Chapter One, Quantum Leap
Amata's eyes slowly lifted open. It was early morning in Vault 101; the date being the November the 11th, 2273. Amata's first thoughts weren't of the coming day, the work that she would have to do, or the fact that it was her birthday. No, the first thoughts coming to Amata was that it was early, too early, for her to be awake. All she wanted to do was sleep, something she had little time for, being the Overseer's daughter. Indeed, it was all too common for Amata to be only receiving around five hours of sleep. Amata forced her light sensitive eyes open and went to awake her Pip-Boy 3000 from its low power, resting state.
The clock on the device read 5:59 A.M.
Amata scrambled to turn off the hellish alarm function of the Pip-Boy, in an effort to avoid the coming temporary deafness that would come at six in the morning. Seconds before Amata disabled the alarm, the wrist-mounted computer let out a blaring and ear-splitting Beep!
"God, whhhhyyyyyyyyyyy?" groaned Amata. She quickly shut off the alarm, slinking out of her bed.
Her feet were freezing against the cold steel floor of the Vault, something she was ultimately used to by now. Tip-toeing over to her dresser, she quickly switch out her nightgown for a clean Vault Jumpsuit. She made her way to the own bathroom, a luxury only her and her father had to share, as everyone else had to use the public toilets and showers, as deemed by Vault-Tec for being too wasteful and resource hogging.
Amata put on her usual little make-up and made her hair into her usual trademark bun, with a few hair strands to spare as per normal. She brushed her teeth and went to put on her old faded blue Chuck Taylor shoes. She walked out into the office space to see her father's office door open. The Overseer was stood in front of the large, circular window overlooking the Vault's atrium, screaming arrogance and self-confidence. Her father stood tall, chin slightly elevated, with his arms behind his back; hands interlocked.
"Good morning, Amata," he said without flinching, seeming emotionless and catching Amata off guard a bit.
"Morning, Father. How did you know I was standing here?" Amata asked, trying to make conversation.
"I can see your reflection in the window," he said, now turning his piercing eyes to Amata, to which she could see him staring right at her, "plus, you made quite the racket getting up."
"Er, sorry, I didn't mean-" Amata said, being interrupted by her father. "Nonsense." he said, turning towards her. "Amata, come here for a second," he said slowly.
Amata unconfidently made her way over to her father, fearing she was in trouble or another lecture. What did she do wrong this time?
"I wish you to have a nice day. Happy Birthday. For today, I have decided to release you from your duties. You may spend your time as you so wish after school today… 'having fun,'" said the Overseer, with a touch of regret in the last sentence. He tried to sound as genuine as possible, if that was possible.
"Oh, great! Thanks, Daddy!" Amata giggled, hugging her father. Amata almost thought her father had forgotten her birthday. It wouldn't have been the first time. She smiled.
Amata went back to her room and finished getting ready. Being her birthday, Amata decided to doll herself up at bit more with make-up and curl her hair for once. Once she was done, she checked her Pip-Boy: 7:26 A.M.
'Gives me plenty of time to have breakfast with Roman,' Amata thought to herself. Amata and Roman had been best friends since before both of them could remember. The pair had truly become inseparable through their youths, mostly due to their almost perfect compatibility for each other. Them being bullied by the wannabe gang, the Tunnel Snakes, and both them being motherless brought them even closer together.
Amata walked down to the Vault's clinic, searching for Roman. Inside, she only found James Howarth, the Vault's physician typing away at his computer.
"Morning, Dr. Howarth! Have you seen Roman around?" Amata asked casually.
"No, I haven't. Roman is probably looking for you actually. I'd check the Café if I were you," said James in his typical positive attitude, not looking away from his computer. "Oh, and happy birthday, Amata," smiled James, turning to look Amata.
"Thank you, thank you," Amata said smiling. She walked out of the Clinic, down to the Diner. She glanced at the time on her Pip-Boy again, subconsciously calculating the time she would get to spend with Roman. Amata felt connected with him, maybe she even liked him, though she would never admit it. But she knew Roman wouldn't bat an eye if she never showed, chalking it up to her being busy.
Without paying attention, she rounded the corner to the Diner and ran into a Tunnel Snake. "Watch it, Bitch." Wally sneered, pushing her back a bit.
