ο½’ VIII ; suck it up ο½£

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EIGHT ; SUCK IT UP

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Β  Β  Β TARON IS A PART OF the vast majority of people who love sunsets. Who doesn't at least appreciate them? The swirling pinks, the purple splashes, the contouring of the clouds and of the sky beyond. They're fascinating.

He has been looking out of the window next to him, gazing at the masterpiece hanging above them caused by the setting sun. It's distracting him from the itch to smoke; they have only stopped once since the morning for another pee break, in which he and Eleanor stole away behind a vacant shed while Ray and Robbie had another row. They were barely able to finish half of the cigarette, though, before Ray shouted for them. They sighed, pinched out the lit end, tucked it away for later, and emerged from behind the shed, immediately being questioned.

"We were ravenously making out. I think I might be pregnant," was Eleanor's response to Ray's demands for an explanation.

Smiling, Taron replied, "We were just talking."

"Privacy still exists, whether you like it or not," Eleanor shouted as she rounded the van and got inside.

Taron looks straight ahead, through the front windshield. Ray is asleep in the passenger seat and Robbie is driving.

The absence of Eleanor's moving fingers, which have been relentlessly drumming on her thigh out of the corner of Taron's eye for the past hour, draw Taron to look at her. Eleanor's head is resting on the back of the seat, her head drooping toward. He tilts his head forward to look at her face. She's asleep.

Taron watches in amusement as Eleanor's head slowly slides along the fabric of the seat. Finally, Eleanor's head slips a few inches before coming to a rest on Taron's shoulder, her messy red hair falling in front of her face. Taron gazes at her for a few moments with a grin on his face before he looks out of the window once again.

☁

It's currently night time and Robbie is driving into a city, the streets crowded with hundreds of people walking. They are all traveling with their heads low, for it is pouring and only a handful actually have umbrellas. Solemn faces turn toward the van.

Worried, Robbie says, "Ray." He doesn't respond. "Ray?" He still doesn't respond, yet Taron opens his eyes at the commotion. His head is resting on Eleanor's, who is still asleep on his shoulder. "Dad!"

Ray finally wakes up, looking around as he blinks away the sleep.

"Do you think... think you could," Robbie says, gesturing to the wheel as he looks at all of the people staring at them.

"Don't stop β€” don't take your foot off the pedal," Ray replies as he and his son switch seats, managing to keep the car in motion. Taron lifts his head up and, feeling the absence of his cheek against the top of her head, Eleanor opens her eyes.

Only briefly acknowledging her position with the smallest of grins, Eleanor lifts her head up and runs her fingers through her hair, saying, "Where's everybody going?" Taron glances at her.

"I don't know, Elle," Ray replies.

"But we do, right?"

"Yeah, we do."

They continue driving through the crowd, the four of them becoming anxious as the people around them become more and more angry at Ray for not allowing them to get in the car. Some even begin to bang on the glass. One man hits the windshield with his closed umbrella.

"Jesus," Taron says.

"Everybody just wants a ride," Ray declares. Taron grips the baseball bat as the crowd begins to shout at Ray.

"I'm sorry, I can't. Please get away from the car," Ray says, attempting to stay calm. Suddenly, a policeman jumps on the hood of the van and bangs on the windshield.

"You could carry twenty people in there! Stop the car!" the policeman shouts. Ray and Robbie shout at the man to get off of the car. Eleanor takes deep breaths, feeling the oncoming wave of panic begin to creep in on her mind's horizon.

Ray presses the gas pedal and swerves, causing the policeman to fall off the side of the van. Ray begins to speed away as someone throws debris into the windshield, breaking it. Eleanor screams and Taron wraps his arms around her to protect her from anything else that could be thrown at the windows.

Seeing a woman holding a baby standing directly in their path, Ray shouts for the teenagers to hold on before swerving to miss her. Due to the lack of visibility, he drives into a telephone pole; all four of them lurch forward with grimaces.

"Is everyone okay?" Ray asks, turning to look at the two in the backseat as the crowd begins to rock the van and shout at them. The teenagers don't have time to respond, for the back windshield is busted open by a member of the crowd. Taron and Eleanor whip their heads around just before the passenger and driver side windows are busted as well, along with the window next to Taron. The four of them duck to protect themselves from the glass.

"Fucking hell!" Taron shouts, for a crowd member has wrapped their arms around Taron's chest.

"Taron!" Eleanor screams, attempting to save him by grabbing his leg, however the other man is too strong. Eleanor watches in horror as Taron's leg slips out of Eleanor's grasp as he is pulled out of the van, the bat still clutched in his hand.

"Ray!" Robbie shouts, for Robbie gets pulled out of the car as well.

