[Additional Tags: Comedy, Action]
"I've changed my mind. You're not comin' with me."
"Oh please? I'm beggin' ya here!"
"It's too dangerous ! No. Freakin'. Way."
"And that's exactly why I gotta go with you, I'm your girlfriend."
"Don't mention that around the guys!"
"I won't! God, man! JUST. LET. ME. COME. WITH. YOU!"
"... No."
"PLEASE!"
"Fine, fine! Remember this is a man's fight. You won't be fighting. Heck, I don't think you'll even be accepted."
"I don't care! I'd rather be with you and unaccepted then not with you and risk me not being there if you die."
"You're too good for me, you know dat?"
And then Scout held her hand.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Walking into the house was a special experience all on it's own.
"What is this place," she said in slight awe.
"A little place I call 'home', sista! It's not exactly connected to 2Fort as that's, like, 50 feet away from here."
"It's awesome!" The large room held beds and bunk beds, each post emblazoned with a
n icon. One bunk bed pair had a shoe with wings as the icon for the upper post and a pocket knife icon on the lower post. In the middle of the room were three large leather couches arranged in an open rectangle with a long mahogany coffee table running down the middle. East of that was a tiled dining area holding a huge table with nine chairs. Nearby was a separate room with a large kitchen, big enough to easily serve 15 mercenaries. Finally, on the wall north of the couches, there was a big stained-glass window. A big 'R' was right in the middle of it, shining with the morning light. Underneath that was the tunnel leading to 2Fort.
"Like it," Scout asked his girlfriend after she finished looking around the room.
"It's amazin'," She whispered, awe still present in her voice. "One question, though: why is everythin' red?"
It was true, pretty much everything was a varying shade of red. The bed sheets were a crisp red and the posts were a very light orange. The icons were a crimson, mirroring the shade of the couches. The carpet and walls were a light red, the carpet slightly darker than the walls. The molding was white, and so was the ceiling and its simple light fixtures. The dining table and chairs were a deep mahogany like the coffee table. The tiles and appliances in the kitchen were bright white, but red adorned whatever it could.
"We're the RED Team," Scout proudly said. "You're even dressed for this room, Audrey!"
Audrey Elle stood on the shaggy carpet and looked down at her clothes. She wore a red vest over a white t-shirt and light brown shorts that stopped just short of her knees. Three bronze bangle bracelets chirped whenever she moved her wrist. Her black shoes and white socks were dusty from the walk in the sand outside. Faux garnets dangled from her ears. A red headband held back her short wavy brown hair. Her amber eyes widened.
"You helped me pick you this outfit!" She smiled at his intentions and he smiled back.
"So whaddya wanna do now?"
"I kinda wanna meet the other mercs, actually," Audrey said hopefully. Scout's smile faltered.
"I'm not so sure..." Scout slowly trailed off, eyes affixed to the carpet.
"They knew I was coming, right?" Audrey questioned her boyfriend, staring right at him.
"Yeah... sorta... kinda..."
"Whaddya mean, yeah, sorta, kinda?"
"I told them but most of them didn't believe me," He said, finally looking at her.
"Oh."
"I guess I can go introduce you, It's not like they didn't know you were comin'... or anythin'... and the match hasn't started yet."
"Then let's go!"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
The tunnel let out in the Courtyard. Scout lead the way up the stairs and to the doors of the locker room.
"Now I just wanna warn you, half of these guys are idiots. They probably don't know the first thing about what to do around a girl," Scout explained.
"Please," Audrey scoffed, "I've met your brothers. How different can these guys be?"
"Audrey! This is serious! I don't want you being screwed around with. If they get too close or weird, you slap them, you got that?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Thank you," Scout said finally. He took a deep breath and opened the doors to the locker room. A man in a hardhat was the first to look up from the bench he was sat on.
"Howdy, Scout," He said in a southern accent. "Who's your friend there?" Several other men looked up at the mention of friend. One walked over to her and looked her down.
"Is she ya girlfriend?" Audrey's eyebrows raised slightly as she heard this man speak. He had an Australian accent. She had a friend who was Australian back when she was in college.
"Yeah, so what," Scout said, stepping a little closer to Audrey.
"Ah, nothin'. I just thought you were jokin' about bringin' a friend here. Especially a girl."
"A GIRL?!" A rough, worn voice shouted. All eyes were on Audrey now. Another man walked up to her, a rocket in his left hand. "A girl on the battlefield? Now that's a joke if I ever heard one!"
"It's not a joke, alright?" Scout said up to him. "She's going to be the Medic's assistant."
"WHAT?!" Audrey said to her boyfriend. Her voice was accompanied by another one, this one with a German accent. A bespectacled man pushed through the now circle of mercenaries to look at Audrey himself.
"We never discussed this," Audrey said angrily. She looked over the Medic. "Does this guy even have a medical license?"
"Ah, well..." Scout started, "no."
"NO?!"
"I'm sure you'll make a great test subject, Fraulein," the Medic added.
"NO WAY!" Audrey shouted, along with the Scout.
"She's here to help you," Scout explained again, "I'll explain everythin' in a moment."
"You'd better get explainin' then, laddie," a Scottish voice said.
"What are you trying to pull off, son?" The man in the hard hat spoke again. All of the mercenaries started to mumble and talk over each other. Audrey finally cleared her voice.
"Uh, hi! I'm Audrey. I'm here with Scout because I don't have any family in Boston anymore. They all moved away and I was the only one left. I work at a restaurant and have a crappy apartment. Scout was my childhood friend and he always stuck around for me, so I figured I could only be here for him to return the favor. He's the only lifelong friend who would put up with my crap."
"And if any of you have a problem with it, you'll hafta talk to me about it," Scout added bravely.
