CHAPTER 9

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

Arthur and Malachi had basically adopted Raiden. His new bedroom was right next to the couple's, he was always with them, riding on Malachi's shoulders or in Arthur's arms hugging his neck. The only problem was he hadn't spoken since the night of the raid. Arthur said it was likely muteness by choice due to the trauma and left it at that.

The kid seemed happy enough, though he was wary of Orion and his group, clinging to whoever was closest when they showed up and staring at them fearfully. Unless it was Beckett, of course. I found that adorable. The first time Raiden saw Beckett he ducked behind Malachi's leg, and the two of them just stared at each other for the longest time before Raiden wandered over and grabbed onto Beckett's hand when he wasn't looking.

All the kids seemed to love him, which was nice to see. They all had adored Jayden, so they were devastated when he died, and Demi wasn't exactly nurturing, so for someone like Beckett to show up, with that same special presence Jayden had, was good to see. Even Beth seemed to like him, mainly because he was a softy and couldn't say no when she asked to hold his gun.

With his personality so similar to Jayden's, I expected Gale to become attached to him immediately, but he didn't. He was comfortable around Beck, but he never clung to him, never followed him around or anything like that. If anything, he spent a lot of time with Logan. It was kind of cute, the way he would try to interpret Logan's sign language. Weirdly enough he got it right nine times out of ten. Logan thought Gale was an intriguing guy, so he didn't seem to mind when the little doctor followed him around curiously like a puppy.

The funniest part of that was Carina seemed incapable of insulting him in any way. He tried, I saw it, but he just ended up with a face red from the strain of trying to think of a quip that would make Gale go away. Nothing worked, Gale just tugged on Carina's shirt with the usual dopey look in his eyes, and Carina was done. I guess that made Gale our secret weapon to make people not dicks.

Gale liked them all, which made the rest of the rebellion a little less uneasy about them joining us so suddenly. Basically, the rule is if the dog likes someone, they're trustworthy, right? In this case if the clairvoyant medical assistant likes someone, they're chill. We live in some weird times, that's for sure.

"How are you settling in?" I asked from where I was sitting on a bench just outside the schoolhouse, Raiden sitting on my lap with a stuffed rabbit in his hands.

Beckett was sitting next to me, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands folded, watching the kids running around in the first snowfall of the season.

"Fine," he answered me, "I mean... it's taking a little. I can't even remember a time where we stayed somewhere longer than a month or two. Once we had to hold up somewhere for like six months because Carina broke his leg, but we never really settled."

"And you guys never considered just putting down roots?" I asked, straightening the hat on Raiden's head to cover his ears.

"Not really," Beck laughed, "The way the world is, we never really thought it could happen. Even here, with the settlement, you were raided, people died. Orion never wanted to risk that happening, settling down only to get caught by the enemy."

"If you have a big enough group where everyone is skilled, it makes it possible," I said, "We lost people, but we're still here. We're strong. That's the point of the rebellion, to lay down roots, become something permanent, something sturdy that can't be moved no matter what. If we let groups like Fer-de-Lance or the Con Rồng push us around, then what kind of rebellion are we? We may be hiding, but we won't run if they come for us."

"Carina was right," Beck hummed, holding his hands up and setting his chin on top of his fists, looking at me from the corners of his eyes, "You're all insane. Maybe insane enough to actually succeed."

"Thanks," I said, "I think."

"So, you wanted to be an astronomer, huh?" Beckett said suddenly, and I looked over at him to see his folded hands in front of his mouth, "Small world."

"Orion told you?" I muttered, narrowing my eyes, and he shrugged.

"It's cool, though. You have something in common with him. Usually you always have this sour look on your face when he's around, maybe you can start making friends with him."

"You want me to?" I arched an eyebrow, setting my chin on top of Raiden's head and looking away, "I'm not really what you'd call... good with people. I can hardly stand you."

"Great."

"I don't mean that as I bad thing," I assured, sitting straighter, "I just have problems communicating. You're pretty easy to talk to, so you should feel honored."

Beck was silent for a moment, staring down, I couldn't tell if the red on his cheeks was from the cold or something else. Though I didn't have long to think about it before a hat was pulled onto my head, making me jump before turning to look at who'd walked up.

"If your doctor finds you outside without a hat, I'm the one who might get in trouble," Orion scolded, sitting down, and pulling a scarf from around his neck, reaching over me to wrap it around Beckett instead, "Both of you, shame. You're old enough to know when it's cold enough for things like hats and scarves."

