A/N this entire chapter kept playing in my head the entire day so i stopped homework and spilled all my emotions into this one. hope you enjoy!

My heart twisted into knots and it felt tight. My eyes immediately shut closed as I scrambled to sit in front of Izzie, my back pressed against her core. It was the only last chance I had to protect her. I wanted to tell Izzie a million things but I couldn't find it in myself to say anything.

So I shut my eyes, bracing myself for the impact of the bullet, still keeping my fingers intertwined with Izzie who was behind me crying.

If I was going to die, I wanted to die with her by my side.

A menacing chuckle started to erupt and I slowly opened my eyes to see the two men laughing at each other. "Aw, did you guys get scared? We want the smaller one," The men said, walking towards me and Izzie. She sobbed harder as I moved further into her, stretching my arms out. Before they could walk closer, Mr Stewart grabbed both their ankles from the floor, causing them to trip over each other. Unfortunately, he was not strong enough to hold onto that grip and the two men kicked him hard on the face. The sound of the impact made me gasp as Mr Stewart fell back, holding onto his nose that was definitely broken.

The two men groaned once more before walking towards us. "STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!" I screamed and they stopped in their tracks. "What are you gonna do about it?" They asked and I breathed heavily. "Please... please just leave us alone..." I begged. I knew my body was too weak to fight them. Whatever stuff they had injected into me made my organs feel like mush and I couldn't even stand up without falling back down.

"We had so many years of our life taken away because of THAT MAN!" They said, pointing towards Mr Stewart, who seemed to be lying lifelessly on the floor. "And now we're gonna take away something of his," They muttered, staring straight into my eyes. "She didn't do anything... killing her is not gonna do anything... it's just gonna make you more angry..." I whispered, choking on my tears. The sound of Izzie crying behind me, unable to breath properly and the deathly stare I was receiving from the two men was enough to physically tire me out. But I never let go of Izzie's hand.

One of the men laughed slowly before taking out his gun again and pointing it directly under my neck. I grunted from the pressure of the gun on my neck, breathing heavily and wondering if this was the end. "FUCK! WHO ARE YOU REALLY ANGRY AT?!" Mr Stewart's familiar voice yelled from behind. "Killing you would just be too easy," They said before turning back to me.

"Leave her alone..." Izzie mumbled from behind me and my grip on her hand tightened. I was terrified that she would say something. "You know... you're exactly like your father... a pathetic, unworthy nobody. When J puts this bullet through your heart and your brain you're gonna thank him for taking you out of your misery," He mumbled, his face dangerously close to Izzie's.

I gathered all my energy and lifted my hands up to push him away before kicking him straight in the ankles. He fell down with a loud bang and held onto his ankle, moaning in pain. "DON'T FUCKING TALK TO HER LIKE THAT!" I screamed and before I knew it, the other man's fist came straight to my face. The impact caused my head to jerk back and hit Izzie's shoulder and I heard her gasp and cry even louder. She put her arm around me and placed her hand on my chin. Unable to put my head back up, I stared straight into her eyes that were now clouded with fear and dread. I had never seen anything like it before.

Suddenly, Izzie's touch on my body disappeared as the men started to pull her away from me. I desperately tried to grab her as she screamed but my body was too weak to move and I couldn't even shout. I had managed to get a hold of her arm but with a strong yank, the men completely pulled her away. "Iz... IZZIE!" I managed to scream out but I felt a piercing pain through my chest.

My vision was blurred and I crawled towards them. I got a hold of one of the pant legs of the men and he turned around to look at me. I didn't say a word but my lips and my entire face started to shake, my anger seething through my veins. I looked at him as if to tell him, "If you leave this room with her you won't survive to see the next day."

She was slipping away. My entire world was slipping away. And I couldn't even move.

He yanked his leg away from my grip. Before they could bring her out, Mr Stewart jumped up and flung himself onto the men, trying to get Izzie away from them but failed to do so. They gave him a last kick before they took the love of my life away from me.

And all I could do was lie there lifelessly and watch.

