A/N:Thank you for the reviews! Here's an early update. I've been bored all day so this is what I've been doing. Enjoy!
They've got to be in here, dammit! I curse to myself while digging through my dad's supplies in the clinic. The ever-elusive morning after pill has seemingly dropped off the face of the planet. A bright blue pill catches my eye and I snatch it up. The package reads just what I've been looking for. I pocket the pill and turn to leave.
"What are you doing in here, honey?" Dad is standing by the door.
"Oh my God dad, you scared me." I put a hand over my heart to try and calm myself down. "I wasn't feeling very well… I was looking for something for nausea but I couldn't find it."
Dad looks me over and motions me to sit on one of the clinic beds. "Let's take a look at you. Does this have anything to do with the G.O.A.T?" Dad eyes me as he inspects my vitals.
"Yeah… you caught me. Or maybe it was the wine from last night." I give dad a small grin and look down at my boots.
"Well, as far as I can tell you're a perfectly healthy sixteen-year-old girl. So yes, you have to go to class and take your G.O.A.T exam." Dad pats me on the shoulder and I get up to leave.
"If you say so, Dad."
"Hey, it's not my call. Those are the rules." Dad rubs my shoulder and walks me to the clinic door. "You're sixteen now, so this year you have to take the G.O.A.T. Come on, it's not that bad. Everyone has to take it. You'll do just fine." Dad kisses me on the cheek as I leave.
"Bye, Dad. I'll see you later."
"Take care sweetie. Good luck!"
The hallways are bustling, if you can even call it that, with their normal morning traffic. I round the corner to the classroom and hear Amata's voice down the hall.
"Leave me alone, Butch." Amata is surrounded by the Tunnel Snakes. They've cornered her right outside the classroom.
"What's the matter, daddy's girl gonna cry?" Butch and his gang laugh as Amata's face reddens.
"What's going on?" I approach the group, moving to stand by Amata.
"Stay out of this, Nosebleed." Wally shoves me and I bump into Butch. My face immediately reddens, more so than Amata, as I recall the events of last night.
"Hey Wally, lay off." Butch frowns at Wally.
"Why? I say this punk needs to be taught what happens when you interfere with Tunnel Snake business." Wally pounds his fist into his palm in an intimidating gesture.
"I said lay off. Or do I have to teach you idiots a lesson?" Butch grabs Wally by the collar and drags him off. Paul and Freddie follow him into the classroom, confused looks crossing the space between us.
Amata sighs and takes me by the arm. "That was close." She chuckles and nudges me with her elbow. "I guess he really does like you, Kal."
"Shut up Amata. Or I'll shut you up myself." I grin at the look that she gives me and nudge her back. "Let's just take this damn G.O.A.T and then go have some fun before we don't have any time left to ourselves."
We sit down at our usual desks. Butch is behind me, again, but I don't mind. Amata is to my right, and the rest of the Snakes are across the room. They give me 'evil' eyes and I flip them the bird, not caring who sees. I can hear Butch chuckle softly to himself as Paul, Freddie, and Wally shoot me dirty looks. Mr. Brotch is at the front of the room, waiting for the last kids to get settled.
"Well, now that everyone has managed to find the classroom, we can finally get started." Brotch rolls his eyes and sighs before continuing. "Now, no talking and keep your eyes to yourselves. Yes, I'm talking to you Mr. DeLoria."
Butch snickers. "Sure thing, Mr. Brotch."
"Unless anyone else has an insightful comment, let's get started." Brotch begins to hand out our test papers. I glance over the questions and frown. The test is so stupid I might as well bang my head against the table to answer it.
Brotch reads the questions out loud to us, but I've already finished by the time he reads the second question. I sit and wait for him to be done. When he finishes rattling off the last question, I get up and turn my paper in.
"Well, that was fast. Now, let me take a look here." Brotch reads over my answers and compares them to the answer sheet. "Wow… Tattoo artist? I wonder who will be brave enough to be your first customer. I promise it won't be me!" Brotch laughs to himself.
"That's got to be all wrong. I wanted to work with my dad in the clinic!" My face falls as I snatch the paper back from him.
"Hey, hey now. Between you and me, this whole test is a joke anyways. I'll work something out so you can do both jobs. Not a lot of people want tattoos in here, so you're in luck." Brotch takes the test sheet back and smiles. "Besides, I like you, Kal. I'll get it all fixed up. Don't you worry."
"Wow, thanks Mr. Brotch." I smile and make my way to the back of the classroom to wait for Amata. Butch turns in his test next, and I can hear him argue with Brotch before he stomps off muttering about 'bullshit hairdresser' jobs. Amata is next up. She gets the supervisory track just like I knew she would.
"Nice job Amata." I give her a pat on the back as we walk to the lunchroom.
