Save Me
They were all gone.
Alex walked through the dark woods, his hood up and hands shoved into his jacket's pockets, gripping the black steel that resided in there.
His friends, family... hell, even the ones she loved! They were all dead... all of them, except him. And he knew what he had to do.
He finally arrived at the dimly lit house, his dark eyes scanning the windows and area around him. She lived in basically the middle of the forest, staying in an old home he was pretty sure close to collapsing.
He loved her, sure. But what about the other two? Smile was, of course, his favorite. Her happiness always made him know the girl meant no harm. But the other one... not so much...
He could already hear sobbing from inside the wooden house. It slightly broke his heart, but this was what he had to do, right? So, without another thought, he walked inside, finding the door was unlocked. Why would she lock it, anyways? She was alone in the forest! No one was going to enter her home... well, excluding himself.
He could always tell the three apart by their eye color. Jennifer had these hazel eyes you could stare at and read her like an open book. Smile had the same hazel eyes, but they had glint in them, as though they welcomed anyone that crossed their path. And Grim... well, Grim's eyes were dark. They showed rage, hate, and a hint of defeat. It was an understatement to say he hated Grim.
He easily found her. She was sitting in the corner of the basement, her knees curled up to her chest as she cried. He slowly walked over, hoping she would freak out at his being there.
"Jennifer?" he spoke softly, watching as she looked up at him. Jennifer. Not Smile. Not Grim. Just Jennifer. The one he knew the most.
"A-Alex?" she whimpered, trembling a bit. "What are... what are you d-doing here?"
"I uh... I came to check up on you," he lied, giving her a warm and friendly smile. That's all she needed to hear. In a split second, she had gotten up and ran straight into his arms, holding onto him tightly as she sobbed into his Slipknot jacket.
"I'm so sorry!" she wept, her hands grasping at the black material and curling them under her sharp nails. "I didn't want any of this to happen! I-I'm sorry, Alex!"
"Shh, it's alright," he cooed, gently wrapping his arms around her as well, slightly playing with her hair. "What's... done is done. We can't change the past."
"If I could, I would go back and do everything differently," she whimpered, looking up into his dark eyes, her hazel eyes bloodshot and still leaking tears. "I'm sorry for everything I've done! I know sorry can't help fix anything, but it's all I have at the moment."
"Stop saying you're sorry," he sighed, wiping a few tears away.
But, even though he hated Grim, he didn't hate Smile, nor did he hate Jennifer, even if she was a bit crazy. Grim had caused all the trouble, and the only way to take her out, was by getting rid of the girl. But could he really push himself to do that? She and Smile were always so nice to him. Could he really end her life for some devil's work? Would he even be able to sleep at night knowing he killed someone?
"It's okay now," he went out, pulling her back into a hug. "You're safe with me. You won't hurt anyone again. I promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep," she sniffed, burring her face into his chest. "I'm just glad you're okay at least. You're the only one I can trust now."
Those words cut him deep; they shattered his heart into a million pieces. But, it was now or never.
The answer was yes. He could. Only because he knew she would be put out of her misery, and he would be saving others.
"Jennifer..." he trailed off, feeling a small lump in his throat formed. No, he couldn't feel remorse. This was for her own good. He was the only help she could have. Therapy didn't work; the people she went to see all died. Pills didn't work, for they only made her even more unpredictable. Only he could help her now. "I'm doing this because you're my friend, and I care about you, alright?"
"What are you talking about, Alex?" she asked, her voice going quiet, as though she was losing life. "I know you care about me... what does that have to do with anything?"
"I just want you to be happy," In a quick motion, he grabbed the switchblade, flipped the blade out, and stabbed it into the girl's back. She grunted in pain, her tears returning as she looked up at Alex with broken hazel eyes. "I'm so sorry, Jenn. I just can't see you like this anymore."
"Al... ex..." she choked out, detaching herself from him and stumbling backwards. "P-please... h-help..."
He could feel his breathing quicken. He started to panic and regret this all. Where had he stabbed her, anyways?
"A-Alex," She fell to her knees, looking up at him, trying to grab the knife in her back. "I don't wanna die. Please, don't let me."
"I'm sorry, Jennifer. I'm so sorry," He as well went down to his knees, pulling her back into his arms, crying into her dark brown hair. He grabbed onto the knife, ripping it out and dropping it to the ground. She squeaked but nothing more. She just laid against his body, as though she was lifeless.
"Alex... please help me," she whispered, looking up at him, that familiar glint in her eyes. "I'm not ready to die. I still wanna be here, alive and happy. Please don't do this."
