Chapter Text
Two months. Two months since he was gone. The sun was setting down and like every Sunday, Marge was at the standpipe, setting flowers on its edge. The toy plane next to the flowers rocked back and forth gently with the wind settling in. Marge removed a strand of hair from her face, locking it behind her ear as she breathed in the soft winter air. At first, the others came too for Rich, but as time went on, the others started to come less and less, and for a couple of weeks, she was coming on her own. Maybe it became too hard for the others. Or maybe they really tried to move on.
However, Marge couldn’t. She just… Couldn’t.
She breathed out, shakily, the sounds of the fallen leaves gently getting lifted up by the wind nearby and the soft scent of old trees all around brought a sense of calm into the never ending pit that filled Marge’s heart.
- “I miss you.” She finally said, as the cold air made her body involuntarily shiver. She held herself to get warmer.
“I wish I could’ve told you sooner. I wish I could’ve realised sooner what you meant to me. I wish I- Fuck… I… I have so many things I want to say to you…” She paused, and corrected herself, “...Wanted to. You know?”
She went silent, staring at the sunset. After a time, she sighed, looked at the flowers she bought and leaned, gently setting a kiss on them.
“See ya, Richie.” She said as she turned away to leave, giving a last glance at the edge of the tower where the toy plane swayed.
But just as she started to walk away, she froze.
Something.
Something was on her shoulder.
She turned around as quickly as she could… But nothing.
“R-Rich-?” Her voice cracked.
Nothing. She put her hand on where she felt the touch, squeezing it as her breath shook.
“...Just tired. Just…tired.” she whispered to herself.
She chased the thought away from her mind. She was probably imagining things due to her lack of sleep. Yeah, that was probably it.
~ - - - - ~
When school was over, the group kept the habit of meeting at the standpipe like they used to, even if there weren't any threats anymore. Just to hang out. They would talk about comics, or start very important debates like “Would you rather eat only dirt for the rest of your life, or having a centipede crawling on your body non-stop for a whole year?” (They ended up going with the centipede. Food was too precious.) But right now, they were just chilling. Will and Ronnie were sharing a chair, as Will tried to explain to Ronnie her maths lessons since he was a way better teacher than any of the ones she ever had before. Lilly was reading a book, probably spiritual stuff, (She was really getting into this stuff lately.) and Marge was laying on the edge of the standpipe, a leg hanging in the air as she stared at the roof, her hands resting on her stomach. She was staring at a beam of light that was hitting the corner of one of the wooden rafters perfectly for about 25 minutes now.
“Hey guys?” Marge started, finally moving her look from the ceiling, to look at the group. Everyone looked up at her, hinting at her to go on.
“Do you ever…” She sighed, trying to find a way to phrase what she was trying to say. “Nevermind. It’s stupid.” She shook her head and looked back at the roof.
-”What?” Ronnie said, confused. -”No, hey, what is it, Margie?" Lilly closed her book, giving Marge her full attention.
- “Rich.” Marge breathed out. The rest of the group immediately tensed up.
“Do you ever feel like…” She closed her eyes shut, still facing the ceiling. “Like he could still… be around?”
Will stood up.
- “What do you mean?”
- “Well,” Marge took a deep breath. “Sometimes… I don’t know, I just feel him around. I know it’s weird, I just…” She stimmed with a bracelet on her wrist, looking away at the horizon, where large dark clouds threatened the sky from the other side of town. "I don't know."
The three others shared surprised looks.
-”Actually…” Started Lilly.
-”M-me too.” Will said.
-”Like, a sort of aura…?” Ronnie added.
-”Yeah !” Marge lit up. “I mean, It’s like,” She finally sat and faced the others, looking around her. “A presence. A- and I know it’s him ! I just know it. The other day, I think I…” she paused, holding her shoulder. “...I really felt him. Like… a hand, on my shoulder.”
Ronnie nodded, her gaze drifting slightly away before speaking, like she recalled something.
-”Do you remember when we put the dagger back in the ground? It was like… He was there too.” She said.