"Robbie? Robbie!" Ray yells. A moment later the crowd pulls Ray out, too. Eleanor looks around with tears in her eyes as the crowd outside engulfs Taron, Robbie, and Ray. The rain, darkness, and mass of people prevent her from seeing them at all.

"No, just wait! Stop! Just stop!" Eleanor can hear Ray shouting in desperation.

A man breaks the window next to Eleanor and grabs her wrists in an attempt to pull her out of the car, as well.

"Get the fuck off of me!" Eleanor shouts, turning toward him and violently kicking her legs at the man's face until he lets go. Ray grabs the man and throws him into the crowd.

"Eleanor, get out of there!" Ray yells. Trying not to panic, Eleanor throws her bag out of the window and attempts to go through it herself. The man Ray threw pushes Ray, who kicks him in the gut. Robbie and Taron are also doing their best to keep people away from the car in order to allow Eleanor to get out, Robbie punching with all his might and Taron using the baseball bat on those who deserve it.

Meanwhile, Eleanor only gets as far as sticking her head out of the window before another man attempts to crawl in the car, pushing Eleanor back inside. Taron manages to hit the guy in the back with the baseball bat, however three large men promptly hold Taron's arms, take the bat away from him, and drag him into the crowd, as much as Taron writhes. Two of the men proceed to hold Taron's arms as the other hits him with the baseball bat.

Other men wrestle with Ray and Robbie as more of the crowd members crawl into the van, trapping Eleanor in the midst of it all; she attempts to fight her way over and under people, but every newcomer pushes her back in order to crawl inside. She looks around frantically as her throat begins to tighten and her body begins to tremble.

Finally, Ray manages to pull out his gun and fire two rounds into the air. The crowd instantly moves away from him, forming a semi-circle around the van.

Pointing the gun at people on the car, Ray says, "Get off the car! Gett off of the fucking car!" The rioters comply, those who were in the process of getting in the van also crawling out and backing away, leaving Eleanor alone inside.

She feels like she is about to throw up. Her ideas of claustrophobic situations are being buried alive, or being trapped in a room with no doors or windows; she has never contemplated an instance where she would be practically suffocated by wet men in a van. Nonetheless, her eyes are wide and her heart is pounding and she wants nothing more than to get out of this car, but she is frozen where she is.

Ray looks around, realizing that neither Robbie or Taron is in sight.

"Where's my son?" Ray says, pointing the gun at the crowd.

"You don't need that, man!" someone tells him.

"Where's my son? Robbie!" Ray shouts. He spots him and pulls him out of the crowd. Robbie is holding his arm and gasping for air. "Where's Taron? The other one, where is he?"

Taron is promptly thrown forward. Eleanor, finally snapping out of her daze at the sound of familiar names, turns her head to look out of the window. She covers her mouth as he collapses on the ground. He has a running bloody nose and is holding his stomach in pain, his eyes squinted shut and jaw clenched. Robbie manages to help him stand, however Taron flinches badly and considers yelling in pain.

Eleanor shifts her gaze to her father, her eyes widening once more; a man with a gun of his own is pointing it at Ray's head.

"Dad!" Eleanor screams from inside the car. Taron, Robbie, and Ray look slowly at the threat.

"Okay, man, put down the gun. I'm taking the car," the man says.

"My daughter's in the car...." Ray says, blatant fear in his voice. His trembling hands are raised in surrender. Taron looks at Eleanor, considering running forward and getting her himself.

"Put down the gun. I'm taking the car," the man repeats.

"All I want is my daughter," Ray tells him.

"Put down the goddamn gun!" the man shouts. Ray jumps, dropping his gun on the asphalt.

"Please, all I want is my daughter. Just let me take my daughter. All I want is my daughter," Ray says, terrified. The man glances at the car, just now noticing a teenage girl sitting inside.

"Yeah, okay. Go ahead, take her," the man says, surprisingly calm. Ray rushes forward and helps Eleanor get out of the van while the man gets into the driver's side. Eleanor picks up her bag and rushes to Taron before putting her arm around him in order to help him walk. Taron flinches as he drapes his arm around her shoulders. The two of them follow Robbie, who picked up the bat laying nearby, and Ray to the diner across the street.

Soaked from the rain, Eleanor, Taron, Robbie, and Ray manage to sit in a booth in the deserted diner, Eleanor sitting on the same side as Taron. She looks at him worriedly as he lets go of his bleeding nose and instead holds his stomach with his arms, the pain he's feeling clear on his face. Ray is holding the side of his head, which is bleeding slightly, and Robbie is clenching his chest. All of them are struggling to breathe properly.

"I'm sorry, I must've took a wrong turn, I know I fucked up β€” " Robbie begins, wincing at nearly every word.

"It's not your fault," Ray says simply, looking down at his hands, which rest on the table. Robbie looks at him with a surprised expression; he completely expected Ray to go off on him.

