Life is too short

by Katashi
(Queensland)

Ashley Purdy, had always enjoyed wild car rides with his best friend Katashi. Driving slightly too fast, yelling out the window at on looking street walkers, the thrill of sneaking out late at night. It had been the highlight of their teenage years. They had spent almost every night driving around town, breaking multiple rules and crawling back into bed before anybody noticed they had gone.

But as they grew up, they temporarily grew apart. They both pursued their music careers, soon they were touring, and there was no more time for late night rides. Ashley in the majorly famous Black Veil Brides, and Katashi in the quickly catching up The Raiders.
But on this fine Los Angeles night, both bands found themselves on Warped Tour, with plenty of free time. It wasn't long before he had snuck out of his tour bus, and was creeping along quietly to his sleek black car, where she was waiting for him.

"You're late Purdy-boy" she greeted with a smirk. She had not changed much since she was young. Her hair was still the same shortly cropped white way it had always been, her eyes were a bright green, and her skin still as pale as ever. She somehow had gotten more beautiful than when Ashley had last seen her, and his heart began to thump faster. It felt great to see his best friend again.
He pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tightly before letting her go and opening the car door for him. "Ever the gentleman" she giggled and she sat into the warm leather seats. Ashley joined her in the driver's seat, and soon he was pulling out of the grassy car park, and out onto the main road.

"So I see you're in a band now" he started, his eyes flickering to her reflection in the rear-view mirror, smiling gently. She nodded, smiling back through the mirror.
"Yeah, I write all the songs" she boasted in a cheeky manner. Ashley chuckled at her, and sped the car up slightly.
"Hold on tight to your seat darling, it's about to get bumpy" he advised, smirking as the car raced down the highway. Katashi laughed gleefully in response, throwing her hands up above her head, enjoying ever second of their dangerous ride. They drove on, laughing and remenscising the old days, when they did this almost every night together. Ashley had missed her a lot, in fact he was even in love with her, and had been since the last time he had seen her. He had slept around a lot, earned the title of a player, and often took pride in it. But he had never forgotten Katashi.
He turned his head to gaze at her, take in her wonderous beauty. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach, fluttering around like trapped birds, his heart pounding from the thrill of the ride and the joy of being with someone he loved.

"Katashi..?" he whispered softly, grabbing her attention. She turned to look at him, and he leaned over, pressing his lips to hers.
It all happened very quickly then. Katashi pulled away first, and in that moment saw the car that was heading straight for them. "Ashley!" she screamed, pointing forwards. He turned his head, and also screamed, swerving the car quickly. There was a loud screech of breaks and then a loud crash.

Ashley blacked out for what felt like hours. The car had fallen into a ditch, landing upside down. His head, in fact everywhere, ached. This wasn't like the usual pain of an injury. This was pain like he had never felt it before. Everything felt hazy, and the faint noises from the highway above them sounded like somebody had physically grabbed each sound and stretched them out.

But what hurt Ashley the most, was when he turned his head to see Katashi. She was badly beaten up, bruises lining her bare arms and high cheekbones. A line of sticky blood trickled from her temple, and she was thrusted at an awkward angle from the seatbelt, almost like she was hanging from it.

"Katashi?" he whispered hoarsly. When she did not answer, he tried again, louder and more desperation to be heard in his voice. But she still did not answer. Katashi, his beautiful and wonderful best friend, his first and only love, was dead. Tears came quickly, streaming down his cheeks like a river. He undid his seatbelt, forced the car door open and crawled out, his legs screaming at him to stop.

He did not get very far from the car, before exhaustion and depression kicked into overdrive all at once, and he collapsed on the floor. Nightmares of his dear Katashi plagued him, before he too slipped away in the cold night.