When the door shut closed, I couldn't hear Izzie's cries anymore. It was dead silent. Except for the heavy breathing from me and Mr Stewart. "M... Mr Stewart... why... why can't I move..." I mumbled, choking between tears. "Whatever they put in us... it's slowly paralysing us..." He mumbled.

"We'll be able to move in an hour. But right now my entire body feels numb," He breathed out.

"We... we have to go..." I muttered, forcing my body towards the door, wriggling like a worm. "Casey... don't... you can't get up..." He said not looking at me because he couldn't lift up his head. "He's... he's gonna kill her..." I mumbled, groaning as I painfully contracted my arms to move forward.

"Casey... l-look..." He whispered. I managed to turn my head to him and saw that he was looking in the direction of the other side of the room. I rolled my body around, hissing in pain and directing my eyes towards where he was looking.

It was a gun.

"It must have fallen off when I jumped on him," He said. "Let's shoot the lock," I told him, sliding my body across the floor. The pain was excruciating. I felt like my bones were being crushed every time I moved another inch. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," i mumbled to myself, shutting my eyes shut and biting my lip, trying to control the tears that were threatening to fall out.

It was fucking painful.

As my muscles continued to lose their nerves, my vision got blurry and everything went black as I collapsed from the pain.

"Casey..." I heard a deep familiar voice speak and I shot up immediately. Mr Stewart was standing in front of me. I slowly started to move my fingers and then my hands. The feeling of nothingness was unusual, considering the fact that I couldn't even lift my finger about an hour ago. He helped me to stand up and I stretched out my body, sighing at the feeling of my muscles working again.

I ran to the gun and picked it up. "Careful," He said walking towards me but I ignored him. I shot the lock and it cracked open immediately, flying across the room. We looked at each other for a split second before Mr Stewart snatched the gun from me and we ran out of the door. I now had a clearer idea of how this place looked. It was completely run down and the only form of light came from the creaky windows at the top. There was a bunch of old machinery everywhere and old leaves that must have been swept in by the wind.

"HEY! THEY ESCAPED!" We heard a voice from behind and we whipped our heads around to see a bunch of men in blue button down uniforms, standing up from their seats and running towards us. Mr Stewart grabbed my wrist and we both started to run. Track had trained my legs to be extremely fast naturally. I eventually had to be the one to drag Mr Stewart because I was faster than him.

When we turned the corner I found a huge tank that was built into the floor. "THERE!" I whispered loudly, pointing at the tank. Mr Stewart lifted up the cover and I climbed inside, my heart racing. Once he got in, he closed the cover and put his finger to his lips, asking me to keep quiet. We heard the sound of running footsteps on top and we heaved a sigh of relief when they ran past.

"Ok Casey look. Give it about 5 minutes and we're gonna get out. I'm gonna run in the direction they were going and you go to the other side. Try to find Izzie. I'll be a distraction," He said and I shook my head.

"No, no, no they'll kill you!" I exclaimed and he put both his hands on my cheeks. "Casey... it'll be okay," He reassured and tears fell from my eyes. "Mr Stewart please... let's just think of another plan okay?" I pleaded and he smiled at me sadly.

"There is no other way Casey. We can't wait anymore. They have Izzie," He told me and I took in deep breaths, choking on my tears. "But... we're a team... you told me we had to stick together," I whispered and he brought me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around him as he patted me gently on the head.

"We will always be a team Casey. Ever since you accepted my job offer we've been a team. And that will never change. But in a team you have to make sacrifices. And right now... I need you and Izzie to be safe..." He said, trying his best to smile at me.

"Please just promise me you'll be okay..." I pleaded and he nodded. "Now we gotta go kiddo. You ready?" He asked and I sighed.

He counted down from three with his fingers before he pushed the cover open and we climbed out. "Go, go, go!" He exclaimed and I ran off to the other, more empty direction.

When I was completely out of sight I heard, "HE'S THERE! GET HIM!"

My heart started to race even faster and it took everything within me to not go back and help him out. The next thing I heard were the sounds of gunshots and Mr Stewart yelling.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I mumbled to myself as the tears rolled down my cheeks. I stopped in my tracks and looked back, desperate to go back and help him.

