War of Hearts [Gang!Calum AU]

Part 3

Part 3

He was probably knocked out for only a moment, but when he came to, there was a piercing ringing in Calum's ears that he wanted to be rid of. The gravel was rough under the palms of his hands and the skin of his cheek, scratching painfully as his entire body ached with being collided with the pavement. His eyebrows drew together, eyes clenched shut agonizingly in an attempt to get the throbbing in his head to stop, to will his body to move quicker than the sluggish pace it was at now.

The world around him was muffled, as if someone stuffed his ears with cotton, but he could very vaguely make out the sounds of people screaming, of fire crackling and his heart thundering—though, that he could feel against what seemed like the fragile bones of his ribs. Calum's breathing was shallow, feeling as though if he tried to steady it out too quickly then his lungs would collapse, trying to blink his eyes open despite his hammering head protesting the action.

Everything was hot around him and he couldn't understand why, not until he finally blinked his eyes to catch sight of the world—to catch sight of his beloved bar up in flames about twenty feet away. Calum stared on, eyes widening in anger than they did with shock, lifting his head ever so slightly from the ground as orange flames poured from the back windows. The explosive must've erupted from the front of the building, seeing as he couldn't see all of the damage from the back, but the effect had been big enough to send him and Ruby flying—

Ruby.

The reminder of her being next to him when the building erupted had Calum inhaling sharply, ignoring the sting in his chest when he did so and his muscles screaming in protest as he immediately pushed himself up from the ground. His curls stuck to his forehead, wild eyes frantically looking around for any sign of the green eyed girl he'd been with, body aching from the way he landed and his heart thundering as he tried to catch sight of her.

He finally did, laying on her back with her blonde hair spread out under her, just a few feet away from him as the embers of the building gave her body a glow. Calum swallowed, jaw clenching together as he forced himself to his feet, exhaling sharply through his nose at his muscles' reluctance.

Calum didn't dare breathe, not until he fell to his knees next to her, uncaring of the sting the pavement sent up his knees as he reached out with shaky fingers, pressing them against her pulse point. Screwing his eyes shut, Calum mouthed a silent prayer to any and every God listening, praying that Ruby was still fucking alive, feeling his lungs fill with the first painless round of air when he felt the steady beat under his fingers. Unconscious. She was only unconscious. Not dead.

He didn't give himself a moment to think of anything else, to worry about anything else. Taking a few preparing breaths, hoping he didn't have any injuries he wasn't aware of, Calum carefully hooked one arm under the back of Ruby's knees and the other on her upper back before getting to his feet. His legs and arms and body protested, but he didn't waver, didn't stumble.

Glancing down at Ruby, he saw the ashes dusting her face and darkening her hair and the bloody scrape on her forehead, hoping she didn't have any internal injuries. Hoping that she would be okay. Hoping that he didn't break his word right when he had made it.

*****

When Ruby came to, the first thing she noticed wasn't the soreness in her body, but the plush mattress she laid on that she seemed to sink into. The softness swallowed her whole, and the silk sheets covering her seemed like melted butter, sleepily humming in appreciation at how comfortable it all felt against her aching body. But as she crawled out of her slumber, Ruby was quick to realize that she most certainly did not have silk sheets, and suddenly her eyes were snapping open and she was sitting up too quickly, letting out a quiet groan as her muscles protested and head pounded like a fierce hangover.