Days Gone By

“What did you say” Jenny asked, a small smile emerging from the corners of her mouth as she stared loving into the eyes of her best friend. Levi stepped forward, grinning as he took her in his arms. “I said I love you Jenny. Ever since we first met at that dopey youth club when you were 16, I have be completely and utterly in love with you” He replied softly, lifting her head by her chin as he gently pressed his lips against her.

Her heart fluttered in her chest. The kiss was only brief, but it felt like she was in heaven, surrounded by love, happiness and dreams that were coming true. He felt her cup his face with her hands, resting his head in her hands, loving her tender touch. Everything seemed perfect, for once. “I love you too,” she whispered, breaking away from the kiss reluctantly. The pair stood in the darkness, giggling as Levi threw his arms open for her like a young child. She moved forward into his arms, wrapping them around his neck. He wrapped his arms around Jenny’s body, hugging her back as she buried her face into his neck.

“We will get through this Jen, I promise” Levi whispered in her ear, kicking Jenny’s heart into complete overdrive. She sighed with relief, a tear trickled down her cheek as an overwhelming sense of happiness washed over her.

“Oh my god there here!” A loud voice squealed. Jenny groaned, rolling her eyes as she and Levi walked back to the campsite hand in hand. He squeezed her hand, smiling down at her. “Don’t worry about her” He reassured, kissing her on the head. Jenny smiled as they entered the camp, watching Lindsey throw her arms around Gerard. Gerard recoiled slightly, his eyes falling on Frank as he slowly hugged her back. “Thank god you’re all ok!” She cried, kissing Gerard hard on the lips, Frank rolled his eyes, slumping down next to the fire and began to warm his hands as Billie kept his eyes cautiously on him, climbing onto the roof of his truck and began to check over his gun. None of them had spoken to each other since the kiss. They had walked for five hours in complete silence, their minds rushing from one thought to the next as Frank struggled to shake himself of the guilt which clouded around his heart.

Jenny glanced around the camp, a horrid thought suddenly entering her mind.

“Where’s Phil?” She asked. The camp quickly fell silent. All eyes looked at Frank as he stared vacantly into the fire, his mind far away from the real world. Gerard sighed, placing his arm around Lindsey’s shoulders. “He’s gone” He replied sadly, his eyes falling to the floor as Lindsey kissed him on the cheek. Mikey slowly stood up and began to walk over to his brother, hoping to offer him some words of comfort. He could see this was affecting him and he hated it. He couldn’t bear to see him upset. Lindsey quickly whipped her head round to face him, shaking her head as she glared menacingly at him. Mikey backed off, his face crumpled as he stormed off to his tent, curling up in sleeping bag and cried himself to sleep.

She led him over to campfire, offering him some food as the rest of the group slowly joined them; taking their share of the rabbit one of them had caught earlier that morning. Out of the corner of her eye, Lindsey noticed something. She glanced over to Jenny, noticing she wasn’t eating. “Not hungry Jen?” She asked sweetly, offering her a false smile as Jenny’s face grew pale. “I don’t feel too great” She muttered miserably. Levi put an arm around her, cuddling her as he whispered something in her ear. Lindsey glanced back at the fire, her mind ticking away as a callous smile broadened across her face.

I know your secret She thought sinisterly.

******

Billie jumped down from the truck, dragging his hands down his tired face as he sat in front of the fire. Frank sat close by him, still staring into the flames. The camp was silent, nothing except for the distant sounds of crickets hiding the in grass made a sound; everyone else had gone to bed hours ago. Billie sighed, glancing over at Frank who hadn’t moved since he had arrived this evening.

“I didn’t know you and Gerard were a thing” he said, breaking the silence. Frank shook his head, not daring to look up from the fire as he sighed deeply to himself. “We’re not” He replied coldly. He took a cigarette out of his pocket, attempting to light with his lighter. Right now he felt helpless,. He had a strong urge to drink away the guilt, to blot out the pain. Tears welled in eyes; he quickly rubbed them away. He couldn’t let Billie see him cry, he had to stay strong. He had no choice.
But how could he when it felt like his heart was breaking.

He kept trying to light the cigarette, but found it to be empty. He threw it to the ground; growling with annoyance as he curled his hands into fists. “Use the fire” Billie suggested. Frank nodded, holding the cigarette against the flames before it ignited; pressing it between his lips. He took a deep drag, taking in the sweet, toxic smoke as he stared up at the sky, the moon shielded by clouds as the air around them grew still.