Taron looks up, taking a deep breath and looking at Eleanor. She's rubbing her wrists and looking at him worriedly.

"Are you hurt?" Taron asks her.

"You're asking me if I'm hurt?" Eleanor asks incredulously.

"Seriously, Eleanor. If they touched you I'll go back out there and beat their asses. I don't care if I get shot."

"I'm fine, Taron. Relax," Eleanor replies with the smallest of smiles, putting her hand on his shoulder. He nods once.

Eleanor looks at his bloody nose a moment longer before taking napkins out of the dispenser. She wads them up and leans forward, gently holding Taron's chin. Taron looks at Eleanor's brilliant eyes as she dabs the blood off of his face.

Suddenly, various gunshots are heard from the riot beyond the diner. The four of them jump, Ray holding his throbbing head, Robbie clutching his arm, and Taron holding his stomach, for his reaction caused his muscles to tense, shooting pain throughout his body. Robbie and Ray turn around to find a man with Ray's gun shooting at the man who threatened Ray. As the car rolls to a stop, the rioters swarm the van like ants before someone takes control and drives away.

Despite being in pain, Taron wraps his arms around a trembling Eleanor, who hugs his torso as gently as possible. The four of them are all crying, for not one of them know what to do next.

Robbie turns his head to look at Ray for any comfort at all, but Ray doesn't have any.

☁

They have been sitting in silence for ten minutes, looking out of the window at the now calm crowd continuing to slowly walk along the road in the pouring rain. Eleanor has been gazing more at the glass of the window than at the people; the rain drops sliding down, her pale reflection looking back at her.

She appreciates the moment. She appreciates sitting in a calm environment, wrapped in Taron's arms, listening to the rain, feeling his heartbeat pounding in his chest. But they can't sit here forever, can they? If they all weren't shivering from the biting cold, Eleanor would consider not saying a word.

"What's the plan?" Eleanor asks, looking at Ray and Robbie. Robbie glances at Ray, who shrugs, his eyes studying his folded hands. "You don't know?"

"Rigby, I think we're all just in shock...." Taron starts. Eleanor sits up and he reluctantly retracts his arms.

"The whole world's in shock, Taron." She puts her hands on the table, looking at the other two. "If we just sit here and don't figure out what we're gonna do next then we're not going to survive this thing."

Ray continues gazing at his hands.

Eleanor looks at the other two, who stare blankly back at her before glancing at each other. Eleanor rolls her eyes before sliding out of the booth and standing up.

She peers over the counter of the diner before jumping over it and disappearing through the double doors to the back room.

Finally alone, Eleanor takes a moment to lean against the wall and hold her face in her hands. She allows herself ten seconds to freak out β€” to cry silently, to let the fear overcome her, to unwind. Ten seconds.

When they are over, she whispers, "Suck it up, Eleanor." She takes a deep breath and nods once.

Taron, Robbie, and Ray watch with curiosity through the horizontal window provided for the cooks as she walks back and forth, retrieving what she needs.

A few minutes later, Eleanor returns with a stack of hand towels, three small bags of ice, and three cups of water. She balances the items in her arms phenomenally as she kicks open the swinging counter door.

Setting the items on the counter, Eleanor says, "We're going to stay here for a few hours to regroup. There's no use going back out there in the rain, especially since they've got guns. We'll continue on foot. So, drink some water, ice whatever hurts no matter how much you don't want to, and throw your jackets in a pile so that I can dry them. Use those towels to dry off, too. The gas is still on, so I'm going to find something to cook." She looks as though she were about to turn around, but she stops herself to look at Ray and add, "Oh, and I guess now would be a great time to tell you that I smoke, since I'm not going to go out back to hide it from you. So, I'm going to smoke a cigarette and make us some French toast, and no one's going to give me shit about it. Deal?"

The three boys continue to look at her incredulously. Receiving no objection, Eleanor nods once before turning around, walking behind the counter, and pushing through the double doors.

"At least one of us has their shit together," Robbie declares after a few moments of silence, obeying one of her orders by picking up a glass of water.

Taron continues gazing at Eleanor, who is just visible through the cook's window, with admiring eyes and a trace of a smile playing on his lips. His eyes wandered up her body as she turned away, amazed at how calm and tranquil she is; he's supposed to be her rock, right? Him, Robbie, and Ray are supposed to be the calm and tranquil ones, the ones keeping her sane. But they failed her in a moment of desperation, so she took the role on herself β€” and Taron admires the shit out of her.

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author's note ;

dorm life is pretty cool so far. i mean, i panicked when i realized that i'm actually responsible for a lot of shit, and i cried when my mom facetimed me, but i'm an aDULT I'LL BE FiNe. and the bit about eleanor falling asleep on taron's shoulder is completely inspired by my avid love for jim and pam

i mean, c'mon.

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