fell from her lips like a prayer. she was warm despite the weather, and dan held her close.

"it's okay, it's fine, we're fine, everything's fine," he muttered into her wet hair. they weren't, and it wasn't, but it felt like the right thing to say, and maybe if he repeated it enough times, it would become true.

zoe went quiet then, but dan could feel her trembling in his arms. she had to be cold; the wind was picking up now, blowing with a ferocity that shouldn't have been allowed in light of everything else the universe had already subjected them to, but the universe didn't care; they were finally learning this. the only ones who would ever care were each other.

"they're taking him away," dan said.

zoe pulled away from him, just barely. she needed to look into his eyes. she needed to see what he was feeling there.

"i'll never see him again."

zoe bit her lips until they were raw. nothing she could say would help, she knew. but she wished she could find a few words regardless.

"everything's changed now." dan looked down at her then. her eyes wanted to tear away from his, like they did with everyone, but she kept her gaze steady. "for good."

"i love you," zoe said quietly. the passenger doors of the ambulance slammed shut a little ways down the road and the ignition roared to life.

dan blinked sadly and pressed his forehead to hers. "i love you too."

a/n: please vote/comment. my writing is one of the few solaces i have these days and your kind words mean more than i can say. <3