But I knew that if I did I would lose Izzie. And he would never forgive me for that. So instead, with a heavy heart, I started to run again.

After running for about 10 minutes, I stopped to catch my breath when I knew that I was completely alone. I looked around me and saw that I was in a huge open space with machines everywhere. The GMF logo was engraved on the machines but had started to fade. I walked around, unsure of where else to go. "Where the fuck did you bring her to motherfucker," I muttered under my breath.

As I walked further, I noticed that it was getting darker. The lights that lined the corridors were getting dimmer. When I was completely in pitch black darkness, I found my way around and turned on the light switch.

The sight in front of me made my heart drop.

Izzie was on a chair, her hands tied to the chair arms and her legs tied to the chair legs. There was a masking tape over her mouth and my heart ached at the sight. I wanted to cry and take her into my arms but I remained calm, reminding myself that we were not alone in this building. I walked towards her and knelt down. "Izzie..." I whispered, shaking her gently.

She started to stir awake and her eyes widened when she saw me. I held onto her hands as I ripped the masking tape off her mouth. "Casey!" She exclaimed and I put a finger to her lips. "Izzie... I'm gonna get you out of here okay?" I said, untying the ropes on her hands. When her hands were finally free, she placed her hands on my neck and pulled me forward, pressing her lips against mine. I sighed into the kiss, just now realising that I haven't kissed her for days. I wanted this to last forever but I knew I had to pull away.

"M.. my dad?" She mumbled against my lips. "Izzie we gotta go now," I said, untying the final rope around her leg when I felt my shirt collar get pulled back. "CASEY!" I heard Izzie scream when I fell back onto the floor, hitting my head.

All the lights now turned on and I realised that we were in the warehouse. I tried to get up from the floor but another blow to my stomach caused me to fall back to square one. Izzie's cries became louder and louder as I slowly looked up, blood dripping from my mouth. I swiped my tongue over my lip and gum and realised that my teeth were broken. I coughed violently and spit out the blood in my mouth.

A man with a black mask over his face looked down at me. There were holes cut at his eyes and mouth area for him to see.

Wait a minute, I've seen those eyes somewhere.

"I'm so happy you decided to show up Casey. For the entertainment portion of the night, I'm going to kill your girlfriend and make you watch."

I know that voice.

He lifted his hand up and took the mask off his face.

When I finally saw his face, my heart dropped and felt the blood coursing through my veins faster. I couldn't hear the cries from Izzie anymore. She was shocked too. We were both unable to move.

"M... Mr Jarvis?" I mumbled and he smirked, bending down.

"All this while... you were looking for J but he was right in front of you."

"Wh... why?" I muttered, spitting out more blood as my eyes found their way up to his. He laughed menacingly.

"The day I saw your texts in class I knew that you were somehow going to try and ruin my plan. But turns out, I'm happy you're here. I'm sure it'll kill your girlfriend even more to die in front of you," He said, lifting my head up.

"Please... please Mr Jarvis... just let her go..." I heard Izzie helplessly mumble from the side. "SHUT UP!" He screamed, flipping his head around.

"Did you... did you kill Cody?" I asked and he laughed again. "I was ready to kill both of you that night. When you took off I went into the store to ask that little brat where the two of you went and he refused to tell me. Shot him straight through the heart," He said and my body shook in anger. I raised my hand up to try and grab him but he swiftly moved away. "Look how pathetic and weak you are. You always were Casey. Even in school. The dumbest fucking kid I've ever met," He spoke. I heard Izzie's groans as she tried to break herself free. "And you... Clayton never had their eyes on you when they gave you the scholarship. I was the one that put in a good word for you to the principal. I NEEDED you at this school. I NEEDED to be close to you so I could get ahold of you and end your miserable life," He spitted at Izzie.

"Don't... don't you dare... don't you dare talk to her like that," I mumbled, trying to lift myself off the ground. "Where's Mr Stewart huh? Where's your little boss Casey? Did he abandon you like he did to Izzie? Oh wait... my men already killed him..."

