Line of Fire.
Zach/OC
Summary: Nik Grady thinks it's just a normal vacation with her best friend and his little brother. She'll see her Uncle, just relax for a week. No such luck. An asset escaped, now she's running for her life, and trying to figure out her feelings for her best friend.
Chapter One: Welcome To Jurassic World.
I sighed as I shoved my last t-shirt into my bag, just for my phone to ring. So much for being on time. I saw it was my Uncle Owen, oh, yay!
"Hello!" I sang, juggling to throw my bags over my shoulder as I started out of my room. Now, I'm super clumsy, so getting downstairs should be fun.
"Hey Nugget! How's it going?" He greeted.
"It's going good. I'm on my way to Zach's, what about you? How're the babies?" I asked, he laughed. I had managed to get down the stairs without falling to my death. Todays going to be a good day. There was no one to say goodbye too, so I shuffled out the door and into the frigid December air.
"They're fine, but InGen has been sniffing around… Talking about the possibility of using them for war." He replied, my brow furrowed as I made my way towards the Mitchell household. My duffle bounced on my leg, making my trek on the ice a little more dangerous.
"War?! That's a terrible idea! They do realize that'd be catastrophic, right?" I noticed Megan, Zach's super clingy and annoying girlfriend was walking towards the house from the opposite end of the street. The sound of my Uncle's clicker pulled me back to my phone.
"You're telling me! Oh, shit! No! Blue! Hey, sorry Nugget, I've gotta go, but I will see you when you get here! Fly safe, make me proud, love you!" He hung up the phone before I could reply and I couldn't help but laugh. But it was cut off by Megan,
"Hey Nik!" She greeted, a fake smile plastered on her face.
"Hey Meg, here to see Zach?" I asked, she nodded and instantly stepped to the side, blocking my path instantly.
"What's with the bags?" She asked, clearly angry.
"What bags?" I asked. She kicked my duffelbag, I nodded.
"These bags! Right, of course, yeah, I'm going to the park." I shrugged. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull.
"What?!" She demanded, I nodded.
"Yeah! Didn't Zach tell you?" I asked.
"Uh, no, he didn't! What the actual hell?!" She scoffed, I rolled my eyes. She was crazy jealous when it came to me and Zach… Zach and I had known each other since we were in pre-k, we fought over the last green crayon, I won, but broke it in half so he could also color, and that was it. Best friends from then on.
"I'm just going to walk right past you now." I bolted for the door and she quickly grabbed my arm.
"Meg, seriously…" I sighed, getting fed up with her bullshit.
"No, Nik, you don't get it. Why on Earth would they let you go! I'm the girlfriend! You're just a friend!" She spat, shoving me away from her. I think she just answered her own question.
"My uncle works at the park! That's the only reason I'm going! Besides, it probably because you are the girlfriend!" I groaned. This chick, I swear. She looked
"Look Nikana! I love Zach… And nothing is going to come between us, okay?" She honestly thought she was threatening? I went to reply when she gasped.
"I thought I heard you, hey babe." Zach's voice sounded from behind me, she instantly barreled past me and I assume into his arms. Rude.
"Why is she going with you? Do your parents not like me?! What's going on Zach?" I rolled my eyes. Whiney and rude! I turned around to see the two cuddled up together.
"I'm going to go talk to your parents, see ya Z." I punched his shoulder lightly as I maneuvered around the couple. He smiled at me, and I chuckled.
"Hello Mitchell family!" I announced happily as I deposited my bags onto the floor.
"Hey Nik!" Mrs. Mitchell sighed, she seemed to be annoyed more than usual lately.
"I think Meg is mad you guys are giving me a ride to the airport." I followed her into the kitchen and went to make some coffee.
"Ugh, that girl has got some serious issues!" She shook her head, checking the time. I nodded,
"Where's Gray?" I asked, noting that my little buddy wasn't around.
"Up in his room, could you check on him? We need to get going soon." She replied, I nodded and walked up to find the boy genius in his bedroom,
"Hey Gray." I greeted, he whipped around.
"Hey Nik." He replied, I plopped onto his bed and picked up the stuffed stegosaurus I had gotten for him when I told him we were going to Jurassic World.