"I'm not a child and I don't need you babying me," I snapped, though I didn't try to take the hat off, and Beckett just muttered something and reached up for the scarf.

"What about you?" he asked, and Orion waved a hand, leaning back on the bench.

"I make my own heat," he assured, and I reached up to slap a hand onto his face, making him jump.

"Wow he's right."

"Your hands are freezing, stop!" Orion grabbed my hand and pried it away, holding it out like it was evil, "Don't do that!"

"But you make your own heat," I complained, and he rolled his eyes, taking my other hand, holding them both between his own, rubbing them to get them warmer.

"Don't you have gloves?" he asked me, and I shrugged.

"You don't really find gloves just lying around during an apocalypse, you know," I argued, and he huffed a little.

"You're so much trouble."

"Everyone says that," I admitted, tensing when I felt something soft wrap around my neck, looking over my shoulder to see Beckett looking away again, his scarf now wrapped around my neck. It was warm, so were my hands, Orion was like a living heater, but when I opened my mouth to speak I was interrupted when a snowball flew out of nowhere and hit Orion smack in the face.

Beckett and I both gaped at him as he dropped my hands to slowly wipe the snow from his face, flicking it off his hand and narrowing his eyes over at where Carina was standing patting snow into another ball, whistling nonchalantly and smiling innocently at Orion when their eyes clashed.

"Here we go again," Beckett said, and I looked over at him before turning to watch Orion lean over to pack together his own snowball.

The next few moments just confused me. It was so out of character for Carina, the way he shrieked when Orion launched off the bench and ran at him, I was left completely speechless as their rowdiness somehow inspired the other kids into the snowball fight. Soon horribly shaped snowballs were being thrown all over, and Carina was screaming as Orion threw him over his shoulder and started walking towards a huge bank of snow that he unceremoniously dropped his brother in while grinning like an idiot.

I was smiling too, though I didn't realize it at first. All I could feel was a foreign stretch of muscles along my face that got a little wider when Carina tackled Orion around the waist and shoved him down into the snow before throwing handfuls into his face. Warmth was bubbling in my chest, and Beckett was watching me, startled.

"What?" I asked, and Beckett's lips twitched into a smile.

"You just laughed," he said, and I felt my lips fall back into the familiar frown before turning away, my cheeks warming up.

"Sorry."

"Why? You look nice when you smile," I looked back over to see Beckett still smiling at me, though he turned away a moment after, nodding towards the two brothers, "They do this whenever it snows," he explained, "Carina really loves the snow, it's the only time he smiles and laughs genuinely like this, when he and Orion get in these play fights. I guess it's because of how simple these snow days are, it's like they're kids again, no wars, no bombs, no death, just them being brothers."

"It's... nice to see," I admitted, setting Raiden on his feet when Beckett stood up, putting his fingers to his mouth and whistling to get the kid's attention, "Hey, do you want this back?" I asked, tugging on the scarf, and Beckett gave it one look before turning away, red back on his cheeks.

"Nah, keep it. I'm fine. See you."

I watched him walk back towards the schoolhouse, holding the door open with his foot for the kids who ran for him, then looked back at where Orion was standing dusting snow from his hair while Carina grinned and shook his shirt to get the cold fluff out, then said something to his older brother before turning and starting for the main house.

Orion watched after him with a small frown, still ruffling his blonde hair, which was a nice honey contrast against the white backdrop behind him. My face burned from the thought and I dropped my head down, holding the scarf up to cover my cheeks and peering up when I heard the snow crunching and Orion walking closer, hands in his pockets.

"Beckett back with the kids?" he asked, looking at the schoolhouse, "I honestly never pegged him to be very great with kids, he always has that frown on his face, I imagined children running from him, not towards. I am pleasantly surprised," the smile fell, "He'd be a good dad..."

I couldn't help frowning at that and looking over to where Beckett was crouching in front of Raiden, using his own sleeve to wipe snot away from his red nose before leading him into the building with a small push to his back. He wanted kids, I remember him saying, with his fiancé... then his fiancé died... I wondered if he still wanted kids now...

"Dakota," I looked up at Orion, who was staring at the schoolhouse and Beckett, a curious look on his face, "I'd like to make a bet with you."

I arched an eyebrow at him, "A bet?" I asked, "How old are you?"

"Funny," he chuckled, turning to me when Beckett disappeared into the building, "Are you willing?"

