There's No Happy Ending Until The End - A TEW Fan-Fiction

Chapter 2

         Lillian Castellanos sighed as she brought the blunt back to her lips, inhaling. She looked over the ledge at the entrance below. The entrance of Beacon Mental Hospital. She never experienced the horrors of the asylum firsthand, but she knew more than enough from her time spent with Leslie in STEM. They had several interactions, being the first two Cores of STEM and all. Lily watched everything unfold as if she were there when she became the Core. Ruvik, her father, Joseph, Kidman. She watched their journey for what felt like an eternity in just a few minutes as she became the Core.

Lily shook her head and pushed her hair out of her face (which proved to be useless, as the wind immediately moved it back,) before taking another hit of the blunt. Smoking helped. It helped her focus, helped her sleep, helped numb the mental pain she refused to take meds for. Maybe there were "better" ways to handle it, but if she was being honest, she couldn't care less.

Joseph pulled up to the entrance of the abandoned mental hospital, parking his car right directly in front of the large glass doors at the front of the building. Beacon was the first place he thought to check when Juli called to tell him Lily had run off. He'd lost count of how many times he'd come to Beacon looking for some sort of explanation, or information at the least, only to find Lily roaming the halls or hanging out on the roof. He walked inside, shuddering at the sight of the building that had caused them nothing but pain, before beginning his "search" for Lily that he was confident would only last a few minutes.

Joseph made his way to the roof, nodding as he spotted Lily looking over the edge of the building. "Nice view, isn't it?" he asked, sitting on the ledge about a foot away from Lily. He paused for a moment, looking out at the city below. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, though he didn't look her way.

Lily laughed bitterly, blowing out smoke. "Ever been shoved in a locker?" She muttered, before shaking her head. "It's nothing, Joseph. Just school as always." She said indifferently, laying back on the concrete, her free arm under her head. She was calm for a moment, then it started again.

The horrified screams. They always came from one person. She had met him a few times, back when she was under MOBIUS' control, but only in passing. He was frantic, constantly running from anything that moved, it seemed. She looked up at the sky, trying to share the calming imagery with him. She wanted nothing more than to help him, to talk to him, but she had no idea how.

Joseph knew that he couldn't do anything but listen. Listen and respond with whatever Lily needed to hear. He looked down at her, studying her with the same expression her father had come to know all too well. "Lily, whatever's bothering you, it's much more important than you're letting on, isn't it?"

Lily opened her eyes, though her expression was distant as she stared into the clouds. She could feel the boy's pain, his fear. "Can you hear me? Please, respond to me." she thought, trying to project the question to him. Lily shook her head, smiling sadly. "Honestly, Joseph? I think I'm going insane." She took another hit, hoping the blunt would put her out for awhile.