I dragged my body towards him and gripped my hands on his shirt. "What are you trying to do?" He said, laughing at my attempt to tackle him to the ground. My body was tired and punctured but I gathered all my might and punched him straight in the face, my blood stained on his shirt. "Where is he... you fucking dick... WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?!" I yelled, gripping his shirt collar.

"I told you. He's. Dead."

Right before I could break down and collapse to the floor, the door slammed open. Mr Stewart walked in, dragging a dead body next to him. He shot the ceiling before pointing the gun at Jarvis. I fell back onto the floor, fully breaking down at the sight of him alive and breathing. "Aren't you the fucking Chemistry teacher at the school. The fuck are you doing?" He asked, breathing heavily.

"Are you J? ARE YOU FUCKING J?!" He screamed, pinning Jarvis to the wall. "All this time... you've been so close to my daughter... how dare you... you sick, psycho son of a bitch." He gave him another hard punch, making his head fall back.

Mr Stewart walked towards Izzie and untied the final rope. She fell into his arms and cried. "Dad..." She mumbled as he stroked his fingers through her hair. "You're okay now sweetheart," He whispered into her ear, kissing her on the temple. The both of them came towards me and tried to lift me up. I had no power to stand up myself and they both struggled together with their injuries to lift up my entire weight.

We heard the clock of a gun and saw Jarvis pointing a gun at Mr Stewart's head. Mr Stewart put his hands up between his head. "Move away from her," He muttered and Mr Stewart complied, slowly getting up and bringing Izzie with him. Mr Stewart and Izzie had their backs towards the wall, Izzie huddled close to her dad. Jarvis still had his gun pointed at them while he lifted me up, dragging me to the other side of the room.

I couldn't fight back.

He put his arm around my neck tightly and I felt myself struggling to breathe. Mr Stewart pointed his gun at Jarvis while Jarvis pointed the gun to my head.

Right now, the only person I was looking at was Izzie. And I wasn't scared. She was right there with me.

"If you shoot me I'll blow her brains up," Jarvis said and Izzie reached her hand out to hold Mr Stewart's.

"Jarvis look... let's just... all calm down okay? Let's put the guns down... you give me Casey and you let us go... I'll give you my entire company... all the money you lost you can earn it back," Mr Stewart pleaded. "I'm the only one in the gang who didn't get caught by the police. I don't want a filthy dirty money-run company like yours to get my ass in jail," Jarvis laughed, pressing the gun harder onto my temple.

I still continued to look at Izzie.

"Mr Jarvis... Casey didn't do anything... she was dragged into this. Please just let her go..." Izzie mumbled. "Shooting her isn't going to make you happy. Because if you do I swear to God I'll make every single day for the rest of your life a living hell. Everyone will know. You'll lose your job. You'll suffer in prison. Now all that could be avoided if you'd just let us go."

Jarvis stared at the both of them for a while, the pressure of the gun on my head loosening a little. "Promise?" He asked and Izzie nodded. "The three of us will leave the country. You can do whatever you want just let her go, please!" Izzie's voice was louder now. "Jarvis let's put the gun down together okay?" Mr Stewart said and he nodded.

Both men slowly reached to the floor to put the guns down. All 4 of us stared at each other for a while. "Okay... now hand Casey over," Mr Stewart whispered. Jarvis's grip on my neck loosened as if he was going to let me go.

"Oh Devin... it's never that simple..." Jarvis muttered before he grabbed the gun from the floor. Mr Stewart did the same and shot Jarvis straight through the heart.

But not before Jarvis shot me.

I felt the blood pour out from my stomach. The impact of Jarvis falling dead on the floor made me feel safe enough to collapse onto the floor.

"CASEY!!" I heard Izzie scream as footsteps ran towards me. Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she knelt by my side. "Oh my God, oh my God, okay, okay it's okay... you're okay baby just... stay with me okay?" She choked out as Mr Stewart ran towards us. "Put pressure on it I'll call the ambulance," He said and I lifted my hand out to stop him.

