Right In Front of You: Short Stories

|Lead the Way, Alternate Ending| Alstin

A/N:

Heyo, remember I told you I brewed up another ending for Lead The Way? Well, here you go. But I must warn you, this will give you feels.

Adieu!

-lunaticgoose

Alice pressed the roses close to her chest, so close she could feel its thorns prickling her skin from her tight-stitched gloves ((is that what you call them? I'm not exactly good at this fashion thing)).

Her toes shrivelled beneath her thick boots, but she didn't care. The cold couldn't penetrate through the warmth A.B.J had generated through her body.

A.B.J had just brought her smile to her face. On her birthday! The roses stopped on a rock. When Alice picked it up, she looked around, hoping to catch a sign from A.B.J.

However, she didn't find A.B.J, yet she found another rose lying on the other side of the road. Alice's knees were wobbling; sure enough, they were about to buckle.

She had never crossed a street without the help of a lollipop man (or woman). And from the experiences of a couple of her internet friends, crossing the road by yourself in the dark was pretty terrifying.

"Here goes," she breathed, gingerly placing the toe of her boots over the side of the pavement. When the tip of her snow boots made contact with the rough gravel, Alice made a run for it.

She was speeding so fast, she was sure she was going to get a ticket for running past the speed limit. Yet, as she advanced through the street, the other side of the pavement seemed so far away, like it was retreating within her every step. This only made things worse, cars zoomed past her and everything seemed blurry.

No no no no no. Not now.

Alice slowed down her pace a little but still in a steady speed - she wasn't going to get an asthma attack in the middle of something as important as her birthday. Alice furrowed her brows in determination and kept running.

Her asthma slowed her down and the other side of the road seemed to be miles away. She stopped and put both hands upon her knee caps, chocking on her breath, on the verge of giving up.

Alice heard a faint noise. Like a scream, no, more like a horn. She slowly turned her head around and although the blinding light ceased her sight, she knew what was coming.

Her body became limp as the 9-tonne heavy truck crashed against her frail body. It was like being hit by a mountain of bricks, nevertheless, Alice accepted.

Her eyes fluttered shut as her body slammed against the gravel. The bouquet of roses in her icy hands, the same shade of the liquid forming around her.

At the corner of her eye, she swore she caught a glimpse of an angel. Regardless, Alice only saw darkness and darkness only.

Austin Blake Johnson had been waiting for Alice Stark until he realized that she was running late on schedule. So, taking desperate measures, he ran over to look for Alice. He had seen her in the attempt of crossing the road by herself to only see her failing and being hit by a fateful destiny. Austin rushed over to Alice and cradled the bloodied girl in her arms, panic written all over his face.

"Alice!" he shook her violently. Nothing.

"Alice, please!" he pleaded. Nothing.

LATER...

Her parents didn't come. The South Wing was trapped in a dead silence as seven teenagers waited impatiently for someone to come out of the emergency room. One of them paced I  front of the double doors, anticipating answers to all his questions; his name was Austin Blake Johnson.