Chapter Text
The Hobbit
… And Those Confounded Dwarves
Original by J.R.R. Tolkien
'I think we should see other people.' He did not smile, did not apologize, did not fidget with his hands, as he did when he was nervous or uncertain.
He meant it... Every word of it. My wonderful, empathetic boyfriend had turned stoic since our conversation began. He had made up his mind, and he was utterly sure of it.
'Then leave.' I couldn't stop the tears that welled up as I spat the words at him. I looked him dead in the eye, glaring up at him.
He only crossed his arms and met my stare with an equally cold one.
'Go. Get out of my life.'
I wouldn't have realized that the annoying bell my school owned signaled the end of the school day if he hadn't turned his eyes to the clock on the wall behind me. But they quickly flickered back to mine. I wondered if I saw fear in them. I knew that he was afraid of me whenever I was angry, so it would have been the only logical explanation.
I slammed my locker door shut, and left promptly.
I could feel his eyes on me as I grabbed my backpack and strode away.
After a few steps, I turned back to him. 'I know you wanted to do this for a long time. And I realized that I also wanted to end it, because it’s hit a dead end!'
I continued walking. My emotions threatened to overfill and overwhelm me. The breakup, his stoic words, the realization that it was the end of our relationship… it became a heavy burden on my shoulders.
Sighing, I reached into my backpack and pulled out my air pods.
I quickly blended in with the huge crowd leaving the front gates. School felt like prison; who wasn't excited to leave prison at the end of the day? The answer was me. I couldn’t bring myself to even fake a smile.
I drew out my phone and turned to the loudest song I had in my Favorites playlist, and after a few seconds, the music drowned the noise around me and dragged me away from my problems... like the upcoming math exam.
Lost in the music, I walked on, oblivious to the passing scenery and the people around me.
As I moved through the crowd, the world outside my headphones seemed muted and distant. The familiar prison hallways of school became a backdrop, the faces of my classmates mere blurs as I retreated into my own emotional sanctuary.
Two minutes later, and I was out the school gates.
Finally... I'm out of prison.
I just kept walking, never stopping for a single moment. I soon reached a familiar street not far from my apartment, and decided to take a different path. A longer walk, but I didn't mind walking the few extra blocks.
I guess I should have been more careful, because I didn't notice the coke can some idiot had dropped at the crossing of the road.
And that, people, was how I slipped.
I fell forward, my eyes widening as the ground neared my face. I couldn't scream, because it all happened too quickly for me to process.
Because when my face was half a meter from the ground, I heard a car honking to my left.
I would have winced if I had the time to, but I didn't. I prepared myself to meet the cold ground, and also the car, which would no doubt hit me unless the driver braked fast enough. Which he didn't.
I could feel my features twisting in horror before it all went dark.
Edit: I'm trying to keep swearing to a minimum and excluding all sorts of things that can get me grounded. But considering my parents don't know I have AO3... mh. No one has to know.
Anyways, this might just be the fanfic you need as the 'break' between two heart-wrenching, deeply-damaging, scream-inducing fanfics. Because trust me, I have a dozen other WIPs and none of them are happy fanfics. My protags are practically beggine me to stop.