Chapter Text
It wasn’t too much later when Aiden finally stopped wondering what death felt like. He finally found out. Only a few days after Tyler’s death, Aiden was crushed under the roof of a school meant to keep them safe. How ironic that the place they found to keep the monsters chasing them at bay was now becoming the one thing Aiden had been chasing for so long. Death. As the roof crumpled under the weight of the monsters, Aiden couldn’t move. Perhaps he was stunned, perhaps he wanted to stay still, but he didn’t move. The only thing left for Ashlyn and the others to find was a body, bloodied and bruised, that cursed smile going from one end of his face to another, with eyes wide enough that it looked like they could’ve popped right out of the socket. He was dead, at least, in the same way Tyler had died. They all suddenly woke up, Aiden was convulsing on the floor, eyes wide again, obviously in more pain than he’s ever felt. He coughed, wheezed, and eventually was able to say a few words.
“-m fine! N-no hospital.”
The first thing he saw was Ashlyn, in the corner of the room, scared. He saw a flash of something in her eyes before feeling her arms wrapped around him.
“... You died…” Even her voice was shaky. All Aiden could think of was the time not so long ago when he would sit in his room, thinking of death, what it would feel like, the rush it could bring him, and how much he never wanted it again as Ashlyn shook in his arms. He hated it, seeing her so scared, seeing her tremble just from seeing him die in a fake world.
“I’m okay,” was all he could say, his hands resting on her arms since he didn’t want to push the limits of physical touch, especially this soon after being allowed what little amount he’s had with Ashlyn, and especially not after such a traumatic occasion.
All of the kids stayed in Aiden’s home that night, unable to sleep at all after that, even with the melatonin gummies Ashlyn’s dad gave them. In the morning, all of their parent’s decided that they shouldn’t need to go to school after that, so they didn’t. The only one missing was Tyler, and he was almost constantly on a facetime call with the others, making his same sarcastic remarks to everything like he didn’t just die. And Aiden joined in, making his same insane remarks like he didn’t just die. Tyler was discharged sometime in the afternoon, and the twins’ mom went with Ashlyn’s mom to go pick him up while everyone else stayed, mostly questioning Aiden about everything that happened in the phantom realm that night. Death was something Aiden had wanted to experience for years, and now, he couldn’t even have the thought again without feeling guilt, or picturing Ashlyn trembling over his dead body, or crying at his grave. Aiden was starting to smile less and less. The adrenaline of the world was fun, yes, but how could Aiden want that adrenaline rush when it causes someone close to him so much pain? He promised himself that death wouldn’t be something he experiences twice, once was enough.