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The atmosphere at the school had been miserable for the past few days. This was no surprise – they had just lost two of the most beloved people at the school. Sophie and Minerva had been everyone’s friend, more or less. While some of the kids constantly bickered and disagreed with one another, Minnie and Sophie had always been the one thing to bring them all together and make everyone feel better. But now they were gone, and people didn’t know who to blame. It wasn’t a new thing, losing friends to walkers and whatnot, but it was clear some of them still snared when they saw Marlon walk by. Marlon didn’t show offense, though. He knew something the others didn’t, and if the truth had come to life, those angry stares would have turned into something way more aggressive. And he wasn’t planning on dealing with that. Not right now.While they all had been relatively depressed and quiet for the past week or two, one thing still brought them together on the daily, that thing being food. None of them wanted to starve, so every evening they’d dine out on the courtyard, even chatting a bit. Louis was always there, cracking jokes and trying to lighten the mood, but Marlon could hear a different tone in his voice, see the pain in his eyes in a way the others maybe couldn’t. They were best friends, after all. Violet could barely be seen at dinner, usually she’d just grab a plate of food and vanish somewhere. Same with Tennessee, and most of the time the two were seen together. Understandable – one had lost his sisters, the other her lover. Marlon couldn’t help but feel a flinch in his chest every time he had to look at either one of them.While Violet and Tenn stayed distant, it was nothing compared to Brody. She had completely shut herself out of the group, and you were lucky if you were to see her at least once a day. She only left her room to empty her bladder or grab a plate of food someone had left outside the room. She refused to let anyone in. Not even Marlon was allowed entry. This had started to make the others slightly suspicious.“Dude.” Marlon raised his head a bit, a fork still in his mouth, and looked at Louis who was looking at him with a puzzled expression. Marlon raised an eyebrow. “Why does Brody hate you all of sudden?”Marlon almost choked on his rabbit meat upon hearing the question but masqueraded it as a cough. “What do you mean “hate” me?” he acted dumb, “She’s just upset about the twins, is all.”“But like”, Louis twirled one of his dreads around his long fingers, “you’re always together. Lovebirds. Fuckin’ match made in heaven, and now she refuses to even open a door for you!”“I said she’s upset”, Marlon raised her voice a little bit out of frustration and gained an irritated glance from Aasim from across the table. Marlon sighed and dropped the fork, chewing on the last bite of the rabbit. “She probably blames herself for what happened. She’s a worrier, you know that.”Louis didn’t seem convinced but decided to drop the topic partly “You should go talk to her. Give her a big ol’ hug and let her cry on your shoulder”, he advised. Marlon could almost hear Aasim’s eyes rolling.“Didn’t know you’re a relationship counsellor”, Marlon chuckled dryly. Still, he knew Louis was right. If Brody were to distance herself completely, she’d grow apart and just have to wallow in her worries all alone. Still, Marlon wasn’t sure if Brody wanted to see him of all people right now. He was the reason this shitshow went down in the first place.“Fine”, he gave in after a moment of silence. Louis looked pleased, nodding his head and giving him a little grin.“Win her heart back, Prince Charming.”As Marlon stood up and began to leave, he could have sworn he heard Aasim say something along the lines of “Snow White never falling for a mullet-headed rat”, and really wanted to turn around and throw the nearest object at the snide boy, but then Louis quickly began blabbering on about how there are too many Prince Charmings in Disney movies and “why does Snow, Aurora and Cinderella all get “a Prince Charming”? Is it like an orgy or-“, and made Marlon drop the subject immediately.He quickly thanked Omar for the meal before wandering over to the dormitory. With a deep sigh he stepped inside the old building and began walking to the second floor where Brody’s room was located. It had been Marlon’s room, too, until the twin incident. But as Brody had locked the door and refused to let anyone in, Marlon had been forced to migrate into the principal’s office. He had gotten a spare mattress from Louis’s unused top bunk and built a little resting spot in the office. He kind of liked it, since it was private, quiet and away from everything else, but it made his back hurt like shit.He had gotten lost in his thoughts, and only came out of it when he realized he was standing right in front of Brody’s door. The dorms were quiet since everyone was dining, and Marlon could hear muffled voices from inside the room. Sniffling, and quiet sobs. It pulled on his heartstrings. He just wanted to make Brody stop sobbing. He raised his hand and gave the door an experimental knock. The voices inside stopped instantly, but no one came to open the door. Marlon knocked again, this time more confidently.“Y-you can l-leave the plate r-right there, O-Omar”, Marlon heard Brody’s weak voice inside. He furrowed his brows a little and placed his hand on the doorknob.“It’s me, Brody”, he said softly. “I ain’t got food. Just wanna talk, is all.”For a moment he stood there in silence and was just about to give up and leave when he felt the doorknob turn beneath his hand, the lock opening. The door didn’t swing open, but Marlon pushed and managed to open it himself. He carefully stepped into the room, closing the door behind him with a click. He was slightly shocked to see the condition of the room. While he himself was a messy son of a bitch, Brody had always insisted on keeping to room tidy. But now… Oh boy. The posters and photographs had been ripped off of the walls and were all over the floor and table. Some of them had been ripped into tiny pieces which were not scattered across the planks. The bed was an absolute mess, and it looked like a tornado had swiped through it.And then there was Brody, of course, who now sat down on the messy bed, refusing to look at Marlon. She looked paler than before and her hair had lost its usual shine. It looked unwashed – which it was – and wasn’t neatly behind her ears like usually, and instead all over her face, hiding it for the most part. From what Marlon could see through the hair, she had strong dark circles and her eyes were puffy and red, cheeks still wet from crying. She was dressed only in a tube top and a pair of pyjama shorts and was visibly shivering from the change in temperature; Marlon guessed she had been wrapped in her blanket like a sushi roll before he had interrupted. She looked fucking miserable.