Easier to Run

[Dustin]

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Dustin…Why must you be so strange? Can’t you be normal?
Damn kid! It’s all his fault!
Is that him? That’s the child of that whore…Oh crap, did he hear me?!

Dustin…Just leave. No one needs you here.
DAMN BRAT!
Heh….stupid fag. Serves you right.

Stop crying you baby! Don’t make me hit you again!
…You fool…

I hate you, you monster!

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Thoughts, they were piling up again. So many, so rumbled. Thinking was possible, even breathing seemed hard. Heart beats grew faster, limbs stiffened with anxiety. No…no, he wasn’t going to be eaten again. Dustin swore long ago, he wouldn’t fall back into that darkness. No, he was free from it.

His whole life he was given order, directions. His whole life he fought and rebelled. He wouldn’t listen, he’d never listen. He wasn’t some toy, some robot! He was a human, a strong one! He was going to live, and live the way he wanted. Long ago he ran from home, took a crazy trip through New York City, and for a month he was free of his family till he was forced back; it was the best time of his life. Everyday Dustin remembers the people he met, the lessons he learned. This time he ran again, but not to another city. He ran to Spain, another continent.

That is what he did, he ran. Whenever things got tough and he fucked up, he ran. The boy felt it was better, better for everyone; but not this time, no not this time. He hurt people, those he cared about, and got he wanted to run. A friend stopped him, a boy’s words gave him courage and Dustin found himself making another promise. He would stick by it through, this boy, this man was going to smile through this. He wasn’t going to give up, not just yet.

Splash

Cold water hit the boy hard, a shiver running through his body. The thin pale body floated in the clear water for a few moments, the cold seeping in deeper. It was early morning, there was no waves, the water was calm. Finally his arms stretched out and soon he pulled himself to the surface, breaking out the cool blanket. A gasp escaped the boy as he threw his head back, taking a large gulp of the sweet air. Water glistened around him, the sun making it glitter. Wide blue eyes quickly looked around, lost for a moment. The child was looking for the old worn pier, the tired yet stubborn fishermen laughing from above, waving a greeting. They weren’t there. He wasn’t there anymore, he was here. Instead there was a large stretch of beach, a large jetty jutting out from beach. The boy’s shoes and jacket were carelessly resting on the cluster of rocks, leaving him in only his worn jeans, his once loose white tee that clung to his skin now.

The boy took a shaky breath, floating in that cold water for a moment more.

Before long, the boy pulls himself to the beach, falling backwards into the soft warm sand. His arms are spread out away from him and eyes tightly closed. Another shiver raked through his body before he laughs loudly. Those thoughts seemed so petty now. He was free of them, forever. Free…finally free. He had a life here now, one he controlled. It was time to fix up and repair things with the ones he cared about. The first on his list was a certain gem-eyed friend of his…

But for now, he would laugh. Laugh at how pathetic those people and there words from back home really were. Laugh at how much better he was now, without him. Laugh at the fact that no long, he was bound to that cursed past. He was Dustin, not a toy. He was strong, he was brave and he would make it through this.

Fuck you all, I’m moving on

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^{TAG - sayJAMES
WORDS - say750-ISH
NOTES - sayLAWLCRACK8D
TUNES - rainbow veins , owl city.
CREDIT - template by MUNZTAR * of caution 2.0}

[James Everett Hunter]

^{((I'm sorry for the lateness D: ....))}

^{And sing on the beaches and dance through the night
Oh we'll cry 'pass the wine, pass the wine, pass the wine'}

<sup>What was wrong with this picture?

James was sitting on the edge of the beach, his right hand gripping the neck of a bottle of sherry. He was indulging himself, something that had never been allowed to happen before. Bleary-eyed, sleep-deprived, and uncombed hair made for a very disheveled-looking young man. He doubled over himself, his head between his knees, fruitlessly attempting to kept the world from spinning around him. James' head throbbed wildly, and no matter how tightly he shut his eyes, they still seemed to be trying to pop themselves out of his skull. He'd let himself fall way too far, way too hard...he wasn't the boy he used to be. He wasn't the studious little geek, he wasn't the naive little boy that came to this school in earnest. No, no, that boy isn't at the phone, please leave a message after the tone. He grimaced at his latest train of thought, choosing to drown it out with a swish of the candied alcohol. How long had it been since he was last on this beach? Weeks? No, it had been months...the last time he was here, the air had the sobering chill that the end of fall so often held.

But now, the beach was far different.

The sun beat down on his face, shaming him with its warmth. It taunted him with it's youthful energy, despite how the great ball of fire was as old as time itself. He fell back into the toasted sand, his ashen face buried within the grains, trying fruitlessly to hide itself from the world. Christ, the kid couldn't even remember how he had gotten to the beach in the first place. All he remembered was waking up here with nothing more than the clothes on his back, and a bottle in his hand. He look around the beach; broken glass bottles and charred wood in a pit admitted itself to a bonfire the night before.

...good thing it wasn't a school night, he chuckled bitterly to himself, pulling out of the ground and to the crashing waves. He threw the bottle to the sand haphazardly, not caring whether or not it broke or not. The waves battered his body mercilessly, abusing and purifying him all at once. It was painful, but he could physically feel the water robbing him of his filth; the ash from his face being pulled out into the tide, the sand from his skin reuniting itself with their collective mass beneath his feet. James felt something well up inside of him; it was a honeyed, glowing feeling that seemed rooted within his very soul. He could feel it spread itself from the depths of his bellly to his arms, his legs, his fingertips, is lips...and then...