-”another pair of hands…” mumbled Will.
Marge smiled brightly and rubbed her eyes in which tears were forming. She sniffed.
- “Margie…” Lilly whispered gently, walking towards her to hold her hand.
-”No… It’s okay, it’s…” She tried to stop her sobs from coming out, failing.
The others joined around her shortly, grabbing her and putting their arms around her in a group hug.
“I just- I miss him…so-” Her voice cracked., sounding hoarse. “...So much.” They all strengthened their hold on her, and Marge was crying, but she started laughing too.
She stepped away from the hug, wiping her tears with a hopeful smile. “What if there was a way?”
-”What?” Will said.
-”A way to bring him back.”
Ronnie’s eyes darted away for a moment, “Marge…”
-”What?” She said, oblivious.
-”We can’t…” She responded softly, her voice high, like something was stuck in her throat.
Marge shook her head. “I know, I mean… Not bring him back like, really, but… Finding a way to communicate with him?”
Lilly kept hold of Marge's arm, and squeezed it affectionately. “Margie I’m not sure…”
Marge’s smile flattered slightly, and she looked at Will, like he was the only one left she could count on.
-”Will…?”
Will shrugged hesitantly, avoiding her look painfully.
“Seriously, guys?? Come on !! I…” She groaned. “You know what? Forget it. It- it’s fine. Whatever.” She sighed, like she had just abandoned a fight against herself, shaking off Lilly’s hand aggressively and walking away.
Right before leaving, she turned around again, clenching her fists.
“Don’t you care?” She asked, pissed.
“I mean… We know he’s still here ! Don’t you care about him?! Don’t you want to see him again?”
They were all standing awkwardly, staring at Marge like something was wrong with her. Something was wrong with her.. Will stepped up.
-”It’s not that… Of course we care.”
She snapped. -“Yeah? Well it doesn’t seem like you do. You…” She squeezed her eyes and sniffed, like she was restraining herself from saying hurtful things. “You don’t even come on Sundays anymore !!” She yelled, her arms in the air.
They all shared looks again. Lilly spoke, still as softly as before. - “We care. We just,” She paused. “Try to move on, you know?”
-”Move on?? Move on from WHAT?! He’s here ! He’s still here ! You noticed too, he’s…”
Ronnie spoke up - “I think he’d want us to move on.”
-”How can you know what he’d want!?? You’re not HIM. Y- you’re not…” Her legs felt suddenly heavy and weak and she fell on her knees, sobbing. “I’m not crazy… You felt him too. I swear, I…” She weakly punched the floor several times, her hits were weaker and weaker as she broke down. “Goddamnit…”
-”Margie…Please…” Ronnie crouched down in front of her. She looked back at the other two, sharing a concerned look.
They surrounded her again. -”Hey… Hey Margie… Breathe.” Lilly whispered, a hand on her back.
-”I- I just… don’t understand.” Marge breathed out, her voice weak.
-” It’s okay to be upset.” Said Will, “We all are.”
Marge sighed breathlessly. -”I’m tired.”
Lilly looked outside the standpipe, noticing the sunset beginning to set.
-”Yeah, It’s getting late. We should go.”
Marge sniffed as the others helped her get up. -”I’ll bike you home.” said Ronnie.
-”Thanks…” Marge whimpered.
On the way home, it was silent, the streets were empty and the sky was yellow with deep blue spots in which some stars could already be seen. Ronnie kept glancing back at Marge, making sure she was okay, and Marge was just very quiet, looking away at the streets. Some people had already set up Christmas lights, the multiple colors reflecting in Marge’s glasses as they biked through the town.
-”We’re here.” Ronnie said, stopping. Marge stepped out of Ronnie’s bike, “Thank you…” She said, low. Ronnie nodded and Marge walked towards her house.
-”Hey Margie ?” She called back, making the other turn around.
“Try to get some rest, okay?”
Marge nodded, her hands in her jacket as she made her way home.
~ - - - - ~ ~ - - - - ~ ~ - - - - ~
Black. Everything was black.
