all rise

Did he not remember? She couldn’t exactly pretend she’d mistook him for someone else now that she’d said his name twice. It didn’t matter. She didn’t have the heart to pretend. He was here, after all these years he was here in front of her… and instead of hugging her back he was stepping away. There were two thoughts in her mind — did he not remember? and God, he was beautiful. He was the most beautiful person she had ever seen. She’d stared at his pictures every single night before she slept but it was not the same as seeing him here like this. Even in the dark, he was perfect.

“Hi,” she repeated softly, taking a deep breath, willing the tears to stop but that was beyond her control. It was only two words, but it took her breath away, hearing his voice again. Not in a video, not an old voicemail, but right here, really here. Her arms stayed out for a long moment, reached out to him, for him. If she could get away with embracing him again she would do it, but it would hurt twice as bad for him to step back a second time. She was afraid to say anything else, afraid for him to respond. If he didn’t remember her, she didn’t want to know. She didn’t want to try to make him fall in love with her all over again, but she would do it, and she wasn’t sure why she would expect anything else; life had never been very fair. “It’s been a long time,” she choked out, her arms finally dropping to her sides. It was a start. It was all she could bring herself to say.

.

he didn’t distance himself, his step back sure but as the ball rolls away his gaze meets hers as she speaks a response. his expression does not say much about what sense or lack of it he takes from the greeting but he blinks dazzling blue eyes and straightens up his over shirt, a coy smile, “it must have been a while since i was last here,” he regards, a simple observation. not much more to say on the matter. “it’s pretty nice that someone remembers me, actually. i thought i was one of those forgotten faces in the yearbook... i didn’t actually make it too far into secondary school either before i got shipped out. i’ll take it as a compliment.”

.

Shit. Lillian wasn’t sure if David would remember the future and it felt like that answer was no. “Just different from normal,” - that seemed believable, right? It wasn’t like she could go into detail about how different it was from the first time they’d lived through this if he had no idea that they had already had. “He wouldn’t. He didn’t.” There weren’t a lot of things the blonde was sure of but she knew to her core that Eddie had nothing to do with this. “We both know that.” David more than anyone else. “There’s no way he had anything to do with either one of those fires.” And she knew that without a doubt, all things considered.

.

“Darkwood is only about protecting the people that already live here.If we would of just told the truth about that first fire then that boy would have had the rest of his life to spend as if he were one of us,” it’s unclear what David means. He runs a hand through his blonde hair, a momentary puff of air from pink lips as he looks at his sister. “I’ve decided to put things right between Eddie and I. I’m going to tell that family that it was me who started that fire and clear his name. I can’t take back all the years that have passed but it seems like the right thing to do, don’t you think?”

.

   andi officially knew how everyone around her felt when they first saw her - although hopefully it wasn’t accompanied with the same bone chilling fear that she experienced upon seeing david. she pulled a earbud from her ear, her run quickly slowing to a stop - brown hues locked on the figure standing a mere few feet away. ❝ yeah - crazy sounds about right. ❞ she mumbled breathlessly. she knew he was alive, if everyone else was, there wasn’t a world where they would have got out scot-free, that’s just not the hand life liked to play, but knowing and seeing with your own two eyes, were very different things. 

❝ w-when did you get back? ❞

.

"It does, doesn’t it?” A short silence falls as he waits for her lips to move again, an answer to follow what came next but instead there is a question. David stills the ball in his hands to stop it from smacking against the tarmac any more. “Uh, just a day or two ago. A flying visit. I’m surprised that you remember me, it’s been a lifetime since I was here last.”

She wasn’t sure what it was that compelled her to come out — maybe because it wasn’t any darker out here than it was in her house. Maybe because she felt an irresistible tug, or maybe she just imagined that. Either way, she wasn’t imagining him. Brooklyn had spent half a decade missing this man, hanging onto broken memories. She’d spent longer mourning him than she had loving him. If you’d told her she would be able to see him again, alive after all this time… a month ago, she would’ve spat in your face for even thinking up such a cruel joke.

