Worse Than Nicotine

As soon as Holly got off the school bus, she ran back to her house, put her bag down, and secretly took her mom’s car. She stuck the key and the old vehicle rumbled to life as she gripped the fuzzy purple steering wheel. Within moments, she was speeding down her street without a care that she’d get pulled over.

She quickly pulled into Alex’s apartment building and sprinted towards the grungy, unlocked entrance. She ran down what seemed thousands of hallways until she finally reached apartment 102. She knocked on the door, obviously in a hurry for an answer. She needed answers to her questions, and if he didn’t open the door in a minute, she’d definitely expect the worse.

Just as she started thinking foolishly, Alex swung the door open, widening his eyes at the sight of her. She let out a sigh of relief and instantly wrapped her arms around him, unaware he was looking around the hallways in nervousness. “Come inside. Quick.” He whispered, and she furrowed her brow while silently walking in. Alex took one last look outside his apartment before closing the door and rubbing his eyelids.

Holly took a moment to look around his messy place, noticing it looked just the same, except for some boxes lined up in the corner of his living room. She pointed to them with her thumb. “What’s up with the boxes?” She asked nervously.

Alex didn’t answer, just continued rubbing at his eyes in distress and slowly sliding down his door to sit on the ground. As Holly kneeled down beside him, she realized he was crying. She had never seen Alex cry before, so this sight was definitely new to her. “It’s okay, Lex.” She cooed, tracing circles into his back. He took his hands away from his eyes and put his head on her shoulder, giving her a second to look at his bloodshot eyes. He’d been crying for a while. “I’m here, okay? Everything’s going to be alright.”

His tears started to soak through her thin t-shirt, and he shook his head. “No, Holl, it’s not going to be alright.”

“Alex, tell me what happened.” She kissed the top of his head and twirled some of his locks through her fingertips, biting down on her lip.

He slowly lifted his head from her shoulder, sniffling, and for a second, Holly almost forgotten how old he was to her. He looked even younger, but just for a moment.

“Holly,” he whispered as she wiped a tear from his cheek, “they know.”

The blonde gulped and went silent. They stared at each other for a minute, both soaking in their shock at Alex’s words. Finally, Holly asked, “Who knows?” She knew the answer, but didn’t want to believe it.

He breathed out for air and sniffled. “The school board,” he choked out. “They know.”

Their eyes met again, both wide. “H―How?” Holly stuttered as she held onto Alex’s hand with all her might.

“Someone told them about us.”

Holly finally sat her rear on the ground next to Alex, leaning her back against the door frame. She was silent, her mouth hanging open just a little as her and Alex’s hands were clasped together tightly. “Who would want to sabotage us?” She whispered under her breath, just loud enough for Alex to hear.

“I know who it was.” He replied, and Holly’s eyes slowly slid to his. “It was Brendon.”

“No,” she shook her head with a frown. “He wouldn’t do that.”

“The board said the student didn’t want to remain anonymous, so they told me it was Brendon Urie, and he only did this because he was worried for you.”

Holly closed her eyes for a moment, letting a tear slip down her face. “That prick,” she muttered, and cursed under her breath. “What are we going to do now?”

“I do have a plan, if you want to hear it.” He said. “It might be a little irrational, but I can’t go to jail, Holl. I’ll never be able to live it down, and neither will you. I don’t want to lose you, either.”

She took a moment before she asked, “What’s the plan?”

“We can run away together.”

Notes

Title credit comes from A Love Like War by the beautiful ATL ^w^
And ohhhh nooooo! Any thought as to what's going to happen next?
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