Until Dawn - 11. Epilogue

I woke up on the other side of the reception, surrounded by brown dust floating in the air. Through the brown cloud, I could make out the fire, so the gas had done the trick, but it had done a number on the entrance hall. There were pieces of concrete and glass everywhere, and my clothes were covered in thick grime. My ears ached inconsolably; and I wasn't even sure if I was still alive.

Though when I reached out to Jonathan, who had landed beside me, I was pretty sure it was real. He had sustained some lacerations from the explosion, but other than that, he was okay.

Crawling to him, I leaned over his body. His eyes were wide open, and he was staring up at me, just blinking. I helped him sit up, and I looked around for the others. I called out for them a few times; all I was greeted with was the sound of burning embers.

My ears were stinging, and it didn't help when I strained, listening for a response.

I thought my eardrum had been ruptured.

Though when a startled yowl came from behind me, I was relieved as it meant someone else had survived the blast.

"ELLIOT," I called out.

"COOP," the voice answered back.

Wandering into the haze, leaving Jonathan to come to his senses on the floor. When I got close enough to see Elliot, I smiled. He was stumbling in the thick smoke, and he was covered head to toe with the same thick dirt like me. Yet what I wasn't expecting was for Elliot to reach out and pull me into a hug, and it felt good… It felt perfect.

"You're alive," Elliot cooed.

Oh, I could have melted, so I did what I've always liked doing. I gave Elliot a bro hug, but this time it seemed a little more special.

"I'm glad you're ali…." I replied.

Jimmy cut in somewhere out there in the dense fog with a cough, "Yeah, I'm alive too if anybody wants to know."

It was fantastic to hear his voice too, but looking back at Elliot, my heart swooned. His little nose was covered in soot, and it was just too cute not to look at it.

He got all excited and started pushing me.

"We took down a fucking werewolf man," he cried in delight; his voice even broke.

We all chuckled. We found Jimmy; he had just been pushed into the reception desk. It was a miracle all of us survived. Feeling goofy, we all headed for the exit, each of us aching all over. Jonathan helped Jimmy, and they walked on ahead. I lagged behind with Elliot, and as we exited into the chilly evening, it felt good to be outside of the building and living. We couldn’t get into what was left of the kitchen. The fire and heat were too intense. Though we were confident Bao was dead.

I peered across the car park at all the parked vehicles and noticed the coach's car was still in the same parking spot. The door of the car was open, and his body was beside the door. That meant we were the only survivors of that dreadful night. Except, if one good thing can be said about that night, I got to tell Elliot how I felt.

I watched as Jimmy cradled his arm and Jonathan hobbled along until they sat down on a small wall at the edge of the parking lot. In the distance, the police sirens could be heard coming to the rescue.

Taking each step down the staircase to the lot, I bashfully looked across at Elliot. I don't know why, but it felt like I was waiting for something. Oddly it felt like Elliot was delaying something, and neither wanted to talk about the giant elephant. Everything had become so calm; the air was fresh, and Elliot was adorably cute.

"So…" Elliot said.

"So…" I jokingly mimicked.

I got a case of wiggles in my tummy, and I had to force myself to look at the ground, or I'd puke a rainbow. Elliot craned his neck when I looked across and gave me those questioning eyes, and I got bashful.

"Hey…" Elliot said.

Looking across nervously, I offered, "Hi."

There was a moment of silence.

"It's cool, you know," Elliot said.

"Which part?" I asked.

"Eh… well, not that it was wow, but especially the trading part with the werewolf."

"Oh… that was nothing," I modestly interrupted.

I felt like I could have burst with embarrassment. Hearing Elliot thank me for saving him was just too much for me to handle. I would have done it regardless, even if I didn't have a massive crush on him.

I peered at the trees in the distance; the vibrant blue and red strobes from the police cars bounced off the roof of the woods and flooded down the street in front of the rec center. I could see the lead police car, and I was never so happy to see the law.

Elliot tapped me on the shoulder. Glancing at him, he said, "Well, you saved me… So, it's something."

I smiled, but that expression dropped off my face when Elliot leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek. It was so cold that I could see the condensation leave his mouth, but all I could seem to care about was the fact that Elliot had kissed me. It made me feel all gooey inside. Then as if to prove his point, Elliot took the bold approach.

Leaning in once more, he gave me a quick kiss on the lips. I was rooted to the spot. It's like I was watching the event play out from above. And somewhere up above, I shouted down at myself.

"What's happening, Cooper?" I'd retort.

Elliot knew he had me. Now he'd continually tease my poor heart with adorable affections for the rest of my schooling days.

And with that, Elliot took off with a peal of playful laughter, and I gave chase.

"What was that?" I yelled.

"Oh, it was nothing," Elliot modestly joked.

"C'mere - You know that wasn't nothing…." I yelled, but broke into laughter.

I sprinted harder and faster. We even reached the sidewalk just as the police convoy came to a screeching halt. I just knew that from that night on, he'd always make it his business to frustrate my poor heart with cute shenanigans that I wouldn't be able to discard. Since when you really like someone, you'll let them drive you crazy.

The End.