Second Chance

Trigger Warning: Mentions of neglect, substance abuse, abuse and abandonment

Ash was your regular college school student, he had decent grades, he had a few friends and as well had a passion for music. He was a self taught guitarist who had dreams of joining his own band someday. On his first day of school he was going to his next class as per usual and as he was walking up the stairs he encountered someone sleeping. He was sitting upright and appeared to have a guitar case resting on his lap, he looked tall and had short black hair. As soon as Ash was about to walk past him to get to his destination the boy slowly woke up. He then frantically began to apologize profusely to Ash for being in his way and got up and left leaving Ash stunned. Although the interaction was odd Ash had just brushed it off and continued going on with his day. After some time the class was over and Ash headed back to his place so that he could rest from a long day's work. He arrived at his apartment, showered and ate dinner before flopping onto his bed and began to drift away. Much to his despair he woke up in a cold sweat after having the same recurring nightmare. Ash doesn't like to speak much about his past due to the traumatic scars that it has left on him. When Ash was a child his mother had left him in an orphanage due to being unable to take care of her child financially. At the age of 8 Ash was adopted by a man named Dino, at first glance he appeared to be an amicable person who just wanted a kid. Throughout the first few weeks after Ash started living with Dino things were great, he took care of him, got him gifts and spent quality time with him. This however was short lived after Ash accidentally had broken a valuable item in their home and Dino grew upset with him. To discipline Ash he was put into a small storage closet where he had no light, no food, no water, no warmth for hours. This was only the beginning of the neglect Ash had been through until he was the age of 16, the day that he left. Dino had been suffering from alcoholism for a while now and by now Ash was used to this behavior, but that day Dino had a little too much to drink. He had started to become more aggressive and was banging on Ash’s door yelling for him to open the door. Prior to this day Ash had already been planning on escaping after having suffered through many occasions where his adoptive father would take out his anger on him. So as to nobody's surprise when Dino was banging on his door aggressively Ash had grabbed his packed bags with everything he needed to survive on his own for a while and simply left through the window where he then ran and never looked back. After having escaped Ash met up with his best friend Syrus who had let him stay at his place in the meantime. They became really close during this period and after graduation they had applied into the same college and got in. Now they are roommates who live off campus in a two bedroom apartment and are both sophomores attending the same college. As Ash arose from his bed to check the time he sighed heavily seeing that he had only been asleep for just a few hours. Not wanting to have repeated the dream he put on his jacket and shoes and he left the apartment. He reached the elevator and entered, as soon as the doors were about to close however someone ran and stopped the doors from closing. Ash recognized the boy to be the same one who had been sleeping on the stairs earlier. Ash had also seen the expression of recognition that was painted across the boy's face. The boy then bowed politely and they descended in silence, but Ash was curious about this boy. Before Ash could say anything the elevator stopped and they both walked out going their separate ways. Ash took a walk to the convenience store to buy some snacks to take back home. As he walked back towards the apartment he wondered if the boy was in a band since he was interested in joining one and had decided that he would get to know him so he could ask. By the time his train of thought ended he had already entered his apartment and had attempted to sleep again this time being successful. The next morning Ash had class so he grabbed his stuff, ate and then left for class. He went to take the same staircase where he had seen the boy the first time when he arrived the boy was indeed there sleeping yet again. This time Ash had some spare time and went and sat next to the boy, he tapped him on the shoulder. The boy woke up and was surprised to see Ash and he had asked him if anything was wrong. Ash had simply stated he wanted to get to know the boy since he seemed like he had an interest in music, so he then introduced himself. The boy shyly replied and introduced himself as Elliot, he was indeed interested in music and was already a part of one. When he told Ash this information his eyes lit up at the opportunity and Elliot had invited Ash to swing by to check it out. Having heard this great news he had excitedly thanked Elliot and had asked if he could bring his friend Syrus to join him. Elliot was more than happy to say yes as he was on the lookout for two more band members. They exchanged contacts and said goodbye to one another and Ash headed to class happy as ever. That following evening Ash had told Syrus about the great news and they then headed out to the location of the band's studio. Once