“You know, I had a wife once” Billie said quietly. He looked at him, confused by what he had just heard. “What?” he asked carelessly. He wasn’t in the mood for talking; he just wanted to be left alone. But he was still intrigued none the less. Billie took the cigarette from Frank’s lips, taking a drag from it as he stared deeply into the flames as if to try and remember. “Her name was Mila and she was the most beautiful, most loving girl I have ever met” He replied quietly. Frank stared him, unsure of what to say. He never expected some like Billie to be married; the man was like stone. Billie glanced back up at him, smiling happily at Frank. It made him feel somewhat uneasy; this was the first time he had ever seen some genuine happiness from him.

“I remember when we first met; it was at this weird polish pub up in Brixton. Me and my band at the time, Error 24, were playing there and I can remember seeing her across the room and thinking.... god she is gorgeous. We got talking after we finished our set, I asked her out on a date and it went from there”He explained, the smile still perched upon his face as he reminisced about this woman. Frank took back the cigarette, taking another drag from it. “You really loved her didn’t you?” He said, exhaling smoke as he spoke almost unemotionally.

Billie laughed. “Yeah, I suppose I did. I don’t believe in that love at first sight shit but... she was different. Thing is Frank it wasn’t perfect, I mean who said life was. When I met her, she was pregnant with another man’s kid- the arsehole had walked out on her and just left her. But it didn’t scare me off; it didn’t make me panic or anything like that. No I went out and I provided for her, I helped her through it and eventually we had our little boy. We had this tiny, beautiful baby boy and from the first moment I held him in my arms I knew he was mine. He was my boy you know? We called him Noah and shortly after he was born, we got married. Nothing big or amazing, just us and our little family. It wasn’t perfect our life, I mean he struggled like everyone did but it was everything I could have possibly wanted. I loved both of them to pieces.” He continued, his bottom lip trembling as he struggled to keep the smile on his face.

Frank swallowed hard. He didn’t want to ask him the question on his mind but found himself unable to control the words that poured out of his mouth. “How did they die?” He asked, immediate regretting the question.Billie’s face dropped, he slowly turned back to the fire, closing his eyes. He hadn’t spoken about any of this to anyone before. He felt tears sting in his eyes. He didn’t want to relive all that... but he felt he had no choice. He sighed. “We were trying to escape. We took all the money had and went down to Thames Harbour, trying to get onto a boat that would take us out of the country. But our money was worthless. People were sinking the boats, others had been trashed or had too many people on them... there was no way out. Then the infected began showing up, biting people.... killing everyone in sight. I tried to save them. You have to understand that the whole area was overrun with Walkers. I tried to save them I really did but..... It attacked her. She got bitten and.... and then she...” He took a deep breath, forcing back the tears. The memories dragging across his mind as he retold the story; the day he lost his life. “And then she killed our son.” He said, bursting into tears. Frank placed his arms around him, holding his head close to his chest as he tried to calm him down; a lump rising in his throat. Billie took a deep breath, wriggling away from Frank as he wiped his eyes, calming himself down.

“I’m fine.... I’m fine.” He said shakily, his voice choked as he stared at the sky. Frank kept his eyes on him, stunned by what he had just heard. “I’m sorry” he replied sympathetically. Everything suddenly made sense to him; Billie was cold and isolated because he had nothing else to lose. He tried to protect them and yet he still had his family ripped away from him.

Much like him in a way.

Billie finally calmed himself down, running a hand through his hair as he stared vacantly into the fire. The cold air surrounded them, sending chills through Frank’s body as he shivered by the warmth of the fire. “Promise me something?” Billie said finally. “What?” Frank asked, his eyes once again fixed on the fire. Billie glanced back at him with tear stained eyes, swallowing a lump in his throat. “If he makes you happy, don’t let him go.” He whispered, gesturing over to Gerard’s tent

Frank sighed, throwing the butt of the cigarette into the fire, watching it burn away into nothing. “It’s not that simple” He replied sadly. Billie’s face twisted into a look of confusion, edging closer to Frank who refused to meet his eye. “Why not? I don’t understand why you won’t let yourself be happy”

“Because....”

“Because what?”

“Because I’m a bad person”

“Frank you’re not a bad per....”

“I killed my boyfriend Billie!” He cried, snapping round to stare into Billie’s eyes, his words ringing through the air as he sat there, stunned into silence.

Notes

Did Frank kill his boyfriend?
What is Jenny hiding from the group? (Lets see if any of you can guess :P)

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