Chapter 1. Got A Photograph Dream On The Getaway Mile

Her golden eye searched his face wearily, her lips pressed in a fine line. She cocked her head slightly to the right, making her blue hair fall around her shoulders and her bangs come tumbling onto her face.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" She asked, her voice soft as to not wake any of the other Killjoys.

Ghoul grinned and shrugged. "We just wont get caught. Simple." He was already in the driver's seat, key in hand and ready to push it into the ignition.

"So," Riot started. "We shouldn't be doing this then." She stated dryly. Ghoul shrugged again.

"Possibly. But who cares? We'll be back." He waggled his eyebrows. "Unless you're scared."

Riot's left eye twitched. "Scared? You're fucking with me aren't you, Ghoul?" She opened the door and slipped into the Trans Am. Her arms crossed. "I ain't scared of no Drac or the desert. And I'm already getting used to being blind in one eye." She pointed to her bandaged right eye for effect. "It's getting kicked out of the Killjoys by your fearless leader," Riot mocked and Ghoul rolled his eyes. "That's got me worried."

"Party won't kick you out." Ghoul told her but then silently added. But he might try.

Riot raised an eyebrow. "Oh no? Yeah, well he might try." She sighed, running a gloved hand through her hair and Ghoul gulped silently. "Why does he hate me?"

Ghoul hesitated. "To be honest, not even I'm sure exactly. And he doesn't hate you, he just doesn't trust you." Riot looked at him, her eyes wide with curiosity. "He's gone through a lot. And not just as a Killjoy. His whole life, even before BLI/nd was one heck of a roller coaster." He gave her a tired smile, making Ghoul look ten years older to Riot. She realized that all these Killjoys' lives were probably harder than she ever would've thought, even before BLI/nd. She felt guilty for every time she scoffed at the Killjoys for not doing anything. She realized now, especially after that encounter with the Dracs a few weeks ago, you can't just charge into BLI/nd, guns-a-blazin'.

"All of us had hard lives, but we learned to cope."

"With music." Riot stated, thinking back to all the times she heard them over Dr. D's transmissions and all the times each one of them disappeared into the alleged recording room.

Ghoul cleared his throat, while wiping his hands on his jeans and nodding. "Yeah. Music." He trailed off. His eyes looked miles away. Years away even. The bright leaf greens of his eyes took a on a dreamy light and his lips curled softly at the ends.

She felt hate bubble in her stomach all over again. How dare BLI/nd do this? She wanted BLI down and so far into the ground there was no hope of it ever returning. That the fire in the earth's center burned the last shredded remains of Better Living.

She let her mind wonder to what Party Poison was like when he was happy. She wanted to see those hazel eyes light up and to see a smile break across his face. She tried to imagine it but all she got was a glare and a frown, seemingly permanent on his face.

She thought of her own life before BLI, back when she ran free in the streets of Portland in her red Life Guard sweatshirt. Headphones in and a new Kerrang! magazine in hand. Back when life was worth living for.

"Ready to go?" Ghoul asked, jarring her out of her own thoughts. She smiled,

"Let's go."

And as the two of them sped off into the night, the moon and stars lighting their way as they kicked all kinds of dust and rocks, the two Killjoys laughed. With the wind whipping their hair wildly and stinging their eyes until they were crying.

And Riot had never felt so free.

I know it's short. It's kinda like a prologue. And I want to set Ghoul's and Riot's relationship in motion, it plays a big part in the story as a key factor, but no, they are not romantically involved. Just friends, close friends.

BTW, have any of you listened to the band Imagine Dragons? I love them :) They're fabulous.

So this my friends is the start of Bulletproof Heart, part 2.

TBATDP