they both arrived Elliot greeted them and introduced himself to Syrus and Ash found out he was the lead singer and played guitar as well. The other group member Blake who was the drummer had also introduced himself to the two new members and they quickly got comfortable with each other. Syrus and Ash were accepted into the band a few days later and now they are beginning to compose their new music. When the band was fully complete they began to brainstorm names for the band and ultimately called themselves “given” which perfectly suited them. After a few months the group was composing their new song and was trying to find a place where they could perform. During one of their nights brainstorming for their new music Blake and Elliot had spent the night with Ash and Syrus at their apartment. That night Elliot had slept in Ash’s room. That night was another one where Ash had the same recurring nightmare as before. He tossed and turned in his sleep and made sounds full of despair. Hearing this Elliot woke up and tried to wake him up and spoke words of reassurance to calm him down. Ash then suddenly woke up distressed in the arms of Elliot. Elliot managed to calm him down enough and asked Ash about what had happened. Although Ash isn't a very open person he feels like he can trust Elliot and so he tells him the story. Elliot silently listens as he comforts Ash and reassures him that he will always be there for him, whenever he needs. After hearing Elliot's reassurance Ash was able to sleep peacefully for the first time in a long while. As the days went on Ash and Elliot had grown closer as they met up at school everyday and hung out on the staircase. As their friendship grew so did their love for each other and they both unknowingly fell for each other. They continued to be the same as they worked on their song together, the band had finally found an open spot in a festival where they could perform. After they had found this out they had started to really prepare themselves for their audience. They had been making the finishing touches on their song and their performance was just a month away. On this particular day Elliot had been preparing himself to ask Ash out and was nervous to hear his response. After their practice Ash and Elliot had been walking together on their way to their respective homes. They had been crossing the street and without noticing a speeding car was suddenly approaching them and in that moment their eyes widened. Ash panicked and pushed Elliot out of harm's way. Ash’s body was then hit by the speeding vehicle which sped off after the collision. Elliot, who was already sobbing, ran desperately to Ash and called out to the bystanders for help. The police and ambulances arrived, the police took in Elliot for questioning and Ash was rushed to the hospital. As soon as the police finished investigating Elliot he rushed to the hospital to see ash, he needed to know what happened. When Elliot arrived he saw Syrus and Blake waiting anxiously and he ran to them. He trembled as he asked the two what had happened and they said the doctors hadn't told them anything. As soon as he heard this the doctor who was taking care of Ash approached them and asked them if they were the relatives of Ash. Without hesitation they responded yes and the doctor then delivered the news to them. Ash had already passed away. Elliot's whole world collapsed in that moment, he shook violently as he hit the ground with his friends following soon after to comfort him in that moment. He thought if only he had paid attention, if only he was the one who had pushed Ash out of the way, if only he could save him. Blake and Syrus helped Elliot up and led him home to get some rest after the horrible events that had just occurred. Elliot's grief was unbearable, he had coordinated the funeral and wake for Elliot and had even given a speech at the wake. His life energy was completely drained from him. The one thing that kept him going was the upcoming concert that he had now in three weeks. He had thrown himself into his work, he practiced every hour he could. He had told himself he needed to do this, not for himself but for Ash whose efforts would not be in vain. Elliot had spent everyday and everynight thinking about what he could have done differently with Ash, how he could have savored the last moments of Ash’s life. Elliot had started to write a song about Ash and the moments they had spent together while he was alive. Elliot poured what was left of his heart into this song. On the day of the festival the three were preparing to be next on stage. Blake and Syrus were unaware of the last minute song change and Elliot had made sure it wouldn't interfere with their past preparations. As they got on stage Elliot let out a shaky breath as the music started to play. One Elliot had begun singing and the other members grew confused as this was different from the original song but they continued when they realized who it was about. Elliot sang beautifully and full of emotion that drove the audience to tears as they listened to the melody. When the song ended tears were streaming down Elliot's face and he spoke into the microphone. He thanked the audience for listening and said that this song was called “can’t let go”. His song was a message to all those who have mourned the loss of a loved one and simply can’t let go.