“Can I sit here?” Marlon asked as he walked forward, pointing at the empty spot on the bed. Brody shrugged and gave a little nod, still not looking at him. Marlon sat on the edge of the bed, unsure of what to do. It occurred to him that he had actually not thought about what he wanted to say in said situation.“I’m sorry”, he finally spurted out after a long, awkward silence. He glanced at Brody who refused to give him a reaction, so he kept going. “I know what I did was fucking dumb. It was selfish, and stupid and immature, I get it. But… but I did it, I did all of it, to protect everyone. To protect you.”Brody finally looked at him, tears filling her eyes once more. Marlon felt his heart almost bursting out of his chest, and he very slowly placed his hand on top of Brody’s. She flinched a tiny bit but didn’t pull away.“And I know that sounds like something you would blame yourself about. How I chose you over the twins. But…. Fuck it. Yeah, that’s exactly what I did. I sacrificed them for the greater good, ‘cause I would have literally killed myself right then and there if they had taken you.” He rubbed her hand with his thumb, slow comforting circles.“But none of that is your fault, Brody. None of it. It’s all me, and I’m gonna fix it. Somehow. I will.” His voice cracked a little bit at the end, and he cleared his throat with a muffled cough. Brody was crying and grabbed his hand more aggressively. He didn’t mind, holding tight right back. They looked at each other for a moment before Brody finally gave in and slumped against his shoulder, a little sob escaping her mouth.“I- I j-just…”“Shh”, Marlon shushed her, shaking his head gently. He wrapped his arm around the girl, rubbing her arm with that one and brushing his fingers through her hair with the free one. “Not your fault. No one’s blaming you.”“V-Violet is”, Brody said, and Marlon could hear the hurt and bitterness even through the tears. “She hasn’t t-talked to me once a-after I told her… after I told w-what happened to them.”Marlon swiped Brody’s cheek with his thumb. “Vi hasn’t talked to anyone, baby. Except for Tenn, that is. She’s hurt but I doubt she thinks you’re the culprit here. If she’s gotta blame someone I’ll make sure it’s me.”Brody still didn’t seem convinced but decided to drop the subject and just lean into Marlon. She shuddered a little bit, causing Marlon to furrow his brows. He nudged Brody a little bit to get space and proceeded to take off his jacket. He placed it on her shoulders, kind of like a blanket. The varsity jacket was way too big on her, she seemed to be drowning in the fabric, and Marlon thought it looked fucking adorable. He leaned in and pressed a kiss on her forehead.“A stupid thing to say since you’ve been just layin’ in bed all week, but you need rest”, he said softly. Brody didn’t look exactly well rested, that was sure.“I can’t sleep”, she admitted, rubbing her nose a little bit. “I just see… them.”“If I stay here…?” It wasn’t exactly a question, more like an indication from Marlon. Brody looked at him for a little while, before finally complying with a nod.“Sure.”Brody collapsed onto her bed with a small thump, and Marlon scooted right next to her. There wasn’t much space, but they had gotten used to sleeping together like this. Marlon would have lied if he said he hadn’t missed it. Brody tried to awkwardly find a good position on the bed, until finally settling just to pressing her face against Marlon’s chest and curling up into a little ball. Marlon reached for the blanket, grabbed it and pulled it over Brody. He didn’t feel necessarily cold, so he let her have the whole thing. They stayed quiet for a while, just listening to one another’s breathing, until Marlon spoke again.“Brody?”“Mmm?”“Thanks.” Brody raised her head from the covers and peeked at him. She looked so cute like that, but Marlon tried to not let that distract him. Brody looked confused, raising her eyebrows a bit.“Thanks for not giving up on me, I mean”, he attempted explaining, but he just couldn’t find the right words. He felt his throat burning up a bit. “I know I do a lot of stupid shit. If I were you, I would have already ended… whatever this is. But you didn’t. You believe in me. That’s… nice.”Brody managed to give him a little smile and brought her hand up to Marlon’s face. She raised her body a bit, managing to press her lips on his. Marlon was slightly surprised at first, but leaned into the touch almost immediately, pulling her closer by the waist underneath the covers.“You should leave the talking to Louis”, Brody whispered after breaking free from the kiss. They were only an inch apart, and Marlon could feel her breath on his face.“Oh?” he said, playfulness in his tone. “What’s that supposed to mean?”“You’re not super poetic, y’know”, Brody smiled, even letting out a small giggle. “But the point came across, so it’s okay.”They smiled at each other for a bit before she lowered her gaze. “I was kinda close, y’know. To giving up on you. It was stupid as heck what you did. And I was really mad at you... But I realized you just want to protect everyone, and it’s not your fault”, she blabbered, leaving Marlon quiet.“I wish everyone saw it that way”, he finally said, smile fading away. “I’ve never seen Violet and Aasim agree on anything, but they both seem to hate me right now. Mitch is still indifferent.”“I’m just scared what they’ll think when they learn the truth”, Brody said, barely audible. Marlon’s heart skipped a beat, but he grabbed Brody’s shirt, pulling her closer.“They won’t find out”, he said firmly.“How can you be so darn sure?” Brody asked, staring at Marlon’s neck instead of his face.“Well, are you gonna tell ‘em? ‘Cause I’m not about to fucking expose this secret”, he said, a bit more harshly than he had planned. Brody shuddered a little bit.“O-of course I won’t.”“Good”, he kissed her hairline. Brody didn’t answer.“Hey.”“Mmm?” she hummed.“I love you.”“…”“Love you too…”