Rich opened his eyes slowly. He was surrendered by smoke, everything he could see was gray in ashes and he felt like he should cough, but he didn’t. He slowly got up, feeling lighter than usual, he rubbed his eyes, and that’s when he looked around and realised. He knew where he was.
He saw the fallen roof, beams of wood littered the floor. It was quiet. The smell of burned wood and ashes was still very present. He looked up, the sun was strong and he covered his eyes with his hand, frowning. Light passed through the uncovered roof and some bullet holes set in what remained of the walls. The sky was the bluest he had ever seen, and the clearest for months. “Perfect day to hang out”, he told himself. He walked out of the burned down shed. Surprised that he didn’t trip on any debris, he looked down, just to see the ground. Yes. the ground. He walked, still looking down, and something felt odd.
“What the…fuck?” he said, his voice high and cracking, like he hadn’t used it in days.
His feet were there, Kinda. But they were translucent. He looked up at his hands, it was the same. The tip of his fingers were almost invisible, it was like a gradient, from nothing to his skin.
He looked around him. It was empty. Silence reigned in the woods surrounding the shed, and he walked. Well, rather roamed. How long had he been there?
He recalled what happened, of course. The dance, the joy, the music, then the guns, the fire, the warmth, the cries, the pain… Margie.
Margie.
“Shit !”
He turned back to run in the shed again. But still, it was empty. Nobody was there. Nothing. No body, just ashes. He looked around for any signs of Marge, nothing. He wanted to cry. He breathed heavily, at least he thought he did. Turns out he didn’t. He felt like it, though.
He put his hand on his chest, stumbling out of the shed again. Nothing. His heartbeat should be crazy right now. It wasn’t. In fact, there was no heartbeat.
He wanted to cry, to yell his lungs out, but it was stuck in his throat.
The transparency, the no breathing, no heartbeat…
Suddenly, he heard leaves crackling.
He looked up. Someone was there. A man, tall, he looked like some sort of investigator, maybe someone that was still here to find information about the event.
Rich ran up to him, but the man didn’t seem to notice him. He was leaning, looking at something on the floor.
“Sir?” Rich touched him. Shook his arm, nothing. He wasn’t moving.
Rich groaned, then looked at where the man glazed.
He was looking at a small object on the floor. Something that looked like some sort of a rubber band, but it was all black and burned. When Rich tried to reach for it, the man took it in his hand before him, examining it. “Hey !” Rich cried out.
He raised himself on his toes, trying to glance at the small object in the man’s hand.
Then he saw it. And his heart sinked. He saw, for a quick second, the washed out colors of what he recognized as a braided bracelet.
HIS braided bracelet. A blue and hazel pattern he learned by heart by staring at it for whole nights. A bracelet she made. The same she had. Because a couple of days before, Marge made matching bracelets, blue and hazel, just like their eyes.
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~ “What’s that?” Rich chuckled, looking up and down at Marge as she was trying to hide a box behind her back.
-”Stop it !!” She whined, a big smile on her face as she dodged every attempt of Rich trying to grab the small box.
Eventually, she just raised the box above her head, knowing the boy wouldn’t be able to reach it.
- “Oh, come on !!” Rich threw his arms in defeat as he stared at her.
- “I won’t give it to you at all if you keep acting like a four year old.” Marge smirked playfully.
Rich frowned and sighed. - “Fiiinee…”
He got on one knee, offering his hand as Marge raised an eyebrow.
-”What are you doing?”
-”M’lady,” Rich started, trying to sound gentleman-y as he wiggled his eyebrows.
Marge rolled her eyes, smiling at Rich’s stupid manners.
“Would thou do me thy honor to offer me thee misss-te-ri-ouuss box thou cling to so much ?”
Marge chuckled in desperation, holding the bridge of her nose. -”Oh my god… Please stop.”
Rich reached for her arm, and she let him take it, as she still held the box with her other hand above her head. He took her hand and pressed a soft kiss on the back of it, looking at her with puppy eyes. -”Pleeeaasseee…” He whined.