"Thanks. What did you get?"
"Tattoo artist. But Brotch said he'd look in to me working with my dad and being the tattoo artist, so I think things will be alright." I get us a booth before the lunch rush files in. We sit down and Andy deposits two lunches in front of us.
"Tattoo artist? Wow, that doesn't sound like you at all." Amata digs into her lunch of Cram and Dandy Boy apples. I stare at mine and push it away.
"Ugh, I am definitely not hungry. I think I did have too much wine last night."
"Wine? Your dad let you have some? You're a lucky duck Kal." Amata takes my lunch and opens it, digging out the Fancy Lad snack cakes. "If you're not going to eat these, I will."
"Go ahead." I laugh at her as she tears open the package and bites into the cake, covering her mouth in frosting. "You've got a little frosting on yourself, Amata."
She wipes it off and I grab myself a bottle of water from the counter. I sit back down and look up. Butch is sitting in the booth we were in last night, staring directly at me. I smile and blush, taking a sip from my water. Amata turns around to see what I'm looking at. She whips her head back around and her jaw drops.
"Oh my God, Kal. Will you two just quit it and get a room?" She giggles as my face flushes even more.
"Will you be quiet! He'll hear you and then he will know I told you!" I throw an apple slice at her and she bats it away.
"Quit being such a worry wart." She finishes off the apples and snack cakes, opening up the cram and tearing off small pieces.
"How can you eat that stuff without something else? It's so salty." I make a yuck face and she laughs, popping another bite into her mouth.
"Easy. You just don't think about it."
I put my hands in my pockets and feel the pill I grabbed this morning. I pull it out and open it quickly so Amata won't see the package.
"What's that?" Amata says over a mouthful of Cram.
"It's just a pill my dad gave me for my little hangover." I lie and take the pill, washing it down with my water. I scrunch my face at the taste of the medicine. I take another look at Butch, who is eating his own lunch. Paul and Freddie have joined him, but Wally is nowhere to be seen. I return my attention to Butch. He's watching me too, completely oblivious to Paul and Freddie trying to have a conversation. Occasionally he'll nod, but his eyes never leave mine. Amata tells me she's going to go take a shower before we hang out tonight and I mumble out an okay. Butch sees Amata leave and gets up. Before I know it he's sitting in front of me, leaving behind two obviously angry Tunnel Snakes.
"Hey, Nosebleed." Butch smiles.
"Hey, Butch."
"What are you doin' tonight?" Butch sits back and plays with his switchblade.
"I'm hanging out with Amata at my place. Why?" I watch him twirl his switchblade around, amazed that he doesn't cut himself.
"No reason."
"Oh." I study his face and my mind flashes back to last night.
"I'll see ya later, Nosebleed. Okay?" Butch stands.
"Okay." I smile and he leans down to press a kiss to my cheek. I can feel Paul and Freddie watching us from across the room. Luckily he does it quickly so none of the other residents see. My heart flutters erratically and I can't help but smile even wider. Paul and Freddie get up and stalk out of the cafeteria together, harsh whispers shared between them.
I clean up the rest of my table and head towards my apartment to get ready for my sleepover with Amata. My dad agreed to let me set up a projector in the living room since he'll be playing cards with Jonas tonight. I push the couch and table aside, along with the two chairs we have. The space is just big enough for the projector and us two girls to lay down in. I take the cushions from the chairs and the couch and set up a makeshift bed, covering it with an extra blanket. I'm hanging a white sheet on the wall opposite the projector when the door opens.
"Hey Kal." Amata walks in with her arms full of pillows and snacks.
"Hey Amata. You can set those down on the table. I'm almost done setting everything up."
"Okay, cool." Amata puts her things down and helps me get the rest of our 'bed' set up. I grab my pillows and blanket from my room. Amata is searching through the stack of holotapes I've got laid out next to the projector. She picks out a single tape and puts it in.
"What did you choose?" I turn off the lights and settle down in my blankets with a Nuka Cola.
"Something called 'And Then There Were None.' It looked interesting." Amata lies down on her side of the 'bed' and opens up a snack cake.
"You're going to get fat if you keep eating those snack cakes." I laugh as she chomps down on one, mouthing an 'I don't care' in my direction. The movie starts up and we fall silent for a while, commenting every so often on how ridiculous parts of it are. The movie is about 10 people stranded on an island being killed off one by one as they try to find the killer. When that one is over, Amata pops in another movie called 'Casablanca' and we start the routine over again. I take my pip-boy off and set it next to me on the ground, checking the time.
I look over at Amata and notice she's sleeping, so I turn down the volume of the movie. I watch it alone for a while. I try to fall asleep but I can't. Amata snores softly beside me in an even rhythm, making me grin. The movie begins to roll the credits, so I climb out of bed to turn the projector off. As I'm putting the holotape back in the case I hear soft knocking at my door. I open it, making sure I don't wake Amata.