"No, they'll have to blame me. I did practically beg ya to bring me along."
"Noted," the gruff voice with the rocket said. Scout shot him a look that could kill a rat.
"I, for one, think it might actually be useful to have a woman around here for once," the Hardhat said with a small smile.
"Aye, me too."
"Ja!"
Audrey was stunned.
"Wait, you mean I can stay? Really?"
"Sure thing, mate," the Australian said. "I think it would be great to have another caretaker with us. I'm the Sniper, by the way. The man in the hardhat's the Engineer, The man with the rocket is the Soldier, The Scottish man is the Demoman, The... man in the gas mask is the Pyro, The big man is the Heavy Weapons Guy, The doctah over there is the Medic, you know Scout, and... where's the Spy?" Upon their names being called, each mercenary waved or nodded. Now everyone was looking around for the man they called 'The Spy'. All of the sudden, Audrey heard the slightest and smallest sound from behind her. She turned around, staring at the wall expectantly.
"Audrey what are you-" Scout started to say, but then turned around himself. Surely and visibly, the area behind him and Audrey started to shake and ripple, eventually revealing a man in a suit. A mask covered most of his face except for his eyes and mouth.
"Nice going, mate," the Sniper said and smiled at Audrey. "I didn't think someone could hear a cloaked Spy."
"Admirable job," the man in the suit said. "I wanted to scare you. I guess things don't work that way anymore." He twisted the watch around his wrist, back straight, and looking at Audrey.
"You almost got me," Audrey smiled. "That's really cool. The cloaking thing, I mean."
"I can even disguise myself as the other team," he boasted.
"Alright, that's enough," Scout said and started to walk toward the Spy. The Spy smirked and swiftly pulled out a cigarette case. Audrey peered over the side of it to see six cigarettes on the left side and strange technology on the right. He pushed a button and a red light was tossed across her face. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes, a Scout wearing BLU garb stood smirking at the RED Scout. Her Scout slapped his hand onto his forehead and mumbled something inaudible.
"Aren't we supposed to be, like, fighting now?" He said, audibly angry.
"Oh, yes," the Spy said, transforming back to his old self. "We should get going. It was nice meeting you, Audrey."
"Thanks! You, too," she said. As the mercenaries started leaving, Scout pulled her aside.
"I don't want you pullin' any crap when we're fightin' okay?"
"Whaddya mean, 'pullin' crap'?" She said innocently. She knew exactly what he meant: No fighting, and no entering the Fort when they were fighting.
"You know exactly what I mean!"
"Alright, but you've gotta promise me somethin'," She shot back, just as fierce. "YOU. WILL. NOT. DIE. ON. ME. Got that? I can say it again if I need to betta convey the message."
"Sweetie," Scout said, hands up in front of him. "I hold the title of 'Most Battles Survived'. I won't die. Especially with you here to remind me there are things to stay alive for out there. Anything for you, baby," He said softly and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. Tears danced in the corners of her eyes, fear breaking free in the middle of her chest. What if he did die? Would he forget about her somehow? Would she be brave enough to avenge him?
"Just... just be careful. Tell everyone else that, too."
"I will," Scout whispered with a smile. Audrey bit her trembling lip and threw her arms around his neck. She hasn't done that in a long time. He hugged her back, just as warm and loving. When they pulled away, he brushed away her tears.
"I'll live another day," he said. "Promise." Audrey only nodded. A voice came over on the intercom. The mercenaries started to shuffle around and grab their weapons.
"Match begins in five..." Scout turned to look back at Audrey.
"When those doors open..."
"Four..."
"...I want you to run back the way we came, okay?"
"Three..."
"Find something to do at the House."
"Two..."
"We won't be back for a while..."
"One..."
"...But we'll be back."
"GO!" All of the mercenaries flooded out the doors, almost all of them ran to the left. Scout took Audrey's hand and ran with her to the right and back to the tunnel leading back to the House. Gunfire and explosions echoed around the battlefield, making Audrey's eardrums buzz. The smell of sulfur hit her nose and the dust in the air made her eyes water.
"Go," Scout shouted over the explosions, amazingly calm. "I'll be fine. Don't worry. I love you." Audrey nodded.
"I love you, too."
She turned and ran, knowing that if she lingered she'd run out and fight with him or do something dumb like that. He'll be fine, she kept telling herself over and over again.
He'll be fine.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Back in the house, Audrey let her tears spill and fall over her face. It cascaded down her flushed, pale cheeks and curved into the corners of her mouth. She sat down on one of the couches and put her head in her hands. First off, she felt like a total jerk for not caring about her boyfriends job earlier, and second off, it never occurred to her how dangerous it actually was. What if he really did die? How could she live without him? She ran her hands through her hair and laid down on the couch, arms dangling off the side. Her fingers grazed a wooden handle of something. Her eyes widened as she realized what it was. Her fingers curled around it and picked it up. It was a guitar. She hadn't played guitar in a long time, but when she did, it was some of the happiest years of her life. She blinked away the tears blurring her vision and smiled. Maybe this place isn't as bad as she thought.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Uh, hi! I'm TheOriginalBoxen. Thanks for reading my second-ever fanfic (the first one was a Gravity Falls fic called Sibling of Mine, you can find it in my profile)! I want to say really quickly that I'm sorry for it. I don't actually play Team Fortress 2. I only play the Minecraft version. 2Fort is probably off so I'm going to counter your criticism by saying it's my version of 2Fort! I guess...
My writing will also get better with the start of the new school year. It's a little sloppy and lame right now because it's summer and I can slack off 'n' stuff.
Thanks again SO much for reading my fanfic! I look forward to reading your reviews ( if any, lol ) and I hope you'll enjoy my story!
-TOB ^-^