She sighed and slowly lowered the box. But just as Rich jumped to try to grab it, she quickly withdrew it again, shaking her head. -”I don’t think that’s how a good knight would accept a gift, is it ?”
Rich groaned again, and got back in his previous position, his hand reaching as he lowered his head against his knee.
Marge slowly and carefully settled the box in Rich’s hand. When he felt it, he immediately jumped on his feet. His eyes jumping from the box in his hands to Marge’s face, his stupid open mouth smile she loved so much radiating on his face.
The box was small in Rich’s hands, and he held it like a small animal he would be scared to hurt.
-”So?” Marge started, her arms crossed, amused. “Are you going to open it? Or just keep staring at it?”
Rich nodded and slowly removed the top of the box. The box in itself was cute, purple with small stars, and he would definitely keep it afterwards, for no particular reasons.
As he opened it, there they were : two braided bracelets, identical ones.
-”D- did you make this??” Rich gasped, looking up at Marge with wide eyes.
Marge smiled proudly, chuckling at Rich’s cute reaction. -”Do you like them?”
-”Are you kidding?!” Rich shouted, “I love them !!”
Marge didn’t have the time to blink that Rich was holding her, his arms hugging her tightly as she stumbled slightly backwards from the strength of his impulse, laughing, her face in his hair as she hugged him back.
-”They’re matching bracelets.” She added, before Rich stepped back from the hug, staring at her with a spark in his eyes.
After a time of intense shared stare, Marge cleared her throat, looking away with a blush.
-”So uhm… Do you want me to put it on you?” She took one of the bracelets from the box Rich was still holding.
Rich yelped, stepping back slightly. -”Y-yeah! Totally !” He said, a little too loudly, bouncing on his feet excitingly.
-”Jesus, stop moving !!” She grumbled, taking his arm playfully to stop him from moving. He stopped, staring at her face as she focused to put it around his wrist.
“There…” She whispered gently, and Rich’s heart did a little flip as her eyes met his for a quick second. “Done !”
Rich stepped back and spun on himself, his arm deployed in front of him to look at the bracelet dancing on his wrist. He stopped when his head started spinning.
-“It’s beautiful…” He let out, breathlessly.
Marge was staring at him expectantly. He glanced back at her, smiling obliviously.
” Oh ! Do you want me to help you put yours on?” He asked.
-”I’d like that.” She chuckled.
Rich did his famous open mouth smile again, reaching for the second bracelet in the box. Marge offered her arm and Rich tried his best to correctly put the bracelet on.
“It’s really not that hard…” Marge laughed.
-”just… ShUSHhh.” Rich answers, his tongue sticking out as he tried to focus, his face uselessly close to her arm as if he needed to be very precise.
After some time, Marge sighed.
-”Just… Okay, let me help you.” Marge put her hand on Rich’s, leaning to settle the bracelet.
“Wha- How did you manage to put it on like this !!? It’s like a goddamn puzzle now !”
Rich laughed.
“How is that even possible ! …”
~ ... They kept laughing, until the memory slowly drifted away ; the laughs gradiently leaving … ~
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When Rich snapped out of his thoughts, the man was gone.
Well… That was weird.
He looked down at his wrist, and to his surprise, the bracelet was here. Intact against his skin. He grazed it with his fingers longingly, then sighed sadly.
How was he going to get back to her?
Rich closed his eyes, holding his wrist intensely, as his breath became steadier.
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. ~
When he opened his eyes again, he wasn’t in the forest anymore. He was… at the standpipe…?
He blinked hard several times, making sure he wasn’t dreaming.
Not only did he teleport, But in front of him was standing Marge.
He opened his mouth, and he wanted to lean forward to hug her, but he froze.
She was looking right through him.
Worse.
She was crying.
He could hear the voices of several people in the tower, but they were all muffled. And he only made out some words.
… “Family” …
………………..
. .............................. ................... … “Funerals” …
… “Body” … .......
…………….. .. … “Sacrifice”…
“Bravest knight.”
That’s when it finally hit him.
“Oh.”
...
“They’re talking about me.”