daddy's girl learned fast
Gert’s eyes are heavy and she’s only vaguely aware of the fire now; her world is Chase, his arm supporting her back, his fingers intertwined tightly in her own. He’s willing her to live, begging and she knows she’ll have to disappoint. Old Lace lies behind and in that strange part of the brain that thinks of things like that, she wonders what this might look like to an outsider. A girl and her dinosaur. It seems ridiculous, but in a world where she's the daughter of evil time-travelers, what isn't?
Her heart slowing, but she doesn’t panic. She's undecided on the concept of after-life and for a second she expects epiphany, that moment of clarity that makes old Greeks run around town naked. It doesn't come. She wonders if it ever will, but then realizes that it's already too late. That it doesn't matter because she’s not afraid to die. It’s a comforting thought in a sea of uncomfortable and she clings to it as hard as Chase is holding her hand.
”The future…is a threat…not a promise. I’ll never…become that woman."
Her voice grows weaker; her breath hitches in her chest as she gasps out the words. There’s so much pain, more pain than she thought possible, but she can't let go yet. She needs to tell him. He needs to know.
“You don’t know that!”
”Sure I do. She was boring. Besides…the old me said…that I never told you…I loved you. She…was wrong…”
She can barely see him now and quickly her eyes flutter close.
”Chase Stein...I...have...always..."
The world fades to black. She doesn't know what to expect but this dying business feels oddly anti-climatic. It's not like the movies. There’s no dramatic swell of music, no credits rolling across the screen. There’s nothing but void, all black and qui-
On the street where you live girls talk about their social lives
They're made of lipstick, plastic and paint
A touch of sable in their eyes.
Scratch the quiet. Was that Bon Jovi? Did Bon Jovi die, too?
Ooh she's a little runaway
Daddy's girl learned fast
All those things he couldn't say
Ooh she's a little runaway
Gert opens her eyes. Her vision's blurry; Chase had taken off her glasses. But that's not important, the important part is where Gert opens her eyes.
“Where?” she asks, her voice hoarse and barely audible over the guitar solo. “Where am I?”
Note: Gert is covered in blood and there's a rather fancy knife sitting beside her, but is otherwise fine. First tag gets to explain, everyone else finds a mildly bewildered teenager sitting on the couch. All dialog, with the exception of the last two sentences, comes from Runaways 2.18 by Brian K. Vaughn. Lyrics are from Bon Jovi’s “Runaway”.