AN: Sorry this chapter is short, I've been trying to improve my drawing skills... I'm glad some of you actually like my story! I imagine part 2 would be done in the first or second week of August.
Edwards shouted to get our attention, "Okay, enough let's get started. Take your pistols." He waved 2 duelling pistols in the faces of each man. My heart stopped. The duel was commencing. John's back cambered as he perked up as the sight of a gun being waved in his face. I would be lying if I were to say I didn't panic; my heart raced as I thought of something to say to John before he went. I watched as John nervously grabbed the gun being shoved in his face by the older man. My eyes widened as he took a step forward, his small digits fiddling with the gun. My hand suddenly shot out and grasped his shoulder, effectively making him stumble backwards. He turned his head and stared at me, his eyes shining with anticipation. I bit my lip as his head tilted in inquiry waiting for me to speak.
My heart grew heavy as I leaned forward towards his ear and whispered into his ear, "John please, just stay alive." That was it. 5 words. I pushed him forward, turning him around before I could see his face. I knew if I were to look at his face, I would burst out into tears. This could possibly be the last time John saw me; I didn't want him to see me sad for the last time. My mind wandered into weighing the odds of if had I kissed him… no. He showed no signs of liking me as far as I could see, and if he survived this ordeal, he would question me about it. He would probably think I was disgusting… I have to stop.
John is your best friend and only your friend. He has a wife and you have a wife. He doesn't love you and will never love you.
I needed to drill that into my brain. I turned back to the scene and saw Lee walking up to the duelling ground. He tried to wear a confident expression on his face, but his eyes shone with fear. His legs were almost shaking as he stood back to back with John, his bronze duelling pistol close to his chest, the muzzle pointing towards the sky. They switched positions, their feet shuffling around each other's, backs still turned so Lee would be facing Edwards and John would be facing towards me. I gazed at John in the eye; the sight that approached me almost made me choke. His usual cheery hazel eyes were now tainted with fear and his face so innocent. He sounded so confident before, that he was going to win, but now he was wracked with the fear that he might possibly lose the duel. He looked at me helplessly for help, but I knew I couldn't do anything to help him. He was too far into the duel now to stop. I simply tried to hold back my tears and smiled at him, hoping that it would give him some encouragement. He ripped his eyes away with his knuckles turning white from gripping impossibly hard on the brown handle.
Edwards had a blank expression on his face; either from not caring or caring
too much. It was impossible to tell with that man. His and Lee's friendship has always been strange. Lee was considerably older than Edwards- about ten years I think- and has been on
Washington's staff since the Revolution started (possibly why Washington refused to give punishment). They were opposites in physical appearance as well.
Lee had short raven hair combed to one side rather than the traditional hair tied back in a queue. He had dark brown eyes and a long nose. He wasn't too scrawny in my opinion, just slim, but just went with the rest of the camp. He was smart, I'll admit, but he was too stubborn and had bad anger issues. Edwards was the exact opposite. He has his blond hair tied back in a queue with sharp calculating grey eyes. He also had a long nose like Lee, but his was slightly more upturned, giving him a french look, though he was British. He was slightly chubby, but was far better at maintaining his anger than Lee was; he was usually calm and relaxed. I didn't know any other personality trait to Edward's than that because he was usually too quiet.
"Ready!" Edwards shouted. Wait no, no, no! This was all happening too quickly. What if Laurens-
"Ten Paces!" This had to stop. Laurens couldn't die! I- I couldn't do anything. I watched through tear brimmed eyes as Lee and John made their steps away from each other.
"And Fire!" Lee shouted. The two men then spun around pointing their weapons at each other as 2 deafening gunshots filled the air.