Chapter Text
When Griffin came to, the first thing he felt was something repeatedly pushing at his chest, and fuck did it hurt. He weakly tried pushing whatever it was off, only to be pulled into a sitting position and cradled. It made him dizzy. Whoever was holding him kept rocking him back and forth. That’s when it clicked. Vance. Griffins vision had cleared only to be met by the fabric of Vance’s shirt, which his face was pushed into. Vance was holding him, mumbling nonsense. He looked over Vance’s shoulder to see Billy with his face hidden in Bruce’s neck, and then Finney and Robin next to them. Robin had a rosary in his hands, he seemed to be praying. “You’re okay now, I promise, Griffin. You’re okay.” Vance whispered to him. It reminded of a mother holding her child. The moment made him think of a time when he was little and his parents were arguing. His mother screaming at his father about something he couldn’t understand, but clearly something bad. Vance had been twelve or thirteen, while Griffin himself had only been eight or nine. Vance had cradled him just like this, only they’d been outside on the patio. The night had ended with flashing lights, sirens, and staying at their aunts for a week. It was only a vague memory, really. But it felt safe, Vance holding him. Even if the people who were meant to protect him weren’t, he had someone else to do it.
“I saw Amy and Gwen,” Griffin muttered weakly. “They said it wasn’t my time yet.” Vance simply hummed and kept holding him. For someone who had such a hard exterior, Vance was soft. It was unlike him to be this gentle. The only other person Griffin had ever seen him like this with was Bruce, which wasn’t surprising considering the two were a couple. “How do you feel? Are you lightheaded or anything?” Vance let him go, laying him down again. Griffin shook his head, even if that would be lying. His head was spinning, and god did his leg hurt, but that was irrelevant. He was alive, even if he truly didn’t want to be. But he was. “Holy shit, he’s up!” Billy had yelled upon noticing he was awake. He was quick to be Griffins side, talking at a mile per minute. Griffin noticed tear tracks on his cheeks, and that his voice was hoarse. The boy had probably been crying his heart out while Griffin was unconscious, he wouldn’t be surprised if he’d thrown up too. “I love you, Billy.” Griffin whispered, sitting up and leaning back on his arms. “I love you too, I’m so glad you’re okay.” Griffin grinned at him, nothing Billy said really made sense to him but it didn’t matter. He was there with him, that was enough.
Griffin reached out his arms and wrapped them around Billy’s neck, the table he’d been sat was just tall enough for that. Billy kept talking. Griffin tried to listen, he truly did, but he didn’t hear anything. Not that he would tell anyone that, though. Soon enough, the rest of the teenagers also came up to them. Robin looked like he’d been crying too. Bruce looked out of it, not surprising considering the amount of pressure he’d been put under for the entire night. Finney just stood, watching. It was unlike him, but as of the apocalypse, he’d changed. The once quiet and awkward Finney Blake, had turned colder. Only in rare moments would the boy he had once been show through. It was like he was fighting himself. If Griffin was honest, he felt bad for Finney. He was grieving his little sister— whom he had to shoot— while also spending most of the time running around trying to find supplies for six people. Not that the rest of them weren’t also doing that, but doing it while grieving someone whom he’d lost so recently must’ve been difficult. Unlike Finney, Bruce had stayed in the library— any time the rest of them went looking for resources, that is— since Amy died. He’d shut down in a way. Not that anyone blamed him for that, all of them were grieving someone.
The unanimous talking around him was faded, like he was in a box and they were outside it. Whether it was because he was tired, or blood loss, or the lack of sleep the last few months, he didn’t know. Griffin stayed as he was, arms around Billy’s neck, head against his chest. He looked down at his legs— or, well, leg— and sighed. It felt weird, while the pain was still there, it was like it had been blurred. ”I think I’m gonna— uh… pass out?” It sounded like a question more than anything, but Griffin truly didn’t know if he was gonna pass out. It sure did feel like he was going to. The rest of the boys started panicking, atleast Griffin thought they did. His arms fell from Billy’s shoulders and suddenly he was down again. Someone who he thought was Vance hovered about him, talking rapidly. Griffin couldn’t really hear him. It felt like that fog he’d felt earlier was back, clouding his vision and hearing. Someone shook his shoulders. ”Stop it— I’m okay now, I think,” Griffin muttered, his vision and hearing once again clearing up. ”Let me sleep, ’m tired.” Vance stood stiff above him, looking down on him with some that could be described as pity, or maybe something close to grief. Like he’d lost Griffin, even when he was right there. Alive and breathing. “Yeah, okay. I’ll— uh, I’ll stay with you while you sleep. Make sure you’re okay and everything.” Vance said while picking Griffin up. There was a surprising lack of struggle, considering the lack of food the last few months had taken a toll on all of them. Griffin just nodded and wrapped him arms around Vance’s neck, like he used to do when he was little and Vance would carry him. “Go to bed, all of you.” He’d whispered, before walking off.
“Come on, you heard him. Back to bed.” It had been silent for a moment before Bruce spoke. The other three didn’t move. Bruce took a shaky breath before he started walking towards the hallways, and a few moments later he heard footsteps behind him. Billy’s quick rhythmic ones, Finney’s— that once had been quiet and light— heavy steps, and Robin’s, that were trying to keep up with Finney’s. This new version of Finney was strange, Bruce thought. This was the same boy who Bruce had once ran into and Finney had been the one to apologise. The same boy who’d hugged Bruce and whispered an I’m sorry after he’d shot Gwen and Amy. It was unusually silent, even considering it was night time. Time felt both slower and quicker in moments like these. The night after Gwen and Amy died, it had been like this too, at least to Bruce. He looked behind him to see Billy with his head down, staring at the ground. Unusual for him, but considering the circumstances, not out of place. “You okay, Billy?” Billy looked up and nodded, he then licked his lips before opening his mouth, as if to say something. He then closed his mouth, as if he’d changed his mind. Bruce slowed down a bit, just enough for Billy to soon be at his side. The silence from before remained, with the only thing you could hear being footsteps. “Can I stay with you tonight?” Billy murmured suddenly. It was a question Bruce had anticipated. No one wanted to be alone after something like that. “Yeah, of course.”
