I could hear the sirens, see the flashing lights behind my closed eyes, and the odd film of red over my sight. I didn't really feel much at all except for an unfamiliar prickle along my skin, cold and sticky. The gentle tinkle of glass rainfall almost sounded nice, until the shouting started. 

Suddenly there were hands on me, so many hands, and even more voices yelling in my ear but I couldn't make out their words. My body felt like it wasn't my own as the hands guided me forwards, upwards, away.

Soon, there wasn't the sound of yelling, or the sound of glass falling like snow. There was just the long drone of a machine beeping, the rasp of a sob, and the wetness of tears pattering across my face.

And then a voice, soft, familiar, home. 

"You were supposed to wait for me," Amber cried, her voice distant. "Lex, wait for me."

And, finally, the beep of the machine stopped.

My heart, too.

***

I must have only blacked out for a second or two, because when my eyes blearily opened again it was to Elias's frantic face, his brows pinched and lower lip worried between his teeth. His hands were shaking my shoulders, and I could only blink rapidly as the flashing lights of the dance-floor made my head ache.

There was the pang of something unsettled in my stomach but I couldn't chase it, like a dream at the periphery of my mind that's forgotten by morning, but I didn't think too much on it when my face screamed with pain.

Elias quickly noticed me waking, one of his hands flying to my cheek, gently patting it as he murmured my name.

"Alex? Alex, can you hear me?"

"Mm, I'm awake, I'm awake," I groaned, pushing myself from the ground and hissing in pain, Elias helping me up with a hand on my back. Pain lanced across my face, arms and chest, but I couldn't help the empty laugh from bubbling up my chest. Elias only began to look more panicked as I laughed, his hands on my shoulder twitching like they wanted to inspect my head for any injuries, because a person who just got beaten to a pulp was not supposed to find the situation amusing.

"Thank God, you're awake," Elias breathed out, slipping his arm around me to help me to my feet. "Can you get up?" I swayed dizzily when I attempted to rise, Elias grunting in surprise when I all but flopped onto him, steadying myself with an arm around his waist.

"Mnh, sorry," I mumbled, but couldn't help but lean into Elias further, the soccer captain the only pillar holding me up while the entire world spun. "I need some fresh air. And some nurofen. Or... or morphine. Morphine would be good. Ugh, and a tissue, my nose is bleeding everywhere, sorry. Oh, God, I think I got some on your shirt," I sniffled with a pained noise, cupping my hand over my oozing nose to avoid getting any more on Elias.

"You don't need to apologise, come here," Elias huffed, grip on me tightening as he helped me hobble out of the party, Aubrey hovering by my other side with a comforting hand on my back. The protagonist's face was a little pale after witnessing the red seeping from my nose, but she was clearly trying to gather her wits to help me, the notion heartwarming.

As we stumbled out I breathed a sigh of relief, my head already feeling better when the fresh breeze hit me. The three of us quickly stepped around the inebriated teens laid out on the lawn like furniture, walking down the street to a quiet, empty playground. The red plastic slide and bright yellow monkey bars gleamed under the moonlight, the swing set gently swaying against the light breeze. 

It was to those swings that Elias guided me, gently lowering me down. Slipping my hands from around his waist, I gripped onto the cold metal, the tang of iron rubbing onto my hands.

"Oh, that's a lot better," I said, looking up at Elias with a small smile, the boy's face looking pained. Ah, I probably look like a mess, huh - I could just picture it. Red was likely rubbed across my face like peeling paint, the burgeoning bruises beginning to appear on my once-smooth skin, my lip cut and adding to the bloodied mess. My platinum blonde hair was likely in severe disarray, and my clothes fared little better.

Suddenly remembering that I was wearing Elias's jacket, I startled and looked down at the now dirty material.

"Ohhh no, I got... There's... All over your jacket..." I whimpered glumly, rubbing at the soiled spots and blood droplets before looking back up at Elias, opening my mouth to apologise again.

"It's fine, it's fine, it doesn't matter, you really need to stop apologising," Elias assured me, squatting down in front of where I sat on the swings, running his fingers through his hair. "More importantly, how are you feeling?"