Amata quickly caught herself and rolled her eyes, "Oh, good morning to you too, Wally."
"Pft, yeah, whatever," Wally sneered, walking out of the Diner with Paul following him out, trying to contain his laughter.
Amata watched them leave with anger. Their taunts and bullying had progressively gotten worse and worse recently, much to Amata's and Roman's dismay. Amata looked around the Diner to see if she could find her friend. Roman was sitting in the far back corner with a devilish smile on his face. Realizing Roman had seen the whole thing, Amata's face flushed with red.
Roman gave out a laugh that Amata always loved. "Morning, Amata. What's new with you? Oh, and nice hair," Roman said, sitting back in his booth and sipping on his almost empty Nuka-Cola Cherry.
"Thank you! And nothing much, honestly. Nothing exciting. I did manage to finish our class project for Mr. Brotch last night. Did you get it done?" said Amata casually, putting a few of her loose hair strands behind her ear as she sat down.
Roman laughed and downed the rest of his Nuka, "'Did you get it done?' she says. Hah, no, truthfully I haven't even started."
Amata just shook her head but was not surprised by her friend's major procrastination. "Oh my god, Roman. You do realize it's due in two days, right?"
"Of course I do. The history of Mexican dynasties just really doesn't interest me. I'll figure out something to show Brotch that morning," Roman said as he got up to throw away his empty Nuka-Cola. He made his way over to the vender machine. "Amata, you want anything? My treat," offered Roman.
"No thanks, I'm good. Thanks for the offer though," Amata deadpanned. "Something bothering you, Amata?" Roman said concerned as he sat back down.
"No, I'm fine. My father did give me the day off after class though. He even told me to have fun," Amata said giggled, finally glad to tell her best friend the good news. Roman gave her a disbelieving look.
"No shit," he said with a smile, "that's surprising. I wonder why he'd do such a thing." Roman raised his eyebrow and gave Amata a scheming glance.
Amata scoffed and gave him a playful kick. "Roman St. James Howarth, if you have really forgotten what day it is, we are no longer friends," Amata said playfully, knowing saying Roman's full name bothered him to no end.
"My god, Amata. Say my name one more time and I promise you we will no longer be friends," Roman retorted jokingly, "and yes, I know what day it is. I got yah something."
Amata let out a small gasp and sat up quickly, leaning into Roman looking very interested.
"Wowhoho there, Princess. Not so fast," Roman said chuckling as he poked Amata's nose with his finger, pushing her away playfully. Amata tried to ignore the sudden close physical contact. Unbeknownst to Amata however, Roman always tried to make some sort of physical contact with Amata without making it seem awkward or out of place. Roman loved talking to her and being close to her. How little he knows, Amata often thought. The two of them felt a connection to one another, but never said anything in fear of rejection.
"It's a surprised and you have to wait for it. I'll give it to you later. In private," Roman finished with a wink, happy in his victory against the oh-so-ever impatient Amata.
"You perv," Amata said as she playfully slapped Roman's arm, "just gimme my birthday present already, you slut!" Amata laughed, trying to push Roman out of his seat.
"Keep referring to me with such profanity and I just might relinquish your present for myself," Roman mocked, trying to imitate something her father would say. Amata just rolled her eyes.
"Fine, follow me after class today and I'll give you your birthday present. You'll have to wait until then," Roman said defeated. Amata shook her head whilst smiling, perhaps this wouldn't be such a boring day.
The two ordered breakfast and mostly ate in silence with the occasional joke or statement thrown out. Their classes started at 8:30 A.M. every Monday and Wednesday. For the days inbetween, they had off, due to the Vault only having one classroom with lots of students to teach. Amata and Roman belonged to Group 1, along with the other Vault youths around the same age, such as Butch, Wally, Paul, Susie, Freddie, Christine, and a few others. Group 2, having class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, mostly consisted of other older teenagers and young adults.
Not wanting to be late, the pair disposed of their paper trays and made their way up to the classroom, where they would always find Mr. Brotch welcoming his students first thing. Amata and Roman were the first ones there, as usual, being 10 minutes early. They walked in to find Mr. Brotch not waiting to greet them like usual, in fact he was at his desk talking to an individual unknown to Roman completely.
