Big major oof.

-:-:-:-

After a good stretch of time in that alleyway, you managed to scrape yourself together enough to stand up. You wobbled a bit, slightly lightheaded from your crying session.

You honestly had no idea what to do. To keep up this lie would be detrimental to all involved parties. Eventually, your parents or the government would find out about what was going on and then... what? You'd get punished, maybe even go to prison, and the boys... Davey...

You couldn't even bring yourself to think about what would be done to them.

You choked back another sob and looked towards the sky to keep the welling tears from falling. It was then that you noticed how long you had been in that alley; the sky was now a burnt orange, heralding the end of the day.

Your parents would definitely have noticed your absence by now.

Wonderful.

Well, you could just tell them that you felt overwhelmed and needed a walk to clear your head... Hmmm... they wouldn't be happy with you, but it would keep them from knowing what you were truly up to. But then... then they would almost certainly place even more restrictions on your freedoms. And that would mean you wouldn't be able to sneak out at all anymore.

You mulled over all the boundaries in your life, the red tape, the maze you had to find a way through... the more you though about it, the angrier you became.

You kicked an old rusted bucket in a rage and growled out a strangled cry that was meant to be a scream, but was muddled by all the emotions swirling in your soul.

Why? Why was the world the way it was? It wasn't fair in any way.

But since when was life fair for anyone?

At this point, it was almost impossible to keep your tears in check. Your eyes swam with miniature streams of sorrow.

"Stupid. Stupid! I must be a masochist, because why else would I have been this much of an idiot?" You ranted to yourself, tears streaming down your cheeks. You heard a shuffle of feet at the entrance of the alley and paused for a moment, quieting yourself out of curiosity. After a moment of silence, your thoughts trailed back to your predicament.

Suddenly, you had a moment of clarity. You. Your predicament. Your mistake.

Good gracious, you were so incredibly selfish. Here you are, feeling sorry for yourself when this whole fiasco could very well ruin at least a dozen other lives.

You wanted a normal life, so you dragged a whole group of innocent boys down with you because you were only thinking of yourself. You wanted to see Davey again, so you did, without considering the consequences. You wanted to escape the prison of your life. You didn't care about the ramifications of your actions and you didn't even think about how your actions could affect the boys.

Everything was about you.

"What is wrong with me?" You said, voice cracking.

"Ain't nothin wrong with you, sugarplum. You look good enough to eat." A gruff voice growled from the  other end of the alley. You just about jumped out of your skin when you heard it. You turned to see a greasy, yet well dressed man leaning against the brick wall of the alley. He must have been hiding there the entire time.

"You looks to me like you got a rich daddy, dontcha? Why don't you just hand over any jewelry and pocket change you got with ya and I promise I won't lay a finger on ya."

You began backing away towards the entrances of the alley, but the thug quickly caught onto what you were doing. His creepily pleasant smile dissolved in an instant as he whipped out a gun from his coat.

"Don't even think about it, sugarplum," He snarled at you.

You immediately halted, eyes wide. The severity of the situation shocked your already frayed nerves, to the point where your mind just went completely blank.

The mugger smirked and began approaching you, sauntering, not in any hurry.

"There's a good girl. Now, gimme that brooch you got there. And whatever else you got."

Was this your punishment? Sure, you could whip out your wand and send this idiot flying, but you would prefer to not have to wipe anyone's memory. It felt wrong to you. Besides, you had another brooch at home. You could spare this one. You were just reaching up to remove the accessory when you heard someone approaching from behind.

"Hey, get out of here." The new person said. You sucked in a puff of air when the intervener stepped between you and the mugger. It was Davey. Of course it was Davey.

"Davey, you need to leave. You'll get hurt." You whispered, grabbing his arm.

"And leave you to get hurt? Absolutely not." He said to you without taking his eyes off of the man with the gun.

"Well ain't this sweet? Daddy's girl has a paper boy to protect her. While he's here, might as well gimme his change as well." The man said, now approaching you quickly. Davey stood firm, though you were desperately trying to pull him out of the line of fire. As the man neared, Davey slid his hand down your arm and intertwined his fingers with yours.

"Davey please, I'm begging you. Just go. I'll be fine" You pleaded a final time. At this, he looked back at you and smiled softly, tears sparkling in his eyes.

