loving in the dark //l.p. fanfiction

the hurtful truth

Suddenly, without her noticing, the door opened. Niall offered her his arm; Alex's hand smoothly slipped around it. Then, the hell began.

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Alexis was left breathless the second she entered the salon. An ocean of white and gold invaded the room as perfectly-dressed people moved among it. This happened to her every time she attended this kind of event. It was as if she was a child with a huge dream all over again. She returned to her senses as Tiffany spoke to them.

"You're looking precious, Darling," she mentioned, with surprise in her voice. What Tiffany was really surprised about was that Alexis decided to attend this event; she knew it. If Niall hadn't taken her out of her bed, she probably would have completely forgotten about it, which happened often lately.

Alexis just smiled towards Tiffany and returned the compliment to the person who knew best. They walked together to the table assigned for them, chitchatting about non-important things, acting like they hadn't seen each other for a long time. That's what they always did: act like two stereotypical actresses who only cared about shoes and cosmetics. What no one knew was they were making fun of them all—vain people! As they took a place on a beautifully-decorated table, a storm started; not a surprise at that time of the year. Alexis savoured the sound of the thunder and raindrops against the huge glass windows as she always did.

After the dinner was served and eaten, people started racing to have a good place on the dance floor. Alexis, who usually was more than enthusiastic about dancing, was too tired to do so. The drinking was killing her young spirit and she hadn't realised it before. She used work as an excuse to go out, even though they had stopped filming for about two weeks now.

Xander and Niall got tense the minute lean glasses of champagne were served for a toast made by the show's director. They were to prevent Alexis from taking one—or so they thought. Hiding from them, Tiffany and Alexis walked over to the other side of the room, near the kitchen. Tiffany had learned to trust Alex with her life from the minute they met five years ago.

"They haven't realized we're gone yet," Alexis laughed, as she accepted the glass that the waitress offered her.

"Of course they haven't. They think they're smart, but they're as lost as a cow on the desert," Tiffany replied. They took a seat at a bench that lay just beside the window displaying all the beauty of the garden. Alexis was suddenly astounded with the beautiful storm as she sipped her drink. She was simply hypnotized by the uniqueness of the thunder falling miles away, interrupting the serenity of the night sky. Beside her, Tiffany was starting to get nervous.

"Do—do you want me to get you another glass, Sweetie? The toast is about to start and you've got nothing to drink anymore." Alexis nodded, knowing Tiffany really didn't give a shit if she had something to drink or not. She was just trying to get away from the window, which was trembling with thunder. Tiffany wasn't a fan of storms, unlike Alexis.

Tiffany took Alexis's empty glass between her hands as she walked away, looking for a waitress (trying to lose time). Alexis used that time to look at her surroundings, thinking about how much the cast had changed since the beginning of the show. She still couldn't believe how big the people's acceptance was towards it. She was completely delighted to think about it when she saw Tiffany come closer, two glasses in her hands. She looked towards Alexis with a smile that was so pretty she knew she'd never be able to forget.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the fire began. It was completely unexpected. One second everything was going smoothly; even Alexis was genuinely happy after a long time. And then, everything was pure chaos. It began in the kitchen and expanded rapidly to its surroundings. A lot of people were able to run and escape before it even touched them, but the ones on the back of the room had less luck.

Before a column that was once covered with white chiffon fell over Alexis, the terrible image of Tiffany on the floor crossed her eyes. The column had knocked her first to the floor, hitting her headstrong on her head. Then, like a light, it spread to the rest of her body.

Before she recovered her senses, she could feel the stone turning her bones into dust. It ached so badly that it was more probable to pass out because of the pain than for the need of oxygen. In the distance, Alexis thought she heard Xander and Niall calling her name, but she found it useless to try to answer. Her throat was completely dry. She could feel how her soul slowly left her body.

Oddly, instead of panicking and suffering, a strange peace invaded her. Her body relaxed as she thought of how good it would be to forget what she had been through the last months. Everything was finally going to be okay. She even smiled without realising it. Before she could close her eyes, something brought her back to life.

"Alex, is it you?" a small voice hardly reached her ears. Alexis couldn't believe it was Tiffany talking. At first, she thought it was a hallucination, but a series of coughs made her realize it was really her—Tiffany.

"Yes, Tiff," was all she could say. Even though Tiffany was out of her view, Alexis could tell she was close.

"Alex, I'm scared." She sounded so broken that it scared Alexis herself. Tiffany had always acted like the big, protective sister, but in that second, Alexis's protective motherly instinct came into light. She managed to free her hand from the weight of the column and, as painful as it was, stretch it with the hope that Tiffany would see it and take it. After a few minutes, she did.

Every time she spoke, her lungs tore apart, but she felt responsible to calm Tiffany down. "Remember that day when it was our first time trapped by paparazzi, and I told you that I wouldn't let them hurt you?" Alexis asked, her voice followed with coughs. Without waiting for an answer, she continued, "We'll be okay. I won't let anything hurt you still."

After a short silence, Tiffany asked, "Do you promise?"

"Promise," Alexis responded, without knowing that was the last time she ever heard Tiffany's voice again. They remained that way. Together until the end. Burning, dying, but together. A soft sleep seemed to invade both of them. Alex didn't realise the fire-fighters were there until she felt the weight being lifted off of her. Everything happened so slowly so that minutes seemed like hours, and seconds minutes.

Her senses disappeared at a small pace: First, her voice; she couldn't speak anymore, not even to ask for help. Second, her hearing, she couldn't hear a thing. After that came her touch. The pain disappeared into oblivion. Then, her nose wasn't able to smell the smoke, nor take in oxygen; she just choked.

Lastly, her sight. Everything just went black. Infinitely black.