Third Person
The hospital room was a sterile cocoon, its white walls closing in on Lead. The pain in his arm throbbed in time with his racing heartbeat, both second by a large margin to the rate of the memories rushing into his brain. The doctors had done their best to patch him up, but the wound was a reminder—a jagged scar etched into his skin and his memory.
Allelea sat by his bedside, her eyes tired but unwavering. The guilt in them mirrored his own. She had suggested the thrill ride, and now they were paying the price. The mission loomed over them, but in this moment, it felt distant, secondary to the pain and the fear.
“Lead,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I’m so sorry.”
He turned to her, the weight of his injuries making the movement slow and deliberate. “It’s not your fault, Aurelia…” he said, weakly. “I should’ve been more careful when I went to get your jacket back…”
She shook her head, her fingers brushing against his. “I should have known better. I should have — wait, who’s—”
“Doesn’t matter,” he interrupted, his resolve firm despite his frailty. “We’ll get through it, I promise.”
Allelea’s gaze bore into his, and for a moment, the hospital room faded away. Memories surged—a blend of vivid moments, stolen glances, and their first and only kiss.
Wait... he never kissed Allelea. 'Oh no, not this again' Lead thought to himself, as he was lying down there, fragile...
But beneath it all lay betrayal—the jagged edges of a love that had shattered.
In another life (literally), they had danced on the precipice of something beautiful. Aurelia, with her wild laughter and eyes like constellations, had drawn him in. But then came the revelation—the photo, the betrayal. She had experimented with his heart, just as she had with chemicals in her lab. And he, the fool, had believed in forever.
Now, as pain pulsed through his arm, Lead wondered if love was merely a chemical reaction—a fleeting burst of dopamine and oxytocin. The accident had stripped away illusions, leaving raw truth in its wake.
“Lead,” Allelea whispered, her voice cracking. “I— I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”
He silenced her with a gentle touch. “It doesn’t matter. None of it does. It’s just… old memories… nothing worth your time.”
“Or yours,” she shrugged, before taking on a softer tone. “Please, tell me. I’m concerned. You somehow always keep zoning out, and… I’m just worried.”
Lead sighed. “You know about the old world, don’t you?” he asked. “Well, I always remember it vividly, and that’s why I always zone out. The characters in my story, they’re real people — my friend, and while I don’t know where in the world they are now… I miss them. And now, with you… I-I don’t know… like, every time anything happens, like, I’m reminded of Aurelia… from the story.”
“What do you mean?” Allelea asked. “She’s completely different from me, isn’t she? She seems… like a very science-y person somehow. And trust me, I’m not a huge science fan. And besides, my parents aren’t professors with PhD’s and I’d never have gold as my element.”
“Why not?” Lead teased, an eyebrow raising playfully. “You really seem to light up my life.”
Allelea’s lips curved into a half-smile. “Gold as my element? I think I’d prefer something more down-to-earth. Maybe oxygen—I mean, it’s essential for life, right?”
He chuckled, grateful for the diversion. “Oxygen, huh? Breathing life into every moment?”
“Exactly.” She leaned closer, her warmth seeping through the sterile surroundings. “But Lead, tell me more about this Aurelia. The one from your memories.”
He hesitated, torn between the truth and the fragile reality they were building. “Aurelia was… different. She loved science, yes, but she was also a dreamer. We used to sit in a café together, surrounded by graffiti and creativity. She’d talk about the universe, about our powers, friends… and occasionally debates about pointless things.”
“And?” Allelea’s gaze held his. “What else did you talk about?”
Lead’s mind raced. “A petty dispute over who’s group leader…” He trailed off, the weight of regret settling on his chest. “… which she won. By manipulating me subtly into falling for her.”
“But then?” Allelea pressed.
He took a deep breath. “But then came the betrayal. The roast out of my mouth, the shattered trust. I teased Nick for a second about the algorithm, and then... point is, Aurelia experimented with my heart, just as she did with chemicals in her lab. ‘A side by side analysis of whom to pick?’ As if it’s sweets in a store, sampling both for the better one.”
Allelea’s fingers brushed his scar—the physical reminder of their altered reality. “And now?”
