An idea I had while listening to "Miserable at Best" by Mayday Parade. Please listen to that song while you're reading this; it makes it so much more special. I was tearing up while writing this... I hate writing sad things, but this one was just too good to pass up... :((( WHY MUST I TORTURE MYSELF?
Tears streamed down Katie's face. She was trying to hold them in, but she just couldn't. She opened her mouth to say something, but a horrible choking sound came out of her throat.
"D-d-don't! Don't go! Please!" she yelled, her hands cupping his face.
"Katie, don't cry. I know that you're trying your hardest, but this quest is important. I'm on this earth for a reason, and I know that this is it," Travis said, tears leaking out of his eyes, too.
"It...It said you're going to die—the prophecy." The words came out like a question; she still couldn't believe that she was going to loose him forever.
He nodded. "It did say that, and I probably will. But it's all to make the pieces of the bigger picture fit," he said, trying to explain to her why this was important. But she didn't understand; she didn't get why he had to leave her. The simplicity of being tangled in the covers on a Sunday morning together, baking cakes together, watching the stars together—how did he just expect her to forget all of that?
"No," she gasped, pulling him into a fierce hug. "You're not leaving! You can't!" she said, trying to sound fierce, but her voice broke in the middle of the sentence.
Travis rubbed small circles on her back and breathed in her scent of strawberries, probably for the last time.
"I love you so much," he said, his voice breaking as well. He could feel Katie crying harder into his shoulder.
"TRAVIS, IT'S TIME TO GO!" yelled Connor from the car. His voice was scratchy: everybody knew he'd been crying as well.
Travis pulled away from Katie and pressed his lips to hers one last time. But just like that, it was over. He started jogging toward the car and flashed her one last smile. She attempted to smile back, but failed and just stood there. Waving and yelling "I love you", he drove away.
*Later, Travis died. Now in Elysium.*
Travis sat down on one of the plastic lawn chairs that was in his backyard, staring at the sky. He had been in a spiraling depression ever since he got here. He had everything he ever wanted, except for one small thing. Katie Gardner. He missed her like hell. Slowly, he got up and walked inside his and Connor's house. Connor was staring at a laptop screen, his mouth open.
"Hey, watcha looking at?" Travis asked suspiciously. Connor quickly closed the laptop and muttered, "Nothing", as if not wanting Travis to see what was on the screen.
Travis raised an eyebrow and slowly walked over. He opened the laptop despite the pained expression on Connor's face, like Travis might break when he saw the screen.
There she was. Katie Gardner. And she was on a date. Laughing and smiling the way they used to on their dates. The boy sitting across from her was some boy from Ares. They were sharing a smoothie. Travis had an overwhelming urge to punch the guy in the mouth, but then he looked at how happy Katie was. She had tried to move on. He was SO proud of her. Sure his heart was shattered into a million pieces, but the corners of his mouth turned up into a small sad smile.
After a while, the boy extended an arm, and they got up and danced. As Travis watched, the tears started to flow. But to Travis's surprise, Katie was crying too, her mascara running down her face. As soon as she realized it, she pushed the boy off her and ran to the bathroom. Digging inside her purse, she found her wallet and quickly opened it. A picture of Travis and her was all she took out: it was of the day they made Percy's birthday cake and got into an egg fight.
Travis closed the screen, but it was too late; the damage was done. He knew that he'd hurt Katie Gardner, maybe forever.
'You hurt me too, girl,' he thought. 'Without you, I'll be miserable at best.'
Wow. That was hard. I've never killed a character before. That kind of thing can really change you :((
Disclaimer: You know, I tried "Daddy! I want Percy Jackson and the Olympians for my birthday!" but unfortunately it never worked...
-Jazz Attack