"I can't help anymore," he replied, wiping a few tears away. "I'm sorry."
"Understandable," she sighed, leaning back onto his body, rubbing her pale face into his jacket, as if getting comfy. "No one would want me here anyways. Not with Grim around. I'm just so sorry everyone died in the process."
"It's not your fault," he reminded her, stroking her hair in an attempt to comfort her. He continued to repeat this a few times, before she finally cut him off.
"Everything has always been my fault. And I've accepted that." She gave him a weak smile, weakly wrapping her right arm around his neck and squeezing, trying to give him a hug. "I love you, Alex. Thanks for helping me... No one would've. I've always been alone, except... for when you... arrived... Goodbye, goodnight... for good..."
Alex held her tightly as she choked out the last words before going limp. He cried a bit more. He had just murdered someone. And her blood was staining his hands. Dammit. Why did it have to come down to this.
"Love you, too, Jennifer. Rest easy," he whispered, tears falling from his cheeks and landing on her deceased body. "I'll see you again one day... hopefully."
.-'XXX'-.
Alex jolted awake, hearing someone knocking on his door.
"Alex, c'mon! Get up! Time to get ready for school!" He sighed as he heard his brother's voice.
"Yeah, I'm goin'!" he snapped, shaking his head. He sat there for a second, the images of that girl laying against him, bleeding and slowly dying before his eyes sticking in his mind. He looked down at his hands, finding that no blood had been there; not now and not ever. He finally got out of bed, grabbing a shirt and some jeans. While he did so, he noticed his Slipknot jacket hanging there. He gently grabbed the sleeve, the feeling of Jennifer grasping onto the material he wore coming back to him. He shivered, shaking his head and dropping the sleeve. He had to get ready. He couldn't deal with this bullshit right now.
The sun was happily rising, already showing it was going to be another warm day. Damn sun. Why couldn't it be sunny, but have a nice breeze at the same time? Some wind would be nice other than just burning!
As Alex walked down the little path, he enjoyed the breeze as much as he could. Come second or third period, this breeze would be gone and be replaced with heat. He wasn't really looking forward to that. Looking ahead, he noticed someone walking his way. A familiar short girl wearing a band shirt. She wasn't hurt, which was good!
"Morning!" he spoke, walking up to her with a smile. She looked up at him, a bit surprised as she took her headphones out, giving a shy and innocent smile.
"Morning, Alex," she replied softly, giving him a small smile in return.
"So, how was your morning?" he asked, walking with her down the other path that led right back to annex.
"It was... okay. I was woken up by a nightmare, but whatever," she confessed, shrugging her shoulders like she always did. "How was yours?"
"Eh. My brother woke me up by banging on my door and telling me to get dressed," he chuckled, now being able to laugh a bit at it. "Anyways, what was your nightmare about?"
"Just... something stupid, but it wasn't something too enjoyable," she explained. Once more, Alex smiled.
"Well, I wouldn't think it would be enjoyable. That's why they're called nightmares!" Jennifer pushed him a bit at this, smiling as well. "What was it about that didn't make it... 'enjoyable'?"
"Well..." She thought for a moment, trying to remember everything that happened. "Basically, I was living out in the woods. I was crying because I had done... pretty bad things. Funny thing was, you actually showed up! And then killed me..."
"Really now?" Alex could feel his heart pick up a bit. Had she dreamed the same thing? "Did you kill people? And that's why I... ya know?"
"Yeah~ actually. Really sucks. I think I hurt everyone I loved," she confessed, hanging her head in sadness. "I've never hurt them, but I had these memories, ya know? Like they were so real, but they never happened. And it scared me so bad I started to cry, because I really believed I killed them. And then... you came and everything went downhill from there. How'd ya know, anyways? Lucky guess?"
"I actually had the same dream," he told her, earning a surprised look. He glanced into her hazel eyes. No darkness, no glint. Just innocent hazel eyes. He gave a sad smile. "Damn, it was horrible. I couldn't believe I was even doing that. You know I would never hurt you, right?"
"Of course! I trust you, Alex!" She smiled at him, one that told him she was telling the complete truth.
"Good," They walked in silence for a minute, before Jennifer, for once, had finally said something first.
"Ya know, when you stabbed me, it felt real," she told the male next to her. "I can still feel it, you jerk!"
"I'm sorry! I promise I'll never hurt you!" He looked down at her, seeing her pout. He opened his arms, smiling down at her. She happily accepted the offer, both hugging each other as they slowly walked passed the school's Library. Alex would never hurt Jennifer; not on purpose anyways. But as they walked, he started to wonder something: who were Grim and Smile?