"Probably about as good as how I look right now," I managed to joke, rocking back and forth on the swing. Licking at my split lip that tasted like iron, I turned to Aubrey, eyes apologetic. "And sorry, for what those guys said about you... That was really not okay."

"Oh..." Aubrey said, mouth curling down as she remembered the nasty words Vic had spewed earlier. The protagonist shifted uncomfortably from where she stood beside Elias, clearing her throat before smiling softly, shaking her head. "Elias was right, you know - you need to stop apologising. You didn't say those words, in fact, you and Elias... Thank you for sticking up for me. I think... Before, those words would've made me... I mean... You two being there made me realise that their words don't really mean anything, you know?"

Aubrey's cheeks flushed with the admission, plopping herself down on the rough tanbark, not caring that her dress was getting dirty. She then reached forward, grabbing Elias's hand with her right, and mine with her left, her small hand warm and comforting.

"I never really had real friends before you two, you know. I never had... people who would be there for me. So," Aubrey said softly, looking up at me, her blue eyes piercing and determined. "Alex, you need to tell us if they try anything again, okay? I also want to be here for you, and I'm sure Elias does too, right?"

Elias nodded, lips beginning to quirk up in his usual lopsided smile, his free hand reaching out towards me tentatively. The soccer captain held his hand out to me, palm up, his head tilting to the side in an invitation. 

'Oh, God,' I thought to myself, my throat suddenly becoming scratchy as my eyes grew hot, my chest tight. Elias laughed a little at my expression, taking it upon himself to grab my hand himself since I was so overcome, his fingers linking with mine and squeezing.

I knew what Aubrey was talking about, because like her, I never really had any friends back in my original world either. I had Amber, and Amber had me, and we only had each other; but now, now...

Now, in the silence of an almost-empty park with nothing but the occasional sound of an owl hooting or a distant car horn, the warmth of the hands holding mine enveloped me and told me that I wasn't alone, not any more.

The tears that had been teetering on the edge of my lashes began to fall then, a hiccup escaping my mouth, startling Elias and Aubrey, who shared a look with each other. It was hard to see through the wall of my tears, but I could faintly make out Aubrey and Elias's shared gaze, their silent conversation, before Elias carefully drew his body upwards to bring his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest.

I let out a strangled noise as my head was tucked under Elias's chin, the softness of his shirt rubbing against my bloodied nose. I could feel the embarrassment begin to rush up, and I began to push at Elias's chest, my cheeks flaming, but the boy's hold merely tightened. His large hands rubbed up and down my back, as if he could press his warmth into me through my skin.

I wasn't quite sure why I was crying so hard, because there were many, many things that I had been keeping anchored deep down inside. I cried because, shit, Jake had done a number on this body, and even Xander's abs harder than rocks couldn't withstand Jake's barbaric fists. I cried because I missed my sister. I cried because sometimes I didn't know who I was any more. 

But, I also cried because I was happy. Happy, when Aubrey took my hand in hers and told me everything was alright. Happy, in Elias's warm embrace that made my chest ache. Happy to be friends with these two people, who were more real and good than the bitter classmates from my original world. They were people who were more than just words written on a page, they were flesh-and-blood stories walking beside me, with me, and they were holding my hand every step of the way.

"These are happy tears, you know," I sniffled against Elias's collarbone, the boy huffing out a laugh which rumbled right through me. "I mean, also tears of pain because, fuck, how did you survive getting punched in the face a month ago, Elias? I think I'm dying here."

Pulling back, Elias pulled up the hem of his already soiled shirt to wipe away some of the grime from my face, and with such an unapologetically happy expression on his face that I couldn't even chastise him for getting his shirt dirty once more.

I stared sadly at the stains on Elias's shirt, and the moment I opened my mouth Elias and Aubrey shouted "Don't apologise!" in unison, my mouth then hanging open as the two looked at each other again with that same tacit understanding, their eyes lighting up. The two of them dissolved into laughter, Aubrey clutching her stomach as Elias covered his mouth with his hands, eyes half crescents. At their laughter, which ricocheted off the metal contraptions of the playground and spread out throughout the entire park, I couldn't help but join in, though my laugh was more of a wheeze with the pain jumping around my body. 

