Mortal! AU

THERE WERE DAYS when you wondered if it was ever going to work out. There were days when your heart ached and it seemed like a part of your soul was missing.

 You should've been happy: you were at your dream college, after all. You were grateful, especially because of your iffy grades, but there was always some part of you that was counting down the day until you could see Leo again. 

There were days when you just reread old text conversations that you and Leo had had. There were days when you just sat quietly and reminisced about your senior year of high school, where the two of you had been practically inseparable. 

But you were in New York and he was in California. About 3, 000 miles (you're welcome, Americans, I did that just for you) away. You texted, of course. You talked to each other until your head threatened to slam down on the desk from exhaustion, or until your phone ran out of battery: whichever came first. It wasn't the same, though. It wasn't like him being here, a physical manifestation that you could touch. 

Some days, you kind of just wanted to give in.

School was fine. You had friends, although not as good as yours back home. Classes were tough, but manageable, and you were fairly certain you were doing okay. But life had achieved a dull monotony without Leo. 

Three thousand miles away.

***

"ONE MEDIUM CUP of hot chocolate, please." You smiled politely at the barista at the café, who nodded in her turn.

"Do you have a name to go with that?" she asked briskly, snapping you out of your reverie. 

"Oh! Um, yeah... sorry. Y/N." you told her, offering her a small, embarrassed smile.

She gave you an easygoing grin in return. "All right, coming right up, Miss."

"Thanks!" You gave her a twenty dollar bill. "Keep the change."

At that, her smile split even wider. She rummaged around in the cash register for a bit, then dropped the change in a jar with the name Alexis on it: probably her tip jar.

You sat down and took out your chemistry textbook, determined to get some studying in before you lost all will to live.

A few minutes later, Alexis called out, "One hot chocolate for Y/N, please?"

You wove your way through the throng of customers and claimed your drink. After giving your thanks, you navigated your way back through the crowd and reclaimed your seat. Blowing on your drink, you set it aside for a minute and pulled out a highlighter, marking a part that you deemed important. Rubbing your eyes wearily, you took a sip of your drink, wincing slightly as the hot chocolate scorched your tongue. Hopefully, the sugar would keep you awake, because otherwise, there was nothing to stop you from faceplanting on the floor, completely asleep.

The bell rung as another customer entered. Momentarily, you attention was diverted from your textbook, and you involuntarily stood up as you recognized the short stature and the curly hair. The room seemed to go silent as you took a step forward, the heel of your boot  clacking against the worn wooden floor.

"Leo?"

His face broke into a wide grin as he all but sprinted towards you, grabbing you in a bear hug and spinning you around; no mean feat considering he was fairly short for his age.

"Oh my god, what are you doing here?" you cried out, with a mixture of happiness and disbelief. "You were supposed to be in California." No matter how hard you tried to be reproachful, you couldn't stop yourself from beaming. "I missed you so much!"

He chuckled. "Missed you, too, Y/N. College just wasn't the same without you!"

He pecked your cheek: a light butterfly kiss, but still enough to make you melt a little bit inside. "C'mon." he practically dragged you back to your stool, and then started packing all your stuff back in your messenger bag. He put everything in the right place, too: you'd been putting your textbooks, pencils, etc., in the same place since sophomore year in high school.

"Where're we going?" You were unable to repress a spark of excitement. Finally, he was back! Finally, the cosmos had righted itself.

 He winked. "Why don't you show me around, Y/N? This is your college campus, after all."

"All right, Repair Boy." You grabbed your bag from his hands, swinging it up onto your shoulder. Grabbing your hot chocolate, you led the way out. "And then we can go ice skating. There's this perfect place I've always wanted to show you..."

He mock-groaned. "You're just taking me ice-skating because you wanna see me fall, aren't you?"

"That may or may not have been a factor in my decision..."

"Y/N..."

Two feet away.

***

Now, it was different. Life wasn't just monotonous anymore: the colour had been leeched right out of it, leaving the world in a dreary, dark sort of place. White didn't really show up either: just smudged greys and dull blacks.

Now, he was close. So close. But you still couldn't reach him. You still couldn't get rid of the distance between the two of you. It could have been millions of miles for all you could reach him. 

Taking a brisk left as you exited the subway, you blinked as you entered the sunlight, your breath dispersing in little puffs. A grey hat tucked low over your ears, you hunched down against the keen sting of the wind.

The surrounding area was beginning to look a lot more rural. Stereotypical farms with stereotypical pastures popped up every so often, although the fields were deserted now that it was wintertime.

Soon, your reached the wrought iron fence that preceded your destination. Taking a deep breath, you swung the door open, hearing the slight creak as you gently shut it behind you. 

You passed the rows of neatly quarried stones, your mind automatically ticking off the rows before you met him.

At the twelfth row, you inwards towards the center of the graveyard. Twenty-six steps took you to where you wanted to go.

A freshly made grave.

The tombstone simple. Just his name, birthdate, and death.

You sat down by the headstone, not minding the snow melting on your coat.

Your voice cracked as you spoke. "Hey, Leo..."

Six feet under.

****

Sorry not sorry.

Okay, so I've been tagged. You know the one where you describe yourself as you would a book character? So I'm doing that, but I've changed it up a little. I've asked my best friend, Asher, to write one about me. Apparently, I can't read it, which scares me a little, but hey! I'll let him roll. He's gonna write in italics. Wish me luck, guys!

Her height would be the first thing you notice about her. She's short - nice people would say 'petite' - but soon enough, your attention would be drawn in by her hair. It's red, but it's a weird shade. It's like a red-gold mix. If you were to talk to her, her eyes - green, blue, or grey, depends on the day - would laser in on you and you would feel like you have her entire attention, although you probably don't. 

There's a stubborn set to her chin and her shoulders, someone who's used to having the whole world against her. Her eyes kinda show it too: they can be really scary sometimes, but they can look broken, too.

She used to have freckles but  not really anymore, I don't really get that. She's not pale, but not tanned, kind of in the middle. She's kind of skinny and her nails are bitten short.

***

So please don't tell Cali. She'll probably murder me for calling her short. Until I hack her Wattpad account (I will figure out her password someday):

Asher

PS Cali told me to tell you guys that she says bye too.