"No... you can't call the ambulance, the both of you will go to jail," I protested, trying to sit up but winced immediately at the immense pain. "Shut the fuck up Gardner," He muttered, continuing to dial the number on his phone. I grabbed his phone and threw it across the room. He looked at me with anger and tears welled in his eyes. "Casey come on let's get you out of here okay?" Izzie said, pressing down on my wound. "Don't take out the bullet, if not she'll lose more blood," Mr Stewart said. He angled my head and placed it on his lap.

"Oh God Newton please just... just fucking stand up, fucking stand up for fuck's sake," Izzie cried. I took her hands and placed them on my wound, pressing them down. She shook her head and pursed her lips as she cried even more, not wanting to look at me.

"Casey you gotta stand up. We gotta bring you to a hospital," Mr Stewart said, getting up to get ready to carry me. "I don't wanna go," I whispered, my vision already starting to blur.

I was losing blood. Fast.

"I'm not gonna make it. So just let me stay here," I mumbled. The cries from Izzie completely broke my heart but this was what I wanted.

To die with her by my side.

"You're so fucking irritating you know that?" Mr Stewart said, sniffling and wiping his tears. "Mr Stewart... I really love you..." I mumbled and he laughed through his tears. "Thank you for coming back for Izzie. And thank you for... literally everything..." I whispered and he stood up walking around the room, unable to comprehend that this was actually happening. "We'll always be a team," I told him.

I was losing more blood.

"Um... could I... speak to Izzie alone...?" I asked him and he nodded. "You're so brave Casey," He breathed out. We shared one last look before he dragged Jarvis with him and out of the door.

Now it was just me and her.

I brought her closer to me. Her shirt was stained in my blood. I reached my hand out to touch her face and put the loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her face was bruised and stained with tears and blood. But she was still Izzie.

The Izzie who I met for the first time at the track meet.

"You're so beautiful," I whispered and she placed her face into the crook on my neck. "Look at me," I mumbled into her ear and she shook her head no. "Look at me please," I pleaded, realising that I did not have much time left. When our eyes met, that was the moment I knew that in my 17 years of living, I only ever lived this past year with her. And now that I have truly lived, it was okay to go.

"You promised..." She broke down. "That night we danced together... you promised you would never leave..."

"And I'm keeping that promise. Just because I won't be next to you doesn't mean I left."

Losing more blood.

"How do you want me to live Newton... what do I tell your family? And what do I tell our friends? Your life is just starting... it's so fucking unfair."

"It's okay," I whispered.

"No, it's not okay."

"Izzie... we got him... he's dead now... you're okay..."

She put her face back into the crook of my neck. "It should have been me, not you," She cried.

"Izzie... you gave me a life that I've always dreamt of. For that I am so grateful."

"No, no, no Casey... you can't... you can't just..." She didn't know what to say.

I was going to die.

"Hey... we'll be okay. I promise you."

She wouldn't stop crying. "Can you smile for me... one last time please?" I begged and she placed her face in her hands, sobbing loudly. I reached up to remove her hands from her face, wiping away her tears. "Come closer," I whispered and she leaned forward.

"In another lifetime baby... I promise."

"I can't wait for another lifetime," She told me. "Remember what you told me? About the moon and the stars? How they bring you comfort even though they're so far away. Look up at the stars every night. You'll see me say goodnight to you," I whispered. My eyes started to close.

"I can't love anyone the way I love you..." She mumbled.

"Hey... hold me..." I begged. My head was now on her chest and she had her arms around me. We both looked at my wound as my life started to give up on me.

As my life slipped away, my vision got blur but thankfully my hearing didn't. Izzie was crying to the point that she was screaming in pain. I felt her embrace around me tighten as she planted her usual soft kisses on my head, keeping her lips there for the last one.

I was happy. Ever since we fell in love, my sole purpose immediately was her. I wanted to be the one who made her happy, the one who reminded her of how beautiful she is, the one who protected her from all the evil in the world.

And I did.

"I love you... so much..." were the last words I heard coming out of her mouth before I was consumed into a pit of darkness.