Gosh, they're so in sync already. No need to finish each other's sentences - they're saying the same things! Great minds think alike, etcetera, etcetera. And all those knowing gazes, Aubrey reaching for Elias's hand first, the way they smile at each other - are you guys already secretly dating and just feel awkward clueing me in because then I'd be the Official Third Wheel™ rather than just a self-proclaimed one?

"You two are really in sync, huh," I teased, playfully kicking some tanbark at the almost-potentially-already-together-couple. I gave Elias a discreet wink, the boy's face just scrunching up in confusion, while Aubrey laughed as she checked her phone.

"Hey, my mum's picking me up now so I'm gonna head off. As long as you're feeling alright, Alex," Aubrey said, eyeing my swollen face sadly. "Or, we can drive you home if you need a lift. You too, Elias."

"Nah, it's alright," I said, sniffling. "I'll drive myself home, I don't want to leave my car here. Plus, I think I want to enjoy the fresh air for a bit."

"If you're sure," Aubrey said, turning to Elias. "Do you need a lift home?"

Elias paused, tentatively looking at the ground, then peeking at me, before hesitantly turning back to Aubrey.

Don't be shy now, Elias! Go home with your girl, meet her parents, integrate yourself into the Hanlon family and thrive. You can do it, I believe in your budding main lead genes!

Elias then shook his head, smiling softly.

"Thanks, Aubrey. But I think I'll stay with Alex," Elias said, making me choke on my own spit as I stared at him incredulously. "Since he's already injured, I don't want to just leave him by himself."

"Good idea," Aubrey agreed quickly, looking relieved as she got up, brushing the hem of her dress to discard the dirt. As she did so, a silver sedan pulled up to the curb of the park, Aubrey giving the hidden driver a wave before hugging both Elias and I once, soon darting off into the night.

All the while I just stared, opened-mouthed at Elias and his sheer idiocy in letting a golden opportunity pass by him so easily. But then, Elias stood up himself, moving to the second set of swings just beside me, sitting down with a comfortable sigh. 

"You don't have to stay, you know," I churned out, jerking my head towards Aubrey's car, which was still idle by the side of the road. "It's late, you should head home. Annika might get worried. Plus it's cold and... and you don't have a jacket because I stole it. Sor- I mean- right." Elias let out a small snort in amusement, making me huff and swing out to kick his leg.

"My mum is fine, I've been letting her know what's happening and she's okay as long as she has some idea of where I am," Elias said before launching himself off the swings and landing solidly on his two feet. Turning to me, Elias smiled. "So, I'll wait out here with you."

His words hit home, something inside me crumbling as something else was built anew. 

"If you're gonna be stubborn, then at least come and lie on the grass with me," I said, slowly rising from the swing and groaning, rubbing my sore shoulders. "The swings are making everything sore - not that I wasn't sore to begin with, but ugh. Everything aches."

Elias gave me a small smile, grabbing onto my arm to help steady me as we walked onto the grassy field by the playground, the two of us letting out short laughs (mine slightly pained) when we eventually tumbled onto the plush green.

Elias sighed as he rolled onto his back, his arm brushing mine. I had a feeling that, if my arm were to twitch, the backs of our hands would brush.

I, of course, did not even attempt to twitch, because that was something Aubrey did with Xander in chapter 57 of 'Say No to Bad Boys' . They had ended up having a park-side romp in the bushes, the novel stating, and I quote; 'twigs were sticking into Aubrey, and Xander was too, the piston of his hips stabbing deeper into her dripping sex as the two crowed like mating birds in the night, soaring'. That chapter had made me wince, and of course I had re-read it multiple times to try and find the appeal of being impaled amongst dirt, weeds and bugs. Xander was already a cockroach, no need to be rolling around with any others, thank you very much.

The sudden brush of Elias's hand against the back of mine startled me from my thoughts of Aubrey and Xander doing some spelunking in her lady caves, and I turned my head towards the other boy sharply. Elias wasn't looking at me, gaze instead turned up to the sky, soft smile on his lips as the grass swayed lethargically around him.

'Oh, God, his face is close,' flickered through my mind, and if Elias turned his head, I was sure he would be close enough for me to feel his breath brush my cheek, and...

I was grateful that Elias didn't turn his head towards me, for he would have definitely seen the way my eyes bulged out at the ludicrous flavour of my errant thoughts, my cheeks flaming under the cool night. 

