Chapter Text
“—as the police raided an old club..bodies..piled up in a storage room—”
The TVs in the train station crackled non-stop, going on and on about the incident, cutting in and out as static flickered across the bright screen.
Earbuds shoved into his ears, Ryan sat on one of the old metal benches, scrolling through article upon article.
How many days had it been since the incident?
Two days? Two weeks?
Ryan didn’t know anymore. He didn’t want to know anymore.
The sound of train tracks rattled throughout the relatively empty station, as two bright headlights flashed against the wall, and the train rushed past, slowing to a stop at the doors. A loud hiss echoed throughout the empty halls of the station, and Ryan finally looked up.
He was a mess.
Dark bags coloured his under-eyes, and his hair fell over his eyes, messier than usual, the hat doing no help in containing the wild tufts of hair. He was paler than before, thinner, and was wearing the same clothes he had been since yesterday.
If he went to the rave like this, he’d probably be denied flat out at the door.
No.
Stop thinking about that.
Standing up, he pocketed his phone, holding the bouquet in his hands carefully, boarding the train, managing to make it in right as the doors slammed shut, the train continuing on its’ unforgivingly fast speed.
—————
It was quiet in the cemetery.
Any other day, Ryan would see it as a blessing, as it meant hours of uninterrupted time he could spend wandering around on the dusky green grass, tombstones and dirt littered all over the fields. Small flowers bloomed in areas around larger tombstones, colouring the bleak grey in specks of bright yellows and blues, white roses littered the surface of smaller tombstones, and the occasional stuffed animal was strewn about, half-pecked by the crows that resided in the large overhanging trees.
This time, Ryan didn’t know what to feel. He walked through rows of graves in silence, passing larger graves full of flowers and gifts, smaller ones with only one or two half-wilted flowers, and ones that were totally ignored, dust and grime coating the grey slates, names and messages rubbed off from time.
He didn’t spare any of those a glance, focused on the tombstone at the very end of the cemetery, one that was recently planted.
It was larger than the rest, a dark grey slate that stood upright, names scrawled onto it messily. On it were a total of fourteen names, all written in different handwriting, small messages and doodles scrawled into the slate. Under it were bouquets of flowers, stuffed animals, more personal items, and the occasional stray flower that had been trampled over and over again many times before.
Ryan set the bouquet in his hands down, the vibrant blue of the lilies fitting right in with the other bouquets of flowers. He sat down on the wet grass, staring up at the names scrawled into the slate, his eyes locking on two specific ones he had written.
“I hope you two like blue lilies, too.” He whispered, a small, sad smile crawling its’ way onto his face.
Behind the trees that shielded the cemetery, the sky was a mix of pink and orange, contrasting with the pale blue above. The sun was a small circle in the distance, rising slowly, as Ryan stayed sat at the tombstone, silent.