"Depends," I muttered, "What is it?"

"Hm," he smiled a broad smile, his eyes were shining in mischief, and he leaned towards me, taking my chin in his hand, making me freeze up, "I bet you that in the next few months, you'll either fall in love with me, or with Beckett."

I gaped at him, my mouth hanging open slightly from shock, furrowing my brow, "Excuse me? What makes you say that?"

"Intuition," he said, and I jerked my head away from his hand, snarling.

"Fuck off. That's a stupid ass bet! You don't know anything about me!"

"No, that's true," Orion hummed, tucking his hand back into his pocket as he quirked his head, "Although I was an Eagle Scout. I can sense these things."

I scoffed, standing and glaring up at him, "Alright, you smug prick, I'll take that bet," I held up three fingers, "You and he both have three months to make me fall in love with you. What do you get if you succeed? Which is highly doubtful."

"Oh, I'll have all I want if I win," Orion assured with a smile, and I narrowed my eyes more.

"And if I win, and I don't fall for you shit heads?"

His smile became sad, and he shrugged, "We'll do what we do best. We'll leave," my eyes widened in shock, watching as he turned, waving a hand, "Three months, starting now."

I watched him go, speechless, slowly sitting back down on the bench and reaching up for the scarf around my neck, tugging on it a little and holding it over my cheeks as I stared down. Bets were stupid, for children and high schoolers with nothing better to do with their time, so what was Orion thinking? And what was with the stakes he set down?

If I fell in love with either him or Beckett, then they were going to stay, but if not, they would leave? There were too many loopholes in there. What if I didn't fall for Orion but I fell for Beckett? What if I fell for Orion but not Beckett? Would they separate? Not to mention I doubted Maggie would leave the rebellion, not now that she knows I'm here.

Honestly, why did I even care?! I tried falling in love before, I thought I had fallen in love for the longest time, but it wasn't love, just loneliness and the need to be held for a night. Forgetting Ronnie, could I even do that? And anyway, what about Beckett? He watched his fiancé die! Why was Orion making bets involving Beckett without discussing it with him?! Why was I in the middle of it all?! Seriously, why me?! Why was I so special?! What did I do?!

I covered my face with my hands and groaned, lifting my head when I heard crunching snow expecting to see Orion or Beckett, only a little startled to see it was Gale, bundled up with a warm coat, a thick scarf, and a hat to cover his strawberry blonde hair. His eyes were on me, and I leaned back, frowning.

"You knew, right?" I asked, "About Orion and Carina being in that town. When Kailas and I were planning perimeter routes on the map, you pointed at Pluto and said stars. Good stars, bad snakes. Remember?" I bit my lip, "You knew they were there."

Gale just looked down and crouched towards the snow, starting to roll it up. I thought he was making snowballs until he set the first one on the bench next to me, then made another smaller one. That's when I realized he was making a little snowman. A sigh fell from my lips and I looked away.

"They're making things more complicated," I said, "Orion and Beckett. I don't understand what their deal is. It's like they've fixated on me."

"Dakota likes stars," Gale said, and I turned to see he was making a second snowman, a little bigger than the first one.

"This is different," I argued, "These are people. They just... happen to be named after stars."

"Dakota likes stars," Gale repeated, "Dakota is lonely... sad... hurt," he started to make a third snowman, "Stars are safe. Dakota is safe. Doesn't feel safe, feels hurt, is hurt," he was frowning, looking close to tears, "Dragons hurt Dakota and Demi," he whispered before finishing the third snowman, folding his arms over the edge of the bench and sitting his chin on top of his hands, "Dakota is safe."

"I really wish I understood you," I sighed, and Gale poked the smallest snowman, who was tucked securely between the other two.

"Dakota will be safe, happy," he held up three fingers, "Three months."

I gaped at him in surprise before standing up, blushing, "You heard that bullshit?! Just forget what Orion said, okay? He's just trying to rile me up! He doesn't mean it!"

Gale smiled up at me before looking at his snowmen, humming, "Everything is okay," he decided, head tilting, a small frown on his lips, "No... it will be. Not yet, it will be," his head lifted a bit, eyes wide, and he scrambled to his feet, grabbing my arm, looking extremely excited as he yanked me forward.

"What is it?" I asked, and he made a noise, trying to get me to move faster as he started towards the house, "Words, Gale, tell me what's going on."

I reached out to take one of his hands, and he turned to look at me with wide eyes, "Demi."

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net