'Get your shit together, Lex! Has thinking about Aubrey in 'Say No to Bad Boys' poisoned your brain or something?! Is the protagonist's insanity rubbing off on you?! If any one is doing some rubbing, it should be Aubrey rubbing up on Elias and vice versa!'

"It's been a while since I looked at the stars like this," Elias murmured, now turning his head towards me slightly to look at me from the corner of his eye. I snapped my eyes back to the sky in response, clearing my throat.

"Really?" I asked, wincing at how my voice cracked a little. Elias didn't seem to notice anything, and I felt him turn his head back, the grass around him shifting as he shuffled to get more comfortable against the grass.

"Yeah. When I was younger, I wanted to be an astronaut, or an astronomer," Elias said, laughing slightly. "Then I wanted to be the usual things - fire fighter, policeman, pilot, famous soccer player."

Huh. This was something that hadn't really been explored in 'Say No to Bad Boys'. As the second lead, the start and end of Elias's role was to be the handsome, kind, intelligent runner-up man that was supposed to make Aubrey doubt her love for Xander, only to be pushed aside for the the main lead's tender pork sword. But, this just reminded me that Elias was more than what he was written as - that he's a person, with feelings and aspirations. I was finding out all of these things, unravelling him one page at a time, and I doubted that I'd ever reach the end of his book. 

And I wasn't sure I wanted to.

"Elias Fourie, astronomer," I mused, humming. "That doesn't sound too bad at all. I could never do it though, I don't know shit about stars. I just think they're pretty and sparkly."

Elias laughed at that, nudging the back of my hand again before pointing to the sky.

"You have to know what that constellation is though, right?" Elias said, and I squinted, trying to make out what he was pointing at. 

"What? I just see a heap of dots," I said as I pointed vaguely in the direction the soccer captain was gesturing at, Elias snorting and shuffling closer to take my hand in his own, moving it himself. To orientate himself with my viewpoint, Elias moved his head closer, almost bumping our skulls together.

"That one," Elias said, and I blinked, rendered speechless. Elias took my silence as confusion, laughing again. "Alex, that's the Southern Cross. It's one of the most obvious ones you can see in the Southern Hemisphere, you know."

"I know it now," I huffed, Elias still not letting my hand go, only moving it to the side. 

"And these bright ones are Alpha Centauri. There are three of them - here, here, and here," Elias explained, voice quiet but somehow loud with its proximity to my ear. "That big looking one to the left is AB, it's a double star, even though it only looks like one to us right now."

"Double star?" I asked, trying to get my mind off how hot his hand was around mine and how close he was to my side by focusing on astronomy.

'Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are... Ohhh, God, Elias, is that your hair brushing my ear?!'

"Mm, double stars. When I was younger I thought of them as kind of like best friends that always stuck together," Elias said, and I tried not to freeze when Elias snuck a glance at me, his gaze heavy on the side of my face. "Or more. I didn't think about that kind of thing much as a kid, obviously."

"And that one?" I asked abruptly, jerking my hand towards a random cluster of stars, Elias losing his grip on my hand. Elias was silent for a moment, dropping his arm, our shoulders brushing as he did so. 

"That?  That's the Jewel Box. Its appearance pretty much explains its name," Elias said, mouth curling at the sparkling mass in the sky.

"Yeah, I guess it does," I said, dropping my hand to my stomach, breathing out slowly. "What's your favourite star? Or constellation."

"I always liked the ones that came with stories," Elias explained, voice fading off into nostalgia. "My mum used to read me stories about constellations all the time, and when Tillie was born I told her all of those stories too. I think the story of Perseus and Andromeda was one of the first ones mum told me about, and it kind of stuck."

"What's their story?" I asked, curious. "Which ones are they?"

"We can't see them from here, we'd have to go to the Northern Hemisphere to see them," Elias said, smiling. Somehow it sounded like an invitation, but I remained silent, allowing him to continue. "It's a love story, really, and there are a few constellations involved, like Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Cetus and Pegasus."

"I've heard of Pegasus, obviously, and Cassio-whats-her-name," I said, Elias chuckling. 