"Ready for a week of fun and excitement with your Aunt?" I asked, I knew he was looking forward to seeing Claire, they hadn't spoken to her or seen her in like 6 or 7 years. I remember Uncle Owen mentioning Claire before, that she was all about work and no fun.
"Yeah! What kinds of stuff can you do at the park?!" He sat next to me, and I laughed slightly. This kid and his dinosaurs. Not that I blamed him, dinosaurs totally kicked ass. For me, I had been to the park for work study the last 3 summers. Uncle Owen allowed me to shadow him, so that maybe I could work on the island after a graduated high school to put myself through college. This was my first time as a guest at the park.
"I'm not too sure G, it's my first time as a guest… I usually worked with Owen with the raptors." I admitted, he nodded in understanding.
"Are you sure you two are all packed? Nik, I found some of your clothes mixed in with Zach's." Mrs. Mitchell asked as she walked in, I pushed up from the bed.
"Good point, I'm going to go check." I ran to Zach's room and grabbed the clothes and we were ushered out of the house. Meg was whining to Zach about how she was going to miss him, how they needed to talk every day… I rolled my eyes and climbed into the SUV.
"I think if you glared any harder, she might just catch fire." Mrs. M teased, I shrugged.
"Would serve her right, she's rude." I shrugged. She chuckled and I noticed Zach was walking towards the car, an even more disgusted look on his face.
"So, how's Meg handling the long distance thing?" I asked, he rolled his eyes.
"She hates the fact you're going. I think I talked her down though." He shrugged, pulling his Beats over his ears. I knew Zach well enough to not bother him when he's upset; I swear the boy had PMS more than the entire female population. Not that blamed him. His parents, though nice, aren't exactly subtle when hiding their problems from the boys. It's kind of sad really. Both my parents at least made it obvious they hated each other and the only reason they stayed together was because of me. They recently split up though and were running around with significant others. Uncle Owen was my Mom's twin brother; he had always been more of a father than my own. I placed my own matte hot pink Beats and began to jam out to Fall Out Boy. Before I knew it, we were at the airport. We climbed out of the car and stumbled into the airport. I sent a text to my Uncle and watched as Gray and Zach said their goodbyes. An ache formed in my chest as I watched the exchange.
"Alright Nikki, please, please, please keep the boys in check. We love you!" Miss Karen pulled me into a bone crushing hug. I hugged her back as best as I could.
"Yes ma'am." I coughed back, unable to breathe. She released me and handed me the tickets.
"Don't lose these! Have a great time!" She backed away,
"And remember, if something chases you. Run." She winked. I let out a laugh and turned to the boys. Zach was un-amused, and Gray looked alarmed.
"Alright, well, security is getting pretty backed up. Let's go on an adventure!" I placed an arm around Gray's shoulders and grabbed Zach's hand and we shuffled into the line full of people.
"How pissed was Meg?" I dared to bring up the dreaded question. Zach sighed as he slumped into the chair next to me. Gray was on my left, reading a brochure for the park, from the looks of it, he had to have done it a million times before.
"Pretty pissed, I don't get why though. It's no big deal! I mean, two friends, going on a trip… It's no big thing." He shrugged.
"Yeah of course. And it's not like we're alone. Your brother is with us. We're visiting family. Nothing couple-y about it!" I agreed. He nodded.
"So, what about Kevin? Was he upset at all?" He fidgeted slightly in his seat. He always got irritated whenever Kevin was brought up.
"Oh, Kev? He's history." I shrugged this time. He did a double take.
"What?! After a year and a half?! When? How? What?" He looked baffled.
"Z, it's no big deal. He was actually banging Mindy Garcia, so, not a huge loss. I found out about 3 months ago." I replied.
"3 months?! Why didn't I know?!" He exclaimed. I laughed.
"Meg's had you in her vice grip for the last 8 months! You haven't been a phone call away anymore!" I replied. I didn't mean to sound bitter, but it hurt that he pretty much dumped me when she came into the picture.
"I'm sorry Nika. I promise, this trip is about you and me, just catching up. No Meg." He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and I let my head fall into his chest.
"I like the sound of that." I smiled slightly. He chuckled.