He sighed contentedly.

Turning towards shore, James began to make his way back towards land. The water was frigid, and he didn't necessarily enjoy the rising water level that was above his waist at this point. Something was off, though. The boy's feet were firmly planted to the sand, the water not letting him move a single inch. The tide rushed out, and just as he turned his ead to see what was happening, he realized that a wave was swelling up to pummel him. He instinctively took in a breath of air, and shut his eyes tight as the water overcame him. He tumbled within the seawater, sputtering for air as he flailed towards the surface. Breaking out of the water, he realized that he was about twenty feet farther from the shore. Another wave hit him carrying him out farther to the sea. His eyes widened in fear at the realization of his situation.

James was in a riptide. He couldn't think of anything to do, anything to say, other than to cry out desperately;

"HELP!"</sup>

[Dustin]

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So warm, the sun was always so warm. A small smile rested on Dustin’s face as he felt the cold droplets leave his skin, only his damn clothes hinting towards his swim. God how he missed this. Simply laying the warm sand, relaxing. It's been so long since he relaxed. Dustin wasn't very uptight, but he had been very busy lately. It was really hard to change who one was, and he was most certainly having a hard time with it. The young male was finally trying in school, rather hard too. He knew he had to pass this year, so he could become a senior. Dustin had no goal after school, no dream. He threw all his dreams away long ago. Instead, he was looking to simply graduate and not get kicked out cause of his terrible grades. The thought made the child shiver. Graduation. Dustin really had no plans after he was done with his schooling. He couldn't go back to the states, he had no home and his family hated him. He had a few friends here, but they would all leave soon too. The thought was sad, but true.

The child had a bit of a plan though, brought to him by another student. To stay at the school, and work there. The thought actually fascinated him. To never leave this place, this wonderland. Yeah, that sounded good, real good. Maybe then, he can finally start doing good in his life. He really was trying, what with his struggling up grades, lack of drinking, and even having a job. Of course the job paid for his schooling and well, he still drank, just not as much. It hurt him to know he had succumb to the same addiction as Tammy, that damned woman. He swore never to have anything in common with his foster mother, but perhaps it was destined to happen. Either way, he knew he could never truly be like that woman. He would never choose the bottle over those he loved. Never.

HELP!

Dustin's eyes shot open at the word. That was far too loud to be this thoughts. It was a voice, a voice that seemed familiar. The boy sat up, sand falling from his wet back as he did so. For a moment the sun was bright, unable to see. It made him see things that weren't there, was he that tired? He was saw James, in the water. That can't be true. That can't—it was. It was James. Dustin couldn't help but stare for a moment, blue iris' wide in shock. The boy was struggling in the water, and seemed too far from the shore. Dustin grew up his whole life on the beach, on the ocean. He knew what that meant. Riptide.

It only took a moment for Dustin's mind to shut down and for instincts to take over. The boy was to his feet in a matter of seconds, then running. Not to the shore, to the jetty. The rocks stuck far out into the water, it gave Dustin a much better lead then the shore would. It was strange really, when one's mind shut off how Dustin's has. You tend to not notice many things, your goal is all you can see. Normally this would be dangerous, but the male couldn't care less. The boy ran hard, barely noticing the rough surface of the rocks as he got the edge of the jetty. He almost lost he balance once on some rock-fungus, but he caught himself and quickly moved to the next rock. It wasn't long before the rocks ended. The boy took in some air, a dove off the rocks, into the cold water. It was deep here, enough for him to swim without getting hurt. It was so cold, his skin chilling quickly. The boy was almost tempted to stop, but didn't. With a strong kick up, he broke the surface and started to swim towards the one who called out. Dustin knew a lot about riptides, and he knew how bad they were. It was hard to see them, almost impossible. For Dustin though, he would see the way James was moving, get a sort of feel of the direction.

Finally, finally he was close to the younger male. Dustin swam hard into the riptide and for a moment he felt panicked. The water was strong, he could barely move other then kick his legs as he was yanked back. His worry killed the panic though, his thoughts settling back on his goal, on his friend. "James!" Dustin gasped out the boy's name as he swam with the tide for a few moments, only long enough to be closer to James, close enough to reach out and grip the boy's shirt. Holding tight, he pulled the boy close, their bodies flush together. Taking a shaky breath, Dustin quickly looked the male over, giving a worried expression. "Are you ok? Ya gotta calm down...I got ya" Dustin gave a soft smile, trying to ease the boy. There was nothing worse then panicking at this moment. Of course nothing would be easy, even if the boy calmed down. He would have to have James trust him and well, at this point in time, Dustin was scared to ask for it. He didn't deserve to ask, for anything. Not a damn word from this boy; But, such worrisome thoughts could come later. The matter at hand, was getting James safe.

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^{TAG - sayJAMES
WORDS - say950-ISH
NOTES - sayD8FAIL--sorry >w>;; it sucks
TUNES - rainbow veins , owl city.
CREDIT - template by MUNZTAR * of caution 2.0}