For the 'Bad things happen' angst bingo on tumblr, this turned out closer to crack then angst.

It happened so fast, Ellis barely registered what he had done before Nick was already cussing at him, One hand craning around to grasp at his shoulder.

And then there were the zombies, attracted by their sudden noises and temporarily he had forgotten their ordeal amid the tedium of getting rid of walkers left and right, aiming for the kneecaps and the head, sticky blood clinging to his overalls. The smell of rotting flesh barely overpowering that of burning trash in the abandoned street.

Only then does it sink in.

"So don't freak out ya'll-" He says and Nick is staring at him with wide angry eyes, Ellis could swear one of them is twitching too.

"You fucking shot me!" The man states matter of factly, gesturing at the arrow sticking out of his flesh, a tiny puddle of red staining his already far beyond saving suit. "You fucking shot me and you're telling me NOT TO FREAK OUT?"

Coach hushes him quickly, the area far from cleared of the undead, but it doesn't seem like Nick gives a crap.

"It was an accident." Rochelle says calmly, throwing Ellis a glance that says more than words could about shutting up but 'being quiet' isn't exactly in his vocabulary.

"No, really, I was just testing it, I didn't know-"

"Kid." Coach warns but it's already too late.

Nick looks impossibly even more scandalized then before. "You were playing with it? And you shot me? I swear to god-"

"Just pull it out and stop being a baby about it." Rochelle says, coming up to him and Nick jumps, holds out one hand to ward her off.

"No!"

"No?" She crosses her arms and grins. "Are you scared, or what?"

"No, I just... It's fine, I'll do it myself." But he makes no move to actually remove the projectile. "I need a second, ok?"

They're all staring at him now, waiting for him to go ahead.

"Nick, we need to keep moving." Coach sighs eventually, usually the patient one but clearly also the sane member of their group. And that's when Ellis pipes up again.

"Hey, this reminds me of the time my buddy Keith shot-"

"Ellis, I'm not fucking around! You. Shot. Me. So if you're going to tell some sap story about your dumb friend accidentally shoOOOUCH JESUS!"

"There." The arrow clatters to the ground when Rochelle lets go of it. "Piece of cake."

Nick groans, dropping his uninjured arm to his side. "For the record, I hate all of you."

"I'm sure you do." Coach says, patting him on the back as the four start walking again.

Tumblr: sharada-n