"(Y/n), take care of Les for me. I love you." He gave your hand a final squeeze before pushing you towards the entrance of the alley and sprinting towards the man with the gun. Your eyes widened.

"No!"

The next moment happened as though it were in slow motion. You reached into your pocket and grabbed your wand just as the man lifted his gun to aim it at Davey. After this moment, you knew you would never be able to see any of the newsboys again. And though it broke your heart, Davey's life was far more important than keeping your secret.

You flicked your wrist as you called out "Descendo!" Aiming the spell at Davey. Instantly, he dropped to the ground as it If had been pulled towards it by an invisible force, just in time to avoid the bullet shot from the mugger's gun. The shock from both men was palpable.

"What the—"

"Relashio!" You cried, cutting off the attacker with another spell. The charm hit, and he dropped his gun as though it were white hot. He stumbled back, falling to the ground.

"Devil. Witch! You're an evil witch!" He yelled as you ran over to him, kicking the gun away as you passed it. He tried to scramble away, but his back hit the wall of the alley. He had cornered himself.

"Shut up." You said, but your voice shook with fear and anger and devastation.

"You of all people have no right to call others evil." You said more calmly, pointing your wand at his face. He tried to squeeze himself into the wall, as if he hoped it would swallow him up. You pursed your lips and looked away.

"Obliviate"

At once, a blank look overtook the fearful grimace on the man's features. He then smiled dreamily and closed his eyes, falling asleep. You hated that spell, but it was necessary. You now knew he wouldn't remember you or your abilities whatsoever, so there was no need to worry about him.

It was the next part that worried you.

"(Y/n)..." Davey whispered, confusion and awe and a hint of fear evident in his tone.

"What was... was that magic?"

You bit your lip to hold back the tears. He sounded so betrayed.

"I'm so sorry Davey. I... yes. It was magic. I'm... a witch. I have magical abilities. There's an entire world of magic hidden right in plain sight, but we aren't supposed to— aren't allowed to..." your voice cracked and you sank to the ground, fending off the residual tears from your recent breakdown. You closed your eyes and tried to hold on to the last bit of calm you had left. You heard the scuffles of a person standing up, then footsteps.

He was leaving you behind. And who could blame him? You would leave you behind as well...

But then...

A hand was on your shoulder. You looked up.

And it was Davey.

"(Y/n). You saved my life." He whispered before pulling you into a tight hug. You sat and cried in his arms, holding him as tightly as you could manage. You knew this would be the last time you would ever hug him, and he seemed to sense this as well, because when he pulled away, you could see the pain of loss in his features.

In that moment, you knew all was forgiven.

You looked up at him with watery eyes.

"Did you mean it? Do you..?"

He smiled sadly and softly caressed your cheek.

"Yes. I do love you, (Y/n). It doesn't matter to me if you're magical or not. I love you." He laughed airily, almost incredulously.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to say that." This brought a small smile to your face as well.

"Since the moment you laid eyes on me?" You joked. His ears turned red and he looked away shyly. You giggled a bit.

"Don't worry, that's when I wanted to say it too." You said before kissing him softly. It was your first kiss, and almost certainly the last kiss that would contain actual love. This wasn't a hopeful, happy moment; it was a kiss goodbye.

To your freedom, to your happiness, to your love.

You pulled away and placed your forehead on his, eyes closed.

"I've wanted to do that just about as long." You whispered, sighing.

The two of you sat there in silence, just relishing your final minutes together.

"I won't see you again after this, will I?" Davey asked.

You shook your head and he sighed. You knew that this was the moment to break the news to him, but it was almost impossible to force the sounds out.

"Davey..." he looked up at you, expectant and resigned.

"I have to erase myself from your memory."

He took in a shaky breath, but nodded firmly.

"I guess it makes sense. You wouldn't want people to know about your... talent." his voice wavered.

"I wish I didn't— it's the law, Davey. I— I wasn't even supposed to talk to you. I broke the law with that first hello."

"I've never been one to encourage rebellion, but boy am I glad you broke that law." He let the tears fall at that. He gently slid his hand into yours and placed a final, sorrowful peck on your lips before nodding. He was giving you permission to wipe his memory.

With every muscle in your body screaming in protest, you raised your wand.

"I love you, Davey Jacobs." If things were different...

"And I love you, (Y/n) (L/n)." He answered softly, squeezing your hand. If love and life were fair...

"Obliviate"

But they weren't.