There wasn’t much more to it. Finney and Robin went into their room, Bruce went to his own with Billy. Just like before, everything was all too quiet. Tense. Like the building, the walls, the foundation knew what had happened. Like it knew someone had almost died. It was suffocating. Bruce could imagine how much worse it was for Billy. Griffin was Billy’s only living friend. Since Amy and Gwen had passed, the only other person Billy and Griffin had were each other. Once in the makeshift bedroom, Billy laid down on one of the two couches in the room. He was facing away from Bruce, clearly needing space. The night was strangely reminiscent of a time years ago when Vance had almost died. It was only a vague memory and all Bruce remembered was how scared he was of losing Vance. The main difference between that and Billy’s situation was that Vance had proper medical care at the time, and all Griffin had was stuff they’d found while going through people’s houses. If they’d had more stuff, Bruce probably would’ve made Billy something to eat, but the lack of anything made it nearly impossible. The last few weeks had been spent eating whatever food they’d been able to find, and that was not a lot. It was barely enough for one meal a day, wasting it wasn’t an option. Instead, Bruce went and grabbed a bottle of water. Although half empty, it was something. Robin had luckily found a water filter in someone’s house, so water was not something they’d had a hard time getting. Billy had thrown up a concerning amount after Griffin had fallen unconscious and considering how little they had to eat, it had mostly been stomach acid. Bruce would know, he’d held Billy’s hair out of his face for him. ”Hey, I got you water.” Billy turned his head, just barely. He stared for a while before moving to sit up. “Drink some, just to wash the taste of vomit out of your mouth.”
He took the water bottle up his mouth and quickly drank some of it, talking a short break to breathe before chugging the rest of it. “Thanks.” Bruce just smiled and patted his shoulder. “No problem, you need to rehydrate. ‘Cause, damn, you threw up a lot.” Billy laughed, just a little. “I don’t really handle blood and stuff that well, clearly.” He put down the water bottle on the floor next to where he was sitting and just looked around. The room was pretty similar to the one him and Griffin shared, only larger. And different couches. The couches made it clear that these had once been break-rooms or study-rooms. The ones he and Griffin slept on had couches with higher backrests. The two off them has pushed the couches together and covered them with a blanket to create a fort, something they used to do with Gwen and Amy. Billy had a vague memory of watching an animated movie in Amy’s basement while Gwen and Griffin built a fort. It was a good memory, made him miss his friends. His best friend especially. Amy had been his best friend since childhood. They’d grown up together, Bruce somewhere in the background with him being older.
Bruce sat down next to him. They just sat there in silence. Not exactly awkward, not exactly comfortable either. ”It’ll be okay,” Bruce nodded to himself. ”Atleast I think so. Maybe not for a while but eventually, y’know?” He nodded again, like he was reassuring himself more than anything. Bruce had been a little out of it ever since Amy died, not that Billy blamed him. Bruce and Amy had been close. Billy had always envied them, his own older brother had moved out for college by the time Billy was ten, and they rarely saw each other. He missed him. But what could he do, Malcom was in Boston and Billy stayed in Denver with his family. “I think so too.” It was barely a whisper, but Bruce heard it, looked at him and smiled. Then it was silent again, not uncomfortably so, but silent. ”Can I ask you something?” Billy’s gaze stayed glued to the floor. ”Yeah, sure.”
”Do you think he’s gonna make it?”
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Bruce should’ve known Billy would ask that. Just like he’d done after Amy was bitten. Bruce froze up, just like he’d done last time. What was he supposed to say? It’s was unpredictable, truly so. For all he knew Griffin was dead in Vance’s arms. Fuck, for all he knew Vance was about to start screaming Griffins name over and over. Billy looked at him, properly looked at him for the first time in weeks. He looked so terrified. And small. Like the fear had shrunk him down. He’d watched the boy grow up and suddenly he was same ten year old he’d comforted after his brother left. Bruce bit his lip. He didn’t know how to respond to that. When it was Amy, he’d said yes. Because he hoped thought she would survive, then two weeks later he’d watched a bullet be put in her skull. He still remembered how Billy had stood at his side with Griffin. Billy had hidden his face in Griffin’s neck, likely to avoid the blood seeing splatter.
“I don’t know.”
The words left his mouth before he could even really think. Billy’s face fell as tears began to well in his eyes. A sob left him, reminiscent of only a few hours before. Then another, and another. Before long he was full on bawling again, face hidden in his hands. ”I’m sorry, I really don’t know. I cant— I don’t wanna promise anything and have it end up like it did with Amy!” Bruce started rambling, more in an attempt to comfort himself than anything. ”God, Bruce, Don’t bring her up! She’s got nothing to do with it!” Billy choked out through tears. He was right, Bruce thought. Amy did not have anything to do with this. Suddenly he found himself crying too. Not to the extent Billy was, but still a steady stream of tears down his face. ”I’ll be back.” Bruce said as he stiff up, walking towards the door. He almost expected Billy to stop him, yell at him to not go. But Billy didn’t, he stayed where he was. Still crying. Bruce kept walking without shutting the door behind him. He found himself walking towards Billy and Griffin’s room. Maybe he was okay.