Butch is standing there, still dressed in his vault suit and leather jacket. I'm in my pajamas and am suddenly very insecure about my attire. I step out into the hallway and close the door.
"Hey." I smile and lean against the wall next to my door.
"Hey, Nosebleed." Butch leans close to me, putting a hand on the wall next to me.
"What are you doing here?" I wrap my arms around his waist and pull him closer to me.
"I came to see you."
"Do you want to come inside? Amata's sleeping in the living room, but we could go to my room." I take his hand and he nods, following me back inside my apartment. We sneak around Amata into my room. My bare feet feel cold against the metal floor. My room is a bit messy, robot parts and books strewn across my desk and the floor. I cringe at the sight and lead him to my bed to sit down.
Butch sits on the end of my bed and I sit next to him, my legs criss-cross.
"What's all the scrap metal for?" Butch nods his head in the direction of my desk.
"A project. It's a small robot to clean up the apartment." I watch Butch closely, silently freaking out about the fact that he is in my room and on my bed. "It's taking a lot longer than I expected to code the damn thing."
"That's pretty cool Nosebleed." Butch smiles and pulls me into his lap. I rest my head on his chest and smile to myself, enjoying his presence.
We sit like that for a while, talking about the G.O.A.T and our jobs. He laughs when I tell him about being a tattoo artist and I cover his mouth with my hand.
"You'll wake up Amata!" I whisper. He removes my hand and kisses my palm. I shiver and he kisses up my arm and to my neck. I wrap my hands around his neck as he reaches my mouth, pulling him in for a slow kiss. He suddenly freezes and pulls away. I raise my brow in confusion before he points to my door.
It's open and Amata is standing there. I watch her as she shuffles to my bathroom, all the while not saying a word. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and turn to Butch.
"I think she's sleepwalking."
"Yeah, I think so too. I'd better leave before she wakes up." Butch kisses me again, this time long and hard, before he gets up and leaves as quietly as he came.
Amata walks in a few seconds later, rubbing her yes. "What are you doing out here Kal?"
"Waiting for the bathroom." I slip past her and pretend to use the bathroom before returning to the living room. I don't sleep at all, so I grab a book from my stash and read until I hear my dad come in the next morning.
"Good morning sweetie. Morning, Amata." I look up as Dad walks in carrying breakfast for us three.
"Morning, Mr. Remington." Amata sits up and stretches.
"Mr. James is fine, Amata. You don't have to be formal around me." He smiles and sets his tray down on the table. "I brought you two some breakfast. I hope Sugar Bombs are okay."
"Yeah, thanks Dad." I sit up and he hands us two bowls and two glasses of water.
"Thanks, Mr J." Amata yawns and takes a drink of water. Dad seats himself in one of the chairs and eats. He stops for a minute and pulls out a small package from his pocket.
"Oh, here honey. This was waiting for you by our door." He tosses it over and I snatch it out of the air, quickly tearing open the paper wrapping. Inside is a small box containing a simple gold and emerald necklace. The emerald is cut in an oval and surrounded by very small diamonds. I gasp and lift it up for Amata to see.
"Oh my gosh, it's beautiful! Who's it from?" Amata eyes the package wrapping on the ground.
"I have no idea." I say, but in my mind I have an exact answer. I smile and unhook the clasp, turning to Amata for help closing it around my neck. The pendant hangs just above my sternum, resting lightly on my chest. I smile and stand to look at it in the mirror. It's a gorgeous green just like my eyes.
"Well whoever it is from, they certainly have good taste." My dad says as I walk back out into the living room. He smiles and motions for me to come closer. "This is definitely pre-war. Something from the old world that has been in someone's family for a long time. There's a stamp on the inside that has a date." Dad flips the pendant over and looks closely. "Wow, this says it's from 1942. That's 332 years old."
"Holy cow," Amata says from behind me.
"It's incredible." I sit down and finish my breakfast, thinking of a way to repayButch.
"Well you two better get up and get ready for your last day of class. It's only a half-day since you've got training to do today for your vault jobs." Dad gathers our empty bowls and puts them back on the tray. "Mr. Brotch told me about your predicament, Kal. I've talked with him and the overseer and they've agreed to let you work with me and practice as the vault tattoo artist."
"Sweet! I guess I'll see you for work today, Daddy." I jump up and hurry into my bedroom to dress. Amata follows, combing out her hair and dressing too. We leave my apartment and head to class, chatting and laughing all the way there. I absent-mindedly finger the necklace as we walk, smiling and thinking of Butch and his beautiful blue eyes.
Damn you Butch, You'll spoil me to death.