"Guys! Our plane!" Gray bolted up and started off for the gate. Zach and I bolted away from one another. I felt my face heat up as I gathered my things, quickly bolting after Gray. We loaded onto the plane, and I was sitting in between the two boys yet again.
"Picture?" Zach asked, I nodded and he held his phone out, snapping a selfie of the three of us. He posted it to wherever and I noticed his background hadn't changed. It was him and I at the beach, we were laughing, just having a good time. That was the last time he and I actually hung out before Megan. I really did miss him. Since the two had started dating, she wouldn't let us be around each other alone. If I were at house, she was there. If we were at the mall, she was there. If he came to see me at work, she was right there, attached to him. Like a little blonde parasite. The flight went by relatively quickly and soon we were being herded onto a boat.
"Can you guys believe it?! This is going to be the best winter break ever!" Gray's excitement made me smile, but Zach wasn't looking forward to it as much.
"Why are you frowning so much, dude? It's a vacation! As VIPs!" I shook his shoulders a little bit
"Because why on Earth does Aunt Claire want to see us all of a sudden, huh? It's not like she really cares…. She hasn't been around since Gray was a baby." He said, I sighed, running a hand through my hair.
"I know Z… I'm sorry…" I noticed he was no longer even looking at me. A pretty girl down below had caught his eye and he was giving her the stare down. I rolled my eyes. He should get some new moves, because staring is just creepy.
"So, Gray, I've been thinking, if I can, would you want to get a closer look at the raptors sometime this week? Uncle Owen wouldn't mind." I ruffled the boy's hair and he nodded excitedly.
"Yeah! It'd be awesome!" He grinned. We launched into a long conversation about the raptors Uncle Owen took care of. Their names were Blue, Delta, Charlie, and Echo. They listened to him, I guess they saw him as their Alpha. I flipped through some of the pictures I had taken the previous summer, my favorite being one of my Uncle and I sitting on the walkway, watching the raptors.
"Nik, look." Gray pointed behind me and I spun to see the massive park come into view. Like I said, as my first time as a guest, it was breathtaking. The boat finally docked and we shuffled towards the entrance.
"Who are we looking for?" I asked, standing on my tiptoes to see if I could spot someone I knew.
"I think I found them." I pointed to a lady with a tablet that read Zach, Gray, and Nikana Mitchell. That's not my name.
"That's us… " I pointed between the three of us, she smiled slightly, you could tell she wasn't itching with happiness to be here.
"I'm Zara, Claire's assistant and your guide, now, follow me to your room." She motioned for us to follow her, and we did so. She's already mad, let's not make it worse. People rushed around us, taking everything in. We walked to the resort and we were baffled by the sheer size of the room we were in. It had two queen sized beds, a small kitchen, a bathroom, a TV with an XBOX one. Nice little set up for sure.
"Here are you VIP bracelets, meet me downstairs at 1:30." She handed us a box of 3 blue bracelets and I checked my phone. 12:09. A little over an hour. Might as well change into something more weather appropriate. I grabbed my bathing suit and turned to the boys. Gray was staring down at the park, eager to go and explore, and Zach was on his phone.
"I'm going to change, you two… Entertain yourselves." I snatched my bag from the floor and walked into the bathroom. I decided to shower and get the germs of a million people off me and changed into my bathing suit. I tossed my old shirt back on and walked out, to have Gray bolt in.
"Sorry!" He shouted, slamming the door behind him.
"It's almost time to head down." Zach stated as I walked to my bag. I began to dig through it, feeling him staring at me as I did so. I looked over to ask why, and he instantly went back to looking at his phone. I grabbed shorts and a tank top.
"Awesome. Let me put my sunscreen on and we'll head down." I tugged my shirt on and turned to face him. He nodded, not looking up at me. Weirdo. Once I was slathered in SPF 15 and had on my shoes, we walked down to meet Zara.
"Welcome to Jurassic World." She spoke as we walked into the main hub of the park.
Okay, so, let me know what you think. If it's bad, let me know. I've loved Jurassic Park since I first saw the movie, and of course I was there on opening night for Jurassic World, so, R&R and stuff. Thanks!
Much love, Rhey!