“Now,” Lead mused, his eyes devoid of warmth, “I wonder if love is merely a chemical reaction—a fleeting burst of dopamine and oxytocin. The accidents… both, have really changed things…”
The hospital room seemed to close in, its sterile walls echoing the fractured echoes of Lead’s past. Allelea’s touch on his scar felt like a phantom ache—a reminder of choices made and love lost.
“And now?” she persisted, her voice gentle yet insistent.
Lead’s gaze shifted to the window, where the world outside blurred into a haze of uncertainty. “Now, I’m a broken equation,” he admitted, his voice brittle. “A variable without a constant. The past haunts me, and the present…” He glanced at Allelea, her eyes searching his. “The present feels like a cruel experiment… which I set in motion. ”
She leaned closer, her breath a whisper against his cheek. “Lead, you’re not an equation. You’re a person—there’s a heart that still beats, even if it’s fractured.”
He scoffed, bitterness rising. “A brain, specifically the limbic system, that once believed in forever. This whole ‘heart’ concept is scientifically inaccurate crap. The heart pumps blood to all the organs of the body. The limbic system only gets oxygen from the heart.”
Allelea’s eyes held a mix of exasperation and determination. “Lead, you’re not just a collection of organs and neural pathways. You’re more than that. You’re memories, emotions, and the sum of experiences that defy scientific reductionism... which I'm not sure is a word, but sounds like it.”
She leaned in, her lips brushing his. “Maybe the heart isn’t just a pump. Maybe it’s the seat of courage, of longing, of love.” Her voice softened. “And maybe, just maybe, it can heal—even when fractured.”
Lead’s gaze wavered, torn between skepticism and the warmth of her proximity. “Allelea, I—”
“Shh…” she whispered. “Let it go.”
“No.” he asserted, his tone and his will hardening. “I am a man of science. A trait I admired in Aurelia, and while it was that which led to our breakup, I still admire it. Observation, experimentation, conclusion. I observed my feelings, I experimented by trying a relationship, I concluded that it’s a waste of my time and my life.”
Allelea’s lips hovered inches from his, a delicate balance between persistence and surrender. “Lead,” she murmured, “you can’t reduce love to equations. It defies the neat boundaries of science.”
He pulled away, the hospital bed creaking under the weight of his resolve. “Allelea, Aurelia and I’ve both seen the universe through a microscope. I’ve dissected emotions into neurotransmitters and mapped neural pathways. Love? It’s just a chemical cascade—a fleeting burst of oxytocin and serotonin.”
Her eyes flashed. “And what about the moments that defy logic? The way your heart races when you see someone, the ache of longing, the joy of connection?”
“Neurotransmitters,” he articulated, his voice brittle. “All of it. Just neurotransmitters.”
Allelea’s touch traced the scar on his arm—the jagged reminder of their altered reality. “Lead, you’re more than equations. You’re the sum of your choices, your memories, and the way you look at me right now.”
He scoffed. “And what do you see when you look at me? I’m guessing, I dunno, a normal 19-year-old, soon to turn 20, German guy, who uses rationality and logic over”
She hesitated, her gaze unwavering. “I see someone who’s afraid to feel. Someone who’s built walls around his heart, convinced that science can explain it all.”
Lead clenched his fists. “Science is reliable. It’s predictable. Love? It’s chaos.”
“Maybe that’s the beauty of it.” Allelea’s voice held a quiet strength. “Chaos that defies equations. Maybe love isn’t about predictability; maybe it’s about vulnerability.”
He shook his head. “Vulnerability leads to pain. I’ve had enough of that. You know what else I’ve had enough of?”
Allelea leaned back, her expression resolute. “Your resolve. Your insistence on reducing everything to logic. But Lead, sometimes the most beautiful things defy reason. Sometimes they’re found in the spaces between equations.”
“No way. This conversation.” He met her gaze, almost torn between the safety of his convictions and the pull of something deeper. “And what if I choose to stay within those equations?”
“Then you’ll miss out on the poetry,” she said softly. “The moments that don’t fit neatly into formulas. The chance to rewrite your story.”
Lead’s chest tightened as he stood up. “I’ve made my choice.” he replied, standing up, not facing her anymore. “Oh, and by the way? Poetry’s full of structure, and order. Look it up.”
【 Ouch. Bro really did get broken. My alternate universe 1.5 (also WIP) is worlds better for him. 】
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