danny quietly exited his home to discretely follow the quick heath. he remembered his directions, curious on what the other boy was so in a hurry about.

the rain was thick and heavy, it was sure danny was going to catch a cold after this. everytime he took a breath, he saw the white mist form afterwards.

heath finally stopped in by a nearby woods and broke down on the grass in tears. danny had never seen him so emotional, he was truly in pain.

t'was either the death of maddie, or the constant pressure of being a suspect.

danny slowly walked towards heath as quiet as possible. he studied his every move, every cry, everything. as he finally got sick and tired of heath's pain, he spoke up.

"heath? is everything alright?" danny spoke up, making heath raise his head slowly at danny. usually, heath would tell outsiders to piss off or leave him alone. however, this time it was different, he didn't want to be left alone, he was lost.

"danny i'm not okay" heath struggled to say. danny immediately went to hold health, helping him to stand up. danny quickly did that and brought heath to nearby shelter from the rain.

you could only hear the raindrops

"i know you're not fine" danny said to heath. heath started to cry even harder, even hugging danny tightly for comfort. danny was shocked at heath sudden burst of neadiness.

"danny, everyone hates me, they call me monster and even worse things,  never killed her!" heath said to him in tears, he was truly lost. "i know you didn't kill her, hazel knows-" danny rambled on, but heath cut him off.

"but everyone else doesn't." heath finished, making danny sigh. "they will eventually" danny replied. "and how long will that be? my life is at risk" heath said. "i can't give you an answer to that and you know that".

health knew, he just didn't now how to truly process all of this negativity. he didn't do well under pressure, it was true deprecation. there was a comfortable silence between the two boys. all you could hear was the water dripping onto the rocky pavement, streams flowing within each other, and the harsh winds hitting the trees.

"heath, how about we go to hazel's house? she doesn't live too far from me, it's walking distance" danny offered, making heath furrow his brows at the blonde boy.

"danny, if i step near the calais' house it would be more suspicious. people would think my next target would be hazel, i wish people weren't so gullible" heath explained to danny.

"well would you rather go home?" danny offered, resulting in heath sighing and holding his temples with the tips of his fingers.

"home isn't safe at the moment danny" heath said to him. "heath please, hazel is nice and understanding" danny said. "what about ms. marissa?" heath said. "hazel would help us get in don't worry" danny said, standing up and stretching his hand towards heath.

heath studied his hand, contemplating on whether or not to take this chance. home wasn't an option, not at this time, not in this state.

heath finally looked danny in the eye and took his hand and gripped it tightly.

"my life is in your hands pope" heath whispered, standing up. "i figured" danny responded, walking forward making heath follow willingly.

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FLASHBACK !
august 3rd , 1987

❝ the flames from the campire contributed light and warmth for the two teens. the young girl had been extremely upset lately, the young boy noticed.

he always had a soft spot for her. her red hair intrigued him, they looked like flames. her blue eyes amazed him, they loomed they the cold ocean. she was like a different creature with contrasting features, water and fire?

he kept staring at her, she didn't notice at first. she kept looking at the flames in wonder, until she finally met his gaze and gave him a small smile.

"that wasn't genuine mads" heath said to her, making her smile drop. he knew it wasn't, she was glad he was able to spot that. she let out a tear and looked back at the flames. "i know i'm trying to be happy at this camping trip, i don't want to cry in front of leonardo, wil, and lisa but it's so difficult" maddie explained.

"tell me whats wrong" heath said softly, making her look at him in wonder. "i wouldn't want to ruin all your fun" maddie said, resulting in heath shaking his head.

"the only thing that would ruin it is knowing you're not okay and not trying to help you. you don't have to fake anything around me" heath explained making her giggle a bit.

"my aunt has been really on the edge. everything she sees me she thinks of my mother because i have all her features. she keeps on bringing up her death in every topic" maddie explains, breathing out in the end after she released her burden.

"i read about what happened to her in history, what happened was a tragedy but don't let it define you. you're maddie, not your mother, let your aunt know that, tell her how you feel before it gets worse" heath tells her.

"what could possibly be worse?" maddie asks, completely oblivious to what the future was bringing to her. heath sighed and scooted closer to her, making her breath hitch.

"what do you think mads?" heath asked her, resulting in her shedding a tear. "death, but heath i don't want to die" maddie said genuinely. "then don't keep it in, let us know, mads we love you, i love you" heath confessed, making her slowly look.

"you do?" maddie said, making him nod. "i do" he responded, earning a smile from the girl with the hair of flames. she gave him a soft peck on the cheek and he stared deeply at her. he started to lean in a give her a small, innocent peck on the lips.

when their lips touched, heath felt a spark, and maddie felt comfortable with him. when they pulled away, maddie looked down at her fingertips. heath started to lean closer and snuggle up with her, she reciprocated.

and they both watched the flames, and intertwined their hands together. they were happy, past tense...

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A/N: HI GUYS! Just got back from seeing my beautiful and favorite horses. If you didn't know I'm also a horse rider! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter AND the first chapter of Plague! ❤

keep reading !

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(i love Marilyn so much ❤)

smolkey ©