Work Text:
The train rushed past, clunking loudly on the tracks.
Campbell and Joe were sitting on one of the benches, waiting for their train to arrive. It was 4:32am, the two of them had been planning this for months after Campbell heard the news that his dad was sending him to his aunt.
He and Joe decided to break out of the Asylum early in the morning through their bedroom window, since the urge to run was too much.
Now they were sitting here as Campbell puffed smoke from his mouth, his cigarette hanging between the fingers of his limp hand. Joe on the other hand focused intensely on the trains going past. Joe didn’t like train stations, they reminded him of memories he’d rather forget.
Memories that felt like nightmares.
Some of them burned into his memory and others fuzzy and gave him headaches when he tried to picture them. Joe looked at his hands, twiddling his thumbs and his legs bouncing. He looked up again and there was a man. Someone tall with dark hair and a leather jacket—but no face. He stood at the edge of the tracks and mocked Joe. It had an aura of grief and anger. Joe nodded, he’ll never know why he nodded but that’s what felt right.
He let himself become absorbed in this new sensation. ‘Sandor..’ he whispered, smiling ever so slightly, but he lost it when he remembered that Sandor was gone. This faceless being was not real, but that didn’t help him. He just stared at it, He could feel himself. Joe felt like he was outside his own body, as if he was watching a movie.
Joes heartbeat rang in his ears, and he felt the world disappear and all that existed was him and the man. He could still hear the faint noises of the trains, but nothing more. Joes eyes burned, unblinking and never taking their eyes off of him. His hands are glued together and his back is stiff. He opens his mouth for a moment, but his words fail him.
His mind is a buzz. The words scream at him but they feel so distant, even if they’re in his head. Maybe if he closed his eyes he could disappear like everything else. Joe forced his eyes closed and bit his bottom lip, but a sob broke loose.
He looked back at the figure and screamed. ‘Leave me alone,’ he cried, ‘You left me. You have no right to be angry,’ he hugged himself tight. His chest felt like it was being compressed by a hundred boulders and his heart was about to pop. Joe covered his face; pulled his hair and scratched himself everywhere.
‘YOUR GONE,’ he wailed, ‘You have no power over me!’ It felt like he was trying to convince himself now. He felt like a acosmist. He stared at the dark haired man, but now he had a mouth…and he was smiling at Joe. This only added fuel to Joe's cries. He shook his head and gripped his dark curls.
‘You can’t hurt me…you are dead, I was there,’ he gritted his teeth together. He remembered every moment. He was talking to Sandor, and then he watched as Sandor threw himself on to the tracks while he stood there in shock. He could have saved him, yet he didn’t.
Joe felt a hand grip his shoulder, so he looked up and the man was gone. ‘Joey,’ a soft voice said from beside him. He turned to look at his friend, ‘Camp–is that you?’ he wiped the tears from his eyes as his breathing hitched and he tried to put a muzzle on his breakdown. Campbell looked at Joe with a frown, ‘Yes, it’s me.’
Joe nodded, ‘right…right, yes’ Joe swallowed, ‘yes.’ Campbell stared at Joe intently and sighed. He wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him close. ‘It’s okay, Joe, I’m here.’
That's when the muzzle broke off.
Campbell wrapped his skinny arms around him, and Joe couldn’t stop himself from breaking down. He gripped Campbells hoodie and wailed into his chest. ‘I’m sorry,’ he choked on his tears, ‘don’t say that,’ he looked down at him and smiled, ‘don’t you ever say sorry for crying, you hear me?’ He stroked the boys hair. Joe looked up at him with his glossy eyes and nodded, but this time he knows why.
Joe now sat in a booth. He watched the trees pass as he held Campbells hand in his own. ‘Promise me you’ll stay,’ He turned to Campbell with a big eyes, ‘Excuse me?’
‘Promise me you’ll stay, and never leave me behind,’ Joe looked Campbell dead in the eyes, ‘that you won’t abandon me, like everyone else did,’ he finished.
Campbell placed his hand on top of Joes, holding his cold hand with both of his own. ‘I promise, Joey,’ he whispered. ‘I won’t leave you, not when your vulnerable or on top of the world I’ll be on your side. I swear.’
Joe beamed. ‘Thank you,’