"Thanks, Mr. Brotch! I'll be sure to let my father know," said the unknown woman, turning away from Mr. Brotch. Roman finally got to see her face.
"No problem, I'll see you tomorrow," said Mr. Brotch. And with that, the girl gave a small wave and strode past Amata and Roman. The girl had long, wavy black hair and piercing green eyes. She was fairly tall, around Amata's height of 5 feet, 8 inches. 'Her jumpsuit fits way too well,' Amata thought. The unknown girl gave Roman a flirty smile as she walked out of the room. He smiled back, making Amata's heart sink slightly.
"Who was that?" Roman said silently to Amata as he took his regular seat in the front right corner desk. Amata sat down behind him.
"Um, I think that was Hannah Holden, Tom and Mary's daughter," Amata said boredly. She rested her head on her fist with her elbow on the desk.
"Hmm, really? I don't think I've ever seen her before. How old is she?" asked Roman innocently. He sounded interested in whoever his 'Hannah Holden' was, much to Amata's dismay.
Amata tried not to roll her eyes, "Uh, I'm pretty sure she's maybe 16 or 17, I dunno. I know she has a job and stuff, me being the Overseer's daughter and all."
"Hmph, well," he said. Roman turned around in his desk as class was just about to start, "she was cute," Amata heard Roman whisper just barely.
Something boiled deep within Amata, and she began to get very angry at nothing in particular. 'Am I jealous?' she thought, 'you bet your ass I am, Roman.'
Amata stayed in her sour mood for the good first half of the day but eventually just got over it when lunch time rolled around. 'It's my birthday today,' she thought, 'no reason to be mad over something so small, plus I'm getting a present later.'
Lunch with Roman was pretty normal, having the Tunnel Snakes and the other girls take up all the Booths with Roman and Amata sitting outside with their trays of food. The two made their usual small talk and jokes for the period, eventually being called back by Mr. Brotch. The rest of the day went without a hitch; Mr. Brotch gave his boring lessons, Butch frequently interrupted class to say something stupid, Christine and Susie complained about the learning material, Freddie was clueless, and Roman and Amata were generally silent. Amata and Roman both counted down the last 10 minutes of class in their minds. When class ended 3:30 P.M., the pair were one of the first ones to leave.
"Do I get my present now, Roman?" said Amata as soon as they exited the classroom. Amata was eager for her present, having absolutely no idea what it was. Perhaps a kiss? Amata could only hope.
"Amata, be quiet," Roman said playfully, "just be patient, my darling. You'll get your present soon enough. Follow me!"
Roman started a fairly reasonable jog, having Amata almost sprinting after him. "Roman! Where are we going?"
"You'll see soon enough!" Roman replied, laughing heartedly. They both descended multiple levels of the Vault. The difference in temperature between levels stuck out to Amata more than usual due to their rapid descent. The two past a Vault security guard, going full speed. The guard told them to stop but the pair disregarded the officer, not that the guard cared that much. The two fifteen year olds kept going lower and lower in the Vault. Amata thought it strange as the Reactor level signs came into view. Roman had already shown Amata his shooting range, what would he do this time? The door to Roman's shooting range came into view but they made a different turn to an area Amata had never been before. They ran into the room and Roman quickly shut and sealed the door to the room when Amata finally stepped inside after him. "Stay right there, Amata. Let me go and get your present." spoke Roman quickly as he left Amata alone in the insanely hot room.
It had been over 5 minutes since Roman left Amata alone and her jumpsuit was starting to stick to her skin from all the heat. Finally, the door open and Roman appeared. He held something behind his back. "Amata, close your eyes and hold out your hands," said Roman, sounding excited.
Amata did so, she closed her eyes and held out her hands. Roman let out a chuckle as he laid the present into Amata's hands. She gripped it tightly. It felt hard and cold. Almost immediately of holding it, Amata's hands felt tingly and she threw her eyes open. On her's and Roman's faces was a bluish purple hue of light. Amata gasped.
"A NUKA-COLA QUANTUM, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Amata screamed, clearly surprised by her present. She hugged Roman super tight, almost enough to crack his ribs. Out of breath, all Roman could do was return the hug and pat Amata's back slowly. "Glad you like it," Roman managed to croak out. Roman was secretly relishing the fact that Amata kept hugging him tightly. He honestly didn't mind if she would never let go. "I love it, thanks so much, Roman!"