But this wasn’t a joke. This was real. He was real. “David,” she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears; not an unusual feeling for her over the last six years. She didn’t know if he remembered, she didn’t know if she wanted him to remember, the amount of betrayal and pain he must have felt… but she did know, if he didn’t, she must look completely insane. She could not stop her legs from moving, breaking into a sprint and throwing her arms around his neck. “David,” she said again, it was the only word that would come out. She had longed for this moment since the day he’d died, gone over all of the things she would tell him but right now all she wanted to do was hold him to her where she knew he was safe.

.

The whisper of his his name went almost unheard before her arms were around him saying it again. His expression barely changed although his eyebrows furrowed and slowly he removed her arms from around his neck taking a step back in the darkness, back of his foot coming into contact with the ball that had dropped to the ground in the process. He is looking at her when he speaks, “Uh,” a pause, “Hi.”

.

Glancing up ( only for a second because she didn’t much like the idea of not having her eyes on David at all times ), Lillian couldn’t deny that he had a point. It seemed almost flat, like there was nothing else beyond it. “It does feel that way.” She agreed, eyes falling from the sky to rest on the prodigal son. “Who would have thought a storm could make everything feel this different.” Especially herself. That old revere she had for her brother was gone - twisted and turned bitter by the future he’d destroyed.

.

“Different from what?” he enquires but there is no space to wait for an answer. His blue eyes are looking to those of his sister as he directly his next words at her, assertive and sure. “They’re saying Eddie might have something to do with one of these fires but that’s not true... He’s not an arsonist. We all know he’s never set a fire in his damned life, don’t we? Why’d you think he’d start now?”

Zeki’s eyes were certainly deceiving him. Did David always appear in town at this point in time, or was this also different? He wanted to turn around and walk the other way. Actually, he wanted to skip town. He couldn’t bring himself to be friendly, but he also couldn’t act off in any way. He wasn’t sure what David remembered. This whole time, he knew David had to be alive if he was. He knew this time would come, where he’d run into him and ‘meet’ him all over again. Before long, everyone would see David again, and if he remembered, they’d all know. 

“Two seconds, huh? Bet it’s been at least longer than that.”

.

He stops. The ball is in his hands but he doesn’t do anything else with it just looks over at the other man. “You’re right about that, more like years. Two seconds just sounds better.”

.

Lillian perched on the edge of one of many benches in the park surrounding the court, staring at her brother and wondering if he had any idea what he had done. In the other timeline. That he hadn’t yet done. “Crazy is a word for it. I don’t remember having a blackout like this before…ever, do you?”

He pauses, ball steady in his hands. “No, look at that sky, it’s a new version of bleak. I always thought that this place was pretty mediocre when it came to weather... no American storm and yet here we are. Feel like I’m in an alternate universe right about now.”

Officer: As you know, there was a fire on March 2nd at Holy Cannoli. We interviewed your sister a few days ago and she said you hadn't been around. Since your parents have managed to contact you, we just had a few questions.

David: Yeah, okay. Go ahead.

Officer: Our records say that you've been out of town since a fire that happened at your parents property. Is that information accurate?

David: Yes, that's right. The farm house fire. Feels like a lifetime ago. You always blamed that boy... Eddie, my sisters boyfriend. Didn't you say he was the arsonist?

Officer: Are you implying that you think the same person is behind this fire?

David: Oh no, actually, that was just what you thought. I don't think Eddie's an arsonist. It's a shame what happened with him, Greg and Julie. That poor boys entire life was ruined... it'd be crazy to jump to the same conclusion again, wouldn't it?

Officer: [silence] Mr Walker, where were you on the night of March the 2nd?

David: I was at St Peters House in Chester. I still live there.

Officer: And this house is for young men, correct? Do they keep a sign in and out sheet?

David: As a matter of fact they do, they've very strict about the rules. I think that's what my parents thought I needed. I don't come home much, you see, they definitely made the right choice. It looks like things around here would of been too much for me.

Officer: So on the night of March the 2nd you weren't in Darkwood?

David: No, sir.

Officer: Thank you for your time. We'll let you know if we have any more questions for you.

march 18th. darkwood blackout continues. setting: the park.