Bang. Bang.

Gunshots.

Charlotte Winters stiffened, her muscles tensing as heavy footsteps passed by. She held her breath until her head began to swim, then took a deep breath and started again. Her hiding place, a small nook directly under the librarian's desk, gave no view of the events happening around her, but the smallest sound would be burned into her memory forever.

"Do you believe in God?"

It was a boy's voice, rich and cracked. That much was obvious.

"Yes."

That was a girl. Her voice came out as no more than a squeak, sending shivers up and down Charlotte's spine.

Bang.

Then she was gone. Her body thudded against the linoleum.

"No, no. Please, no!"

Another boy's voice. A familiar boy. Kevin Gedman. Pleading.

Bang.

And then he was gone too. No thud, but Charlotte could easily imagine the blood steadily trickling out of his wound.

A choked laugh caught in Charlotte's throat. Her eyes widened as she covered her mouth, terrified. She wasn't like them. She would never be like them. He had promised he would keep her safe. Away from them.

Bang.

Whimpering.

The shots were getting closer now. Charlotte kept her hands clamped over her mouth and closed her eyes, trying to forget the bubble of laughter that was straining to escape her throat. She was shaking now.

Bang.

Bang.

Silence.

Charlotte slowly allowed her eyes to open and peeled her hands away from her mouth. Sirens were piercing in the distance, but everything sounded distant, muffled. Someone was whistling a tune too light for the occasion. She stood up on wobbly legs and locked eyes with the killer.

Five corpses, one teacher bleeding out.

And all she could do was stare at him.

"Tate goddamn Langdon."

The laughter forced its way out of her throat as she flung herself into his embrace, wrapping his arms around his neck. The shotgun fell from his hands as he instinctively placed his hands on her lower back, shooting her a crooked grin.

"Charlotte Winters, I applaud your acting skills," Tate laughed, pressing his forehead to hers.

Before she could reply, Tate pushed his lips against hers, sending a rush of heat from her stomach to her toes. Together, the ignored the corpses of their fellow students and ignored the approaching sirens. Melting together. Becoming one person. Only when the teacher started screaming through his haze did they back away with sly grins.

"You are a goddamn genius!" Charlotte whooped through her smile as Tate grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the school. "I love you!"

A/N: Hey there people. Sorry this is still such a short chapter, even though I rewrote it, but I needed to set the tone for the story.

If you guys have any questions, please feel free to PM me or ask in the reviews!

This is set right after the school shooting and is Tate/OC. I promise it gets better.

I'm working on rewriting the next chapter now! Leave a review and favorite!