Amata finally let go of Roman. He smiled that smile that Amata always loved. Roman's teeth were perfectly straight and were fairly white, he also had just a bit of facial hair, which Amata thought was very attractive. Amata smiled back and Roman looked into her eyes. Roman had always loved her eyes, the deep hazel that they were, being more green than brown. They complemented her face and her dark hair. Her face and skin were completely blemish free and smooth, with a few freckles here and there that Roman thought was adorable. Amata giggled at Roman and his face blushed, not something he did often.
"Taking in the sights?" Amata said in a flirtatious voice. Normally, Amata felt awkward and embarrassed if she had any sort of close contact with Roman but something right now had her at ease. Roman stepped back a bit and ran his fingers through his hair, clearly embarrassed.
Amata giggled. "Seriously though, thank you for getting me this. It must've taken you months to get your hands on it," Amata said seriously. She contemplated not drinking it and keeping it as a souvenir, though the glow of such a beverage would give it away to her overprotective father.
Roman kept running his fingers through his hair, something Amata noticed he did a lot when he was embarrassed. "Well, uh, I know you're practically obsessed with Nuka-Cola so I just thought you'd like this," Roman said, trying to be nonchalant.
"Like it? I love it, Roman. Thank you again. I'm honestly thinking of not drinking it and saving it as a memento," Amata exclaimed.
Roman just chucked, "Yeah, really? And what happens when your father finds it and you get a lecture about healthy diets? He already hates you drinking, like, five bottles of Nuka a day."
"Yeah, I know. I really need to get out of that habit. It's a miracle how my teeth aren't falling out," Amata said, smiling big as to show off her teeth.
"I'm still surprised they're not yellow or crooked!" Roman laughed. Amata gave him a playful shove and started laughing as well. Roman began walking to the door and Amata followed. As Roman was about to unseal the utility door, something sparked in Amata to do something she'd never she would do. Amata grabbed Roman's wrist right before he opened up the door and pulled him back into the room forcefully. "Uh, hey," she said awkwardly.
Roman raised an eyebrow. "Yo? You can let go of my wrist now, you know…"
ABORT MISSION. ABORT MISSION.
She let go of his wrist, quickly losing all her confidence and certainty. "Sorry, uh, I just wanted to say thanks again for getting me something," Amata said, stuttering a little bit.
Roman knew something was up, but didn't pay it any attention. Amata gave him another hug as thanks and to dissolve any tension or awkwardness there may have been, not that it worked of course. Roman just assumed Amata might be having her monthly flush of blood. He was just rolling with it.
They both pulled away but not quite. Roman's hands fell to his sides. However, Amata still had her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes for a millisecond, working up the courage. Amata finally made her choice…
"Fuck it."
Roman's eyes widened but it was already too late. Amata grabbed his face, closed her eyes, and smashed her lips against his. Definitely not my most graceful moment, Amata thought to herself. By this point, Roman's eyes were as wide as they could go but upon realizing what was happening, he closed his eyes too. Amata pushed Roman back against the wall as they kissed. Seven seconds after they started, they pulled away. They looked into eachother's eyes, simultaneously having the look of 'oh shit' on their faces. "Amata, I-I-I.."
The pair was interrupted by the clearing of someone's throat. "Ahem.."
The two quickly jumped away from each other, trying to seem as innocent as possible even though it was obvious they were caught in the act and didn't realize someone had unsealed the door for them. They turned their heads to see the mysterious and ever-so gorgeous, Hannah Holden. She was caked with dirt and grime, her hair was tied back, and she had visible lines of where her goggles had sat on her face.
"Look, I know you're young horny teenagers and all but this really isn't the place for a make-out session, especially since it's the Reactor Level," Hannah commanded, "and what the hell is that?" She pointed to the glowing glass drink in Amata's hand. Amata stammered, trying to get out a response.
"You know what, I don't even care. Both of you, leave before I have to call Security!" Hannah shouted at them.
Amata and Roman quickly scurried out of the reactor area, eager to leave before Hannah changed her mind. The two quickly slowed to a walk when they thought they were safe enough. The two were silent as they casually ascended the levels of the Vault. The two were close to the Diner when Roman cleared his throat, Amata looked over to him.
