Accident

It wasn't suppose to end up this way, Ryan would admit. It was suppose to end up with everyone safe, no one injured, and the threat of danger gone, but when does life give you what you want? Ryan wouldn't regret his decision though. If it was Tori or him, he would always choose Tori. After all, isn't it a boyfriend's job to keep their girlfriend safe? 

Not like Tori needs it though. She has healing powers. She could heal up her injuries and keep fighting. Make barriers to protect herself and others. Boost people's strength or speed. In all honestly, Ryan thinks that her runes are more dangerous than his sometimes.

Yet, she couldn't protect herself and everyone when a water user lost control during the tournament. It was her opponent, but the guy lost control, so Ryan was pretty sure no one would blame him.

Ryan wasn't sure what happened exactly. One moment, he was bickering with Aaron (Who was his next opponent), then the next, he was out on the field, fighting the water user, stopping him from drowning Tori. Aaron was by his side, along with Matt and Lexi. Apparently all the teachers were evacuating the kids. You'd think that they would help stop the guy from drowning everyone, but apparently they were well known and the teachers believed they could handle it.

Ryan questioned their methods sometimes.

It was a chaotic battle, Matt and Tori helping them from the back. Giving strength, healing injures, that kind of thing. Matt stayed with her, watching out for attacks. It was a smart idea. Having lightning powers in a battle against water wouldn't help. Ryan wished he could've thanked him.

During the fight, Ryan ended up next to Matt and Tori, vaporizing any water that got too close. Matt ran off quickly though, after Lexi got hit pretty bad. Ryan didn't see it coming, only a quick warning from Aaron. That warning was enough though. He pushed Tori away, and then he was surrounded by water. It was cold and unexpected. He struggled to reach the outside, but it seemed like the more he struggled, the more the water battered him in his dome of water, keeping him in the center. Ryan couldn't summon any fire, the water killed it instantly. 

He could hear his heart roar in his ears, a steady pace. Thump. Thump. Thump. His lungs ached for fresh air,  but Ryan couldn't provide it. Only cold water that made his limbs heavy and every move hurt more than the last.

Ryan could hear screaming. Who was screaming? He couldn't tell, everything was blurry, and black was creeping up in his vision. Was the black a bad thing? Ryan wasn't sure, it was beginning to get harder to think.

Maybe if he closed his eyes, it would be easier to think. Why was the yelling getting louder though? Ryan wished he could understand the yelling. All sound was warbled in the dome.

Maybe everything would be clearer if he just closed his eyes. Ya, he might do that... 

---

Everything was silent, then very loud. Screaming, yelling, and crying echoed in his ears. He cracked open his eyes, to see the sky above it, only to shut them. The light was really bright. He laid there, listening to the sounds around him.

It took him a bit to realize he on the ground. The grass was soaking wet, and Ryan realized after a minute he was wet too.

He focused on the noises around him. A few people were crying, and someone was yelling. Tori? Why was she yelling? Was she hurt? 

Ryan cracked open his eyes again. The light stung, but it didn't hurt as much. Slowly, he opened his eyes more and more, until they were completely open. The sky was really blue, Ryan noted. Blue was a pretty color, but he preferred pink more.

Ryan sat up, looking around. Slade was comforting Lexi, and Petra seemed to be holding back Matt, who looked ready to murder the water user. Said water user was hiding behind Aaron, who looked quite annoyed by the fact but was still protecting him.

The one thing that caught his attention was Tori. She was knelling beside someone, doing CPR. He stood up, and nearly stumbled back in shock. The only thing going through his mind was a steady stream of 'no's'.

Tori was trying to revive him, but he was standing right here, watching her. "Guys?" He asked, uncertainly.

No response.

He took a step forward, and tried again. "Guys, please answer me."

Again, he got nothing.

Amelia came running up, bringing it to attention that most of the kids at the school came out of hiding and surrounded them in a loose circle. Amelia activated her runes, letting the green light flow everywhere, and nearly skidded to a stop by Tori.

Ryan watched in horrified wonder as Amelia checked over his body, and spoke something to Tori. It wasn't good news, Ryan figured, since Tori began to shake her head and tears began streaming down her face. 

She shook Ryan, before stopping completely and just held him, crying. "Tori," Ryan spoke. "I'm right here." He went to put a hand on her shoulder, only to go completely through.

Although he knew it, that just sold it. He was dead. Ryan couldn't believe it. He was dead. 

Matt was yelling, straining against Petra with all his strength, while the water user (Ryan really wished he payed attention to the announcement before the match began. He would then know his name) stared at his hands with horror written all over his face. Lexi pushed Slade away, and collapsed next to Tori, hugging her.

It wasn't suppose to end up this way, but if Tori was safe, Ryan will deal with it.

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No, this has nothing to do with the ongoing book I have, just something that has been bouncing around in my head for way too long. If you guys want, I can write what would happen if he lived through the accident.