And she started to laugh but there was nothing humorous about the situation

Soundtrack for my most recent one-shot: “And she started to laugh”

By: oh y’know.that girl

Monster in The Machine- “Under Your Shadow”

Sia- “Breathe Me”

Sick Puppies- “My World”

“Pitiful”

“Cancer”

Jimmy Eat World- “Let It Happen”

Flobots- “Handlebars”

Interpol- “The Heinrich Maneuver”

And she started to laugh but there was nothing humorous about the situation. Her melodious laugh was unnerving and it echoed through the vast space of the room. He listened to her, unsure of how to proceed. The soft evenness of her voice wavered and he pulled his gaze from the shiny tiled floors towards the empty bed she sat curled up in. They’d moved him a few moments ago but she refused to be moved…she wouldn’t leave even after Logan’s body had been taken. She gasped and sucked in an unsteady gulp of air. He knew her laughter would haunt his dreams for months but he couldn’t bring himself to leave her.

Her breath caught in her throat and she shook ungracefully despite the years of Ballet and the hours she’d put into remaining emotionless and cold. The tears fell and she continued to shake as if she were in the artic instead of a hospital room in a facility almost three hours away from the city. It was the worst thing he’d ever seen…she was laughing even through the tears and she wore a mixture of pain and childish happiness on her face as she smiled.

“Stop it,”

She laughed at him with a soft innocence in her voice instead of the malice that he’d anticipated.

“Stop fucking laughing!” he snapped.

She laughed…or sobbed harder- he couldn’t tell the difference between the two and he hated it.

“Just stop!”

“Stop,”

He swooped forward and shook her by the shoulders, his eyes wide and pooling with tears. He shut his eyes and felt foolish as he cried soundlessly.

“Why won’t you stop?” he whispered.

She didn’t answer but she’d stopped laughing and now cried softly.

“Why won’t you just stop?” his voice cracked and he wasn’t quite sure what he was referring to.

He closed his eyes and pulled her into his arms.

“Why won’t you stop teasing me? You ignore me for over two years and then…then this shit happens and you call me? Just make up your mind. I’m tired of being so…disposable. I’m just so damn tired…so fucking tired of it all…” he muttered darkly rocking them both back and forth.

Silence ensued and he didn’t want to open his eyes even when he felt her wriggling around in his iron grip. He loosened his hold and was surprised when he rested her face on his chest and mumbled something groggily.

“What?”

“I’m sorry.” She mumbled sleepily, just barely audible.

He waited and then set her down on the bed pulling the cheap sheets over her frail body. She didn’t mean it…she never would. He knew her too well…he always had but this time…this time it would be different. He wasn’t hers to use. He left the room and called her mother before calling Cheryl and asking if she could pick him up.

“Sure,” she said.

“I love you,” he murmured.

“I love you too,” she replied and he could feel her smile even as he hung up the phone.