"So, um, what was that back there?" Roman said awkwardly. Amata was dreading any mention of the kiss.
Amata slowed her walk. She couldn't look at Roman, she was too embarrassed. "Look… I… I don't know what I was doing," she stammered out.
"Was it your first?" Roman asked, interrupting her.
"Obviously."
"Yeah, mine too. Thank you."
"For what?"
"Kissing me, I loved it. But, like, why?"
"Why, what?" Amata dodged.
"Why did you kiss me?" Roman asked, now a little annoyed at Amata.
Amata was about to reply when a security guard rounded the corner. The guard was none other than Officer Mack. Upon seeing the kids, Mack had to do a double take as he saw the glowing drink in Amata's hand. Mack, loving to start conflict, smiled as he saw the kids stiffen up. He would have fun with this.
"Hey, you two, whatcha got there?" Officer Mack sneered. He approached them confidently, with one hand on his gun holster. Amata just froze but Roman stepped in front of her, directly facing the oppressive Officer Mack.
"Nothing, Officer." Roman said.
"I know you've got a Quantum there, girlie. Hand it over before I have to go and tell your daddy," the officer said, moving in closer to Roman and Amata.
"Officer, with all due respect, today is her birthday. I got her that Nuka-Cola as a present. If you could please-"
Officer Mack interrupted Roman without a care, "Listen kid, I don't give a shit. You know those things are banned for a reason. I bet your daddy wouldn't be too happy if his kid got caught resisting arrest. Now, hand it over before I have to get violent," Mack said.
Roman looked to Amata as if to say he was deeply sorry. Amata didn't want to hand over her present but she knew she had too. With a sigh, she out stretched her arm, holding the beautiful light generating isotope beverage. Mack snatched it from her hands, catching Amata off guard. "Now, was that so hard? You punks better scram."
Roman and Amata turned and walked off away from the guard. Mack turn back around from where he came from, Nuka-Cola Quantum in hand. 'No doubt he's taking it to the security room,' Amata thought. Amata was so disappointed that she had lost her present. Amata wrapped her arms around herself. The more Roman thought about what just happened, the angrier he became. He spent weeks digging around the lower levels of storage to find such an item. Amata's present was probably the first Quantum in the vault to have eyes laid upon it in the last 20 or so years.
"Let's go get it back," Roman said in a poisonous tone of voice. Amata looked to him with a disbelieving look.
"That's right, let's go get it back! Show them who's boss!" Roman shouted under his breath. Amata didn't take him seriously and continued walking down the hall. He grabbed her arm and looked at her seriously. She raised an eyebrow.
"I have an idea," Roman said, "follow me!" Amata sighed and started following Roman.
Roman quickly walked with Amata on the way to his own quarters. "You know how there are those panels on the walls that cover up various pipes and wires behind them?" Roman said to Amata. She nodded. She knew about them, of course, needing to be familiar with the Vault and its workings if she was truly to become Overseer. "Yeah, but what that does that have to do with anything?" Amata said confused.
"Don't you see? We can remove one the panels and you, being smaller and thinner than me, can slip behind the walls and get into the security room!" Roman said, smiling at his idea. Amata looked at him incredulously.
"Are you serious? And what of the security guards in the room or of anyone who happens by? What then?" Amata said, a little annoyed.
Roman discounted Amata. "Why do you think we're heading to my quarters? I can draw out the guards with some of my leftover cherry bombs from that prank on Butch. Anyone who hears it will obviously avoid it. There's almost no chance you'll run into anyone."
The two arrived at Roman's quarters. Roman went into his room and reached under his bed to pull out a rusty foot locker. Amata watched from the doorway as he unlocked his locker. He searched through it and eventually pulled out six multi-colored cherry bombs, fuses primed and ready to go. Roman smiled the most devilish smile. He looked down to his Pip-Boy, it whirled to life. "Amata, what time do the guards change shifts?" Roman asked.
Amata thought back to when she was forced to the security protocols. "Hmm, next shift change is at 6 P.M.," Amata said. "We have a few hours to wait then," Roman said, getting up.
