#barely breathing

Wolfstar April 18, word count 347

Previous part First part

They could hear the intruders tearing the castle apart below them. Sirius was still futilely attempting to pick the lock he hadn’t been able to pick the entire time they’d been at the castle. 

They could hear them slowly making their way up the floors. Sirius tried again and again to get the lock to cooperate, and then it clicked. He’d done it. He tried the handle, and the door opened. 

“I did it!” he exclaimed, utterly bewildered and unsure of how he’d managed it. His celebration was cut short, however, when he noticed the handle on the door on the other side of the window’s walk turned. 

As fast and as quietly as he could, he shut their door and stuck his tools back into the unruly lock, trying to remember what he’d done and then do it in reverse. 

The footsteps were getting closer. He could feel the tension from the others behind him as they readied themselves for a fight. The lock turned, and the door was locked tight again. 

They watched as the handle rattled, and something heavy slammed against the door, but it stayed shut. 

Sirius swallowed as the light outside the lock moved. Everyone slid into the shadows, making less noise than a falling feather. A light appeared under the door, and an eye looked on through the keyhole. No one breathed. 

“Nah, just a load of broken tat in there,” one of them mumbled. 

“Let’s have a look,” the other said, and the light flickered for a moment on the other side of the door to be replaced by another eye. This one looked longer, the torchlight moving back and forth under the crack under the door. “Yeah, you’re right,” he finally said, and they were plunged into darkness once more. No one moved until they heard the door at the other end of the widow’s walk slam shut, and even then, they waited. 

Sirius crept forward, putting his ear against the door to listen and then tentatively moved so he could see through the keyhole. The coast was clear. 

The next morning, my fingers smelled of burned words.

Everything lingered in my clothes, while my hair still carried the scent of smoke.

Everybody walked on, while everything disappeared before my eyes.

For a moment, I believed I was free.

Then I felt my body sealed with honey, barely breathing, hoping you had left

before I learned how to let go.

First decent man to ever say he loved me and mean it.

//

I know what you're doing

I see it all too clear

I only taste the saline

When I kiss away your tears

You really had me going

Wishing on a star

The black holes that surround you

Are heavier by far

I believed in your confusion

So completely torn

Must have been that yesterday

Was the day that I was born

There's not much to examine

There's nothing left to hide

You really can't be serious

If you have to ask me why

I say goodbye

'Cause I am barely breathing

And I can't find the air

Don't know who I'm kidding

Imagining you care

And I could stand here waiting

A fool for another day

I don't suppose it's worth the price

It's worth the price, the price

That I would pay, yeah yeah, yeah

Everyone keeps asking

What's it all about?

I used to be so certain

Now I can't figure out

What is this attraction?

I only feel the pain

There's nothing left to reason

And only you to blame

Will it ever change?

'Cause I am barely breathing

And I can't find the air

Don't know who I'm kidding