fuck, my first day off is sunday

also this is the first of four deaths in this book lololol, all of the people being characters you know.

dont forget to vote/comment ;)

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"Hey, this place looks familiar," Niall mused, moving his head around to capture glimpses of the scenery from all over, "Where are we?"

"Now, we are in Portland, just south of Crimson Cove and east of May-weather." Liam responded, scanning his eyes for any arcade.

"Crimson Cove?" Niall gasped, a smile spreading across his face, "Can we make just a quick, tiny detour? Please, please, please!" 

"Why?" Liam asked, turning around to look at Niall. 

"It's my home, plus i want to see smile again. She's kinda like my sister." The blonde says, getting giddy already. 

Lea sighs dramatically, "We'll be going in the opposite direction and wasting time, but if you want, then sure." 

"Yay! Thanks, guys! Now, where is it again?" 

~*~

Once Niall's feet hit the sandy, red beach, he's off in a run. 

"Smile! Smile!" He yells, knowing full well she cant respond...vocally. 

He slows his pace as he reaches the cabin and flings open the door. His eyes search all around for the little girl he left weeks ago. 

He doesn't hear any noise or see any blonde tufts of hair. 

A bad feeling forms in his stomach as he walks towards her room, opening her door with shaky hands. 

He takes a deep breath, and opens his eyes to scan her room.

 There he finds her, or what used to be her. 

She is ghoulish and rotten. Her blonde hair had fallen out, her blue eyes glazed over with white, her skin tough and melted. 

"Smile?" Niall gasped, falling to his knees. He felt like someone had punched him in the gut and ripped his heart out. The one person he was for sure would stay pure, became impure. 

She had a bullet wound to her head, making her lie flat on the floor, dead. Her mouth was covered in a red substance, the same substance surrounding her head. 

It looked like she had put up a fight, with her nails being caked with skin and bruises littering her body. But, she ultimately lost.

Niall bit his lower lip, trying to keep it from trembling. 

She was the only one he had left, the only one he could've counted on to protect the cabin. 

She was just a little girl. 

No one could've heard her screaming, heard her crying for help as she fought for her life. 

Niall took in a shaky breath and released a sob, letting his emotions get the best of him. He caressed her hair, looking down at her lovingly. 

Tears dripped onto her skin, sliding off the rough surface. 

Niall carefully slid one hand under her neck, the other under her knees, and prepped himself to carry her to her bed. 

When pulling her up, her body seemed to be stuck to the ground, pulling him the opposite direction. 

His eyes followed down her body, resting on what the cause of the problem was. 

Smile's hand was tightly wrapped around a tin box in a death grip...literally. 

Niall frowned, leaning over and carefully loosening her fingers from the handle, and grabbed the box. 

He placed it on his lap, running his fingers over the cold metal. He debated on opening it, not sure if it was something Smile wanted to keep a secret. 

But, curiosity got the best of him and he decided to open it anyways.

Inside, he found a small retainer Harry had given her. Harry said retainers helped keep teeth in formation, which is what Smile does, keep them in check with their moods. It was impossible not to smile back after Smile smiled. 

He also found a small teddy bear he had actually given her, tucked away in the corner with a small tissue as a blanket. 

There were some other knick-knacks and things the entire group had given her, but at the bottom was something he didn't recognize. 

It seemed to be a map, but heavily marked. He couldn't quite make out any of the pen marks or scribbles on the paper. 

He knew Smile was illiterate, never needing the skill of reading/writing, so he knew this didn't belong to her. 

Maybe this was why she was gripping so hard, to protect this map. But, why was it so important?

Niall studied the paper intently, almost burning a hole into the map with the intensity of his stare. 

"Cookie? You in here?" Zayn's voice rang out, startling Niall. 

Niall's eyes widened and he quickly shoved the paper into his pocket, "Yea." 

He didn't want anyone to take away what he had just found, he couldn't risk losing this vital piece of information. Although, he did trust Zayn with the paper, he wanted to be the one to finally figure things out instead of being a follower as always. 

"Hey-Oh," Zayn paused, observing the scene in front of him, "I didn't mean to interrupt." 

"No, it's fine." Niall sighed, giving Zayn a small, weak smile. 

"Is she Smile?" He hesitantly asked, nodding his head over to the little girl.

"Yea." Niall softly spoke, still saddened by her death and half way dreaming about the map. 

"I'm sorry, it seemed like she meant a lot to you. But, she's in a better place now, she wont have to face the discrimination faced by the other ghouls anymore." Zayn sympathized. 

"Yea, you're right. She just didn't deserve this, you know?" Niall sighed, looking back at the small girl. 

"Nobody does." Zayn quietly responded, watching as Niall began to pick up her limp body.

Niall placed her on her bed, smoothing her hair from her face. 

"She was close to me, it's hard seeing someone you love in a state like this." Niall continued to talk, watching as Zayn walked over and took a seat next to him. 

Zayn let out a small breath, "I know how it feels, trust me." He kissed the top of Niall's head before getting up and draping a blanket over Smile. 

"She's just resting, eternally," Zayn spoke, bending down and kissing Smile's cheek, "Goodnight, I'll make sure there's no monsters in here for you." 

"You can count on that." Niall let out a breathy laugh, watching Smile's lifeless body. 

"Would you like some time alone?" Zayn asked, heading towards the door. 

Niall looked back once at Smile, taking her in, before shaking his head, "No, i need to get out of here or i'll end up crying myself to death." 

"I wont let that happen." The older boy smiled, wrapping his arm around his boy and guiding him outside the cabin. 

"What? I cry all the time, actually." Niall expressed, shrugging his shoulders. 

"No," Zayn laughed, "Not that." 

"What part was it then?" 

"The 'to death' part, i'm not letting you die. Not under my watch," Zayn shook his head, "I'm going to protect you until i die. It me before you."

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*vomits* this and the last chapter sucked lmao but okay I THINK the next chapter SHOULD be the drama one :) 

god i cant wait

also

rip smile 

lmao

unedited