The two sat in Roman's room socializing and going over their plan. They hung out in Roman's quarters for about two and a half hours killing time by talking to one another, something they could for hours. No one mentioned the kiss or what happened down on the reactor level. No one mentioned that it was their first kiss or even that they were interrupted by Hannah Holden. They didn't mention how someone as intelligent as Hannah could get a job down in maintenance, just an ironic thing it was. The two were obviously trying to forget, but in reality none of them could believe what happened earlier. Amata had trouble paying attention to Roman when he went over the plan for the last time.
First, the pair would walk over to the security room and wait nearby. Upon the shift change, the pair had about four to five minutes to remove the wall panel so Amata could slip in behind without being seen. Luckily, the panels were only held in with clips and could be easily removed for quick access, both from the inside and out. Roman would then close up the panel and wait for the guards to show up. He would then set off a cherry bomb or two in a few secluded areas nearby to draw the guards away from the room. He would set one off and move to another area, setting off another cherry bomb to even further confuse any guards. This would hopefully allocate Amata enough time to get into the security room, take the Quantum from the confiscated items, and even delete the security entry about the event that her father insisted be written for any event, no matter how little or pointless. This would wipe any evidence about Amata's present being taken and the pair hoped without any evidence to support the Quantum ever being taken, the guards would just forget. They did handle lots of cases and situations daily after all. Amata couldn't just walk in the front door, as one needed a special security card to be able to access the door, something which only high ranking members of the Vault carried. Upon getting the items, Amata would back track her steps, climb through the wall panels, sealing them up when done. She brought a small rucksack to hold various items and the Quantum from sight. After that, she would climb her way back through the maintenance shaft and make her way to Roman's quarters where they would meet.
The pair departed from Roman's apartment. They tried to look as inconspicuous as possible on their way to their destination, making mindless small talk. They were almost there when they saw many different guards coming to and fro; the shifts were changing. They made their way to a nearby maintenance panel on the other side of the security room, near the door to the lower level of the Vault. Roman looked around the corner; he saw nothing.
"We're clear!" he said. Amata nodded at him, biting her lip. "Good luck," Amata said to Roman, he nodded back to her. "Operation Quantum Leap is now underway," Amata whispered to herself.
Amata used a flat-head screwdriver to pry off the panel from the wall. It was about two thirds her size and weighed a considerable amount. She stepped into the small space between the walls, multiple different types of pipes making it a tight fit. She reached out and grasped the panel. She pulled it back onto the wall from the inside and it snapped back into place. Amata was now officially in the dark and under the walls of the Vault. Amata's temperature skyrocketed even just a few seconds of being there, her jumpsuit was starting to stick to her skin and it felt as if her make-up was running. Her turned on her Pip-Boy light and started shimmying her way down the claustrophobic space. Even though she only had to travel about 40 or so feet, it took her a good ten minutes to navigate through the maintenance shaft, constantly having to shift her body or get around a pipe. She was about to grab another pipe when she heard a muffled, high-pitched pop!
Almost immediately, Amata heard hurried claps of footsteps running through the halls just on the other side the cold steel she was behind. She heard another pop, this time it was closer. The explosion this time was powerful enough for Amata to feel the vibration. Dust and other bits of grime fell off of the pipes all around Amata, she had to shield her eyes from any debris. Amata was about eight or nine feet away from the maintenance panel she would use to get into the security room. She noticed a gap between her and the maintenance panel, it looked to be about ten feet deep and 5 feet across. She would have to climb onto the pipes in order to get across. She tested her weight on pipe and grabbed onto another, shimmying her way across the gap.
She hand to stand on one foot or order to reach another thick pipe. She reached out for it and upon touching it, she felt the immense heat and burned herself, having her reflexes pull her hand away in a lightning fast motion. Amata screamed. It was this moment that Amata knew, she fucked up. She lost her balance and scrambled to get ahold of any pipe she could but no avail. She fell a bit, hitting her shin incredibly hard on the ledge but thankfully managed to catch herself before she fell into the trench below. She monkeyed her way back onto the ledge, gasping for air from the sudden rush of adrenaline.
