Plain and Simple:
An Unwind Alternate Universe One shot.
His feet were already numb. He should have listened to Risa when she said to pull over and ask for directions. His stubborn arrogance was the thing that was going to kill them both, and yet he couldn't accept the facts. He was going to die. That statement was plain and simple. Death. But he couldn't wrap his mind around the concept. He could feel death breathing down his neck, embracing Connor, death wrapping it's cruel hand around his heart just waiting for the moment when it stopped beating altogether.
No one knew that the car had run out of gas.
No one knew that the two teenagers were stranded in the middle of a snowstorm.
No one would know the suffering through the cold that they would have to go through before actually dying.
She was alive in his arms, trembling furiously. "C-conner?"
"Yes, Risa?" His voice was weak, but he managed to say her name with a cracked smile. A broken one.
"It's not your fault. It's okay."
It's okay.
Those two words suddenly made the difference in everything, like a burden had just been lifted off his chest.
She pressed herself closer to Connor as they lay in the back seat, snow burying them inside. Risa wanted to talk to her younger brother Lev. Just one last time. Tell him not to be angry with her. Not to blame the rest of the world for her death. She knew he would take it harshly. He would go through so much pain because of a mistake. Connor and Lev were close; like brother's themselves. They were best friends. Now, Lev was going to lose his best friend and sister all in one day.
She only could hope that he wasn't the one to discover their bodies.
The thought of death was unsettling to her, but she had accepted it. There was no way out. If they tried to trudge through the snow to escape, they would only die faster. The only comfort in all of this was that Connor was right beside her, and that they would go through this together. One step at a time.
She could feel his heartbeat; slow and wavering almost like it would stop any minute. She shivered, her hair coated with snow from their last attempt. They had tried to kick the heater back on, the tips of their fingers already frost bitten. It was no use.
They were trapped, helpless, defenseless.
And they were going to die. Plain and simple as it is.
"Connor?" She whispered his name again, and was met with no reply. He had fallen asleep- not quite dead yet. She could tell from his heartbeat. They had already told each other their goodbyes full of tears, I love yous, and I'll see you on the other side. They had even found paper and a pen in the glove compartment, clawing at the items in the car with bluely laced fingers when they had given up all hope, and scribbled down letters to their loved ones. They wrote letter after letter and it still wasn't enough.
It wasn't enough to accept their death.
Risa had already told Connor that she loved him but, she had to say it again. "I love you."
She shut her eyes then, and struggled to embrace death. The concept was so hard to believe, so unrecognizable.
They died together, one minute apart from the other one. Connor was first, then Risa a minute later.
They died, plain and simple as it seemed to the civilians who had discovered them.
But to Risa and Connor?
It was far from plain and simple.
A/N: I have no idea why I wrote this. The idea was stuck in my mind and I couldn't shake it. In case you didn't realize this by it's an AU Unwind story where the events of the first book never happened. It's just modern day, where Lev is Risa's brother. I hoped you liked it! Read and review!