"Cassiopeia. She was a Queen, and had a very beautiful daughter called Andromeda. Andromeda was polite and shy, but her mother was the total opposite. See, she was a little narcissistic and vain, and kept declaring that her daughter was the most beautiful woman in the world, even more so than the sea nymphs and daughters of Gods, like Poseidon," Elias explained, and I turned onto my side, engrossed in the story. 

"Well, vanity never ends well, does it?" I chimed in, Elias shaking his head.

"No. Obviously, this pisses Poseidon off, and he sends a sea beast to destroy Cassiopeia's coastal kingdom. Cetus is one of the constellations I mentioned before, and looks kind of like a mix of a fish and serpent. And, like in all epic tales, Andromeda's dad, Cepheus - another one of the constellations - sacrifices his daughter to appease the terrifying beast."

"Oh, of course. That is totally an acceptable thing to do," I said, Elias glancing at me with a grin, before quickly turning his eyes back to the stars to continue his story. 

"Luckily for her, Perseus, the hero flying on his Pegasus, happened upon her as she was about to face the beast. Lo-and-behold, he falls for her beauty, and makes a deal with her parents for her hand in marriage if he saves her from the beast etcetera etcetera," Elias said, making me snort.

"And let me guess - he slays the beast, gets the girl, and they ride off into the sunset on a flying horse?" I offered, Elias clicking his tongue with a grin.

"That's not enough drama for the story, because Andromeda had actually already been promised to another guy, and he was not very pleased. So, after saving the love of his life, Perseus fights the other guy, defeats him heroically using Medusa's decapitated head which he had been lugging around. And then he finally gets the girl and they ride off into the sunset on a flying horse," Elias said as I burst out laughing, the boy lying beside me soon following suit. 

"Cliche! That's so cliche!" I hiccuped, Elias shoving my shoulder with his, making me stifle my laughter. "No, I mean, it's a good story, I can see why you like it. It has everything you need, really - a beautiful protagonist, a noble hero, a love triangle, shitty parents, and a monster. Mm, it is a good story, I like it."

"Yeah, it's a good story," Elias echoed softly, eyes soft as he tilted his head up to look at the sky, gaze far away like he was wandering amongst them. 

I snuck a look at Elias then, and my organs did something odd when I took him in, the things flipping and pulling uncomfortably inside my body. Elias's profile really was something to behold, and even though the author of 'Say No to Bad Boys' painted the body I was currently inhabiting as a sex god with abs harder than rocks and a sinfully handsome face, Elias was, objectively, beautiful.

It wasn't so much because of the features of his face and the stature of his body in themselves; they were, of course, second-lead material and attractive in their own right. It was more in the way he wore his soul in his smile, his inner gentleness in his eyes, his kindness in the way he held your hand. Under the moonlight, as cheesy as it was, he shone brighter than any of the midnight jewels high in the sky.

"Alex, why are you staring..." Elias suddenly spoke, and before I knew it he had turned, catching me looking at him, unblinking. His eyes widened slightly, and we were so close I could see my frozen face reflected in his dark pupils, which barely shifted when Elias rolled onto his side. 

'I was right,' I numbly whispered to myself in my mind. 'He's so close I can feel his warm breath on my cheek.'

"Alex..." Elias whispered, two syllables hanging in the small space between us.

Wait, what...

This is...

The moment Elias's fingertips touched my cheek, I rolled onto my back, the space between us growing and Elias's fingers soon touching nothing but air.

"E-Elias. Tell me another story?" I asked quickly, clasping my hands over my stomach like it would help settle the bugs squirming around in there. 

Elias was silent for a moment, before rolling once again onto his back.

"Sure. I guess I can tell you more about Perseus, the hero. I think you'd like that story too," Elias said, and I breathed out a quiet sigh of relief, which drifted off into the night as I wondered why my stomach was tied in knots.

Because the plot of the story was becoming tangled, and I didn't even know where I stood amongst the lines and the paragraphs, just a word floating aimlessly in a sea of the blackest ink.

A/N: Alright, it's been over a month since the last update - I know, I'm terrible, but this chapter was a long one so please forgive me! I explained my lack of presence on my profile, but TL;DR - I started full time work and have had many related life changes recently (adulting is hard), so I've just been super busy! Many apologies, and thanks to everyone for sticking around - it means a lot! Hopefully life will settle down and I'll find more time to write :')