She limped her way over to the maintenance panel and kicked it as hard as she could with her good leg. No doubt the other one was bleeding from a bad scrape or nick. The panel eventually fell after a few more hard kicks and Amata finally now had access to the security room. She heard another boom, this time it sounded very far away. 'You're so crazy Roman, I love you,' she thought to herself. She quickly sprinted over to the confiscated items crate, as to be as quick as possible. For some horrendously idiotic reason, the crate was unlocked. Amata opened it and had no trouble finding the glowing beverage. She closed the crate quickly and put the Nuka-Cola into her pack. As she made her way over to the computer, she noticed how incredibly filthy she was. She would definitely need to clean her sneakers.
Thankfully the computer was already on. Amata navigated through the menus and eventually found the section, Confiscated Items. She found the report on the Quantum on the top of the list. She quickly skimmed through it, being shocked at the utter rudeness of it and the lack of any sort of grammar either. It had been written by Mack himself. Amata heard another loud humble, this one slightly closer. Just like how the crate was unlocked, the report had administrative rights already given so Amata could delete the report without needing a password, probably due to Officer Mack lacking any sort of a brain to take precautions. Amata giggled at the thought and quickly shut off the computer. Realizing she could open the door from the inside without a security card, she made sure the panel was back on the wall. Once she was done, it looked like as if no one had ever broke into the place.
She quickly opened the door and stepped out into the hallway; it looked as if the Vault was a ghost town, or ghost vault Amata smiled. The door automatically closed and re-locked itself when she stepped into the hallway. Roman's quarters were a long way away, even if she took the shortest route. She would probably be questioned by the guards, especially since she was covered in dust, grime, oil, and other foreign fluids. She smelled as if she just got stuffed into a car engine. She jogged quickly through the hallways, taking a route that the guards probably wouldn't be patrolling. Amata dusted herself off a bit and she heard another boom, the fifth one since they started. Amata knew Roman only had one cherry bomb left and was only setting them off still because he didn't know long Amata would take. It sounded far away but Amata still wanted to waste no time; she broke out into a full on sprint. Thankfully today she decided to wear her sneakers and not the usual Vault-Tec issued boots, she could run much faster in her Chuck's.
She ran through the halls at breakneck speed, not stopping for anything. She ran a good half mile just on her way to Roman's quarters, running off adrenaline. Even though her lungs were gasping for air and her legs were burning, Amata never felt more alive. Thankfully she didn't encounter any guards during her run, only Butch looking at her like she's stupid when she passed him. As she ran into the quarters, she heard another faint high pitched pop, the last cherry bomb that Roman had. Amata closed the door and pulled down the metal shutters on the windows to the apartment. She checked her rucksack for the Quantum, it was still there, safe and sound. She stuffed it under Roman's bed, hoping to hide it if anyone happened by.
She sat on Roman's bed while waiting for him, tapping her foot in impatience and the fact that she still had some adrenaline in her veins. It was about 10 minutes before the door to Roman's quarters opened; it was Roman. He quickly shut the door and ran over to Amata. She stood up fast.
"That was fucking insane!" Roman exclaimed with excitement. Amata ran over to him. "Did you get it?" Roman asked.
She nodded with the biggest smile on her face. Roman showed an expression of relief. He grabbed Amata's arms and forcefully pulled her into a hug. Roman practically crushed her with his arms but Amata didn't mind.
He released the pressure from his arms a bit and held his hand at the back of her neck. "Are you okay?" Roman asked. She laid her head down on his shoulder.
"I'm okay. Are you okay?" She asked without moving from his arms. He responded with a yes and kissed her forehead, making Amata blush. He released her from his arms and they stared at eachother. They looked into eachother's eyes and they both kissed quickly, smiling at eachother as they pulled away. All the day's troubles melted away in that moment as they stood together embraced.
A/N: This is the first story I've ever attempted to write. This is easily the longest piece of writing I've ever written. I hope it is good and to your liking. Hopefully future chapters will be around this length also, and I will try my best to get new chapters out within a week's time if I can. I apologize if it seems like I have no idea what I'm doing or if the story is made up as I go; it pretty much is. I have a basic idea of what I'm going to do. Expect lots of awkwardness, drama, angst, use of drugs, violence, suggestive themes, etc.
This story is basically going to be Vault 101: The Highschool Years
And no, there will be ZERO smut/lemons.
If you could drop me a review, that'd be great!
